March 14, 2007

Plug Day & A Possible Meet-Up

Someone going by the name "aweb" left the following comment here the other day:

What's the point of keeping the personal blog going if you aren't going to link to stuff you have on other sites? I know some have complained about that, but I hereby complain that you don't link to articles you have written for other spots enough. As long as you keep producing stuff here, I think you should be more free with links to yourself.

The "point of keeping the personal blog going" is that I write thousands of words here every week that don't appear anywhere else--most of them about the Twins, non-sports topics, or my personal life--but I understand the basic point he's trying to make and have heard plenty of similar comments in the past when I haven't linked to something I've done elsewhere. Of course, when I do link to stuff I've done at other places, I get complaints about self-promotion.

For the most part, I avoid linking to my work at Rotoworld.com and NBCSports.com, because I assume that the majority of the people reading AG.com are aware that I appear on those sites--whether in writing or on video--on a regular basis. In fact, during the baseball and football seasons I essentially write for those sites every day. On the other hand, it does bother me that people who enjoy my work might not see all of it because I'm not doing a thorough enough job telling them where to find it.

So, at the risk of boring and angering many of you, here are some links to recent, non-AG.com work I've done:

  • I wrote the Minnesota Twins installment of the ongoing, team-by-team season preview over at the world-famous Deadspin, which is one of the few sites that I make sure to check multiple times per day. Deadspin has about a billion daily readers and Will Leitch was kind enough to write an article for The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2007, so I was happy to oblige when he asked if I'd pen the Twins preview.

    If you decide to read it, keep in mind that it was written for a non-Minnesota audience that isn't nearly as obsessed with the Twins (or baseball in general) as the people who read AG.com on a regular basis, so the information is pretty basic and there's not a whole lot of analysis. I did touch on a couple things that I haven't written about here much in the past (while admittedly lapsing into a Jim Souhan-like shtick at times) and I'm especially proud of the article's conclusion, which wraps everything up nicely.

  • I managed to get Jason Kubel pictured prominently on the front page of Rotoworld for most of the day yesterday, because he's featured in my new fantasy draft strategy column. In addition to Kubel, the column also includes Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, Rondell White, Alexi Casilla, and Glen Perkins, so it's worth reading for Twins fans even if you're not into fantasy baseball and have absolutely zero use for a list of "AL-only sleepers."
  • Part of the reason you're not reading a more substantial blog entry right now is that I've spent much of this week taping "Fantasy Fix" episodes for NBCSports.com. With Opening Day fast approaching, the show is doing position-by-position fantasy previews. So far they've posted the videos for starting pitchers and relief pitchers, and the remaining positions should be available for consumption within the next few days.

    The show is hosted out of New York by the capable and charming duo of Tiffany Simons and Gregg Rosenthal, and my segments are strictly of the call-in variety, so you won't be able to catch a glimpse of my post-surgery ear. However, you can hear my never-ending quest to spread the word about Johan Santana's greatness while staring at a goofy headshot of me. Or you can just look at Tiffany (or Gregg, if that's what you're into). Either way.

  • Finally, Will Young and John Bonnes are planning to meet up at Joe Senser's in Bloomington at around 3:15 this afternoon to watch the first-round NCAA tournament games. I'm hoping to attend as well, although I'm making no promises because it depends upon how smoothly this morning's video shoots go and how much work I can get done before then. And yes, I realize this is awfully short notice for those of you who work "real" jobs.

    I'm not 100 percent certain that I'll be able to show up, but if I am able to make it I'll a) bring my gross-looking right ear along for everyone to gawk at, and b) gladly buy a beer for any AG.com reader who stops by. Plus, watching the tournament with an obsessed George Washington alum and the Twins Geek probably beats hanging out with me anyway, free beer or not. So yeah ... hopefully I'll see a few of you there this afternoon. (If you're planning to show up, drop me a note in the comments section.)

    UPDATE: The good news is that I'm dangerously close to buying a house. The bad news is that I probably won't be able to make it to Senser's today. But like I said, go hang out with Will and John anyway. Feel free to say bad things about me to them behind my back, since my ear is already bleeding anyway.


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