WHEN THE BYB YANKEE FAMILY SPEAKS

Plenty of reaction to my post BEING A FAN WHEN YOU HAVE NO FAITH over the past 24 hours. I did not expect that. 

I'm fine. I'm not suicidal... I'm frustrated and I've lost the heart for my team right now.  Will BYB end? I've seriously considered it. There's only so many different ways you can write that the Yankees leadership has failed us fans.  You gotta appreciate Suzie Pinstripe's post today titled: YANKEES WIN NEW AWARDS... read it. It's about being a true Yankee fan and her mom's perfect words.  That mindset is beautiful.  

But fandom is really an individual thing and the idea of me writing about frustration for my team every day just seems manic and painful.  What's the point?  I did get some advice from many readers saying "See how the season plays out" and "this space won't be the same if you're gone" and that's fair and nice of everyone. I mean, I'll always be a "fan", I just wouldn't be presenting my heart's true feelings for my team every day.  

I did have one reader on Facebook write "It's OK to go away."  Trust me, you don't hurt my feelings with your 200 friends, pal.  You don't stick around in cyberspace since September 2010 if you weren't relevant.  Bleeding Yankee Blue is still here cause we have alot to say and we don't hold back... you still have those 200 friends. Have fun with that.  

But look, ultimately it comes down to the Yankees, right? We're all annoyed, frustrated, happy, concerned, hopeful... insert the word here.  I've always had the approach that it it's how I feel that moment and write about it. That is where I am and have been for months. the Yankees front office and leadership is awful.  They lie to the fans; they don't make true significant changes and a lot needs to change but won't.  We've all been fooled once again.  

And so yea, my problem is I feel this way every day when it comes to my team... that's just me.  But look, I am thankful for the notes and comments and rally cry to keep Bleeding Yankee Blue going.  I haven't truly decided yet.  We will see.  

In the meantime, I wanted to share this heartfelt fan's email.  His name is Rob, and he is a Yankee fan true and true and wrote this to me. I asked him to share it with our audience and he said sure... so here it is.  Thanks Rob

Hey Folks:

I'm not saying you're wrong about Marcus Stroman, but I am saying you might be.

Free agency has upset old notions of team loyalty, and the age of social media magnifies a lot of stuff. Like the NBA or a fight, there's a lot of hype on social media that should be taken with a grain of salt. One could even say that Stroman's brashness will help him in Da' Bronx. (It did wonders for Reggie Jackson, who never loved the Yankees but loved being the straw...)

I might remind you that some very significant Yankees in their day used to lambaste the team. Roger Clemens hated the Yankees–until he came to love them. Ditto Wade Boggs, Johnny Damon, Graig Nettles, and David Cone to name a few others.

There are, of course, players who came to town that hated it and did better elsewhere: Kevin Brown, Ed Whitson, Kyle Farnsworth, Sonny Gray, A. J. Burnett, Carl Pavano, Rick Cerone, Don Baylor. Jacoby Ellsbury never really fit in either and I sincerely wonder about Carlos Rodon.

But agents, GMs, and money talk these days. Jordan Montgomery prefers to stay in Texas, but do you think he'd love the Yankees again if they made him an offer that he & Scott Boras couldn't refuse?

For the record, I've never been a huge fan of Stroman, but if you ask me if I think he'll be better than Rodon or Schmidt, yeah, I do. I also think Cashman has worn out his welcome.

But if Hal's money was mine, I'd make that can't-refuse-offer to Montgomery. That's WAY better than dumping out the minors for Dylan Cease.


Cheers,
Rob


P.S. My MA residency notwithstanding, I've been a Yankees fan since the days of Mickey Mantle.

Sometimes you need an outside perspective to make you understand where we've been and where we need to go. Everything Rob said came back to me like a rush. He's right. He's right in many examples. Let's hope stuff like this can reset my mind and refresh me as we are walking into spring training. Great letter, Rob.... we appreciate you here at BYB.


Happy Sunday everyone. Make today great. Keep truckin'.

--Robert Casey
Bleeding Yankee Blue Chief
Twitter: @bleednyankeeblu