Knuckle Curve » ducksnorts

Chatting with Krasovic

Geoff Young — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:36:43 +0000

Over at Ducksnorts, I’ve interviewed Tom Krasovic, who covers the Padres for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Some of it is Padres specific, but we touch on other items as well, including blogging as a medium for reporting sports:

Some newspaper writers use a blog as a launching point for their opinions on a wide variety of topics, including the team they cover. We’ll mostly stick to the Padres and baseball, and keep most of the commentary as fact-driven as possible. The other thing we’re figuring out is, how often should we blog? Blogging takes away from our reporting. It’s possible to serve both masters, but that’s an evolving process for us.

From where I sit (not my mother’s basement in Albuquerque, for those who might be wondering), the marriage of traditional reporting and blogging is a win-win proposition. Once you get past the labels, we’re all trying to achieve the same goals, right?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

All Leagues Are Not Created Equal

Geoff Young — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:36:27 +0000

Saber-Scouting, a relatively new blog I discovered via Hardball Times, uses AB/BB to examine the level of play in various professional leagues. I find this line of inquiry fascinating (I’ve done something similar with defense in the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual), and I look forward to reading more from the folks at Saber-Scouting in the future. Swing by and say hey…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

So, You Want to Write a Baseball Book?

Geoff Young — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:19:49 +0000

The good folks at BallHype invited me to write about the process involved in writing the Ducksnorts Baseball Annual, so that’s what I did. From the article:

The big lesson is to start sooner. You really can’t get started on a project like this soon enough. Have a plan. Be flexible within that plan, but have a plan. Talk to people about the project. I’m not the most outgoing person, so this is a struggle for me, but getting the word out is huge. Contact your fellow bloggers, contact the local media, tell people you meet on the street. Well, not just anyone — but if they start talking about baseball, I try to sneak in a quick mention.

I also walk folks through the steps I took to make these books happen. Everyone’s experience is different, of course, but I can only speak to what worked for me.

Anyway, if you have some interest in writing a baseball book or just want to learn more about one person’s journey, be sure to check out the entire article. Oh yeah, and buy the book.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual Now Available

Geoff Young — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:50:53 +0000

Is it the height of conceit to display a photograph of oneself reading one’s own book in an attempt to lure people into buying said book? Quite possibly it is. Regardless, I’m pleased to announce that the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual is now available. You can buy it as a hard copy or a PDF download, depending on your taste.

The book is subtitled “More than any sane person should ever need to know about the San Diego Padres,” and I think that pretty well covers it. You’ll find 200+ pages of analysis and commentary on the 2007 Padres season, the farm system, Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Hall of Fame, GM Kevin Towers’ trading record, and more — including a foreword by Matt Vasgersian, TV play-by-play announcer for the Padres.

Still not sure? Try the free PDF download of excerpts. If you like it, then go for the whole shebang.

Enjoy, and spread the word!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Padres Preview at The Pitch

Geoff Young — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:58:44 +0000

Brandon Rosage was good enough to have me on his radio show, The Pitch. We chatted about what to expect from the Padres and the National League this season, as well as my upcoming book, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual, which is due out at the end of February.

Happy listening!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Surprising Power

Geoff Young — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:34:53 +0000

My debut article at Baseball Digest Daily has been published: “Home Runs and the Power of Perception.” It’s basically a synthesis and extension of some work I’ve been doing at Ducksnorts over the past season, but if you haven’t been following along, the findings may surprise you. Enjoy!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Another Day, Another Radio Show

Geoff Young — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:54:39 +0000

Because I’m lazy, I’ll just copy and paste the promo piece:

Listen to WMAR Marist Radio on Wednesday, January 17, 2007, from 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT to 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. We will be joined by Geoff Young and Jeff Sackmann to talk baseball. Both Young and Sackmann write at The Hardball Times. Jeff Sackmann will join us at about 8:20 p.m. ET/5:20 p.m. PT to talk about his blog, BrewCrewBall.com, and talk to us about the Brewers and what his thoughts are on the hot stove league thus far. Geoff Young from Ducksnorts and KnuckleCurve.com will join us at about 8:40 p.m. ET/5:40 p.m. PT to talk about his book project, his team the San Diego Padres and his breakdown of the NL West. We will also get some fantasy insight from them as we ask for the top 5 players on each team and some early predictions on how their divisions will shake out.

At 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT we will be joined by Kenpom.com’s Ken Pomeroy, ESPN Insider and College Basketball expert, to break down the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

You can listen at the following links [Ed. note: -- I believe these will open in iTunes]:

low-bitrate connection

high-bitrate connection

If you can’t catch us live, subscribe to our podcast. You can also catch our past two podcasts through the subscription.

Podcast main page

Podcast XML (put in iTunes and it works): itpc://www.garageband.com/artist/wmarshow/podcast/newsletter.xml

Also we will be taking IMs during the interviews if anyone has to add anything, IM our AIM screen name is “MaristRadioAM”.

You have been warned.

Post from: Knuckle Curve