testing ... testing ... 123!

wow. this will take a little getting used to, but all in all i like the new sleeker look!

The straight forward approach of the old site was nice fimiliar but I guess I can get used to this.

My cellphone will NEVER be able to handle the new format. :D

Bravo!

A couple first impressions:
1. I find the default avatar (the guy with the mouth agape with a backwards baseball cap) really, really annoying. Just reminds me too much of the drunk, loudmouth sports jerk stereotype that I can't stand.

2. Not sure I like the massive maroon bars down the side. Too reminiscent of 1980's Phillies colors for me.

3. The Fanpost enhancements seem to be a huge improvement over the old diary system, although I suppose it will take a while to see how it all plays out.

Love what you've done to the place!! Are the Cold Frosty Buds still in the same spot in the fridge? :)

to SB Nation! Yay!

Is there anyway to make it use more of the screen? I've got a widescreen monitor (1440x900) and basically half the screen is being wasted. The old VB would expand automatically to the width.

I think i'm gonna miss the old VEB. This is gonna take some getting used to. I really liked how the old VEB looked like a true fan site this is more...yuck I kinda feel dirty

...but I'll be patient and try to appreciate all the new features.

I agree about the vertical gray bars on the sides, however...that's a LOT of wasted real estate. Any chance of tweaking that?

looks good, but yes any change will take some adjusting too.

who post at 3 a.m.?

I'd much rather have a bigger main "center" area for the posts and shrink at least the right sidebar but whatever probably going to have to get used to it...

Let's get some new T Shirts to celebrate the new VEB!

but am really excited about some of the new features. Also, it may be just me but the color palette looks a bit off...a bit dark.

....name change by addition, otherwise painless so far.

I got a taste of this on "Athletics Nation", so it's good to see it here...I belong to a number of other blogs on SB nation, and I'm not understanding how to integrate them on my dashboard...I'll do some more experimenting...so far so good. though

all the good links to the other sites that used to sit on the right sidebar. Please bring 'em back. Now I don't know how to get to anywhere from here. Otherwise, site looks good.

Will take a few to get used to, but the site IMHO needed an upgrade on a number of different levels to make it as functional as is possible in their Web 2.0 world. Also like I'll be able eventually to work with all three of the SB Nations sites through one log-in/setting screen. I'll also be very interested to see how the schedule, roster, stats, and news sections work. I mean if you want to keep me here and get more page views this is a sure fire way to do this.

About the only downside I see as a few others have mentioned, is I'd like to be able to expand the width of the page. But I guess you can't have everything.

this world frightens and confuses me...

seriously, much better. now i just gotta play around with it for a while to get used to it.

I liked having the links for all the other MLB teams blogs on the right on the old site. Is that gone or am I just not finding them?

It definitely will take a bit of getting used to, but it looks kinda spiffy. As long as we are talking Cardinals, though, it doesn't matter the bells and whistles!

As long as the quality of the comments stays the same. 'Cause, you know--it was the best Cards site anywhere.

Some dude from :blech: "Windy City Gridiron" stole it.

Bastards.

*Cause I like to try and break stuff

So I only have the option to collapse or expand. I can have it on expand and then manual collapse each individual comment?

Longtime ready... first time poster! How's my avatar?

If the extra space in the sides is really bothering you, just reduce the browser window to match the site, then use all that extra space for multi-tasking. That's why you bought the big ol' wide-screen monitor, right? ;)

I like the changes. Lots of cool stuff.

......make the decision to start quoting Larry in thier columns as a source. I am impressed MR. Borowsky

It's like driving a sprots car compared to the old site. Great Job!

This is the Cadillac of Sports Blogs.

Very Nice...
Great Success!

The are so very very tiny.....

Can we get a big fat logo to click on for future redbirds?

Or maybe you could assimilate them in some fashion.

Build the minors for this system with first inning as the homepage and a link to toggle between the big league and the prospect league blogs.

I see where I can now just "click" to get my (a-hem) italics "fix"... (grin)

Gotta get used to the key strokes...

It's new and we have to get used to it...but I like it.

what happened to all the advertisers?

Like flynn.

1. Cupholders - Or what is that actions button by the comments? I hit mine and it disappeared. I tried to look it up in the directions to no avail.

2. Storage - Or since I am not HTML savvy, I think it would be good to have a tutorial on how to upload images and videos. Also how to make your statements bold or italics or whatnot.

I will miss the old place, but the new bar's drinks will stay cold longer...

I love the new digs...but it will take some getting used to.

But this is very nice.

Not to wild about the yellow back ground on the posts, but it looks to me like the changes well be good over all

I like the idea but not the function.

It would be easier if it showe the posts by headers not the entire post. You have to scroll tthrough to much print and after about 4 or 5 of these entire posts it gets tedious.

to our responses, I'd like to see html being added back to the signatures.

I was very attached to our old format but I will get used to it. Overall its good and I absolutely LOVE not having to refresh the page....that would be a real pain sometimes...

just because they updated the site, you guys think you can get away without a Saturday post?

The Mex is watching!

and don't worry, Hardcore, there'll be a Sunday post. I'm sure red baron's getting something together for today as well.

For those wondering Link

except the Cardinals one. This will be the 2nd time this spring that they took one away that they said would be televised.

I love how with just one click of the keyboard you can see the new posts this is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...someone at Windy Cities Gridiron had my name. so I chose a new name like the thing told me to do. It never once gave me an opportunity to claim my old account at VEB. D.GOOCH

Layout looks much better, however, the failure of the site to adjust to monitor size is a bit dis concerning.

The right side banner is a little wide for my taste and squeezes the main content. What's with the crimson and grey? Overall dig the new layout.

Change, its something to get used to..

Out with the old.

Can I make a comment without a subject

to SB Nation & fellow VEB'ers.
looks great !

Reading this blog is like looking into the face of God and seeing Him smiling back and saying, "You are my most wondrous creation."

but one thing that I'm already struggling with is how subtle the difference is between old comments and new. The faint yellow tinge and the line being yellow vs. gray took me quite a while to even notice.

It's aesthetically pleasing to look at but when I'm trying to quickly browse the new comments (with the cool new C-button browsing) it doesn't register in my brain fast enough as "new comment". I wind up a little disoriented looking for a more distinct visual indicator of which comment is actually new.

That may just be me though. . .

Huge kudos, constructive criticism aside, because the site is not only highly functional but it is visually clear and compelling. The visual component, rather than just being some nice slap on thought at the end, aids in distinguishing different parts of the blog and their function. It has a very slick feel to the whole thing and looks less blocky than the previous layout.

This is awesome! It will take some time to get used to.

I really like the new comments system. Simply pressing c to cycle through new comments is much easier than using find:new on the old system. It's fantastic that they automatically update, that'll save a lot of clicks on the ol' refresh screen come game time.

My only real complaints are purely aesthetic. The red is too maroon--makes it looks like a Phillies blog or something. And the avatars are a nice touch, but they're so dreadfully small.

anyone have a link to todays spring training gameday?

I was clicking around, because I always like see how long it takes me to break new things, and I clicked on the tag link (the original el birdos) on the left side of the main page. I went to the second linked entry (this one) and was reading through it.

Towards the end, one of the bullet points reads "this comment still cracks me up." and it should link to an old comment by a username Solanus. It was the 666th comment on that thread and it made self-reference to that fact. I don't see that comment in the thread anymore which makes me wonder if it got lost in the migration or something. All the comments are migrated over from the old platform even if the users haven't claimed their new account correct?

This could be nothing (read: isolated incident) but I thought I'd bring it up anyway. It also could have something to do with the fact that the comment entry links appear to have changed (i.e. they aren't specific to individual posts but to the blog itself).

(Note: To whoever has to figure out what I'm talking about, I hope I didn't ruin your day. Tracking possible software bugs is never fun -- I know firsthand -- so I tried to be as specific as possible.)

(Alternate Theory:One explanation.)

...life is good eating Lucky Dogs on a beautiful Saturday.

is who is going to take this Eric Davis avatar?

I have poor eyesight to begin with, even with my progressive lenses, and due to the very small print on the sight, I always have to increase the font size two-fold at the least. Now, though, I think I'll have to revert to the 800x600 display just to read this stuff.

The transition was a piece of cake. I've been looking forward to the new design since it came out over at Athletics Nation. I do agree with the comments about the color. If its a sports team blog, at the very least the colors should be right, and this is not cardinal red. Its more like USC Cardinal. Which is a color I personally don't mind....but not on my Cardinals blogs.

Also...big fan of the live auto update, so you don't repeat a comment that gets made while you're typing.

If STL ownership couldn't retool the team as well as we might have liked, at least SB Nation has given us a nice shiny new blog to enjoy for the season!

are signatures no longer retroactive? Does the signature at the time of the comment stick with the comment forever?

Example:
Old Fritz comment: Okay, quick... Everybody back on the bandwagon... Now back off... Back on... Now dance!
New Fritz comment: [no signature]

for this thread.

When I check the sidebar, it says there are no new posts for this thread and it is at , lets say, 138 posts. When I click on this thread, it says there are 3 New posts and a total of 141 posts.

So, unless I click on this, it doesn't tell me someone posted something new.

My only issue so far was that I was unable to claim my accounts at first but that has since been fixed for me, not sure what was wrong but the option wasn't there this morning. Also that my name was take so I had to change it. I hate having to add StL to the front of my name but it works for now at least.

Claiming my account over at Bleed Cubbie Blue it says it cant find my account there. Could that have something to do with my username being the same over there? or what?

So far I'm loving the site. Takes a while longer to load on my old computer, but not snail like. Are you taking suggestions too? What about adding salary, or contract or when they're a free agent on the Roster page? It would be a great resource and LB wouldn't have to keep putting the matrix together? Otherwise - kudos for all the hard work!

wish it would automatically fit to a widescreen format instead though. I am all ready for the new season to start now I guess.

The Cards have really been taking it to the Mets today.

I really like the new board so far, the fanpost section seemingly gives more freedom for posting without flooding out popular topics.

Very sexy. Still trying to figure out, but I'm looking forward to getting you to it.

Is there anyway to have the new comments on top. I hate having to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to see new comments.

looking forward to all the sites being migrated to this format (well, the ones i frequent anyhow) so you can easily flow from blog to blog leaving comments and generally annoying people.

my only issue is the colors, we don't root for the phillies around these parts.

AZ Cardinal Red than CARDINAL Red....

the generic SB Nation Avatar guy looks like Barak Obama.

Just trying it out

the better i like it.

but again, i do have a widescreen monitor and the layout only covers about half of it. i'd like to see the center strip (with the main posts) be expanded.

and a comment from hardcore just popped up without me even doing anything...SWEET!

The *[code]* (change the [ to <) html tag no longer works in making comments, which makes it impossible to format a list of information. Like this:

Maris $75,000
McCarver $60,000
Gibson $85,000
Shannon $40,000
Brock $70,000
Cepeda $80,000
Flood $72,500
Javier $45,000
Maxvill $37,500
Schoendienst $42,000
________________________
$607,000

i had high hopes for the new digs, and so far i've been let down. i almost feel bad for being the only guy to bitch about everything. i said almost. you asked for some feed back, so here you go.

the color is simply awful. i thought this was a ST LOUIS CARDINALS BLOG? where's my Cardinal Red color?

the yellow color behind comments looks horrible. and what's with all the black? i ask again, were is my Cardinal Red?

i've got a 20 inch Dell monitor, and half the screen is empty. is there any way to fix that?

there's still no damn EDIT button. WTF? i've been asking for an edit button for YEARS.

i HATE having to hit the PREVIEW button. what happens in the middle of the season when an ump blows a call & i want to say something real quick and i can't because of the damn preview button? fix that if you would please. i'm not joking. i'm dead serious. thats almost a deal breaker for me.

losing the link to my blog really pisses me off. it's not a porn pic, it's not even a blog with foul language. there's just stuff i want to say on here that i don't feel comfortable saying, so i say it there. and if the link is gone from my sig here, then my viewer ship is gone. almost all the traffic to my blog is from VEB. and now you've taken that away from me & i don't like it or appreciate it one bit.

the avatar's are too small. what's the point in having one if you can't tell what it is?

so far i do not like this change. i know it had to happen, but there's a lot of new stuff here that i really don't like. part of what made the old site so fun & enjoyable was it's pureness & it's simplicity. it's going to take a long, LONG time to get used to everything new here. and to be honest with you, i don't know if i've got that much time & energy.

why is there never a puppy around when you really need one?

With this many people I guess you cant make everyone happy...
But I do agree about the color..

On the front page it says

Welcome to the SB Nation blog about St. Louis Cardinals

But at least to me that sentence sounds bad.... you need to add a the before St. Louis Cardinals

in the 'Do you like the colors' thread, I posted something about the text needed to be changed from yellow because it looked like McDonalds and then the post disappeared when I came back later.

Also, last night in my FanPhoto thread, another post about how I updated the photo description disappeared.

When composing a REPLY to an existing comment, when you hit the "preview" button, the new comment apparently does not preview as being aligned/indented one level further in. During the preview, it appears to be aligned at the same level as the comment you are replying to, rather than one level to the right. This behavior was specifically exhibited when I replied to the comment by sixfoot6 on Mar 16, 2008 3:03 PM CDT, above. (Also, as a "root" comment rather than an indented reply, the alignment of this post looked normal during the preview.)

Note that once I actually posted the reply, it lined up properly...but the preview alignment might confuse some posters who want to make sure they are replying to the correct comment. I don't know if it is something you can tweak, but you might give it a look.

Keep up the excellent work! (I wish all of my migrations went as smoothly as this one!)

I don't think it should be mandatory to preview a post before you make it.

I'm not questioning the purpose of the preview feature itself and definately feel it should still be available to use. However, for those of us who use HTML regularly, it's not fun to go through another step before posting.

Just nit picking, I know. ;)