New sites taking over RedSox100.com

Has anyone else noticed within the last few weeks that an overload of new Red Sox sites have been added to the infamous RedSox100.com?

The Top 10 is almost recognizable on some days.

Here are the latest to join:

Boston Sports U18

4Sport Boston

Educated Cheese

A curveball was thrown by The Mighty Quinn Media Machine who changed its header.

Let's explore these new sites shall we?

Boston Sports U18

I did some digging and found out that this site is owned and operated by Michael Winn of Absolute Broadcasting, who also founded BostonSportsWoman.com, a site my blog is featured on.

Gethin Coolbaugh who is a student at Massachusetts Bay Community College is the Associate Editor of the newly developed site. 

There's a whole cast of writers featuring sports correspondents of the MetroWest Daily News who post on all of the Boston sports teams, pro and college.

4Sport Boston

This site covers the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots, and Fantasy Sports.

It features podcasts and contests and honestly there's a lot going on with the homepage. It's almost too busy with stuff kind of buried everywhere. That's usually the case when a site covers all of the major teams and they aren't ESPN, Boston.com, or NESN (to name a few major sites).

As far as who runs it, no clue, because it only has a contact tab and no about page.

Educated Cheese

Finally, just another Red Sox blog that features NESN's and former Sox pitcher Dennis Eckersley.

Educated Cheese was founded in June of 2009 and its mission is to, 

"To create a friendly existence between Eck and the rest of the world that was not fortunate to be blessed with such a cool baseball vocabulary."

I think every Sox fan knows why this blog was created so there's no need to explain.

As to who founded and operates the site, no clue because once again there is no about us page.

So there you have, a quick analysis of the new sites/blog added to RedSox100.com. There are only 39 registered sites with maybe half of them only geared towards the Red Sox. Not sure if it'll ever really get to 100, well just have to wait another 50 years and see.

Top 3 reasons why Boston fans cannot wait until spring training

It's February 4 and spring training cannot come soon enough.

Right now, honestly it's pretty depressing being a Boston fan. There's not a whole lot to cheer about and to back that statement up here are the top 3 reasons spring training needs to get here quicker:

1. The Boston Bruins.

2. The Boston Celtics.

3. The New England Patriots.

Need I explain more?

The Bruins are dying by the day.

Since their exciting Winter Classic win Boston has gone 2-12 with wins against Ottawa and San Jose.

Oh my goodness, 2-12!? I didn't realize it was that bad, but apparently it is. Talk about the biggest jinx ever.

The Celtics? 

Well they beat 24-25 Miami last night and last place Washington on Monday to give life to a new winning streak. Hence the sarcasm.

But, Paul Pierce is still listed as day-to-day with a strained left foot. It is definitely the season of the breakdown of the Big Three. First Kevin Garnett with an earlier knee injury, now with Pierce. 

Is Ray Allen next? 

And last, but not least, the Patriots and their defensive woes, which eliminated them in the first round of the playoffs. New England is definitely not at the same caliber as they once were and since Tom Brady tied the knot, well, you know what that means in sports.

Like it or not, Brady isn't the same hot shot and hero he was even two years ago.

So Boston Red Sox fans, will our baseball team finally cheer us up? Give us that need boost of hope and confidence? 

For our sake I sure hope so. Bad enough the Sox already had a lot of pressure poured on them this offseaosn, but thanks to the other city teams doing lousy the pressure just doubled.

Coaches need to teach character for anti-bullying

Everyone reading this more than likely has been a victim to it.

Back on January 14 in the town of South Hadley, Mass. a 15-year-old girl named Phoebe Prince who came over to the United State from Ireland took her own life after being severely bullied at her high school.

Ron Chimelis wrote an excellent column in The Sunday Republican last week talking about not only what teachers' roles should be, but as well as the coaches who need to teach character on the fields.

In the piece Chimelis quotes Westfield High School football coach Bill Moore: 

"We talk to kids about bullying and hazing. Coaches have to step up. It's our responsibility," he said.

This however may be my favorite part of the entire column right here. Writes Chimelis:

It's my problem too. Whenever I interview a high school athlete, I privately wonder about the consequences. 

Am I rewarding the hard work and achievement of the beaming kid in front of me?

Or am I feeding the monster? Will this kid, who I don't know, go back into the student body, armed with more reason to think he/she is special and others are not?

I urge all of you to check out the column. It definitely makes you think.

Personally it hits me hard only because I was bullied throughout grade school and know what Prince must have gone through, but it was never at the level of what she ended up doing. And now with Facebook, Twitter, texting, and the internet galore, the bulling issue is definitely easier said than done.

Red Sox virtual waiting room blues?

Hey guys.

Yes I know, I've been just awful recently on the blog posting front and I apologize. 

First I tried to make a commitment of compiling a Top 20 list of the best college newspaper websites and pretty much afterwards couldn't really follow through with it. 

I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish, or at least size it down to the Top 10.

Anyways back to Red Sox talk...

So today tickets went on sale at 10AM, which means another meeting with the "Virtual Waiting Room."

As I recall last year some fans were stuck for hours on end and afraid if they refreshed the page that their place would be lost.

Others eventually got through, but then it was deciding between what games to go to, would you be able to find four seats in a row not in the bleacher section, and last but not least, the final tally.

If you have connections, I'd strongly suggest you use them and avoid the frustration. And honestly, if you really want to go to a game, there are other ways besides being trapped in the virtual waiting room.

You can go onto redsox.com in July and still find select single-game tickets, maybe not three-four seats in-a-row until you try Ace Ticket and wait for those season ticket holders to sell their seats because they can't make it to the game.

So those are my thoughts on the whole first day of Red Sox single-game tickets go on-sale.

Not sure exactly how it went today, but am curious to know if any people had problems or issues.

But back to the whole not blogging too much lately...I'm probably just going to have to set aside key days of when I'll post and of what to talk about.

There's really not a whole lot to talk about until spring training actually starts, which is two and a half weeks away, but I'll try my hardest. I'm sure events and topics will pop up between the Boston sports media industry (Pete Shepard?), the newspaper business, and/or Sox.

BUWB Top 20 college newspaper sites countdown

Back in December I announced that I'd be compiling a list of the Top 20 best college newspaper sites in the country. 

The list is solely based on the website, including the layout, content featured, multimedia, and overall appearance and accessibility. 

I have decided not to follow through with the categories and number rankings because that literally would take forever and if there was a tie, well that wouldn't work out too well. So instead I'm just using my judgement and ranking them accordingly. 

I contemplated how to launch the list and decided that each day starting today that I will post backwards the Top 20 sites starting with Honorable Mention and continue on with No. 20 later this week followed by No. 19, etc.

This will continue through February and at the end the complete list will be featured. 

With that said here we go...

Honorable Mention

The Huntington News - Northeastern University

Though not a ridiculous techie 

site, The Huntington News simple, clean cut design is a winner. It's laid out just like a regular newspaper you'd pick up on newsstands with the logo on the front page and all of the sections below and right there at your fingertips.

Navigation couldn't get easier and for those important features and coverage it's smack dab at your eye level of the computer screen. 

The Huntington News does have a Twitter and Facebook page, but they are nowhere to be seen on its website, which is a tech fail. They should really add those graphics somewhere or at least a multimedia tab.

Jeremy Hermida makes a nice fit in Red Sox outfield

Even though this happened over two months ago, now there's more talk about the acquisition of Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins. 

The Red Sox dealt left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez back on November 5 in exchange for the outfielder, who'll serve in a backup role behind the 1-2-3 combo of Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Cameron, and J.D. Drew.

Hermida played in 129 games for the Marlins and batted .259 with 13 home runs, and 47 runs-batted-in. However he also struck out 101 times in 429 at-bats.

He's pretty solid in outfield and versatile playing in both left and right field and made only one error last season. Hermida had a career high nine errors in 2007, but that number has dropped since each year.

What does Hermida really mean for the Sox?

He brings another left-handed bat to the lineup who can possibly do some damage at the plate and brings more youth to the bench at 25-years-old (he turns 26 on January 30). And if Drew goes down (which seems to occur every season) there won't be a gaping hole.

Also don't forget about 22-year-old Josh Reddick who made his major league debut last July 31 from the Portland Sea Dogs, the Sox AA affiliate and made an immediate impact during his short time in Boston.

The outfield should be pretty much set, but it doesn't mean Theo Epstein is done wheeling and dealing.

Is the bench strong enough?

What about the bullpen?

This 2010 Red Sox club isn't complete yet, not just yet.

Jackie MacMullan fake Twitter account removed

Twitter is known for having fake accounts for athletes and famous movie stars and singers. But now it's reached a new level particular to people who honestly have nothing better else to do.

There was a fake Twitter account for former Boston Globe sports columnist and Around the Horn panelist Jackie MacMullan.

I was one of those roughly 500+ followers who was duped into following the account thinking it was the real Jackie Mac.

This evening there was a suspicious tweet that arose from the account saying, J_MacMullan "Hearing Adrian Gonzalez for Ellsbury, Buchholz, Kelly, and Reddick."

Like a smart person I retweeted it, but then decided to delete it a minute later.

About five minutes afterwards Ian M. Browne of MLB.com tweeted: "A co worker just told me that Jackie MacMullan's fake twitter account said Adrian Gonz for Ellsbury, Buchholz Kelly, and Reddick. Classic!"

Then I went back to check the fake twitter account and the page magically doesn't exist anymore, but if you search for "Jackie MacMullan" you'll see two accounts. One looks legit, but is fake and one that looks fake and probably is another fake one.

What is seriously wrong with people? And the best part is that MacMullan probably has no idea about it.

Are the 2010 Red Sox better than the Yankees?

Is this really for real?

John Lackey?

Mike Cameron?

Marco Scutaro?

Adrian Beltre?

It's almost a dream for Boston Red Sox fans and if Adrian Gonzalez was in the picture we'd be on Cloud 9.

Theo Epstein responded well after the New York Yankees won its 27th World Championship and instead of nickel and dime-ing  like last offseason, he signed big gun Lackey and bolstered the defensive unit in Cameron, Beltre, and Scutaro.

The Red Sox want to be that team in 2010.

Even though they lost their power guy in Jason Bay, it may not be the end of the world. Someone will step up to the plate. There's almost that one surprise guy that no one expects, but who will it be?

That's really the only troubling question mark going into the 2010 season. Will the Sox have enough of power in their lineup? Will David Ortiz still have enough left in his tank? If not, could Mike Lowell be the answer in the designated hitter role?

Epstein could still try to trade off Lowell after his thumb surgery, but in reality shouldn't Boston keep him just in case Ortiz doesn't turn it around? 

Here's a quick glance at what we might see on Opening Day on Easter Sunday at Fenway Park against the Yankees.

Potential starting lineup:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury LF

2. Dustin Pedroia 2B

3. Victor Martinez C

4. Kevin Youkilis 1B

5. David Ortiz/Mike Lowell DH

6. J.D. Drew RF

7. Adrian Beltre 3B

8. Mike Cameron CF

9. Marco Scutaro SS

Potential starting pitching rotation:

1. Josh Beckett/Jon Lester

2. Jon Lester/Beckett

3. John Lackey

4. Dice-K Matsuzaka

5. Clay Buchholz/Tim Wakefield

To be honest, I'm more excited about the pitching rotation. Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in which ever order may very well be the strongest 1-2-3 combo in the league.

But is this team better than the Yankees?

Yankees position breakdown:

Mark Teixeira 1B

Robinson Cano 2B

Derek Jeter SS

Alex Rodriguez 3B

Jorge Posada C

Brett Garnder LF

Curtis Granderson CF

Nick Swisher RF

Nick Johnson DH

Yankees starting rotation breakdown:

1. CC Sabathia

2. AJ Burnett

3. Andy Pettite

4. Javier Vazquez

5. Phil Hughes/Joba Chamerlain

Chamerlain may be moved back to the bullpen, which wouldn't be surprising especially with Vazquez coming back for his second stint.

It'll boil down to the bullpens and bench depth since anything can happen throughout the season.

If no other moves are made this should be a very interesting season in the American League East. April can't get here soon enough.

New year, more layoffs and cuts for newspapers

Yesterday the Minneapolis Star Tribune announced that it would eliminate 35 positions at the newspaper, but not effecting reporters or editors. 

You'd think this would be good news for the reporters and editors. Well guess again because about 18 of those positions are copy editing, a major hit for any paper.

According to David Brauer of MinnPost.com here's the list of potential job cuts:

Copy editors: Up to 18

Photographers: Up to 3

Photo lab technicians: Up to 1

Photo editors: Up to 2

Wire and web editors: Up to 2

Copy desk chiefs: Up to 1

News assistants: Up to 3

Graphics technicians: Up to 3

Graphics artists: Up to 2

Ironically these cuts happened just before the Star Tribune named Michael Klingensmith the new Publisher and CEO.

Out west, the Los Angeles Times will close its plant in Orange County, which will effect 80 jobs.

On top of that the width of the paper will shrink from 48 inches to 44 inches, something that's being scene across the country at many other companies. 

Also beginning Feb. 2, a new section called LATEextra will be published Monday-Saturday for late breaking news.

Before the brink of the new decade The Washington Times published its last Sunday paper on Dec. 27, 2009 and prints editions from Monday-Friday for a $1 a copy, which increased from 50 cents. 

And I thought this to be pretty interesting.

According to a new ranking of 200 jobs in the United States in 2009, (Reporter) Newspaper is #184.

The starting salary is set at $20,000 with a midlevel salary range of $35,000 and top level falling at $77,000.

What's worse? Well we've got: Photojournalist (#189), Firefighter (#188), Taxi driver, (#194), Garbage collector (#195), and Roustabout (#200).

What's similar but ranked higher? 

Technical Writer #13

Web Developer #15

Publication Editor #65

Photographer #126

Why the Web Developer is put into this group is because of the online media frenzy and how that exactly is trying to wipe out the print media age.

Bruno's Top 10 posts/stories of 2009

Believe it or not the end of another decade is approaching (in approximately seven and a half hours of this post) and around the sports blogging community some have been posting top 10 Boston sports moments of the decade.

Well I'm not going to be doing that and instead counting down the top 10 posts/stories of 2009 here on Batter-up with Bruno. 

Mid-January will mark the blog's fifth birthday from its original creation in 2005 on AOL Journal's and its third since moving to Google's Blogger in February in 2007.

It's come a long way and hopefully my new and old followers will continue to follow me in 2010 and see what's in store for the next decade. 

With that said, here is

 

Bruno's Top 10 posts/stories of 2009:

10. Should the Red Sox go after John Lackey?

Surprisingly GM Theo Epstein did and also reeled in outfielder Mike Cameron as well. I original wrote that post toying with the idea and one month and five days later it became a reality.

9. Bruins done, 'Canes kill 'em

After sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, the Bruins got beat by the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the semis.

8. Follow us on Twitter

On April 26, I decided to take a leap of faith and join the Twitter craze. It's probably one of the best and smartest decisions I've made as far as networking with other Red Sox bloggers. So far I have a total of 210 followers and have to check at least a couple times a week to spam people.

7. Red Sox 2009 season wrap-up: Angels return the favor and sweep ALDS 

Jonathan Papelbon was due to give up runs, earned and not earned in the post-season and unfortunately it had to come in blown fashion as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim stole the show away and blasted Boston to advance to the ALCS to face the New York Yankees.

6. Fang's Bites links Batter-up with Bruno twice in one day

I had no idea what this would lead up to and no idea who this person was, but it was the start of my blog's growing network. Ken Fang found my blog on Bleacher Report, which I joined in June. Another smart decision made in 2009. Since the initial linkage, my blog has been also linked on Boston Sports Media Watch, SOX & Dawgs, Sox Addict, Red Sox Monster, Masslive.com (The Springfield Republican's website), National Sports Journalism Center, Boston Band Wagon, and Big League Screw.

5. No more SOX & Dawgs? Top Red Sox website shutdown (for now)

After covering a high school football game I came home to find out Ian Bethune, blogger and owner of SOX & Dawgs shutdown his site effective immediately after the Sox game. The news shocked the blogging and Twitter communities. The good news is it only lasted for two weeks. 

*I would also like to note that Ian found my blog on Yardbarker during the 2009 offseason and since then he's helped me out a lot including convincing me to join the Twitter craze and have me post whenever I want on his blog, so thank you Ian for everything this year.

4. What is up with these random commentators? 

Red Nation took a scare in 2009 when color announcer Jerry Remy was diagnosed with lung cancer and took an indefinite leave from the broadcast booth from May to late August. For almost four months Don Orsillo teamed up with multiple others including Buck Martinez, Dave Roberts, Sean Casey, Tony Massarotti, and Dennis Eckersley. The 2009 season was definitely one of the eeriest to watch and listen to.

3. I totally called it; David Ortiz linked to steroids

After the Manny Ramirez bombshell in May, two months later Ortiz's name surfaced as another ballplayer who was linked to using performance enhancing drugs. It shocked Red Sox fans all over, but it wasn't as shocking especially with the decline of Big Papi's performance numbers, yet somehow he still managed to hit 28 home runs and drive in 99 runs. 

2b. Mike Reiss to leave Globe, join ESPNBoston

This was only the first of many other movements to come, which is way this is split into two parts. After Reiss left, Boston.com's Chris Forsberg followed and former Globe Red Sox beat writer Gordon Edes left Yahoo! Sports to come back to Beantown and cover his team again for the local market.

Other movement at the Globe: Albert Breer replaced Reiss, Zuri Berry replaced Forsberg, Peter Abraham joined the Boston.com staff for Red Sox coverage, Adam Kilgore was moved from the Sox beat to the Patriots, Christopher L. Gasper was named a new columnist joining Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy, Julian Benbow was promoted to become a Celtics beat writer along with Frank Dell'Appa who still covers the Revolution, Gary Washburn replaced Marc J. Spears who left for Yahoo! Sports on the National Basketball beat, and Monique Walker was also promoted for Patriots coverage. Tony Massarotti joined 98.5 FM The Sports Hub, but remains part-time for Boston.com.

Another shocker was Peter Gammons leaving ESPN to join NESN.com and the MLB Network.

2a. How much is too much? Boston pro sports sites uncovered; and The Boston Globe will always be No. 1 ESPNBoston

These two posts go with one another. For some reason 2009 was the year of everyone hopping on the Boston sports coverage bandwagon and one of the reasons more than likely was because of my number one post/story below.

Boston.com now has intense competition with NESN.com and CSNNE.com, which were both revamped over the past year, WEEI.com, and now with ESPNBoston, which already has effected the Globe by taking away two of its staff members. Also 98.5 FM The Sports Hub joined the sports radio airwaves in competition with WEEI 850 AM. 

In this down economy, at least it's creating more jobs for Boston sportswriters. 

1. No more Boston Globe?!!?

This was by the far the most posted and talked about story of 2009. I think I legitley ticked off a lot of people too, especially on Facebook with the coverage. When the news first broke it was my biggest nightmare coming true. What started in the beginning of April was dragged out until the end of June, but after it was all said and done, the Globe and Guild reached an agreement including a pay cut, reduced benefits, and unpaid furloughs.

Happy New Year!!! What will 2010 bring...???