Dropped Third Strike

It’s day one here at Dropped Third Strike, and like a lurching infant taking its first steps, we’re just really hoping we don’t fall down. And that there’s Jello for dessert. In fact, you should probably think of the next few weeks as a kind of teething period. Painful for us, and lots of screaming for you to have to deal with. But hopefully after those excruciating weeks we’ll emerge with a brand new set of chompers, ready to take on solid foods and solid issues. Enough with the baby metaphors. Onto some FAQs. (Or what we’re hoping will be Frequently Asked Questions, so far no one has asked them…)

Q: Why do you exist?

A: Deep question, thanks for asking. Dropped Third Strike is a blog devoted to all things baseball. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the feel, Joe Morgan’s delightful misogyny–we love it all. A word of warning: we at Dropped Third Strike are Yankees fans. Unapologetic, proud, lifelong Yankees fans and no amount of Carl Pavano signings or Steinbrenner rants will change that. So from time to time you may see an unnecessary and extravagant IN YOUR FACE post directed at Yankee-haters. (Be particularly wary of these during series against the R*d S*x [yes we consider those words to be foul language and we'll have none of it here--Dropped Third Strike is for the kids] and Mets). Alternately, you’ll see the occasional (we hope) furious diatribe, if, say, LaTroy Hawkins is pitching. BUT the main focus of this blog is not the Yankees (those delightful, lovable rapscallions); we love the entire baseball universe, and most posts will be about non-Yankee related dealings.

Q: Why do you call yourself Dropped Third Strike?

A: Your first question was better. Dropped Third Strike refers to the rule in baseball whereby a batter can swing and miss at a third strike, but if the catcher drops the ball, said batter can head on down to first, and if he has the good fortune to beat out the throw, he’s considered safe. We think it illustrates the quirkiness and detail-oriented nature of the great game of baseball.

Q: What’s with the “we” thing? Are you more than one person? Do you think you’re royalty?

A: Dropped Third Strike is primarily the work of one man, though we will occasionally turn over the reins to “respected” friends and colleagues for guest postings. We use “we” to maintain a level of objectivity and because sometimes we like to pretend we’re a princess. Err, prince. Err, Tom Brady. Err, Eli Manning. There we go. I won’t always use it, since it starts to get to be a pain, and sometimes I do shoot for some honest, personal moments, but we’ll try to use it as much as possible. The “we” also refers to the fact that Dropped Third Strike is all about interactivity. Comments are welcomed, will always be read, and frequently discussed. The direction of the conversation is entirely up to you. Unless we’re in a bad mood, then we’re writing about whatever we want.

Well that’s it for the inaugural posting of Dropped Third Strike. Check back here tomorrow and in the future for raucous and occasionally well-informed baseball talk.