BYB TURNS 2 YEARS OLD. HOW WE DOING?

I'm no dummy. I don't walk around with a big head, ego, attitude or strut. My day stays the same no matter what happens. What I mean is, I know that if tomorrow came along and there was a better Yankee blog out there that you heard about, I'd be left in the dust and life would still go on. I don't get myself over excited, yet, truth be told, I am excited.   I have been smiling a lot lately and it's all because of our Bleeding Yankee Blue readers... you guys and gals who come to us after you wake up in the morning. You sip your coffee while clicking through our morning news and entertainment, and you do it because you like us...you really like us!

Liking someone or something happens when what you find is appealing, or you agree, or maybe that person or thing is so damn adorable, you can't get enough of it. I'd like to think that BYB is all of those things and it's because you come to our site and click away and share with friends that we've gained a lot of popularity over the past 2 years. I honestly don't know what to say...I am blessed. Thank you.

I should write Sergio Mitre a thank you note, because Sergio Mitre has brought us all together. It was September 14, 2010 that BYB was born in a piece titled WHY LAST NIGHT WAS IMPORTANT.  Since then, you found us on your own, through a friend or even by accident. Why? I'll tell you what I think the reason is; we bring you stuff the others don't...we're honest, we're funny and we're a fan site. We're you! I could sit here and Sabermetrics my ass off, what would that offer you?  I'm not in the "know it all" business. I am in the interactive business and I cannot get over just how amazing you readers are. You are all simply terrific.

Since we started and built our mini-empire, I wanted to bring all my favorite people together and over the past 2 years I've compiled some pretty fun stuff here.

(In Photo: Pete Caldera / Courtesy, New York Times)
If you read us every day, you know that I've always admired the works of Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record for years as well as Jack Curry of YES. Luckily,we were able to speak to each of them and bring you some great info too. Thank you both. Here are those interviews:

NO ONE DOES THE YANKEES BETTER THAN PETE CALDERA

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: JACK CURRY

By the way, not only is Caldera is writing stud, he's a singing one too.  I thought our interview was great, I failed to mention the New York Times piece on Caldera by Corey Kilgannon.  read that HERE.  You gotta love this guy.

I've been obsessed with former Yankees public relations guy Marty Appel for as long as I can remember and BYB has 2 Q and A's with him, because after all, he knows everything about the Yankees. Read those here:

YANKEE STORIES REVEALED BY PR GIANT MARTY APPEL

MORE YANKEE HISTORY WITH MARTY APPEL

I've met some pretty incredible people the past 2 years; Beth Hucke, who heads "We Want Nick Swisher to Host SNL", Dave Goode, a former vendor at Yankee Stadum and a guy I can now call a friend (Read THE VENDOR FROM THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT)... Carol, the biggest Yankee fan I've ever met on Facebook. Carlos who was one of the first guys I met through BYB and he runs an amazing travel site called America Trek too. Go there, read it, it's awesome. Andrew Condell who's a true Yankee fan and makes me laugh more than anyone... Watch this:

Kristen Meriwether and Dave Martin of the Epoch Times who are some of the best underrated writers in sports and featured BYB in their Opening day piece on baseball back in April. They could have interviewed anyone... but they asked me. I will always be grateful. Read Baseball season kicks off in New York.

(In Photo: Luigi & his son)
I've met Luigi Squeegee, the author of Clubhouse Confidential who has become a close friend of ours here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  Squeegee, you're the man! Doug Drotman of Drotman Communications of New York, a Public Relations firm. Doug is the most courteous and organized PR guys in the business. Don't remember who he is? Does The Runyon 5K run ring a bell? Without Doug, we don't have our interviews with Roy White, Mickey Rivers and Ron Blomberg promoting the Runyon 5K run. Doug is the best!

(In Photo: Charles & Joey Moses)
To my pals Charles and Joey Moses... from Australia (Read BYB, THE BIG APPLE & AUSTRALIA.) If you ever get a chance to have a pint with those 2, do it, they'll change your life.  Even Nicole Hart of WINK, who was formerly of WKTV and supports us 100% and we love it!

And finally, to Debi and Jen and Kiley, Krissy, Stefie and Donna and Evelyn... you guys are the greatest group of Twitter "chicks" ever, we love your support! To Fox and Joe, thank you so much for always re-tweeting our stories, you guys rock.   The point is, The Yankees and BYB has brought many of us together. It's incredible. I would love to mention you all, and if I forget anyone, I apologize...know this though, we're one big family and we appreciate your help...all of you.

How about them Yanks? Paul O'Neill's interview with us is the most popular interview ever on Bleeding Yankee Blue, read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: PAUL O'NEILL.  Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, Homer Bush and our first Yankee interview with Steve Karsay...damn, they all chatted it up with "little" us!  What about current Yankees Nick Swisher and David Robertson? We helped promote their charities in the process and Lord knows, you help people that are in need when you can.  I appreciate all the Yankee players that spoke to us, you guys are great!

And a big Thanks for the Bichette family and the Niekro family. I reached out to Dante Jr and his mom, Mariana for interviews and they were nice enough to give one each! Couple that with one of the most emotional interviews we've ever done, a Thanksgiving release with Natalie Niekro, the daughter of pitching great Joe Niekro. I have to say, I was touched by both of these terrific family units.  Please take a moment and read those three interviews below:

Dante Bichette Jr: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Mariana Bichette: MOTHER'S DAY WITH THE BICHETTES

Natalie Niekro: ONCE A YANKEE, ALWAYS A YANKEE

And what about our writers at BYB? They've become personalities to you all.

• Mikey Blue is my friend for over 20 years. He's my right hand man, best friend, brother and I can't take a leak unless he assures me it's the right move. 

• Jesse Schindler, one of the best sports writers on the web, hands down.  Don't believe me? Believe this, remember Schindler's name in 8 years when he's the guy you'll be searching for to provide inside baseball information.

(In photo: Jeana, Ivan Nova & Erica)

• Jeana Bellezza and Erica Morales kick ass. 2 women writers with more spunk and baseball knowledge than anyone. I like spunk and I love having them on the BYB team.

• Our recap writers, Frank Gentry, Ike Dimitriadis and Sam Thaler. They are great, thorough and each do their recaps in their own unique way.  Who needs ESPN's Rapid Reaction when you have these guys. We make it fun and dare I say, you should come to us first. After all, wasn't it Ray Negron, the author of Yankee Miracles who said, "You guys are just as good as the regular beat writers." I'll take that. 

•  Lem Allen always has another take that I admire, so I am thrilled that he can bring us a unique perspective once in a while! Thanks man.

• Kate Munrow does my Yankee Shorts and it's become insanely popular overnight. A fun top 10 list isn't easy. Combine the Yankees and great nuggets and Kate pulls it off beautifully every time. By the way Kate, you're past deadline... send it on over!

• Let's not forget Steve Skinner, a guest writer who puts in 110 percent, not because he has to, he doesn't. He does it because he wants to...for you.

And yeah... me too. Look, I've written hundreds upon hundreds of pieces for my BYB baby. Sure, call me the Godfather, but the reality is, I usually don't put my credit at the end of my posts only because that's how it started for me here. Let's not forget, Bleeding Yankee Blue started with just me. As writers were added, I didn't want you thinking I wrote their stuff, so I gave them credit... it's the right thing to do. I just never felt the need to change that routine and so, there you have it. So yeah, if there isn't a author credit...it's me just like it was on September 14, 2010.

Finally, to celebrate our birthday, we have a few messages from people who have supported us, check it out: 

"Happy birthday wishes!  Two years of innovative, clever, breakthrough material that helps nourish the unending appetite of Yankee fans for more, more and more.  Don't know where the Internet will be taking us, but I suspect you'll be ahead of the curve for a long time." 

 --Marty Appel, Former Yankees Public Relations Guy & author of Pinstripe Empire 

"Thanks for putting so much time and effort into the success of Bleeding Yankee Blue. You started this purely for the fun of it, and it turned into something much bigger than that. You really transformed this into a really powerful, respected blog among Yankees fans. You do it for the readers, and I am here with them thanking you first hand. I'll always stick with my favorite Yankees blog. Here's to many, many more to come." 

--Will Cohen, the first BYB Writer 

"Happy Birthday BYB!! The 'go to' place for info!!"
--Rose Passantino

 "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BYB! My go to place for everything Yankee! A big thank you from a mom of one of your writers to have found a place to let her creative juices flow! I know there will be many more birthdays to celebrate and this happy and proud Yankee fan will be along for the ride!"
--Linda Bellezza 

"Happy Birthday BYB!"

--Lori Vargo Heffner

"I am very happy I found BYB this season to have a unique insight to the Yankees. Many awesome stories with current and former Yankees. I have said it in other posts but a HUGE THANK YOU... to you and ALL the WRITERS at BYB ...Happy 2nd and many many more."
--Dave Goode

"I've been following you guys from (nearly) day 1 and I don't think I've missed a day since! Awesome blog, awesome people! Long may it last!"
--Danny O'Broin

 "Happy Birthday Bleeding Yankee Blue!"
--Charles Moses

At the end of the day, something happened to BYB in the past 2 years, we became relevant. You turn to us for information, opinion and humor. It's not only flattering, it's humbling. You don't have to, hell, there are a ton of places you can go for Yankee info, but you don't wander, you stay loyal and it may be the nicest thing that's ever happened to me.Thank you for understanding us. Thank you for knowing that we don't believe we are the only answer out there...hell, you understand that we're just having fun, and we appreciate you "getting it."

Years ago I thought to myself "I feel like I'm supposed to do something". Granted, I didn't know what that was, but I've always been a creative person, so something was bound to come to me...and it did. BYB was born. From there, an audience arrived, and my baby is 2 years old because of you.

By the way, a special thanks to Rob at Bronx Baseball Daily, Mike at Bronx Goblin, Greg from Sliding into Home, Rasheeda from Bomber Boulevard, Lisa from Subway Squawkers and Matt from Yankees Fans Unite. You all have been a great to me. I appreciate you guys. Thank you.

So happy birthday to BYB and to you guys too, the best readers in the world! It's been an incredible journey for me, but it's not always easy. I am always working on BYB. Sometimes it's not so fun. Sometimes I want to pack it in... that's the truth.  One night I said to my wife "I may need to close up shop, I'm very, very tired." She looked me dead in the eye and said "Your readers would be upset. You can't do that."  It's right then that I realized why I married this woman...she's right...she's always right. I can't do that, and I won't.  I'll do this as long as I can because I want to and because I know you'll be looking for it. At the end of the day we're family right? We support each other, a pretty important and significant action in life.

Support, love, life and Yankees.  It's our birthday and damn...it feels good to be 2.

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