Per a mandate from above, I have been forced to re-arrange a few things on the DRB sidebar. As you can see, the blogad now plays a more prominent role than ever here, as it will occupy the top of the left sidebar as it used to before I added the additional boxes. I don't like it either, but the voice from above pays the bills and keeps the Bay and other great SBN sites (shameless brown-nosing) running and in tip-top shape.
Because of this, I thought it best to just re-arrange the entire sidebar. You will now find the diaries under the ad on the left side of the sidebar, while the rest of the sidebar goes in order like it did before the changes.
The 'Last Game', 'Upcoming Games', and 'Minor Leagues' boxes are now located where the diaries used to be.
Again, this is not the optimal layout, but it is one that pleases the sponsors, so you hold your nose and move along.
On a personal note, I would like to disclose something of a personal note here. As most of you loyal readers have undoubtedly noticed, my posts have been conspicuously absent from the glow of your computer screen for the past week. While I'll be honest, pure laziness had a hand in it, I also had my schedule flip-flopped upside down this past month because I am now in High School. I now have to get up much, much earlier, and for a cranky morning person like me, that is quite an adjustment.
As part of that adjustment, I have been compensating for lost sleep by taking afternoon naps that impede my posting ability. However, I am making a commitment this week to hold it together and establish a new, posting-friendly routine. So that means that the days where you clamored for Patrick's insight and analysis but came up with blanks are now over.
But before I put a wrap on that, I want to disclose one other bit of info that contributed somewhat to my lack of posts. Over the past few months, I have been in discussions with another site about working for them. I have often held off, either for indecision about not wanting to give up the freedom and less demanding format that this site offers, or simply because I did not know whether I wanted to take on the responsibility that working for this site would demand.
Well, talks with said site have progressed to the point where it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that if I get an offer from this site to work for them, that I will be resigning my post here and trekking across cyberspace to a different web portal. There are a few things that remain unresolved and need to be settled before it becomes certain that I will be going, and I cannot guarantee that said move will even happen, but I can guarantee you that if the offer does come, I will no longer be here.
Rest assured, this has nothing to do with the conditions here at all, in fact, far from it. I could not be working with a better group of people then I am here at DRaysBay, and SB Nation as a whole. This site offers a wonderful blogging opportunity, and for the past year, I have had the privilege of writing here. The reason I am going is simple. I think it will help further my journalistic career. I am 15 years old, in my freshman year of high school, and the opportunity that this site would provide in terms of exposure is a completely unparalleled chance for a 15 year old to move forward in his quest to possibly become a journalist. The opportunity is just incredible, and one that I cannot reasonably pass up.
To use a cheesy breakup line, 'It's not you, it's me'.
Rest assured, I am not writing this in an attempt to look good or more important, nor am I looking to create a dramatic "should I stay or should I go" soap opera ala Brett Favre. Because I am not delusional enough to think that any single one of you reading this gives a damn in the slightest way. Rather, I thought I owed the loyal readers of this blog an explanation as to why I have been absent, and this just happened to be part of it.
So I do not really know yet what the future holds for me, and whether DRaysBay is a part of it, but in the short-term, it is, and that is why I am going to make a renewed effort to give our loyal readers the content that they deserve every single day. It is not easy being a loyal Rays fan, nor is it easy being a reader of this blog with gaps in posts abound. But while I am still here, I am going to make an effort to reward all of our loyal readers (yes, all two non-writers) for their support.
And by that, I mean that my posts are going to be more informal, or blog-like. I have ditched the formal nature of my past in favor of a kind of writing that you would expect to see on a blog, or the writing form of what you'd expect to come out of Andy Rooney's mouth. The only formal post being kept is the Game Threads, the rest of it will just be pure rants. I hope you do enjoy the new format of my writing.
For those of you who liked the informational nature of my past posts, I can assure you that that info boxes on the sidebar will remain, and they will actually be updated (shock!). I thank you for your support, and wish everyone a happy ending to baseball season.