Thursday ThinkTank: In Case You Care

The funny thing about writing for a blog is that, well, it's a struggle to keep on comin' up with sh** like every single day. Luckily, there are a few token writers out there that, while they might not post every day, when they do post, it's nothing shy of phenomenal. This, friends, is not quite yet mid-July, and this time of the year, amigos, can be challenging to keep the well of originality flowing. When those that we admire hit home runs, it's our -- the less-professional sports blogger -- jobs to tell you about it in some form or another.

Old No. 7 sort of touched on this last week. And by "this" I mean the work of one Rany Jazayerli. The man is gifted, and if you are a Royals fan and you are not stopping by his blog on an at least weekly basis, you are doing yourself a major disservice. Heck, even non-Royals fans may strap on a bib and get after it like Seven does.

If you've been out of the loop, Jazayerli was banned last week by the Royals organization, allegedly for publishing this post. Well, it was a short-lived ordeal, and the doctor and the organization made amends, which was crucial since Jazayerli needs access to the club for his weekly appearance on DKC's favorite radio station, WHB 810 AM.

Last night, he put together a retrospective look at the series of events, all nicely assembled in post format. In it, he talks about, among many others, one basic thing: the road to Major League success being a marriage of scouting and statistical analysis.

He also breaks down each transaction that Dayton Moore has overseen since taking the helm at the Royals, and most importantly, precedes both points with this statement:

"(A)fter 13 years of being a blogger – an unjournalist – I’ve put one foot through the doorway. And now I have to decide how far I want to take this transition from outsider to quasi-insider. I’d rather stop writing than surrender my objectivity, but at the same time, in all the years I’ve spent writing about the Royals, I’ve tried to aim my words in the direction of the team as much as to my readers. I’m not just writing to attract an audience – I’m writing to effect change in the organization. The ultimate goal of this blog is for the Royals to win."

(Editor's Note: Blogs with large audiences prefer that you refer to the point of your site as a "rough focus" rather than "ultimate goal." Just sayin'.)

So there. That's my shoe-shining, brown-nosing, ass-kissing moment for the day week. I reckon it's enough reading to keep you busy until we next shine the spotlight on someone else.