Ten years ago today, I wrote my first blog post. In blog years, that's a long time. That's almost comparable to, like, 11 years doing something else. And in those 10 years, I've learned a lot about the blogging game. I've learned how to keep it real, how to squash blog beefs, all kinds of stuff. But there are bigger lessons that I've learned, and I'd like to share them with you now.
All of these lessons come from my very first year of blogging. The year was 2003. The site was Waiting for Boof. The lessons I've learned since then are many. To wit:
I'm stupid when it comes to analyzing trades
The Giants do have holes, however, and this kind of depth is useful for trades. With management crying poor, this isn't going to happen either. Bartolo Colon and Kevin Millwood were both moved for packages I wouldn't trade Yorvit Torrealba for.
Let's break that down into its most important morsel. I implied that I wouldn't have traded Yorvit Torrealba for Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips. What's stupider than making the stupidest trade of the last 20 years? Refusing to make an even stupider trade for a backup catcher.
I didn't even remember this existed. It stands as the stupidest thing I've ever written, no hyperbole. Except for the time I mentioned liking a potential Delmon Young for Madison Bumgarner trade, but I've deleted that post since then.
I'm stupid when it comes to analyzing young pitchers
Joe Nathan: Uninspired Bullpen Candidate. I wouldn't put Nathan on the team if it were a competition between him and Jeff Juden. Nathan is the owner of a 5.46 ERA in 556 innings above A-ball. I don't care if he's touching 92 again, he needs to have, at the very least, one decent season in the high minors before he is considered for a bullpen job in the majors. If he came up today, he'd be slotted right behind Greg Bruso on the organizational depth charts.
Well, Nathan probably isn't going to get that many Hall of Fame votes, and he might even fall off the ballot his first year, so who's laughing now?
I'm stupid when it comes to analyzing players on other teams
Who: Jose Guillen
How: Free Agent
Why: He's always had the latent talent according to scouts, and he's a very athletic player coming off a breakout year.
Why not: It's sensible to be suspicious of the one-year wonders. Also, Guillen's strenght is hitting left-handed pitching, which is not a weakness of the Giants.
What is wrong with you, ten-years-ago Grant? And, yeah, Guillen was filled with strenghts. That was probably part of the problem. Strenghts are like Thetans, but for baseball players. Out, damned strenghts! Out, I say!
I'm stupid when it comes to analyzing the future
The 2004 lineup could be:
Durham, 2B
Aurilia, SS
Bonds, LF
Alfonzo, 3B
Cruz, CF
Linden, RF
Torcato/Niekro, 1B
Torrealba, C… A lot would have to fall into place, but that could be a juggernaut.
Juggernaut. Oh, yes, a juggernaut. EVERYBODY OUT OF THE DAMNED WAY, JUGGERNAUT COMING THROUGH. Edgardo Alfonzo hitting cleanup, Jose Cruz, Jr. hitting fifth, all settin' the table for Todd Linden and that devastating Torcato/Niekro platoon. Just think of all the run support they'll give Foppert, Ainsworth, and Williams!
I'm a liar
In the event that Boof Bonser is called up or traded, I promise my site's name will be changed to "Waiting for Merkin". Thank you.
I needed friends
I actually went through and made notes on the six-year free agents that offseason. The most successful major-league career out of any of them belonged to Travis Driskill, who had a 5.23 ERA in 57 games. Researching those guys was a much better use of my time than, say, graduating college.
I'm ugly, too.
Technically, that's not from my first year of blogging, but it gets the point across just fine.
Conclusion: I'm stupid, wrong, ugly, and unfunny. Oh, man, some of the forced jokes in the early days were so damned awful. Whereas now, they're simply bad. The progression has been fun for you to watch, I'm sure.
But I'm still here, suckers! And the worst part? You are reading this right now. So if I've done something wrong, what are you doing with your life?
(Seriously, though, thanks for reading! It's been 10 years, huh? Welp. So it has. That's a lot of worrying about silly and pointless roster moves, but those moves all ended up with a World Series or two on the other side of the tunnel. Thanks, Giants! And thank you again -- sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart -- for reading.)