Within the last week, there have been a few citing of WasWatching.com elsewhere on the internet.

On July 11, 2009, Rob Neyer referenced a WasWatching.com feature on his ESPN.com Blog SweetSpot.

On July 14, 2009, Marc Carig referenced a WasWatching.com feature on his Yankees Blog at The Star-Leger.

And, on July 16, 2009, Bob Klapisch referenced a WasWatching.com feature in his column for the Bergen Record.

So, I thought it was proper to express my thanks to Rob, Marc and Bob for their interest in these recent WasWatching.com features and to also remind the readers here to check out their excellent work as well.

To read Rob Neyer’s SweetSpot Blog at ESPN.com, click here.

To read Marc Carig’s Yankees Blog at The Star-Leger, click here.

To read Bob Klapisch in the Bergen Record, click here.

Since I’ve shared some stats in the past with respect to this blog’s traffic when we had exciting news, I thought it was only fair to also share the news when it was not so exciting…

After starting the blog back in April 2005, right away, an increase in site traffic occured – thanks to many kind folks spreading the word, etc. Further, while I’m not 100% sure, I want to say it was around March of 2007 when traffic here peaked and was pretty steady from there out.

In fact, I can confirm that, from May 2008 through January 2009, the numbers were nice and very steady. And, for the point to made here, I’m going to use this 9-month period as a “baseline” with respect to traffic.

Now, from February 2009 through May 2009, traffic here started to slip, a bit, from the “baseline.” To put a number on it, I would say it averaged, during this 4-month period, to be “80% of the baseline.” And, while that was “down,” I wasn’t too concerned about it – since the overall numbers were fine (in my opinon) but just not as high as May 2008 through January 2009.

But, then came June 2009. Last month, traffic here was indeed “down.” To put a number on it, June 2009 was at 75% of the 4-month prior pace and at “60% of the baseline.” And, this is hard to ignore.

What does this all mean? Hey, it means this blog had a lot less traffic last month than it normally experiences. Why? While I have my theories, I thought I would ask you – the readers. Thanks in advance for anything that you care to share in the comments section below.

For the fun of it, I just looked at the last 100 visitors to this site (in the last 55 minutes) by their location.

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As of this moment, it will be very rare to see me leave a comment on something which I have posted to this blog. And, I thought it was important to make note of this – since it seems that some of my readers look forward to bantering with me in the comments section here, at times.

I hinted at this yesterday. And, being able to consider it for another day, I decided that I’m going to try it.

Why? As I stated yesterday, I think it makes much more sense, and a better blog reading experience, if I used my time to focus on research and writing as opposed to making comments.

This all said, I do need to stress one thing. If someone, in leaving comments, wants to disagree with something that I have posted, that’s fine – and welcomed. Disagreement debate, and sharing opinions are encouraged here. WasWatching.com aims to provide a safe place for the free expression of those passions and differing views.

However, those leaving comments here must provide respect to other values, opinions, and ideas even if they strongly disagree with those ideas.

Further, the Community Standards of this blog clearly state that registered members, leaving comments, are not permitted to harass, bash or “flame” other members. And, such acts will result in a member being barred from leaving comments at WasWatching.com.

Therefore, anyone makes an attempt at harassing, bashing, or “flaming” me with a comment, or if their comments are made in a disrespectful manner, they will run the risk of being barred from commenting here – regardless of the fact that I am not commenting on a frequent basis (going forward from now).

Thanks in advance for your help in ensuring that we maintain a friendly online community at WasWatching.com where members feel relaxed and comfortable because we show a considerate and respectful attitude toward fellow members here.

Today is the 1,500th day since this blog was launched. During this time, there have been over 7,300 “posts” to WasWatching.com.

That’s 4.9 posts per day – for those scoring at home. And, I’m not sure which is more scary about that…the fact that I’ve been averaging close to 5 posts per day here for over four years…or the fact that some may be keeping score of that at home.

In any event, it’s been a fun 1,500 days. Thanks for sharing as many of them as you have with me, here. There’s really nothing I would have done differently with the blog these one thousand and five hundred days…well, there is one thing…and I’ve been thinking about it, a lot, recently. Can you guess what it is?

Four years ago from today, I started writing this blog. And, if you would have told me, back then on ‘Day One,’ that WasWatching.com would be where it is, today, I never would have believed you.

It’s amazing what can happen over a period of 1,461 days.

To this day, over all that time, one of the greatest things that I receive from doing this blog is the feedback, from so many readers, where folks share how much they enjoy WasWatching.com. Hearing that never gets old.

Granted, I’ve also seen a few comments, here and elsewhere on the internet, where some have expressed that they do not enjoy this blog because they perceive me to be too critical of the Yankees organization and/or their players. And, when these comments are brought to my attention, it’s somewhat disheartening.

However, it’s only unsettling because the parties making these comments about my blogging have chosen to solely focus on some commentary where I may have expressed an opinion that differs from their own opinion (on a person and/or topic), ignoring all the other times where I may have written something that they may have found favorable, and then decided that I’m ‘terrible’ or a ‘hater’ because I’ve expressed something that doesn’t march in step with the tune that they prefer to play in their head.

I find it sad that some, when another party expresses an opinion different from theirs, will put on blinders and then feel compelled to attack a party who doesn’t hold the same beliefs as them.

But, that’s the nature of the beast, I suppose? The history of the world is full of examples of how this happens all the time. Why should the internet be any different? Heck, it’s even easier here – because you don’t have to show your face or share your real name.

Plus, I’ve found these negative comments to be tied to a small group of people, probably less than a dozen, who frequent several different websites, using several different ‘handles’ (or usernames). And, I know that those who enjoy this blog greatly outnumber those few with complaints about what I’m offering here. So, looking at the whole picture, I know what I’m doing here is valued by the vast majority of my readers. And, to those who are fans of WasWatching.com, I want to say “Thank you.” I appreciate your interest in my work. I expect ‘Year Five’ here to be much like it’s always been at this blog.

Hopefully, it will be a banner season for the Yankees in 2009 – where all the team’s wildest dreams come true. And, we can enjoy it, together, at WasWatching.com.

Someone who uses a laptop PC asked me “Where are all the pictures that you took at Yankee Stadium yesterday?” And, it was just then that I realized that I had saved them out to the blog in a width that would only be correctly supported by a viewer with a wide-screen monitor. And, if you had an older monitor or a laptop PC, you wouldn’t see the photos when you clicked on “Read the rest of this entry »” – because the photos would be forced down to the bottom of the blog, beyond the bottom of the left and right sidebar sections. And, unless you knew to scroll all the way down on the page, you would have missed the pictures.

Sorry about that! I have resized the pictures and it’s been corrected. Everyone should be able to see the photos – all 26 of them from Saturday – as I intended them to appear here.

If you did not see the pictures, because of this issue, you can check them out now:

Personal Review Of The New Yankee Stadium – Part I

Personal Review Of The New Yankee Stadium – Part II

It’s taken me five baseball seasons, but, I think I’ve finally come up with a “posting” pattern that’s going to work best for me, now, at this time of my life. Related, I thought that I would share it with you – since you’re a reader of WasWatching.com.

As you may have noticed, about four months ago, my “post” frequency here shifted more heavily towards nights and weekends. The main exception to this being the Water Cooler Talk items that started last October – appearing Monday through Friday mornings. Oh, and, yes, we have the random Wild Thoughts that I started doing last December – whenever they popped into my head.

Following this new “posting” trend, here’s what you can expect from WasWatching.com as we head towards the 2009 season.

1. The Water Cooler Talk series will continue. Since this is a chron-job item for me, meaning I set them up in advance to be published according to a scheduled date/time, that’s easy. As usual, expect them to appear around 7 am EST each day. Now, note that I said “each day.” Yes, I’m going to expand the series from being a weekday thing into being something that happens seven days a week. Why? Here’s the logic: Back during last September, we had a trial run here with “Game Threads.” I’m not going to pick that up this season – in the format we had last year. But, I’m going to set up the Water Cooler Talk entries so that they can serve as a place for you to comment on anything Yankees-related during that day – as well as serving as a place for you to comment on the game that day, if there is one, while the game is being played. It’s the two-birds with one stone thing, etc.

2. I will continue to “post” random Wild Thoughts during the day, on weekdays, as they enter my head, etc. They will probably appear around 12-noon EST. Basically, it will be contingent upon me having a thought that day and having time to squeeze it in to the ten minute break that I get each weekday for lunch.

3. If there’s any “Breaking News” during the day, on weekdays, I’ll try and get something “posted” on it ASAP – even if it’s just a link to the news, for you to be aware of it, or to comment on it, with the promise that my commentary/opinion will follow later that day.

4. Since the only time I have to really let loose with “stuff” on weekdays is between the hours of 8 pm EST and Midnight EST, that’s when you’ll see the more “meaty” things from me – Monday through Friday. (At night is when I will also be “posting” the various SNY.tv video clips that I’ve been sharing over the past year.) On the weekends, I can get to bigger stuff at different times. But, more times than not, it will be in the morning (here).

5. I’ve been on the fence a bit with what to do with my Game Commentary “posts.” I did them in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 for each game that was played. I was thinking about, this season, doing a weeky recap of the games, instead of a game-by-game thing. The force behind this being that I’m really pressed for time, balancing work and home, with blogging, and was trying to get myself some time back away from blogging. But, I truly feel that not having the Game Commentary “posted” after each game would take away from the reader experience here – as well as my ability to celebrate or vent (which is why I started doing this in the first place). So, I’m going to stick with the Game Commentary “posts” happening after each game. Expect to see those “posted” some time between right after the game is finished and somewhere around six hours after the game is finished.

That’s it. If you have any questions or comments on this programming schedule, please share them in the comments section below.

Melanie Greenberg’s Stuck Out Looking is the newest member of the SNY.tv Blog Network. Melanie is a Yankees fan – but will be writing about Mets, Yanks and many other topics. Check it out.

Last month, “WasWatching.com” stood at # 83 in Wikio’s rankings for all “Sports” blogs. (Wikio is an aggregator of online news and blogs.) And, we’ve just been informed that we’ve moved up to # 73 in their new rankings for February (to be released on Thursday).

How does Wikio’s Top Blogs ranking work? The position of blogs in their Wikio ranking depends on the number and value of links that other blogs point toward them. The value of these links depends on the ranking of the blog publishing them. So in their algorithm, the value of a link published on a highly ranked blog is more important than a posted link on a blog with a lower ranking.

WasWatching.com is honored to placed among all these other great blogs. Thanks to all my fellow bloggers for linking to WasWatching.com and making this possible.

Phil Allard, in his 10th Inning Journal at WCBS NEWSRADIO 880 is featuring an interview with me today. Click here to read it.

My thanks to Phil for his interest and kind words about WasWatching.com!

How did I miss this?

Last Wednesday, Januay 14, 2009, was the 1,366th day that WasWatching.com has been around. (We launched on April 20, 2005.)

Thanks to all for their interest in WasWatching.com over these past 1,373 days. If you keep showing up, I’ll be here with something for you. Lastly, please, keep the comments coming. Those keep reminding that I’m not spending a lot of time here doing something absent of reason. As long as my fellow Yankees and/or baseball fans get something out of this, that’s a great reason to keep doing it.

I’ve been off-line from about 5 pm EST yesterday until about 9:30 am EST today. (Hey, it was New Year’s Eve and all…)

And, I’ve just learned that this blog experienced a WordPress exploit sometime between the hours of 5:56 pm EST and 9:47 pm EST yesterday – and has since been fixed by the good folks at Skiltech.com.

I seem to recall this once happening before – although it was so long ago, if it did indeed happen at all, that I can’t remember for sure. In any event, please accept our apologies for any inconveniences which this situation may have caused you. It was clearly beyond our control. Thank you for your patience during this time. (And, thanks to all of those who brought it to my attention while I was away and reveling, etc.)

After 2,130 days (or thereabouts) of Iron-Horse-like service, my PC crashed yersterday.  The estimated time of death was 12:30 pm EST (give or take) on October 14th.

This left me with 2 choices:

1.  Fix the problem via a dump-restore procedure that would probably take a few days; or,

2.  For an extra $660, buy a new PC and give the old one a decent burial.

Since the old one was just about 6-years old, I opted for the latter.  And, after being disconnected from the on-line world for a day, I’m now back.

Boy, going from XP to Vista has been interesting…so far.

Shortly, I’ll be catching up on everything that I’ve missed in the last day or so…

Stay tuned…

I just wanted to say that this link is pretty cool – for those into the SNY.tv Blog Network scene…

Back at the end of April, the platform for this blog was converted from Movable Type to WordPress. One of the features that WordPress provides is the ability to track “viewer-ship” (for lack of a better word) of WasWatching.com.

Using May 2008 as a baseline – since that’s the first full month of data that I have via WordPress, this is how our “viewer-ship” here has been trending:

May 2008 100%
June 2008 95%
July 2008 114%
August 2008 106%
September 2008* 85%

* For September, I took the numbers through 9/23 and prorated them across 30 days to come up with an estimate.

So, for May, June, July, and August…we were trending pretty steady…in terms of people reading this blog. But, September appears to be dropping off from that rate.

That leads to this post. Is the drop in September the result of the Yankees dropping out of the race? Or, is it the result of football season starting? Or, is it the result of something here that you no longer like? Or, is it something else? Or, is it some combination of all these things? Any feeback that you can provide would be appreciated – after all, I want this blog to be something that you enjoy reading. Feel free to leave your comments on this below. And, thanks in advance!

We’re going to try and have our second “live chat” at WasWatching.com this evening at 9 pm ET. Stop by, if you can, and join in on the fun.

To see our last chat, click here.

We’re going to try and have our first ever “live chat” at WasWatching.com this evening at 9 pm ET. Stop by, if you can, and join in on the fun.

Wow. Say that three times, fast.

Just a quick note to share on this…If you’re into widgets, and wanted one for WasWatching, click here.

Some time between 3:00 am EST and 7:59 am EST, today, WasWatching.com went down and was not available. Please accept our apologies for any inconveniences which this downtime may have caused you. It was something beyond our control. Thank you for your patience during this downtime.

Three years ago today, WasWatching.com was launched.

It’s been a great three years. Since “Day 1,” there have been 4,844 entries made to this blog – including this one. Crazy, huh?

It’s been an interesting and evolving three years too. For example, after 1,095 days of publishing WasWatching.com via Movable Type, since last night, we’re now using WordPress. And, on March 1st of this year, WasWatching.com joined the SNY.tv Blog Network.

But, the biggest thing that’s happened in the last three years, for me, has been the interest that WasWatching.com has received from its readers, other bloggers, and the media. Thanks to all of you for that.

I still enjoy having this blog and sharing things with my fellow Yankees and baseball fans. It’s been a pleasure do to this for the last three years – and I’m looking forward to many more years to come.

As promised, the platform for this blog has now been converted from Movable Type to WordPress.  It’s anticipated that this migration will benefit the reader experience – especially when it comes to leaving comments. 

Thanks for your patience during this conversion.  (And, my thanks to SNY.tv and Skiltech.com for their support on this effort.)

As you can see, the “cosmetic” portion of this project is still a work in progress.  It’s expected to be complete soon.  It seemed more important to get the new platform up and running as soon as possible rather than wait for all the graphics and links to be cleaned up and tied down.

There are a few small wrinkles from the conversion – like the formatting on some stat tables inside entries not being perfectly aligned now and some of the links inside entries that point back to previous WasWatching.com features now point to MT URLs instead of WP URLs – but, on the whole, it went well.

If you experience or notice anything as a user that seems to be an issue from the conversion, please let me know. 

In support of today’s scheduled platform conversion for this blog from Movable Type to WordPress, the commenting system for readers has now been shut down. Once we’re up and running on WordPress, I will restore the commenting feature. Thanks in advance for your patience with regard to this situation.

It’s expected that, sometime tomorrow, we will be moving the platform for this blog from Movable Type to WordPress. Related, later this evening, I will be shutting down the option to leave comments on entries – to ensure nothing is lost in the conversion. (I’ll make note of the closure when it happens.) Once we’re up and running on WordPress, I will restore the commenting feature. Thanks in advance for your patience with regard to this situation.

This was an interesting study that I just did – so, I thought that I would share it here as it also leads to a message that that I wanted to convey (after seeing the results myself now).

Using the total “Page Views” for WasWatching.com for May 2007 as a “baseline,” I looked at (page views for) the next 11 months forward – including a pro-rated April 2008 – to see where those months “sat” (in terms of a percentage) compared to that May 2007 baseline. Here are the results:

May-07		 100.0%
June-07		  92.3%
July-07		 115.6%
August-07	  94.0%
September-07	  92.7%
October-07	  96.1%
November-07	  91.5%
December-07	  94.3%
January-08	  91.3%
February-08	 101.1%
March-08	 106.7%
April-08	 139.7%

The dip from November 2007 through January 2008 can be written off due to it being the “off-season” and I’m willing to look past that. But, what’s nice to see is that the numbers for February 2008 are right there where they were for May 2007. And, the numbers, when you look at March and April 2008, are climbing.

Seeing this, I wanted to take a second to thank the readers of WasWatching.com for their interest in this blog. The numbers show that just as many people read it now as was reported a year ago. (And, they also suggest that even more are reading it now – or, at the least, those reading it are reading it more often.)

It’s awesome to see that my fellow Yankees and/or baseball fans get something out of WasWatching.com.

Currently, “WasWatching.com” stands at # 23 in Wikio’s rankings for all “Sports” blogs. (Wikio is an aggregator of online news and blogs.)

How does Wikio’s Top Blogs ranking work? The position of blogs in their Wikio ranking depends on the number and value of links that other blogs point toward them. The value of these links depends on the ranking of the blog publishing them. So in their algorithm, the value of a link published on a highly ranked blog is more important than a posted link on a blog with a lower ranking.

WasWatching.com is honored to placed among all these other great blogs. Thanks to all my fellow bloggers for linking to WasWatching.com and making this possible.

I’m now in Day 4 of my situation, FYI – and, I’m still trying to fix it. Just wanted to share this so you know why I’ve been quiet. Hopefully, I’ll have an answer soon.

PS – if anyone has some experience in converting from Movable Type to WordPress and is willing to share on that, please drop me an e-mail.

The WasWatching.com Reader Survey 2008 is now closed.

Are you a guy, Yankees fan, between the ages of 26 to 30, living in the tri-state area, who has been reading this blog more than once a day for the last 2 to 3 years?

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Yesterday, I lost my ability to make comments to blog entries. It’s a MT and/or TypeKey issue – because I had too many URLs listed in a comment post that I made yesterday morning. Basically, I’m shut out from being able to comment – regardless of the PC, ISP, or TypeKey account that I’m using. I’m looking into the immediate fix and long-term solution now. Sorry to anyone who is waiting on me to answer a comment.

If you’ve been having problems posting comments to this blog in the last couple of weeks, while using Internet Explorer (IE), I have something for you to try.

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