Hello, and welcome to Federal Baseball.
If I were wittier, I'd sign my posts under the pen name "The Federalist"; on the other hand, that would be kind of silly, since this blog has nothing to do with The Federalist Papers.
No one named "The Federalist" wrote Federal Baseball, either, though that is the reference in this blog's name. Federal Baseball was written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. Insofar as my name isn't Oliver Wendell Holmes, that's also not how I'll sign my posts.
Instead, I'll use my name, which is Basil. It's pronounced "Bay-sil," but you can call me "Bah-sil" if you promise you'll still read this thing. You might remember me from such blogs as Nationals Inquirer. Actually, that's the only blog from which you'd remember me, but it did recently receive its one shining moment, getting an entry at Baseball Primer. (I also wrote an article for Primer in May 2001, though you'll have to trust me to an extent on that; it looks like the article has been removed from the site, but my author page remains immortal. Muwahahahaha!)
Nationals Inquirer was my blog until about fifteen minutes ago. Now, it's this one. I think it's an upgrade, and I thank the folks at Sports Blog, Inc. for the opportunity.
Okay, so what will be this blog's focus? Well, it certainly won't be the Federal Baseball opinion, since four paragraphs do not seem sufficient material on which to base a blog. Instead, as you might have guessed, this blog concerns the Washington Nationals.
Hey, don't let the anemic offense and the run-suppressing ballpark and the unconscionably horrid shortstop fool you! I've blogged this team all season---charting a course through the terrifying highs, the dizzying lows, and the creamy middles---and I can attest to this: it's an interesting team, one worth your support, and there's still time to get in on the ground floor!
As luck would have it, I'm starting up here right after the (Nationals') season is over. I don't mean that sarcastically, you know; instead of second-guessing Frank Robinson or belittling Jim Bowden for . . . well, being Jim Bowden, I have the special opportunity to start anew---to look at the team through a fresh prism, as it were. I probably would have thought and re-thought the roster a dozen times between now and February, but now I know again that I have to. That's a strangely liberating feeling.
Anyway, that's score, folks. If you're a Nationals Inquirer reader, thanks for making the course correction! If you're a new reader, welcome aboard!
Before I go, I want to note that the Nats' slice of fandom is an enthusiastic and growing neighborhood---blogs included. In fact, the "Natosphere" predates the Washington Nationals, if you can believe it. I started doing this in January, and mine was like the fourteenth Nats blog to come along. Since then, many have come (and are still coming!), and some have gone. But through it all, we've created a collegial and fervent community. I'm proud to be a part of it.
And, tonight, I'm proud to have joined the Sports Blogs community, too. Thanks for dropping by, and don't be a stranger.