With the changes in the Conclave roster, it seemed a good time to let you, our readers, know a little bit more about the guys that you are reading, whether they are coming over from The Redbird Daily or have been a part of the Conclave for a while. So I (Daniel Shoptaw, also known as Cardinal70) thought I’d ask a few questions of these writers. Enjoy!
Blogger: Graham Jacobi
Blog Name: (To Be Determined)
Twitter: graham_stl
Daniel: For those that don’t know, who is Graham Jacobi outside of his blogger life?
Graham: I’m a soon to be 17 year old kid who believes he can be good for the baseball atmosphere. My other passion has been the interactions I can make with animals, either with my pets (3 guinea pigs and a dog) or the dogs I walk at an animal shelter. I wanted to pursue being a vet tech but it’s up in the air. Other than that my life is baseball. P.S. I’m much nicer than on Twitter
Daniel: Do you find that your age is an impediment when it comes to discussing baseball online?
Graham: Now I may not have quite the memory that @CardinalTales (Bob Netherton) has, but I can make as good of an analysis on any given baseball topic the same as anyone else. If there are those out there who want to disregard my words for my age then that is their problem.
Daniel: Does this recent rough patch of the last couple of years hit you harder since the Cardinals have been good since before you were born?
Graham: I oddly find myself outside of the group of fans who have lost faith in the Cardinals, along with those who think not showing up to the ball park will change things. I just enjoy that I got to see the 2013 Cardinals and the near Wacha no-no, not to mention all of the 2011 series. That’s more than many other fan bases can be proud of in recent years.
Daniel: What made you get into blogging in the first place?
Graham: I wanted to be able to express my opinions beyond the word limit on Twitter. I was inspired by seeing the good work at birdsontheblack and when I was told they weren’t looking for new writers just yet, @kyler416 (Kyle Reis) hooked me up with RedBirdDaily. Plus I wanted everyone else to know at school that I’m the baseball guy.
Daniel: Do you remember what your first post was about?
Graham: It was about Mike Moustakas because we NEEDED a left handed power bat. Wouldn’t take it back.
Daniel: How has the reception been for your posts, in general?
Graham: I’ve only seen good things!
Daniel: What do you think has been the highlight of your blogging career so far?
Graham: Writing an article on why we should’ve signed Alex Cobb and then seeing him proceed to perform worse than Adam Wainwright.
Daniel: What do you like most about being a Cardinal fan? What do you like most about the online Cardinal community, which would include Twitter, blogs, podcasts, and the like?
Graham: I enjoy having John Mozeliak as our General Manager. I’ve always had faith in him, fashion jokes aside. Not to mention we have an all time great catcher named Yadier Molina who doesn’t quit without injury. I like Kyle’s periscopes, CardsCards’s jokes, the robot Zach Gifford, and this guy named Brendan Schaeffer. Prospect to Be Named Later is the only podcast I listen to.
Daniel: The name drop of Gifford leads me to ask your opinion on advanced metrics. Are they easier for you to grasp since a lot of them have been around your whole baseball life rather than, like me, them coming along later?
Graham: I’d like to believe I can understand things like WRC and batted ball profile pretty well. Still get lost in Zach’s graphs.
Daniel: Why the Conclave and what are you looking forward to with the new platform?
Graham: I wanted to show that people who love Star Wars Rebels and those who hate it can work together. Maybe I’ll write about something not involving trades.
Daniel: It’s obvious your weakness is Star Wars. What do you think your strengths are in writing and analysis?
Graham: My passion for the topic. I WANT to tell others and help enlighten them.
As Chancellor Palpatine said, “We will watch your career with great interest.” It’s going to be interesting to watch Graham as he develops as a writer!
