Hello Nats and Orioles fans! This is a member of Red Sox Nation speaking! But I am not just another fan. I would label myself as slightly obsessed with Red Sox baseball. As the daughter of a softball Hall of Famer, my affinity for the sport is genetic, so my addiction is not entirely my own fault. I will spare you the thousands of reasons for my devotion to the Red Sox. Two World Series championships in the last three years speak for themselves and there is no disputing which team is the best in baseball. My Red Sox wall calendar tells me there is less than a month before the start of spring training, so I am oiling my glove, pressing my replica player’s jersey and counting the days until the official start of the ‘ol ballgame.
In the meantime, I am keeping up with the latest team news from the official web site of the Red Sox as well as through the Boston Globe. Red Sox Nation is also full of bloggers, diehard fans like me who cannot bear to be separated from their beloved team even during the off-season. Among the Red Sox faithful who enjoys staying connected to cyber-fans is Red Sox right-handed pitcher Curt Schilling. He is the creator of 38pitches.com, a blog he started to raise awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and Malignant Melanoma, of which his wife Shonda is a survivor. The blog also serves as a forum for Red Sox and baseball fans as well as computer gamers. The blog is aptly named, as Schilling wears number thirty-eight for the Red Sox. Schilling is also one of the more outspoken members of the Red Sox organization. Where fellow players remain silent on issues unless asked for their opinion by the media, Schilling comments on what is happening in his life, the game of baseball and the world at large. The blog has allowed him to put his opinions into writing and gives fans the opportunity to respond. He is passionate about his family, his profession and his philanthropic causes, so without a doubt, the blog reflects his views on the things that are important to him. He invites readers to comment on his postings and even to disagree with him. The opportunity to “speak” to Curt Schilling through the medium of the blog is pretty thrilling to this Red Sox fan!
In the past week, I have been following 38pitches.com a little closer than usual in order to determine whether the site makes a good “pitch,” or throws a curve ball that leaves readers guessing. To begin with, the layout of the blog makes it a user-friendly site, as tabs at the top of the page link to separate pages about the blog, Schilling’s philanthropies and his newly-created 38 Studios, an entertainment and game development company that Schilling hopes to advance further in his life after baseball. Along the side of the homepage are the categories for Schilling’s postings: 38 Studios; Baseball; Family; Games; General; Life; Sports; and Websites. “General” and “Life” seem to house the same postings, however, and I am not sure what the purpose is for two identical categories. In addition, the blog is enhanced by an Archive dating back to March 2007. Readers who want to relive the glories of the 2007 Red Sox season can revisit Schilling’s posts in order to get the right-hander’s perspective.
The blog is not updated daily by Schilling. He does not have a desk job that allows him to comment regularly as a journalist might be able to. With spring training followed by a 25-week season, Schilling is a busy man, although he does admit that he finds it easier to post on the road than when the Red Sox are playing at home in Boston. While this reader would like daily updates, I can appreciate the complexity of Schilling’s schedule and savor the comments he is able to post, especially during the regular season. Given the busy state of Schilling’s life, the blog is surprisingly well written. I must admit that when I first got on the site, I was skeptical as to whether the postings were actually authored by Schilling. He has enough money and enough of an entourage to allow for a ghost-written blog. But taking into account his penchant for speaking his mind to the media, I figured Schilling would also do as much on his blog. The postings do read like someone more comfortable with the spoken word rather than the written word and lack the polish of a professional writer. The posts are simply Schilling being Schilling. And, the ease with which commentators can post their own comments to a Schilling post via WordPress account makes this blog a home run to this devoted fan!
GO RED SOX!!
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