Baseball! April just might be the best time of year -- the long, cold winter seems to be finally coming to a close, longer days, the anticipation of summer, and the opening days of baseball. A week or two ago, I went over to a friends and walked into the middle of a baseball v. basketball conversation and, although I've always been a baseball guy, I never have much of an explanation for why, and my input to the discussion was along the line, I don't know, I just like it. There is something storybook about baseball, something historic, and it is what I grew up with. I love the memories of going to games while growing up, playing catch and homerun derby in the backyard, the mythology, the literariness of it. It seems like baseball is often about more than just baseball, and I think these annual baseball issues do a good job of showcasing that. They are all baseball stories but, at the same time, they are bigger than that. This issue, I think (and hope) at least -- with stories essays, and humor pieces by A.M. Amodeo, Antonios Maltezos, Christopher Monks, Jesse Morse, Devan Sagliani, Charles West, and our own Hobart commentator brad -- continues the streak of the April baseball issues maybe being my favorite issues of the year, and I hope everyone else enjoys them as well.

Next month, the new web editing team of Savannah Scroll, Claudia Smith, and photo editor Sean Carman really takes over. SUBMIT!

Finally. After a little hiatus, we're back with this, the new site design, the minibooks contest announcement, news of Hobart #6, and... well, that might be it. There isn't anything overwhelmingly special about the new site, probably nothing that warranted three months off, but I think it is pretty. And, hopefully, easy to navigate and all that.

With the site redesign, I would also like to announce our new web editing team: Claudia Smith, Savanna Schroll, and Sean Carman (photography editor). This issue, March, was put together somewhat haphazardly (although you wouldn't know it by reading the contributions) by me with, if not an actual theme in place, at least the idea of a theme. Probably every aspect of this redesign, from new content ideas to design ideas was borrowed, stolen, or, um, paid homage to, from other sites, so the issue was put together with a "Beg, Borrow, and Steal" theme in mind. I hope you enjoy!

Victims
Andrew Bomback

Zach: An Intervention
Pasha Malla

Ouzo
Kim Chinquee

O is for Octopus
Susannah Breslin

an interview with Salvador Plascencia
George Ducker

Sea World
Stefan Kiesbye

6 things i want to see more of
brad