12eight

As if I didn't have enough change in my life already, I am now happy to announce that 12eight has moved. The new site has all this stuff, and it has pretty colors and a shiny new banner and has even more room for me to write stuff nobody will read. It's all very exciting.

Where is the new site, you ask?

http://www.12eight.org

That's right: 12eight.com was taken. I'm not sure how that could happen, but there it is.

So anyway, if you have this site bookmarked for some reason, it's time to update. And definitely time to clean out your bookmarks. And if you're one of those nice people who linked to me, you can change the link as well. Thanks, and see you at the new place.

-Andrew

So, things have been pretty quiet at 12eight for the last few days.  This is in part because I'm busy as hell; I'm now about a week away from starting a new job, and am hurling headfirst into an apartment search.  I've also been working on the new site, and it's coming along quite nicely.  I'm expecting to be able to fully move over there in a matter of days, preferably before my first day at the new place of employ.  There are some entertaining new features, and a couple experiments I'm trying out to see what happens. 

None of that, however, is to say that there has been no news.  The biggest today, at least in the baseball world (and discounting Patrick Fitzgerald's colorful baseball analogy that compared Scooter Libby to Pedro v. Posada) came from the Sox front office.  The Theo-watch continued, though word today was that the sides were nearing an agreement; I'm not at all stunned, and really didn't think all this was going to turn out to be a big deal anyway.  These were, after all, two parties quite skillful at negotiation, not to mention that no matter how many stories Tony Massarotti or Bob Ryan or Sean McAdam wrote, it was pretty plain that not a single one of them knew any more about the situation than you or I.  So, now, it appears that the Sox and their star GM have reached - or are approaching - a workable middle ground on whatever previously separated them, whether it was money or chain of command.  In either case, let's hope this gets settled tomorrow so that Theo can get back in the business of building the 2006 team.

There was, however, one notable departure from Yawkey Way today, as Josh Byrnes was announced as the new GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  It's an interesting job for Byrnes, as he inherits a weak MLB club with an outstanding farm system (at least as far as position players are concerned).  Word is he will be replaced internally, by current Assistant to the GM Jed Hoyer.

Two Sox players officially filed for free agency today, and they're the two that I'd least expect to see back in a Boston uniform next year.  Kevin Millar, who will likely not even be offered arbitration, and Bill Mueller, who has likely already reached an agreement with the Sox that will see him turn down any arbitration offer in favor of a new contract with a West Coast Club (Padres?  Dodgers?).  The move drastically reduces our number of Miller-variations, as well as leaving openings for corner IF positions.  3B will almost certainly be filled by Kevin Youkilis, but 1B is a major question mark.

Finally, it also appears that the Sox are growing close to a deal that would bring back 2005 relief ace Mike Timlin, on either a one or two year contract.  Timlin would be even more valuable in a Sox pen that promises to feature no small number of rookie or young arms; Timlin is effectively an additional bullpen coach, and his presence is arguably as important to the bullpen as Varitek's is to the team.

So that's about that.  Once the new site is completed, I'll announce it and post a link over there.  Once it's up, I'll start my own in-depth offseason analysis, whatever that may turn out to be.

I'm officially employed.

Now back to your regularly scheduled nothingness.

So, the server problems of the last few days - in which blog.com somehow managed to completely destroy their entire site along with the sidebars of every blog on their system and several comments simply by upgrading a back-end database - has convinced me (again) that blog.com doesn't have any clue what they're doing.  I'd been planning to move this site at the end of November anyway; now I'm planning on doing so ASAP.  So, check back soon for the new address and for your regularly scheduled posts.  In the meantime, check out some of the blogs on the newly restored sidebar, along with the articles I'll have up at Fire Brand of the AL on Wednesday and Friday this week.  And everybody watch Roy Oswalt pitch tonight so you can see why 've been raving about the guy for 3 years (now watch him get his ass lit up by Paul Konerko and Scott "Slugger" Podsednik).

Everyone wish me luck on my job interview today.

Seriously, go ahead.  There's a little comments thing at the bottom of the post.

You scored as Theo Epstein. Wait a minute, you're not a Red Sox player... you're Theo Epstein! Extremely smart and successful, you work the magic from behind the scenes. You take a lot of risks, but it always works out. You're not too bad on the eyes either!! Theo Epstein 63% Mark Bellhorn 60% Johnny Damon 60% Jason Varitek 57% Curt Schilling 43% Kevin Millar 40% David Ortiz 33% Manny Ramirez 30% Which Red Sox Player Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

All entirely true, as well.

Out of all the amazing things about New York City, the thing that floors me the most is how late it can get without you noticing.  Saturday night, I arrived at my fourth destination of the evening at 3am; I thought it was 1, 1:30 tops.  Admittedly, I was several drinks in at that point and had spent much of the evening wandering the Meat Packing District and the Village with a bunch of people, but time just vanishes in Manhattan.  Moreover, after spending a year in a city where bars close at 2 (if you're lucky), the time change was palpable.  By the time I managed to fall asleep, it was about 4:30; of course I had to get up early for brunch with some friends on the Upper West Side.  I also got to see their swanky new pad, a 5th floor walkup duplex with a patio, the kind of apartment people kill for in Manhattan.

I wore my 2004 League Champs hat while there, and amazingly got no comments.  I figured I'd at least ruffle some feathers, but not even when I got mildly lost driving in upper Harlem bordering on Washington Heights - an area with a direct view of Yankee Stadium - did I even get a sideways glance.  I was somewhat disappointed.

So, now I'm back.  This could be a boring week, at least until the end; with the Astros one win away from their first trip to the World Series, and the ALCS already wrapped up, an Astros win tonight means no baseball until Saturday.  For the sake of entertainment, and also because I made certain predictions that would hold up if the Cards now won 3 in a row (I successfully picked the White Sox in 5, though I suggested they'd lose only Game 3, rather than only Game 1), I kinda hope the series goes on; at the same time, I find myself really pulling for the Stros, a team I've liked passively for several years.

One other slice of news; on Friday, I have my first job interview in about two years, at a large publishing house here in Boston.  I have a new suit for the occasion, and will probably be getting increasingly nervous as the week goes on.

Sorry for the disjointed post, but I'm preoccupied at the moment with little things like my entire future.  More coming this week, including maybe some offseason ideas, and a look at the state of the minor league system at Fire Brand.

Let it never be said that this blog has forgotten its roots.

I must be doing something right; 12eight exceeded its allotted monthly bandwidth today.  Anyone who tried and failed to get here this afternoon, my apologies.  I've temporarily upgraded the account.

I generally hate blog.om anyway, and had already been planning to move the site in the offseason.  So, this just gives me extra impetus.  I'll check out the various options; anyone who has a suggestion, let me know.  I'm not really thrilled with any of the major sites that I've checked out, but there are a few other ones here and there. 

In other news, the tickets I supposedly had to Saturday's game have evaporated, promised by my friend Nick to his girlfriend in a moment of weakness.  His new girlfriend.  Who doesn't like baseball.  YOU MISERABLE BASTARD I HATE YOU.  I don't really.  But come on.

So, instead, and given that I will be going to Sunday's game, Saturday will be the final Game Blog of the season.  So there's that to look forward to.

Arroyo out, DiNardo in with Toronto up 5-1 in the 4th.  The O's better hold that 1-0 lead, because this is looking very bad.  We cannot afford to lose ground.

Update: Of course, the moment I post this, the Yanks tie it at 1.  It's been a fun season, folks.

I will be away, and unable to post for the duration.  In the meantime, head over to Firebrand to check out the goings on (including my article there yesterday, didja see it yet?) and also to any one of the fine collection of links you will find to the right of this paragraph, and maybe a little bit down.

Let's hope, while I'm gone, that Baltimore treats us well.  I'll be back to assess the damage (if any) on Monday.