Taking The Plunge

Congratulations, Tim. As a "webtechprenuer" myself I know how cool it is to start with that seed of an idea and bring it to life. Very cool. Keep up the awesome work here!

PS, some people have suggested changing the white text on black, and that is a BAD idea! It's way easier on the eyes and it's just part of the look and feel of MLBTR by this point.

Just my 02 cents...;)

Here's my advice.

1) You've basically cornered the mlbtraderumors technique and Player analysis, and what not. This can mostly be done at your computer and scouring the net.

Basically you could just keep what you're doing there, but expand, by maybe doing more "insidey" interviews, perhaps with players, scouts, or GM's if you can get in the pressbox somehow (who knows?).

2) Graphically maybe more real in game pictures or something.

First off, let me say I rarely miss a day without popping in to see what you've uncovered...fine job!

The biggest beef I have about the site is the white text on the black background. All speed limit signs in this fine country of ours are black type on a white background for a reason...it's the best contrast known to man & makes it easiest to read. Keep up the great work!

I don't know if this is part of needs and luxories already but maybe if it woulden't be too much work to try and post your thoughts on how every team might do next year, what signings they've made you liked, or what what trades you think the teams should make in order to improve your team? Just a word of advice you don't have to make it your main cause, it was just a suggestion that i thought could help out the site.

P.S. Do you Tim or any of the readers know of any good books i could read right now. I just finished Son Of The Mob and thought it was great. Are there any books similair that you might be able to recommend?

Tim been reading since the beginning which is when I was a Freshman in high school can't believe I have been going to this site for that long but I think it is the best baseball site you have stuff even before MLB.com has it. Keep up the good work and one thing is I keep e-mailing do yo u now anything about Cubs and Brian Roberts?

Tim, like others here I am a long-time reader (this is my first post however).

I just wanted to congratulate you on what you've done. You certainly do have the dream-job.

As for the site, I'm a fan of the black and white style. When I see it I instantly think "quality". It has made your site unique.

The posts with insiders, like the Tampa and Baltimore guys are nice additions. I would like to see more of these.

Does your new "job" include even more goodies over at RotoAuthority?

Thanks and congrats!

This is the only website I continuously check. It's my facebook, if you will. For the depths of my heart, I want to thank you for the work you do.

One addition to consider would be adding the Rotoworld sidebar thing, like on Viva El Birdos.

Tim, congrats on "taking the plunge". I just started my own baseball website and having a great time doing it.

Keep up the good work

Also, more Cubs rumors.

I have been an "addict" of MLBTR for about a year now and from what I have gleaned from the site I could not be happier for a guy with your character to have his "dream job". cheers

I suggest getting something other than Typekey for posting. It's pretty bad.

By the way, typekey logged me out when I was about to post this....again.

Thanks everyone. I think it came as a surprise to my boss because I'd just bought a new house. But he'd known about the site for a long time and was always very understanding about it. Money comes in from the ads...more traffic, mo money.

TypeKey...I thought that had gotten better. No?

I'd keep the layout since it is a trademark style that makes the site unique.

Rotoworld has much of the same info and is sometimes faster so you'll need to find a way to beat that. More analysis helps but it might not be enough in the long run. If you could try to network and get more insider info before it comes out on paper, that would be nice.

I would say one of the biggest things you could do is have an injury report/news.

I am a RotoWorld fan and do write for them a bit...but the majority of the rumors I post come from newspaper website feeds. Similar opinions on stuff would just be coincidence...I wouldn't rip 'em off like that. They are lightning quick posting news, that's for sure.

Insider info would be great, assuming an outsider like me can build up enough sources.

Regarding the sidebar...right now I'm showing the last 15 posts (was at 30, just changed it). Does 15 seem about right?

One way to declutter it will be to move the search box to the top of the page; perhaps the mailing list and RSS buttons as well.

I've been reading this site for a long time. I love it. I'd keep the black background, it's really unique.

This is my homepage up at school, (Go Mizzou) but my family gets upset when I come home and change it on their computer.

First off, Congrats Tim. I echo all the positive things that everyone has been saying. In addition, I'd like to thank everyone who brings something insightful to the discussion. There's been numerous occasions that I've become immersed in a heated debate.

As far as suggestions, I want to repeat the mobile suggestion. My phone has half ass internet and the site can be difficult to navigate with the long side bar links. July 31's was especially painful with the constant stream of posts. Keep up the good work!

Agreed on the need for a more mobile-friendly site...just don't have any idea where to begin. It's on the To Do list.

Tim,
Good luck with the site. I have no doubt it'll do well given the level of enthusiasm and reader addiction.

You may find it optimal to move beyond this standard blog template and into a more complex web architecture. You can still have the blog as the main feature. But as your site grows you'll find this Typepad format may not accommodate expansion, user management, revenue generating options, and flexibility as the web (rapidly) changes.

As far as the black & white, it it very easy to have the users change the colors to their preference. And, as stated, above, making it more mobile friendly is good too.

Congrats! It certainly seems like you take a lot of your reader's (including mine) time up, which means you've got something going on...I've always disagreed with the fact that people call this a Cubs-centric site. Well, that is until you start to move up in the Cubs front office : )

Big Ups Tim!

I am have recently started a blog and I suppose deep down it can become my career, although I am not setting myself up for failure.

Proud of you. ;)

Another long term reader (once in the morning, once in the evening) from the UK. Congratulations! I wonder how you really make enough money from this site though!?

I also like the idea of a forum attached. You might get fewer comments but there aren't any forums on the web that are great (even based in America!) in my opinion and forums can encourage a real community feel!

gratz man. been reading the sight for most of the offseason and plan on continuing. as for suggestions, you might try a sidebar comment java dealie like on dodgerdugout.com, I enjoy that, even if it's not really constructive, it's interactive and that generates hits. anyway, good luck!

It's great to have you full-time! One suggestion I have is more of the great interviews with your "experts" like the recent series w/ Marc Topkin on the Rays. Thanks for all of the great content and I look forward to much more.

Hey man,

Best of luck on your new adventure. Takes a lot of guts and hopefully it'll turn out great. Your site is outstanding and my first and most trusted source of MLB information on the web. As a Braves' fan, I spend a lot of time over on Dave o'Brien's AJC blog, but you usually crack stuff even before my team's beat writer. DOB's great, but this is where I always head first when I want MLB news and rumors.

Kudos and let's spread the word about MLBTraderumors.com.

-P

Another long time reader and infrequent poster here.

For the second off season in a row, your site is helpig me make it through to spring. Thank you, and keep up the good work.

Hey Tim, congrats and good luck!

Stumbled upon this site during the Mark Texieria sweepstakes, and I've checked it every day since.

Best of luck man.

Congrads Congrads and more congrads.

Great work, and thanks for giving me something to read while I waste time at my desk, staring at my RSS reader.

Congratulations on livin' the dream!

I have one proposed change for the site moving forward. It would be great if the site had an auto-refresh feature that the user could turn on or off.

I know that I would find this useful, especially during the hot stove period. Once again, congrats on your new full-time gig amigo!

Congrats on making everyone here even more jealous. As easy as it sounds, maintaining a website/blog is a lot of work, especially a successful one.

Now that you more time, updating your needs/luxuries page would be great. Any added attention to individual teams will always increase your traffic and bring people back. (except the yank/sox boredom)

I've been a long time reader and this is my first time posting, and I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoy the work that you do on this site.

I sit at work all day, and I am constantly checking for updates!

Thanks for all of your hard work!

Oh, and I personally like the white on black. It is very easy to read.

Congrats. Been a reader for about 2 years. Great insight. I do have 3 suggestions:
1. Add more NL-only and AL-Only information.
2. Draft infromation that is auction ($260 salary cap) based versus snake draft only.
3. Ease up a little bit on the Cubs preference. I think it is only natural to talk highly about your favorite team. But, outside of Chicago, it is viewed a little differently.
Anyways... Great site. Keep up the good work.

Hey, another small thought. Over at "Fark.com" when you go to the comments, it gives you the current number of posts. I know you already do that, but the unique thing is if you go back to the comments later, it will show the current number of posts with a +13 or however many posts have been added since you last viewed it, as well as a red line under the last comment you were able to view, so you know where the new ones start. You may need to sign up for an account on Fark to get a sense of it if you don't know what I'm talking about, but I enjoy it and think it's worth a look.

Congratulations Tim

A few suggestions or comments on previous ideas...

1. The white on black is unique, and I don't feel it is difficult to read. Different skins is one option, but it would be much easier to code a "font size" option for people having trouble reading.

2. Type key is a real pain. I like to qualify my posts, and hence they tend to be a little longer. As a Cubs fan, it has proven important to offer facts in my posts as most people are skeptic of Cubs fans.

3. I think a real relevant application would be a player comparison showing stats (major or minor league). Often I will have heard of a prospect, but must then search all over the internet to find comprehensible stats/scouting report. Being able to pull up "Brian Roberts vs. Cedeno Marshall and Marmol" would be interesting.

4. As both a real baseball and fantasy baseball enthusiast, I know that fantasy sports are a thriving industry. While I dont think comments on the game should necessarily litter the website, I think it might be a profitable spinoff.

Congratulations Tim!

Great job making your passion your living.

I think everything is great on the site but I think more fantasy information would keep me and more people engaged into the site all year long.

Maybe your top 20 rankings at each position as to not have to do a complete "guide".

Also your sleepers and busts lists would be wonderful.

Thanks again for a great site.

I'm a long-time reader of this site. I don't post much, but I stop in here many times a day. Congratulations, Tim. You've changed this site incredibly since it began, and you've done a great job. You've made it a lot more professional, have gained respect from other websites, blogs and readers, and you've put an awesome amount of time into it. Keep it up, brother!

As for a fantasy spin-off...I already have one!

http://www.rotoauthority.com

please could you fit in one rotoauthority post like every other day.

i also would love to see a return of the '08 draft kit.

Congrats Tim. Add me as an envious sports fan, who actually has to work a 9-5 job. Long time reader. I enjoy a lot, and some of the rumors, I even get a kick out of. Keep up the good work