A Secondary BAM! Mission Statement

Hopefully, we're getting an extra bump in traffic thanks to BAM!'s "sponsorship" of the new format over at GROTA (which, IMHO, looks awesome).

Hopefully, our new readers are enjoying the existing content regarding Aaron Miles' appropriate role with the Cubs (that is, as an occaisional starter/bench player).

To everyone that's been keeping an eye on the site over the past several days, allow me to say thank you. Your readership is much appreciated. To the newbies, I urge you to keep an eye on what's going on over here at BAM!.

In asking for your continued readership, there's something I should point out in terms of "keeping it interesting" over the course of the season. Of course, there's a very high probability that Aaron Miles is, in fact, benched before the 2009 regular season begins.

You may ask: what will BAM! do if their goal is achieved so quickly? To keep the new content flowing, I expect this site to expand its general focus within one specific topic.

For 2009 and beyond, BAM! will aim to be one of the premiere blogs for the analysis of, and discussion about, position battles for your Chicago Cubs. Potential topics for 2009 include:

• The battle for backup catcher.
• The organization's final choices on the back-end of the rotation, and their impact on Jeff Samardzija.
• A continued watch on playing time in the middle infield.
• Keeping an eye on Mike Fontenot's production compared to that of 2008 Cub fan favorite, Mark DeRosa.
• Evaluating Lou's decision on an eventual backup at 3B.
• Looking at how much playing time Micah Hoffpauir is getting at first.
• Considering all of Lou's options in the outfield.

Really, there's a ton to talk about beyond Aaron Miles and Mike Fontenot. And I promise you, we'll talk about it.

In the meantime, I encourage readers to leave comments on this post to dictate the course of our continuing discussion. Got a strong opinion about the fifth starter? Do you see any reason to keep Paul Bako on board? When will Micah Hoffpauir finally get a chance to start regularly?

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by. I hope you continue to enjoy Bench Aaron Miles!