For some time now, I have been recruiting Kirsten Karbach as a contributing writer here on Phuture Phillies. Kirsten is the voice of the Clearwater Threshers. Among many things she does for the Threshers, Kirsten broadcasts over a hundred ballgames each season, seventy home games and a large number of road games. Continue reading Introducing Kirsten Karbach, a New Contributor to Phuture Phillies
Category Archives: Announcements
What Next?
Well, if you are reading this I can still post. And, if I can still post, I will continue to post.
I was as shocked as you when I read on Twitter that Phuture Phillies was “shutting down“. I read Gregg’s goodbye post and eventually saw the e-mail he sent me shortly before he posted his goodbye.
Vic Filoromo contacted me last night about keeping the site up and running. I am not adverse to the idea, but Gregg was the last person to have admin privileges. In a later contact with him, I got the impression that they are not his to pass along.
So, while I can still post, I can’t maintain some of the site’s features. I can’t update Transactions. I can’t add new Categories, like adding a new menu option for the 2015 Reader Top 30. I can’t update any file that I didn’t create. I can’t add new writers.
But I can continue to post until some outside force takes down the site. So, I’ll start the Reader Top 30 next week. I’ll continue to post a Weekly Discussion feed. I’ll continue to post transactions.
I have been approached by other sites and asked to consider joining them. This surprised me since I don’t so much write articles as report what I see. Then I realized that my best asset isn’t how or what I write, but more that I’m actually on site during spring training, extended spring training, FSL, GCL, and FIL.
I’ve grown attached to Phuture Phillies and all the readers and commenters here. I like the format and enjoy the interaction in the comment section. I chose Phuture Phillies because of the quality of comments posted here. So, while carefully considering these offers to join other sites, I will continue working here. Hopefully, Vic will continue to contribute as well.
(BTW, if you rely on Twitter to notify you of new posts here, that account belongs to Gregg. He’ll probably be taking that with him, so you may want to follow us to receive notices of new posts at @jimpeyton19 and @victorfiloromo. My account has the extra added bonus of in-game tweets during the season.)
Moving On
With the draft over, I thought it was a good time to make this decision. I will no longer be writing for Phuture Phillies going forward, and will be moving on to other projects. I have thought a lot about this, and I have enjoyed writing here, but in the end I think it is a good change going forward. Gregg will continue to run this site, and there will still be great content by the writers here.
I want to thank Gregg for the opportunity to write here over the past year and a half. I have enjoyed my time here. And I would like to thank everyone who has read my stuff and interacted both in the comments and on twitter, it has been awesome being a part of this community here.
I will continue to write about prospects, the location of that writing will come together at some point soon, and I am excited about the future. You can always find me on twitter @Matt_Winkelman
-Matt
Looking to Add More Writers
We have been really excited about the content we have been able to provide you this year. I cannot speak highly enough of the work Jim has done reporting on the Florida teams, and we are looking forward to Victor’s work going forward on Reading. Also, look for more work from Chris King as we move into the summer. We are not looking to add a ton more content to the site as we don’t want to drown out the work already occurring here. We are looking to add some diversity to our coverage to fill in the gaps.
Lakewood & Williamsport Corespondents:
- 1-2 Articles a week covering the team as a whole as well as highlighting individuals
- The ability to contribute long form articles about the organization as well as minor league baseball or the draft
- Must be able to attend games on a semi-regular basis
- Should have a good feel for the Phillies organization
- You may approach this from the perspective of a fan, reporter, statistician, or a scout
- Should be able to proofread and edit ones own work
Submit Your Questions And Reports
So if you have been paying close attention to the site, you may have noticed some new links on the side bar. One is for you to submit your mailbag questions. I don’t know how often we will answer them, it depends on how many you ask, but the team here will do our best to provide you the best (not always most informative) answer to your questions. The link to the question submission is here, you can also ask us via email or on Twitter.
The other link is for you to submit your own scouting reports for games you attend. We are looking to build a data base of trends in stats and opens that aren’t captured by other sites. The most simple measurement are pitcher velocity readings, but hitters you can give home to first times and pop times. However there is plenty of room to add your opinion to the assessments. You can find the link here. You can also email us full game reports and we will work to fit them in as guest pieces among our regular contributors.
As always, check the pages at the top, I will be working on getting all of the player pages updated. The draft page for 2014 already has some links and I will populating it with more reports, mocks, and draft boards as we start to kick off our draft coverage.
Great News! and Help Me Provide What You Want to Read
I just received exciting news. The Clearwater Threshers have agreed to provide me with press credentials for the 2014 Threshers season, XST, and GCL.
Understandably, at this level, they do not have an open clubhouse. I will have to arrange any interviews with players and coaches through the front office. So, provide me with the names of players/coaches you would like to hear from and I will do my best. If you have specific questions you would like answered, you can forward those too.
You can provide both in the comments section or if, you would like, you can e-mail them to me at jimpeyton19@yahoo.com.
And Another Keyboard Heard From
Greetings Readers
As we approach the start of Spring Training, I would like to take this opportunity to say, “Hello” to all the Phuture Phillies readers and also tell you a little about me.
I retired from a civil service position in the fall of 2011 and moved to Clearwater within 6 weeks. I began devoting my time to following the Phillies off season moves. I visited all the sites you probably access to keep abreast of baseball news. I was growing increasingly appalled at the amount of negativity on most Phillies sites when I found Phuture Phillies.
I became a Threshers season ticket holder in 2012. I discovered that Gulf Coast League games were played at the Carpenter Complex that summer. I learned about the Florida Instructional League that autumn. Continue reading And Another Keyboard Heard From
Site Maintenance and Changes
I have been working over the past few months on minor site upgrades here and there. The big thing I realized during this process is that the site as currently constructed, is not especially mobile friendly, and it is not conducive to a multiple author environment. Over the past Phuture Phillies has add pieces by a limited group of contributors and so the straight stream of stories made sense, but it has become increasingly clear that it can cause certain pieces to be lost in the shuffle.
So, over the next week or so there are going to be a lot of dramatic changes. When it is all said and done I will showcase some of the new features. Please be patient during the changes. If you have feedback during the process feel free to share it as some of the build decisions are still in progress.
EDIT: We are looking for pictures of Phillies minor leaguers. If you take pictures and would like to see them displayed, email me at mattwinkelman136(at)gmail(dot)com. We will work to make sure that you are credited for your work.
Introducing the New Writing Team
Over the past week Gregg and I have been working to bring on some new voices to the site. The goal is to bring on people who are passionate about baseball and would bring good writing and insight to the community here. We were seeking to cover as many of the affiliates as possible with in person views and reports. In this we have mixed a combination of skills including long form articles as well as scouting reports. There may be some growing pains as we seek to balance everything together, but we are really excited to bring on four new writers to the team and what they can help us bring to the site. Continue reading Introducing the New Writing Team
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