All Good Things

Those who've remained loyal readers at The Southpaw already know that I've been floundering a bit recently while I processed the realization that there are just too many great Blue Jays focused sites out there now for this one, as a standalone entity, to have a purpose. They are diverse, high quality, and enjoy my respect as well as, sometimes, my envy.  The Southpaw is never going to be a "destination site" in that crowd, even though I'm willing to (gratefully) acknowledge there's more than a few that enjoy my contributions.

I have decided, therefore, to go in a different direction.

I owe my first debt to Twitchy and Johnny Was, who conceived this site and partnered with me for the early years.  Both of whom seem to have disappeared into the ether. I got early encouragement from the ever prolific Andrew Stoeten and the other "Drunks" as well as TaoofStieb and Ian at BlueJay Hunter, the influence of all you can no doubt notice in my posting style. For this I'm very grateful.

Likewise, while my audience is not huge there's a regular contingent of visitors to this site despite my increasingly infrequent posting. They speak words of encouragement and praise whenever I allow myself to doubt my usefulness to the Blue Jays blogosphere. Never think I do not notice or appreciate the kindness.

All these good things I take with me as I close up shop (in terms of active posting - the site will continue to exist) at The Southpaw. What's next you ask?

I have accepted an exciting invitation to join the roster of contributors at Blue Jays Plus.

As you surely already know, BJP already features a roster of nine impressive writers, so it is no small matter to be invited into their ranks. If you're a fan of the site (and if not, what the heck is WRONG with you?) you've surly realized they bring the goods when it comes to in-depth analysis from all the angles.  You also no doubt noticed that that is no my strongest suit. What I hope to bring to the site is commentary and, with any luck, some insight. Sometimes just as simple as a contrary opinion. You'll have to be the judge of how well I accomplish that goal.

So with these things said, this will be my last post her for the foreseeable future, but I'm anticipating great things to come and I hope you come along for the ride.

Thanks for everything.

~Tammy Beth Rainey, aka, The Southpaw