On March 11, 2005, Camden Chat was born. There were no readers.
It was a magical time. Sosa and Palmeiro were getting subpoenas, Kurt Ainsworth was contemplating retirement, I was all excited about Chris Stynes, and John Maine was getting cut from camp.
We've been through some fine times. The Daniel Cabrera Contest. The Arsonists Steve. The emergence and trade of Erik Bedard. The greatest series of games in site history (sadly): Game One, Game Two, Game Three.
We gathered to watch Josh Hamilton go buck wild on the Home Run Derby. In 2005, we had four All-Stars. Last year we sent a mediocre closer. We've seen the great start of 2005 and the collapses of, um, every season.
Three managers, a bundle of front office moves and repositionings, a new TV network, a new TV PBP guy (our beloved Gary Thorne), and Jim Palmer ruining the AFLAC trivia question 90% of the time, turning it into Stump Jim Palmer. Melvin Mora's goofy fielding and flair for the dramatic at the plate. Brian Roberts' two haiku dongs against the Yankees. (#1, #2)
We've seen the future of rock n' roll, and its name is Bruce Springsteen Matt Wieters. Kevin Millar blew through town like a goofball tornado. Aubrey Huff put new life into his career, and won us over in the process. Corey Patterson is who we thought he was.
And we ride. (Ride!)
It's been a pleasure being here, and I would be a fool if I were to go without thanking Z, Stacey, duck and 2632 for all their help along the way, plus all the regulars (if you think I don't mean you, I do) that have helped make this still fun for me after four largely miserable seasons.
Here's to 2009 and beyond.