Celeb Status

Steve was rocking a fresh haircut (Sammy did a great job, as usual), and a brand-new Cyclones polo (he thinks the blue really brings out his eyes) for his 2009 on-screen debut on SNY last night.

In the midst of a heated rivalry game between the Mets and Phils, our good friend Kevin Burkhardt found time to sit down with Brooklyn's favorite GM to talk Cyclones baseball:

UPDATE: We were forced to take down the actual video because Steve was simply too good looking for public consumption the suits at MLB got all uptight about boring copyright stuff.

Steve would like all interested parties to know that because of the success of his interview, his appearance fee has now gone up, and all requests must now be routed through his agent.

Can you feel the momentum building in the campaign for the 2009 GM of the Year Award? Watch your back, Tags! The St. Lucie reign of terror is coming to an end.

-- Dave

Star Power

Congratulations to former Cyclones Reese Havens, Brad Holt, Jenrry Mejia, Eric Niesen, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis on being named to the Florida State League All-Star Team! Havens, Holt, Mejia, and Captain Kirk played in Brooklyn last year, and Niesen was a Cyclone in 2007.

And more congrats to Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Kaplan, Sean Ratliff, and Josh Satin on being named to the South Atlantic League All-Star Team! All were Cyclones last season.

Always good to see our guys playing well!

-- Dave

T-Minus Two Weeks

About 11 days left before Opening Day!

Perfect time for our computers, email, and network to go on the fritz, and everyone in the office to start getting sick.

Juuuuuuuuuust perfect.

-- Dave

Movin' On Up

Congratulations to former Cyclones pitchers Brad Holt, Jenrry Mejia, and Edgar Ramirez on their recent call-ups to Double-A Binghamton. Holt and Mejia pitched for the Cyclones just last year, while The Donkey (Ramirez) was the most popular kid in class in 2007 -- a star both on and off the field, who's an all-time favorite of fans and front office staff alike.

The trio's addition means that 22 current members of the B-Mets roster were at one point Cyclones. Holt, Mejia, Stephen Clyne and Roy Merritt were all in Brooklyn in 2008, making the jump to Double-A just one year later.

Best of luck to all the former Cyclones as they make their way up the ladder.

-- Dave

We should, like, get a website, or something

Call me a visionary, but I have a hunch this whole "internet" thing is going to be huge.

Steve and I attended a panel discussion this morning, as part of Internet Week in New York, that talked about building brands online. Special thanks to Bill Sobel of Sobel Media who set up the panel and invited us to attend.

Some great insights across the board, with one of the focuses being interactive content. We're dipping our feet into those waters here on the blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter, and we'll be doing even more this summer on YouTube, BCTV, and the like.

Everyone talks about "going viral" and I thought that one of the more interesting comments from the panelists was that nine times out of 10, you don't set out with a goal to "go viral." You set out to generate good content, and it takes off...in many cases, almost accidentally.

Ben Relles, of barelypolitical.com, and Amber Lee Ettinger, of Obama Girl fame, talked about simply wanting to create a funny skit. That skit went on to become an overnight sensation that literally changed their lives. (Who knows? Since Obama Girl has such a big crush, I think there's a good chance she'll show up to Baracklyn Night! I hope so...since now I have a crush on her!)

-- Dave