Site News: AB4AR 2012 Season Preview & A Personal Message

You may have noticed the series of "2012 Storylines" posts that ran this past week on the site.  If you missed any, here's your chance for a quick refresh.

Monday- Rotation (Over)Depth
Tuesday- Elder Statesmen of the Lineup
Thursday- Playing For a Job
Friday- The Season of Mo

They marked the unofficial start of the 2012 AB4AR Season Preview series.  Tomorrow will mark the official start of the 2-week AB4AR season preview, beginning with the "What We Know & What We Don't Know" series this week and continuing the following week with the official "2012 Season Preview" series.  I know I'm a little behind a lot of the other sites with my season preview work, but to be honest I don't see the value in running season preview posts a full 3-4 weeks before the actual start of the season.  There's just too much that can happen in that time that can render points covered in a season preview post completely meaningless, so I'm doing what I did last year and waiting for the last 2 weeks before the start of the season to roll with my previews and wrap them up on Yankees Opening Day.

As for the site itself, you might have noticed a few small changes recently.  I've started labeling the posts to make them easier to search and create a little more of a professional feel to them.  I've also started linking to posts less frequently on the AB4AR Facebook Page and instead have been using that as an outlet to keep everybody updated on the rest of the daily Yankee news that I don't devote individual posts to.  Despite the urgings of some of my fellow Yankee bloggers, I don't see myself creating a Twitter account for the site any time soon, and this new method seems to be the easiest way for me to be able to cover everything within the context of the rest of my life.  So if you just need to know what's going on in Yankeeland, then hit the Facebook page, and then come to the site and read the new stuff when you've got the time to really read it.

When I stared this blog in August of 2009, I wasn't really thinking about what I wanted it to be.  I knew I loved the Yankees and I knew I loved to write and it seemed like a natural way to bring those 2 things together.  Since then I think the site has really grown, and I've made a much more conscious effort to make AB4AR more than just the random rantings of a Yankee fan who curses a lot.  I've tried to get more involved with the analytical side of the game, and I know I've made strides in my statistical knowledge and analysis skills.  But I've also tried to never lose the theme of the site, that being that this is all coming from the heart of a true Yankee fan and a fan's perspective.

At the end of the day, that's what I am and that's what I want this site to be about.  A Yankee fan trying to talk intelligently about the Yankees, nothing more and nothing less.  You'll notice that the design of the site is basic and hardly ever changes, and you'll notice that there are no ads anywhere here, and that's because that's the way I want it to be.  I'm not looking to make money off of this, I'm not looking to expand, and I'm not looking to link up with some other blogging network.  I do this because I love it.  I'm just one man who loves the Yankees working to bring you the best independent Yankee blog he can, and as a one-man operation I happen to think I've got one of the best damn blogs out there.  There is no staff of writers here, no team, no support.  Just me.  Just me trying to churn out as much quality writing as I can each and every day.

I hope everybody who visits AB4AR enjoys the site and enjoys what I write because I can honestly tell you that I greatly enjoy writing for you.  Even if you don't enjoy a post or any posts and think nothing I say makes sense, I sincerely hope you come back and read more.  But if you are a fan of AB4AR, I would ask you to please help drive the site.  Mention it to your friends who are Yankee fans, comment on posts, check the Facebook Page, and while you're there please, for the love of Tim Tebow, click the "Like" button.  I truly appreciate each and every comment or "Like" I get.  Knowing there are people out there reading and thinking and commenting on my writing is what makes this that much more fun, and it inspires me to work harder and put more time and effort into writing more.

I'm really looking forward to this season and I hope everybody else out there is too.  And I hope that when you make your rounds through the Yankosphere you make the choice to stop at AB4AR and check out what I have to say.

** Don't forget, the 2-week Season Preview series kicks off tomorrow. **