Posted by Craig Brown on Friday, February 6, 2009 at 2:05 pm

The Toaster was unplugged this week.

To me, the Toaster was a collection of some of the finest writers on the internet who just happened to be writing about baseball. Alex Belth, Cliff Corcoran, John Weisman, Josh Wilker, Scott Long, Will Carrol, Bob Timmerman and the head Toastmaster himself, Ken Arneson among others, consistently spun some of the finest words to ever populate cyberspace. These guys are technically bloggers, but sells them short. They’re storytellers. Smart, urbane and funny, they consistently swung for the fences and rarely missed the mark.

Nothing lasts forever, except in the archives. And so with the loss of Bronx Banter and Dodger Thoughts, the Toaster has gone dark. Belth and Corcoran moved on to the SNY network of blogs and Weisman recently migrated to the blog section of the LA Times. Undoubtedly, it’s a great move for both blogs and one that surely will generate some (much deserved) revenue for the authors, but I’ll miss the convenience of having them both at the Toaster. Nearly everyday, I’d start at the Griddle and then make my way down the list of updated posts… The Juice for the pop culture, Cardboard Gods for the nostalgia trip and the rest for the general baseball thoughts.

Wilker, in particular, at Cardboard Gods was a favorite of mine. We’re roughly the same age, so the cards he featured and the experiences he wrote about were ones I could relate to. It was always amazing to me how he was able to turn an average baseball card into something exceptional. A true talent. Thankfully, he’s still going at the new Cardboard Gods.

If you have the time, be sure to check out Arneson’s farewell opus at Catfish Stew. Epic in scope and lyrical in form, it’s a gripping read. (Be sure to turn the radio dial and read the comments at the end.)

He begins his final post by writing that unplugging the Toaster feels like a failure. I can understand that, but in no way is the end of the Toaster a cause for remorse. No tears here, because it’s going out at the top of it’s game. Sure, he could have found writers to replace Weisman and Belth, but really, would it have been the same? It would have been a little like when Mike Cameron replaced Ken Griffey, Jr in the outfield for the Mariners. No matter how talented you are,it’s difficult to follow greatness.

Besides, it’s always good to go out on top after setting the bar unbelievably high. As Neil Young said, “It’s better to burn out, than it is to rust.” By closing shop now, the Toaster is avoiding the rust. And that’s a very good thing.