Aaron Notes
I started this blog in 2002 and since then have gradually picked up some paid writing jobs here and there. They've increased as time has gone on and of late I've even been turning a few things down. The whole time, as I pieced together an increasingly steady schedule of gigs, my mom would always tell me: "It's not a real job until you have health insurance."
I'm not sure I completely agree with that, but I'm still happy to announce that I now have a "real job" that does in fact cover my health insurance. About a month ago I agreed to become a full-time employee of Rotoworld. I didn't think to announce anything about it here (until today), because for the most part nothing really changes. I've been working "part-time" for Rotoworld for quite a while now and moving to "full-time" will simply increase my workload and responsibilities.
The job has three main tasks. First, I will continue to write for Rotoworld.com -- and by extension FoxSports.com and USAToday.com -- producing both columns and news blurbs. In addition to that I will now be in charge of Rotoworld's baseball content, which involves boring stuff like scheduling, editing, and yelling at people when they miss a due date. And last but not least I will also be in charge of the baseball content in Fantasy Sports Monthly, a new magazine that is published by Beckett.
For all of that I've been handed the title of "Senior Baseball Editor," which means I could probably have business cards printed up and for the first time in my life not feel completely ridiculous about doing so. Aside from my time being stretched even more than it has been over the past year or so, not much will change for any of you. I'll still post here nearly every day and my involvement at The Hardball Times will continue (and continue to be somewhat sporadic).
Speaking of my involvement at THT, there will be a new article from me there every day for at least the next two weeks. Yesterday the first part of my fourth annual "Top 50 Prospects" series ran, with the second section running today, and a new installment is set to go each day until Opening Day. Beyond that, my preseason Twins preview is set to run late next week. So if you've been disappointed by my lack of writing for THT lately, now is the time to get your fill.
In addition to the sudden barrage of Aaron Gleeman articles, THT is going to be jammed with great content for the next few weeks. We kicked off our annual "Five Questions" preseason previews for all 30 teams yesterday with the Royals and Pirates, and previews for multiple teams are scheduled to run each day until the season begins. Today there are a total of five new articles at THT, so if you don't already stop by on a daily basis you really should start.
My weight-loss plan continues to go well, although the pounds have officially stopped flying off. I've been hovering around a 40-pound loss for a week or so, but haven't been able to jump into 45-pound territory yet. I'm only about nine weeks into the diet though, so it's certainly been a success. Oddly, I continue to not see any physical changes, although my pants are noticeably looser around the waist.
Barring a last-minute change something incredibly cool will happen involving me within the next couple days. I'm having a hard time keeping it to myself at this point, but until I know it's going to happen for sure I'd rather not completely spill the beans. Plus, a little suspense is fun. It's writing-related and will hopefully be one of the proudest moments of my life, if that's any kind of clue. If it happens when it's supposed to, then you'll know all about it by the end of this week. And if it doesn't happen when it's supposed to ... well, then the suspense will just drag on.
To recap: Things are going swimmingly (I've always wanted to say that). I have a new full-time job, THT is picking up steam and approaching 20,000 readers per day (and The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006 was a major success), I'm down 40 pounds in my quest to not be a fatso, and something really cool might be on the verge of happening to me.
It's all downhill from here.
