Five-and-a-half years ago, Alex plucked me from relative obscurity to co-author this esteemed blog, and not a day has gone by that I haven’t been grateful to him for bestowing that honor upon me or thankful to all of our readers for their passion, conversation, and surprising interest in what have likely been the millions of words I have spilled into this space, first at the late, lamented Baseball Toaster, and for the last two seasons here at SNY.
It is not without a great deal of emotion that I depart Bronx Banter today to take advantage of an opportunity that has opened up for me over at YESnetwork.com, and while it is an opportunity that I cannot afford to pass up, for both myself and my family, it is one that I am very much aware might very well not have come to pass had it not been for the previous opportunity given to me by Alex and the strength of this platform. The same is true of my increasing presence on SI.com, the door to which Alex was even more directly involved in opening. Yet, in departing Bronx Banter, I thank Alex not only for helping me gain ground on my aspirations, but for providing constant motivation and inspiration, for his boundless enthusiasm for life outside of baseball, for his endless support, even when that support pushes me in directions opposite to his own interests, and most importantly for being a good and trusted friend.
A lot of life happens in five and a half years. Alex and I both got married, Will Weiss and I both became fathers, and we lost some people very close to us, Alex’s father and Todd Drew among them. Bronx Banter has been part of our lives throughout all of that, it is a virtual home, but a home nonetheless, one that I have found very comfortable and welcoming. That makes it all the more unsettling to leave, but I’m comforted by the fact that I’m leaving Alex and all of you in good hands with the vastly expanded stable of Bronx Banter contributers, Will, Emma, Diane, Bruce, Hank, Jon, and Matt, and by the fact that I am leaving the side of one good friend and supporter to join another (YES’s official announcement of my new gig has yet to drop, but it’s not hard to connect the dots).
As for what you can expect from me over at YES, well, life may happen, but I don’t change all that much. I’ll be doing the same things for YES that I’ve been doing here at Bronx Banter, which were essentially the same things I was doing on my own blog prior to that (though I hope seven years in I’m doing them better by now). I’m hoping you will all make the few extra clicks to continue reading me at YES and SI.com, or to follow my twitter feed. Check out my analysis and series previews on YES, then click back to Banter for the game threads and recaps and for all of the other things Alex and the crew will continue to do so well. As I said to Alex last night, I don’t see this as a splintering of the Bronx Banter family, but as another step in its expansion. I hope you all come to feel the same way.
This, then, is my penultimate post as co-author of Bronx Banter. I’ll bow out tonight with my preview of the quickie two-game series with the Texas Rangers and then reemerge in the morning over on YESnetwork.com. Thanks to everyone involved with Bronx Banter on every level, to Ken Arneson and the good people at SNY, to every last reader, but above and beyond all else, to Alex Belth, without whom, to paraphrase Yogi, none of this would be necessary.
Nothing short of the end of an era. Cliff will be sorely missed. Fotunately, he'll only be a click away.
So a toast to Mr. C! Great job on the new gig, bro. You've earned it.
You da MAN! Love ya, pal.
I remember the Big Red Blog. That was back in the days when my office job afforded me the luxury of skimming multiple Yankee blogs every day. As my job took on more responsibility, it was great to see more and more talented people migrate to Bronx Banter, which is these days the only source of my Yankee fix, for the most part.
Good luck Cliff, you will be missed.
Good luck!
I can't say I'll be regularly reading you on YES as I'm usually a one-stop-shopper but I'll definitely give it a shot. Not that you need me; I'm sure there will be plenty of people paying attention!
Good luck on your new endeavor Cliff, we're gonna miss you over here.
It's good that people can now make a living blogging about baseball. And it's good that guys like Cliff who have paid their dues, so to speak, are getting rewarded. But still, I'm disappointed.
Thanks for all the fish, Cliff!
Best of luck, Cliff. It's been fun watching all you guys "grow up" in this crazy medium. I wish you continued success. We're all proud of you.
Sigh . . .
Wow. Great news Cliff. I just love the way you all are making your way in the writing world. The Banter... gotta love it!
Knock 'em dead at YES, Cliff!
you will be missed cliff, thanks for your part in making this a great place to banter all these years.
something tells me there will be many, many links over here to Cliff's new stuff at YES...
MIL-ton BRAD-ley. MIL-ton BRAD-ley.
I interrupt my banning to wish you the best in your move. I've found a lot to like in your coverage through the years and much to argue with. We'll forgive you for wishing Andy Phillips on us. Thanks for making this joint a worthwhile read. Thanks to Alex for a finding a swell mate that only a few of us special breeds could truly annoy.
Best wishes in living the dream!
Congratulations, Cliff. See you over at YESnetwork.com!
and while we're toasting you, a toast to this here blog: long live Alex Belth's Bronx Banter!
Was it only 5 and a half years ago?
I can remember when my favorie read was Clifford's Big Red Blog, followed closely by the esoteric Bronx Banter. I was here when you came aboard Cliff, and now here when you're leaving.
Christ! I'm gettin old.
Good luck Dude! I feel Goldman is one of the very best out there, and I'll guess you'll have his company quite a bit.
See ya on YES.
Cliff, you always helped keep us sane and level when things were most trying in Yankee-land, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Bantering isn't Bantering without you to bring us back from the ledge. You will absolutely be missed.
So please drop in on the game threads and the rest from time to time, ya hear?
In the meantime, as disappointed as I am, I'm very looking forward to your new gig at YES. All the best to you and the fam!
Best of luck, Cliff. It is the end of an era - can't believe how quickly the time went.
You know it's big when Rob Gee is here...
Congrats on the new move, and thanks for everything, Cliff. Been reading since the Big Red Blog days. All the best!
It's always sad to see the Banter splinter a little, but the beauty of the internet is Cliff's departure really only means he is moving one click away.
I also second the sentiment that it's great to see so many of those who have paid their dues by working hard at the craft of blogging get their just rewards. I know Alex' and Cliff's efforts have been an inspiration for me to start my own blog, not so much because of their success, but because of their passion. It is a lot more fun to be a sports fan because of place likes this and the people who inhabit it.
thanks for all of that you have brought to the banter cliff. your well-reasoned analysis will be missed along with all the specialty posts that i really looked forward to.
congratulations on the opportunity and best wishes.
and yeah like shaun said pop over on occasion.
Start spreadin' the news ...
http://waswatching.com/2010/08/10/corcoran-joins-yes/
Man, no wonder I was yelling at my roommate this morning. I'm rather conflicted about it; Cliff gave Banter amazing depth and balance in his baseball analysis, so the selfishness in me wishes he wouldn't go, but the reasonable side of me knows that this is quite an opportunity for him and his family; a necessary step in life if one is to continue to grow and blossom into the statesman that we all know Cliff is.
I salute you, Cliff. Thanks for sparing us The Decision or some countdown bit; it was almost as shocking as seeing Rob Gee chime in >;) The best of luck to you, sir.
congrats, cliff!
couldn't happen to a more deserving guy, good on ya!
of course, i'm sad you won't be here at the banter and i do hope you will stop by sometimes for comments and such. i used to read YES regularly, but with time being of the essence, it got cut out of my daily yankee/baseball reading. i'll have to amend that now...
THANKS for everything here at bronx banter. you've been my favorite baseball writer for 5.5 years now. that won't change with your change of address!
Being new to the BBB, I can only say thank you for providing great baseball insight and a forum for intelligent fans who have interests beyond the game. I've enjoyed Cliff's writing and will continue to follow him at YES. Good luck.
Best of luck to you, Cliff.
Between this blog and my discussions about this blog with my brother, I've learned more about baseball than I could've ever expected (I know now that it's not just about Derek Jeter being dreamy! :-P), and it is in large part to you and the BB Crew!
well, i guess it's appropriate to mention it on this thread...
i'm friends with cliff outside the banter and can tell you that as great of a baseball mind and writer he is, he's even a better guy!
Wow, great news for you Cliff! And great for Yes which has added a quality analyst to their team. You'll do great over there. Hopefully they are able to make the most out of your talents. Good luck!
Congratulations, Cliff! I'm pleased for you that your hard work and admirable skill have produced this opportunity for you. I know you'll do better than well.
Congrats and good luck with the new gig, Cliff! And thanks for all the good times...
Wish you the best, Cliff. I enjoyed reading your write ups, always enjoyed the way you concentrated on just the facts.
YES just got a really good #3 hitter.
Wow, how great while certainly also sad. A few years ago, as I got back into baseball, the blogs and the new stats were a big part of the draw. Alex #1 for the softer side of Yankee fandom and Cliff #1 for my serious geek cravings. You guys (especially) were a huge part of me falling (back?) in love with the Yankees and baseball, which has definitely enriched my life.
All along I've wished and hoped that folks like Cliff and Alex would displace the crusty old sportswriters that did so much to turn me off to sports - and it's happening! My boys are on TV and sweetly contaminating the mainstream. When you guys do good it makes me just as happy as when Robinson Cano does good. So thank you and congratulations! And Cliff don't you be a stranger in the comments.
Not many people can resist the gravitational pull of Goldman's beard and Jaffe's mustache.
Seriously, though, Cliff, from the time we began working together in December of '05 on the 2006 Prospectus Annual, it's been a pleasure and an education.
Keep up the great work, and I'm happy to see Steve get enough clout over there to make this happen. It's well-deserved for all of you.
Best of luck. Link to us over here every once in a while.
Yo' Cliff, you da man! We are all happy for you. We know you will represent over at YES.com. Bronx Banter Forever!!!
[11] Wow, a Rob Gee sighting. What's next...a post from Karim Garcia? ;-)
(Seriously, if that is truly the "real" Rob Gee...where you been? And come clean, you have been posting under other names all these years haven't you?)
Sweet, Cliff. Good on 'ya! Good luck. : )
Congrats Cliff! For me, like so many others, Bronx Banter has been the "go-to" site for all things Yankee for several years; and though I hate to see the kids leave the nest - I love it when others (in this case YES) see what so many of us have known all along. To Cliff, and the remaining BB team - keep up the good work!
Thanks to everyone for the kind words. All of it back atcha. See y'all at the new joint, and back here in comments, I'm sure, as well. The new YES.com venture is due to launch mid-day Wednesday, stay tuned . . .