Athletics Nation Spring Game Thread Auditions

Athletics Nation thrives on the efforts of the community. When a spot opens up on the roster, we don't go out and sign a high-profile free agent writer, because we are a small-budget team. Instead, we promote from within, just like the A's do.

The front page crew keeps a Game Thread schedule, and right now there are one or two spots open for the coming season. To fill them, we're holding our annual Spring Training Game Thread Auditions, via the FanPosts section. Past graduates of this program include Lev Facher, Jeremy F. Koo, and Duncan Morrow, so as you can see there is not only the opportunity to cover some games but also to find an expanded role down the road. I also personally got my start doing Game Threads a few years ago. If you've ever wanted to write about the A's, this is your chance; the platform already exists and the audience is already here, so you won't get a more gift-wrapped opportunity than this.

So, without further ado, here is how this will work. I'm posting the remaining schedule below, and anyone who is interested can claim a game in the comments section. To start out, we'll keep it to one person per game, but that rule may be bent depending on demand.

When you choose your game, your job will be to do the following:

- Post the Preview/Game Thread half an hour before game time.

- Post overflow Game Threads if the original thread exceeds ~500 posts (unlikely during ST)

- Post a recap of the game, structured however you wish, within an hour or so after the game.

At the end of the spring, we will determine who (if anyone) to add to the staff based largely on community feedback, but the final decision will be made by the front page crew.

Schedule of games to choose from. Games are at 1:05 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Televised games are in italics. Games that have been claimed are denoted by the screen names of the individuals who claimed them:

Fri. 3/6 @ D'Backs
Sat. 3/7 vs. Angels
Sun. 3/8 vs. White Sox -- frakking-anustart (preview) (recap)
Mon. 3/9 @ Rangers -- jontayl (preview) (recap)
Tue. 3/10 vs. D'Backs -- BillyFrijoles steps in to take some swings
Wed. 3/11 vs. Indians -- BBG steps in for her final PFP drills
Thu. 3/12 vs. Mariners -- JeffConners (preview) (recap) (16 recs!)
Fri. 3/13 @ Royals (SS) -- bta47 steps in to warm up his arm
Fri. 3/13 @ Cubs (SS) -- bball123 (preview) (recap)
Sat. 3/14 vs. Giants (SS) -- Jon Varnica (preview) (recap) (11 recs!)
Sat. 3/14 @ Cubs (SS) -- FirstWord:Tejada (preview) (recap)
Sun. 3/15 @ Brewers -- bernie_till_i_die (preview) (recap) (7 recs!)
Mon. 3/16 @ Dodgers -- mkclaw22 (preview) (recap)
Tue. 3/17 vs. Padres -- Fircoal (preview) (recap)
Wed. 3/18 @ Mariners -- DCoz94
Thu. 3/19 OFF DAY
Fri. 3/20 @ Rockies -- OcoCisco (preview) (recap)
Fri. 3/20 vs. Dodgers -- praunlinde (preview) (recap) (11 recs!)
Sat. 3/21 vs. Reds -- stickmontana (preview) (recap) (7 recs!)
Sun. 3/22 @ Reds -- crfan2010 (preview) (recap)
Mon. 3/23 @ Indians -- tresselfan
Tue. 3/24 vs. Cubs -- venndaubie (preview) (recap)
Wed. 3/25 @ Brewers -- Maritimeshed (preview) (recap)
Thu. 3/26 @ Giants -- Drone
Fri. 3/27 vs. Rangers -- travdog6 (preview) (recap) (15 recs!)
Sat. 3/28 @ White Sox -- kyrbyr (preview) (recap) (9 recs!)
Sun. 3/29 vs. Brewers -- BillyBeanius (preview) (recap) (17 recs!)
Mon. 3/30 vs. Rockies -- Big_Chris
Tue. 3/31 @ Angels -- andrew.grishaw
Wed. 4/1 vs. Angels -- Manny'sMinge (preview) (recap)

(The three Bay Bridge games from April 2-4 will be used for final auditions or other tune-up purposes.)

This position is on a volunteer basis. Your motivation should be the pure enjoyment of following your team and the fun of having a voice about issues you care about. The entrepreneurial among us have used this kind of thing as an unofficial "unpaid internship" and parlayed it into paying gigs in the media industry, but that part is up to you.

So, without further ado, sign up for the game you'd like to cover in the comments! Even if you don't want to audition for a permanent spot but always wanted to run a Game Thread one time just for fun, that's fine too. The whole point of all of this is to have fun, so let's have some fun with it. Happy Threading!