Congrats to Eric. Let's not forget that Eric actually took over for that tool Frank Hughes who took a really good thing and ran it completely into the toilet.
Thank goodness for my ol' pal Ryan Divish who saved the day and rescued that blog until Eric could take over. Div flat out called Frank a liar when Frank claimed he couldn't cover the blog due to a mass firing at the TNT (which didn't take place).
I like to think I did my part by starting a petition and getting about a thousand people to sign it within a few days to remove Hughes from the TNT and it made its way to the sports editor. I don't think it had anything to do with it, but Hughes was removed in short order (like within 48 hours) and Div and then Eric started pushing out content.
I believe Ryan is the next to go, and he will likely get a really good job with ESPN. Nobody deserves it more to be honest. He's logged over 50,000 miles as the M's beat writer this year. Amazing. It's a brutal business, and if somebody is willing to pay you to work in San Diego and has deep pockets I think you go without hesitating. That's the reality of the news business.
My cousin is a sports writer at a major newspaper. His department has gone from 40 to 4 within the past 2 years. He's always looking for the next job, and the hours are ridiculous.