Bleeding Blue and Teal

by ~ November 29th, 2009 at 12:09 pm

I started Bleeding Blue and Teal back in November 2007 as a way to curb some offseason boredom after rediscovering my love for baseball the previous season.  Since then the way I view the game has changed dramatically and the site has grown into a success.  It’s been quite an experience.

I wasn’t ever trying to accomplish anything with this site.  At one point I may have thought I could make some extra money by selling advertising, but I quickly learned that it was hard enough just earning enough to cover hosting costs.  At one point I may have hoped the site would lead to bigger and better things, but I’m neither sabermetrician nor scout and I have zero interest in pursuing anything in traditional journalism, so I’m not sure there is anything out there for me.  Overall, I just wanted to make a website that Mariner fans would enjoy, and I think I’ve done pretty well over the past two years.

Over the past few months I’ve been contemplating the future of this site.  The conclusion I’ve come to is that this is not something I wish to keep up on my own long term.  Frankly, the experience has gone a little stale.  It takes a lot of time simply keeping up with everything going on in the Mariner universe, let alone coming up with post ideas and taking the time to write.  My life has changed a lot over the past couple of years and free time is not as abundant as it was when I started this.

I’m moving on.  Thanks for reading and offering your input over the past couple of seasons.  I’ve truly appreciated it.

Now, if there are any writers out there who would like to continue this site get in contact with me and we’ll see if we can work something out.  Maybe I’d even stick around in a part time role.  But, until then, take care.

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  • http://blog.riseinside.net riseinside

    This will definitely be a loss to the Mariners world. This was my first stop each day and I feel the best M’s blog out there. You will be missed.

  • Adam The Lord

    This was definitely unexpected and sad to hear… I just want to thank you Jon for all the work you’ve put into maintaining this blog and although I haven’t been following it for more than a year, it’s been a joy to read and I always loved the “bleeding blue and teal” name. Good luck with whatever you choose to allocate you’re free time towards, and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I would love for you to return to the Mariners blogosphere at some point.

  • Mr.Benton

    I’ll miss it, been checking the site religiously everyday and even before that when we just had that myspace group. Good luck Jon you are quite a blogger.

  • Thunderstruck

    Although I havent posted in a long while, I have been checking this site everyday since the beginning. Thank you, Jon for maintaing what I beleive to be the best Mariners blog of the past couple of years. Good luck with whatever you do next. Go M’s.

  • marinermex

    Wow… I have been following this blog since a long time everyday even before checking my email but this is the first time I post. It’s sad but we sure understand that you have to move on.

    Saludos desde Mexico!

    Bleeding blue and Teal will be missed!

  • gsquared

    Your blogging will be missed! Best of luck in future endeavors.

  • Tim B.

    This has been one of those rare sites that provided useful information and commentary. Good luck, Jon. Thank you for your time here.

  • Slurve

    And that’s all he wrote…

    I loved this site I really did it’s sad to see you go, but have fun!

  • dmojr

    sad to hear it Jon, i’ve always loved reading your insight and views on the game. Not being a sabermetrician or a scout is something that made your blog original and friendly. Thanks for the great articles, and good luck in the future.

  • http://www.sodomojo.com gregrabble

    Whoa. This I didn’t see coming. You’ve done a great job with this site, Jon. Thanks a lot for keeping it and your insight going, sad to see it go.

  • eastcoastmariner

    I’m very sad to hear this Jon. I can say with complete sincerity that I loved reading this site on a daily basis. Your authenticity, opinion, and writing style was something I’ve been striving for since I started ECM. You were the first person to reach out to me and encourage me to continue what I started at ECM and I cannot thank you enough for that. I agree that maintaining this type of blog is incredibly time consuming(to say the least) but I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and would love for you to contribute at ECM if your interested. Good luck and thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into maintaining this terrific blog!

  • issymicen

    Jon~ Thanks for answering all my questions and your right is amazing. You will be truely missed. Once again thanks for everything in my short time here.

  • MissoulaMarinerFan

    Word. I really enjoyed your unique blend of commentary that came out from you not being a scout, nor sabermatrician. I only posted a couple times, but this site was a regular stopping point for me. Good luck with all your future endeavors! You will be missed!

  • M-ners27

    Finally!!! I can spend more time reading the U.S.S Mariner blog.

    Just kidding, I’m going to miss this website.

    • http://proballnw.com Jon

      hahaha

  • http://www.seatownsports.net seatownsports

    Hey Jon! Thanks for all you’ve done for the Mariners blogosphere. I’m going to miss your analysis, good luck with your future endeavors.

  • Larry Stone

    Best of luck, Jon. This was one of my daily stops on the blogosphere and I always found your posts interesting and informative. I can certainly attest to how time-consuming and all-encompassing blogging is. At least I’m getting paid for it; I certainly understand why you are calling it quits.

    Congratulations on doing good work. I’ll miss your takes.

  • ernier

    Thanks Jon for all the work you’ve put into this site. You’ll definitely be missed

  • Brandon

    It’s sad to see you’re calling it quits, Jon. Once you started the site, i stopped checking other blogs because, quite frankly, yours is the easiest to read and the most informative in my opinion. Good luck with everything you do in the future.

  • http://mvn.com/marinermelee Mariner Melee

    Good luck on your future endeavors Jon!

    I’ll miss visiting the sight, and reading your post.

  • Taylor H

    If I have anything to say about it, you’ll be enshrined in the Seattle Mariners Blogging Hall of Fame.

    • http://proballnw.com Jon

      Do I get a plaque?

  • http://proballnw.com Jon

    Thanks for all the kind words everyone. You’re making me feel guilty! :D

    • sodomojo95

      Look Jon, you can’t quit now! Especially after this outpouring of love! Every single comment has been about how much everyone appreciates your work! Now, I’m a die hard Seattle Mariners fan who has been relocated from the great northwest to Texas. And although I’ve been separated from Mariners Headquarters, I’ve been able to stay connected to the team through blogs like yours. So for me, you stepping down is like you taking away a part of what truly is my experience of Seattle Mariners baseball.

      And that, my friend, is why I will do anything I can to help this blog survive. As a high school student, I don’t have much time on my hands (especially when our spring season rolls around) but I certainly spend more time following the Seattle Mariners than I do on homework. Thus, it would not be much of a burden to write one or two pieces a week to help keep the blog alive. Of course, I like you, am not a statistician, or a scout, or a journalist. But what I can do is write coherent sentences updating the community on Mariners news. So I would like to offer my services, if they could be of any help, to keep what might truly be the experience of Seattle Mariners baseball alive for others. However, for this blog to keep its integrity and to maintain a regular flow of Mariners news, I certainly could never do it alone.

      So I beg, oh how I beg Jon, please help us keep the blog alive. You could write once a week, or once every other week, or once in a blue moon! Certainly there are others out there that feel the same way. And hopefully, there are others out there who are willing to sacrifice some of their time to maintain the blog formerly known as Bleeding Blue and Teal. Indeed, with a handful of devout M’s fans, we could certainly keep the Mariners blogosphere entertained (or perhaps fooled) for a while. So please Jon, please do consider sticking around in some manner.

      For some reason, I feel as though there are at least 25 others who feel the same way.

  • jeremytk42

    But this is the only baseball site the nerds in our IT department haven’t blocked….what the hell am I going to do all day now, work? Now that’s gotta make you feel REALLY guilty…ha!

  • http://www.marinercentral.com Lonnie

    Jon,

    PM me over at The MC. I’ve got an idea…

    Lonnie

  • Orlandu

    This has been one of my favorite baseball blogs to read over the past couple of years. I can definitely understand where you’re coming from though, as it’s a lot more work than I’d be willing to put into something like this.

  • docmilo

    Jon,
    Thanks for all the “Good Stuff”. I haven’t followed the site the longest or participated the most, but every time I found something new here, it was always… good stuff. Keep up the good work and I really appreciate your love for the game (and the M’s).

  • PrimeTimeG

    It’s been fun and informative reading your musings. I guess I’ll be seeing you in Twitterland. Take care.

  • harrison

    Holy crap. Didn’t see this coming much like everyone else. Jon you have supplied great advice, opnions and encouragement. I will miss your writting and great blogs entries. Maybe after some time off you will perhapes reconsider.

  • ppl

    Sad to see this sight go, It was a regular read that I will greatly miss.

  • marinerdynasty

    Hi Jon, it’s sad to see you leave.

    I’d be very interested in continuing the blog with you playing as active a part as you can manage.

    Could you please email me and let me know what information you’d like.

    Have been following the mariners’ every game for a lot of years, all over the world. It’d be great to help (and if needed run) a blog.

    Am very familiar with wordpress and hosting and the mariners and seattle.

  • http://proballnw.com Jon

    Between this thread and the emails I’ve gotten, it looks like I’ll have a solid team of potential writers to pick from if I decide to bring in some new guys in order to keep the site alive. However, I’m probably going to hold off until after the new year to decide if that’s something I want to do.

  • MarinerMe

    Thanks for the work you’ve done. You will be missed.

  • Thunderstruck

    Jon, make an encore post about the Figgins deal!

    • http://proballnw.com Jon

      No! Heh.. but I’ll give you my quick take:

      I’m alright with the deal. As Dave has pointed out, Figgins’ versatility it gives Seattle some options going forward. In fact, this should have been a move that more of us predicted given Zduriencik’s obvious love for players that can move around the diamond. If Beltre accepts arbitration for some reason or a trade for a 3B comes up, Figgins can move to LF or 2B without hurting the defense (although 3B is definitely his best position right now).

      The 4th year is a little scary, but the hope is that we’ll get enough value out of him the first couple years that we’re willing to overpay the last couple of years, and that Zduriencik won’t add any more risky contracts that spill over into 2013.

      I’m also curious about the lineup structure. I don’t particularly like Ichiro and Figgins going 1-2. I wonder how many singles followed by a fielder’s choice we’d see starting off the games. I think I saw somewhere in the SABR-crowd that ideally one would hit 1st and the other 6th, but that seems pretty unlikely as well. Figgins at leadoff and Ichiro at 3rd is intriguing. In all likelihood they’ll be 1-2, however. Meh.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Patrick Whealton

    Jon,

    Upon seeing this post, I was hit with a rush of various thoughts and emotions:

    The first and foremost of which is appreciation. As I’ve begun my collegiate career, I have not had nearly the time I would like to follow my beloved M’s and your blog has literally been my only connection to M’s baseball.

    Next, of course, is congratulations on what you’ve accomplished. It’s fun to think back to the Mariner Nation days and relive some of the excitement that I experienced when I ran that blog and of course, onto the days of following and writing for BBT. I know exactly how it feels at that point when you realize that you just don’t have the time/energy/passion to continue a blog. What you’ve built here is a community and a classroom. Your insights have been superb and your dedication has been unparalleled in the M’s community. You’re writing style, grammar, diction, etc. has improved to the point where I wouldn’t be able to differentiate your posts from those of the big-name bloggers and journalists.

    Of course, I would love to see this site continue. Although I couldn’t make a committment to start writing again, I hope and believe that you’ve attracted the best and brightest of the M’s community to continue intelligent discussion.

    You’ve built something powerful, long live BBT/PBNW!