"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do, I stare out the window and wait for spring." - Rogers Hornsby

:: Wednesday, February 09, 2005 ::

Murphy Strikes Again

So I've been working on my spiffy new site Bleed Cubbie Blue all day. Finally got it ready, launched it, balloons, fireworks...

Well, if you click there now, you'll get ... well, you'll get nothing. There are server problems. The tech experts are working on it. Keep trying.

Why do I think Kyle Farnsworth is behind this, somehow?

UPDATE 7:55 pm CT: The new site is back up. Hie yourself on over and check it out!

:: posted by Al at 7:22 PM [+] ::
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Movin' On Up...

Well we're Movin' on Up!
Movin' on Up!
To the east side!
Movin' on Up!
To a dee-luxe apartment in the sky, We're movin' on up!
Movin' on Up!
To the east side!
Movin' on Up!
We've finally got a piece of the pie!
--"The Jeffersons", CBS-TV, 1975-85

I feel like George Jefferson today.

I know, that's pretty weird. And you're scratching your head, saying, "Huh? Has Yellon gone off the deep end?"

Well, no. Let me explain.

About two weeks ago I got, out of the blue, e-mail from Tyler Bleszinski, who runs the terrific Oakland Athletics blog "Athletics Nation" -- which you really should check out, A's fan or not -- offering me the opportunity to join him and some other team bloggers in a new network of sports blogs.

I was exceptionally flattered by this offer, particularly when I learned that Markos Moulitsas, proprietor of "The Daily Kos" political blog (and, I learned, a HUGE Cubs fan), one of the most influential blogs on the planet, was one of the founders of this new company.

The bottom line is that I've joined, and "moved on up", as the song goes.

I'm going to be posting my Cubs baseball at Bleed Cubbie Blue.

It's still me. It's still going to be the same game posts, the stories about our community in the bleachers, stuff like running Ronnie Woo Woo out of town, the Tomato Inning, the travel I'm still going to make to road games, just in a different location. I kind of like the new layout and logo and when you go there, you'll see the ways in which you can participate, become part of the blog itself.

Yes, there are ads. Grant, who runs the Giants blog McCovey Chronicles, said as he was doing exactly what I'm doing here, moving from his personal site Waiting For Boof (and what a great name that is!) to his new one:

You will have an uncontrollable urge to click on the ads. It's okay. Run with that feeling. I'm sure (product or service offered by advertiser) will be of great use to you.

Seriously, I'm not for sale. What I write is not subject to any editing or editorial control other than my own.

This blog will stay here, for now -- I may post some non-baseball stuff here, and the archives will also stay here, until I can figure out how to move them, or maybe I'll just keep them here permanently. And you can still e-mail me at the "contact/comment" link above, and the e-mail addy will also be on the new blog.

I thank every single one of you for coming here for the last two years, and I've heard from many of you, and join me at Bleed Cubbie Blue.

Same me, different channel. See you there.

:: posted by Al at 4:10 PM [+] ::
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Save Yourself Some Money

Don't go to eBay for the "Cubs Believe" blue wristband bracelet and pay $8 or $10. (As of the time I looked, there were 141 auctions for the wristbands.)

You can now buy them direct from the Cubs; this news release on the Cubs website tells you how.

Or, you can just call 1-800-248-9467. You have to buy at least five of them and there will be the dreaded "shipping and handling" charges in addition to the $2-per-wristband cost.

I'm wearing mine. It's for a good cause. Go for it.

:: posted by Al at 10:42 AM [+] ::
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Found In Translation

Received an e-mail today from Greg Harper, a reader who has a Korean friend who sends the following translations of the cartoons posted below:

hehe, dude where'd u get this? It's kinda year end review of Cubs for 2004 season. Basically it's saying that they have great talents (the numbers show), but somehow they're missing that "+a".

and the reason is...

#38 Carlos Zambrano (calling him super-size sniper! 20 Hit by pitch (no. 1) see that red 'laser beams'?

#18 Moises Alou (showing die-hard actions to get better price at FA market)

#31 Greg Maddux (Unbeknownst to most people, he had 16-11 for the season. And it's the difference between 'A' class and Super 'A' class.

#16 Aramis Ramirez (had 'Ramirez-like' performance for the season. though he doesn't look like Ramirez)

#34 Kerry Wood & #22 Mark Prior. (sharing the pain & injury for the season. and the coach's saying "Don't share that kinda stuff!!!")

#5 Nomar Garciaparra (acting as a show model for the team)

#21 Sammy Sosa (living his own world with his bat...wants to share his snack with the bat(?))

I think this is exactly right -- especially the comment that they're missing that "+a".

Let's hope they find that before Opening Day.

:: posted by Al at 1:40 PM [+] ::
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