There are a lot of recurring characters in NatsTown and I’m thrilled to know and consider myself friends with many of them. Some are other bloggers, both established from the beginning and joining the Natosphere later down the road. More and more these days those friends are regular die-hard team-supporting fans, and I suppose that’s due in large part to Twitter and Facebook. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last year meeting fans face to face, which has been a pleasure. “Been a pleasure” sounds like a cliched phrase and doesn’t quite sum up how much NatsTown feels like a family that expands each year, with each member possessing their own unique quirks and shticks.

Read more on CSNwashington.com….

Is that awesome or what?! Thanks Bob and silent Rob!

I want to thank everyone for coming out last night and sweltering through record-breaking heat to watch another barn loss. I really thought the Nats were going to win through the first four innings. Michael Morse – two homeruns and a 5-1 lead! Who knew it would all fade away? You’d think I’d know by know no lead is ever completely safe. And please don’t say the shout-out was the jinx, even though it came at the turning point of the game. (thanks to Gary from OnFrozenBlog for capturing the video above too – and the baseball cookies!)

Barn nights are not about who wins or loses, but the shared experience of cheering or snarking as if we have our own little section at the ballpark. Ok, who am I kidding? A win would be really nice!

Many regulars and new faces contributed to a rush hour look to my driveway for the first time ever. Glad some of you got over being shy and came out, particularly the “faceless guy” who gave me a BP jersey, which worked phenomenally to swab at sweat and was thick enough to dissuade potential blood sucking mosquitoes. Also glad to meet a faithful twitter follower whose kids provided my daughter the chance to play hostess and remain entertained!

The coiner of the “Clipp n Save” phrase also honored us with his attendance while another barn viewer wore the t-shirt. Very cool! WFY’s son seems a year older every time I see him! Oh, wait… I think he is!

I’m not going to name everyone was who attended to protect the identities of the innocent… but don’t you wish you came now? Last chance this season will be October 1st when the Nationals face the Mets at the end of the season. It also happens to be Mr. Chatter’s birthday. That’s gotta earn a barn win right there, right? But thank you all for coming out and making the night fun!

p.s. thanks for the leftover beer, but whoever left the sippy cup is welcome to reclaim it!

A fun game is going on across Twitter. Click here to view results: #strasburgissogood

Yeah, you know how that line ends and the song keeps sticking in my head as I write a recap of “Blogs With Balls 1.0”. Actually, I don’t have the biggest of them all, clearly. It’s probably a good thing I have none of those dangly somewhat spherical objects at all, as I’ve been straddling a fence (hopefully not picket) over the last couple years; an awkward, fascinating, challenging place to hang out. See, when it comes to this here blog, I don’t really consider myself media – in fact, I’m never quite sure what to consider myself and I’ve given up trying to define my role. I’ve told Kasten I’m not media, yet later, Mr. Chatter pointed out I write, take photographs (some published), appear on TV and radio – in other words, the very definition of media. But I’m not fully credentialed and have fought my way to respectability and limited access. Yet I work in media, if only on the back end where I’m relatively invisible, because I actually love media and aspire to being as good as the rest, whether that’s writing, doing videos, or taking sports photos. To punctuate the whole straddling thing, my nametag had my workplace on it instead of my blog!

I absolutely was not going to pass up attending the first organized sports blogger conference in NYC this past weekend. The event felt rather historic and I wanted to be a part of it. Also, Dan Steinberg was slated to be a panelist in the “Why We Hate You – The Media’s Take” panel and I was curious to hear what that panel would entail from my perspective on both sides of the fence. Finally, I was really looking forward to the networking aspect. Covering a single team in a single sport really tends to leave one hidden from the rest of the sports world. And I am a sports blogger, after all, so I was kind of surprised when the first thing Steinberg asked upon seeing me was, “What are you doing here?” (enter stereotypical interweb-speak LOL) I quickly borrowed a sharpie and corrected my nametag.

The panels were interesting, but others have recapped them, so I’m not going to repeat. Recap Links Page 1 : Recap Links Page 2 : Recap Links Page 3 : (Good panel roundup)

HHR (Hugging Harold Reynolds) Media did a fantastic job organizing the event from nailing down panelists, coming up with topics, reserving the place, to getting big-name sponsors. The event exploded from an expected 50 or so attendees to about 300! He even secured a tour of the MLB Network studios for the lucky participants who were in town on Friday. The bottom of Stout was packed out and the irony of being shoved in a bar’s basement was not lost on anyone. Representatives from most big sports names were in attendance (ESPN, SI, etc.)

Many of the panels focused on “personal brand” and “monetizing”. I’m not terribly interested in those because I’m not a fan of acronyms and buzz words, but I know many are. In my work capacity, well, we have people for that marketing and ads thing. On my blog, it’d be nice if it made more money, but I don’t really expect it to, so I don’t put much effort or thought into that. I do best by selling photos and the occasional local ad. I prefer to think of Twitter as people just being themselves, not people marketing, although I get the point and Sports Media Challenge “launching” Shaq on Twitter has turned out phenomenal. I do actually take some interest in the “launching” aspect as I have considered if I have any potential as a social media consultant/coach. I didn’t set out to do it on purpose, but I do think I’ve created my own sort of personal brand as MissChatter. Not that I’m really marketable as anything other than someone who knows a lot about the Nationals!

As for the media panel, nothing was resolved. They don’t hate us (no surprise there). I think I actually could have offered some insight from seeing both sides of the “business” (blogging and media). I’m more interested in a possible upcoming On The DL Podcast interview with Dan Steinberg and Greg Wyshynski as there seemed to be some unfinished debate left hanging there.

The panels zipped by throughout the day with a brief break for lunch and an hour of free Guinness 250. Plus, the bar was open, so many attendees were partaking upon arrival and the buzz of chatter overwhelmed panelists by the end of the day. I had a little fun on Twitter counting how many glasses I heard clink or shatter on the concrete floor (a recurring theme throughout the day). Unforunately, this impacted the GQ hosted after-party and networking aspect I had so been looking forward to. Many were already on their way to drunkenness by the time we arrived at Foley’s down the street and the free tequila shots served by wigged women in skimpy silver dresses only added to the pandemonium. I looked around and realized my train ticket back at 3 AM meant a very long night and just hoped I’d find people sober enough to keep me company until then (I did)! Pretty much everyone I knew from DC had already left except for Chris Mottram. But the night was about shaking hands and meeting new people, right? So I pulled myself out of my cocoon a bit and socialized.

Laura, from GoGameFace.com

The Dugout Sports Show broadcasts from the Stout basement

I’m glad I did! I talked nerdy computer backends with some guys from SB Nation. I also had a wonderful time chatting baseball with a couple New Yorkers who hung with me til the end, one being Mark Healey who does a live radio show from Foley’s for Baseball Digest. Since the news of Manny’s alleged demise broke that afternoon, every Mets fan I spoke with (Writing The Pine among them – love creative names) eagerly jumped in to say they’d be happy to have him replace Jerry Manuel. The bobbleheads on a shelf were bobbling spontaneously as we talked Stephen Strasburg, signing factors, agents, injury risk, young pitchers, you-name-it! Oh, I also spotted an autographed Stephen Colbert baseball in a case. Cool!

The line I walked away with that stuck with me was not that I should consider myself media, but rather a “professional sports fan”. I already don’t worry about being held accountable or being disrespectful. Regulars know I’m not one to spout off rants (unless deserved). I talk to people in the organization all the time, never rip players in a personal hurtful manner, and just generally (try to) keep my enthusiasm up. The point driven home that stuck with me was excel at what you’re the best at and concentrate on that. I’m trying to figure out what that is – my enthusiasm? Photography? Goofy videos? I’ll figure it out…

I wish I’d brought my real camera, but I didn’t want to schlep it around all day. I also kinda wish I’d brought a video camera! [ Photoset ] taken with my iPhone and point ‘n shoot.

Thanks to the HHR team, the panelists for bravely going where no one had gone before, Stout, GQ, and Foley’s. Great time!

[ Photoset ] Ok, so that doesn’t look like night, does it? That’s because the event was originally scheduled for April 13th, which was rained out, so took place during the rescheduled day game of a day/night doubleheader on Saturday, May 16th. Other ballparks and sports venues have held blogger nights, so I was thrilled MASN set one up for the Nationals. We were treated to tours of the television broadcast booth, production trailer, Nats X-tra set, and also received lengthy special guest visits from Ray Knight, Johnny Holliday, Ben Goessling from the Washington Times, Pete McElroy from MASN, Chartese Burnett and Lisa Pagano.

The crowd has changed a bit over the years and there were some people missing, of course (NTP Nate, WFY, Ian Koski, etc…). Brian from Nats Farm Authority, Chris Needham formerly of Capital Punishment (now NBC), and I were the only originals. Chris from Nationals Enquirer joined us as well, but we hadn’t met before. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Harris from Nats Fanboy Looser (who was also on Nats Insider on the radio later). His insights on being in and getting out of the media life and becoming a fan (not necessarily related) are fascinating. Also in attendance were Dave and Cheryl from Nats News Network, Screech’s Best Friend and the African Queen from Nats320, Stephanie and Kristen from We’ve Got Heart, Ed from Federal Baseball, Steve from Fire Jim Bowden, and Todd Webster from MASN. No fights or verbal fisticuffs broke out! Luckily, we were having such a good time socializing, we didn’t pay much attention to the game. Scott Olsen had a rough outing, had an MRI after the game which found something old but nothing new. He received a cortisone shot and will be placed on the DL Monday with Detwiler called up to start.

It was interesting to see how the facilities and equipment have changed since two years ago at RFK when I covered the broadcasting then (photoset).

Many thanks to Todd and Kristen for setting this up and keeping our bellies full (great beer-stocked fridge and even a dessert cart! They know how to please teh bloggerz!)! Great time!

Photos after the jump:

So I won’t even try! Seeing as hardly anyone comments around here anymore, it’s hard to get feedback and a back-and-forth conversation going. It also makes me feel like I’ve gotten stale. Frankly, I’m getting bored talking to myself and the silently staring world-wide-internets. So jump on over to Nats of the Round Table where Harper of Oleanders and Morning Glories and Chris from Nationals Enquirer pulled me away from my mutterings and allowed for (ohmygosh) human interaction!

Yesterday’s game, aka the Collin Balester (but not “Bale-ster” as in hay) was kick-butt. A nice spark and I was really rooting for a no-hitter, even though I realized that was a bit much to ask of a rookie making his major league debut. Ha! Still, he pitched awesome for the first four innings and his family was great to watch. Added a little enthusiasm back into the game. Plus, they won! Ronnie Belliard’s grand salami was umm.. grand (ok, I’ve lost all creative juice). Seriously, I haven’t smiled that much during a game in a long time. Nice!

Didn’t mean to scare anyone – I just needed some time off to refine my direction here and revamp the site to fit in the advertising that’s going to make me millions (of fractions of pennies) and keep me swathed in fancy photo equipment! Honestly, I had been kicking around the idea of quitting for several months, but I just can’t pull the trigger. So rather than continue to put out belated old-news drivel that at least for me, was nothing to feel proud of (photographs, otoh, I’m quite proud of!), I decided to come up with an editorial plan, so to speak. I’m still working on it, so here’s more drivel filler. The site may shapeshift a little more over the next couple days as I refine, but I think I like the way it’s heading now. I’ll explain the new header later! (Rebranding, baby! That’s today’s PR buzzword). I’ve been doing this for a few years now and obviously the landscape has rapidly changed since I started, as have the loosely defined “rules” of the blogosphere. I’m not terribly opinionated or mean-spirited, which in turn means what I write doesn’t really “sell”, so I’m going to try to stick with what’s worked. Just trying to adapt!

Evolution

Well, this is quite an interesting game! In with the cars, out with the horses! I had never head of “Auto Polo” before! Obviously, the apparently dangerous sport didn’t stick around to see the light of day in my lifetime, but think of the horses that went without exercise during its brief existence. That photo put out by the Library of Congress absolutely cracked me up this morning! It sounds like the sport was popular, but why are the stands empty? The photo also brought to mind the evolution of various sports over time…

Nate McLouth Is Dangerous

Ok, not really, but the equipment used during games can be. One particular evolution in baseball has been the migration from ash wood bats to maple for many players. So I mentioned I nearly got nailed by a Nate McLouth foul ball at a Pirates game during the last home series, right? Foul balls are only one danger of being on the sidelines or close in stands at the ball game. Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports has an in depth article focusing on the switch from ash to the more fragile maple bats, and specifically delves into an accident involving a splintered McLouth bat piercing the cheek of Don Long, the Pirates’ hitting coach. Yowzer! The potential to mandate thicker handles will be an interesting story to watch.

Blogging is Fun!!11!!

I’ve been hoping a National would take up blogging and was beginning to fear there was a team mandate against it. Have no fear, Zimm is here! It’s early in his blogging season, so I’m going to just wait it out and see how it goes. I only wish Comcast SportsNet had RSS feeds! I tend to forget to manually go check websites. Lemme know if anything interesting pops up, ok? Here’s hoping one of the more loudmouthed opinionated Nationals will follow suit!

Free Agent Gambles

Thud! That’s the sound of $6.5 million dollars in rehab. Both catchers Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada were placed on the 15 day disabled list today. Lo Duca can now go watch his horses race while last year’s rule 5 draftee, Jesus Flores, makes what we knew would be his inevitable appearance in the big leagues again. Wil Nieves will be his backup with Ronnie Belliard and Aaron Boone as emergency catchers. (Really? Has Belliard ever caught before?) I’m just happy Wil Nieves is sticking around longer. Oh yeah, Elijah Dukes is returning today too. Now there’s a blog that would be interesting…

Speaking of Belliard, I had noticed he wasn’t getting any playing time for a stretch there. In fact, I asked Mr. Chatter prior to last weekend, “when’s the last time we saw Belliard pinch hit?” but was too lazy to go look it up. However, when I saw him at the Dream Gala Saturday, I mentioned to him that he hadn’t gotten much playing time lately. He smiled and shrugged, saying the team was playing well so it was all good. I still thought it odd – I mean everyone else had been pinch hitting! But I shrugged it off and figured if he wasn’t bothered, whatever! Turns out he was injured during that span of time and he and Manny Acta kept mum about it. You sly sly men!

Losing

can turn grown men into Losers….
Ok, nevermind. The video has been removed by MLB. Here’s King Kaufman’s write-up on the high ball.

Taking a break myself while I sort some stuff out about what I want to do here moving forward (if I do). Read any of the boatload of Nats blogs listed to the right —>

Time to find a new gig! Too bad washingtonjobs.com isn’t advertising for what I do, even though blathering about sports on the internet seems to be springing some guys to glory as this online thing gains more and more respectability. It looks like I’ll be shut down on what I normally do and love — photos and video. MLB is tightening restrictions on online content, which effectively puts me out of business (there goes that brand I’ve built!) once the season begins or forces me to write creatively again and join the myriad other online Nats voices. Since I’ve gotten lazy flexing the writing skills, preferring to do my talking on camera or behind the camera, I’m out of practice at the whole witty typing thing. My initial reaction was, “oh crap.” But then I started looking beyond me at the domino effect this may have and the fallout for fans.

Here’s how the new restrictions will shake out. Online outlets will be able to post no more than seven photographs from any games and will not be allowed to create any sort of photo gallery from those images. Audio and video will be limited to a scant two minutes each and cannot be streamed live, and the only sites allowed to post any highlight footage will be those that have inked deals with MLB Advanced Media, which is responsible for all of MLB’s online properties. Non-text content, be it images, audio, or video created in a Major League ballpark, can only stay online for 72 hours.

This could have a huge negative impact industry-wide (and I’m talking mainstream media here, not bloggers). Fans rely on photos from sites such as Yahoo!Sports where AP photos are posted and organized by team in what could be considered “galleries”. My gut reaction is this is a stupid stupid move by MLB, and I’m not just speaking as a wannabe photographer who nearly got a break thanks to being allowed to do what I do. In an era where newspapers and other news outlets are in the precarious transition to largely online content because that’s where the viewers/readers are, why would they cripple an entire industry already cresting a learning curve and starting to get the hang of it? In addition, they are stealing the game history from fans (in the form of game photos where someone ‘got the shot’ on an awesome play, podcasts, and videos such as interviews and highlights)? I mean, presumably Barry Svrluga records his postgame podcasts (non-text) in the clubhouse and pressbox for washingtonpost.com. By these new rules, they will have to take the no longer than 2 minute podcasts down after 72 hours. My video of the kid singing the National Anthem – down after 72 hours since it was filmed in a Major League ballpark. Yesterday’s video in the new ballpark (which neither MLB nor the Nationals own) – would that have to come down after three days had I shot it after these restrictions were implemented? My hundreds of gameday photosets would only be allowed to remain up for the three days following the game. No more looking back and reminiscing (and this applies to all sites – not just mine). Ludicrous is the only word I have for a policy that seems geared to propel the industry backwards rather than keeping up and moving forward. Or maybe the proper term is greedy? Salmon swimming upstream comes to mind – you can’t stop the internet, people!

Prior restrictions included (but were not limited to) just no play-by-play posted online more than every half inning. No more than seven photographs can be posted online during a game in progress (but no limit on photos posted after the game ended and nothing about galleries or time limits). No video of the game play itself. None of these were issues since most did everything after the game and didn’t record play on the field aside from the sports network holding the broadcast contract. Now no more than seven pictures, period?! (I hear Flickr exhaling in relief) Video must come down after 72 hours?! What about Washington Post Live which often aired (and streamed over the internet) interviews from the stadium before the game? As long as they’re outside the 45 minute window before the game begins, they should be okay. But what if there’s breaking news such as an injured player or another clubhouse drug dealer ratted out? Nope, can’t broadcast that live – at least not if its simulcast online. Yet, Mama, that’s where the fun is! It’s also where the present is – that’s just standard operating procedure for most sports/news organizations these days. MLB is messing with business policies already in practice. Can they get away with it?

What it likely comes down to is MLB Advanced Media trying to horde all the historic content and ownership over said content, even (or especially?) if the content was created by someone else. They already own the stats. It’s a shame teams can’t set their own rules. Teams like the Nationals and Rays and Marlins need all the publicity they can get. The new policy appears more harmful than helpful to them as well. What happened to “the customer is always right?” Who says baseball is a game for fans? I can’t believe I deluded myself into that illusion, but it was a nice warm happy place while it lasted. We’re all pawns in this massive Monopoly game. I just need a “Get out of jail free” card if I want to continue, I suppose.

This may not be set in stone yet. Editors from publications all over the country are supposedly meeting with MLB today to try to talk some sense into them. Others are suing over fair use. I plan on watching this closely as it unfolds (I’m interested for professional reasons as well), but as it stands, it looks like I may be headed for online-retirement. *sob* I love what I do. I’ve sacrificed money and time and risked being in the doghouse at work (and home!) for my “extracurricular activities” to continue doing this. I’m tired of fighting an uphill climb (in the snow! Don’t forget the snow!) at every turn. I guess I could make it the “All MissChatter” show and no longer feature gameday events and activities or players. Blah. Even I’d get sick of myself! I’ve built enjoyable relationships that would likely end if I reverted back to being some schlub who totes a camera to her seats and sneaks into events. Ha! Except my seats are further back, meaning more heads and vendors to block the shots. I guess I’ve kind of become spoiled because I just don’t see myself going back to the way things started around here. I’d have to move to California to start trying to meet up with Gary Bennett again and that’s just not in the cards!

And I’m just too darn tired to start getting super-creative to stay ahead of the game and find a way to “rebrand” myself. That shroud of secrecy behind the game I originally set out to discover and make sense of has clamped its temporarily extended hand shut. But I’m sure I won’t be able to resist the lure of baseball…

I got to play with the cool kids and participate in the latest “Nats of the Round Table“. Check it out and join in the conversation! We discussed pitching, Johnson vs. Dmitri, steroids, etc.