The Sacrifice Bunt is Padres and baseball commentary featuring statistical analysis and wit without humility.

Ray Lankford and Melvin Nieves are avid Padres fans. They met on an online message board, entitling them to use of the phrase “internet friends”. Both love discussing, fighting about, and analyzing the Padres baseball club and the sport itself. They also have a particular fancy for some of the more comprehensive statistics available. More on that in the glossary section.

Something isn’t right about the message board format. It’s a great way to bring fans together and giving a chance for discussion. But its open nature allows for disruption by those who’s, shall we say, first priority isn’t an open-minded analysis.

The board format also lacks a certain permanence. Rants are given equal treatment and attention to researched ideas. Often times the controversy of a good rant outshines that which is posted using actual thought. That’s where this blog comes in.

This blog will serve as a more permanent creative outlet for Ray and Melvin. Often, content from the board will appear on the blog, and vise versa. There has been talk of opening the blog to guests posters, from the forum or otherwise. We will address this when the time comes. Until then, enjoy reading and please comment on our thoughts. We love open minded discussions.

And yes, Melvin posts on the board with a different name. If you’re there enough you probably know who he is.