Now The TYU Folks Don't Think I Should Be Blogging .... LOL

As you all know, I've received a great deal of attention for referring to Javier Vazquez as a 'gutless bitch' over the past several days, and I felt the need to clear some things up. First, I did not do this for attention - while an increase in traffic would be nice, this was not why I wrote that or write anything for that matter. Second, while some may not have thought it was the right way to call out Vazquez, I do stand by the notion that he isn't suited to pitch in New York. I've believed that since July of 2004, and I haven't seen any reason to change my mind. And finally, this bickering has become childish. 'Gutless bitch' may've been a bold way of expressing my feelings, maybe too bold, but I'm sure every fan has thought something derogatory about a player before - I merely wrote it down. Harping on one particular point made by an otherwise objective blog is ridiculous.

But check out the latest:

First, Moshe Mandel posted this on Twitter two days ago:

If you cant refrain from calling a player a "gutless bitch" in a recap, you probably shouldnt be blogging.

Yes, you got that right, a blogger is telling another blogger whether they can blog or not. Funny stuff, huh?

Am I the only one that thinks suggestions like this are petty and reek of undeserved arrogance?

Well, sorry Moshe, but I'm not going anywhere. You guys run a great blog, no need to waste time trying to bash me.

The fact that other bloggers are making such a big deal of this and wasting their own blog space is sad and shows that some are taking themselves a little too seriously.

My main objective here isn't to sound professional, because I'm not a professional nor would I ever claim to be. I'm doing this for fun because I like to talk about the Yankees with other fans, in my way, not the way the blogger police see fit.

Today, Larry Koestler at Yankeeist have wrote a "Zen Blogging" post based on some of the arguments started based on my comment. He mentions my blog as well as the TYU post and tweet that followed. The article was fair, much more fair than Mandel's comments via Twitter, although he does claim I was doing it for attention, which as I mentioned above was not the case. Also, Ross from New Stadium Insiders made a comment in response to the Zen post that I wanted to share:

Around a year ago, I'd be completely on the side of Moshe and Larry. Now, I've realized that too many bloggers are trying to take the passion and fun out of being a fan.

I think he hits the nail on the head here, more so in regards to Mandel. Bloggers have begun to forget why they do this in the first place; to talk about the team they love as a fan.