ESPN.com Launches the SweetSpot Blog Network: Team Blogs Debut for the 2009 MLB Playoffs

ESPN.com today launched the charter group of baseball blog sites for the newly formed SweetSpot Blog Network, a collection of local-market blogs that will grow to represent a specific, local voice for each of the 30 professional teams in MLB.  The Network is anchored and hosted by ESPN.com’s SweetSpot blog (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot), written by ESPN.com senior writer and blogger Rob Neyer.  Prior to joining ESPN, Neyer worked with Bill James and STATS, Inc., and has written or co-written six books about baseball.  He has been with ESPN.com since 1996.

At launch, a blog roll will be integrated into the SweetSpot module on the MLB index page.  ESPNBoston.com will also incorporate the Boston blog, Fire Brand of the American League, into its playoff coverage.

Each blog will maintain editorial independence and continue to own and operate as its own site.  Each blog will contribute a unique localized voice that will speak to baseball fans for each team.

The launch of the Network premieres with blogs representing teams in this year’s post-season race to the World Series.  They include:

Angels: GoHalos.com is an Angels fan site and blog.  It was started by two working graduate students, Tony Capitelli and Kevin Hirata.  Tony is based out of Costa Mesa, CA and Kevin out Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Cardinals: Matt Philip has been blogging at Fungoes.net since 2004.  He is a member of the Bob Broeg (St. Louis) Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).  He believes Keith Hernandez was the greatest-fielding first baseman of all-time and that the second-best was his mustache.

Dodgers: Chad "Kensai" Moriyama is a college student and the creator of the website Memories Of Kevin Malone.  While he's located in the faraway islands of Hawaii, he's been a lifelong Dodgers fan thanks to his father.

Phillies: Crashburn Alley's Bill Baer lives just outside of Philadelphia.  He started the Phillies-themed blog in August 2007 in the hopes of bringing a fresh, statistically-oriented perspective to Phillies baseball analysis.

Red Sox: Evan Brunell, living just outside Boston, has been blogging Fire Brand of the American League since December 2003.  He is joined by Tim Daloisio and other contributors in what ESPN's Peter Gammons mentioned as the Red Sox blog of choice for club officials to read.

Tigers: Mack Avenue Tigers has chronicled the team's ups and downs since 2006.  A former award-winning sports columnist for The (Marquette) Mining Journal, Kurt Mensching resides in the state's Upper Peninsula.

Twins: Nick Nelson has covered the Minnesota Twins at Nick's Twins Blog for the past five seasons.  He resides in Minneapolis, where he majored in Journalism at the University of Minnesota.     

Yankees: Jason Rosenberg started It's About The Money in December 2007, not long after A-Rod opted out of his $252 million contact.  The blog represents his efforts to present the most unbiased view of the Yankees possible.  Jason was raised a Yankees fan and currently resides in Westchester County, NY.

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