Reminder – Site News!

Author by scoutsaysweitersisabustPosted in Baseball, Site News

ScoutsUpdate: Reminder we are still taking submissions for site names.  I will be gathering the best of the best and putting up a poll in the next few days or so, then deciding from the top vote-getters.

 

Exciting news all!  Our little experiment has thus far been a massive success.  I am humbled and delighted by the success and popularity of our little site.  Last month alone we had over 13,000 hits!  And we are still growing!  Our writers are putting out some fantastic articles, and our comment section if filled with some really great discussion.  So today I’d like to announce that we are moving on to the next site to being all official and proper.  We are getting corporate sponsorship!  NASCAR has decided to step in and fund our little project.  There will be videos and commentary, and Jeff Gordan’s face is going to be splattered all over the site.  Of course that means that we will have to under go a little…redesign.

Just kidding!

We are actually going to be getting an official domain name! 

What?  Yes, we will no longer be found at the terribly long and confusing: https://scoutsaysweitersisabust.wordpress.com/, but rather a full and proper domain name.  What domain name you ask?  Well, that’s up to you!    As I’ve stated from the start, this site is built on it’s members.  The writers, the commentators.  So far I’ve been a little partial to Hardball Conversations, but that’s only been a placeholder for now.  So get to suggesting.  We can keep the HBC name, or we come up with something better together (That’s actually available as a domain name).  So get your thinking caps on.  There are still some behind the scenes things I have to work out and the process will likely take a week or so, so we are aiming for having a name in place in very early 2016.  So what do you think?  Do you like Hardball Conversations?  Do you like something better?  Keep in mind, it needs to be relatively short and easy to remember.  It has to clearly show that we are a baseball discussion site, and it has to be something that’s currently available.

93 thoughts on “Reminder – Site News!”

  1. I like Hardball Conversations in that it is easy and it is already in place to some extent. That said, if someone comes up with something that is just too catchy to ignore, then I’m open to suggestions as well.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I hate it because it’s an obvious rip off and we need to move on from our collective ex. That said, I know scout won’t go for my Homers and Bastards suggestion. 😉 Put yer thinking caps on.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. I think of it less as a rip off and more as an Homage. It combines where we came from with where we are going. I really like Conversations because that’s what this site is all about. Starting the conversation. Baseball Conversations would work, but seems to lack a certain panache.

        But I am certainly open to good suggestions.

        Like

        Reply

        2. Then offer a suggestion instead of shitting on other people’s ideas. I’m not naming the site Bastards and I’m not naming the site hit in the dick. If you think you can come up with something better that’s the tiniest bit appropriate, then do so.

          Like

        3. The one thing you should’ve gotten from my exchanges on Skype is that I don’t take well to authoritative bs. If it’s your site, name it whatever the hell you want. I don’t know why you bothered to ask anyone else. I’m not volunteering my time to promote a vanity project for you. Have a nice day.

          Like

      4. And I’m not here to bend to your every whim and desire. I opened up the conversation for people to discuss site names, not to be negative and nasty to one another. This was supposed to be a positive discussion. I also don’t respond well to ultimatums and threats. No one told you you had to change your posts (Most of which I greatly enjoy), but if you are going to pout and leave because the site name isn’t the name YOU want, well that’s your decision. You are a valued part of this site, however you are just one member of a group. We were having a private conversation, and then you decided to be nasty publicly and it was completely uncalled for. I’ve said I am open to suggestions, however I don’t want a site name that is completely inappropriate.

        Like

        Reply

    2. I don’t mind HBC, although I would shorten it to Hardball Convos or Hardball Chats if we were going that route. I see the “Hardball” part is an homage–some of the people date back to Hardball Times. I still visit them regularly. Hardball Talk is dead. It’s now some nbcsports.com slash something something. RIP

      Homers and Bastards is funny but if we’re trying to attract a broader audience, it’s not conducive. Circling the Bases–is that domain name free? That’s not a bad suggestion.

      Turning Two Talk
      Can of Corn Talk (since everyone here appears obsessed with food)
      No Pepper Games
      High and Tight (for historio)
      Shoestring Catch Talk
      Sorry, I’m brainstorming. Also trying to figure out a way to work scout into the name.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      3. What about combining the history (Hardball) with the reason the site was created.

        Hardball Refugees
        Hardball Pilgrims (though, I guess the journey wasn’t particularly long)

        I don’t know. I do like the idea of having “Conversations” in there…the idea that posts are supposed to inform and serve as points of departure for discussion.

        Any suggestions for terms that refer to discussions in baseball?

        Maybe, “Meeting on the Mound”?

        Or a reference to “discussions” between managers and umps?

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

      6. Well done, Paper. Spoken from another tool.

        I am still thinking about possible names. But if a quick decision is needed, I will show deference to the guy who got this thing off the ground..

        Like

        Reply

        1. I’d like to be settled on a name by the beginning of the new year, but there is no immediate rush, so as long as there is good debate and discussion going, I’m fine with taking a little time to make sure we get it right the first time.

          Like

  3. Last time I won a contest to name something, it was the newly acquired giant Madagascan hissing cockroach at the Macondo Zoo. I chose “Alger Hiss.” Of course, the contest was sponsored not by the Zoo itself, but by the late lamented Street Level magazine, of which I happened to be the editor. But hey – a win is a win is a win, no? Anyway, here’s Alger:

    But as far as naming the site, we could always go back to some variation on “Circling the Bases,” which, many of you will recall, was what they used to call HBT before the pencilnecks at NBC decided that standardization was the wave of the future.

    Wave of the future.

    Wave of the future.

    Wave of the future….

    Like

    Reply

    1. PS – next installment of my epic cricket and baseball series will appear here this weekend.
      Just so you all have something to look forward to after the saccharine residues of Feliz Navidad have dwindled to Muzak.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. As it it a bit lost above, I kinda like “Meeting on the Mound”, with the subheading, “Candlesticks always make a nice gift” (although “We are dealing with a lot of shit” seems more accurate”

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    3. I’m certainly good with drawing inspiration from Bull Durham, but rather than the candlesticks subheading…how about “A Collection of Five-Cent Heads”…

      Like

      Reply

      1. Indeed.

        There’s a place a block or two south of Wrigley called Merkle’s Bar and Grill. I’ve partaken of a few frosty beverages there.

        Like

        Reply

  11. So I am generally fine with Hardball Chat (no need for it to be plural, chat is inherently plural). It permits us to keep using HBC as an abbreviation. I do not feel it is a ‘getting over our ex’ situation, after all I doubt most of us hate Craig or HBT, at least for me it was just that the new site does not meet my needs, especially the need to be browsable.

    That said, there were several suggestions in this thread I did like, and if HBC does not win I’d say Baseball by Committee, Tools of Ignorance and Meeting on the Mound are all very good. My one complaint about the last two (and a few others) is that they imply a more specialized focus, Tools of Ignorance implies a focus on catching, Meeting on the Mount implies a focus on pitching (and Batter Chatter implies either a focus on hitting, or a focus on pancakes). I think Baseball by Committee is more geared towards what we do here, acting as armchair GM’s and arguing with each other, and HBC also advances that…

    So, typing this out I have a compromise idea that retains our HBC acronym: Hardball Committee

    Feel free to hate it. 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Great input!
      I like Meeting on the Mound because I can use a screen capture of Matt Wieters as the banner logo! (Kidding.) (Kinda.)
      I’m going to take the best of the best suggestions in a few days and up a poll and let us really discuss all the options before we all settle on a final winner. In the end, the final decision will be made by me, but I won’t override any overwhelming majority. If everyone’s split on the final name, I’ll pick my favorite of the bunch. I consider my vote as more of a tiebreaker.

      Like

      Reply

      2. With respect to the process. I agree that it is better to take some time to really consider the options to see if something better is forthcoming as sometimes the first suggestions are the best….but sometimes more creative ideas arise after having more time to think about it.

        Last think you (or we) want is to pick a name and then have a better idea the next week.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    2. I thought about Tools of Ignorance, and while I know it’s in reference to catching gear, I think it makes us too easily mockable.

      I like the HBC acronym. Hardball Chat or Committee work.
      Meeting on the Mound is excellent, with Candlesticks Make a Nice Gift as the subheading. I think it’s my favorite.
      Baseball by Committee works too. We kinda Pitch by Committee (that is, pitch ideas by commitee)
      Batter Chatter–you say a focus on pancakes like it’s a bad thing.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. I love pancakes, and hey it would be funny to see Gator work that into things. But we might get some odd site traffic. Again, not necessarily a bad thing.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

      4. I didn’t make it…had just seen it before. I think there is a version with more frames (at least, I remembered it having more frames), but that didn’t pop up in a quick search….and really, 5 seconds was all I was going to invest in it.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

      5. And yet I hear from Cubs fans that Schwarber shouldn’t be trade bait to an AL team that can use him as a primary DH and occasional 1B/LF fill in. And that he’s worth superstar talent in return despite his complete lack of defensive ability.

        Love the kid, but seriously, he shouldn’t be near the field unless its an emergency or there is an injury. And yeah, that diminishes his value.

        Like

        Reply

        1. That’s because us Cubs fans always knew, even with his monstrous bat, he was still a work-in-progress defensively.

          Theo’s been pretty clear that Schwarber is as untouchable as Bryant is…and based on what Jason McLeod (head of player development/scouting) said recently, the long-term plan is still to develop Schwarber as a catcher.

          “I think the plan going forward is still to get him as much time behind the plate as we can. He’s working hard at it this off-season and he’s got a great relationship with Tim Cossins, our field coordinator who really took him under his wing in the minor leagues. Tim oversees our catching instruction as well as Mike Borzello in the big leagues. Just like I said, Kyle is so committed to doing it. He’s got a skill. He’s got great hands. The receiving part is pretty good. It’s a lot of the mechanics of the release and the footwork and the movement behind the plate. We believe in him as a person for sure. He’s going to work tirelessly to put everything he has into it. Our focus with him going into 2016 is still to work at catching as much as he can. We still have Miguel Montero coming back and that’s going to allow us to probably move Kyle around a little bit like we did this last year because more than anything we still want his bat in the lineup as much as we can get it in there.”

          Like

  17. Of the ones mentioned, I think I like these most. In order:

    Meeting at the Mound
    Dugout Discussions
    Walk-Off Homers

    I’m disappointed nobody likes Yakkers. 8~)

    I would prefer to leave the Hardball handle in the archives. It’s kind of played out already and rather than a tribute, I think it has kind of a junior varsity vibe to it.

    Like

    Reply

  18. It’s Christmas Day here already, so I just wanted to say thanks for the early laughs I got from the Homers, Bastards, and HBPiD banter! My version of a sense of humour also likes Fan Interference and Bench Jockeys, but I appreciate that something a little more baseball specific (and closer to ‘mainstream’, whatever that is) will better serve the site as it grows in appeal to a wider audience.

    Meanwhile, the BBQ awaits – lobster tails, prawns (shrimp in Paul Hogan-speak), Balmain bugs (Gator, I now you approve), various salads followed by both cake and pie, and all washed down with an assortment of local bubbly. Best wishes to y’all, and remember to eat responsibly… Yeah, right!

    Kangaroos in the snow

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  19. Did I see High Fly Ball? The Hot Corner? Batter’s Box? Rosin d’etre? (See what I did with that last one?) They seem obvious. Two seam, Four seam, we all seem – too long. Greg Maddux’s Disgusting Dirty Pranks. Doc’s Acid Trip. Ownership Of Fools (Nah, that would apply to almost any sport).
    For me, meeting on the mound sounds like a sermon. I’m diggin’ HBPiD but it may be too obscure. As noted, Batter Chatter has a ring to it, Some suggestions are quite clever but not instantly evocative of professional baseball.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  23. Old Gator’s War

    The Stex

    Planeta Indaburg

    Magic Weiter for Sale – SOLD!

    The Long Lefty Foot of Darkness

    Caverns of Socratic Gadfly

    Foundation and Empire: The Yahmule

    The COPO in the High Castle

    Do Historios Dream of Electric Sheep?

    Flow my tears the Curdog Said.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  24. Hardball Conversations as put through google translate
    Hardball izingxoxo Zulu
    sgyrsiau phêl galed Welsh
    baseball konverzácia Slovak
    rozmowy Hardball Polish
    kōrero Hardball Maori
    comhrá hardball Irish
    ការសន្ទនា hardball Khmer
    hardball sarunas Latvian
    Kieta pokalbiai Lithuanian
    cuộc đàm thoại cứng rắn Vietnamese

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. If the objective is site traffic how about Naked Baseball

    Since baseball is often an excuse for talking about other things maybe Baseball etc. – if not taken. The domain site crashed on me before letting me know if it was taken or not

    Like

    Reply

  28. I was trying to come up with something using HOMR (hardball, oddities, music, recipes) because it fits our broad interests. The HOMR Society? HOMRmetrics? IDK.

    Like

    Reply

Join in on the conversation!

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s