The Futility Infielder

It's come to my attention that one of my favorite blogs is back in the batter's box. Pete Sommers' Baseball News Blog went into hibernation at the end of the World Series, but it's now up and running again, with Pete's concise excerpts of news and blogs from around the game, and a great collection of links. That site has done a hell of a lot to put this weblog in front of readers, so I'm elated to see it return. Welcome back, Pete!

BNB has called my attention to some team-specific blogs you should check out:

• Edward Cossette's Bambino's Curse has been around for awhile, though not quite as long as the Curse itself. It offers a fresh and often funny perspective on the Red Sox. Edward's got some insight into the Bosox fans' reception of Pedro Martinez, their collapsable bullpen, and why obnoxious fans can't resist booing or even running onto the field:

Some people are not satisfied watching the game on the field — They want to be part of the action. By booing they attempt to be somebody, to insert themselves into the game any way possible, even if their actions are shameful (booing) or downright heinous (running onto the field to attack an umpire).

It's not just baseball, though, our whole culture is currently obsessed with being in the spotlight. How else does one explain the popularity of reality TV?

And before I get into the realm of the proverbial kettle calling the pot black, I'm not immune from such emotions myself. Wanting to be part of the game on a level higher than mere passive spectator helps explain in part why I post to this weblog every day.

The line, then, between acting like an ass and booing Pedro after one bad outing and writing a baseball blog is a blurry one.

• U.S.S. Mariner is an M's related blog by Baseball Prospectus' Derek Zumsteg and a couple of guys from the excellent, if often overlooked, Strike Three website. Right now the guys are keeping an eye on the M's top prospects, sweating some of new manager Bob Melvin's moves and figuring out new ways of knocking a few back while watching the M's.

• The Eddie Kranepool Society is a Mets-themed blog, named after the man who saw the lowest of lows and the highest of highs from the Polo Grounds to Flushing Meadows.

• Fish or Cut Bait is, as you'd expect, a blog devoted to those woefully mismanaged Florida Marlins and "their lives, their loves, their incredibly dumb dumbness." Writer Erik has a running tally of the Fish's statistical gains from their aggressive base-stealing and looks to spend a lot of time bemoaning manager Jeff Torborg's torture of his young starters.

• I'm not so hot about that lavendar (lavendar???) color scheme, but Jon Weisman's Dodger Thoughts looks like a promising way to follow the boys in white, red and blue. Like the rest of us in the free world, Jon's got issues about Ron Coomer. Jon goes to A LOT of games and likes to point out that he's a positive influence on the team: their winning percentage over the past 12 seasons is 14 points higher with him at Chavez Ravine (.559) than not (.545). Maybe I ought to chip in for a few tix...