This week, MLBAM married blogging and baseball. The effort isn't entirely altruistic; it sets you back $4.95 a month to have your own words hit for a shot heard round the world. But where else can you get to join Tommy LaSorda as a partner in crime against elementary school grammar for the price of two good-sized coffees?
I'm biased, of course, and couldn't claim to be a good baseball fan if I wasn't to some extent. You know the guy who always claims that "he was there" when something big happened, almost like a slightly more in-tune Forest Gump on the run? I can claim some influence on the birth of MLBlogs, and Justin Shaffer even gives me the props in his new blog. Justin is blogging about Dtrace, and I'm blogging about baseball. Symmetry is good; participation is even better.
Attention Gary Bettman and the NHL: I don't know of very many hockey writers that still have jobs. As soon as hockey emerges from this year-long frost, why not do the same and recruit fans to cover the sport? We're the ones who have suffered, and we're the only ones who can drive the recovery of hockey economics. Participation drives loyalty; loyalty drives spending; spending (or the lack of it) is what got the NHL into this mess.
And if your notion of loyalty extends to being a homer for homers, and you want to peek behind the firewall at mlb.com, be sure to root for the home team.