Athletics Nation: The Past, Present and Future

It’s amazing what you’ve built here, Blez. Thanks for the update.

Your ambitious strategy has been very successfully executed quietly and humbly — a lesson for executives everywhere. Thanks for all you’ve done and good luck with whatever else you’re doing!

Congrats Nico!

for giving us a place to talk about our passions-baseball and the A’s!

Congrats to Nico and a thanks to the rest of the staff for keeping AN the sports blogger on the web!

Nico has taken the lead role and AN has not missed a beat. Or bleat, for that matter.

Blez, I wish you nothing but continued success and I look forward to meeting you in person in April.

Also, I think this message serves as a wonderful reminder that for all the varying personalities, we’re all on the same team. That roots for the same team.

In fact, I think we should all give ourselves a hug.
Too much, huh?

Yeah.

thank for creating this place. It’s great to actually be able to talk A’s baseball with fellow fans. I love it.

Oh, I haven’t been this excited for a baseball season for a long time.

with the SB Nation management and thank you for setting up a great site and finding such crew who can carry on making this a best sports community on the web.

it’s fascinating to see it grow, change, and also remain the same in many ways.

WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!

(Someday)

But seriously, it makes sense overall. You have more than just AN to focus on now. As they say in sports when faced with the issue of trying to figure out how to distribute enough playing time to all the players who really deserve it, this is a good problem.

…if someday we wake up to find this has become Sheep Nation.

I have been contributing and lurking since 05 under a variety of names, but the one constant has always been your witty contributions to our great blog. I am proud to be part of this community and I am sure I echo the sentiment of others here by saying your timely wit will be missed. Don’t be a stranger, and yes, we are going to have an awesome season!

there are few better positioned to help than Nico.

Congrats all around.

and provided incredibly honest and earnest direction for us. You deserve your success—you make it easy to root for you, Blez, and I will miss having your regular voice here.

< cancels “fire blez now” campaign >

I can’t imagine not having Athletics Nation to look forward every day so thank yo very much, Blez. I wish you continued success in all of your endeavors and I’m sure AN is in good hands……….or is it hooves?

I hope you’re making a lot of money for your accomplishments.

Thanks for the update, good luck with all the SBN work, please don’t be a stranger, and rock on Nico.

site improved when I joined. :P. Seriously. Thanks to Blez,and all the other front page staff. Makes me realize why, I never will be on the front page, not enought knowledge, or talent.

Blez,
   I’ve been on since the beginning, and read your blogs on other sites before that. I remain a loyal reader, though only rarely do I comment. And I appreciate and will continue to appreciate all your hard work in creating the great AN. I wear my shirt with pride – though often to quizzicle looks here in Chicago :-)
    Long live AN!

But as another SBN site’s editor I have to say the success of the company is staggering and I can’t wait to see where it goes in the future.

Congrats Blez and best of luck in your future endeavors.

I discovered AN in 2006 (through the ESPN forums, actually). What a breath of fresh air. I never looked back. Every one of us is so grateful for the amazing community here, and all of the frontpage writers are top-notch, the best in SBNation.

We’ll see you around, Blez.

I am PSYCHED for AN Day at the Coli! When is it so I can block the time out? Also, where is the Countdown to Opening Day (in Anaheim! Yikes!) Here it is! 42 Days 8 Hours 4 Minutes! Go A’s!

I suggest myself.

Thanks Blez, you are the man. AN taught me the virtue of blogging and has made me a true elitist baseball fan.

Don’t be a stranger around here, k?

I’ve been around for a while but I don’t post very often. Like some have said before, AN has become a part of my daily routine. I look forward to continuing that.

Here’s to a great ’09 season.

I’m looking forward to my 4-year ANniversary this summer. I love you, AN. [group hug]

and congratulations on your success. I know it will be ongoing and I look forward to watching that happen.

Congrats Nico! You’ve earned and deserve this recognition.

It’s a win-win!

I’ve become a much smarter fan of the game since joining AN. If I hadn’t joined up I’d still look at batting average and wins/losses as the most telling stats of any player. I wouldn’t factor in defense as much as I do now when evaluating a player. I might have even liked DFA last year [shudders]. Thank you to all who make it possible on a daily basis for all of us to find the most intellectual content available on our favorite team.

One of the better user names in AN history…there may have been spaces

Blez, I really appreciate this site, always have, I think I always will…good luck with SBN, best wishes for its continued growth. As for AN, no luck is needed; I don’t think you could have really envisioned AN growing to this level back in the first couple years. I can only imagine where it will be in five more years. Thanks for everything, and, as always, Go A’s.

I was looking for David Feldman, and I found you and AN.
It is a wonderful relationship and has lead to many virtual as well as several very real
relationships.
Not to mention it has often been the first place I found out A’s news! And I, too, have
learned lots about baseball and A’s baseball in particular.
Blez, you are always here in spirit..whether you post daily or not.
and, Nico, you better behave yourself in a matter befitting a blogfather…or else :) !
or are you a “step-blogfather”? or uncle or what?!
You do a great job and I know AN is in very good hands with you, BBG and the rest of the gang..
Thanks, Blez, for all your hard work and to all of AN for being one of my favorite places.

I appreciate you taking time to let us know what’s up with you and AN. It shows you haven’t forgotten about the little people.

Being a lifelong A’s fan, living in North Carolina, this is one of the only places I have been able to come to, to find new stories on my beloved A’s. My goal is to fly out to Oakland this summer and see a game at the Coliseum. While I watch all 4 games shown on TV here, and watch the rest on MLB.TV, I keep up the best I can. The closest the A’s come to me is when they play Baltimore, and I try to make it to see those games. Congrats to Nico on becoming the new blogfather, and to the new addition of 67MARQUEZ. I have to be honest, I noticed Blex had posted less and less, but things have transitioned smoothly. Thanks for giving the out of town fan a home!

I don’t recall any snarky comments from you, ever, Blez, as you were taking care of your baby, and I’m hoping the same goes for Nico, who, while I love the posts and information (and passion) would be better served without the holier-than-thou snark that sometimes emanates forth…
I’ve been here a long time, and I’m not going away anytime soon – I trust the site’s in good hands, and I look forward to being a member / fan for a long time.

Thanks Blez

Gave me a chance to think about the several years i spent reading AN before moving out to this neck of the woods. Best of luck – the SBN is really a titanic achievement and the team you are leaving behind is terrific (the bloggers, that is – wish i shared your optimism about these guys in the baseball suits….)

I’m looking forward to your next interviews! And congratulations, Nico — North Berkeley rules AN!

and it’s one that I rely on and enjoy an amazing amount as an NRAF for the last decade. So my eternal thanks for all you’ve done here.

I’m sure that one of the hardest things to do when you’ve invested so much passion and energy into this kind of project is to be able to step back a little and let others take on more responsibility. You’ve done that with real grace, and you’ve shown great judgment in your choices about the front page. And take it from me — you couldn’t find a better person for this new role than Nico.

Congrats, Nico!

But you aren’t getting rid of me that easily ;-) I’ll be around here quite a bit. You aren’t going to have all kinds of fun this year without me!

Seriously though, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. As much as AN has changed over the years, it’s when I hear things like this that reinforce all the hours I’ve put into bringing all sports fans great communities were worth every single moment.

I was a lurker for a few years before I decided to join up and flaunt my ignorance. Now I am an AN addict and neglect my family regularly to participate in this community. I’m always amazed at how childish other blogsites are compared to AN. You started something great, and you deserve as much success as you can stand.

What will change?

If you haven’t noticed much different about AN these last five months, that’s your answer: Not much. Really the only decision I have made that readers would notice was the choice of 67MARQUEZ to fill an available front-page slot. As for "blog presence," prior to October 1st Blez was busy enough that he wasn’t a large day-to-day presence on the site and since October 1st he hasn’t been totally absent (while I never had a life and continue not to,) so not much has shifted there. Blez will still conduct awesome interviews and I will still complain about Bobby Crosby. And philosophically, Blez and I are very similar in our approaches to balancing free speech with community respect.

Is this still "Blez’ living room"?

As far as I’m concerned, yes. My goal is not to put some individual footprint on AN, but rather to honor Blez, as the site’s founder, by continuing to facilitate the blend of passion and compassion that Blez has created: a community that laughs and cries together, and insists on respecting one another, bonded by the shared obsession that is A’s baseball.

What changes DO I hope to see in the coming months?

1. I would like to continue to make AN a more and more welcoming place, specifically encouraging lurkers, and new users, to participate in discussions without fear of having their ideas criticized or minimized. The joy of AN is in participating and in feeling like part of the community, and I hope more and more readers will let us know when they’re "in the room."

2. I would like to continue to give the members of AN chances to socialize and connect with each other and with the community, through events like fANfest, Chez Nico, and So Cal AN Day, and through Community Service projects like the ones scheduled for Oakland and Berkeley on Saturday, April 4th.

3. I would like a pony. Still.

Everyone who helps to manage the site, everyone who writes for AN, everyone who comments, and everyone who reads, is part of what makes this community great, so thanks, each and every one of you, for being part of this extraordinary community that gathers 24/7 in Blez’ living room.

I remembered Alexander Haig during the Reagan years on national TV…“I am in charge here.”

Does Nico get a pay raise?

I’ve enjoyed lurking for nearly four years on this site. It’s not easy being a total die-hard A’s fan in southern West Virginia, I’m a rare breed. Here at AN, though, I truly feel at home. Thanks guys and keep up the good work! :) Kudos!

ESPN doesn’t recognize that there are baseball teams other than Boston or NY. You are among friends here.

that while Blez mentioned her several times, not enough love has been given to baseballgirl. Let me just say, my bbgf, you are also awesome. I loved meeting you at fANfest, and I appreciate your posts so much. You hold your own amidst the testosterone, and that ain’t easy.

While I don’t post very frequently I lurk numerous times a week and have been a member since early 2005 (though I had a different username before the most recent face-lift that occurred on the site.)

If we are going to get sentimental, I miss the impetuous rantings of Oaktoon.

but seriously, Nico’s wit is truly something that brings a nice laugh to a day, or a season where your favorite team seemingly inexplicably traded away a star pitcher for 3 “who?’s”.

I read on another site somewhere that SB Nation got some VC funding to go forward. Good luck with that! but wary the hand of a Angel (financial and baseball). They can get greedy too much, too often…

And Blez – no going native on us down there in Orange County… Stick your head in once in awhile to get a nice breeze of A-ness. (ok, don’t pronounce that aloud, could come out wrong…)

Thanks for the creation of this blog. You are leaving it in good hands. Nico has a passion for the blog and I know that’s why you picked him. He couldn’t ask for a better helpmate than baseball girl. I am glad that you let us know that you have officially turned over the reins to Nico and BBG…I respect you very much for that.

and don’t be a stranger, Blez! You’ve got so much to be proud of in AN and SB.

I have read AN every day for the last five years. It was your interviews that first brought me to the site. This is easily my favorite site for sports. I hope you’ll find time now and then to visit the threads.

I’ve been reading this site for years and have only recently signed in so I could join the fun. I just want to say how much I appreciate the work you folks have done.

Thanks Blez for starting AN and the source interviews which brought me to AN in the first place. Neek-Knack has been the driving force of the site for some time now so we seem to be in good hands as scary as that is…joking Neeker Beeker. Thanks to all the other regular contributors of AN, even those not listed as managers, editors and authors. Thanks for all the Athletics related info, humorous and well thought out content and effort everyone applies to make the blog work on a daily basis.

I am in the ranks of mostly lurker, sometime poster.

This site remains the best place to get A’s news and it’s great to read so many intelligent posts, and funny, even snarky comments.

Giggling is definitely healthful.

Keep up the great work Nico.

until Maya can type.