Mariners Blogs you visit Daily?

[JosephC]

What Mariner Blogs do you visit daily in order to check up on the latest news/stories?

My frequent stops are Geoff Baker's blog, USS Mariner (just because I find his topics interesting), I also like Larry Stone's blog.

What are your stops?

[Igoe4Mariners]

Mainly just Baker's. Although I stop by USSMariner some. I just spend too much time on my other sports teams to spend reading three different mariner blogs haha. If they were doing better than they are this season, then it'd be a different story.

[JosephC]

I think Baker is by far the best writer as far as blogs go in Seattle. I like Larry Stone since he puts an emphasis on the minor league talent we have. Alot of people tell me that Kirby Arnold (http://www.heraldnet.com/section/BLOG05) is one of the best, but I rarely visit it.

[SeattleSportsNerd]

I frequent USS Mariner and Prospect Insider more than any other. Occasionally I'll look at Geoff Baker's blog, but I like the fan point of view you get from the other blogs. Baker's blog is where I go to confirm a rumor, as it seems to be more news than opinion. The odd thing about how frequent I'm at USS Mariner is that I never comment and Dave Cameron is starting to drive me crazy. Smart guy, but I rarely agree with him.

I used to think Prospect Insider was by far the best blog, but it seems to have gone downhill since Jason Churchill starting working for ESPN. They seem to rarely post over there. Either way, I'm an Insider and he's got great scouting reports on the players in the minor league system.

[Igoe4Mariners]

I like how Baker blogs from a non-homer point of view unlike most of the other Mariner bloggers. Sure he might be a little harsh at times, but the facts interest me more than hearing some guy say "we'll be great next year" and not give a reason why.

[SeattleSportsNerd]

^^^True, but I'm such a homer I'm okay with it, lol.

[JosephC]

Does anyone here read Kirby Arnold, just curious?

[clarknova]

I read Kirby Arnold. He's a good writer.
I'm sort of cringing as I do this, but here's my list...
Blogs I visit daily (and read when there is a new post, or review comments on previous blogs if the subject is interesting to me):
USSMariner, Lookoutlanding, Prospect Insider, Bleeding Blue & Teal (now known as ProBallNW), Fangraphs, MLBTraderumors, Geoff Baker, Larry Stone, Kirby Arnold, Seattle PI, TNT (Tacoma), NBC Circling the Bases.
That's just the blogs, and that's just the Mariners. I feel like one of those grotesquely obese people on the Discovery Channel when they make a giant table full of food so they can show the person how much they actually eat in one day. I'm pretty unrepentant about my M's nerddom though, I have no plans to cut back.

My favorite blogger is/was Derek Zumsteg (SP?) AKA: DMZ from USSMariner, I'm also a fan of Graham from Lookoutlanding (fellow math nerd) and Jeff Sullivan from Lookoutlanding (nobody hates Baker more than that guy, bobody).

I comment on Bakers blog about once or twice a week, and that's about it. I've been in the Times forum some, but I prefer this one. LOTS of A-holes in the bigger forums, and I don't get off on humiliating people for having a different opinion than I.

As far as good and bad M's blogs... I've been reading some of those blogs for years. I truly believe that one of the great things about baseball is it's unpredictability. In that, there are innumerable ways to build a winner- and because of that there are a lot of opinions that get bandied about as "facts". I'll be the first to admit that there are some things about baseball that I hold "true". These things come from watching the game, and also from reading about the team and trying to remain objective.
Geoff Baker gets a ton of crap because as Igoe perfectly put it, he's not a homer. Personally, I look at him as the other side of Dave Cameron. They don't like each other (justifiably), but they have a lot in common as far as their writing goes. I think what bothers most fans about both is they have a hard time stepping away from being "realistic" (reality being subjective in both cases). It's cynicism in a sense, and that's why I think they can be so divisive. Some people online make it seem like it's fricking team Edward and team whatever the name of that werewolf in that movie is called. Like you have to pick a side. I disagree with both of them all the time, but I appreciate their opinions. To be honest I really do think Cameron is smarter, but I'm saying that from the perspective of an accountant (my job). Sabermetrics makes sense to me. It's accounting. I do also think that Geoff Baker is incredibly arrogant, and not because he didn't vote for Edgar for the HOF, but more so because when he was assailed for it, and many other things, he is not only indignant, but absolutely could care less about Seattle fans and their emotional ties to the game, and let's be honest, we all get emotional about our favorite teams. To have the #1 beat writer for the #1 "paper" in the area basically say, "oh, you 'care' about your team? I'm just here to analyze, and give my disconnected opinions about them. It's a job, I'm only a fan because it's my job."- I can see how people get irritated. Same for Cameron. I'm pretty confident in my ideals regarding the team and the game, so I'm not threatened by any of them, I think it's amusing to read a different look. I don't want to just read stuff that supports my opinions, I want to read stuff that supports the opposing view- even if it's "wrong".

For the scouting side, Prospect Insider is unparalleled. Nobody knows more about our farm system than those guys, and even though as SSN stated- Jason A. Churchill is working for ESPN and the posts have been less than frequent, that guy has connections to scouts and a wealth of knowledge about the Mariners and their minor league teams. If you like reading about our prospects and draft picks, his site is by far the best. They have a $4 a month membership fee that I only pay in the off season. There's plenty to check out for free.

Ok, done babbling!!! (man, I don't know when to shut up, do I?) been crazy busy at work, and will be out of town this weekend, but I'll post when I can.