Adieu and thank you

Over the last 22 months or so, I’ve spent a lot of time in front of a computer monitor at work. Then I'd come home and spend even more time in front of a computer monitor because my hobby is running and writing for VEB. I don’t want to spend that much time in front of a computer monitor anymore. I want to do other things with my free time. So this is my last post for Viva El Birdos.

SBN’s response when I informed them of my decision was to ask what they could do to get me to stay. The answer then and now is nothing. It’s time for me to move on. The decision is my own and has nothing to do with SBN. Justin Bopp and the folks at SBN have been nothing but supportive during my time as VEB site manager. I’m thankful to them for giving me the opportunity to run a site I love.

Whenever someone compliments me about the site, I try to redirect their praise to those who deserve it: the writers. VEB is a group effort. I’ve been fortunate to share the byline here with some excellent writers, dating back to my days as the volunteer author of Monday posts. It continued during my tenure as site manager. The writing crew is the lifeblood of the site. I don’t know what I would have done without the collection of individuals we had contributing during my time at the top of the masthead.

I was thrilled that RB stayed on through the last transition and was willing to pick up Sunday's post in addition to his usual Wednesday slot. Craig and Joe have been fantastic from my first day to my last. I can't thank SBN enough for deciding to hire them, which preceded my start as site manager. Eric did a great job covering prospects during his time writing for VEB. Heather has been wonderful. Nick’s posts have been terrific and I won’t be surprised if he has a job working for a major-league club someday soon. Ben Godar’s posts have been fantastic as well.

The recap crew did a phenomenal job. They volunteered to watch and write day in and day out through the 162-game grind and into the playoffs. I counted my lucky stars everyday during my tenure that VEB has such gracious, thoughtful, and skilled community members, who are willing to give their time and effort to the site.

I grew up in a Triple-A town watching Louisville and then Memphis whenever they came to town and got my start blogging about baseball by writing first-person accounts of Memphis-Iowa games that were entirely too long for FutureRedbirds.net. Minor-league baseball is near and dear to my heart. So I am especially grateful to the Daily Farm Report volunteers, who helped keep me and VEB readers up-to-date on the farm throughout the season.

Moderating comments is a thankless job. Luckily, I didn't have to go it alone performing that duty. I was incredibly fortunate to have a group of volunteers working to moderate comments throughout the day and during game threads They made my job exponentially easier.

A special thanks goes to Aaron Finkel. I feel comfortable saying that I would not have become site manager without his efforts. And I don't know what I would've done without his help these last couple of years. Aaron rounded up the moderating group as well as the recap crew. He also did all the legwork to set up the VEB Podcast. In addition, Aaron wrote quite a bit as well. He was a big help and I'll be forever grateful to him for it.

I want to thank the commenters for the thoughtful discussions and amusing back-and-forth. VEB would not be VEB without the Community. It is the heart of the site. I think you'll be happy with the choice for my successor. (I don't want to spoil it, but I know he'll be great. #Developing)

Thank you for reading and listening over the years.