Bleeding Yankee Blue: MY RECENT LIFE AS A BUSY YANKEE FAN

Sunday, July 17, 2016

MY RECENT LIFE AS A BUSY YANKEE FAN

Not sure if you noticed, yesterday Bleeding Yankee Blue was silent. I know some of you did, and I appreciate you keeping on us about it. Yup, we had a post up that was from the day before. It sat there all day yesterday and nothing changed. While O'Hara's piece A TRUE YANKEE was terrific, in the back of your mind you were wondering, "This isn't like Casey. He always brings us content, on the daily, constant, consistent... and where the hell is it?" Yes, it's true. Sorry about that.

I received a few emails and a few FB messages wondering where I was...

"Casey, are you Okay?"

"What did you think about that Yankee loss last night? Are you guys going to post a story today?

"Just checking in to see if you are alive. LOL. When you don't write a story, I worry ;)"

These were wonderful to receive. The fact of the matter is since BYB began, life has gotten incredibly busy. Let me explain...

My kids are getting older. With that comes many activities sometimes way too much for my wife and I to handle. While my usual wake up time is 5:30 or 6 am, I'm finding that that hour before work or a baseball event is not me setting up our BYB content or "reading in" on what the Yankee news like it should be. My morning pattern has changed. Instead, it's me trying to wake up, setting up my day, getting travel directions, packing coolers and dealing with kids. It's the summer, and while I was very much convinced it would become alittle easier... it's become more difficult.

During the week, at night, it's baseball games. Many times over the weekend, it's competitions as well. No, I don't trek to Yankee stadium... I'm usually in Livingston, or Sparkill, New York... Paramus, or Jersey City and I'm watching my son play baseball. My wife is with my other son who swims competitively. Some weekends he'll be in Connecticut, or in Leonia, New Jersey. Maybe it's Rockaway, or how about New Brunswick. And so, as you can imagine... dinner is a Hot Pocket for me and a packed car full of baseball bats and swim bags and a lot of "Hello" and "Goodbye" kisses and "I'll see you late tonight." Oh yeah... and between all of this, I work full time.

Our family web is wicked, but when you see growth in a child and their "want" and "need" to compete at a higher level because they are starting to realize they have what it takes, you, as a parent do whatever you can to guide them that way. And I don't mean we are parents that insert ourselves so we make it easy for them. Not at all. We as parents get them there so they can do it themselves. That's a strict statement, and let me explain it. At the level my kids are in, we notice "stage parents", making sure their kids play their position by yelling at coaches and kissing ass so their kids get noticed.

These parents are hurting their kids in my opinion, because breaks should not come easy. Breaks, in my opinion, happen when a kid shows up early, stays engaged, and offers something that that coach is looking for... heart. Giving a kid everything is not what life's about. As parents, you need to guide your kids and get them there. Get them to their appointments, to their practices and then, when they're standing on the pool deck, it is up to that kid to remember everything they learned and perform to the best of their ability. That's how we feel about it at least... but I digress.

We have noticed a change in our children. They "want" it. It's now passed the "guiding" stage as parents. They love to play their game and so, helping to get them there is the best we can do right now. We pay the money for the training and it's working because they are sponges and eager to learn and get better. So for us, there are no back room deals to get my kid to play 7 innings. It's about performance that's what my wife and I have been dealing with and why we are running around so much lately. That, my friends is why my absence happens more and more on BYB. No, the site is not ending and we're not going to stop with content. Life's just gotten complicated.

And sure, you can ask me, like someone did, "Why aren't your writers helping you out?" I was taken back by that though. Hey, this isn't a business folks. This is a volunteer shop. You know this. No one gets paid, and so, if I can't write something, why the hell would I assume one of my other writers can? They're just as busy as I am!

We all contribute in some way. My writers have lives and jobs and kids just like me. Life gets busy, and we do what we can every single day to bring you content. But for example... yesterday... yesterday we all took a day off. It's not a crime, it's a relief, trust me. And thankfully for many of you... you get that and you get what we're all about.

I felt the need to express myself and explain what's been going on lately at BYB. After all, you deserve an explanation. Hundreds of you have been with BYB since the very beginning. You've seen an ugly version of BYB develop into a very successful fan site over the years. You've seen my writers turn into pretty great commentators. You've supported us, buying and wearing BYB proudly. And the ride has been significant. But just so you understand... we're regular folks doing our best to provide you your daily dose of Yankees and life on the pages of BYB. Some days it's not always pretty. Other days it flows from the fingers.... but many times, MANY, MANY TIMES it's just us writers trying hard to find the time to sit down and actually put our thoughts on paper for all of you to read. Life gets crazy, but when family calls... good parents need to be there for their kids. That's where we come in and that's why some days I need to step back from my second family, and be there for my first family. And some days it's not only me... it's my entire staff... and that's OK.

Thanks for reading us today. Thanks for letting me explain it all. Thanks for reading BYB every day and please keep supporting us. We are still here! Promise...

Just alittle busy!