ALL THE OFFENSE IN ONE NIGHT

Source: Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America

After long day of work, and then a meeting right after, I came home to an 8-0 Yankee lead.  Now, I am not unhappy about it.  I am elated.  But why does all of the offense have to come about all in one night?  It is not like it has to be Scrooge and all of the spirits getting it done in one night.  We need to spread the wealth.  We need to do more on nights when our pitching is less.

 Source: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images North America

"Thanks to stellar work from relievers Jonathan Holder and Chasen Shreve, the Dead Bat Society had a chance to make amends late in the game, but didn’t in a 3-2 loss to the reeling Orioles in front of 40,242," reported the NY Post after the game on Monday.  "It looked like we were just missing some pitches, whether that was late movement or a little ride on his part,’’ said Girardi, whose team has scored 37 runs in the last 11 games, going 5-6 during that stretch."

Source: Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America

But on Tuesday, the bats lit up proving that the there is life even if they were silenced for one day. By the bottom of the seventh inning the Yankees had 12 hits and lead their AL East rival Orioles by seven runs.  Jordan Montgomery had a good outing on Monday, but the bats didn't support it.  Then Luis Severino had an equally good start and the bats came to life.  You can't figure it out.  And the Orioles don't have stellar pitching by any shakes.  They are okay, much like ours.  But some nights both teams have some kind of pitching genius.  And they get it done all in one night.

 Source: Matt Hazlett/Getty Images North America

So as we move into Wednesday's game against the O's, the rubber game, we have to hope that the bats are on the upswing and we can win this series as we head into Toronto this weekend for a four game stretch against the Division rival Blue Jays.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

Save on the Perfect Gifts for Dad at the SteinerSports.com Father's Day Gift Guide!

REFLECTING ON A GRAND SLAM MOMENT

It's been a while since I've written a post for BYB. 

I guess I'm still very much a rookie when it comes to fatherhood...but I'm putting the ball in play and learning from the veterans.  I have had more than a few meetings on the mound with Casey about being a Dad.  The Skipper here at Bleeding Yankee Blue isn't only a good buddy, he is also a one of the wise veteran Dads I was referring to.  He has had a lot of helpful tips for me since my son was born, but the one I remember most was, "Enjoy the moments, man."  It's a seemingly simple piece of advice, but worth it's weight in gold.

My little guy is one...or 19 month if you're into the whole months thing.  I myself am too many months to remember. 

This past weekend we took him to the Big Ballpark in the Bronx for the second time in his life.  The first was Old Timer's Day last season, and although it was great, this year was better.  Mikey now sees the Yankee logo and immediately says, "Beh ball".  He claps when he hears, "Let's Go YANK EES!"  Sure, I've influenced this behavior a bit, but it's still wonderful to see.

My Mom and Dad came with my wife and I to see the Bombers host the Oakland A's.  It was one of those moments Casey told me to enjoy.  I sat with my son next to my Dad and just took it all in.  Baseball is truly the best of things.  I've said it before and I'll continue to say it.  The game really does make us stop and look around.  It shows us where we are and how far we've come.  We experience moments that last a lifetime.  This past Sunday was no different. 

My son got to see Aaron Judge club his first-ever Grand Slam.  Now, we'll he remember it?  I don't know, but what I'll remember was my one year old son sitting in my lap, decked out in his pinstripe jersey (courtesy of Steve Roche at Majestic), clapping and laughing as Judge made the Stadium "All Rise". 

It was outstanding.  I shared a pretzel with Mikey and took a walk down memory lane with my Dad.  Of all the Yankee games I've been to in my life this one was my favorite.  I was with my Dad watching my son's New York Yankees.  It was a new ballpark then the one my Dad and I watched games in, but the feeling was the same.

Photo: New York Daily News

I bought Mikey an Aaron Judge shirt that fits him like a hockey sweater, but it's perfect.  He was so happy when I put it on him.  Will Aaron become an All-time great?  I hope so, but even if that's not the path he takes he will be forever an All-time great to me, my Dad and my son.

Oh not so humble brag...we got to our seats 45 minutes before the first pitch and my 1 year old made it all the way to hear Mr. Sinatra sing "New York, New York".  Not too bad.

** I always play a song at the end of my posts.  This is my son's favorite song...not sure why, but I dig it too.  Thanks of the dinger Aaron! **

 
  
--Mike O'Hara
BYB Contributor
Follow me on Twitter: @mikeyoh21

SLOW START MY ASS

Source: Matt Hazlett/Getty Images North America

I was listening to the Yankee game on the radio as I traveled back from the shore earlier this week and I was intrigued by this comment made by Yankee announcer John Sterling with regards to the "slow" start by Oriole star third baseman Manny Machado.  "If Steinbrenner was alive he'd say, slow start my..."  He used the word "foot" as a replacement for "ass."  And at this juncture, we are two months into the season, so to Sterling's point, "we are well passed a slow start."  Machado is batting a dismal .216 compared to his career average of .280.  He did nothing against the Yankees in Monday's Memorial Day classic.  So what's my point?  My point is I concur Mr. Steinbrenner's insight.  You get paid to play and at this level, play well.  You have to produce or get out.  In the real world, you might get a citation or warning for poor performance.  It might affect your salary but in the game of baseball, you get fans booing, critics poo pooing and a maybe some additional batting practice.

Source: Matt Hazlett/Getty Images North America

To add a little fuel to the slow start fire, Andrew Marchand contributed to ESPN's article "Will Manny Machado be a Yankee in 2019?" on Monday, which may get you thinking a little harder about why slow is a no go.  "Machado makes a lot of sense for the Yankees, because he seems like A-Rod with less drama and just as much of a rivalry with the Red Sox. Plus, if you look at the Yankees' system, they don't necessarily have an out-of-this-world prospect at third. Well, they might have one: They could move Gleyber Torres there, as he's playing the position some at Triple-A, and Miguel Andujar, though he's no sure thing, is a pretty talented 22-year-old at Double-A. Still, Machado could be the Yankees' play over Bryce Harper after the 2018 season."

Source: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America

Even though an MLB player only officially plays from April-early October and if he is lucky perhaps into early November, he truthfully plays 12-months a year.  The other months are equally important with slow starts not in the equation.  There are slumps here and there but two-months of slumping just is not acceptable for any player.  Get on the training plan and stay on it.  No excuses.  And by the way, Machado is 24-years-old.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

We saw some early-on slow starts on our team for sure. But guys like Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury have performed and sped up pretty quickly.   Gardner is batting .273 and could even be in contention for a section named after him at the Stadium entitled 'Gardy Goes Yardy' as depicted in an ESPN article last week.  "Gardner played Game No. 1,106 of his career on Monday (May 23). Gardner is nearly 34 compared to (Aaron)Judge’s 25. At 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, Gardner stands nearly a foot shorter than Judge and 100 pounds lighter. He is not the talk of baseball."  But he certainly is putting up the numbers, perhaps All Star Numbers...despite his "slow" start.

So slow starts are just not acceptable and once again the wise words of George Steinbrenner are relevant in today's game.  Always push yourself to be that much stronger tomorrow.  Don't make excuses for your slumps, do something about it.  My final point here lies in a quote I read over the weekend, "Life's real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up." As we head into June later this week, let's not make excuses, let's make progress.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

A YANKEE PROSPECT TO REMEMBER

Last year on Memorial Day, I was haunted by a piece MLB.com's Lindsay Berra wrote about the long history of baseball players who have died in military service.

Berra opened the piece with a quick nod to the proud tradition of ballplayers serving their country, ticking off a few of the more well-known Hall of Famers who had done so, including her grandfather Lawrence Peter Berra; who had attacked enemy positions with rockets on D-Day wearing the uniform of a sailor before he ever attacked a baseball with a bat in the Bronx wearing the uniform of a Yankee.

Then, citing  the scholarly work of Gary Bedingfield -- a British member of the Society for American Baseball Research and former player himself who runs the website http://baseballinwartime.com and authored two books on the subject -- Lindsay went on to note that since the Civil War (when baseball players first began to get paid to play) some 535 men who had played ball at various levels of the sport had lost their lives while on active duty,  and that 12 of them had played in the major leagues.

One of those 12, I've thought about at least once every time I watch a Yankee game.

Before I go on, I must say if you're ever taken by the urge to learn more about the connection between American baseball and service to country -- for a few minutes or a few hours, right around Memorial Day or any other day of the year -- Bedingfield's website is a powerful  place to start. His devotion to the topic is voracious to say the least, and his never-ending quest to find and document every ballplayer who ever served is relentless and meticulous.

For instance, during WWII alone he's confirmed more than 4,500 professional ballplayers left the sport to serve in the military and that at least 130 minor league players lost their lives while serving their country.

With more than 500 extensive individual bios and enough old pictures, personal documents and first-hand accounts  to fill a bricks-and-mortar library, it's a place anyone with an interest in either the national pastime or the history of the military can easily be drawn into and get lost in thoughtful contemplation.

So anyway, there I was a year ago, reading Lindsay Berra's thumbnails of each of those 12 MLB players' stories; each no more than a paragraph or so; each including where they played their baseball, what branch of the military they served in, where they served and  how they lost their lives.

And one of them jumps out at me and hits me in the gut.

"Alexander Thomson 'Tom' Burr, Nov. 1, 1893 - Oct. 12, 1918

Burr was a shortstop and pitcher at the Choate School in Connecticut and attended Williams College in Massachusetts. He signed with the New York Yankees in January 1914. Burr made just one appearance as a Yankee, on April 21 against the Senators. In 1917, Burr served with the 31st Aero Squadron, U.S. Air Service. He was killed on Oct. 12, 1918, during drills at the gunnery school in Cazaux, France, when his plane collided with another at 4,500 feet and crashed into Cazaux Lake."

He had been a Yankee at 20. He'd appeared in only one game. Three years later he was dead in France.  I had to learn more. I dug a little and found a bio written by a SABR colleague of Bedingfield's named Rory Costello.

A Chicago native and right-handed pitcher, Burr was six feet two inches tall, and weighing 190 pounds, as a senior at the prestigious Choate School in Connecticut, Burr allowed no earned runs and only 32 hits in 11 games, with 185 strikeouts and just 18 walks.

He enrolled at Williams College, but before he got to play a single collegiate game several major league teams were already bidding for his services.  Coming from a wealthy family with prospects of his own after college, Burr turned down several teams,  but jumped at the chance to play for Yankees player/manager Frank Chance, a former Cub. the young came knocking, he put off college to give pro ball a try.

Major league scouts said he had a plus fastball and a wicked curve thanks to a congenital condition that left his pitching arm with a pronounced bend.

The Providence Evening News wrote, "He turned down offers from at least three major league clubs, to play under Chance's direction." That report added, "Arthur Irwin [another Yankees scout] says that Burr is one of the best natural pitchers he has ever seen, and predicts a brilliant future for him."

Burr kept a detailed daily diary of his time with the Yankees.

After a successful spring, he made  the big club but the team's rotation that year was healthy and deep, and the daily grind of travel on trains and boredom sitting on the bench during games didn't suit him. He stuck it out until he finally got the call to go into the show -- as an outfielder.

The Yankees had scored two runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie it up and had run out of  position players. As the last man on the bench, the young pitcher was sent out to centerfield to play the 10th inning. No balls were hit to him and the Yankees won the game in their next at-bat before his turn in the order came up.

Shortly after that, he was sent down so he could get more work and stay sharp, but his month of idleness caught up with him and in a handful of minor league games he was wild and had no command of his pitches. A quick return to the Bigs didn't look likely and he was a practical young man if nothing else, judging from his diary entries. So he quit pro ball and returned to Williams to complete his education.

However, when the U.S. entered the war in Europe he left school and returned home to Chicago to enlist, which turned out to be easier said than done. He  got bounced from officer training school when he came down with pneumonia, and then was subsequently rejected when he tried to re-enlist due to his age.

So he made his way to France on his own dime to join the Air Service, graduated flight school, became an instructor, taught other young pilots   and even got to do some pitching, striking out 21 batters of the previously undefeated St. Pierre de Corps post for the Aviation Instruction Center team.

Then he got the call to the front and flew to  the gunnery school in Cazaux for some final air-to-air target practice before heading into combat.

His plane went down there 30 days before the Armistice ending the war was signed. He was 23.

He never got to fire a shot in battle, and he never got to hit or catch a ball in his lone Yankee Stadium appearance.

And now, right around Memorial Day, as I watch young Yankees battle to win ballgames and keep their cherished roster spots and the announcers talk about their bright futures, I can't help but think of Burr.

He was only 20 when he wore the pinstripes, younger than any of the kids playing in today's Yankee game. The papers and pundits all said he had a bright future too.

Turned out they were right.

I hope when all our prospects look back on their lives and careers, they can be as proud of theirs as Burr can be of his.

Waytago rook.

 --Barry Millman
BYB Writer
Twitter: @nyyankeefanfore

YANKEE BRASS CAN BUILD A WINNING TEAM, BUT NOT A PROFIT

Credit Elsa/Getty Images        

The New York Times dropped a big story last week HERE and it shows just how clueless some of the brains in the Yankees front office really are. This isn't rocket science.

The Yankees have a young, exciting and winning team. It should be a new economic boom for an organization that is finally getting younger and getting some big expensive contracts off of the books. It should be bringing in a ton of fans to watch this new Yankee team win. The Yankees are undeniably better than last year. They win and they are fun to watch so that should have people running to the ballpark.....but they aren't. So, what's the problem?

Well, there seems to be more than one, actually and the Yankees think they have the answers, but they don't.

1) Since the end of 2009, Yankee suite and ticket revenues have decreased by more than $166 million.
The Yankees open their new ball park, and win a World Series championship but have since lost out on profits. Despite the Yankees winning and successful season so far, they have brought in LESS money than the same time last year. Even with a dreadful start to the season, the Yankees were making more in ticket sales. Fans paid more to see a losing team then a team leading the way with superstars like Aaron Judge.

2) The Yankees’ per-game decline of 3,793 over the same number of games last season is the third-sharpest in baseball, according to BaseballReference.com, trailing just Kansas City and the Mets.

The Yankees have the third sharpest decline in attendance after recent World Series winners Kansas City and the circus side show New York Mets? That's sad. The Yankees have a young and dynamic team that even Yankee haters pay attention to. Fans finally have that younger team they have wanted for YEARS, but aren't paying money to go see them. The Yankees just can't put butts in the seats even with a winning lineup....and that's a big problem.

3) A recent May game in the Bronx against the Toronto Blue Jays drew an announced crowd of 25,556 -- the smallest for a Yankees home game in 13 years.

A winning team playing a division rival with some big names on it should draw in a crowd. Fans still remember the days of Russell Martin and want to watch a talented hitter like Jose Bautista. Sure, the Blue Jays may be an underachieving team in last place but to get the lowest attendance in 13 years? That is an ugly stat.

Those are the three major problems. Instead of looking at the one thing that all three scenarios have in common the Yankees are making some CRAZY statements.

"Baseball, I think, has somewhat struggled with the millennial problem. We recognized in looking at our fan base, we recognized in looking at our viewers on YES, that that age group is not what it could be and not what it should be" according to Hal Steinbrenner.

The fact of the matter is that as much as society may like to blame millennials for a lot of things....the Yankees decrease in ticket revenue is not one of them.

Or how about the Yankees pricing strategy with their premium seats? The Yankees set high pricing in their seats behind home plate to keep the available to the rich, and out of reach for those of us who can't spend that kind of money, and Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost was quick to justify that HERE.

“The problem below market at a certain point is that if you buy a ticket in a very premium location and pay a substantial amount of money,” Trost said. “It’s not that we don’t want that fan to sell it, but that fan is sitting there having paid a substantial amount of money for a ticket and (another) fan picks it up for a buck-and-a-half and sits there, and it’s frustrating to the purchaser of the full amount. And quite frankly, the fan may be someone who has never sat in a premium location. So that’s a frustration to our existing fan base.”

I think Trost is extremely out of touch. There is definitely a pricing issue here, but it's not the one that he is describing.

And what about Randy Levine? He's already been under fire recently with Dellin Betances, but Randy seems to think that the players are a big reason why fans spend money on the games.

"Right now, there’s no LeBron in baseball, there’s no Tom Brady. Derek Jeter was, maybe David Ortiz. But I think these young guys on our team and some of the other ones have the breakout ability, and I think that’s what’s exciting and what our fans are looking at.”

Ummmm NO Randy! What your fans are looking at is the insane prices of your tickets right HERE. Clearly you already have a LeBron or a Brady....if you didn't you wouldn't have taken out seats to accommodate your "Judge's Chambers" section at Yankee stadium.

Sure, you can get some cheap seats at Yankee stadium. Some fans may be okay with a "Pinstripe Pass" and stand in a "fan gathering" section for a few hours with a drink included and just stand....but that's not most of us. What about mom and dad that want to take their kids to a game? They are going to want a memorable game with decent seats. Ones that they don't have to squint to see or sit on dad's shoulders just to see Gary Sanchez off in the distance. Try taking a family four to a game and pay $40 for parking and $15 for a beer and $12 each for a few hot dogs after spending money on those expensive seats. It's not affordable!

Yankees ownership is just clueless at this point. They have a winning team on the field but can't figure out how to get people to come and watch them play. A winning product isn't good enough if people don't actually come to see them. They just don't get it...they have priced fans right out of their ballpark and kept them at home....watching the game on TV for a lot less money. It's not rocket science, just stupidity.

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ

BASEBALL REMAINS A NATIONAL PASTIIME ACROSS GENERATIONS

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Memorial Day Weekend! It's the unofficial start of summer.  And what better way to celebrate than to watch baseball.  With the Yankees dropping one and winning one against the A's this weekend, we are hanging in there as the third best team in baseball.  But even more importantly than that, the Yankees and quite frankly all of baseball are attracting today's youth.  This is good.  This is something special.

Suzie Pinstripe writes with an audience

Like many families this weekend, we are on "vacation."  And it started off with a wiffle ball game at the beach, followed by talks about the Yankees, and then some Fox Sports baseball streaming with commentary from me for my young nephew, Matt, who just turned nine.  The featured game:  The Washington Nationals vs. San Diego Padres.  The Nats are the second best team in baseball and the best in the National League, much to the chagrin of my 20-year-old niece, a Met fan, Melissa.  She added to the conversation by screaming "Jason Werthless."  Yes, Jason Werth who is an arch enemy of the Mets got his second hit of the game. Our conversations went from who is Bryce Harper to wow he can hit, to is that really a double play to he was out at the plate (he was safe, actually).  Although Matt's dad is a Met fan (my brother), he is showing interest in the Yankees, and therefore life is good!  Let's get him to the Stadium...fast!

Melissa waits for the Mets

The other generation of kids here with us include college and high school age darlings (not really) and these guys were equally engaged.  Apparently the Mets are on after the Nats, which is attracting my nieces and let's not forget my son, Chris, who not only writes for us here at #BYB but is a born Yankee fan.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

Chris and I discussed the idea that Austin Romine should catch for Masahiro Tanaka- every game.  Tanaka wins with Romine behind the plate- the numbers don't lie and although our offense did not put it together for a win yesterday, Tanaka threw 13 strike outs besting Catfish Hunter on the all time list.

Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America

Then there is my mother, who is just shy of 75 who is a part of the conversation.  She watches the Yankees as much as I do and if the Yankees aren't on, she reminded my niece Melissa, she will watch the Mets.  Basically, if she is forced...hahaha!

Source: Greg Fiume/Getty Images North America

So as we head into the rubber game against the A's and later travel to Baltimore on Monday for the Memorial Day Classic at Orioles Park, it is good to know that baseball is on the menu for many folks including yours truly.  Enjoy the games, enjoy your family and keep the national pastime alive!

MEET JOE... AND WELCOME TO LIFE

I've been busy. I admit that.  I've been way too busy lately to write anything truly motivational, inspirational or even happy or sad about my New York Yankees and life in general.   When you have kids, people will tell you that it's busy, but no one truly knows what that means until you are in it.  Well... I'm in it.

But today... today I'm taking a moment because of something that I found unbelievable... yet, in my own way, I did what I was raised to do, and so, in the end, I felt as though I was able to turn it around, even for only a moment.   Yup... this doesn't have a lot to do with the New York Yankees, but more about life and respect of life in general.

Meet Joe.

Joe is a military veteran standing outside a Dunkin' Donuts. I met him on Saturday morning.  As I pulled up and parked, I watched Joe as people as young as 17 and as old as 40 walked by him, patting their pockets and telling him they had no money on them or they'd "get him on the way out."  Joe looked discouraged, but I can tell that military time served him well... still standing tall, as best he could. Still not being defeated, even though no one could help fill his tin and supporting the troops on Memorial Day weekend.  My heart was broken, and as I walked toward him, I realized I was no better than any of them.  I had no cash on me.

"What's your name, Sir", I shook his hand.  Years of life had now shrunk this man, yet, when I looked into his eyes, I saw that strapping solider he once was.

"Joe", he said.

"Joe, here's the deal. I have to grab some munchkins for my little ones, and I only have a card. But when I get out, I will make sure I get you money for you and the troops. I promise."  I winked at him.

"OK, thanks", he said.  You could tell... he knew I wasn't coming back.  He'd heard that one before.

I grabbed the munchkins, threw them on the dash of my car, shut the car door and I walked the street. I found a Deli about a half a mile up the road, walked in and got out cash.  When I walked back... there was Joe... still there... still being ignored. Nothing had changed.

I walked back up to the man.

"Joe, this is for you.  Thank you for your service, sir. Thank you for our freedom."

I put a twenty dollar bill in his bucket.  The man was blown away.

"Thank you. What's your name?" he said, shaking my hand sternly.

"Robert.  Robert Casey," I said.

"Thank you Robert.  Thanks for coming back."

As I walked to my car I turned back.

"Hey, Joe. You need a chair?"... it was the least I could do.  This man, probably in his early 80's was in for a long day...no relief in sight.

"No, no, I'm fine."

I pulled a lawn chair from my car, I leaned it against the building.

"Tell you what... if you need it, it's right here. And when you're done with it, take it home," I said.

Joe winked.  He winked like I winked 20 minutes before and he waved and as I got into my car. I gave him a honk, and went on my way. 

Americans need to wake up.  We have it too easy.  We don't realize how wonderful it is to have to freedoms we do, and we should also always let our veterans and service men and women know that we appreciate them.  That's what my parents taught me... that's what I'm telling my kids as well.

Michael Heiman/Getty Images

Life is too short.  I mean sure... there is so much we can talk about here on Bleeding Yankee Blue and it's fun to talk Yankees and share stories about being at the stadium and seeing Jeter's 3000th hit and watching a Judge diving catch or a Holliday homer or no-hitter of whatever.  And that's all good... because we're all fans.  But life is so much more...

The relationships I have made over the past 10 years are so valuable to me. The ones I have with my BYB audience are incredible. I talk more to people, not just to talk, but to learn about them.  I like the dialog because it helps me understand the other person better... what they are thinking, and liking in life.  Their dislikes... what makes them happy... you know what I mean.

Like for instance, Joey Moses, that Australian Yankee fan and BYB fanatic... he and I talk nearly every day.  He tweeted me this great picture above of him eating breakfast.  Notice his phone... BYB with his morning chow.  You can't beat that.

And yesterday he sends me this... a feature on MLB.com to customize you own shirts.  How freaking cool is this?

As I look at notes from him, or from others who ask, "Where are you?", I realize that life has really taken over... for not just me, but for many of my writers.  We are evolving in our lives, but still trying our best to find the time to write for you, however difficult it may be some days. Because if anyone who writes knows... it's about flow, and passion and not about filling pages here.  Yes, we want stories for you to read every day, but we also have to FEEL it because we know if we do that, you will see exactly how we feel about either the team or life or whatever we put out there.

Look at Suzie's Sunday feature today for instance... BASEBALL REMAINS A NATIONAL PASTIIME ACROSS GENERATIONS  for her, for many, baseball brings a family together.  Even me with my oldest... going to baseball tournaments, coaching my little guys... it's a grind in life, but opportunity for them is massive, and as parents you need to help guide them to their passions. Growth is good in making solid, disciplined individuals.

I'm full of emotion today, clearly. But meeting Joe really opened my eyes.  We need to be friendlier, folks. We need to stick together... grow together, love each other.  We need to stop being so angry and ignoring, but instead, shake hands, look people in the eyes and smile more.  Life's too short.  Life has a lot of offer.

The New York Yankees are my favorite baseball team ever.  That is why Bleeding Yankee Blue was created. But something happened to me as we are close to hitting our 7th birthday for Bleeding Yankee Blue.  You guys, our readers are the one and only reason we exist and are so damn popular.  Yes, our writers are wonderful, but if no one reads us... we're doing it for ourselves, and that's no fun.

Keep smiling out there. Keep having a dialog.  Stay happy.  Stop the hate and on this Memorial day weekend... thank a service man or woman for their service.

It's important to the evolution of what America is.  Thanks for hearing me out. 

Happy Sunday.



--Robert Casey
BYB Chief, Managing Editor & Head Writer
Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu