Today I have the sad task of informing everyone that He Said, She Said will be on indefinite suspension. I’m sure many of you have seen the writing on the wall, but unfortunately, due to several factors, I won’t be able to keep up with writing the daily blog for the time being.
I could try to put all the blame on Prof’s recent announcement that she’s taking a leave of absence to fight off COVID-19 and as such won’t be able to write her half of the blog, leaving me to do the entire blog on my own, but to be quite honest, my heart hasn’t been in it for a little while now and this is sort of the final excuse to push me where I’ve been heading for some time. Last year, I found myself very happy to have the shortened season, and when the season did kick back into gear, I just never could get into it. I wasn’t sure if it was the rule changes, or if baseball is passing me by, or if my increased workload and personal responsibilities have pushed me away from the game. In the end, I think it’s a little bit of everything.
Writing the daily recaps have become a bit of a chore, something I found myself trying to rush to get through and haven’t been the fun way to engage with the game and with all of you that it once was. I have many fond memories of searching for new music to share, happy when I find a great piece that makes someone’s day. I have many times written an article, sat back and said “I can’t wait for everyone to read this and to read the comments.” Unfortunately as time has gone on, I’ve found myself less and less excited to write, less motivated. I seem to always be short on time and rushing out a post, unable to do a proper job, and now when faced with the daunting task of doing the entire thing on my own, I just don’t think I can really do it right now.
Maybe when Prof is able to return, I’ll feel a bit more up to it. Maybe once the season kicks in, and things start to return to normal, I’ll find my passion once again. I sure hope so, baseball has always been a huge part of my life. I miss reading daily news articles and stories. I miss passioned debates and discussions on the value of the DH and the reasoning for pulling a pitcher in the groove for a lefty specialist in the 7th inning with a two run lead. I miss discussing who the biggest arsehole in baseball is, and why it’s unfair that pitchers are allowed to headhunt, but a batter can’t charge the mound.
So long as people are still writing, commenting and visiting, I’ll keep the site up and running. I may even return to post an article or two as time allows. This isn’t necessarily goodbye. I’m not intending to shutter the doors. But I need a hiatus I think. I need to search my soul, and find my lost love.
I do want to personally thank every one of our friends and family over the years who have continued to help keep this site alive. BadHair, Histo, Clyde, PhilliesFan, HappyTwins, Lefty, El Bravo, NBJays, Gator, Prof, RaysFan, SomeGuy, Ren, Spartan, Angels, Stex, Gnate, and anyone else I may be forgetting, even my own personal hater hermit. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being a part of this wacky, crazy little experiment. I hope to see you all very soon. And I hope you all will keep this place alive and well in my absence. I will continue to check in here as often as time allows, and if anyone needs to get ahold of me for any immediate reason, you can still email me at ( fan.interference at yahoo dot com.)
Much Love, Scoutsaysweitersisabust (Scouty)
Fan Interference 
Scouty – now that that wretched rule perversion the Neanderthal Hitter has been scuttled from the NL again, I’ll try to be around more often. I will say I spent a very, very rewarding year reading on the early and “golden” days of the game, so I’ve got quite a bit to write about. Let me see how much stuff I can whip into coherent shape and pick up some of the slack from you and Prof. Hang in there,
OG
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Gator, I anticipate your educational posts returning! And I am thrilled at the idea of some old timey baseball discourse.
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(Thought I’d posted this already, trying again…)
This site is important to me. It’s my main interaction with fellow baseball fans. I look forward to an eventual return of He Said/She Said. Meanwhile, I love happytwinsfan’s Numb3rs posts and hope they continue and look forward to anything Gator puts up too.
I will continue to add posts on whatever strikes my fancy as long as y’all will have me.
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❤ Rays, you’ve come into your own and I’m so proud to see how you’ve contributed. You’re always welcome here!
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I’d like to second this. Your contributions have been massive and much appreciated. Thanks for helping keeping us afloat!
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While this may sound a bit like an obituary, unlike Marc Antony, I come not to bury Fan-Interference, but to praise it. The little blog that could. Totally understand your position Scouts. This past year+ has dragged the joy out of a lot of things and since like me, you are a fan of a team that has been hot garbage for 5-6 years straight, it adds to the challenge to keep the fire burning.
This site has had an amazing run for a little blog started as a protest against corporate arrogance. I’m not sure you expected it to go on this long. 4 full seasons plus last year’s hiccup is a long time and a ton of work. Looking back to the early days of the site, I saw a comment from Historio that acknowledged what you would be up against. Posted Sept 7, 2015, it started “I’m definitely interested in migrating to another site but worry about this as a long-term sustainable option, practically speaking (don’t want to burden you, scout).” The saddest thing to me is that looking at all the commenters in the early posts and wondering where they’ve gone. For old time’s sake, here’s a link to the inaugural FI post: https://fan-interference.com/2015/09/07/for-all-those-that-hate-the-new-hbt-design/
I still intend to check in and say hi. Hopefully Happy & Raysfan will continue their semi-regular contributions. Looking forward to some Gator bits & pieces (and recipes), I always end up going to a dictionary to figure out what that word I’ve never seen before means when I read one of his posts. I hope all of your teams exceed expectations this season (unless you a Yankees fan).
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Very insightful and perceptive. Very sad to see how many people used to, but are no longer here. But that’s how it goes. It really is amazing we have kept on keeping on this long. That is not to say the sun has set on our little corner of the internet. I have no intentions to shutter the place at the moment, and do hope to be returning. And in my absence, there are a lot of high quality writers and commentators keeping us going.
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Well said Spartan and ditto on the dictionary!
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I have really enjoyed this site since its creation. I read it everyday and occasionally comment. I love the (mostly) intelligent discussions here. I hope that the site continues but everyone’s physical and mental health should always come first. This has been a very difficult year for everyone. I have personally found that sports that were always very important to me are no longer as important in the scheme of things. Hopefully as we all return to some semblance of normalcy we can all find our passions again. Good luck and best wishes to all and I look forward to the continuance of this site.
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Where I work, in a tree right outside the window at my workspace, a hummingbird recently built a nest. The first batch of eggs was tragically taken from us by a predator. The mama laid two more eggs over a month ago. My coworkers and I have watched the babies grow. We have observed feeding (not a pretty sight, and I keep thinking of Alicia Silverstone). We have watched and filmed the babies growing. We saw the first climb-to-the-edge-and-fluttering-of-wings. We’ve cleaned the window again and again and again (the babies climb to the edge of the nest to poop). We now see the nest empty, and the mother and children have moved to separate lives.
I too was disappointed by the commercialization of the once great website that turned from a conversation center to a profit center. I did not find this site for several months (I think Gator slipped a link into a comment on the other) and I was overjoyed to discover it. A site that embraced discussion without personal rancor. I dropped out for a year when I had no internet. When I got back online, I had to rename myself. I had long forgotten my username and password – but this was literally the first site I renewed my acquaintance with. Some of my favorite posters, like indaberg were gone, but historiophiliac remained, and new people came as others departed.
I see this site like the nest. There is growth and departure and loss and renewal. It is with the most profound gratitude to all of you, but particularly you, Scouty, for allowing me to make my long-winded replies and giving me the occasional like. I acknowledge your hard work – that of all the posters over the years, but particularly the daily – and I hope we haven’t robbed you of your enthusiasm for the game permanently by making it a chore. But I suspect, at some point, you will be sitting in a bar or a coffee house and overhear a nearby conversation about the designated hitter and want to jump in.
Oh, and Wieters, a four-time all-star closing in on 1,000 career hits, is most emphatically not a bust! Neither are you nor your cohorts, and I hope you know you have brought a measurable amount of joy and companionship to an unlikely bunch, for a long, long, time! To paraphrase Tolkien, I know Scouty less than half as well as I’d like. May the road rise up to greet you, may the wind be always at your back.
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