Pete Abraham is leaving town. He’s accepted a job with the Boston Globe and will be returning home to cover the Red Sox. The future of his Yankee blog, which has become a staple in this small corner of the blogosphere, without warning, is uncertain. Someone will take his place of course, but the Pete Abe era of Yankee coverage is over. And that comes as an unpleasant shock.
Congratulations are in order. Because Pete has served us well. Spoiled us, really–which is only fitting, being Yankee fans and all. He was the first beat writer in New York to embrace the concept of blogging. He got it as a way of communicating with the world–how to be engaging, candid, informational, compulsive. It didn’t take any stroke of genuis on his part to post uncut audio from the locker rooms just common sense, a feel for what the audience wants. Nobody else took advantage and Pete ran with it. He’s made a name for himself.
It hard for Yankee fans on the web not to go to his site numrous times each day.
Pete’s gain is our loss, sure, but this is still great news. He deserves it. After all, how could he pass up a chance like this? Even as the newspaper business crumbles and morphs into something different, the Boston Globe is Big Time and you don’t pass up a chance at Pay Dirt when it comes your way. Not an easy cherce–he’s leaving behind some great pals in Tyler Kepner and Mark Feinsand and Sweeny Murti–just the right one.
In a few weeks, Pete will be blogging about the Red Sox, which sure is a funky turn of events–I feel like a dog with its head tilted to the side in wonderment. How will Sox fans will take to him at first? Will his Lo-Hud readership feel betrayed? Blogging for the Enemy. I’m curious to see how it plays out.
In the meantime, a gaping hole now exists in Yankee coverage on-line. River Avenue Blues does a stellar job with information and insight, and there are any number of other engaging Yankee sites, but who is going to replace Pete?
It can’t just be anybody. It has to be someone who loves to interact with his audience the way Pete does, who is willing to feed our insatiable appetitte for information, for the news, for what’s shakin’–Now. I’m not saying it can’t be done. In fact, there is an opportunity for a new voice inside the press box to step in and fill the void. But the bar is set and it is set high. Pete has left his stamp on how the Yankees are covered and how we follow them.
So, a toast. You earned it, big fella. Glad to see you bringing all home.
Oh Man, the folks at NoMaas.org are going to have a fucking field day with this. They always hated Pete.
I for one hope whoever replaces him keeps up with the audio. That's the best part of the blog.
[0] Dang! Alex, I only discovered bronx banter, this community of fans and PeteAbe this spring. As a New York and Yankee-lover living deep in Red Sox Nation, all the cool work you and Pete do has made baseball season and leisure time in general so much more fun. Feel like the new kid in town who just made a friend, then learned he's moving -- so a toast to Pete, sure, but here's thanks to you too, while you're still a New Yorker and here to enjoy it!
DAMN!!! i *just* saw this at LoHud right before i came here. talk about a shocker, outta the clear blue sky. SHIT!!! i was not expecting that. not at all.
at first, i thought maybe he was pulling our collective leg, as he's wont to do. then i knew it was for real. but, then the real stab in the gut came - not so much that he's covering the Shit Sox - but that he's leaving in TWO freaking WEEKS!!! i absolutely thought this would take effect next season (for some unknown reason. stoopid? wishful thinking?).
hell, i never even heard of LoHud before Pete Abe, so he's really done well for himself and his soon to be former employer. obviously, others in his field have taken notice and this is a wonderful opportunity for him. he's not what i'd call "far" from his family, but it's always special to work closer to "home." Atlanta is VERY far from NY, but this is where i work and it's become home. now, if the Yankees wanna pay me rather well to play brushes on a snare drum at Gate 4, i'd have a decision to make! ; )
i've been following Pete Abe from the beginning and his blog is absolutely essential to the diehard Yankee fanatic. i go there all throughout the day, everyday, game or no game, regular season, post season, offseason, spring training. i refresh the page like a madman. i can't imagine following a Yanks game online without it. let's hope it continues in similar fashion. sounds like it will...
Pete's had some of his colleagues take over for him last coupla months, in spurts. most of them seem just as funny and are fed the same info. i imagine one - or a collection - will be given all of Pete's access and can continue the trend. perhaps introduce some new factors, as well. one thing i did notice with the fill-ins, was there were waaaay less updates and stuff. then again, it wasn't their "baby" and they were just filling in.
Pete best (get it?!) not be a good luck charm for the Shit Sox! as far as his readers feeling a betrayal - meh! i won't go near the comments over there and i'm sure he'll have more of the same in beantown. i won't miss all the posts about Springsteen and i'm not often in agreement w/ Petey's baseball analysis. but that's not why i go to him. i just hope all the reasons i do go there, will continue. LoHud MUST realize how important that blog is to all of us and i'd imagine (hope!!!) they'll keep it firmly in place, somehow...
rock on, Pete and THANKS for everything!!! congrats, you've earned it!
LET'S GO YAN-KEES!!!
[0] My first thought was, fuck, this sucks. My second was, I may have to pay attention to the Globe sports section again. My third thought was, if I ever run into PeteAbe around Boston, I am buying him
a drinkmany drinks.I can't blame PeteAbe for going for the big bucks, the big name, and the stability. But I am really going to miss him. The other beat writers are ok-to-good bloggers, but PeteAbe was a master at it.
Dammit.
[1] HA! i didn't think of either one of those things! yeah, nomaas will have plenty of fun with "interested reader", haha!!! i guess they'll photoshop petey on some blubbering fat dude in a shit sox t-shirt, or something.
my little laptop isn't all that great, so i don't do the audio much at all. it's generally very long, loud and poor in quality. that kinda stuff and video, freezes my computer up a bit.
i just LOVE all the updates and being in the know. i hope they keep it up.
[2] Welcome, Mr. Whirly!!! glad you found us. hopefully LoHud will continue. Alex made a BIG move over here - from our old home at 'baseball toaster' - this past offseason and it was rather traumatic for some. we lost some regulars, but gained new ones and this blog has prospered. i pray hard (not in the religious sense, mind you!) that Bronx Banter never gets gone. i doubt it will. it's too special. it's also personal; LoHud is a newspaper.
stick around here - it's the BEST!!! and you have plenty of Yankee fans deep in enemy territory, so you're not alone...
Well written Alex (as always)! Pete is going to be tough to replace. He has a knack for being informative and honest and understanding what his audience wants. I actually probably will check out his Boston coverage. I think it'll be interesting to see how his fan base takes to him (particularly since he doesn't mince words even when he is wrong). He'll be missed here.
i'm not gonna wanna know about it, but i imagine the Globe is gonna want Pete to set him his same style blog with them and he'll cover the Shit Sox and their games exactly how he did it for us. that is a horrible feeling. : /
i wonder if he'd allow his current colleagues to use his template?!
[4] i think i'll hoist a few beers tonight and raise my glass to Pete Abe and his essential blog! i've turned a lot of folks onto it and it's gonna be terribly disheartening for them, too. i know my brother's gonna be upset...
LoHud should give Cliff as much full access to the Yankees as possible and let him take over! and, of course, keep all his work here! : )
Cliff's my very favorite baseball writer and analyst and i think he'd be great at it. then again, i also think he'd be fine to follow Cashman as the GM. maybe he'd hire me to play brushes! ; )
It is a loss to our community.
[9] He leaves behind a 2002 Toyota Carolla and a 2 bedroom duplex in White Plains. Services will be at the Scarsdale Houlihan's.
all this has me thinking...and a bit sentimental.
if we happen to be fortunate enough to win it all, we need to do something in Todd Drew's honor. we mentioned having something about his writing set up here for opening day, but nothing ever came to fruition. Alex has some serious Yankee ties - Reggie, Ray Negron, etc. - but it's not like we can get him a ring. hmmm...thoughts?
Alex - is Todd buried in NYC? if we win, maybe i'd go visit his grave site when i'm home for Turkey Day and can leave some Yankee #27 paraphernalia, or something...
meanwhile, Fuckett's pitching into the 8th. boBBy is up. game knotted at 3's...
Score feels like Red Sox 100 - Yankees 0 tonight.
I like everything about his blog. First place I look for the lineup, first place I look for breaking news, injury reports, tarp on the field updates, etc. I'll miss his wit, and insights. The guy couldn't be more dedicated to his readers, and consistently churns out quality content day in, day out. Total pro. I'll miss everything about his blog, his provocative polls, his offbeat tidbits from inside the clubhouse, even what's playing on his i-pod.
I've never posted on his blog so I hope he comes here to the Banter to see how much we've appreciated him.
Good luck, Pete Abe. Thanks for everything. Keep your Yankees hat, if you have one. You're welcome back here in the big city anytime!
[13] well put Sliced!
"Score feels like Red Sox 100 – Yankees 0 tonight."
i feel it's like that an awful lot. even last night, when they came back and won 9-8. why can't we do that to the damn Halos?! fuck, i just don't wanna face them in the postseason. boston, that is. i hope Cali takes care of them, somehow... and we advance past Detroit, of course...
yes, i eagerly await that lineup ~3:30pm for every 7pm game. i'm usually the one who copies it and posts it here! i don't care about the polls and esp. not his ipod (i guess i'm a snooty professional musician, haha!), but all the other things you mentioned, are of paramount importance.
i've never posted there, either. his comments are nearly impossible to filter though. certainly not a reflection on Pete, himself. i'm sure Alex will hip him to this thread and Pete will stop by.
i've emailed with him here and there throughout these past few years. he always emails back. he always reads everything in the mail and replies to all the points. he's obviously a real solid guy and good egg.
i'm loathing facing every day w/out his blog. they've GOT to find a way to keep it going, as is. can't be too very difficult to keep up without him at the helm. he's left such an indelible mark, someone should be able to grab the baton.
Cult is away from his computer, so i texted him the sad/bad news...
best wishes to pete.
he's a helluva hard working guy - no beat writer comes anywhere close to posting as much information as he did. while i also didn't agree with some of his analysis and occasionally think you could see his biases for/against certain people come through a bit much in his blog (though seemingly less so this year), his blog was great reporting - the access to information has been outstanding and much appreciated.
i also was a bit surprised he would be leaving now rather than the end of the season. sort of seems odd the globe would throw him in the middle boston's season now and lohud must be really disapointed.
[11] i was going to suggest we have a softball game or something in todd's honor on his birthday, but by the time i thought of it his birthday had already come this year - maybe next year.
[14] the LoHud blog will definitely live on, and to some extent everyone is replaceable. Anybody with access can provide things like the lineup, and injury updates in a timely manner. Pete's gift was his intangibles (heh!). Wit and dedication mostly. Yeah, that's what I'll miss.
[15] great idea on the softball game, i'm glad I thought of it! ; ) [man, those i's for an italicized "I" looked weird, typing that out in computer language!]
when was his birthday?
yeah, the timing of this is insanely poor.
[15] yeah, just in time for the playoffs, the globe steals the cc sabathia of yankees blogging. our fuggin ace. boston bastards.
After surfing for morbidly depressing tunes for my iPod, this was not the kind of internet segue one should make. But I can dig it. Do your thing, PeteAbe; no doubt you'll pop up on E@#$ soon enough >;)
Right on, good luck to Pete Abe. He was great and looks like everyone appreciated his work, except, of course, NoMaas.
ooh, i forgot about the Q&A's. those things are fun! crap, he's gonna be blogging the ALCS and it's prolly gonna be for the WRONG team!!! : /
here's Petey's addendum to the sad post:
UPDATE, 8:40 p.m.: Holy cats, thanks for all the e-mails and good wishes posted on the blog. It means a lot to me that I have your support in this. Trust me, it was not an easy decision..
Meanwhile, I’ll be around for two more weeks and I promise one more reader Q&A. We’re going to have some fun. Plus I get a feeling I’ll be blogging the Yankees and Sox in the ALCS and that’ll will be a blast.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ooh, i hope the Q&A is with Swisher! it's gotta be Swish. right?!
[17] may 13
[18] yeah, someone should have at least let us ride out the season with petey manning the ship at lohud. and just to rub it in his update to the post he said he will probably be blogging a ny/bos alcs.
i am curious to see if he is able to come close to replicating what he built at lohud.
[19] ooh, that's right - ESPN. he'll be Gammons' BFF in no time!
Chyll - i'm listening to the most depressing band in the world, but not 'coz of that - 'coz they're AMAZING!!! Doom Metal band from Sweden called Candlemass. they've been around for like 25 years!
new album is unreal! it's called - ready for this?: Death Magic Doom.
first tune: If I Ever Die
last tune: My Funeral Dreams
i think you'd dig this, man! ; )
well, Halos beat the Shit Sox. Wagner lost the game for 'em. i hope it's the same scenario in the ALDS.
Magic Number : 10
pete abe has scooter's plaque. i think i woulda gone with Bo Derek! ; )
[25] yeah but you think with...
And I was pretty stoked with the Rizzuto shot.
I'll probably still follow his Sox blog, but I'll really miss his Yankee blog. I was on that a dozen times a day
[21] If I had to bet, Swisher would be my pick too.
Damn.
This sucks, it really does. But congratulations to Pete, of course, and in no way do I begrudge him it.
I wonder if RSN will appreciate what they're getting. I can't guess. I'll follow closely.
And I wonder if the Globe will hang around long enough for Pete to become established there the way he was in Northern Jersey.
Pete is/was an easy target; I took shots at him myself. He was often over the top with his criticism of A-Rod, and way too loyal to JFR. But no other blogger posted updates as often as he has. Love him or hate him, he will be missed.
dead to me.
As someone who follows this blog and Pete Abe's almost religiously, but very rarely comments, this taught me a lesson: it was don't be so timid. I rarely, if ever, post. And now I feel like I have sort of missed out in a chance to engage with someone who has more knowledge than most and who was willing to share with us all. All the best to Pete, I hope the Boston fans know how lucky they are. I myself will try to be a more active member of the Yankees community.
This sucks monumentally for Yankees fans, just no way to sugarcoat it. I'm very happy for Pete because he was rewarded for doing a superb job and establishing a certain standard -- how could you not be impressed by that, no matter what you thought of his insights or his musical taste. Good for him.
Frankly, this was a very impressive coup by the Globe as well. I don't know if this was already mentioned somewhere, but ESPN has been coming on very strong with the local market coverage and dedicated websites like ESPNBoston, and the Globe knew they had to step it up, given all the competition for Sox coverage as it is. They couldn't have done any better than this move.
Needless to say, this is the worst for Yankee fans in New England, where the Sox are already massively overexposed. Seeing Pete cover the Sox in this year's playoffs is going to be like seeing Jeter or Mo switch to the Sox or Angels...just bizarre.
[32] Pete has more info, not more knowledge, and I say that with all humility...
I only read Pete Abe as a blogger so I'm inclined to think of him that way, though I guess he's a print writer too. Still, I recently spoke at an event for news people including AP, ABC, CNN, WaPo, Public Radio: a lot of senior news people were there, and they were just just understanding the value of the engagement that blogging allows. So it gives me real joy that someone (Abe) who really pushed the publishing form is recognized by the big leagues in traditional media. On the other hand, it can't be long before the advertisers really figure out that the eyeballs are over here and stop paying the newspapers to recruit and do it directly.
I appreciated the frequency and timeliness of Abe's blogging, but for my taste, LoHud just didn't rise to the depth of narratives we get here from the great roster at bronxbanter. So here's a toast to Abe and another big one to Alex, Cliff, Emma (who I'm always excited to read), Firstman, Weiss and any of the guest bloggers you bring in. May I never take any of you for granted. Also, of course, the comments on here are so damn good; I won't compare them to you know who's, but they are very good here. So thanks to the rest of you too (even if you think win expectancy should trump matchups).
[34] I see where you're going with that, but when I wrote that I meant "knowledge" as synonymous with "info"
[35] Still, I recently spoke at an event for news people including AP, ABC, CNN, WaPo, Public Radio: a lot of senior news people were there, and they were just just understanding the value of the engagement that blogging allows.
At least commenters on sports blogs seem to be relatively sane. When news people blog, there seems to be a tendency to get the death panel believing types...and worse.
I definitely second the sentiment that PeteAbe did a very good job with his blog and am happy that he has the chance to move back home and make more money in the process, but I am not sure I'll really miss him. I am sure the LoHud replacement will have the same access and provide the same information, especially because a lot of what PeteAbe so good was his attention to the basics (audio, lineups, weather updates druing delays).
The more interesting thing to me is echoed in [33]. Despite having significant financial problems of its own, the Boston Globe has been gobbling up talent to go along with guys like Ryan and Shaughnessy. Their biggest coup last year was getting Massarotti from the Herald, which added to their roster of big names. Clearly, the Globe must think that having a robust lineup will keep them ahead of the competition, but I wonder if that will work for someone like PeteAbe. He flourished as a big fish in a small pond, but at the Globe there are several big names that one wonders if Abraham will get lost in the crowd. After all, the Globe already has Nick Cafardo, Amalie Benjamin, Adam Kilgore and Tony Massarotti all dedicated to Red Sox coverage.
If I was handicapping the future of the beat, I would bet that Tyler Kepner will get picked up by the Worldwide Leader (he is by far the best journalist in sports right now, IMO), creating an opening for Abraham at the New York Times, which is the parent company of the Globe.
[26] HA! that's awesome, seamus! hey, is this the weekend you're going away? if so, travel safely and have a blast! : )
[27] i think i'll have a hard time following pete abe's shit sox blog. i might check on it for a minute, to see how he's doing and if it's the exact same format. i imagine it'll be the same...and similar shitty comments from immature commenters. his "information" and rate in which he deposits it, will most likely continue to be fantastic. i have the feeling it'll seem like catching your girlfriend sleeping with your biggest enemy. see, it all comes back to women being evil! ; )
[28] i hope it's a Q&A w/ Swish-a-licious!
[30] why can't i figure out who JFR is? i know i'm a dumb drummer and all, but...
[31] dude...
[32] thanks for saying hi! i know how you feel: i read this blog for years - starting when Alex was alone at all-baseball - and never commented. i'm glad i did. so, invictus - your invited! : )
[33] i HATED that ESPN-Chicago thing and couldn't figure out why it was there. now, there's a Boston one. yeesh. and how come New York wasn't first?! feh.
[35] i only read pete abe online, too. it's funny, i really don't consider his page to be a "blog" - i mean, i guess it is, but... - i kinda look at it as a "website"...
great, now the umpires are super pissed at the Halos and are filing a grievance against their coaches, or some bullshit. everything is leading to another NY-BOS ALCS. i think i speak for my buddy Mr. OK Jazz Tokyo, when i say: i really don't want that to happen. my stomach can't handle it...
[35] i hope your speech was successful! : )
[35] I also second this sentiment. To me, a "blog" is a place with unique content and a definied community. The great thing about this place is aside from some regular features, you really never know what you are get, and most importantly, just about ever commenter is accountable for their contribution. In a sense, it is a real community. The LoHud coverage, however, always felt the online extension of a newspaper, albeit done very well.
Pete Abe's big move got a mention over at mlb trade rumors, which, btw, is a pretty excellent site.
I’ve learned to type way too fast…somehow, I omitted entire words and phrases from [41]. I need to let my brain catch up with my fingers.
[38] i agree with most of that. i'm not gonna miss pete abe so much, per se, if his replacement keeps his format in place, for the most part. he deserves a lot of credit for creating what he did. even if it's not monumentally groundbreaking, he broke that ground, and i, for one, am glad for it!
yeah, he even left open the possibility of coming back to the Yanks, at some point. always a good idea, NOT to burn bridges!
that sure is a whole lotta big names the Shit Sox media gathered. and, yeah, Ty Kep, is pretty awesome!
[35] you left out Bruce Markusen, who writes a pretty regular column here. it's either Card Corner or Cooperstown Confidential. it may not always be pertinent to something going on right NOW, but i always feel like i've learned something more about the game of baseball - and its rich history - after reading his columns. they're always a treat and, of course, MORE Emma would be MOST welcomed!!! : )
Jore Posada is apparently using his time off effectively. I checked out Boston.com, and there is a McDonalds ad with Jorge hawking Big Macs (I not sure how wise that is for a boston themed website). Then, I check out another blog (forgot which one) and there is an add of Posada and his wife endorsing Bloomberg! Jorge is everywhere selling everything!
[39] ok, i thought I was stupid because I had no idea who JFR was. Or maybe we both are. HAHA!
yep, this weekend i am off for the woods. If I fight off this cold. damn it.
[43] HA! i type pretty friggin' fast, too. i love the rhythm it makes! fun stuff! it's been harder the last year.5, as i suffered nerve damage in my right pinkie recording a classical nocturne i composed on a digital piano. i'm a tool.
don't worry about [41] - i'm prolly the only one reading the comments, at this point, and as you well know...i'm not that schmart! ; )
[45] i only counted two errors in that post! ; )
i just hope Jorgie's neck is okay. were there any other ouchies from the brawl? hope not!
[46] i'll drink to that! us being Dumb and Dumber, that is. who's who? i can play either part, just fine, haha! i'm on my 2nd Sierra now...
ooh, camping? guess what i've NEVER done before?! time's up. you can add fishing and hunting to that, too...
feel more betterer, dude. hope yins can go on yer trip!
[46] oh, there were 2 penn staters in atlanta this past weekend for a metal fest and an older guy from Altoona who was a big Shittsburgh (no offense meant!) sports fan.
[45] i just found a third error! ; )
is it weird that the ESPN standings have our playoff chances at 100%, but there's no indicator that we've clinched a playoff spot? you'd think there'd either be an indicator or it'd be 99.9%
and according to Mozilla Firefox, "there'd" is a non-existent conjunction. who knows, maybe it is...
[50] I should give out prizes to those who find the most.
wow, Detroit's Run Diff is at a big fat ZERO. Twins have the only positive run diff in the division. they're 4 games out, with a 3-game series starting in Minny tomorrow. they have another 4 head-to-head in a week and a half. outside of that, they've got 6 vs. the Royales and 3 vs. the Pale Hose.
hmmm, we could be facing the Twinkies in Round Uno...
Bravos have won 7 in a row. if they didn't punt on their outfield to start the season, they might be a bit closer in the Wild Card...
[52] well, 3 is my favorite number, so i stopped there and didn't include any missed apostrophe's (which is the crux of the biscuit!).
what'd i win?! ; )
[51] Maybe they are rounding 99.95% up? With the Angels and Rangers playing 7 games against each other, it is probably as close to a statistical certainty as you can get.
[54] A used copy of Mavis Beacon?
[55] yeah, they list the Rangers at 4.7%. obviously, they're cooked. i expected nothing, but am still disappointed. whatever decent pitching they had, got gone and the offense disappeared. of course, losing Young & Hamilton didn't help, not that Hamilton has been all that this year. as far as Tex-ass concerned, at this point, i just hope Nelson Cruz nabs 1 more stolen base to reach 20-20 and Kinsler reaches 30-30. he's real close in both categories...
it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see Minnesota overtake Detroit in the Central and reach the postseason.
[56] HA! i never hoid a dat, so i just googled it and sees it's a typing tutor! hilarious! will it cure the nerve damage in my pinky?! how 'bout my asthma?! (i don't have the latter - it's a Zappa reference, as was the "crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe" bit...)
JFR = Joey Four RIngs
[59] ah, thanks! i don't think seamus or i - or anyone else - would've gotten that! well, maybe my boy Cult... : )
Tomko/Mitre/Gaudin. say what you will you about the latter two, and PeteAbe recently posted about how well Tikki Tikki Tomko has been doing in Oaktown, but this just in:
Brett Tomko out for the rest of the season with nerve damage in his right arm.
he threw a terrific game vs. the Rangers on Monday, then couldn't move his arm the next day.
don't feel bad for him - not only is he a multi-millionaire who lives in San Diego, but he's married to a freaking Playmate and is expecting twins in the next coupla days. i wish the nerve damage i suffered from recording a classical piano piece last year came with such consolation prizes. : /
[20] and there it is - NoMaas has a special video clip up for Mr. Peter Abraham.
(it's really not that great - read: funny)
I hope I can be forgiven if I'm more towards the Nomaas side of this one than the sentiments expressed around here. Not all the way to that side, but I liked his info much better than I liked anything else about his work. I'll leave it at that and only add that I'm with basebaal - I hate anything and everything associated with the Red Sox. With no exceptions and no quarter given. You step across that line and you're part of that self-congratulatory, spectacularly deluded, insufferable, sign stealing, stomach-turningly unoriginal mouth-breathing parade they've got going there. Wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire.
Tomko was pitching in Oakland, anyway, for Godsakes, where absolutely nothing matters and the foul territory goes on forever. On a list of things I've never lost a minute of sleep about, how Tomko was doing in Oakland? High on that list.
jjmerlock - i agree with you on most all of that.
i don't really see PeteAbe as switching "allegiances", 'coz he's a baseball writer. i don't think he's a "fan" of either team. it was a career decision, and that's that. i've emailed with him, here and there, over the years. knowing he's from the Boston area, one of my first emails to him, inquired about where his fandom lied.
he said something something to the effect of when he was 20, he covered the Shit Sox for some assignment and they treated him sooo poorly, he was devastated (not 'coz he was a fan, just in general), and he never looked back. he wasn't a Yankees "fan", like we are, but he provided us with good information. that's that. hopefully his replacement keeps his updates in a similar fashion, 'coz it keeps us in the know...
i only linked the Tomko bit, 'coz Petey posted about it recently and this is a Petey post.
i'm completely with you on loathing EVERY last detail of the entire Boston organization and bullshit "nation". in fact, i wish Bud would just fucking contract them. i wouldn't miss them one iota. i'm a rather peaceful man, yet i hate them with every fiber of my being.
[64] and, yeah, there's waaaay too much foul territory in Oakland. i also hate ballparks that have bullpens on the damn field. it's dangerous AND distracting. i also don't like parks where there's a dirt path from the pitchers mound to the plate.
hmmm, what else do i dislike greatly? the boston shit sox.
How about that insane play with the ball going into the equipment bags this year? That has got to settle that argument for all time. I also generally agree with the "writer" thing - hell, I used to be a journalist and believe fervently in the "no cheering in the press box" thing (which by the way, to my unending disgust has been obliterated by so many, with so little thought) - but find the line to be a little blurry when it comes to that sort of blog position.
[67] yeah, even the "mainstream" guys at the 4-letter network have their own "blogs" now, and we all know where their allegiances lie - Neyer:Royals, Caple:Mariners, Olney:Dodgers, Stark:Phillies, and on and on. fuck all of 'em - GO YANKS!!!
Pete Abe has truly never gone one way or the other. he's from New England and he's covered a lot of teams. we know he's a die hard Patriots and Bruce Springsteen fan. i, personally, don't give a flying fuck about either one of those "brands"...
shit, why am i not remembering the equipment bag play?! i only had 5 beers, so it can't be that! i do remember the play where the ball went into the pitchers' uniform!
did you ever cheer in the press box?! even just once?! ; )
i read the Fritz Peterson article from the NYT. i suppose some would get a kick out of it, i did not. just not for me...
[68] and just so that's not read wrong - i was trying to put Pete in a good light, saying he's never showed fandom before, or "cheered from the press box". in fact, he tries to shed light on the good guys from teams and make fans feel good about their allegiances.
good luck with that in beantown! ; )
[59] seriously, I had no way of guessing that.
[70] I have no doubt that the Red Sox have some good guys on their team. The fans, however, are absolutel cocks. I've never seen a bigger collection of white trash meth mouth fuck sticks in all my life than the last time I was a Fenway. A fossil of an old woman actually spit on me for wearing my Jorge jersey. I have never in my life felt like punching an old woman in the face, except for at Fenway.
Pete, if part of your job is to make Red Sox fans feel good about their allegiances, I pity you.
blogging bombers states they will try to fill the hole from petey's departure
Wow.
Best of luck to Peter.
[73] I imagine a lot of the beat guys will be stepping up their blogging game on the double. Feinsand's work is very good, but I'mma go Kanye on him for a moment and call b.s. on his expressed intent to become a "one-stop shopping" vendor for "all things Yankee." Good luck with that. Nobody should seriously think they can be all that.
[62] the NoMaas thing's aiight. I don't know exactly what went down between them and Pete, but looks like they had a legit beef with him for a couple minutes. Funny guys, and made a good name for themselves doing drive-bys on "institutions" like Torre and Abe. A little too much about their own hype, but I respect their game, and check 'em out daily.
Nope. Still sucks in the morning, as much as it did last night.
[68] No, absolutely not! Some things are sacred, and frankly, that's the price of that awesome view from high above the catcher that they give you. And the free pass to get inside the ballpark.
[72] Thank you for sharing. In honor of the High Holy Days, which start tonight, amen.
[56] Mavis Beacon!!! Holy crap that brings me back.
The funny thing is, for about the past 2+ years I've visited PeteAbe's site, oh I'd say, 46 times a day...but two things I never did: I never commented (whats the point really? it was 9,000 comments on every thread and 60% of them were of the "AROD IS TEH SUCK!!1" variety), and I never actually read any of Pete's game stories.
His biggest strengths:
-giving us damn near total access to the clubhouse, you could always be pretty sure that if Pete saw/heard it...he let us in on it too.
- His Q&A's and interviews...always a treat.
- He's a Springsteen fan (that counts for about 100 points in my book)
His Weaknesses:
- His game analysis. Not always wronger than wrong, but inconsistent and sometimes more than a little shallow. For an actual game analysis he can't touch Kepner or Feinsand, IMO.
- His tendency to beat a dead horse on players/topics that bothered him. I get it Pete, you think A-Rod is "a clown" and "a liar"...but God forbid you actually say that to his face, better to stick it on your blog or twitter and then kiss his ass during the postgame presser. C'mon now dude.
t I liked his info much better than I liked anything else about his work.
His info is all that really matters. So he can be a self-righteous, carping jerk at times. Who cares? It's not like I would want to hang out with him. What other beat writer spends every waking hour blogging? That's why he will leave a void.
I'm sorry I didn't read through all the comments if the answer lies there but:
Is Pete a Red Sox fan or a Yankees fan?
He claims to be neither, but he grew up in MA and is a Patriots fan so...
[80] Don't know for sure, but I think he's more of a football fan (Patriots) than a baseball fan. Seems to me baseball is his job, and football is his sport to be passionate about. It's a credit to him that we would have to wonder what baseball team he roots for.
Even if he didn't root for the Yanks in his heart (though I suspect he did root for the Yanks because it was good for his business), he clearly respected the organization, it's history, and his position.
Here's how Pete closed his Stadium Memories piece posted here on the Banter a year ago this weekend:
"Yankee Stadium is the front office of baseball, the best venue in the game. Where else does baseball matter more? I feel tremendously fortunate every time I sit down and look around. At that moment, there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be. That’s my favorite memory, no matter how many times it repeats."
Not good news. I'll miss Peter. I loved his insider comments about the players and the team. It was fun when he gave info on the media baseball games and showed pictures. I feel betrayed that Pete going to cover the awful Red Sox and jealous that their fans will be getting his great info. I'm wishing him all the best!
[79] I think you're missing something here. Anyone who has a sizable readership or listenership (like Francesa) will influence a portion of the fan base to take certain views. When those views are based on faulty premises or certain biases, it doesn't really represent a positive thing. While you might have exclusively related to the blog on an info-only basis, that's you, not necessarily your typical reader. So that's why I liked his info, but wanted to leave it at that before delving into the issues invoked by the "who cares" part of your post.
--And now I feel like I have sort of missed out in a chance to engage with someone who has more knowledge than most and who was willing to share with us all.--
What kind of knowledge are you talking about? Pete had inside scoops because he had access. But baseball knowledge? Analysis? Um, no.