Chat With Tim Dierkes From MLBTR

Here it is, our first-ever MLBTR chat!  This very cool-looking technology is from Cover It Live.  Click "Replay this Live Blog" to view the completed chat.

Comments

[kett08]

Great idea, Tim. I am kind of getting annoyed with the jokes and questions that are not serious though. Maybe consider only answering legit baseball questions. Either way, this is much cooler than whatever my Business Law professor is saying right now.

[bobhamelin]

yeah i gotta admit. love the chat option, and hope its a regular feature.

hope it stays baseball related instead of jokes about robo-cop and kwik-e-marts.

[WHIPit]

Maybe only Cubs fans are getting answered. I've asked two legitimate baseball questions only to be ignored for the likes of, "Do you live in your parents' basement?" and "Do you have a real girlfriend?"

Yeah, cool feature. Way to utilize it.

[Tai's Till Four]

Great idea Tim. One suggestion, if you are trying to read earlier in the chat whenever there is a new entry it automatically pulls you down to the bottom of the chat. Is there a way to turn this feature off? I imagine most people watching in real time will want to the auto feature on, but if you enter late it is impossible to read the entire chat because you are constantly being pulled down to the bottom of the chat. Thanks Tim.

[teeball]

I second Tai's Till Four complaint about the auto feature. Impossible to join the chat late and read, very annnoying. Great idea, overall, though.

[fgsfsfbbbrd]

same here WHIPit. what were your questions

[TribeFan06]

theres a button at the bottom of the chat to turn it off...

[Hyro]

Good idea, but it would be nice if you actually answered a question from someone who wrote in about 10.....

[WHIPit]

What a joke.

Seriously, Tim, it's a shame you've shown to be so slanted. I've come here for so long but it seems you go out of your way to make some of us (anyone who dislikes the Cubs) feel disenfranchised.

I'm looking for a new MLB blog to follow.

[Land-Man]

Lighten up guys, Tim's adding a little levity. I'm sure your questions were so amazingly awesome.

What's up w/the logo contest?

[bigcuban]

Dont feel bad I asked many Cubs questions and never got answered and they were serious questions... like 8 questions and he never replied to me

[bigcuban]

I actually suggest you dont continue this... because while Im sure some are happy I bet more than 75% of your questions you didnt have time to answer and for people who asked many serious questions who never got ONE answered.... Im sure they are now pissed... like me for example I come to your site daily and now Im pissed off that not one question did you have time to answer

[ClassyJack85]

It's not the Cubs' fault that they're the most beloved franchise in baseball. I mean Seriously, would everybody visit this site if all they talked about were the Royals or the Rays? I didn't think so

[Tim Dierkes]

I would agree with the lighten up suggestions. Whipit, see ya. Have no idea what your Cubs comment means.

I should note that submitting a question more than once decreases the chances of it being answered, and submitting a long question that would require research isn't going to be answered.

I should also note that the volume of Cubs questions is massive and there's only going to be a handful answered in one chat.

Got about 30 entries in the logo contest...seen some solid ones.

[Tim Dierkes]

Bigcuban there were over a thousand questions being asked. It seems kind of childish for you to complain.

[ClassyJack85]

How about We ask our own questions and we the fans can answer them. I'll start...Beside the obvious answer of Kris Benson, who has the hottest Wife/Girlfriend?

[bigcuban]

Okay Tim I apologize.. I know you have a huge fan base... can you please atleast tell me how you feel about Geovany Soto... do you think he really will do well this season or are we over valuing him?

[Tim Dierkes]

I think Soto will be good this year, good defense and 15 HRs. But when I am looking for a serious chat question to answer it mostly wouldn't be non hot stove and Cub-related like that.

[ClassyJack85]

I'll say Mrs. Jorge Posada, great rack

[CubFan81]

I hate when people complain about not getting their questions answered. As if the whole chat was meant to cater to WHIPit, Hyro, and bigcuban. Have you ever seen what happens on Tim's side of the chat? At minimum two or three questions are sent his way every 5 seconds. By the time he got done answering any one of them, another 5 or 6 may have come in. Now, which one is he going to answer...one of the original 2 or 3 he didn't or the 5 or 6 that came in? Either way you've got people complaining their question didn't get answered. Oh, and more questions came in so now there are about 15 that didn't get answered. Pick one and you're down to 14 but more came in and now you are up beyond 25. Get over it people. I hate how the internet has made people think that the world revolves around them and that every website, writer, message board, and feature should cater to their exact needs all the time.

That being said: Clay Bucholz' girlfriend is pretty hott. Erica Ellyson from Penthouse.

[CubFan81]

I'm changing my vote. Laura Posada for the win.

[bigcuban]

So to understand what exact kind of questions would be most likely to get answered if I have Cubs questions... since I am a Cubs fan of course lol

[INOK]

I think it takes a big set of baseballs borderline softballs to get questions fired at you that quick. Heck, I couldn't keep up reading them. Well I really had to look over my shoulder with that going on. Page scrolling is an eye catcher, at least for my boss. ;) Great job!

[zito4cyyoung]

DEFINITELY cover the draft!

[Tim Dierkes]

I have to be honest. I just wouldn't ask a Cubs question. They are 50% Cubs questions and your chances are slim.

It is more challenging than I thought to see that volume of questions...have to tip the cap to the Keith Laws of the world the way they do it.

[bigcuban]

Okay Tim thanks... I hope I didn't come off as a childish little child... I was just disappointed I asked so many questions and none were answered... I know you had many questions... I know more than just about the Cubs so next time ill ask about other teams and hopefully I will have questions answered then :)

[Tim Dierkes]

I just heard from the Cover It Live guys...there were over 4,500 questions submitted, a record for a one hour session for them.

They told me readers have to control the autoscroll option as their polls say most people prefer it to default to what it does.

[ClassyJack85]

Post From Kenny Williams:

Q. Whats the best thing I did this off-season?

A. You shaved your mustache

I really think Tim should have posted that, I'm still laughing

[bjsguess]

Tim - great job as usual.

For the complainers - cut the guy some slack about not answering your questions. Answering that many questions that quickly has got to be a real pain in the neck.

And for those that gripe about the levity - please. The questions were usually about 10 words long with another 10 word response. What's that take - 5 seconds to read?

I thought the chat was very Keith Lawesque. Good baseball info mixed in with some nice off-topic answers.

[Tim Dierkes]

Thanks bjsguess. You make a good point on the off-topic questions...me straying to do those didn't result in me doing fewer baseball questions. I posted over 100 answers in the hour. I am wondering if it might be better next time if I do slightly fewer questions with slightly more in-depth answers.

[scribbletone]

Yeah I was thinking that using a little bit more analysis would be superior to answering more questions. Its nice to get a lot of questions answered, but I would rather have them answered, and explained.

But overall I'm pretty happy to see another fantastic addition to this site and hope that you keep doing these, because I love them on ESPN and BA, and found yours to be equally as good if not better.

[AtlantaMike]

Tim, they say there's one in every crowd, and I guess I'm the "one" in this case.

I didn't care too much for the live chat. It's hard to stay consistently involved for that long, and the answers are so brief.

I get much more out of the traditional "mailbag" approach, where you have a chance to develop your answers a little more. I'd like to see more of that.

That said, I certainly don't "disapprove", and if it drives interest, great. And it is pretty cool technology.

It's obvious you're putting a lot of new effort into your site; wish you the best of success with all of the changes and new features.

[Lockie]

I would say that you're unlikely to get to the majority of questions at the outset.

I would also get rid of the "do you have a real girlfriend?" type questions - they didn't make me laugh and I wanted to read about baseball.

I wonder if you have thought about sticking a bulletin board/ forum to this blog. Obviously there are many around but the way conversations are threaded through comments feels a little unsatisfactory to me.

Oh, and I forgot, the chat was a good idea, and I liked short answers (like CC to the Yanks) but thought one or two more thought out ones would be good. Really long answers can just be blog posts later, can't they?

[Lockie]

Also, I think people complaining because "my question didn't get chosen" are incredibly childish, though they HAVE made me laugh.

[fgsfsfbbbrd]

my two questions didnt get answered, albeit i got frustrated and asked probably upwards of 30 times.
but it'd be super to hear anyones opinions on this (especially tim but if he doesnt, its okay)
1. what impact will craig breslow have on the braves
2. who will have a better impact on the redsox this season; bartolo colon or julian tavarez

[Tim Dierkes]

You asked those 100 times

[Tim Dierkes]

1. Breslow is on the Indians. His impact would seemingly be 1-2 wins over replacement level.

2. I will go with Colon, who is higher risk but higher reward.

[seanprh]

Hey Tim. Just wanted to say that I liked the chat all the way around. I like the baseball and non-baseball related questions. I liked the humor, sarcasm and seriousness of it all. It's a great feature and I look forward to seeing more of these. Keep up the good work Tim!

P.S. - For all of you people complaining. STFU. Tim works his ass off for us and you need to learn to appreciate that. If you aren't happy with the job he is doing then make your own trade rumors site with as many features as this and see how difficult it is. Quit your bitching and be happy that there is someone like Tim out there willing to put up with people like you to do something he loves.

[Win1forRonny]

good to know that sending it 100x doesn't help.

i really enjoyed this and will return time and time again. it was entertaining and i hope to get a question in.

my biggest question (if you have time to answer it) was a follow up to you suggesting Murton to the Red Sox: Who might the cubs ask for/red sox offer for Murton?

thanks Tim. Love the website, loved the live chat, keep up the good work.

[finite24]

BigCuban, WhipIt, and others who were bitching:

Not exactly the best display of character there. Every strike any of you how childish you each sounded. Unbelievable.

[Hoving]

What a great idea, I love it two hours of taking rumors with Tim.. Can't beat it!
ps. Cubs really need to move Marquis

[scribbletone]

Maybe the reason why Tim didn't answer your question was because you asked so often. The one thing I've learned from these chats on things like ESPN and BA is that the chatters definately don't appreciate it when you ask a question more than maybe twice. I'd be irritated too though

[Land-Man]

"what impact will craig breslow have on the braves"

WTF?

[milehigh78]

The Cubs are the most beloved team in baseball? Umm...OK. Whatever. I can't speak for anyone else classyjack, but I don't visit this site because of the Cubs stuff, but in spite of it.

I enjoy this site, but also believe that- to some extent- Tim's allegiance to the Cubs and his ambitions to cover the whole of the baseball 'rumor-verse' (copyright pending) are at odds. For the most part, it's a non-issue, but sometimes I wonder if there's something of a conflict of interest (I have the same problem with Bill Simmons regarding his fetish for all things Boston).

Just as a team needs a singular strategy on which to base their moves, so too must a site (it would seem to me). If said club splits its focus between a win-now philosophy and rebuilding, they'll fail in both respects (we've seen it time and again). Maybe it's different for a website; I'm just thinking aloud.

[...and maybe I should just enjoy the site for what it is and not begrudge Dierkes his fan-dom! (LOL)]

[goathedxxx]

YOU CAN PLEASE ALL OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME BUT NOT ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME. I love the idea. Maybe to shut these people up, just do one team every time. That way you can tell them "Hey, you knew it was gonna be all Cubs(or what have you), so piss off!" That's what I would do. And to piss them off even more, start next weeks with the Cubs. LMAO GO CUBS!

[studio179]

"I don't visit this site because of the Cubs stuff, but in spite of it.

I enjoy this site, but also believe that- to some extent- Tim's allegiance to the Cubs and his ambitions to cover the whole of the baseball 'rumor-verse' (copyright pending) are at odds. For the most part, it's a non-issue, but sometimes I wonder if there's something of a conflict of interest (I have the same problem with Bill Simmons regarding his fetish for all things Boston)."

They have Orioles blogs, too. Put yourself at ease and do visit one.

[studio179]

I don't believe that the Cubs are the most beloved team in baseball. Who knows? How can any fan say that?

[Tim Dierkes]

"Tim's allegiance to the Cubs and his ambitions to cover the whole of the baseball 'rumor-verse' (copyright pending) are at odds."

You seem like a reasonable person...why do you say this? How are these things at odds? Dig through the archives, you'll see that the Cubs are addressed objectively. I don't have a problem criticizing the Cubs or complimenting their rivals. And if there's more Cubs rumors than there might otherwise be, that's geographic. I have better access to all Chicago (Cubs and Sox) rumors. Have I shown that I'll print Cubs rumors that I would've ignored if it was another team?

I still insist that if I never told anyone I was a Cubs fan, and they just had the content on the site to work with, there'd be zero claims of bias or anything being at odds.

[DunkinDonuts]

Quite frankly, I'm sick of Tim's bias, as well...

In the past few months, he's shown his true colors -- Kyle Lohse bias, Coco Crisp bias, and, worst of all, debilitating Johan Santana bias. If you scroll up to the top of MLBTradeRumors right now, you'll see he's developed an unhealthy obsession with Kris Benson and Claudio Vargas.

How are we supposed to catch up on MLB rumors with all these Cubs being bandied about?