THE GREAT PETE CALDERA TALKS COIVD-19, CC SABATHIA & THE ASTROS CHEATING SCANDAL!

Anyone who knows me knows that I love reading Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.  Not only that, I love to listen to him croon as well and have been lucky enough to do it twice at the Carnegie Club in New York City. And trust me... once we all get back to normal, I will make it a point and a promise to see him sing more once Covid-19 hopefully goes away.

But the luxury of Bleeding Yankee Blue is to tell you how we feel about our New York Yankees and life. We like to give an honest opinion of the players too, and if stuff doesn't jive, we will be the first to call out whomever! We play it straight here at BYB. We've been here writing for the past 10 years, and these past few months we've been doing some podcasts as part of BYB Media, developing a new way to deliver Yankee news and entertainment.

I've been lucky enough to chat with some great folks, Ty Hensley, Clay Rapada, my BYB staff, and now I get to share our latest... Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.  

This interview is raw and real and we talked about so much.  We talked about Pete being a Yankee writer in Florida and watching COVID-19 breakout during Spring Training.  We talked about the Astros Cheating Scandal. We spoke about how the Red Sox got off easy and how Pete was disappointed with how Rob Manfred handled it.

Pete was awesome about talking about Gerrit Cole and his incredible work ethic. We chatted about CC Sabathia and him being an awesome leader... and we talked about the Carnegie Club and how much Pete misses singing right now.

Give it a listen.

Pete's the best! Very happy to call him my friend.

Pete, thanks for taking the time. Be Safe.

IN THE MIDST OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WE REACHED 7 MILLION STRONG

These days, every single day is like a blur to me. I mean sure, we do our 'work from home' routine, exercise and in some cases help our kids with their school work, but this "Stay at Home" stuff is for the birds.  Does it save lives? It does. Is it working? It is, but it's amazing. Never if my life have I ever seen such an incredible thing in my world. Never, ever.

But in the midst of this tragedy, a glow of light.  Bleeding Yankee Blue has done it again. We have reached a new milestone, something to be proud of. We have reached 7 million views on our pages, and that is all because of people like you!

Over 7 million views is not only historic, it makes me all fuzzy inside. That means that since September of 2010, we have built an audience and found a way to deliver news and information to our audience in a unique way. And I say unique, because there were already so many Yankee blogs out there. But we do it differently. We are honest.

We don't kiss the ass of the New York Yankees. I mean yes, we are fans first, but if someone in the Yankee clubhouse is blowing it or saying the wrong thing, we're gonna tell it to you straight.  We've done it over the years and continue too... even when it comes to guys like Sonny Gray or Giancarlo Stanton or even Joe Girardi. Whomever. That's one. 2... our writers don't need to agree with each other to make a solid product. Look at the spats between Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa and Mike O'Hara when it comes to a player like Mark Teixeira for example. One loves him... the other... not so much.

We started after a bad game back in 2010. BYB built from there.  Our first interview was with Steve Karsay. That was in 2011. It was awesome and helped put us on the map. (Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: STEVE KARSAY).

Years later, our first podcast interview was with Ty Hensley. He gave us stability and there will be more podcast interviews as we move forward. (Check out A BYB PODCAST INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE WITH TY HENSLEY ). We love this dude and let me be honest... we were the ONLY blog that was consistently following him throughout everything he's been through. And now he's back on top on the verge of signing with a Major League club again.

My point is, Bleeding Yankee Blue has evolved for our audience, because our audience is the foundation to this entire process.

💚 GREEN I 💚 It’s my favorite color and the color of revitalization and rebirth. Hopefully, after this passes we will be better as a partner, mom, sister, friend, human being and we appreciate even more how important it is to be healthy. 💚 pic.twitter.com/QlMdSjbgVE

— Laura Posada (@PosadaLifeCoach) April 10, 2020

We've met and got the know many people over the years.  Laura and Jorge Posada. Clay Rapada. Marci Hensley, Joba Chamberlain, Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record and others.  They are loyal to us... we are loyal to them.

My writers don't stop. I mean some do, but my staple Managing Editors do not. Suzie and Jeana are unstoppable and unique and important to our brand.  We need them on the pages of Bleeding Yankee Blue, and love them very much here.

And finally to our readers, our freaks, our friends, our loves and our loyal crew.

We do this every day for you because you come to us for information, smiles and news when it comes to the New York Yankees and of course the despicable Houston Astros, which, if you know us, has been incorporated into our daily routine.  We fight for justice, and the Astros need to be buried for what they did to this great game.

But you, our readers are our base and our rock and our voice of reason if you agree or disagree with what we put out.  You are the reason we exist.

Thank you. Thank all of you for being there and for supporting Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Wow... 7 million views of our pages.  More than 10,000 stories on our website since it all began in 2010.  That means something. That means we are relevant.

We appreciate you being with us on our journey. Let's continue to blossom.... together.

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

CLAY RAPADA: STICKING WITH HIS PASSION FOR THE GAME

As this BYB Media Podcast gets going, it's important that I speak to the people that I really appreciate and have stuck with Bleeding Yankee Blue for a long time. We believe in loyalty.

Now, when it comes to BYB and opinion, we're not haters here, it's just that sometimes we have very pointed opinions, and that's how our audience was built. We may not agree with other fans, maybe not even with each other, but at the end of the day, you, the reader can make your own decision and we, the writer can be satisfied with what we put out. And you know what? There's just disagreement sometimes.  The point is we're like a big family here... the readers, the writers, all of us and we chat it up on any given day about different topics. And many times that extends to public figures and players, their wives as well. Clay is one of those people.

Clay Rapada and I have a bond and yes it's over baseball... but it all started with a silly Bleeding Yankee Blue T-Shirt and how I convinced him to throw it on during one of his workouts in between teams. He's a man of his word and did exactly that and one day it popped on my Twitter and I couldn't be more happy.

We used to do #RapadaFoodWars on Twitter as well, where we'd make a meal and then tweet it to each other just to keep the other on our toes.

@BleednYankeeBlu home made gumbo.. Italian sausage ... Meatballs and shrimp #RapadaFoodWars pic.twitter.com/79ppXYuY8A

— Clay Rapada (@pada5something) December 5, 2014

@pada5something It's been awhile #RapadaFoodWars Hope you're well. #BYB pic.twitter.com/Io20h2Q9lw

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) July 16, 2016

It was kind of cool and the dude definitely has a sense of humor and I have a lot of respect for a guy like that. Someone that has a job like pitching on a major league team, but can be playful with the fans when he needs to be. He's just a good dude.

But the truth is I've always been a fan of Clay and the way he pitches. He used to come into high pressure situations, with the Orioles, the Tigers, Rangers, the Yankees and with that amazing delivery, I was just in awe... me being a lefty myself and never really being a successful pitcher, it was just cool to see this lanky dude come in and dominate in his relieve role with the arm slot he had.  And yes... it was awesome to see him pitch for the Yankees... my favorite team.

We finally sat down for an interview on the BYB Podcast with Clay Rapada, and I was thrilled.

We talked about everything, from what he's doing now with the San Francisco Giants, to leadership when it comes to Derek Jeter compared to Alex Rodriguez... to the Yankees when he got the opportunity there, to where that Bleeding Yankee Blue shirt is right now... to the Astros, and even youth sports.

It's a thrill and I am very happy to share this with you now. Thank you Clay, you're the best.


Good Luck and stay in touch my man!.

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

IKE DAVIS HAS A GIG!

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The dude is still working, folks.  You gotta respect the grind.

Ike Davis signed a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Matt Eddy of Baseball America, the same guy who thought he got the Clay Rapada scoop before BYB a while back (Read the HERE), tweeted this:

#Dodgers sign 1B Ike Davis and RHP Brandon Morrow to minor league deals.

— Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) January 27, 2017

MLB Trade Rumors wrote of Davis:

Photo: New York Post

"Davis, 29, appeared in just eight major league games in 2016, spending much of his season at the Triple-A level with the Yankees’ and Rangers’ top minor league affiliates.  The left-handed hitting Davis has a solid career slash line (.251/.351/.441) against right-handed pitching over his career, though even those numbers were on the decline over the last two seasons as Davis struggled to retain a big league job.  After an impressive start to his MLB career as the Mets’ regular first baseman, Davis has hit just .222/.327/.354 over 1058 PA since the start of the 2013 season, bouncing from the Mets to the Pirates to the A’s and last year’s brief stint with the Yankees."

Photo: AP / David Zalubowski

Well, now he gets another shot. Dodger Blue writes this:

"Assuming Davis does not make the Dodgers roster out of camp but doesn’t opt out of his deal, the 29-year-old presumably will serve as depth for Triple-A Oklahoma City and insurance if Adrian Gonzalez is lost to injury for a prolonged stretch."

Anything Dodgers, they have their finger on the pulse. I endorse them!

Anyway... Good Luck Ike.



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THE YANKS JUST HIRED ARMANDO GALARRAGA

Great story here and much like when BYB broke news about Clay Rapada, who's currently playing baseball for the Philippines in the World Baseball League, when he returns from Australia, he will be an assistant pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants Low-A club in Augusta. Read CLAY RAPADA IS NOW A PITCHING COACH! for more on that.

Anyway...Now comes word that the Yankees have hired their own pitcher to be an instructor.  That's right, it's Armondo Galarraga.

Newsday's Eric Boland just tweeted this:

Armando Galarraga, he of the perfect game that was but suddenly wasn't, has joined the Yankees as a minor league pitching instructor

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) February 11, 2016

We love Boland here at BYB.  He's got a good nugget here.  NJ.com writes of the Galarraga:

"...Galarraga, 34, pitched six years in the big leagues (his last season was 2012) and finished with a 26-34 record and a 4.78 ERA. He bounced around a few international leagues before officially retiring last December. "

Now Galarraga will wear pinstripes as a coach for the New York Yankees. Pretty freaking cool.




Thank you for your loyalty to Bleeding Yankee Blue. 
Please shop at the BYB store!  
On Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu 
On Facebook, LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue!
Don't forget to check out the BYB Hub.

CLAY RAPADA IS NOW A PITCHING COACH!

This is a BYB Exclusive and that's because Clay Rapada is a stand up guy and knows we're not in this baseball business to rip on players and be obnoxious.  As I've said many times here, we respect the players, the teams and we provide honest and sometimes fun information for our audience.  Former Yankee Clay Rapada knows this.  That's why I have scoop on our pal Clay.

Clay has been hired for an assistant pitching coach job with the San Francisco Giants Low A club.  You will not see this anywhere else folks for the moment at least. So when Matt Eddy of Baseball America comes out with this story tomorrow and MLB Trade Rumors reports that it was Matt Eddy with the scoop (Remember GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE?), you can quickly remind them that they're wrong.  It was BYB. And I'm joking about MLB Trade Rumors.  They are professionals and they corrected the record last time.  Thanks again Jeff Todd.

Clay's last major league team was the Cleveland Indians in 2013.  His last minor league club was the Sacramento River Cats where he had a 2.84 ERA in 46 games.  He also played 3 games in the Winter Venezuelan League. Both of those teams were last season.  The dude just keeps going.  Now however, he's taken a coaching gig with the Giants in their minor league system. I have tremendous respect for this Cat and his drive and dedication to the game.

Shout out to Clay, our friend!  Thanks for thinking of us and thanks for always being so approachable.  In this world there are regular folks, a-holes and then there's the "good ones".  You my friend are one of the good ones and we appreciate you very much!

Best of luck to you in your coaching gig! Keep kicking ass. Congratulations!



Thank you for your loyalty to Bleeding Yankee Blue. 
Please shop at the BYB store!  
On Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu 
On Facebook, LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue!
Don't forget to check out the BYB Hub.  

BONDING OVER FOOD

I have a friend in professional baseball pitcher Clay Rapada. I'm friends with him because he's a really nice guy.  Hard working, dedicated to his craft and we share a common interest... we both like food.

By the way, this is now continuing the BYB's "Bonding over" series. This one's about food and Clay.  You can read the others here:

 BONDING OVER STRENGTH

 BONDING OVER A PINT

 BONDING OVER PASSION

 BONDING OVER BASEBALL

 BONDING OVER MUSIC

 BONDING OVER FAMILY

 Anyway, the food jokes between Clay and I have been going on for a while now:

@pada5something Grilled Salmon, Grilled Vegetables and Rice. Your move #BYB #RapadaFoodWars pic.twitter.com/zHFb8jubH4

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) December 5, 2014

@BleednYankeeBlu home made gumbo.. Italian sausage ... Meatballs and shrimp #RapadaFoodWars pic.twitter.com/79ppXYuY8A

— Clay Rapada (@pada5something) December 5, 2014

It's been a fun joke on Twitter. Clay and I tweeting our food to each other with the hashtag, #RAPADAFOODWARS.  I'm a foodie.  I try to eat healthy, but when we tweet each other sometimes the plates are just out of this world awesome. It's been a good give and take.

If you didn't know, I got to know Clay when he came to New York.  But I was a fan of Clay's before that with the Tigers and with Texas, so him being a lefty coming to New York in the Yankees pen was great for me personally. 

Having him interview with us here at Bleeding Yankee Blue was equally great, and I appreciate that we're able to talk from time to time about all kinds of stuff.  Case in point, Bleeding Yankee Blue was the site that broke the news about Clay when he signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants this year.  That was reported incorrectly by MLB Trade Rumors, and then quickly fixed as their facts were wrong:

@MattEddyBA kudos to Eddy for getting the Rapada news out first according to @mlbtraderumors #rollseyes @BleednYankeeBlu had it first.

— Greedy Pinstripes (@GreedyStripes) February 14, 2015

@BleednYankeeBlu @GreedyStripes I had already updated the site, actually. We always research and give proper credit the best we can.

— Jeff Todd (@JA_Todd) February 14, 2015

Read GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE for more on that. Bottom line, Clay told us exclusively (Read CLAY RAPADA SIGNS WITH THE GIANTS!), and while Clay Rapada may not be a big deal in your world, the fact of the matter is BYB is built on friendships, family, kindness and that is why we got the story first, no matter how big or small it may seem.

Clay's one of the good ones, and we follow his career like we follow so many of the other great people and players we chat with here on BYB.  That is why we have this "Bonding over" Series, because in our eyes, it's important to point out who the good folks are.  Guys like Ty Hensley,  the Posadas, the Ankiels, Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record. Even my buddies Charles and Joey Moses and Shane and Lisa Varga.  And so, Clay, this ones for you!

Thanks for being one of the good ones.  Thanks for leading by example, working hard, playing hard and having a solid reputation as being a great dude and an even better teammate.

Keep working bro, and keep tweeting me food pictures, I'm hungry man!

Happy New Year everyone.

Thank you for your loyalty to Bleeding Yankee Blue. 
Please shop at the BYB store!  
On Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu 
On Facebook, LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue!
Don't forget to check out the BYB Hub. 

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

When I put together Bleeding Yankee Blue 5 years ago, it was a goof. You know the story... if you don't read HERE.  Well... it developed into a monster.  But why?  I mean look, we have opinions, but those opinions are opinions of the regular fans, it’s just that many fans don’t have an outlet to express themselves.  And so, I guess when I gave you my straight talk about a goof that Joe Girardi made in a game, or a bad play or good trade, it just resonated.

Over time, many of my writers have expressed themselves freely here on BYB, and I can guarantee you the other sites won't do that.  They’re afraid of not being excepted in Yankee Heaven.

We here at BYB know we’re going to Yankee Heaven, because while we may speak our mind, we also love our team.  But there’s more to it; we love our team as family.  Our readers… our loyal, very loyal readers know what we’re doing here and you embrace, encourage and root us on every day.  You feel like you know us.  You communicate with us on social networks. We talk about baseball, the Yankees and life… and we’re friends… and yes, dare I say… we are now a family too.   It’s pretty incredible.

Bleeding Yankee Blue is a 24/7, 365 days a year free shop.  My writers and I volunteer to write content for all of you to read.  We take it seriously, but we make mistakes.  We are in no way perfect… and that’s OK.   We don’t try to be overwhelming.  We do try to be accurate, fun, informative and daring.    Since our birth we've done that, and now we’ve grown.  We have interviewed many, many baseball folks here... Yankees and non-Yankees and the reason is simple; We are fascinated with baseball people, as well as their lives their friends and their families.  There are those words again… Friends. Family. 

We’ve made many bonds and when I told you a while back how when we interview folks, it’s more of a courting than an interview, I meant it.  The baseball families we’ve met are incredible.  Not only that, our writers, all of us have done things that 5 years ago, we never could have imagined doing.

Look who's at the Joe Torre Gala tonight. @e_morales1804 ! Dedicated to the #BYB readers! Way to go E! pic.twitter.com/yHu1wklPNd

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) November 14, 2013

Erica Morales can just get on the phone and chat with Laura Posada if we are doing an interview for an upcoming story for BYB.

For me personally, I am lucky enough to communicate with Clay Rapada, Bergen Record Sports writer Pete Caldera, Sharyn and Brendan Ryan, the Hensley family, the Jones family, the Ankiels and more… and it’s because we’re honest folks here and our message is about not only baseball, but about good friends.

If you ask Suzie Pinstripe if she thought she’d be on the Trenton Thunder field to report on Mariano Rivera Night, she would have told you you were crazy.

The point is, this isn’t some fly by night operation that does a story and moves on.  Ike Dimitriadis has been to Sabathia events for us.

Mike O'Hara, already a popular on-air personality, came to Bleeding Yankee Blue and volunteered his time because, he liked the direction BYB was going. All these little things, make a big, popular product.  In short, I'm blessed to be surrounded by hardworking folks.

Bottom line, We’re no factory. We’re thoughtful.  We’re serious about how we present our news and we try to make it entertaining and visually stimulating for you.   I’m gonna be honest with you… the stat nerds, the guys that have been reading the blogs before we even existed... they just don’t get us.  I don’t care.  I want to share something with you... hate.  These are actual quotes from actual haters trying to break BYB's desire. Trust me, you will be offended, but this is just a snapshot of what we get:

"I want you to stop writing shit you piece of shit!!!!! who the fuck do you think you are????"

"this fucking kike with this horrible blog has no idea what he's talking about."

"we got a genius of a GM writing this blog. "hey guise I got the solution, let's just chuck ass loads of cash at the best free agents available, that should win us a WS"  are you like 13?"

"Why don't you and your staff blow me. You stupid. Sos youa blog." 

"Your blog says nothing. How are you so popular again?"

My will will not be broken... We just fired up.  To these folks; you were NEVER my audience.   I’m not trying to sway you. I don’t even want you as a reader.  Stay on your side of the street and leave us alone. Your hate filled comments are baseless.  Your anger is misdirected. You are 1 dimensional, you don’t believe in change and you need to check yourselves.  It's sad, isn't it?

Look, BYB is a movement. No, we’re never looking to change the world… we’re looking to be different.  That’s why we use pop culture. That’s why we have humor and that’s why we have a primarily female audience.  We tapped into something great.  We tapped into something that you passed by.  You’re loss, our gain. Buh-Bye.

We’ve done pretty great things here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  I even started the #BYBHub to give new baseball bloggers a chance to get some exposure and get read.   We want folks who have dreams to have opportunities and exposure.   It’s for a good cause, and it’s to inspire and motivate new writers in a sports writers world that need alittle kick in the pants.

As Chief of BYB, I believe in my writers. They are amazing, motivated people and my respect for them is at 100%.  They work their butts off in life, and then find time to write something interesting for all of you.  I could not be prouder of them. It’s that family bond that takes us to a different level and better than the rest. I thank them. I believe in them.

And finally, on this Christmas Eve, I thank all of you, our readers.  You found BYB somehow over the years and you stayed with us.

You bought our merchandise and you wear it proud.  You tweet our stories, you talk with us about them. You comment and most importantly, you like us and yes, you get us.

You appreciate what we’re doing here.  I could not be happier about that.  It’s pretty incredible.

Enjoy your holiday.  Love your family, spoil them rotten and do what you do best...Love.

You guys, the BYB Audience are a group of wonderful people.  No matter how life goes, you still find the time to come check out the pages of BYB.  We have over 7100 stories on BYB and we are almost at 4 million views.  Think about that for a second...unreal.

That’s not only amazing… it’s flattering.

Merry Christmas.  Happy New Year…. and most of all… Thank you.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you.  You are great people, family and friends.  I leave you with a quote from one of my favorite Christmas movies… It’s a Wonderful Life…

“Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” 

That’s me.


 

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!