THE YANKEES ARE CASTAWAYS

Source: AP

Very fitting that the Tom Hanks iconic movie "Castaway" was running concurrent to the Yankees game in Tropicana Field on Tuesday night. Or was it the Tampa Bay Rays game? As my friend texted me after the game, "We RoDONE." The Yankees offense just was lights out, but Carlos Rodon certainly was not- a clear recipe for disaster. The kind of disaster that sent Hanks to a deserted island. Yes, the Yankees are going down the same rough seas, held captive by their own devices and sinking down the standings.

“You can hit some rough spots and we’re certainly as rough as they come right now,” Cashman said. “It can go the other way too rather quickly," reported NJ.com before Tuesday's 5-3 loss against the Rays. On a night that is memorable in Yankees history where Derek Jeter clobbered his 3,000th hit against the Rays back in 2011, things continue to spiral for the Bombers.

"As Cashman noted, this team has several areas to improve upon — those that he’ll need to address before this month’s trade deadline. But Rodón continues to dig his club into a hole every time he takes the ball these days. And to make it even more demoralizing, these starts are all following the exact same trend," reported NJ.com.

Prior to this game, the Yankees went 1-5 over their last homestand which included a sweep by the Cincinnati Reds. And over the last 23 games, they have been the worst team in baseball. So what is the problem? Why are things going so bad? Is it mindset? Is it urgency? Both of these questions came up in the post-game show with Jack Curry and Bob Lorenz.

"It was a tidal wave of success here for the first two months and then you closed out June into July in a really rough patch for an extended period of time," Cashman said. "We got to be playing better than we currently are right now," reported ESPN. 

Is there a rescue in sight? How do the Yankees get on the lifeboat? First, they have to address the pitching which as Curry said, seems to have fallen off of a cliff. Then there is this sense of urgency or lack thereof. What happened to the DAWGS? What happened to the hustle? 

If the Yankees don't right the ship, soon, they will be left for dead. Trades could help. Getting players healthy could help. And with the All Star Break fast approaching, perhaps just a break in the action is in order. "We're going to be open-minded to a lot of different things," Cashman said. "I'm not going to point out anything specific but we definitely have areas to improve upon and we'll do our best. We just got to figure our way through this ourselves and hopefully we can add some outside pieces at some point," reported ESPN.

It is a long season and only the fearless survive. Do the Yankees have those kind of enduring survival skills? Can they weather this storm? I want to say yes. But right now, I just see them sipping coconut juice and building fires like castaways lost and siloed but hopefully not defeated. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

IF TRUE, HUGE NEWS ABOUT JETER & MATTINGLY COULD BE COMING TO US YANKEE FANS!

If you love Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter as much as I do, you are going to love this scoop from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. Put it this way, when the Yankees lost in the post season, I was calling for Aaron Boone's head, and many wanted Cashman gone too.  Of course, the timing was right because it was announced around the same time that Mattingly wouldn't be back in Miami and Jeter, of course, had already left that franchise. So... it appeared that things could really happen when it came to replacing those dudes.  But we all knew in the back of our minds that it wouldn't happen, and it didn't.  But this news is great and if true, would really be spectacular to spicing up the Yankee franchise after another season of losing.

Marchand writes:

"As YES begins constructing its broadcast lineup for next year, it has discussed the possibility of making an attempt for two of the greatest and most popular Yankees in the team’s history – Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly.

“You don’t say no to Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly, if there is a place for them in your universe, you find a way to make it work,” YES president of programming and production John Filippelli told The Post when asked about the potential plans. “We haven’t had any in-depth discussion with either. If they are A) available and B) interested, you probably at least have to have a conversation.”

Now I am a gigantic fan of Filippelli as well. What he built over there at the YES Network is amazing.  Of course, I am also huge fans of Bob Lorenz and Jack Curry too so if there is a way to add Donnie and Derek, I will be overwhelmingly thrilled.

Well, we shall see. It's always fun to dream. This would juice this brand 1000% for us Yankee fans. I hope things happen.

BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE'S FAVORITE 5 INTERVIEWS

Because there is literally no news, except for the pandemic... I thought we'd have some fun. In the past we have done a ton of great interviews here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  I was just reading through all of them.  I want to right now take a moment and share the people, the links and my favorite quotes from those interviews. Also, keep in mind, these are my 5 favorite interviews.  Mine... Robert Casey's... the BYB Chief.  I have great writers and if they want to make an extra companion piece follow-up  to this with their favorite 5, I will welcome it. It can be fun.  Anyway... here it goes.

NUMBER 5:

My 5th favorite interview from BYB has to be with CC & Amber Sabathia. These 2 are amazing people, and they agreed to do an interview with us for a Christmas morning release back in 2013.  Please read: CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR: INTERVIEW WITH THE SABATHIAS.

Here's a great quote from that interview: 

CC Sabathia: "I enjoyed my years in Cleveland and they will always be a part of my baseball family, the city is great and the fans are great. It's never easy to leave an organization you played with since day one…but I was traded to the Brewers and though I was there for only a few months, I enjoyed my teammates, and the fans were very welcoming. But nothing can compare to New York. It really is a family organization, with great players around you and you have a chance to win every year, and that’s what you want as a player. The fans are the best, very passionate and knowledgeable and we’re playing on the largest stage….We love being here in NYC!" 

NUMBER 4: 

My 4th is with Paul O'Neill. A class act all the way. Loved that he took the time to chat with us, and always wanted to interview him. This interview was done in December 2011. Please read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: PAUL O'NEILL. Here's a great quote from that interview.

Check this out:

BYB: My son once asked me why you got so angry if you got an out in a big moment. I told him because Paul O’Neill wanted to hit the ball every time. Would that be a safe assessment of your passion for the game? 

Paul O'Neill: That’s half of it. I tend to be a perfectionist, hating failure. That may have started long ago as the youngest of six. There were so many of us, you sort of had to vie for dad’s praise and attention. But baseball is a game where great hitters get beat 7 out of 10 times. Where a guy could play fifteen years and feel accomplished because he has two World Series rings. Over 95% of roster players go home losing every year in baseball. I probably needed a thicker skin. I spent too many sleepless nights going over strikeouts or popups. 

NUMBER 3:

My 3rd has got to be our first interview on BYB ever... back in May of 2011, and it was with my man Steve Karsay who was candid and honest and awesome. Please read: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: STEVE KARSAY.

Karsay helped get us some exposure and we will always appreciate him. In fact, I may reach out to him again and do a follow-up, this time by podcast on BYB Media. Anyway, this is my favorite quote from him:

Steve Karsay: Growing up and enjoying the game, I had many favorite players. There were so many it is hard to choose just one. I'll do my best. From the time that I was young, I always liked Thurman Munson and Ron Guidry. Goose Gossage was a favorite to watch as was Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden, Oh and you can't forget Gary Carter. The last one I would have to clump in there would be Roger Clemens and the reason was, I liked to watch him play and compete. For me, to be able to watch these guys and be able to meet them and to actually have a chance to be their teammate was definitely something special. 

NUMBER 2:

My next favorite is Nancy Newman. She's smart and sexy and just the best and appreciates us and we appreciate her! And by the way, we love Bob Lorenz, Meredith Marakovits, Kenny Singleton, Jack Curry too.  All I'm saying is Nancy was just a smidge extra special for me personally. We did this interview with Nancy in January of 2015. Please read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: NANCY NEWMAN

Here's my favorite quote and a fun one for me:

BYB: I just want to say, chatting with you over the past few weeks, it's refreshing to know that I am not the only one who still uses a Blackberry. Apparently you do too, huh? Random I know, but explain to our audience why you like it when it comes to correspondence... Frankly, I'm tired of explaining myself... ha ha 

Nancy Newman: I find myself explaining my Blackberry status to people, too!! I just love my Blackberry and have not been able to "consciously uncouple" with it ! You can't beat the security features and that classic keyboard! Glad to have you with me on that! I'm a Blackberry and iPad girl.

Nancy and I will always have the Blackberry bond.

NUMBER 1:

Laura and Jorge Posada of course. Love these 2 and always have.  They are good people, private and family oriented.  Laura is building a successful career these days now that Jorge is retired and these 2 have always been amazing with it comes to support for Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Please read THE FULL POSADA INTERVIEW. 

Here's my favorite quote from each of them:

BYB: We have to know... How did you and Jorge meet? 

Laura: We met when we were teenagers on a baseball field where he was the umpire for my softball game. After the game ended, we both went our separate ways until we met again at a restaurant in Puerto Rico. After a mutual friend introduced us, he remembered he had met me at the softball game and told his roommate I was the girl he wanted to marry. 

BYB: Jorge, how do you feel about the phrase "Core Four" describing you, Jeet, Mariano and Andy? 

Jorge: It's an honor because they are my brothers. We grew up together and spending so many years as teammates is something I will never forget. 

I hope you all enjoyed this. Hey, Suzanne, Jeana and Missy... you guys go next!

YOU'VE ALREADY HAD 9 YEARS OF BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE!

It's hard to believe, but September 14th was the 9 year anniversary of Bleeding Yankee Blue.  Back then I was just a fan who had some problems with the way Joe Girardi was handling the Yankee bullpen and how the idea of "winning at all costs" wasn't about sitting a better player for a worse one, but WINNING with all you got! And so, frustrated, annoyed and aggravated... I make a blog and posted a story.  The story was titled WHY LAST NIGHT WAS IMPORTANT.

That story was then sent to a few friends that had no idea that it was me.  With that, a few shares and when I woke up the next day, nearly 30 people had read it. I didn't know them, but it just goes to show that the power of social media is important.

Since then BYB has seen writers come and go, we've sold sweatshirts, shirts, underwear... we've interviewed Yankees present and former... we even built solid relationships.  I consider people like Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record a friend.  I can email Jack Curry whenever I want. I am friends with Ty Hensley and his lovely family. Mike O'Hara and I are like brothers at this point. Clay Rapada and I keep in touch, Brendan and Sharyn Ryan are my friends... just good people.  And being fans of the Sabathias is one thing... but knowing them personally and seeing just how sweet Amber truly is...is just dynamic.  I will also always be grateful to Laura and Jorge Posada, who, not only supported BYB back then, but we can still stay in touch and Laura is making her own career now, while Jorge can retire.  Hey... and how often do you get to break chops with Bob Lorenz?  I know I can whenever I want.  Same with Nancy Newman... one of my favs and just an incredible person to boot! Nancy, I owe you a text!

The point is, it may have taken a while, but Bleeding Yankee Blue is legit. We found friends through trust, and that's what we wanted. We wanted our audience to first love us, but then share us, talk about us, all the while allowing us to build solid relationships with regular folks as well as the Yankee family.  We wanted a piece of it to call our own, without being snobs... without being ego maniacs.

We've done that!

September 14, 2010 is our 9 year anniversary, but we wouldn't still be doing this if you didn't believe in us.  We wouldn't be a thing without my truly diehard writers in Suzie Pinstripe, Jeana Bellezza and Ike Dimitriadis and of course newcomer Missy O'Rourke.  They've helped push the brand forward. They've helped find our audience of die-hard readers.

Thank you.  Thank you to our amazing audience. You wow me every time.  Without your opinions, your likes, you disagreements, your shares and your banter with us, we would not be here.  But while blogs like River Ave Blue have called it a day, we don't and that's because of you.

I am forever grateful for your passion for the Yankees and for us.  My friendships, even with many of you readers is so incredible to me.  Becki, Jessica, Charles, Joey, Rose, Deb, Joan, Doug... and so many of you have made me blessed.  I love you all for that bond. It's tight... tighter than I could have ever imagined! I appreciate you.

Life goes pretty fast... but with a bond, friends, I will never feel rushed. It's a steady pace... and we hope to keep going. Why? Because you deserve it and because we love to deliver it to you.

Thanks for being loyal.  Happy 9 year Anniversary to us.  Wow.

--Robert Casey
BYB Chief and Head Writer
Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu

FOR ME... IT'S ABOUT RESPECT

My first instinct was to run up on them, grab one of them by the shoulders and blurt out "Can you PLEASE tell the Yankee audience that Manny's not coming? They are all driving me crazy!"  Then I would have laughed like Henry Hill after he realized he just dodged getting whacked by Tommy in the whole, "You think I'm a clown", dialog...

But I don't really know these guys.  They're just friends in my head.

Jack Curry and Bob Lorenz were standing behind me at the bar in Del Frisco's and I realized after my fantasy introduction that I wasn't gonna do that at all.  That's because they were out on the town with their wives and friends and it just wasn't right. John Flaherty was there too. Smiling, laughing, having a great time.  And so, I just didn't do it. I wouldn't do it. I even declined myself to take a picture. No Selfie, no candid. They were trying to live their life. They were trying to cut loose, blow off some steam on a Friday night.  And so, I hung with my bud, we shot the shit and then we made our way to the next place.  It's what I do, I don't bother celebs and I rarely interrupt them trying to unwind.

I saw @JackCurryYES , @boblorenz and @flash17yes at @DelFriscosNYC tonight. Dare I say, they looked even cooler in person...chillin’ and off YES than when they’re in the studio. And I did the right thing. I didn’t bother them on their night off. Hey guys! #Boss #BYB

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) January 19, 2019

Call me a fool.  After all, I've been reading Jack Curry since he was with the New York Times.  We've been breaking chops with Bob Lorenz for years here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  But that doesn't give me any type of authority to just go jump into their conversation. For me, it's about respect.

But why am I writing this? Because afterwards, they told me I could. And the next time, I would.

You should have said hello. https://t.co/JTAmn9BwgY

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 19, 2019

Definitely say Hello next time, Robert. Or is that Bob? Or Bobby? 😄 https://t.co/RYHi7GTKwh

— Bob Lorenz (@boblorenz) January 19, 2019

You gotta love the YES Network family. They got it on lock. Curry, Lorenz, Flash, Coney, O'Neill, Newman.... all of them. They are terrific people.  But more importantly, us folks? We feel like they're our friends. They light up the camera, they give us great info every time they're on. And that's why I love these guys.  They don't get caught up in the cesspool of Twitter. They're old school... class acts.

That's what I see on the air. That's what I saw last night on Del Friscos.

Thanks for the invite guys.  I'll do my best Henry Hill next time.

Keep up the great work! Nice seeing you... kind of.

MY MINI-CRUSH ON NANCY NEWMAN

Brains, looks and just really great news items and coverage. She's the full package. Who doesn't love Nancy Newman and all she does?

I always tune in for Nancy Newman. If you don't you should.

I got to know Nancy a few years ago when BYB did an interview with her here. Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: NANCY NEWMAN. Every once in a while we chat. Usually just to check in, sometimes it's just to say Happy Holidays or something.

In the cage with @Giancarlo818 #MVP #BattingPractice #YankeeStadium #Yankees -- it's a beautiful day for baseball @YESNetwork pic.twitter.com/25rZ6YVlQl

— Nancy Newman (@NancyNewmanYES) April 23, 2018

Truth be told, it's been a while and so I thought I'd surprise her this morning, but I was recently watching her Twitter and just so impressed with her career and her gig at the YES Network now.  She does some really great stuff.



And you know what I love? The evolution of YES in general. Throughout the YES Network's history, they did something great.  Sure we have the staples in the booth like Kay, Singleton, Lorenz and Flaherty, O'Neill, but their studio is always tops, and in their 2018 promo, EVERYONE is represented!  This shows the value of all of these folks and Nancy is huge part of that.

So this is my Sunday morning message! Hey Nancy! We love you at Bleeding Yankee Blue. We love all you guys!  Keep up the great work!

And big shoutout to my man, Jack Curry! I didn't forget you pal!

LUCKY 7! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BYB!

“I love you guys! The greatest Yankee site I've ever read! It's in my bookmarks!"

--BYB Reader

I woke up looking at my clock today.  6:35am... and September 14th. I literally stared at it for a moment. I felt like I had something to do today, my mind was a fog. I got up, grabbed my clothes and hit the shower.  Then I remembered... today's BYB's 7th birthday.  I cannot believe it.

It's an amazing thing when you think about it.  Some of our readers have literally been with us since the beginning, and they're still here.  But luckily for us, they aren't just readers now... they are our friends these days.  They root us on, support us, share us and wear us.

We have newcomers coming in once in a while. They ask questions, sometimes they hate because they just don't understand what we do here on Bleeding Yankee Blue. A lot of times they just come into our site and expect us to spew our opinions and to hell with everyone else. 

Never been the case here... and once they recognize that... the banter starts and relationships form.  We are here for the fans... we're not here to try and be right.  Opinion matters... all of it, and that is what I have put together here.

My writers are tops.  No one better in the blog community and the reason why I know that is because readers tell us, like... almost every day.  I love that. It gives me chills, because what started as a toy for me and my friends really became an appointment for all of you. 

You look for the latest from Suzie Pinstripe or Jeana Bellezza.  You like to hear the harsh and sometimes true opinions of Barry Millman. You enjoy Michael Carnesi and always want check in on Mike O'Hara, because, well... he's Mike O'Hara, and while he's not writing a ton these days, trust me, he is still a vital piece of the BYB community.

BYB is 7 because you guys didn't give up on us.  Through our rough patches... through the times where we were rolling and readership was up.  Some how, some way we did it our way and gained success.  Remember, I know nothing about the Internet. I learned.  I started this blog on September 10, 2014 with not a clue in the world of how it worked. But I did like to see that people checked in on my opinions. Next thing you know, I did another story, and it happened again.  And then more readers, and suddenly I was on my way. These days, we are on our way.

It's been quite flattering and amazing actually.  We have interviewed top Yankees, top YES network talent, and for me personally, there are big time people in my own life that I have always admired and always wanted to meet, and over time, through this "train that could" of BYB... I was able to shake their hand in person and let them know face to face that I admire them.  It's quite wonderful.  It proves something very significant to me;  while not as big as Beacher Report at this very moment... we're huge among the grassroots and loved by many of our readers.  Not only that, we are respected.

Photo: Bergen Record's Pete Caldera

Respect is a powerful thing.  It's that thing that lets me know that there's a stature that now comes with BYB.  Guys like Jack Curry and Bob Lorenz and Nancy Newman and Pete Caldera and Bryan Hoch follow us.  They like to read and sometimes laugh, but they can dig in on our "fan anaylsis" as well. Again, we're honest, and I think that's refreshing. It's real. It's very real.

Thank you.

I mean that from the bottom of my heart.  As I write this I get emotional.  You are the reason we write this blog every single day.  You are the reason we wake up early or stay up way to late.  You like our product, and we love that you love it.  That means we have connected.

I was told so many times that this was "stupid".  "Why would you have such an ugly blog with a family underlining message. IT'S ABOUT THE YANKEES! Don't insert yourself!"   True email by the way who no longer writes me.  And to respond here publically... Why? Well, because the Yankees ARE family, and if you see baseball and life as being very similar, you will understand the universe. I swear to God.  Baseball and life share the same highs and lows, and if you understand the stepping stones, you will get it.  And while BYB didn't start that way, there is no question that this is what we have evolved into.

Vintage photo of Marci Hensley, mother of Ty Hensley

Family.  That's us, folks.  7 years on the map is no joke, and it's a perfect combination of timing for us here at BYB.  My writers have come and gone, but the ones that left still support us, and we have very solid friendships. The writers we have now are bonding like crazy with our readers.  I have regular pow-wows with my own writers. I answer questions, have done seminars for Suzie Pinstripe, made speeches for small groups of bloggers that want to know the "secrets". Here's the secret, folks... be honest, be nice and work hard.  That's what my writers do here.  If you can't do that, good luck.  That's the formula, write it down.

I leave you all with this, a story I wrote in 2014 that will forever stay close to my heart. It's titled I THINK WE HAVE BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE FANS NOW! Here's a portion of it:

" Recently I was out with a friend of mine and we literally ran into a guy wearing a Bleeding Yankee Blue “What’s your blood type?” Shirt on the streets of Manhattan.

I nudged my buddy and pointed over at the guy.

“Holy Shit, go tell him who you are?”

“No. What the hell does that even mean?” I said.

“Do it, I want to see his face!”  Now look, I’ve known this guy for 20 years.  He’s a ball buster and a trouble maker and I should have dropped him a long time ago. But he’s a loyal friend and so, we see each other once in a while.

Anyway, I refused make a scene. Besides, it's more gratifying for me to see you guys wearing my BYB stuff and me sitting back and enjoying it. I’m a regular dude with a regular life and I don’t need the fanfare.  I do however, appreciate you wearing us and supporting us.

As the guy was buying a pretzel, my buddy went over to him. “Where’d you get that shirt?”

“BleedingYankeeBlue.com!" He rattled it off the tongue like he knew it was coming.  “I gotta get me one of those”, my buddy said with a smirk. The guy turned around quickly. “You can’t get this shirt anymore. I’ve been reading them for years. It’s vintage now.”  He started to laugh.  My pal, always the jokster, laughed harder, and patted him on the back like they'd known each other for life. They looked like 2 old friends or something.  “See that guy," he pointed at me, "He’s Casey.”
“Crap”, I said under my breath smiling.  I knew it was coming.

“Get the F**k outta here!”  The man walked over to me. There was pretzel mustard in his mustache. He was happy to see me.

“Are you F**king with me right now?”

“No, it’s me," I said, "Nice shirt!” We shook hands.

“I love you guys! The greatest Yankee site I've ever read! It's in my bookmarks," he said."

My fondest day as the BYB Chief.  And today's a happier one.  Happy 7th birthday to Bleeding Yankee Blue.  A special thanks to my writers who never quit on me or you... and a huge thank you to our readers who read us, share us and wear us... and most importantly... talk to us about what we've written every single day.

You guys made this. We appreciate you dearly.

Thank you. God Bless.




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

65% OFF Aaron Judge Rookie Season Game Used Baseball Fan Box with 2017 Random Locker Room Nameplate. Just $149.99 at SteinerSports.com, no code needed.

IT'S RIDICULOUS... AND I CAN'T STOP WATCHING IT!

I know you've seen it already.  I have, once... twice... like about 75 times by now.  It's Brett Gardner Bird watching.  And that bird... is Greg Bird.  And while the production is brilliant, the acting is super silly, and strangely addicting. 

Just a quick post. I needed you to see this if you haven't already.



Now to be honest, if we are ranking these Yankee videos.  My favorite of the season is by far the Yoga one.




You guys all know how I love Jack Curry and Bob Lorenz and Nancy Newman.  The rest of the gang makes it equally brilliant!

My Goodness. How excited for the Yankees are you right about now? I cannot freaking wait!

THE SQUEAKER THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN

The Yankees should have never been in that close of a situation last night almost blowing that game. But it's the Royals and they are relentless. It was a tough game, but in the end, Jacoby Ellsbury was the star and Dellin got the win.

I'm not getting into an in-depth recap, but it was a long, long game due to the rain delay.  Thank God for Bob Lorenz and Jack Curry, because they make delays wonderful. I had to express my gratitude last night:

I never care when the Yanks are in a rain delay because @boblorenz and @JackCurryYES are simply the best! Love the sad sax bump too! #BYB

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 31, 2016

Jack Curry liked it... what a stand up guy!

Here are a few highlights last night:

The Yankees were up 4-1 by the bottom of the 2nd. But the Royals kept chipping away until it was tied in the bottom of the 8th.  By the 9th, it was still tied.  Then, in the 10th, Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in the winning run.  Chasen Shreve got the Save, and like I said, Dellin Betances got the Win.

Ellsbury was 4-6 with 2 RBIs.

Aaron Judge, while slowing down, cranked out a 2 run home run. The kid will be fine, I have no doubt.

Masahiro Tanaka went 5 innings, gave up just 4 hits and 2 runs. He struck out 4 and gave up a home run.

In the end, it was a squeaker, but it didn't have to be.  That being said, I'm proud of my Yankees last night.  They stayed in it knowing good and well they had to win that game.  Here's the downside; my 14 year old who should be going to bed earlier these days as school is about to happen, was up way too late.  Mainly because he's obsessed with baseball lately and loves when the Yankees play the Royals.

I drank a few too many homemade Margharitas... that's on me.

Stop! Jalapeño Margharita time! #GoYanks #BYB pic.twitter.com/M6J0SIwwF5

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 31, 2016

But it makes us being tired today better when the New York Yankees win.  Good work boys...good times.

Final: Yankees 5 - 4

BYB HAD THE BETTER PIECE ABOUT BRENDAN RYAN

Let me ask you something... do you want some newspaper reporter telling you that a player is funny... or do you want to hear directly from that player's wife and the player himself? You do? You mean you want to hear about the "behind closed door" antics and stuff they do in their personal life that make their home jovial?  I thought so. Me too.  I pick the personal story any day of the week.

Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal piggy backed off of our BYB interview with Brendan and Sharyn Ryan this week to talk about the looseness and fun of Brendan Ryan in the Yankee clubhouse and with the YES production crew.

While the article is good... I couldn't help but wonder why he chose to do it just a few days after Bleeding Yankee Blue ran our interview.  (By the way, read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BRENDAN & SHARYN RYAN if you haven't already, but based on the readership... you have.)

In it, Barbarisi quotes Ryan:

‘There’s so much serious stuff in baseball. You can’t say anything controversial, you have to be in character. And I don’t want to be that. I want to be open and honest. Most guys just stay in their box, because that’s the safe way. ’

And there's more from the piece:

"Ryan feels a responsibility to connect with fans and to try to keep the clubhouse light, so just like in Seattle and St. Louis, he can constantly be heard joking with teammates, reporters, clubhouse staff—anyone who will talk to him. Everything he does seems to be engineered to make people smile or laugh, from his walk-up song (1980s hit “Relax,” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood) to his expanding mustache, which has aspirations of becoming a Rollie Fingers-esque handlebar."

We went to the real comedy critic though... Sharyn Ryan:

"BYB: Sharyn, you mentioned to me that Brendan is very funny.  Expand on that for the BYB audience?

Sharyn Ryan:  I don't even know how or where to begin with this question. That was actually one of the things that attracted me to Brendan, besides his handsome good looks!  Rarely is there a dull moment in our lives, there's always laughter going on in our household. I know at the moment Brendan is known for his mustache but he really should be known as "The Man of a Thousand Voices". We all know he loves to do impersonations but the voices and characters he comes up with on his own are pretty special.  "

Plus, where else did you learn about Ryan's evolution of his impersonation of Harry Caray? Huh?  BYB:


3 days later  though, a full Brendan Ryan manifesto comes out about Ryan's comedy from the Wall Street Journal.  Coincidence? Should I be flattered? I am, trust me.

Hey no matter... the more positive press that comes out about Brendan Ryan, the better. The Ryans are terrific people, a terrific family, and they need people to learn about what makes them tick. I like them.

Oh yeah, and notice what I did here; I gave alittle shoutout to Barbarisi.  Instead of taking full credit, like there was no other article out there that was similar, I linked to his, because it's a courtesy... because it's the right thing to do in journalism.   Sure, he can tell you that "he didn't know our Ryan interview was out there", but that interview with the Ryans is the most read interview in BYB's history in just 1 week... bigger than Paul O'Neill (HERE), bigger than Meredith Marakovits and Nancy Newman and Bob Lorenz and even Scott Brosius (HERE).  In short, I don't buy it.

Anyway... I found the whole thing peculiar and wanted to bring it to my BYB family.  I like ours better, that's the bottom line.

Happy Monday.



You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store! Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook! Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub! 

I GOT SERVED BY DAVID CONE, SORT OF

I think I pissed off David Cone.  I hope not.

Look, my point about Tanaka has always been that it is not about Tommy John Surgery. What this is about is the Yankees signing a guy that had truly exceptional stuff, an ace pitcher, only to now see a bait and switch and Tanaka giving less than what we thought we were getting when we signed him... for a lot of money.

That's it.

Look, when you have a Yankee fan site, you have the luxury to speak your mind with alot of different thoughts and theories and bounce them off people.  I love doing it. I also like being provocative with my headlines. After all, that's the gig.  You throw a theory out there, and in my case I'm careful not to do it carelessly, in the hopes that we can have a good dialog.  That's what happened last night.

It went like this.  David Cone said this during the game.  He was chatting with Kenny Singleton...

"Everybody wants to push the panic button. No reason for that at all. So much made of Tanaka and 1 mile an hour fastball difference on his average velocity. Some of the comments his made... about changing his style. Way overblown." 

I took exception to "Way overblown." That's because it's not.  I quickly crafted a piece called DAVID CONE'S WRONG ABOUT TANAKA. It is my opinion that people aren't blowing up the Masahiro Tanaka story at all. I think he IS hurt. I think ultimately, he will need Tommy John Surgery.  I think that sucks, but the story was never about Tommy John Surgery at all. It was about getting what we paid for:

"...It would be like if IBM designed a brand new "state of the art" computer and they released it today. You read the specs and you saw the photo and you love it. In fact, you spent alot of money and you bought it and it will be delivered to your house the next day.

Well, tomorrow comes and the IBM warehouse decides, 'You know what, scratch that.  It's nice, but we're bringing back the PC Junior. Let's give that another shot.' No way, bro! I didn't pay for the PC Junior... I paid for the new, hot one.  Give me that one, because that's the one we were sold on... " 

Cone, and I love the guy, looked at one sentence I wrote in the entire piece and blew it up on Twitter.  I wrote:

"...Fix the guy now and we'll have a Tanaka at 100% in 2016.  Right now we don't have Masahiro Tanaka... we have the knock off... Melvin Tanaka... and he's not that good."

Cone tweeted:

@BleednYankeeBlu @mikeyoh21 @suzieprof @dfabulous1 @sweetg35 @foxthechicken @jetdom Only one problem. You assume TJ surgery has no risk.
— David Cone (@dcone36) April 10, 2015

@BleednYankeeBlu @mikeyoh21 Much respect for your thoughts but surgery should be last option. 11 out of 20 last TJ's have been 2nd time.
— David Cone (@dcone36) April 10, 2015

Looking back, I don't even know why I would write "100%", as in recovery from TJ.  The truth is, Tommy John's a pretty serious surgery and while common now, nothing is 100%.  That was careless on my part. That being said, I quickly tweeted back:

@dcone36 @mikeyoh21 always a risk, but we're not getting what we paid for. So the solution is a different pitcher and cross fingers?
— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) April 10, 2015

And that's me keeping it real.  Tommy John Surgery was not the essence of my article.  You know what was? Buying a player who had excellent stuff, only to find out that he's not going to present it this season.  Why? Because he's probably hurt and doesn't want to "push it." 

That my friends, is the issue I have with the Tanaka story and that, David, was what I was trying to get accross.  It's not overblown if you're a fan that's paying a lot to bring your family  to Yankee stadium to see a "top" pitcher pitch, but it's not the same pitcher at all. Fans spend alot of money. Fans get angry quickly when they don't get what they're told they're getting.

Finally... I was reminded of something else:

@BleednYankeeBlu I disagree (for now). I need to see a bit more than 4 innings in the first game before I give up on 2015 Tanaka.
— B-Dilly (@Titan4Ever2488) April 10, 2015

So very true. We need to see what happens, and that's a fact. Thanks B-Dilly.

Look, is David Cone right? About Tommy John? 100% correct.  But that's not what I was talking about.  He actually never answered my question about getting what we paid for. Probably because he's a professional and knows that that's between Tanaka and the Yankees.  But I'm right about that point because that's from a fan perspective.

Whatever the case, I'm a Cone guy and always will be. In fact, I really want to interview him here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  He's a smart guy and one of the best, on the field and now.

Consider it Coney.  If Lorenz can do it, so can you... right?



 
You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!