Earlier today, I introduced myself to the world of Fish Stripes. I recommend everyone check that initial piece out to see what I will be doing here at Fish Stripes for the foreseeable future. But if it were just me, I would struggle to keep this ship running effectively and interestingly to all the various readers of the Marlins Internet community. This is why one of the first things I decided to do when I was asked on board as lead blogger was to recruit a team of writers that I could trust to assist me in providing weekly content that would cover a broad span of topics in which fans might have interest. Indeed, the four authors that I did recruit come with various experiences with the Marlins and with blogging, but they all share a common link in that they too are strong Marlins fans with a passion for the game and an interest in seeing the Fish succeed.
A quick note before we get into introductions: the new Fish Stripes has a presence not only on the blog itself, but on Twitter as well. Most of you are probably aware of the @fishstripes account and Facebook page, and if you are not already following them, please do! We will be bringing you the latest in Marlins info via those accounts. In addition, follow me at my personal Twitter account, @MRJManiac, for commentary and analysis in bits and pieces as information rolls around about the Marlins this offseason and throughout the year. I hope to speak with all of you at one point or another on Twitter as the weeks go by and we get settled in here at Fish Stripes.
The Supporting Cast
Now, without further ado, let us meet the new cast of characters writing weekly pieces for Fish Stripes, as written by the men themselves with some additional commentary by myself on what they will be doing on a weekly basis.
Tuesday: Ted Hill (tedhill, @tedhill)Ted has been a Marlins fan since he was a kid watching Chuck Carr patrolling center field. Nowadays he's still a dedicated fan, like in 1993. He has coauthored the Marlins Diehards blog since 2009, which focuses on the eccentricities of being a Marlins fan. He hopes to bring some of the same insight on the unique Marlins culture and history to Fish Stripes.
Ted will be contributing a weekly post on Tuesdays on Marlins culture and history. This seems especially pertinent now given Jeffrey Loria's and David Samson's goal of seemingly eradicating everything that was once Florida Marlins and trying to start anew as best they can.
Wednesday: Chris Towers (CTowers, @bobbob1313)
Chris Towers (Born: 1988) has been a Marlins fan from the beginning, though given his shaky memory and young age at the time, anything before say 1997 is a bit hazy. He fell in love with the team during those dark days of the early 2000's, when pre-historic Preston Wilsons and Mark Kotsays roamed The Bermuda Triangle, and was rewarded for his young faith with that special 2003 season. Nowadays, he's a journalist and journalism school dropout (Don't worry, though folks, he's getting a very useful and wonderful Bachelor's Degree in History) who tries his best to apply the sober sensibilities of a 3000 level J-School class to being a fan, with somewhat mixed results. Lastly, he tries to abide by the "VORPy Code," as defined by Junior of FireJoeMorgan.com:
Be reasonable, and be reasonably objective. Please. At least try.
Chris will be bringing his sensibilities to the analysis forefront, beginning this offseason with a look at the Marlins' arbitration process and potential outcomes. The budget will be as important as ever this season, and arbitration will be a big part of what determines the chances the Fish land a big free agent name.
Friday: Mitchell Retelney (MarlinsMR, @MarlinsMR)
Mitchell has been a fan of the Marlins for as long as he can remember. He owes his fandom and love of the team to his grandfather, who introduced him to the game of baseball, continuously brought him to games, and was always game to discuss Marlins baseball. Mitchell’s most memorable Marlins moment was sitting in the upper deck behind home plate and witnessing Jeff Conine throw out JT Snow in Game 4 of the 2003 NLDS. While being able to talk for days about any Marlins player, he takes extreme pleasure in talking about Jeff Conine, Dan Uggla, and Alfredo Amezega (off-field presence can't always be ignored). Mitchell considers himself equal parts statnik and traditionalist; both stats and historical / traditional norms are welcome. Currently Mitchell finds himself under a pile of books, which is also known as "first year of law school."
Mitchell will be bringing a unique look at the Marlins world that I have yet to see anywhere else: the Marlins through the lens of Twitter. Mitchell will be keeping an eye out on Twitter for interesting content and tweets associated with the Marlins during the week and be recapping the social media happenings of the team every Friday. He will also undoubtedly be covering everything @LoMoMarlins says without fail.
The best part about this feature? You, the Fish Stripes reader, can get in on the act! Starting today, the Fish Stripes crew will be keeping an eye out for the top Marlins tweets and featuring a few each week. To get yourself noticed by Mitchell and the rest of us, start using the #fishstripes tag and the best tweets of the week will see play on Fridays at Fish Stripes!
Day TBD: Andres (nothingxs, @nothingxs)
The last, but not the least, on the list of contributors is Andres, who is currently buried in schoolwork as well at FIU. He will be checking in weekly with humorous looks at the world of the Miami Marlins. Given the number of things we have seen these past few weeks in terms of oddities and eccentricities on the part of the team in its move to the new stadium, he will have ample ammo.
I encourage you to follow myself and all of our writers here at Fish Stripes on Twitter along with checking out the official @fishstripes account if you have not already.
Weekly / Regular Features
There are a few other weekly or regular features that I want briefly to point out.
Fish Bites: Those of you who read Marlin Maniac are likely aware of the semi-regular appearance of Fish Bites, which is a link dump piece filled with interesting Marlins content. This time around, Fish Stripes will be doing two Bites pieces a week. One will focus on the team itself, and will appear every Wednesday, typically in the mornings. Another piece will appear every Saturday, again in the mornings, and will be covering the rest of the happenings around the NL East. Both of these will be brought to you by the entire crew of Fish Bites, with everyone contributing to links.
Ichthyomancy: Given the popularity of Ichthyomancy, I promise that it will return in 2012, albeit with changes to the format of the game. Before the season begins, there will be more information about the format changes, but I promise that the premise of the game will remain very similar. Get ready for Ichthyomancy 2012!
Game Threads: The ever-present game threads will also be there in 2012. Those threads are where you will be placing your Ichthyomancy bets along with discussing the game as it happens. Members of the Fish Stripes crew will be on hand to interact with everyone while the game progresses as well.
Game Recaps: Recaps for each game will also be done, with a specific format that you will see when the season rolls around.
There will be more regular features that will be developed as we get settled into the site, so information on that will come in the following weeks. Until then, I hope that the entire package that has been presented today will interest you readers to come along as we continue on with the new Fish Stripes. Regular content begins tomorrow!