There's no good way to say this or no way that won't be surprising. The only thing to do is really to say it: YanksBlog.com is closing.

Unfortunately, I'm facing some difficult economic and personal realities that are forcing me to clear my plate some in order to focus on what needs to be done. When you get to a moment like this, tough choices have to be made. Though it has been very difficult, I have had to identify some projects and commitments that I've had to let go or resign from.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this and it was really hard. It's always hard to stop doing something you've been doing for years, something you've invested in that has become a part of your life. We launched YanksBlog.com on May 5, 2005 (05/05/05) and it's been a nice run.

Obviously, our love of the Yankees doesn't change. I was born a Yankees fan. We were die hard fans before this blog launched and we'll be die hard fans after it's gone. But, it will be different being a fan and not operating a blog, or feeling like you have to be in tune with the news or latest happenings. Quite different.

I'd like to extend a big thank you and express my appreciation for the following groups of people:

YanksBlog.com Bloggers: To everyone who has written with me here at YanksBlog.com and been a part of the team, thank you. This includes Seamus Molloy, James Varghese, David Williams, Michael Black and Jason O'Connell. You've made the experience more fun and I've enjoyed reading your writing and I deeply appreciate the contributions that you made.

Yankees Bloggers: To all of our fellow Yankees bloggers that have been supportive of us, linked to us or thrown a kind word our way, thank you. This includes Alex Belth of Bronx Banter, Dave and Aziz Nekoukar of Pride of the Yankees, Mike Axisa, Ben Kabak and Joseph Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues, Steve Lombardi of WasWatching.com, Andrew Fletcher of Scott Proctor's Arm, the folks over at noMaas.org and others.

Our Readers: Last, but not least, our readers and subscribers. Thank you to everyone who has loyally read, shared our posts and commented here at YanksBlog.com. It's meant a lot to us and we greatly appreciate it.

I think that's pretty much it, kind of like the moment when you're moving out of your old house and you think you've got everything you need.

We've tried to bring a fans perspective, but also to be professional about it. Hopefully, we've accomplished that.

After a while, we'll close comments and the site will remain online for an indefinite period of time. I intend to keep the domain name and, who knows, maybe somewhere down the line, there will be another opportunity.

Thank you for reading and for understanding and, once more, thank you for supporting YanksBlog.com.

Sincerely,

Patrick