Change of Focus

I started this blog six seasons ago. Things were so different then. Most people still hadn’t even heard about blogs. Tony Pena was the manager of the Royals. And Mike Sweeney was still wearing Royal blue.

As the seasons have rolled by, several great Royals blogs have joined the blogosphere, and I’ve been noticing a trend with most of them—they evaluate baseball through the sabermetrics lens. As I’ve told a lot of you, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, if Dayton Moore had his guys dig a little deeper into statistics, he probably wouldn’t have made so many mistakes when acquiring new personnel. But I’m a story guy, cut from the old sportswriter cloth. The difference is, I don’t look down on sabermetrics. I just am not drawn to learning more about them.

Since so many great Royals fans are already into them, and since they are receiving tons of great information on the various Royals blogs, I’ve come to the conclusion that Royal Reflections isn’t all that necessary any more. The lack of growth in visitors and comments bear witness to this fact. And, really, when a blog isn’t necessary, it probably should fade peacefully into the night. I’m about 99% there right now, but not only because the blog is becoming unnecessary.

Some of you know I’ve been writing about the Omaha Royals at Examiner.com for the past year. I’ve been told I’ll be credentialed again for the 2010 Omaha Royals season. It just makes more sense to focus my attention there. And I’m hoping that as I do, you’ll find relevant content to link to, comment about, and discuss. As with most other online endeavors, this one is dependent upon readership.

So, if you are interested in keeping up with the Omaha Royals, visit my page at Examiner.com. Or better yet, subscribe to my articles via email or RSS feed. You’ll find the “Subscribe” and RSS Feed button on the top right hand side of the page.

I don’t plan to delete Royal Reflections. There’s too much history here. And, there’s always the chance that I’ll want to come back in the future. And I just might. Thank you to those of you who have visited this blog, sent me email, left comments, and invited me on your podcasts. I hope you’ll continue to do all of those things while I’m covering the Omaha Royals at Examiner.com.