One of the reasons I left my previous employer is because I just didn’t like being away from my family so darn much.

That included weeks in spring training each year – by my estimation I have spent about 400 days in Florida covering baseball in my career.

That sounds like a pretty good gig – Florida in March watching baseball – until you consider, all totaled, that’s more than a year away from my wife and kids. A necessary part of the job, but not one I easily embraced.

So, when I started my own thing, I definitely didn’t want to do seven consecutive weeks away again. But I also didn’t want to have the site out of the loop for an elongated period when it comes to Orioles’ news and perspective out of Sarasota, Fla.

So, I audibled, and cooked up a deal that I think definitely works for me and for the readers.

I’ll be with the Orioles in Florida for a little more than a week this March. When I’m not, we’ll be publishing morning dispatches from longtime sportswriter Rich Dubroff, who is currently the Orioles’ beat writer for Pressboxonline.com

Dubroff will continue to cover the team for Pressboxonline.com and you can get all of his daily Orioles coverage there. But he’ll be providing us with a separate piece from Florida each weekday morning throughout the spring (except for when I’m in Florida; then I’ll pick up the feature temporarily). We’re calling it “Spring Training Primer,” and it will be a look at what has been going on with the team and what the upcoming day will bring. The feature begins Monday.

Meanwhile, I’ll still be writing Orioles’ commentary and the “Connolly’s Tap Room” blog posts. And we’ll also continue to offer you our other features, such as “Minor League Podcast,” and “College Corner,” as the spring progresses. And when the regular season begins, the “Around The Beat Podcast” and the “Dean Jones Report” on Orioles’ minor league baseball will return, as will our “Prep Ballplayer of the Week” vote.

So, to recap: You’ll be getting even more from our site in 2017. And that will include a daily primer from Sarasota on Mondays through Fridays this spring, primarily featuring Rich Dubroff, who will be doing his day job for PressBoxonline.com while adding a morning post for us. Hope you enjoy it. If you want, let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.