Author: Will Sommer
I recently had the chance to send Joe Janish of MetsToday.com a few questions, about the Mets, and his blog.
Will Sommer: What do you think of Fred and Jeff Wilpon?
Joe Janish: I think they own the most fabulous toy/hobby/business a kid could ever
want.
WS: If you were the GM of the Mets what would
you do differently?
JJ: Tough to say, since I'm not sure how much falls under his
responsibility. If I had the power, I'd put more emphasis -- and dollars --
into the scouting department, talent evaluation, and development, and instill
an organization-wide philosophy that focused on fundamentals. At the big-league
level, I'd try to build a team more suited to Citi Field -- one based on speed,
pitching, and athleticism. In fairness, we didn't know how Citi Field would
play until now, and I think the promotion of Fernando Martinez is a sign that
the Mets put a value on athleticism.
WS: What are your thoughts on F-Mart so far?
JJ: He looks like a legit Major League talent. I like his bat speed, his
running speed, and his arm. His fielding looks good so far, though I haven't
seen enough of him yet to pass judgment. Will he be a superstar? For me it's
hard to say right now, as he projects to be a corner outfielder and we may not
see the power for a few years yet. At the same age, Jose Reyes looked like he'd
be a star, because he had off-the-charts arm strength, speed, and fielding
ability, and was already swinging the bat well. Carlos Gomez was similarly
skilled in the same areas at 20, but the bat wasn't there. Right now, F-Mart
doesn't look "off the charts" in any one aspect of the game, but he
does look good in every area and he hasn't appeared overmatched. From all
reports he is a really good kid, and that's a good sign. His success is
directly tied to his ability to hit, and hit for power. We may see that develop
before the end this season.
WS: How did you start MetsToday.com?
JJ: MetsToday grew out of an ambitious website project I started in 2001
called "OnBaseball.com". The plan was to be an online baseball
magazine, to write articles about every MLB team and also mix in baseball
history and instruction. Other than season previews of the 29 other teams, all
of my articles were about the Mets, and was thinking it might be a good idea to
narrow my focus since I didn't have a staff and wasn't as motivated to write
about every team. But then MLB shut down Bryan Hoch's site
"MetsOnline", and I wasn't interested in getting sued by MLB, either,
so I pulled down the pro content and used the URL more as a testbed than
anything else (I'm a web developer by trade). By 2005 it was becoming clear
that MLB was going to embrace the idea of fan sites, and I simultaneously
became enamored with the blogging platform WordPress, so decided to start up a
new blog about the Mets. To my dismay, "MetsBlog" was already
registered by some kid working on a school project, so I dreamed up the name
MetsToday.
WS: Did
you ever imagine that your site would become this big among Met fans?
JJ: Is it big? I've never thought of it that way, maybe because the rest of
us seem so tiny compared to MetsBlog and Deadspin. There was only a handful of
regular readers for the first six months, and many times in that first year I
came close to quitting. So at that time, no, I felt like that tree falling in
the forest that no one hears, and the idea that eventually, thousands of people
would visit on a daily basis seemed implausible.
WS: Tell
the readers of MFF about your successful catching career.
JJ: I've been catching for almost 30 years, going
back to little league. I played four years for St. Peter's College and coached there
for a few years afterward. In 1992 I finished among the top 15 NCAA D1 hitters
and was named to the All-ABCA team, but a severe ankle injury thwarted the
chance to go pro. Still, I tried, and played in some highly competitive semipro
leagues, with and against former MLBers. One of my highlights was catching Jim
Bouton, whose book Ball Four inspired my love for writing.
WS: What is OnBaseball.com?
JJ: Now, it is a site specifically for baseball instruction, drills, and
tips for both players and coaches. In addition to playing, I still give private
baseball lessons and my goal with OnBaseball.com is to help others and teach
the game to anyone I can't meet personally.
WS: Is Mets Today your full time job? If
not do you see someday this being your full time job?
JJ: I wish. If my wife was willing to live in a tent next to a WiFi
hotspot, or move to Costa
Rica, I might be able to afford to do this
full-time. Some day? Maybe. It's the ultimate goal, though if it ever feels
like a "job", that'll be the time to give it up.
WS: What would you say to reporters that don’t
like blogs?
JJ: I would ask what it is they hate about blogs. The fact that anyone can
publish a blog and write whatever drivel they want gives old-time journalists
the idea that all blogs are unprofessional. But blogs are like beer -- if all
you've ever had was Meister Brau or Natural Light, you might think that you
hate beer. But those brands don't represent the best the beverage has to offer.
I would also say that blogs are a more natural medium of communication among
people than "old" journalism, in that it engages the reader and
creates a conversation. Interaction and the exchange of thoughts is what moves
the world forward rather than backward. The dictatorial, one-way conversation
of a traditional newspaper column is fascist
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