Cool.

And the great thing about a site like this are the odds he'll respond "You're welcome".

:)

Repoz was too modest to quote the portion of the post where I give props to him and Dimino for finding my stuff five years ago in the first place. Which, if they hadn't, wouldn't have been read by anyone outside of my immediate family, and even that's iffy.

That aside, I am highly embarassed that my navel gazing is being linked, but I long ago learned not to question Repoz's, um, unique judgment.

As much as ESPN serves as a mouthpiece for baseball orthodoxy, it's thanks to their hiring of Neyer that a lot of us entered the Age of Enlightenment.

As much as ESPN serves as a mouthpiece for baseball orthodoxy, it's thanks to their hiring of Neyer that a lot of us entered the Age of Enlightenment.

I second that, and Craig too. Thanks, Rob.

the portion of the post where I give props to him

And I would not be here...freely dropping ellipses, religious links and that Hermione Gingold/Imogene Coca sex tape...if not for the gentle prodding of Calcaterra.

that Hermione Gingold/Imogene Coca sex tape

link?

As much as ESPN serves as a mouthpiece for baseball orthodoxy, it's thanks to their hiring of Neyer that a lot of us entered the Age of Enlightenment.

Definitely. I think I've said this before, but Neyer was definitely the gateway drug to places like Primer and Bpro for me back in the day (2000, 2001) or so. And I'll always gotten the feel that he's a good guy.

You look at how ESPN is now and you wonder how they had the guts to hire a guy like Neyer with different ideas.

My understanding is that Neyer's company (Sportzone? Starwave?) was bought by ESPN and he came with it.

Interesting origins story, Craig. I was a Bill James fan in HS, but it was this place that turned me on to Neyer; although I'd read some of his stuff in the Bill James Baseball Books already.

And I'll always gotten the feel that he's a good guy.

Without question. That, and he's got the coolest old dog you'll ever meet. There really is no one like him.

It's true that Neyer was technically a Starwave employee, but he was always an ESPN columnist, even before Disney bought them. Starwave is a software development company that designed the original ESPN.com site. I don't know why they rather than ESPN employed the web columnists, but I don't think it's accurate to say Neyer wrote for Starwave; they were just a content provider for ESPN.

Could be, HSF. That was before my time in cyberbaseballland.

Okay, according to this New York Times storyESPNet SPortzone was a joint venture. But there are Primates who were associated with them who could set me straight.

IIRC (I was not associated with them, you want penguinmobile for that):

In the early days of the WWW, Starwave started out producing and designing SatchelSports (2/1995 link) and set the template for the modern sports site (news headlines / scores / holes for columnists / sport selection links).

When Disney/ESPN decided to try out the Web thingie, then went in with the joint venture where Starwave would produce the majority of the content and ESPN would slap their brand on it. That explains why they didn't go with "ESPN.com" right away.... in case it flopped. And Disney had the option to buy Starwave and take it all inhouse .... in case it took off.

When Neyer showed up there in 1996, I was already familiar with him from the Bill James Baseball Books, so I knew he'd be good. Craig C. is a compelling writer in his own right, so it's great for him to be getting the love.

Dear Rob,

Yeah, well, y'know ... sure, I mean we can just be friends ... that's cool ... I really wasn't looking for more than that anyway ... no really ... and ... umm ... but, geez, Craig? Really? Do you know, like, what he did to Cindy ... and ... and ... and ...

Oh #### ... I love you Rob!! Please, give me another chance.

yours forever,
BTF

Definitely. I think I've said this before, but Neyer was definitely the gateway drug to places like Primer and Bpro for me back in the day (2000, 2001) or so. And I'll always gotten the feel that he's a good guy.

I wonder how productive I would now be had I never read the column of that flannel-wearing fellow.

You look at how ESPN is now and you wonder how they had the guts to hire a guy like Neyer with different ideas.

You know, back in the day, I got the feeling that ESPN was more anti-establishment. I think JoPo or maybe someone here wrote about that once. ESPN was a niche station, cracking absurdist jokes with guys like Craig Kilborn, Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, and not taking themselves too seriously. It was near the end of this era that they hired Rob Neyer.

Then they got bought by "the family of networks", sold out to corporate advertisers, treated Sportscenter as an audition for a late night talk show, and brought on every columnist in the country who could yell at a certain decibel level. And its not like ESPN won't hire people with different ideas. Its that they hire people with different ideas, who have no evidence to back up their ideas, but are only espousing those ideas because they are different. Look at how manufactured each "debate" is.

There's no way they'd hire Rob now.

Its that they hire people with different ideas, who have no evidence to back up their ideas, but are only espousing those ideas because they are different.

Yup. I had SC on a few days ago and Skip Bayless was on with another guy talking about the Heisman. He says "Todd Boeckman should win the Heisman, tell me why I'm wrong". I was hoping the other guy would say "because you're Skip Bayless".

Craig? Really? Do you know, like, what he did to Cindy ... and ... and ... and ...

I must have blacked out that night. Tell me: is Cindy hot? It doesn't matter, but I just hope she was hot.

There's no way they'd hire Rob now.

They have hired John Hollinger, Kyle Whelliston, KC Joyner, and David Thorpe in the last couple of years.

There's no way they'd hire Rob now.

They have hired John Hollinger ... etc.

I was going to say the same thing. ESPN the network may not have the guys to put a Neyer on tv. But they never did. The website is just as cutting-edge as it ever was. John Hollinger, before he got hired by ESPN, had a lonely webpage, and now he's their go-to basketball writer and the sport's most famous stathead. They've added TrueHoop. They have Simmons, who, although he's inspired a cottage industry of similar writers, is anti-establishment in the sense that he is the complete opposite of the Skip Baylesses of the world. Keith Law. Jonah Keri, and collaborations with BP. Gregg Easterbrook. They've also kept Page 2 going strong after what seemed like a very shaky start. Weird little features like Uniform Watch have found homes there.

So I think the first quote is about as wrong as possible. The breadth and diversity of voices on the website is almost cacaphonous.