Baggs joins Comcast, leaves Merc

We received a letter from Baggs

“Citizens of McCovey Chronicles,

The McCoven has earned a rest from crime. But should the forces of evil rise again to cast a shadow on the heart of the city, call me."

by GameSix on Feb 7, 2012 2:21 PM PST reply actions

I hope he’s had his Ray Ratto shots.

"What makes you think you're Jesus Christ?"
"Well, when I pray I seem to be talking to myself"

by Jigglefish on Feb 7, 2012 3:53 PM PST reply actions

How fucking depressing.

Another sign of the fall of the Merc. It used to be among the best rags in the country, now it’s losing its stars to Kabletown. With a K.

My son is Madison Bumgarner, the Bipolar Stuffed Sheep of pitching prospects. My other son is a Porsche.

by multiphasic on Feb 7, 2012 9:09 PM PST reply actions

You know, I’m pretty open to the death of printed journalism. The resources necessary to print and distribute a newspaper of any import are pretty significant, and anything our world can do to cut down on total resource consumption is probably worth doing.

It’s a digital age, baby. Learn to love it.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. - SLC

by mhad on Feb 8, 2012 10:13 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Not to mention that given how quickly news spreads via the interwebs, printed journalism is obselete.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. - SLC

by mhad on Feb 8, 2012 10:13 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Not the point

The threat isn’t the loss of print. The threat is the loss of significant enough income to fund an organization that can provide quality worldwide reasonably unbiased coverage. Banner ads ain’t gonna do it, though the NYT is doing the best they possibly can.

"Your curses do not compare to those of Houston fans or Detroit fans, and especially not to those of fans from the northside of Chicago. You are not Hamlet. You are Valerie Bertinelli. Your victim act is schlocky, and totally unconvincing. You fancy yourself tormented. You are merely insecure."
-- Scott Burton to Red Sox fans, 6/12/02
http://espn.go.com/magazine/burton_20020612.html

by achiappanza on Feb 8, 2012 10:24 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs

David Simon on the topic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llnbzq7b4Ww

by AztecsKillingHim on Feb 9, 2012 7:12 AM PST up reply actions

Great link

Yes… exactly my point on the new media. He does a great job skewering the old as well. Thanks for the link.

"Your curses do not compare to those of Houston fans or Detroit fans, and especially not to those of fans from the northside of Chicago. You are not Hamlet. You are Valerie Bertinelli. Your victim act is schlocky, and totally unconvincing. You fancy yourself tormented. You are merely insecure."
-- Scott Burton to Red Sox fans, 6/12/02
http://espn.go.com/magazine/burton_20020612.html

by achiappanza on Feb 11, 2012 3:31 PM PST up reply actions

reasonably unbiased coverage

There’s a big key. Newspapers stopped being reasonably unbiased many decades ago. It would be better for them in a business sense if each paper just came clean with their obviouis biases and went after their target audience. Printed newspaoers as we know them will be dead in a decade. What we’ll end up with is tabloid-style dailies in the major metro areas and free weekly papers. That being said, sports reporting will keep going strong in hardprint, on the internet and on TV. Non-cable network hard news shows will also disappear in the not too distant future.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Feb 9, 2012 7:17 PM PST up reply actions

Newspapers stopped being reasonably unbiased many decades ago.

I’d say they stopped being unbiased the day they decided to hire humans instead of robots to write for them.

Winter. Time to eat fat and watch hockey. -- Margaret Atwood

by Timorous Me on Feb 10, 2012 3:36 PM PST up reply actions

Many decades ago, newspapers were wholly funded by polical parties, unions, and similar activist organizations.

A lot of them would acknowledge it right in their name.

VAE PVTO DEVS FIO

by Bhaakon on Feb 10, 2012 9:12 PM PST up reply actions

Not everyone uses the internet or has a smart phone. What about them? It would be tough for my elderly mother to learn how to use a computer now just so she could read the news.

Still the father of two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.
"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." - John Wooden

by SFGuy on Feb 9, 2012 2:01 AM PST up reply actions

Yeah...

But at some point it’s no longer financially viable to print newspapers for the few people who want them. That time is fast approaching, and print media would do well to figure out how they’re going to handle digital distribution and profit-making because pretty soon they’ll be forced to operate that way.

Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)

by quincy0191 on Feb 9, 2012 12:07 PM PST up reply actions

Also, maybe your situation is different, but a lot of the people who tell me how hard it is to learn how to use a computer are just lying. They haven’t really tried, either because they’re intimidated or don’t want to. Not saying your mom should just suck it up, but in general computers are easy enough to use that basic things like surfing the Web and email are no more difficult than any menial daily task.

Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)

by quincy0191 on Feb 9, 2012 12:09 PM PST up reply actions

Some things we take for granted, like double clicking, or navigating to the program we want, can be tricky for protonoobs.

Bye Travis and thanks for 2010! Good luck with the Brewers!

by kennv on Feb 9, 2012 12:46 PM PST up reply actions

Everything has a learning curve. Double-clicking is not quantum mechanics. Learning how to use a computer is incredibly easy – I did it entirely on my own, at 10 or so, on machines that were much more difficult to use than modern ones.

I’m not saying everyone has to know how to edit registry files. But the basic mechanics of operating a computer just are not difficult anymore; people who say they “can’t” learn are most likely lying because they’re not trying.

Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)

by quincy0191 on Feb 9, 2012 1:51 PM PST up reply actions

I am always skeptical about ‘on my own’.

2010 World Series Champions!
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller

by Johnny Disaster on Feb 9, 2012 2:36 PM PST up reply actions

Well, I was 11 when I got my own computer

And within a couple years I was more computer literate than either of my parents. I never took any computer classes (until a couple programming courses in high school/college). Before that I didn’t do too much, but yeah, I’d say nearly everything I know about computers I learned myself. I guess I’m counting the occasional tip from friends or internet message board within that.

Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)

by quincy0191 on Feb 10, 2012 12:13 AM PST up reply actions

I’m always skeptical when I hear that an 11 year old ‘got their own’ anything.

2010 World Series Champions!
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller

by Johnny Disaster on Feb 10, 2012 8:15 AM PST up reply actions

I’m always skeptical when I hear someone say they are skeptical.

by kaliber on Feb 10, 2012 11:38 AM PST up reply actions

True

And I’m not much of an Apple fanboy, but there are 14-month-olds using iPads (or whatever ridiculous age those kids are).

I have Croix de Candlesticks older than you.
Golden Gate Beer Bars | Tweetybox

by troymccluresf on Feb 9, 2012 3:19 PM PST up reply actions

My mother is in her 80s. She wouldn’t be able to learn how to use computer now.

Still the father of two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.
"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." - John Wooden

by SFGuy on Feb 9, 2012 7:37 PM PST up reply actions

Right

There are plenty of situations where it’s not viable. I’m just a little sensitive because my mother (who is nowhere near 80) just flat-out refuses to learn how to use a computer. To the point where every time something goes wrong – by which I mean “doesn’t happen exactly how she expected” – means I immediately get to deal with it with no attempt on her part to solve the problem.

My point is, anyone under 60 (and many people over 60) should be able to figure out how to operate a computer on a basic level, and any problems they encounter should be easily fixed with Google – all the steps to find the solution are laid out, and it’s not like most tech geeks have the answers already, they (we) usually just Google it too.

Seth Rosin can hit the side of a barn with a baseball. From space.
Giants baseball: We're stupid enough to WIN that (TM)

by quincy0191 on Feb 10, 2012 12:16 AM PST up reply actions

More Baggs, in more media

Nice. I always felt like Baggs had to constantly throw in “please read the main article” references into his blogs and tweets, etc. Hopefully being part of a more broad based media platform will give us more Baggs, more often.

Also, I’d like to see Baggs do a duet with Ashkon. Comcast, please make this happen. :)

Yes! I DO have Nate's number tattoed on my ass. It's a long story.
http://www.leftymalo.com/2011/08/the_number_twelve.php

by jeremy.lassen on Feb 7, 2012 9:35 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

I hope he keeps his blog

I also hope his new employers don’t dampen his willingness to tell it like it is, but I fear he will tone done his criticisms.

by nofreetime on Feb 7, 2012 10:41 PM PST reply actions

I’m in this line.

by GameSix on Feb 8, 2012 12:57 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

me too

that’s really the only thing I care about in this situation

by BrewsterApollo on Feb 8, 2012 5:09 PM PST up reply actions

Nice for him, great for CSN. When you can go from Urban to Baggarly, you jump at the chance.

by kaliber on Feb 7, 2012 11:22 PM PST reply actions

I feel like it would have been classier for him to have done that in the reverse order.

2010 World Series Champions!
Adopted 'nephew' to the ever avuncular and always awesome Jon Miller

by Johnny Disaster on Feb 8, 2012 5:41 PM PST reply actions

I agree with this comment

The San Francisco Giants: 2010 World Series Champions
I'M A GIRL

by Prussian Creole on Feb 12, 2012 8:14 PM PST up reply actions

i don't love it

I feel like Maiocco was a better blogger and had more interesting content when he was with the press democrat than he does now with CSN. I love Baggs’ blog and I fear it wont’ be the same.

If you don't like Brandon Medders you're not a true fan.

by wjackalope on Feb 9, 2012 8:21 AM PST reply actions