Meet the new baseball writer ... same as the old baseball writer.
Yeah, Alex Stumpf's sticking with the Pirates' beat for another year. Albeit with a few added wrinkles.
To start, he and I talked this over at the HQ a bit ago, and let's just say it didn't take much arm-twisting on my end. The team's at a crossroads when it comes to competing/contending in 2024, and he's been part of the coverage for four years now, so it'd probably be at least a little uncomfortable to document all this losing, only to watch all the most compelling storylines -- inevitable with winning -- go to someone else.
And from my viewpoint, it would've been a tough time for a handoff for the same reason, because anyone new will need time to learn and adjust, no matter their experience level at reporting. We didn't want our readers to have an important season, whichever way it unfolds, relegated to a summer-long introductory class.
So, what happens to the more in-depth material he wants to do, laid out here way back in July?
That'll come about, to a degree, over the coming season. I'll be writing columns off my usual 40-plus games, Chris Halicke will do both of the Pirates' series in Texas and the All-Star Game in Arlington, and we continue to interview for additional, versatile help who'll have a concentration on baseball. That'll keep the game count well below 100 and, more likely, below 80. So, just half the schedule. There'd be a split at spring training, too, even beyond the two trips I make myself.
Between all of the above and the minor leagues, the draft and other elements, which we still haven't sorted out, that's a handful of people involved consistently in baseball. Which is kinda how we're doing a lot of stuff. As a team.
In the meantime, all of this would've become obvious in the coming week, with Alex bound for Nashville, Tenn., and the Winter Meetings and a week full of Ben Cherington ... signing 4-A outfielders and claiming relievers off waivers.
Sorry. Too easy.
Anyway, so there it is until we have an announcement on a new hire. No rush on that. No one needs to be anywhere until February.
INSIDE THE WORKS
• As the photo atop this week's edition illustrates, we continue to be blessed by visitors to 224 Fifth Avenue, Downtown, who frequent either our written or multimedia material. Amid the many who passed through yesterday alone, we had visitors from Miami, Nashville and Cologne, Germany, among several other locations nowhere near Western Pennsylvania. Can't state passionately enough how much this means to us. It's why we opened the place, well more than the welcome revenue it's provided.
• Speaking of revenue, what we're getting from YouTube has increased to being pretty much half of what we get from the audio podcasts, which we also hadn't anticipated. It's an extraordinary platform in terms of technology, which helps, but just as important for our purposes, it's yet another entry point for new people to venture this way.
• We have universal commenting forums now! Woo! One for every team and college! Just go to the Feed of your choice and tap the blank commenting balloon at the top right!
• About our color-coding on the Feeds: The entries marked with a vertical blue bar on the left will take you to our full articles, the ones marked with a red represent live coverage of a game or practice or other event, and the ones in yellow are just regular self-contained entries. Sorry about that!
• Can't say this often enough: The Feeds were only the first of a two-step process. The other is comments, and that's making progress. They'll be a colossal upgrade over what we have now. Soon enough.
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BACK TO BUSINESS
• Our page-view numbers for the past week were 884,924, with 31,383 unique users over the most recent full seven-day span. Our five most-read original pieces:
1. My Steelers column from Cincinnati: 23,788
2. Chris' Chalk Talk on post-Canada life: 12,035
3. Taylor from Tampa on Tristan Jarry's goal: 9,151
4. Taylor from Nashville on John Ludvig's rise: 8,013
5. Taylor from Buffalo, 1-on-1 with Evgeni Malkin: 7,846
Also, since I'm always on Pitt readers about low page numbers, a special nod for Corey's coverage from Durham, N.C., of the Panthers' finale, for registering a solid 4,816 ... rare air for anything college based.
• On the multimedia front, our podcast downloads for the past week were 117,203, and our YouTube video views for the past week were 192,219.
• Our company social media accounts are at 51,625 followers on X, 40,241 on Facebook, 26,603 on YouTube, 14,941 on Instagram ... and already 3,127 on the new Threads!
• We make mistakes. If you see one, email: Typos@DKPittsburghSports.com
• We're often asked about our HQ/shop merch being available online, and yes, it's right here.
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