I’ve been putting this off for too long because it isn’t something I necessarily want to do, but something I feel I have to do. Consider it a good news, bad news, good news situation. Since I’m Mr. Optimism, let’s start with the bad news.

The bad news is my need for a brief yet indefinite “hiatus” from the site. It ties in with the good in the next paragraph, but, for a variety of reasons, I’m no longer confident I can devote the necessary time and energy to put forth my best, most consistent effort here. I’ve never been one to half-ass anything, so when other time commitments began to eat into the hours I’d normally spend on a given piece for the site, I knew my whole ass was no longer getting the job done. Time to step back.

I feel a little bad about sharing the good news because it’s good for pretty much me alone. If I’m a reader who liked checking this site — there has to be at least one out there, right? — then I’m bummed the site is changing and indifferent about some internet stranger’s good news. Maybe I’m just a bad person, though. So what other time commitments began to eat into the time I’d usually spend on the site? I can’t say a whole lot, but it involves baseball (the draft specifically), it’s part-time, and it’s a short-term assignment. I’ve always said I have no long-term ambitions in baseball and it’s true — I like my day job quite a bit — but this opportunity was too intriguing to pass up in the here and now.

The second bit of good news I feel a whole heck of a lot less bad about sharing. It goes back to the scare quotes around hiatus. I’m not really going anywhere. The site will still be around — in fact tomorrow, May 28th, is the last day for me to renew the domain, something I did without hesitation just seconds ago — but it won’t exist in quite the same way it has previously. That isn’t to say it won’t someday get back to the comprehensive coverage of years past, but don’t expect the same crazy breadth of rankings (like going 500 deep with just pitchers last year) any time soon. I’m really, really going to miss that aspect of the site, as I always felt the fact that I went deeper than the top fifty or so names that are on EVERY SINGLE MOCK DRAFT made this place stand out. If I can find a way to get back to that, I will.

For now, however, I’ll just stick to a more informal, meandering style of posting. This may shock you, but I have some fairly strong opinions about a whole bunch of guys in this year’s class. I’ll share them over the course of the next week. I’ll also be trying to do more in the way of draft recaps and reviews once the big day comes and goes. Finally, I’ll also be incredibly self-indulgent and do a few retrospective pieces as I look back and see what in my evaluations worked and what didn’t. I find myself getting so attached to certain prospects during the draft process, but then losing touch with them as they enter pro ball. I’d like to rectify that a bit this summer. As much as I’ll miss the obsessive pre-draft coverage that’s been a huge part of my life the past few years, I’m looking forward to the other features I’ll be able to focus on instead.

I do have one little parting gift to share before I start cutting back. I’ve put together a mock draft matrix for the best-sourced industry leaders (Jim Callis, Keith Law, Kiley McDaniel) that shows which teams have been linked to which players. I’ll keep updating it within reason up until next Thursday night. There are two tabs at the bottom; the first is the master list that includes all source material and the second is the Jim Callis only tab because, really, all other experts are fighting for second when it comes to matching his sources. It’s not pretty, but I think it’s a handy little feature that gives an idea how certain boards are stacked up around the league. Enter the MATRIX.

Thanks for reading.