My website PAULLEBOWITZ.COM (along with the entire platform of Register.com apparently) is down, so for now, please go here until everything is back running. Spread the word and please keep checking until it's back up. (It's not my fault.)

    So, my name has been stricken from the sidebar list of Book Authors on the Blogosphere page. This is while the following is a matter of fact:

• I understand he's very old and sick, but Jack Klugman hasn't posted anything here since December 6th, 2005. Jack's still on the list.
  
• Peter Bjarkman posts very, very infrequently and is still there.
• Doris Kearns Goodwin hasn't posted since September 28, 2007. She's still on the list.
  
• Zoe Rice posted once in January; twice in December; twice in November; and not at all in October. Quite the fan she is; why would any baseball blogger wanna post anything in October? She's still on the list.
• Patti O'Shea hasn't posted since September 21st, 2008. She's still on the list.
• Frank Messina has written two posts total to promote his book of poetry; one in early February and one a few days ago. He's on the list.
• Paul "The Exiled Prince of New York" Lebowitz blogged on MLBlogs almost fanatically and (the consensus seems to think) brilliantly, has a brand new book out and, since he decided to go off on his own to try and build a greater audience, he's not only been stricken from the "Latest Leaders" list even though he gets enough hits to be somewhere around the top 15, he's completely eliminated from the list of book authors. Doesn't this strike anyone as vindictive, arbitrary, petty and self-aggrandizing on the part of the administrator?

    One doesn't generally get anywhere when they set out to make enemies for no reason; and if you're looking for a way to become an angry, bitter, low to moderately low level flunky/functionary who's so vacuous that he's not even smooth in his vengeful and unnecessary actions, all you have to do is follow the "dear leader" and you'll be well on the way.
    Even those who hate me (and the line goes around the block) respect me because at least you know what you're getting. My new website is PAULLEBOWITZ.COM. The one thing you can count on there, like me or not, is integrity.
   

    My predictions for the 2009 Playoffs and Post-Season Award Winners are available on PAULLEBOWITZ.COM and in my new book Paul Lebowitz's 2009 Baseball Guide.

    My Predicted Standings for 2009 are available at PAULLEBOWITZ.COM.

    I still can't get into the link lists to change them. Here's the link on Amazon for my new book Paul Lebowitz's 2009 Baseball Guide and check out my website PaulLebowitz.com.

    I've been trying to add my new book to my link lists, but it's not letting me. I swear a semi-trained, incontinent monkey could do a better job running this place. Here are the links for my book Paul Lebowitz's 2009 Baseball Guide on I-Universe.com and BN.com. And check out my website PaulLebowitz.com.

    My new book is now available at the following link: Paul Lebowitz's 2009 Baseball Guide also available on BN.com. There's an excerpt on the linked page and it should be available on Amazon in a few days. And check out my new website PaulLebowitz.com.

    There's someone at Towson State University in Maryland who's been on this blog almost obsessively for the past couple of weeks and my curiosity is getting me to the point that I hafta know: who are you and what are you looking for? I don't mind, I'm just curious, and why aren't you visiting my new site: PaulLebowitz.com?

    *Note: I'm posting this review here because I like Jane; you can check out the review and my other writings at PAULLEBOWITZ.COM.

   
     Jane Heller has a rare combination of attributes that make her the perfect person to write a book like Confessions of a She-Fan: she's a passionate Yankee fan; she actually knows the game; she has a sense of humor; and she can write. What results is a comic masterpiece which delves not only into the ups and downs of a hard core fan, but how that adoration and obsessiveness affects their loved ones.

     What began as a frustrated joke about her struggling team became a book idea when it was published as an essay in the New York Times. The reaction was widespread and varied but was the genesis of the idea of a whole book centered around following the Yankees at home and on the road through a chunk of the 2007 season. Blunted in her attempts to gain access to the club through the arrogant and condescending stonewalling of the Yankees front office, Jane is reduced to following the team as an obsessed fan and----along with her husband Michael (a man nonpareil in the category of having patience)----culls tickets from brokers; stays in various hotels; sits in (mostly) horrible seats for the games; and ingests copious amounts of unhealthy ballpark fare while dealing with the undomesticated creature known as the baseball fan.

     Regardless of the dismissive reactions of those in power in the Yankees hierarchy as she tries to get some input from at least one player, the love for her team remains. The Yankees organization should be ashamed with the way they're portrayed. The list of people for whom Jane has the skills and the impetus to ruthlessly skewer (but doesn't) is vast and includes the following:

• Jason Zillo: The club media relations director who, one would think, would be interested in someone creating a caricature of the Yankees organization as something other than the cold, monolithic and pompous organism that they clearly are; not only did he refuse Jane press access, but he wasn't even professional enough to answer her Emails with anything other than insulting form letters.
  
• Broadcastress Kim Jones: What position she's in to be sending curt Emails at reasonable requests for brief moments of her valuable time is beyond me.
  
• Yankee Stadium Employees: It often appears that the fans are in the middle of a ruthless dictatorship with the nastiness, abusiveness and borderline physical violence they display toward them, especially women.
  

     Stories involving the above mentioned culprits in the Yankees culture of self-importance are mentioned because Jane's love for the Yankees is unwavering; she allows all these small inconveniences to pale in comparison to the loyalty she shows as she follows her team into what ended as another fruitless championship run. The number of people who come out looking good is occasionally surprising. For example, John Sterling is a kind, helpful, polite and charming man and there are laugh out loud moments and historical, ironic anecdotes that will get any long time baseball fan saying, "I remember when..." and inserting their own fan confessions in to complete the thought. Such incidents that affected mere were the following:

• Jane as a teen going to Yankee Stadium to try and meet players:

     Yelling at Joe Pepitone during batting practice to get his attention (and getting it) reminded me of the stories I heard of the randy Pepitone following around and trying to pick up my mother a local Brooklyn bowling alley.

• Trying to chat up Al Leiter at the Toronto airport:

     Leiter seems a bit reticent and impatient dealing with people he doesn't know as he delivers perfunctory responses to innocuous ****-chat, but I met Al Leiter at a baseball card show when he was just coming up with the Yankees in the late 80s and he was probably one of the most unpretentious players I've ever encountered, calling me by name and thanking me for asking for his autograph on his picture. (It still have it somewhere.)

• And of course, there are the ironically funny bits:

     Suzyn Waldman's authoritative declaration that "Alex (Rodriguez) has never done steroids". The question how would she know isn't even necessary given the revelations of the past month.

     Referring to Francisco (K-Rod) Rodriguez of the Angels as a "little twerp" is no longer allowed since he's now under the Mets fans' protection (specifically mine).

     Or the reference to getting soaking wet at the ballpark in Detroit----"Still, my jeans are drenched and my sneakers are in a puddle of water and I am shivering"----brought me back to a night at Shea Stadium when my brilliant idea was for me and my fiancee to stay in our seats and wait out the rain delay so that, "the seats won't be wet when the game starts". (Served her right for listening to me.)

     The book isn't just about being a fan or about trying to get close to one's obsessions; but it's about maintaining that loyalty no matter what. The Yankees front office is rude? So what? The stadium personnel are abusive? Big deal. The team isn't completing their championship mandate? Whatever.

     The love of a team goes beyond what happens on the field; it's more than one incident involving people who, by accident of circumstance, seem to believe that they're irreplaceable and integral parts of what's been built in the Bronx over the past 100 years; it's a fan who chooses their loyalties and sticks with them, one way or the other; it's the endurance of the loved ones of those fans who tolerate their moods, tantrums or fits of cussing because of people nicknamed Rocket, ARod, Jeet and Georgie.

     For Jane Heller, the mere prospect of divorcing the Yankees was nothing more than a fit of pique and was never going to happen. It's understandable, but unfortunate because if she's dedicated enough to endure all of that and maintain her loyalty, we could use her with the Mets; and while they may not have a $200 million payroll, at least the stadium personnel are polite, and that's not a bad place to start the recruiting process.

    I've resisted doing this, but the actions of the MLBlogs administration has forced me into a detailed list of reasons that I took my work to my own website. It's one thing to be rationally self-absorbed; it's another to unilaterally erase someone as if they've been cast out completely because they made a conscious choice to leave. In yesterday's posting of the MLBlogosphere community blog, the "rankings" were again listed. My blog, Prince Of New York, which is still on MLBlogs despite my posting of nothing but notes and links to my new home, PaulLebowitz.com, has received enough hits to be at least in the top 15 of their rankings. In what can only be seen as a decision based on my departure, it was omitted completely as if it never existed and doesn't count in their rankings. I haven't wanted to do this; haven't wanted to let my longstanding feelings known about the way the MLBlogs site is handled because there wasn't really a point, but if this is the vindictive way in which the administration is going to run things, I have no choice but to state my case and let readers come to their own conclusion.

• The site is handled unprofessionally and promoted cluelessly:

     If you Google the terms "baseball blogs", you'll notice that the "official affiliate/unofficial opinions" outlet directly connected to MLB.com comes out ninth.
     Think about that for a second. Ninth.
     Would the NFL, if they had a site for fans to blog, allow whoever's in charge of that site to remain in their current position if there was such a lack of knowledge of its existence? If they spent so much time and money creating the site, working on it, using it to promote and sell items and then allow it to be such a non-factor on the web? Say what you want about the cold and ruthless way the NFL does business; about how it's a cutthroat entity with inordinate power that wears out their assets and dispatches them; but they have their house in order; and if something's not working or living up to expectations, it's fixed. Can that be said about Major League Baseball and their affiliates?
     Do you have any idea how many people who are now regular readers of my work have said to me (in various different presentations of the same theme): "I only recently found your blog and would've been reading it all along had I known it existed"? I was writing on that site for almost three years and I've developed a loyal following of readers, but to be completely honest, nowhere near as many as the work itself deserves. That's fact, and it's a clear problem with the way MLBlogs is run.
     Do they not realize that the site can be used for selling Alyssa Milano's hoodies and promoting the MLB Network and being a spot for qualified analysts to have their work shown and read? Do they not understand that with their selfish and random ignorance that they're not administering to their clientele? Are the bosses at MLB even paying attention to what's going on?
     Last year, the site publisher was changed from Typepad to Movable Type; fair enough. Maybe it was a business decision or an honest attempt to improve; but the change was made not in January or February when traffic was probably at its lowest; no, it was made on opening weekend of the 2008 season. This isn't just an accident of circumstance, it was pure stupidity and incompetence.
     The act itself was the final straw for some longtime and hardworking bloggers who'd been with MLBlogs since the very beginning and were the lifeblood of its existence. Matt at Diamondhacks; Michael at Some Ballyard; and Russell at Arizona via Slough all left after that debacle and started their sites elsewhere. I hedged; I started a duplicate site at Blogspot, but maintained my presence at MLBlogs. For awhile, late last year, it looked like it would pay off. My blog was heavily promoted on the front page of MLB.com and on the homepage of MLBlogs; then it all just stopped.
     The site was once a paid service of $50 a year; then, like that commercial for The Ladders, it went free and everyone and anyone started a blog. The quality work was caught up in people trying to sell stuff; starting a blog on whim and never contributing anything; ignorant fan rants; or just colossal self-promoting wastes of time. Just like that, the entire site was saturated and it diminished the quality even further.
     For a brief while late last year, it appeared as if quality was being promoted intentionally by the administrators of the site. My blog, along with Jeff and Allen at Red State Blue State and Jane at Confessions of a She-Fan were featured regularly on the MLB front page and on the front page of the blogsite; then after the new year it became a free-for-all with random blogs who weren't putting in the time or the work to warrant the attention. The importance of promoting the selling of items or that interminable MLB Network took precedence over pure baseball talk and the result was the lack of traffic to qualified blogs such as mine and then led to my departure.

• The rankings:

     Whether or not you realize it, the rankings are twisted, manipulated and skewered. Certain blogs that make "stunning leaps" into the top ten are only there because they spent a week or so sitting on the front page of the MLB site. And just having web hits doesn't mean there's anyone actually reading the blogs. I haven't posted anything of note there in almost two weeks and my traffic is cut in about half from what it was. The people who read what I was writing came to my new site along with me. The other hits are either people who are looking for tickets to the Artist once again known as Prince performing in New York; want to find a photo of some player or person I've embedded into one of my postings; need information about Tim Lincecum's mechanics; or are googling some random person I happened to mention. Many times they're on the site for too short a period for them to register as having been on for any amount of time at all...but it's still a web hit.
    The spammer blog known as The Rumor Mill was a prime example of this phenomenon.The Rumor Mill deserved credit for one thing: coming up with a clever, hittable title to draw traffic, but that doesn't mean there was anyone reading it, because there was nothing to read other than links to betting sites; ticket exchanges and other crap, but until recently, he was always at the top of the rankings because he got a lot of hits whether he was posting anything or not. If there are those who sit around and post comments all day on other blogs and Twitter; who are poring over the rankings to boost their own numbers for some kind of ego boost to be "number one", they either don't know or care that no one's reading the thing. And that's fact.

• It was a losing proposition in which I was getting almost nothing of consequence from my participation:

     After being a member in good standing (with the daily postings to prove it) for three years, it was easier to stay than it was to start my own site. I've owned the name PaulLebowitz.com since I got my publishing contract for my novel in 2000. I never did anything with it in the eight years since; but in looking at the traffic and who was reading my work, there was no reason for me to stay at MLBlogs if there wasn't going to be any promotion done for my work. No reason to sit there and waste my time when I could just let my loyal readers know where I was going and have them follow me. The most offensive thing to me was that after three years of work, no one even cared that I was considering leaving; they didn't even give one word of appreciation that I contributed; nothing. What I got was the dictatorial elimination of my mere presence in their rankings and it wouldn't be a surprise if they took steps to eliminate my blog entirely following this posting. (I'd advise them not to do that.)
     What kind of an organization is so inept that they just let good people leave? The same organization that lets big news pass without promoting those that are discussing it? There are of course the huge stories like ARod and steroids that warrant their attention and a link from the front page of the blogsite, but do you know how many times I had to let them know that something big was happening in baseball and they needed to mention it on the front page?
    When Willie Randolph was fired from the Mets in the middle of the night, half of the next day had a series of links promoting "hot interleague matchups"; the manager of a huge market team had just been fired clumsily and this was what they were interested in promoting. That's either a case of people being asleep at the switch or just not caring about what they're doing; of looking forward to some other avenue for their career without paying attention to where they currently are and doing the best they can and letting the future take care of itself; and just like eliminating my justified spot in the rankings, that's a self-centered and embarrassing way to conduct oneself and if that's how they want to be perceived, as flunkies who are looking for a way out, then fine. But until MLBlogs gets it's house in order from the top, there's never going to be anything more than what there is now, whatever "it" is.