Site news: Comcast SportsNet acquires Beerleaguer

Jason Weitzel, proprietor of the five-year-old blog, will retain editorial control while gaining access to Comcast SportsNet’s technology, programming and reporting resources.

Beerleaguer: This is the result of a conversation that started with Comcast SportsNet back in September of 2008, but really, I've been working toward this goal since 2003 when I first started scratching my Phillies musings into a free Blogger blog, hoping someone would notice. The grassroots spirit of the space will remain the same and I will continue to treat Beerleaguer as a vehicle for creativity and community. It's unclear whether I'll be given a press credential to cover games, but frankly, I'm not all that interested in changing perspectives, something that would be altered dramatically if I moved from the couch to the clubhouse. Beerleaguer succeeds because it's written on the same point of view as its readership. I intend to continue the same morning/afternoon posting schedule. I may occasionally enlist contributions from the CSNPhilly.com staff, but Beerleaguer will still be my baby. If there is a local or national insight outside of the Comcast SportsNet umbrella that's worth highlighting, I'll bring it to you. I don't intend to start pulling any punches in regards to the Phillies, either.

Beerleaguer readers benefit because the site now has the full backing of a local sports giant eager to help with some of the technical heavy lifting. That isn't just video. Eventually, we'll engineer a complete site rebuild with better real-time commenting, social network integration, wider right and left rails and more prominent entry points to national stat resources. All that will come over time. The site will remain in the Beerleaguer domain, while site content will also be used to populate CSNPhilly.com.

None of this would have been possible without reader support. By partnering with Comcast SportsNet, it ensures that our ongoing five-year discussion will not only continue, but flourish.

About Beerleaguer: Phillies fans first bellied up to Beerleaguer in 2005 and today consider it the leading watering hole for intelligent discourse about the local nine. Site proprietor Jason Weitzel, who writes and also designs the site, was named “Best Sportswriter 2008” by Philadelphia Magazine and co-authored the book “Hard to Believe!”  about the 2008 World Champion Phillies. He also edits “Phillies Annual” magazine for Maple Street Press in Boston and has appeared as a regular guest of 610-WIP. As part of the acquisition Weitzel assumes the newly created position of content manager with Comcast Sports Group.

Comments

[Greg Dietz]

Congrats bud. Very much deserved.

[Carrie Stavrakos]

Congrats Jason, well done!

[Matt]

I have one request: don't let them take away the rain-delay picture.

[Greg V.]

The best blog on the Phillies deserves this. Well done sir!

[NEPP]

Congratulations! Will you still be free to rip the FO and other team figures if you feel it warranted?

Can we hope to get quoted on CSN articles now???

Does this kill the possibility of others writing for the site (you had mentioned that earlier in the year)?

[meech.one]

Congratulations, Jason.

Booyakasha!

[Tom Durso]

Couldn't have happened to a better blogger--or a better guy. Congrats, Jason.

I look forward to the fictional Beerleaguer being acquired by Kabletown SportsNet in an upcoming "30 Rock."

[Run Up The Score]

Wow. Congrats, Jason!

[CJ]

Great news! Your hard work has paid off. Congrats!

[Dany (@soundofphilly)]

Nice work, man!

[NEPP]

Does CSN now own the rights to the Bruntlett rainout picture?

[Sophist]

Cheers. Much deserved.

[Rire Fube]

Congrats, Jason. You deserve it.

[Hoopes]

I'm a long time lurker and Beerleaguer is always the first place I go to when drinking my morning coffee. I appreciate your hard work and I'm glad that you've met your goal. I wish you best of luck.

[J. Weitzel]

Reminds me that I owe RSB a beer for first sending that scary Bruntlett pick from the Phillies' jumbotron. Thanks, everyone. Cheers.

[Sophist]

Someone brought up skipping Moyer's spot next time around, and I was reminded over the puzzle as to why they swapped he and Kendrick to begin with. I think part of it may have been the ump. The other part, noted by Matt Swartz and a ways off, is that it puts Hamels/Halladay/Moyer in line for the Braves series in a few weeks.

[GBrettfan]

Congratulations, JW!

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Congrats JW! Although, this was seen coming the last few weeks, I'm glad you finally took MVPTommyD's advice! ;-)

[TheTheory]

If you have one goal for your stay with Comcast SportsNet, make it so the Rain Delay pic gets emblazoned on all the official Comcast SportsNet outlets for rain delays/postponements.

Then everyone can love you and (by extension)us.

[Pete Happy]

Congrats JW, and smart business on CSN's part. I hope they threw in dinner with Leslie Gudel or Amy Fadool.

[Phillies Red]

I certainly echo all the comments here. This is still my number one spot for Phillies commentary; congrats on a much deserved partnership.

One question: should I still navigate to amazon through beerleaguer? I recall this used to put extra coin in the beerleaguer vault.

[Kutztown Fan]

Local boy makes good. Very proud of you, Jason. I can't wait to see the new and improved (not that the content needs improvement) Beerleaguer.

I have one concern with the Comcast deal... will MVPTommy be allowed back?

[R.Billingsly]

Congratulations, Jason. Very much deserved. I can't thank you enough for giving all of us the opportunity to discuss the Phils on a daily with one another.

Also -- My wife hates you, which I think is a compliment.

[Old Phan]

Excellent. Well done, Mr. W.

[Meyer]

May you be the Moyer of the critical masses.

[krukker]

Very cool, congratulations! I'm excited to see the upcoming site enhancements. The best site on the Internet just got better!

[PhillyJoe]

congrats!

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Salut!

I hope that helps with the mortgage and diapers.

[ozark]

Noice (Philly accent for "nice").

[MG]

Congrats JW. Nice to see the hard work you put in (original writing over 5+ years on a nearly daily basis) is being reworded.

Being kind of a tech-dabbler, I am curious to see what pieces & contnet you will be using going ahead forward.

[J. Weitzel]

"I am curious to see what pieces & contnet you will be using going ahead forward."

That makes two of us.

[Gsl]

Congrats. I am happy to hear that BL will still belong to the readers :)

[Bob]

Nice job, Jason. All the changes sound great.

[Old Phan]

Jason, I hope csnphilly is actively helping your bank account.

[Beerman89]

Congrats, Jason. Well deserved.

[3R0CK]

HUGE CONGRATS!!!

[Tom Goodman]

Congratulations to a five tools blogger. Your passion and dedication are second to none.

[Jack]

Congrats.

[Josh P]

Congrats! Long time lurker, first time poster...this is my go to phillies blog. Keep up the good work!

[ThinkRed]

Great work. Will we still get Weitzel's Rotation?

[HammRadio]

Congrats Jason. AND GOOD LUCK.

[Bay Slugga]

Congrats. But CSN probably overpaid you in terms of dollars/years :)

[Mal]

mazel tov

[Voice of Reason]

Congrats, JW. Very happy for you. Well deserved.

[joe l]

Will Beerleaguer still be using Typepad, or will you be moving to another blogging platform?

[Hugh Mulcahy]

"CSN probably overpaid you in terms of dollars/years"

How does Amaro find time to work for the Phillies AND CSN?

[C13]

Congrats on the move. I think the voodoo symbol with the bats should be posted on the site for the rest of the year. It's like they conjured up demons to help them win.

[JBrod]

Congratulations!

[tomasher]

Good to hear. Readers should not be worried about any "corporate" influence. The popular Jayski website for the NASCAR rumor world was started by a guy in South Jersey, and is now partnered with ESPN in a similar way. He still maintains content and creativity, but with more resources.

[awh]

JW, allow me to offer my congrats as well. It is well deserved, and we all are in your debt for the service to us and the Phils community.

The best of luck to you in the future, and remember (at the same time reminding your new associates)...we come here BECAUSE we can get an unbiased and critical view, and are free to disagree with you, each other, and any and everyone in the Phils organization.

It's what makes B*L special.

Congratulations.

[timr]

Congratulations! Beerleaguer is a fantastic site that so many of us enjoy so often, your success is well deserved JW!

[awh]

Now, it's off to the Bronx for the game tonight. I'm taking my Dad for Father's Day. I'll post (infrequently) from the game if I get a chance.

Go Phils!

[inky]

Congrats J-Dub on staying true to your original mission, and maintaining your content control. I'd be lost if Beerleaguer ever went down the Metsblog route....(shudder)

[loctastic]

Congrats JW! Drinks @ Mcmenamins are on me!

[Willard Preacher]

I don't suppose there's any chance that we get the Twitter feed back?

As a reader/poster from virtually day 1, I can say that it's well-deserved. There aren't many sites that I continue to frequent (and certainly not to this extent) after 5 years, yet Beerleaguer is always must-read. Nice work, JW. And thanks, in advance, for keeping it "real."

[vegas]

Cheers! JW

[Reverend]

Congratulations, it is well deserved.

[EastFallowfield]

Zolecki:

LHP Antonio Bastardo on the DL (left elbow ulnar neuritis). RHP Scott Mathieson recalled.

[HammRadio]

all this congrats is great and all... but we have a mathieson thread waiting for us!!

[Greg V.]

The Scott Mathieson era begins!

[Jeff]

Congratulations. This is the only sports blog I read regularly, and have for a few years now. Sounds like the content will stay the same, I just hope that the comments do as well!

[st]

not a good injury for a pitcher there. ulnar nerves=ugh

[EastFallowfield]

The Scott Mathieson era #2 Begins, isn't it?

He was up in 2006.

[curt]

good on ya, JW

[Mick O]

EXCLUSIVE: I got a copy of CSN's scouting report on JW from '05

"Very toolsy, with raw prosaic ability. An impressive wordsmith with huge upside, but his approach is unrefined. His copy can be long and undisciplined. Huge holes in his swing. He displays only a passing familiarity with blogging, and it will be years before he can compete at the major dotcom level. Excellent Photoshop skills, but unsure how they will translate to big league blogging."

Congrats JW!!!!!!!!

[Jason Clark]

Long time lurker, first time commenter... Congrats, and thanks for a great read!

[Barry Snyder]

Nice job!! JW.... Hey maybe the Phils well fine a pitcher to keep with them in Scott M.

[mojoephilly]

Another longtime lurker here.... congrats to JW, really great.

On Mathieson, what emotions he must be feeling, wouldnt be surprised if he threw his first pitch into the third row.

[Old Phan]

Mick, we all know JW is toolsy, but is he scrappy?

[loctastic]

Mick - There's nothing there about how tall he is. It's amazing he has gotten as far as he has!

[EastFallowfield]

Congrats, and everything, but...

.

[Bubba]

Beautiful!

(Philadelphian for Congratulations)

[Unikruk]

Congrats.

[Casey at bat]

Good for you Jason, much success as you move forward.

[Right on, Mike]

Maybe they'll let you sit next to Clout on DNL.

[Wet Luzinski]

Huzzah for new media! You have a great site. Best wishes with your partnership.

[holy mackerel]

Aces JW! Aces!

Well deserved...

Nothing but the best of luck!

[rick Shupp]

Jason Well deserved. Your fans in Topton and Kuztown remember you from those little league highlight days. everyone here is so proud of you keep up the great work.

[jerry]

Yo. New Income.

Congrats.

[Lincoln Hawkes]

Congratz and well deserved.

[UD Hens]

Hard to believe, JW!

[Chris]

Congratulations, Jason!

[Hoosier]

Yet another long time lurker stopping by to offer congratulations, Jason. I've been reading the site for years now, and it's become my first stop for any Phils news. Thank you for all your hard work - you certainly earned this.

[DMarley]

Congrats!

[isom]

This must be why Comcast inexplicably jacked my bill $25 this month...

[Vonderful]

Haven't posted for awhile. Had to give my congrats to JW. Great site, great topics and great discussion. Can't wait to see the new site.

[bake]

That's Weitzeltastic! Congrats.

[LwrSlwrGeorge]

Congrats, JW, from a (mostly) lurker.

[bsg]

congrats, jason! cant wait to see the future of BL!!,

[PhxPhilly]

Many congratulations to you and the awesome job you have done. I hope it is a dream come true and welcome reward for all your great work over the year. THE place to go for interesting Phillies news.
I really hope the 'corporate' influence will be minimum, but you have the ability to expand the way you have wanted.

[thephaithful]

Congrats JW - well deserved and hope this opp really improves your overall quality of life.