Boog: The Sampler (updated)

You know when you're looking for something on Google and you end up with so many links on a subject that you start to feel like a stalker? Yeah. Me too.

So here's a sampler of our favorite shoulder-licker, Brendan Ryan. You too can stalk the Booooooooooog.

• With the Alaska Goldpanners (2002) - YouTube
• The Goldpanners, on how he's a spaz and a sock jockey
• Background from our very own lboros (June 2, 2007) - Future Redbirds
• Backing Shortstop Ryan (June 5, 2007) - story of a call-up, TheCardinalNation.com
• Boog on the starting job and David Eckstein (January 2008) - Missourinet audio
• Brendan says goodbye to Dodgertown - Bird Land
  
• How Boog got lost in New York - Bird Land
  
• How Boog fooled CNN - YouTube; (proof from the Blogzone)
  
• Rehabbing. Just for this: "Mottie, he's still crazy." (July 28, 2006) - Daily Collegian
• Free Brendan Ryan (April 20, 2008) - Bernie's 5 Minutes
• Unleash the Boog! (June 25, 2008) - Bird Land
• Brendan Ryan's Fancy Footwork (July 29, 2008) - YouTube (more from davethebutcher)
• Winter Warm-up Report: Bulking Up By a Stone or So (Jan 17, 2009) - Bird Land
• "Once you go flat, you never go back." (Mar. 11, 2009) - Bird Land
  
• According to FSM, he found his groove in Atlanta. Here's the video. (April 27, 2009) - MLB.com
• 2009: The Audition (June 1, 2009) - 10@10
• Versus Nintendo (June 12, 2009) - short on Cards Beat
• Touching Base Q&A (done June 27, 2009) - posted previously by gdm426
  
• Boog tours Citi Field (June 2009) - metacafe video
• The jersey collection (June 30, 2009) - Bird Land blogcast
• Boog is ridiculous (July 31, 2009) - 10th 10@10
• Highlight reel, and Boog's time in Peoria (Aug 3, 2009) - Central Illinois
• Boog rocks the stache with a t-shirt (Aug 10, 2009) - thanks to stlhulsey and MichiganBird
  edit: Headline news!
• Boog vs. the Batting Stance Guy at Dodgers Stadium. Boog pwned. - facebook; thanks andi
  
• Boog is ridiculous behind his back (Aug 19, 2009) - 10th 10@10
• Boog after his grand slam night! DeNiro incl. (and on youtube) (Aug 20, 2009) - FSN Midwest video
• Just for: "Sources close to the duffel bag who requested anonymity..." (Sept 4, 2009) - 3rd 10@10
• Short feature and fun ball tricks with Boog (Sept 6, 2009) - Post-Dispatch video; thanks andi
• No Longer a Novelty Act, related feature article (Sept 6, 2009) - Goold, Post-Dispatch
• They Call Him Boog (Sept 17, 2009) - Fangraphs recognizes

[There's about three articles missing here, mostly via andi_k.]

Yes, Boog. It may be a while before Carp signs your jersey.

MLB and ESPN et al continue to short Ryan on his highlights, so it's up to you and FSM to put 'em together.

(I've managed to lose the one article mentioning his off-season training... he was told to put on weight after cramping up last year. And for the record, I was looking for a picture of the shoulder-licking. I have a skeptical "friend.")

2010

Ryan embraces offseason to full potential (Feb. 1, 2010) - MLB

edit: andi_k has taken over many of the 2010 blogging duties of Brendan Ryan's media fanshots. Check the player tag for more. In particular you might want to check out FSM giving him a video camera for weeks of hilarity (click on "Cardinals" on the sidebar to sort), and Goold's latest feature and blog.

2011

I'm going to do something I would normally never do, which is post a link with a gigantic time-skip before it. Namely 2010. There were a few fanshots here and there, and so forth, but without much organization. It's like an annoying anime series or something.

However, I think this is a suitable coda, and it does say something about the decision-making process of the Cardinals. Normally one cannot draw conclusions about subjective data from private environs like a clubhouse, but in this case there was so much documentation, from so many different sources, that one can make educated guesses about that black-box. Everyone's going to tell it a different way, of course. Such is narrative. The fallacy comes of ignoring the whole body of documentation, only a small part of which is collected here. Baseball history is not the fans' to remake; it is the players' to live, and it behooves us to be better observers of their part in this marvelous game.

Brendan Ryan takes to role as team leader - Seattle Times