I have explained what makes the web site look so "pretty" and well-organized, so now I'll discuss the literary style of Blue Marlin's web site. The Yale C/AIM Guide says that "the editorial style of your web site should evolve as a natural consequence of consistent and appropriate handling of your content and page layout." In other words, since the layout throughout the Blue Marlin site is consistent and less than two pages in length, then the text should fit the proper spaces; and it does. For each team and subcategory, Blue Marlin contributes a paragraph or two to keep each page easy to read and consistent with the all the rest.
Even though the links are concise, they all have little tropes and other elements that make them stylistic. I enjoyed the casualness of the writing; baseball is a "pastime" and should be written for any audience, no matter the age or involvement in the sport. In the Kingston hat link, there is an example of personification: "On the island of Jamaica, reggae is king and cricket is the crown prince" (Kingston '64). In the Cuban Nationals '51 hat link, Blue Marlin refers to baseball as "a golden passport out of Cuba for a select group of the country's premier players" (Cuban Nationals '51). There are a couple of other notable stylistic marks, making each link a little different and memorable to the reader.
Another good thing about the Blue Marlin site is that it accepts feedback from all who visit it. The home page also features a place to give your email address to receive news and specials, and the STORES link has a search key to find the nearest Blue Marlin retailer. A phone number and address is also given for those who are not confortable with ordering items via the World Wide Web. The Yale C/AIM guide considers such features as characteristics of good web style.
The Blue Marlin Corporation did a fine job in creating a web site for their small business. It is tasteful, user-friendly, and appealing to a wide audience. There are no visible grammar or graphic errors and the site is easy to update. I was intrigued by the photographs and historical information before I even saw the clothing Blue Marlin manufactures. I hope to see more web design as casual and user-friendly as Blue Marlin's web page -- wouldn't Web browsing be more enjoyable?
