TCR Donation Drive

So we've escaped the clutches of MVN, poked fun at Sam Zell's misguided attempt to sell naming rights to Wrigley Field and we have Arizona Phil. You're probably asking yourself right now, how can I help support this amazing website and make sure it lasts longer than Jason Marquis will as a Cub? Well, you can dress up in a Cubbie Bear costume, put on a sandwich board that says "Visit the best Cubs site on the web, THECUBREPORTER.COM" and stand outside Wrigley Field during each game of the next homestand. Be sure to get pictures if you do indeed go that route. We suspect that might not be your style, so if you're looking for a simpler alternative, you can just send us a bit of pocket change.

We're starting a little donation drive this month and we hope all that can help us out, will take a moment to do just that. This site did cost us a bit out of our own pockets to get started and now we have expenses such as domain names, server costs, Parachat and potential lawyer fees when the AngelFan Wife finally gets fed up with me burying my nose in a laptop. We'll take whatever you can scrounge up from the bottom of your couch cushions, whether it's a dollar or forty (or more if you have really deep couch cushions). If you're looking for a little guidance on an appropriate amount, if we could get 100 people to donate $20 each, that should cover our costs for the year (including Parachat) and leave a little left over for site improvements and advertising. We're even offereing some wonderful gifts to the top givers.

I have one copy of the Chicago Cubs Legends DVD set for the most charitable reader. For the second and third higest donations, you'll get a one year sponsorship on our Cubs 40-man roster and Cubs Depth Chart pages, similar to what Baseball Reference does. If there happens to be a tie anywhere among the top three, we'll literally have to flip a coin to determine the giveaways. So if you are donating, please be sure to include your TCR username in the notes section, if you have one, and at the very least, include your email address in there.

Now, we understand not everyone has the means to help us out with a straight cash donation, so there are a few other ways to support the site. One is by clicking some of the ads on the left and right sidebars or the bottom of the page (and soon on the top of the page). We've been instructed that we cannot directly solicit clicks by our readers, so only click on ads that interest you (lots and lots of times). And if you're wondering why are we asking for donations if we have advertising, well the answer is they don't pay much. You also have to reach a certain threshold before they pay out and we're not on pace to reach those for a few months.

If you like fantasy baseball, consider creating a free team on Rotohog as we get a little kickback from each new registrar from that referral link. Or what about opening a savings or checking account on ING Direct? With an initial deposit of $250 or more, they'll deposit $25 into your account and we get $10 put into ours. Unfortunately they don't have a direct link that works, but drop me a note and I can send you a referral email. It costs you nothing (you actually make $25) and you'll get some of the highest interest rates available on a standard savings or checking account. You can also visit our "TCR Approved" Amazon store and buy one of our recommended items. And this isn't just all the Cubs crap we can find on Amazon. All the items found there are items someone on the TCR staff has owned or viewed and endorsed.

Or just send us $20(or whatever you can afford)....



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Isn't my witty charm payment enough?

I've actually added up your tab Chad and you owe us $3,251 for the last 3 years...most of it due for defending Cesar Izturis.

Oh that whole thing.

If Izturis costs that much, I wonder how much Manny owes you for Dusty?

NASA is still computing the bill. We've sent a collection agency to look for Silent Towel, but we're not expecting anything from that.

You can't charge for the Internet, maaaan. It's free and ethereal, like music.

No, I'm in.

Hmm... I really want those DVDs. Is Rob willing to pony up for the s&h?

Hmm... you could have just won the Free Agent contest. :)


Sure, what I'll actually do is get one of your countrymen that hang out at my Home Depot looking for work to bring it down to you. That should save me a few bucks. :)



On a just barely related note, how come all of Pittsburgh's first seven runs yesterday were earned w/ Cedeno throwing it into the stands & Ramirez throwing it underground & all? Not to defend Teddy's ERA since he too was culpable, but if either of those plays had been made the inning would have ended w/ less blood lost, right?

Yea... I was wondering the same thing, but I think it is because they called the Cedeno play a hit+error, so it wasn't "supposed" to be an out. That would explain the first two two runs.

But I have no idea why the last three runs were considered earned.

I know it's 'tradition' and all, but it doesn't seem right posting "Go, Cub's Go!" after a game like the one we saw yesterday. That thing should have been a 3 or 4 run win in the 9th.

And how about some love for Lieber? Dude had a couple 3-minute innings (I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea).

Both Ronny's and Rammy's errors in the inning were scored H+E's.

Those runs only become unearned when they score on a play they normally wouldn't score on because they were either one or two bases further from home plate. Por ejemplo, a runner is on third base on a single as opposed to second base, where he would be without the H+E. Only then is that run unearned to the pitcher.

Since the runs all came in on the McClouth triple, they would have scored after being on base anyway, so they are all earned.

Rob, one tip on the google ads to the left - it would be great if they could open in a new window or tab like the larger picture ads on the right do. I'm happy to click them a couple of hundred times during each Cubs game since I normally just sit with my computer on my lap anyway - but not if I have to keep using the back browser. I suppose you are not allowed to tell us the thresholds for the payouts on partiuclar ones?

i'm with wiscgrad, i be a clickin

I'll see if I can modify the code. In the meantime, I usually right click on a link and choose "open in new tab". It works in Firefox at least.

I am a poor college student, or else i would. But i'll do my part by clicking on the ads in new tabs so i can just do it for the whole 90 minutes i sit in class and NOT watch the cubs game

Yeah we can definitely organize a "Poor Students Click Drive" to rack up the hits for those who can't afford to donate. Rob, are we talking hundreds or thouands or what for you guys to start getting paid?

i've known people who had sites that have click ads and get paid at X amount. However, for example the google ads they had, tracked the IP addresses of the clicks and disregarded clicks from repeat IP addresses within the same week (or some timeline) to avoid...well...what we're proposing to do...

You're right. I have Google ads on many websites I run and if you have repeat clicks from the same IP address not only will Google not count them but if they occur often enough Google will warn the publisher or even suspend/terminate them for fraud. So don't encourage people to click on the ads multiple times. No more than once or twice a month, maximum.

Rob, another good supplementary source of income is Kontera. Kontera does in article advertising, simply by highliting a word and turning it into a link. They do that for 6-10 words per page, so it's not intrusive. Of course the regular readers won't click on them, but they aren't likely to click on any of the ads.

One other source of income TCR should sign up for is to be a Stub Hub affiliate. You can sign up on Stub Hub or if you're a Commission Junction affiliate you can sign up through there. CJ runs the Stub Hub program anyway. I know the Google ads often come up with links to Cubs tickets, but with Stub Hub people can actually get decent tickets at normally competitive prices, to any sporting event, concert, etc. That's one of the affiliate programs that actually would be of value to the regular readers here - and casual readers.

The Public Broadcasting News team......Taking a break from our pledge drive........ to Kick some Burgundy Ass

The authors of TCR not named "trans" really do bust their assess,
and the switch to an independent site required them to front a good
amount of startup costs without any guaranteed return on it.


Please respond to this message with suggestions for how I might sweeten the pot for potential. contributors.  Personally,
I am thinking along the lines of taking whomever finishes just outside
of the top three donation spots, and incoporating them into a Very
Special Game Recap or Very Special Letters from the TCR E-Mailbag.....
Something like


Inning 5 - Top

  • Before the inning begins, Dr. Aaron B, that generous and quite
    good-looking TCR donor, streaks the field, doing cartwheels out to the
    pitching mound where he gives Zambrano a high-five.  Isn't Dr.
    Aaron B the coolest guy around?

At least you are truthful in all you assessments. Nobody could ever take that away from you sir.

Maybe CarlosRubi can smuggle some sort of Contriband to LA for Rob G? That could be his contribution to the TCR cause.

Which do you prefer: Snow White or Green Marvel?


Have you guys considered BlogAds? They differ from traditional web advertising in that they aren't click-based. I have no idea what kind of traffic TCR is pulling or how much your current ads make you, but it looks like Dodger Thoughts is selling one ad space for $75/week and Baseball Think Factory is pulling $150/week each for two ads.

aw thanks...we're in the process of putting together some sort of ad model and package. We just threw some ads up now to get this thing going. They pay okay for our audience, but as I said, won't be seeing anything from it for a few months.

 As for a "clicking party", probably best you not do that. A few clicks a day would be great. Eventually we'll add a top ad banner and maybe some small text ads between posts, but that should be about it.

Just sent my donation based solely on the fact that you guys busted your asses taking us away the evil lords at MVN -- thanks for the hard work!

Don't spend the dough on Angels tickets, Rob. Please.

BTW how about adding a donation-o-meter to the right sidebar right below Go, Cubs, Go?


the sidebars are getting a bit cluttered already for my about I just give an update each week in the TCR Friday Notes? 


I don't know. I'm not sure I've ever seen a successful donation drive that didn't have a large thermometer that could be colored in...

Alternatively, maybe we can do a WGN TV-spot. We can all make mean faces and say things such as "Don't write me off" like we are really pissed off. And then Rob can say "TCR posters are our posters, please donate generously."

Is MVN evil? What happened?

By and large, MVN treated us just fine.  Frankly, we're a rather
hard-headed bunch of folks, and the Little Things just built up to the
point where going independent was the logical thing to do.  Our
most strident loyalists like playing it up, and we tend to encourage
that "renegade" notion a bit.  But it really was about as amicable
of a parting as you could expect, on all sides.

Although, it must be said they didn't like us cussing so fucking
much.  We kept asking to be exceptions to the uniform policies MVN
was foisting upon other blogs, on the grounds that it'd cramp what we
do and your enjoyment of what we do, and for the most part MVN
relented.  But not on the cussing, those butt-assed shit-flingers
held firm.  


So if you like your TCR occassionally rated PG-13, chip in a few bucks for that.   :)

Good thing they never hung out in parachat... :)


Although, I can see a case for running a clean site. I've found myself using the f-word entirely too much on TCR lately. Yesterday, for example:





ok that sounded as plausible as Alou trying to convince people today that he really couldn't have caught the bartman ball.

Will you guys accept a 3rd party Out of State Check as a donation? I can send you one if you promise to hold it til next tuesday.

Here's a quarter.

Go downtown and have a rat chew that thing off your face.

For the most part, Trans is right. However, MVN's advertising scheme, their tech support and their president, Evan Brunell, are God awful. They act as if writing for MVN was a privilege, not a hobby or --maybe-- resume-filler. I swear, if I had a dime for every time I was promised something that never arrived, I'd own the Cubs by now.

I have a lot of respect for mr. Brunell; he's a very talented and successful young entrepreneur, but he has no people skills whatsoever. What is worse, half his top collaborators (like an anonymous former MVN baseball director) would rather deal with bloggers by themselves than to forward the issues to Brunell and they openly comment that with everyone who is willing to listen. MVN has all the makings of a web-dictatorship, a la Al @ BCB.

I'm so glad TCR went independent. So friggin' glad.

You all should have organized and formed a union. :)

We did.  It's called The New TCR.  Now pay your dues,
because I was designated the torpedo, and I'll come visit if need be...



Well damnit... I am going on strike until I get health insurance.

Done. Can I have the $20 back if Silent Towel returns?

Rob is holding ST at an undisclosed location, and eventually will
use it to shake down our readers:  pay up, now, or he releases ST
back onto the message boards.


Ok, this has been fun, time to run.  


(and thanks, Tito) 

I believe if that someone ever opens the steel door on the ivy wall, ST will be silent no longer.



You folks need Senator Barack Obama or Congressman Ron Paul raising money for you. Those guys can rake.

Or... if you don't mind shady, silhouettey-type people giving you money for a favor to be determined later, then Hillary Clinton can make you money, too. :p

Michael Barrett on the 15 day DL with a right elbow injury...word is he might be facing Tommy John surgery.

Barrett and Prior together again on the DL. It just feels so..... right.

I blame Dusty.

Damn you, Michael Barrett!

Don't be so quick to blame Johnny B. Baker. Haven't you seen that he's got Korey playing like Korey again? Expect Ne!f! in a Reds uniform soon.

Wouldn't it just be easier to sell out to Motorola?

Tightness in shoulder after throwing last week, was to pitch yesterday.

That IS 3/44.

Anyhow...with quotes like "Mark Prior, who had to end his throwing session on Tuesday halfway into it after experiencing tightness in his surgically repaired right shoulder" and "We just want him to keep feeling good about his shoulder" and "Prior was told by doctors that the tightness he experienced on Tuesday was not unusual"...

...I'm not going to go and call him a pussy like other people have, but doesn't this indicate to people that Prior is a lot more sensitive to twinges and pain than his peers? This indicates to me at least part of his injury problems over the years have been mental.


You would be sensitive too if you had gone through what he has with his injuries.

He SHOULD be sensitive, and he SHOULD be extremely careful with how he comes back. The last thing he wants to do is try to pitch through any tightness or pain right now.

Former Giant, Cub, and National great Jerome Williams is out of affiliated baseball. He's headed to the independent Golden League where he'll see such great baseball cities as Calgary, Edmonton, and St. George, Utah.

Glad to help out. Keep up the great work guys.

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