Okay, thanks to all you readers out there, Caveball appears to be alive and well. We know you’re out there, thanks to the scary tool known as Google Analytics.
According to GA, we just surpassed the 2000-user mark – on April Fool’s Day, no less. (Wait a minute, should I be worried? Is GA smart enough to know about the April Fools’ gig?)
As I understand it, it’s an impressive readership given our launch date was January 21. Despite the carpal tunnel claws I’ve developed, hard work really does pay off. Huh, who woulda thunk?
We made a decision before the launch not to charge for anything on the site, including our revolutionary cheat sheet, Chartfelt Tiers. Many competitors, with inferior products, do charge.
The one thing we’d like you to donate is your email address. I mean, how else are you going to get our styling newsletter once a week? How else are you going to seek our well-researched advice as trades are proposed to you? How else are you going to dispute and debate our claims? How else are you going to ask about potential adds from the waiver wire?
So, if you like what you’ve been reading, take the 26 seconds to sign up (42 if you’re a careful one-finger typist). Becoming a Caveballer does not mean you have to perform bizarre sexual acts in a cave. It just means you’ll be reminded of all that Caveball has to offer.
And, we’ve just begun.
Starting on Opening Day, April 6, we will recount all that is Fantasy-relevant with our daily post in “The Pulse”. (Daily Fantasy players will get plenty of fodder here.)
Then, at the end of each week we will run down who’s hot and who’s not in our “Penthouse and Doghouse” articles to set you up for the coming week.
Each weekend we’ll do our best to supply you with a well-informed list of two-start pitchers.
And, we’ll advise you on potential waiver wire adds in “The Guesthouse”.
BTW, for all you skeptics out there, who have wondered exactly who are the “we” to whom I keep referring’. They are not my imaginary friends. Although they probably do exist – in my head, I mean. I know they don’t really exist. Okay?
As Friday’s post, Tantric Drafting, from our faraway contributor, Lenny Mac, confirms, WE are a team here at Caveball. Of course, we have our shy back-end geekette, who prefers anonymity, as well.
Lenny is hardly what you would call a “beat reporter”. He’s 12 time zones away (from EDT), on the other side of the planet. So, as I belatedly introduce him, he’s probably fast asleep – unless he’s in the middle of his restless “8 Crazy Nights”. Pretty cool innovation for drafting, if you ask me.
We all must adapt to the changing times.
Which brings me to my next point:
As I was researching Mariner’s closer, Fernando Rodney, for our final Showdown, I came across a lot of crap about the way he wears his cap.
First off, it’s not some kind of political stance, or even worse, a slight on the game itself. Rodney has his reasons:
“That sometimes confuses the hitter, too, when it’s turned,” he said. “The hitter looks for your eyes. It’s like a dog. When you go somewhere, the first thing (a dog) looks at is your eyes and how you move… They think I’m not looking at them. They can’t see my face, sometimes.”
And as you watch the northpaw pitch, the bill of his cap actually faces home plate when he’s looking in for the signs. So, his eyes are actually more hidden. It makes sense.
I vividly recall watching one game last year after Rodney came on to close. A color commentator I was half-listening to was blabbing on about how the sideways cap is disrespectful to the game.
Bullcrap.
C’mon. Look at us. We’ve tightened up so much as a society.
Apparently, when Rodney pitched for the Tigers, Jim Leyland even got him to straighten it out.
Bullcrap.
Thankfully, it didn’t last long.
Imagine if Steinbrenner was still around – what he would have to say about it? He didn’t even tolerate Mattingly’s mullet. And who knows, maybe that’s what spawned the “Age of Mullets”. Seriously, I think I’m onto something here. We were all just rebelling against the Evil Empire. I now blame Steinbrenner for the Mullet era.
I ask you, as well: didn’t you prefer the the long-bearded Johnny Damon with the Red Sox over the clean-cut Yankee version? It was memorable. It gave him character.
In this age of intolerance don’t we have a lot more to worry about other than the way someone styles himself?
The cap is Rodney’s signature. Let him be. He’s not rebelling or angry. In fact, he’s actually a polite soft-spoken dude.
Good Motherloving Grief.
Let’s pick our battles, people.
Better yet…
Let’s Play Ball!
