Bleeding Yankee Blue: I WOKE UP SMILING TO 5,000,315!

Saturday, March 25, 2017

I WOKE UP SMILING TO 5,000,315!

When this site started, I never thought I'd be sticking around to hit 5 million views! Yesterday morning, this is what I saw.

How did that happen? Well, I'm not totally sure, but what I do know is determination... perseverance will make great things happen in life, and when I was a little boy, my parents made sure I understood that. You don't win by standing there waiting for it. You work hard to achieve what you want.

I decided to write more and more, and I asked a few friends to help. Sooner or later people were coming to me looking for an opportunity to write. I decided that no matter what, even if they weren't top writers, but willing and longing to learn the craft, I would help guide them even if I didn't totally have a grasp of it myself. I mean sure, creative writing classes in high school and college helped me out quite a bit, but everyone knows I was doing that to score chicks, not be Shakespeare.

Writing to me is a release, and while I report more on news items these days and let my writers express themselves and their opinions on the New York Yankees... there is no question that if I want to say something, I can say it, at any time, at any moment I want on Bleeding Yankee Blue, because I built this, I run this, own this and will do it however I'd like to.

You are my readers. Some of you found us early. Many of you early finders are still here to witness 5,000,000. You make me happy. You make me energized every single moment I open up Bleeding Yankee Blue and see what's happening in the world of views and you make me feel comfortable when I have my own stresses in my life. You are my comfort because you are the family that we have built here since September 2010. I am not only blessed in my own life, with wonderful parents and a family with a wife and kids that make me full of joy, but sometimes when the sun still hasn't come up, and I am sitting in my living room having a cup of coffee and I head to social media and see all you have commented on and asked about and "liked" our stuff... I know that we are doing something right.

You are my readers and yes, there are many, many more than that photo you see above. But the truth is, you are my loyal, smart readers and I thank you for always being there for everything.

My writers are outstanding. Many have had nearly no experience in the seat of journalism, but thought they'd give it a crack because they love the Yankees. They asked for a shot. They got their shot... they grew... they sometimes had a hard time expressing themselves in their pieces... and they're pieces were sent back. The rewrite is painful for an individual because they don't see the do's and don'ts... and so, when you send it back for a tweak, it's insulting, they get annoyed, they are embarrassed, maybe they're even pissed at me. I don't care. Writing isn't about putting an opinion on paper and not including sources and just popping around a story with disregard for how a story should be told. Writing is very special to me. And while there are sometimes misspellings and awkward sentences... that's life. That happens. Even in the finished product, sometimes it happens. But it's the essence of what I want our writers to express in themselves.

Sometimes a writer will tell me what they want to accomplish and then they submit it, and it's no where near what I expected. Sometimes.... it amazingly better and at that point you know it clicked for them. I know when something clicks. I also know if a writer is having a bad week... because if you are truly emotional about what you are writing... I see it in the edit process immediately. But in the end, with all the writers I have come across in my life here at BYB, most of them... maybe 91% of them have either walked away from this project better people and better writers, or have stayed with me here, flourished and are rubbing elbows with the likes of big time guys like Pete Caldera, Bob Klapisch, Jason Keidel, Peter Keating, Mark Simon and Ken Rosenthal. That's because it's not always about stats... it's about feelings. Its what not a single writer in the Yankee sports media does, but BYB does it every day. That is what I have always asked from my writers. And when you look at folks like Suzie Pinstripe, Jeana Bellezza and Dan Lucia... Mike O'Hara and my newbies in Barry Millman, Chris Carbonaro and Michael Carnesi... you see folks with a glimpse of greatness. These are my second family. These are the people that I call if I need something... chat about life with... talk about strategy and celebrate life achievement with. We don't just talk BYB... we talk about each other.

I'm busy these days. I'm busier than I ever have been. My family is growing up. I have way too many commitments with community work as well as family and real life work. It's overwhelming. Some days I just can't get to the computer to write. I'm crushed by that, but there can no longer be days of waking up at 5am to write, and starting my day... and then writing another 3 stories before bed at 1am. I have done it too long in the start up, and I was killing myself. Thank god you get that. Thank god, you understand. I just ask you to be patient with me, because I know many of you are looking for me sometimes for inspiration, but the truth is, that is why my writers are so important, because they not only fill my void, but they have flourished and have stepped in as big dogs. They are just important as me. They are the backbone of this Yankees fan site. Stay with us... know that some days you might not see us writing, but then, there may be a flurry of activity and we'll be back in the fold, writing 4 stories in a row and keeping you interested again.

5 million views is outstanding. You are all truly wonderful individuals. That is why I am working my best to give you some BYB products and keep you happy. The BYB store is open... SHOP! Products are in the store, I encourage you to shop and support us, like PBS or something. Keep reading, keep rooting for us, and keep sharing us.

Keep the dialog coming, keep wearing our products... and keep us in the back of your minds even when we are too busy to write because life kicks in.

Most of all, thank you all for being some of the most fascinating people in the world. I have gotten to know many of you over the years. Speaking on Facebook and Twitter and even calling some of you on occasion to shoot the shit. Let me remind you... I am not a celebrity, I'm a person like you with a job and a family. I just happen to have Yankee blog. Treat me like your peer, not your god. We are the same. Many of you get that, some don't and I'm flattered by it, but don't get it twisted... we're all friends and we're all in this together.

BYB wouldn't be here without you... that's the truth.

You are loved. Thanks for the support.