Joe Posnanski's tenure at Sports on Earth/USA Today/MLB Advanced Media is over already, less than a year after it began. The relationship, which seemed like it would be perfect for the former SI columnist, resulted in the launching of Sports on Earth, a website under the USA Today and MLBAM umbrellas led by Posnanski and a staff of talented writers. Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead is reporting that Posnanski will be joining NBC Sports, likely the first salvo in the new digital relationship between NBC and Yahoo.
I'm not sure how this move is going to work out for the baseball-oriented Posnanski. Posnanski told TBL he'll be a digital voice with NBC, which I assume would cut any substantial TV appearances out of the loop. Posnanski had been appearing a decent bit on MLB Network since the creation of Sports on Earth, but that relationship may be history with his new role at NBC.
I always thought the role Posnanski is leaving would have been him at his best. He's now joining his third employer over the past year, and while he's an extremely talented writer, I'm wondering what exactly the ideal role for him will be anymore, especially with the fallout of his Joe Paterno biography. I have no idea where he'll fit in at NBC. When asked for comment, NBC said, “We're hopeful to have information regarding Joe Posnanski in the near future."
Perhaps Posnanski will be NBC's version of Bill Simmons and be an overarching online presence. Maybe he'll be the first move of many as NBC looks to fortify their NBCsports.com outlet, which is mostly a non-factor outside Pro Football Talk. The move brings more questions than answers, and I'm really interested to see how things work out… and if Posnanski ends up changing jobs again in a few months.
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