Baseball BeatFebruary 19, 2007
State of the Site
By Rich Lederer

This week marks the second anniversary of Baseball Analysts. Thanks to our many friends around the 'net and, of course, our readers, the site has grown in traffic and stature since Bryan Smith and I merged the Baseball Beat and Wait 'Til Next Year blogs (both of which started in 2003) on February 22, 2005.

We have held true to our promise of "examining the past, present, and future" while covering college baseball, the minor leagues, and the majors to the best of our ability. From scouting reports, prospect lists, live blogging the draft, the College World Series, and the Cape Cod League, we have followed amateur baseball with a passion that exceeds the man hours available to do so on a full-time basis. We have also tracked minor and major leaguers with unique angles, statistics, and analysis - all in the name of adding value in a competitive market for our readers' time and attention.

Our weekly Designated Hitter series has proven to be a popular feature - a must read, if you will. We thank all of our guest columnists, including those of you from the mainstream media who have generously submitted articles pro bono. To all the professionals and hobbyists alike, Baseball Analysts would not be the same without you and your contributions.

For newer readers, I'd like to point you to the links in the sidebar on the left-hand side of the site. Reading and understanding The Abstracts From The Abstracts is the equivalent of a Bachelor of Science in Sabermetrics. Be sure to also check out Breakfast With Bill James, a three-part interview that took place at the Winter Meetings in Anaheim in December 2004. Bill's influence pervades this site like no other as evidenced by the following search results, including our first guest column (written by John Sickels nearly two years ago).

After partnering with me for a year-and-a-half, Bryan decided to move on last summer. He returned last month and posted the final leg of his popular Top 75 Prospects at Baseball Analysts. Bryan knows there is an open invitation for him to contribute articles in the future as well.

Jeff Albert and Al Doyle filled the void in the early going and remain ongoing contributors to Baseball Analysts. Jeff wrote two guest columns that were linked all over the web and The Batter's Eye has become a semi-regular feature on our site. Al is a veteran freelance writer who made his debut at Baseball Analysts as a guest columnist.

Patrick Sullivan joined the team in January and has already written six weekly columns. We have also added another voice in Marc Hulet, a professional journalist from Ontario, Canada. Marc's first article will appear tomorrow.

Although Baseball Analysts was designed as an online magazine, we added the Weekend Blog to our lineup yesterday to allow us to make shorter, more spontaneous posts as a diversion from our daily articles. Going forward, our schedule will generally look like this:

Mon:  Rich (Baseball Beat)
Tues: Marc (Around the Minors)
Wed:  Sully (Change-Up)
Thur: Guest (Designated Hitter)
Fri:  Misc. (Jeff, Al, Foto Fridays, Open Chats, or Roundtables)
Sat:  Weekend Blog
Sun:  Weekend Blog

All of us at Baseball Analysts look forward to the year ahead, and we hope to earn your readership by doing our best to keep you as entertained and informed as possible. In the meantime, we thank you for your loyalty and support.

Comments

A friend pointed me to this site in the heat of last years pennant races; I haven't missed a post since. Thanky you for an insightful and consistently interesting website.

Very enjoyable reads every time I come here, guys. Keep it up! We need more Bert Blyleven coverage!

Just happened upon your site last year, and have eagerly visited every day since. Keep burning a torch for Blyleven, someday he'll get the recognition he deserves.

happy 2d birthday, rich. keep setting high standards; it makes us all better.

Rich, you are the wind beneath my wings.

Your site is a daily read for me. Keep up the good work.