No Maas says no maas

Terrible news this Christmas. My fave Yankee fan blog is going the way of Zelous Wheeler. (Not moving to Japan, but exiting.) Shortly after the new year, No Maas will be no more.

I wonder if the Yankees even know what they are losing...

Under the universal fan mantra, "If we had $200 million to burn, the Yankees would never lose a game," No Maas has been a great read since 2005, the days of Carl Pavano and Bubba Crosby. Back then, the Yankees were always on fire, always demanding attention, always entertaining. But they are not that team anymore. They have become a tiresome, predicable, corporate meat-grinder - less interested in winning than in moving the last $75 packets of authentic Yankee Stadium dirt. Once upon a time, for better or worse, you couldn't take your eyes off them. Last year, they were flat-out painful to watch.

As usual, in its farewell, No Maas says it perfectly:

We must also be honest and tell you that the Hal Steinbrenner Regime has significantly dampened our enthusiasm and passion for this storied club, making it harder to put our heart into the site. From turning Yankee Stadium into a Ritz-Carlton that caters to the wealthy like a Federal Reserve governor; putting revenues into his pocket as opposed to the team (Yankees spend much less per % of revenue than many other teams); propagandizing to the fanbase by saying his team is “championship-caliber” when it clearly isn’t; allowing the same decision-makers to plunge the team further into mediocrity (it’s a good ol’ boy network); and commercializing EVERYTHING.

No Maas is/was/always will be a great Yankee blog - epitomizing the die-hard spirit of the Everyfan - to rejoice, to agonize, to mock, to care. 

Best of luck to Sensei John, who will still be on Twitter. 

Sweep the leg, guys. You ruled.