JUST SHUT UP & PLAY SOME DAMN BASEBALL!!

Look, plain and simple I am over this "Take a knee" bullshit in my opinion.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

I'm not writing to debate with anyone on this. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and to protest....I get it. But I also have a right to turn on my television and watch America's favorite pastime without the extra added political crap. It's September and there are seven regular season games left so we have enough drama as it is. I like the drama involved in a heart racing, nail biting game between two good teams. It's a beautiful game and an escape from reality (especially NOW) so can't we just leave it at that?

Baseball is my first passion, football is my second. Well, it was....it was the one other sport I really enjoyed when baseball was over. I have been a fan of a poor football team for years and stood by them but at this point it's too much political mumbo jumbo for me to actually watch a game. Suddenly football became the drama filled gossip girls crowd I worked so hard to avoid in High School. I respect your opinion whatever it may be but I want to see you PLAY THE GAME and hear about all of the news that comes form that.....not from you "taking a knee" and causing Americans everywhere to debate about whether it is right or wrong.

That is why I stopped watching. Colin Kaepernick started drama, is now UNEMPLOYED and I no longer watch football.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

And now suddenly the "take a knee" fiasco finally made it into my baseball world and I admit it annoys me! Congratulations rookie kid I couldn't care less about Bruce Maxwell of the Oakland A's. You "took a knee" and sent a message. You are incredibly young and have much to learn in life and in baseball. You've had your 15 minutes of fame and brought a bunch of drama into the game I love. Now who is next? Because it is coming. The newbie opened up the flood gates.

So now that it's out there and instead of the news main focus being about the Yankees blowing two games against the Jays and likely the division....we have to read Joe Girardi,Yankees players have no plans to protest national anthem. Really? I want to start a new movement here. There's a cliche that says politics and religion do not belong at the dinner table. How about political protests do not belong at a baseball game?

Photo: NJ.com

Clearly Aaron Judge gets it. I'm sure he has a very strong opinion on this too as most of us do but at least when he was asked about it he said "You know, I'm a baseball player. My job is to focus on playing baseball right now." It is, so thank you Judge. Even CC Sabathia had an opinion on it and he made that pretty clear on Saturday but he said his peace and left it at that. So when Sunday came around he didn't want to revisit it and said "I don't want to talk about that. Go to somebody else's locker and talk about protests. Why do you have to come to me? There are 40 other guys in there" read that HERE.

We have one week left in the regular season. Maxwell said his decision "had been coming for a long time" and referenced what happened in Charlottesville. He's had a while to sit and stew on that and just now decides to join the movement and "take a knee" right at the end of the season. I don't look at that and find that to be "brave" or admirable at all.

There are a lot of issues in our country right now, and I am not ignoring that. We saw how high emotions ran last year in football and now it's come into baseball. Nothing has changed for the better here, so why bring it on the field?

I just want to watch some baseball, Maxwell! I didn't know who you were before this. I know enough about you now, but it doesn't make me want to learn anymore.

Just play ball! There's not a lot of it left...




--Jeana Bellezza

BYB Managing Editor 
Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ

COLIN KAEPERNICK & AMERICAN VALUES

The biggest sports news story right now has to be Colin Kaepernick. It's not a Yankees story or even a baseball story per se. It has become deeply political, though I have no intention of addressing politics here. I am looking at this a sports story that strikes at the heart of the American cultural landscape. You have heard us here at BYB talk about how important it is for kids to have good role models and how sports figures play a major role in that. Kaepernick put a major hot-button issue front and center, and now there is no bigger sports story, no bigger conversation topic than that.

In case you have spent the last week hiking in the woods without power, a cell phone, or a TV, here's the recap. On Friday night's preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers, 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick was photographed sitting on a bench while everyone else in the stadium stood for the playing of the National Anthem. When asked why he said:

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

When I first heard about it, I was annoyed. I am patriotic to the core. Ask my wife who sees me put on an American flag pin and ribbon every 9/11. Ask anyone who has sat next to me at the ballpark during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. I stand to face the flag directly with my hand over my heart. I know every word, unlike those who mumble through the song. I sing regardless of whether or not anyone else is singing, even before the "and the rocket's red glare" part. I taught my kids to do the same. It's a sign of respect. So this act of protest bothered me. That is until I thought about it some more.

I agree with his view on the injustices in America, though I would have expressed it differently. After a lot of thought, I wholeheartedly support both his right to protest and the way he expressed that protest. That may sound like the complete opposite of what I said in the previous paragraph. It's not. It's perfectly in line with patriotic American values. I just had to remind myself what American values really are.

One value which is getting a lot of air-time right now is the right to free speech. His supporters are using that to defend Kaepernick. His detractors, which are many, are exercising their own free speech in some pretty creative ways. My favorites are the videos of 49ers fans burning their Kaepernick jerseys. To those fans, once he is named the starting QB (he is #1 on most major published depth charts), I hope you all plan to burn your season tickets and possibly your playoff tickets too. I mean, I don't know how you burn one and keep the other. I also cannot figure out if you plan to boo him when he throws a touchdown, especially if it's a game-winner.

Here's the thing. You all are within your right to criticize, but you may be missing another subtle nuance of free speech. The power of free speech is not found when you express agreement. It is found in the moment you DISAGREE. Think of the most repressive government in the world, and imagine I dropped you into the middle of it. As long as you say things with which they agree, you are free to say anything that's on your mind and you'll have nothing to worry about. That's not freedom of speech. If, however, you say something with which they disagree, or that they do not allow you to say, your situation goes dark fast. That's where freedom of speech matters. It's when you can express a view with which people disagree. That's what it was designed for. It's been a core American value since 1776.

That said, I have a hard time tolerating the level of disrespect hurled at him because he expressed his viewpoint. We talk about respect for the flag that represents freedom of speech and expression and we vilify someone for exercising those rights. It's contradictory and hypocritical. You might disagree with Colin Kaepernick. No problem. Go ahead and disagree. But don't say that he is being un-American or a traitor. Standing up for what's right and fighting for "liberty and justice for all" is at the heart of being an American. Protest over offenses and oppression is explicitly and repeatedly stated in the Declaration of Independence. Nobody rips Thomas Jefferson for that.

Some accuse him of betraying and disrespecting our military and those who died for our freedoms. Completely untrue. Just listen to what he said. "I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone. That's not happening. People are dying in vain because this country isn't holding their end of the bargain up, as far as giving freedom and justice, liberty to everybody. " This, of course, was said after the part about not standing for the National Anthem. Many may have stopped listening by the time he said that. Still, judging by how #VeteransForKaepernick is trending, I'd say the message is getting through.

Okay, final wrap-up on this. The guy is a well-known sports athlete who is using his status as a platform to promote the idea that we should do better as a country. It's his opinion, and he's entitled to it. The same could have been said of Muhammad Ali, who protested the Vietnam War by refusing to report for the draft. Bringing it back to baseball, it could have been said of Jackie Robinson. Near the end of his life, he said "I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world." (I Never Had It Made, Jackie Robinson, Alfred Duckett). It could have been said of Carlos Delgado who protested by refusing to take the field during the singing of God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. I read an interesting quote by Gregg Zaun, Delgado's teammate during that time. "He has his opinion and he’s decided to use that as his platform. Whether or not I agree with him, I salute him." I concur. Whether or not I agree with Colin Kaepernick, I salute him.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

AN OPEN LETTER TO COLIN KAEPERNICK

Dear Mr. Colin Kaepernick,

I write this in hopes that somehow in your busy life you may read this. As a sports figure you have a big platform in which to voice your opinion. We all do thanks to the freedom we enjoy in this country but you have an even bigger one. You are a public figure. I am just a woman who has my own opinions. I may not be a celebrity, but I do have a blog to use for my own platform.

As a white female, I cannot write about oppression. I cannot empathize with anyone who has felt undermined, oppressed or ignored. However, what I can talk about is the one thing we all have in common here and that is how truly blessed we all are to have our freedom here. You and I can walk out in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight and choose to protest about anything we want. There are other countries around the world who cannot do this and that came with a cost. Our freedom is not free. You and I have all of these privileges because of people that came long before us fought for them. They sacrificed their lives for them, and that cannot be forgotten and we need to respect that.

I want to be clear that this is not about politics. I cannot and will not make this a political issue because I admit that I am biased. My boyfriend is my rock, and he works in law enforcement. I hear about the demands of his job and his peers everyday. I see and hear things that you may not even realize so I am biased. You talk about seeing bodies in the street but you cannot imagine that being a part of your everyday life and I can assure you that is an even harder burden to bare. So again this is not about politics but what this is about is patriotism and honoring our country which is something that needs to be addressed because I believe you are missing the bigger picture. The United States is not your problem, it is the challenges we face as a nation and those are two different issues so your way of addressing this is misguided.

I look at the world today and realize that the world is full of hate. Somewhere along the way, we started fighting each other and we have gone backwards. We have enough hatred in the world. The world can see your frustration. We heard it in your voice when you told reporters why you chose not to stand for the National Anthem, but taking a stand for oppression and not respecting our flag are two very different things.

You and I are very fortunate and we have a lot to be thankful for. We may not have the lives we do now if we did not live in this country that our military sacrificed their lives for. I found an interesting photo on the Internet of a football signed by you that says "God bless our troops" so I am confused why you do not want to pay your respects to them and honor our country's flag. That flag stands because of our troops. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Your actions do not support the words written on that football, and I find that disheartening.

It is your right to voice your opinion and I respect that. However, when you said "I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag or a country that oppresses black people and people of color" I think you are forgetting that the anthem and that flag you refused to stand for have given you the right to speak in the first place. People died for that flag! I understand you have your own personal feelings on this matter because you are part African American and I cannot relate but again I think you are missing something important here. Our troops sacrifice is the reason why you are here chasing your dream and getting paid $19 million this season so with all due respect, I have an issue with this. You need to remember that you are lucky to have been born here. You are lucky to have raw athletic talent that so many of us will never have and you get to play a GAME for a job....and you make a ton of money playing this game. Thank a soldier for that!

Just as you have the right to make a stand in this, so do I. You are a public figure who is not looking at the bigger picture here. There are kids who look up to you and will follow in your footsteps. Likewise, you are also influencing other athletes like rookie linebacker Myke Tavarres who initially said he would follow your lead and then allegedly changed his mind, read that HERE. You are influencing new faces in football so you need to evaluate your own actions even more closely. Even former 49er and football legend Jerry Rice does not understand your antics....and he is a black man. He has the same concerns as you, he just knows how to present himself and the issues accordingly.

All lives matter. So much going on in this world today.Can we all just get along! Colin,I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag.

— Jerry Rice (@JerryRice) August 30, 2016

You are a role model to other players and kids alike and while I can appreciate your desire to bring attention to issues in our country you are only adding more fuel to the fire. You are spreading hatred, which the world already has enough of. You said "this is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed....if they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right." You sir are taking a stand against patriotism, not oppression. You are part of the problem and not the solution and yes, I think you should face some consequences for that.

As disturbed as I am by your choice to not stand and honor our troops I am even more disturbed by your choice to further exploit your opinions with your Fidel Castro shirt on Monday. You have been very vocal about how black people are oppressed but I question how much you know about Fidel Castro. How can you stand against oppression when you are wearing a Castro shirt?! I want to give you the benefit of the doubt here but your fashion statement is nothing short of ignorance. I will not patronize you with a history lesson but Castro is no hero. Castro oppressed more people than anyone in the western hemisphere for decades, much longer than you and I have been alive! You make millions of dollars and lead a comfortable life so how are you oppressed? If you feel like you are oppressed now, try living under a dictatorship like Castro's and then you will know what it is like to be oppressed. Your shirt with Malcolm X and Fidel Castro that says "Like Minds Think Alike" is not cute and it is not funny and quite frankly I find it ignorant and there is no excuse for this.

I sincerely hope that you will reconsider your decision to not stand up for the National Anthem at your next game. You must not realize how much influence you have over people. Use your passion for equality in a productive manner. Reach out in your community and be the leader and start making that change that you want to see because that can be infectious! Stop pointing the finger and do something about it! Use your celebrity and resources for good rather than a media circus. You can start a revolution. Choose that instead of spreading ignorance and disrespecting your country. We need to have a lot of serious discussions in this country about race and inequality and just like you have the constitutional right to disrespect our flag, I have that same right to tell you that I believe that what you did is wrong and there is no justification for this.

Respectfully,

Jeana Bellezza

 --Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer & Editor
  Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ

 

MAN CANDY MONDAY!

This one goes out to the ladies! Sure, baseball is male dominated, and Bleeding Yankee Blue shows a lot of what men out there like; baseball, the Yankees and... sometimes beautiful women. Yes, they are all over the page, in posts, in ads and sometimes we get emails about it.  Ladies, considering this site has a good representation of women contributing here, we wanted to tell you that we hear you loud and clear! You want some eye candy and we are going to give it to you!

So... boss man Casey has some photos, ads on the site including some women in their underwear and even Fredrick's of Hollywood stuff. We get it, but now it is our turn to have some fun! I can't think about anything more fun right now than this picture. Helllllllooooooo there!  Look at those abs!  Don't be shy, Brett Gardner, at least that is who we think it is. We wouldn't mind seeing some more of these leaked out into cyberspace.

Remember this face below? Or....those tattoos? I know I certainly haven't forgotten. It's OK Russell Martin, you may play for the Blue Jays now and I won't be able to overlook that for long, but I can for as long as I sit and stare at this picture.  

We can't have a post about a guy showing it all off for us without throwing Alex Rodriguez in the mix! I mean, right??? Hello....this "mirror shot" will never get old.  He doesn't need to be shirtless to peak our interest. Look at those arms! This picture of him is what I always think of right away. At first because I thought it was ridiculous, but then I admittedly did a double take. Don't judge me!

OK, so he isn't a Yankee or even a baseball player for that matter but Colin Kaepernick is one sexy piece of man meat. The tattoos....the chest....the abs....we love all of it. Baseball is always my first passion, but I will be happy to  watch this man on the football field. I know he has a crush on Beyonce, but we would be happy to fill her shoes.

We haven't forgotten about Robinson Cano either. Yea, I know. We're not supposed to like him cause of Seattle and the contract... Yea, don't care. We can definitely still appreciate a little Cano, don't ya know!

Okay, maybe one more of Cano?

Why'd you have to go, Cano?

And can we talk for a second about Giancarlo Stanton? Those abs are absolutely drool-worthy. Talk about the perfect washboard. He certainly keeps it muy Caliente en Miami!

And since one of us here (*cough Jeana*cough) has an unwavering loyalty to Mark Teixeira it goes without saying that he is going to be included in this right? Come on, that is a given. He cleans up really nice!

Now, there is another player that plays out in Queens. I know, I know....we don't talk about the Mets here but come on David Wright is some serious eye candy! I will just look at the picture and ignore the uniform.

And stepping out of the scope of sports altogether, we give you Idris Elba. There is something undeniably attractive about a man in a well-tailored suit. Kind of makes you sit up and take notice, don't you think?

Speaking of Hollywood and well-tailored suits, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, anyone?

What about Theo James? Suddenly I want to want Divergent and Insurgent OVER and OVER again. Maybe I can be cast as the female lead for the next movie instead. No? OK, you can't blame a girl for dreaming.

If you follow the NBA, then you are no stranger to Dwyane Wade. Sharp dresser, and excellent ball player. We see you, darling!

And to not be out-done, Henrik Lundqvist. To be honest, I only just started watching hockey, and hardly understand it. But I will watch every single Rangers game if it means I get to see Lundqvist.

Sports is a male dominated world. It's hard for us sports savvy ladies to be taken seriously and to be given the respect that we deserve. No, we're not groupies, and no it's not about who has the nicest butt. A lot of women I know can run laps around their male counterparts with their sports knowledge. But, we're also human. So yea, sometimes we want to appreciate an attractive man and not be judged for it. We hear you, ladies.

Casey, you can keep your beautiful ladies and your sexy female ads. No biggie! Just know that we're watching, and we're looking out for our lady readers. This one's for you gals!

(In photo: Brock O'Hurn) 

Your move Casey!


   

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 

Twitter: @e_morales1804

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