Archive for Administrative Stuff
Open Thread: Help Wanted (Reminder)
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I’m re-posting this in case anyone missed it on Friday. We’re looking bring one or two weekend writers aboard, and all of the information on how to apply, what exactly we’re looking for, etc. can be found here. Read that post in its entirety before applying, please. A few people have asked and yes, you can write your posts whenever you want and schedule them to be published at the time slots we’re looking to fill.
Do not send in a second application if you’ve already applied. We already have 60 or so of these things clogging up our inboxes, and we don’t need duplicates. If you do send in a second email, we just won’t give you the position. Harsh, but fair. Because of Thanksgiving, don’t expect to hear back from us until next week at the earliest. With any luck we’ll have this whole process wrapped up by the end of next week.
We’ll accept applications until tomorrow night’s Open Thread is posted at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Thanks in advance, and good luck.
And with that, here’s tonight’s open thread. MNF has the Broncos at the Chargers, plus the Rangers and Devil are playing as well (not each other). You guys know the drill, so have at it.
Open Thread: Help Wanted
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Do you want to write for RAB? Well here’s your big chance. We’re looking to add one or two weekend writers to our staff. Apparently Steve has this thing called a “life” that’s getting in the way of his blogging time. Doesn’t even sound like a real thing if you ask me.
Anyway, the idea is that you would contribute two posts each week, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, preferably for the 10am or 1pm ET time slot. We’re looking for someone that’ll fit right in with RAB. A casual writing style, no cursing in the posts (family blog), and most importantly some creativity. We don’t want someone that will just blockquote three paragraphs of a MSM article and add two sentences of commentary at the end. Originality is a must. To get an idea of what we’re looking for, just browse through Steve’s archive.
If you want to apply, here’s what to do…
- Email us at riveraveblues (at) gmail (dot) com and put “RAB Weekend Writer” in the subject line to help us stay organized.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself in the email. Background info, how long you’ve been a Yankee fan, how long you’ve been writing/blogging, why you think you’d be a good fit for RAB, the usual.
- Send us samples of your writing, but please no attachments. Just send us a hyperlink (several, preferably) or embed it in the text of the post.
Unfortunately this is not a paid position. The only thing we can offer is a great amount of exposure (~40,000 hits a day and growing) and of course promotion of any of your work found elsewhere. Trust us, we wish it could be more. I honestly have no idea how many people will inquire, so I can’t give you an exact time frame for when you’ll hear back from us. With Thanksgiving coming up I wouldn’t expect to hear anything next week, so the Monday after that (Nov. 29th) is probably the earliest we’ll get back in touch with people. Thanks in advance to everyone that applies, and good luck.
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Here’s tonight’s open thread. The Rangers and Knicks are both in action, but not until a little later because they’re west of the Mississippi. Talk about whatever you want, so have at it.
Open Thread: 2010 Pledge Drive reminder
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Run and make your pledges now! (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
With the season unfortunately over, we can move on to some important business. Every year for the last three we’ve run a pledge drive during the season to raise money for a charity close to the Yankee family. Two years ago we raised $1,050 for The Jorge Posada Foundation and last year we raised $1,500 for Joe Torre’s Safe At Home Foundation. It’s our one good deed for the year.
This year we selected Curtis Granderson‘s Grand Kids Foundation, which is an educational-based organization that helps purchase books and school supplies for needy families, and also provides equipment and facilities to baseball programs that help keep inner city kids off the street. You can learn much more about the foundation at it’s official website.
The idea is simple, readers pledge a certain amount for each time Grandy reached base this year, and at the end of the year we collect all the money and ship it over Grand Kids as one large donation. If you’re relatively new to the site or just missed the original post promoting the pledge drive, now’s your chance to get in on the action.
Granderson reached base 189 times this season (125 H, 61 BB, 3 HBP including playoffs), so a pledge of just $0.10 per time on base will cost you just $18.90. It’s that easy, and you’re more than welcome to pledge more or less than that. If you want in, just shoot me an email at mike (at) riveraveblues (dot) com with something like “2010 Pledge Drive” in the subject line. Makes it easier to organize on my end. I’ll get back to you with the details and go from there. It’s a piece of cake, and every little bit counts. Best of all, your pledge is tax deductible!
Once you’re done emailing me your last minute pledge, use this sucker as your open thread. The Giants are in Dallas to take on the Cowboys tonight on MNF, so that should be fun. You can talk about that or whatever you want, just don’t be a jerk.
Open Thread: Comment registration and editing
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Since the three of us started River Ave. Blues and the site and its community began to grow, we’ve tried to add various elements to the site to make it user-friendly. We started with the straight forwarding commenting form and added threaded comments for RAB’s first birthday. We’ve since branched out to Twitter and Facebook and launched RAB Tickets earlier this year.
This weekend, we soft-launched a new feature: optional commenting registration. For over three and a half years, frequent and infrequent RAB commenters have had to put in their information every time they want to comment, and we’ve depended upon the honor system to keep commenting handles in check. Now, you can register for the site and stay logged in. As a bonus, those who register now have the ability to edit their comments for three minutes after posting.
In terms of details, this is an entirely voluntary feature. You don’t have to register, but you can’t edit your comments unless you do. To register, you need a valid e-mail address. It can be an anonymous one, but you must be able to receive e-mails at this address to complete the registration process. We’re not going to use your e-mail address for any reason other than to communicate with you personally if necessary, and we won’t be harvesting or selling e-mail addresses. To register, click here. Once you’ve registered, you can sign in right here or by clicking the link above the “submit comment” button beneath the commenting box. And please register with your own unique commenting handle and not someone else’s.
For the editing process, just follow the prompts on the screen. We’d prefer that people edit their comments for egregious typos and spelling mistakes, but we realize that some people will try to change what they say. That said, three minutes is a lot shorter than you think. As we fine-tune this system, we’ll look to add more features for registered users only. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email.
Now, enough of that site administration stuff. Unfortunately, because the Padres lost, we don’t have baseball until Wednesday afternoon. We do have the Dolphins and Patriots squaring off on Monday Night Football. So feel free to use this as your open thread tonight, and I leave with you quite possibly the most amazingly terrible or terribly amazing video around:
Details for the RAB/FanGraphs Live Discussion
Posted by: | CommentsTomorrow’s the big day, the first ever FanGraphs and River Ave. Blues Live Discussion in New York City. It will be held at the Florence Gould Hall, which is at 55 E 59th Street (between Park and Madison). The event starts at 9 a.m., and you’ll want to get there early. Ben, Mike, and I (and a few others) are the opening act.
Here’s one last reminder of the details…
NY Baseball (9:00am – 9:40am)
Joe Pawlikowski, Mike Axisa, Benjamin Kabak (All RiverAveBlues.com), Matthew Cerrone (MetsBlog.com), and Mark Simon (ESPN) will be discussing all things baseball in NY. Moderated by Carson Cistulli.
Baseball Media (9:45am – 10:30am)
Jonah Keri (Bloomberg Sports) will host a panel comprised of Will Leitch (Deadspin, New York Magazine), Michael Silverman (Boston Herald), Matthew Cerrone(MetsBlog.com), Alex Speier (WEEI.com), and David Biderman (WSJ) to discuss how baseball media coverage has changed in recent years and will continue to evolve.
Baseball Stats (10:40am – 11:15am)
Jon Sciambi (ESPN), Mitchel Lichtman, Sky Kalkman (Beyond the Boxscore), Dave Cameron, and David Appelman will discuss where advanced baseball stats are right now and where they’ll be headed. Moderated by Carson Cistulli.
Bloomberg Sports Presentation (11:20 – 11:35)
Bloomberg Sports will make a presentation of a brand new product.
FanGraphs Q&A (11:40 – End)
Dave Cameron, Carson Cistulli, Bryan Smith, Joe Pawlikowski, Mike Axisa, and David Appelman will take questions until we’re officially kicked out (a little after 12:00).
Afterparty (3:30pm – Game Over)
Additionally, we’re going to host a game-watching party for attendees to gather at a local watering hole and view that afternoon’s Boston-New York match-up together. Those who make it to the event will be invited to join us for several more hours of fun later in the afternoon. Details and directions will be given at the event.
You can get your tickets for $15 plus $1.36 surcharge in advance, or risk a sellout and pay $20, cash only, at the door.
We hope to see plenty of RABbers there.
Details for the RAB/FanGraphs Live Discussion this Saturday
Posted by: | CommentsWe’re just a few days away from the first ever FanGraphs and River Ave. Blues Live Discussion in New York City. It will be held at the Florence Gould Hall, which is at 55 E 59th Street (between Park and Madison). The event starts at 9 a.m., and you’ll want to get there early. Ben, Mike, and I (and a few others) are the opening act.
NY Baseball (9:00am – 9:40am)
Joe Pawlikowski, Mike Axisa, Benjamin Kabak (All RiverAveBlues.com), Matthew Cerrone (MetsBlog.com), and Mark Simon (ESPN) will be discussing all things baseball in NY. Moderated by Carson Cistulli.
Baseball Media (9:45am – 10:30am)
Jonah Keri (Bloomberg Sports) will host a panel comprised of Will Leitch (Deadspin, New York Magazine), Michael Silverman (Boston Herald), Matthew Cerrone(MetsBlog.com), Alex Speier (WEEI.com), and David Biderman (WSJ) to discuss how baseball media coverage has changed in recent years and will continue to evolve.
Baseball Stats (10:40am – 11:15am)
Jon Sciambi (ESPN), Mitchel Lichtman, Sky Kalkman (Beyond the Boxscore), Dave Cameron, and David Appelman will discuss where advanced baseball stats are right now and where they’ll be headed. Moderated by Carson Cistulli.
Bloomberg Sports Presentation (11:20 – 11:35)
Bloomberg Sports will make a presentation of a brand new product.
FanGraphs Q&A (11:40 – End)
Dave Cameron, Carson Cistulli, Bryan Smith, Joe Pawlikowski, Mike Axisa, and David Appelman will take questions until we’re officially kicked out (a little after 12:00).
Afterparty (3:30pm – Game Over)
Additionally, we’re going to host a game-watching party for attendees to gather at a local watering hole and view that afternoon’s Boston-New York match-up together. Those who make it to the event will be invited to join us for several more hours of fun later in the afternoon. Details and directions will be given at the event.
You can get your tickets for $15 plus $1.36 surcharge in advance, or risk a sellout and pay $20, cash only, at the door.
We hope to see plenty of RABbers there.
Reminder: RAB and FanGraphs Live Discussion in NYC on August 7
Posted by: | CommentsMark your calendars for August 7. That’s the day that FanGraphs invades New York City to bring you the first, but hopefully not last, FanGraphs Live Discussion. It’s going to be an eventful morning of baseball talk that will feature a number of top baseball minds discussing and analyzing the game. Best of all, RAB will be a big part of it.
Ben, Mike, and I will lead the New York baseball discussion, one of the many panels at the event. We talk baseball with you guys every day, but this format will allow for a more intimate, more guided discussion. We’ll be led by FanGraphs’s Carson Cistulli, who hosts and produces FanGraphs Audio. Check that link for an example of Carson’s inimitable discussion-guiding skills. They are, as I’m sure he’d say himself, white hot.
(Also, check back at that link soon; I’ll be on the pod in its next appearance.)
In addition to that we’ll have a riveting discussion of baseball media that will feature former Deadspin editor and current New York magazine contributor Will Leitch, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, Alex Speier of WEEI, and Wall Street Journal contributor David Biderman. Best of all, RAB fave Jonah Keri will moderate the discussion.
There will, of course, be plenty of nerd stat speak going on, featuring Mitchel Litchtman, better known as MGL, from The Book blog. And then there are all the FanGraphs notable, including founder David Appelman, Dave Cameron, and Bryan Smith.
You can catch the event at The Florence Gould Hall, which is up on 59th Street between Madison and Park, which is close to 4, 5, 6, N, R, and Q subway stops. You can buy your tickets here for $15, plus $1.37 processing fee.
If you miss this you’d better be dead or in jail. And if you’re in jail, break out!
Join us for the FanGraphs Live Discussion
Posted by: | CommentsOn Saturday, August 7th, FanGraphs and River Avenue Blues are hosting their first ever Live Discussion. The event will consist of three hours of conversation about baseball, analysis of the sport, and how the game is covered. Hosting the event will be David Appelman and Dave Cameron of FanGraphs along with Joe Pawlikowski, Benjamin Kabak, and Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues. Notable guests include former Deadspin editor and author Will Leitch, baseball consultant and analyst Mitchel Lichtman, Wall Street Journal contributor David Biderman, self-proclaimed egomaniac Jonah Keri as well as other writers from FanGraphs and around the web. This is your chance to talk baseball with analysts and fellow fans of the game.
A ticket to the event will cost $15 (plus $1.36 surcharge), and can be purchased here. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, New York, New York.
Join us for a morning of baseball conversation that will entertain and enlighten.
Ticket prices coming down for tonight’s game
Posted by: | CommentsTonight promises to be a special occasion at Yankee Stadium. Before the second half opens against the Tampa Bay Rays the Yankees will pay tribute to George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard. YES will carry the pre-game ceremonies, but I figure that many of you will want to go to the game. If you already have tickets the Yankees suggest you be in your seats by 6:45. If you don’t have tickets, well, you might be in luck. After an initial spike in prices following George Steinbrenner’s death Tuesday morning, ticket prices have fallen a bit.
As long as you’re not angling for field-level, you should find some decent ticket prices. (Though I guess that depends on what you consider decent prices.) Check out RAB Tickets and see if anything strikes your fancy. I’d also recommend checking back around 3:00 to see if any prices have dropped at that point.
How New Yorkers and Bostonians spend the Fourth
Posted by: | CommentsLater this afternoon I’ll make the death trip. After the game ends I’ll take my packed bag and head to, gulp, Penn Station, where I’ll grab a train out to Jersey for weekend festivities at various relatives’ houses. It’s the way I spend most Fourth weekends. Horseshoe tournament in South Jersey, poolside BBQ in North Jersey. The only downside is that so many other people are escaping the city that it makes for a madhouse at Penn and Port Authority.
That’s what New Yorkers do, though. On holiday weekends we escape the heated confines of the city and traipse the suburbs for the weekend. Then, of course, we return to the city and thank our lucky stars that we don’t actually live there. Suburbanites should not be offended — it’s just the mentality of living in the city.
While this means a frenzy at the public transit stations, it means fewer people clamoring for Yankees tickets. As you can see in the graphic below, tickets for the game on the Fourth are actually a bit lower than they are for the rest of the season. In Boston, however, it’s a different story.
Yes, in Boston the game is the attraction. I guess people don’t flee to other parts of Massachusetts during the weekend. No, they’re demanding Sox tickets even more. I’m sure this has something to do with Fenway being perpetually sold out, but it also probably relates to Bostonians not fleeing the city like New Yorkers.
If you’re looking for tickets for this weekend, make sure to check out RAB Tickets.
Also, we’re running a contest in conjunction with TiqIQ. You’re going to have to get creative to win this one, because it’s a pretty simple question. The more elaborate story, the better chance you’ll have.
Where are you going to watch the game on the Fourth?
Answer in the comments. Most creative/elaborate/hilarious will win a $100 eBay gift certificate.
Just 6 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
