THOSE MUSTACHES DON'T BEAT THE ULTIMATE!

I am watching these Yankee games and I'm seeing dudes like Austin Wells and Jon Berti and I have to say, they have great mustaches... but none of them measure up to our guy Brendan Ryan when he was wearing his proudly with the Yankees.

Look, there's no question that Austin Wells and his mustache are a team. The guy has had that thing for a while. It's full, it's part of him and no question he takes care of it.  

Then you got Jon Berti's stache, and I felt like that thing just showed up.  I don't remember Berti to ever have a mustache... am I wrong?  I felt like he was looking at Wells one day and was like "I can do that" and just grew it.  Look, it works for him I guess, but it's not my favorite stache at all.

My favorite stache is Brendan Ryan's hands down.  First off, Brendan was for a while one of our faves in this Yankee house. When he was on the Yanks, my kid was a young baseball player, middle infielder and Ryan was the guy... he loved Ryan.   And it was right around that time that the stache was in full force. I think what was so special about Ryan was not only his athleticism in the field, but the fact that that mustache just showed up and was perfect from day 1.  

I guess all this mustache talk brings me back to the Ryan days... 2013 to 2015.  No, the Yankees weren't the best, but for me in my life I was comforting, and I almost equate it to a simpler time, a positive time. The Yankees were right there, but in my life the kids were younger, there was less going on... my kids would hang out more.  These days everyone is grown... the two older ones are in college, my younger ones have reached that teenager age where they're too cool for their parents... and here I am sitting with my wife thinking about the way it once was, and when Brendan Ryan had the ultimate Yankee mustache.

Life moves pretty fast sometimes. Cherish every moment and soak it in, because before you know it... it all is just a memory.

Shout out to a simpler time... and one of the best dude's out there with one of the best mustaches in Yankee history... Brendan Ryan.

Hope all is well my guy! The best to you, Sharyn and the kiddos!

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

I KNOW... I WANT BRENDAN RYAN TO READ A BEDTIME STORY TO ME TOO...

This is just funny and I'm sharing because I asked Sharyn and Brendan if it would be OK and they said no problem. That was followed by... "That's just a regular night in our house." Plus, you guys all know that I find B hilarious and I am convinced he does the best Harry Caray impersonation around.

Here's bedtime in the Ryan house...

Story time @ the Ryan's📚😂😜😂 Starring Brendan as #HarryCaray #Hudsonthinksimtakingapic 😃 #cheeseballs #wherethewildthingsare pic.twitter.com/PBw02CCnlh

— Sharyn Ryan (@SharynRyan17) January 27, 2018

Classic.

Who doesn't want to be their son right now!  This is a loving family folks... look how happy!  This is what it's all about.

Love you guys!

Photo: Getty Images

I hope Brendan Ryan gets signed soon.  One of our favs here at BYB.

WHEN CASTRO BLOSSOMS...

(May 15, 2017 - Source: Brian Davidson/Getty Images North America)

I am a fan of Starlin Castro.  Now look, and I'm being honest here... I am a BIG fan of Brendan Ryan, personally just as much as athlete-wise and I was disappointed when the Yanks let him go to Chicago and Castro came over. Partly because I appreciated that he was so versatile, and I like chatting with he and his wife Sharyn. (Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BRENDAN & SHARYN RYAN).  But now that that chapter is closed, the new chapter is Starlin Castro at second base... and I'll take it.  He's the tits.

(May 13, 2017 - Source: Rich Schultz/Getty Images North America)    

Great piece on FOX Sports about Castro and I wanted to share some of it with you. He's really breaking out now, and it's been an exciting season:

Photo: Getty Images

"In his first season in pinstripes, Castro hit .270 with 21 homers and 70 RBI. This year, the now 27-year-old is entering his prime, and his production has exploded. He is currently hitting for a .351/.387/.545 slash line with seven homers, 26 RBI, 29 runs scored and nine doubles..."

And if he can stay hot, in the end he will be worth the price paid to get him.  That being said though...

Who misses this guy?

Me... and he even pitches.

Photo: MLB.com

Oh well.

Hi B and Sharyn!

BONDING OVER LAUGHTER

I like to laugh... and Brendan Ryan is freaking hilarious.

I was lucky enough to get to know Sharyn and Brendan Ryan a bit when he was with the Yanks and now obviously he's gone and back with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  But during our chats and watching comedy bits the Yankees put out last year, I realized very clearly that while Ryan takes the game extremely seriously, he's just a down to earth, a funny dude and Sharyn says that's one of the qualities about him that makes that marriage so incredibly tight.

We took a break with our BONDING OVER series for a few months, but it's back today on a light Yankee news Friday.  Here are the others we've done in the past:

BONDING OVER STRENGTH
 
BONDING OVER A PINT
 
BONDING OVER PASSION
 
BONDING OVER BASEBALL
 
BONDING OVER MUSIC
 
BONDING OVER FAMILY 

BONDING OVER FOOD

Now I wanted to share alittle bit about 2 of my favorites to highlight in this series... Brendan and Sharyn Ryan.



If you don't already know, B is pretty damn dead-on when it comes to his Harry Caray impersonation.  Sure, it's slightly exaggerated, but I gotta tell you, I've seen many over the years... Ryan's is the best. He talked to #BYB about how it evolved. Click on the Soundcloud link above.

Now just so you know, Sharyn's just as fun! Every year they dress up for Halloween... she sent me some of those pictures to highlight on BYB when we did our interview with them. (Read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BRENDAN & SHARYN RYAN). They are a wonderful couple... totally into each other, fun, alive and rolling with it.

Obviously, through all the stresses of baseball, being away from each other many times during the year, trades, free agency, they still manage to keep the bond strong.  I have no doubt that much of that has to do with making each other laugh.  A sense of humor is a key to any marriage.

So here's a salute to the Ryan family.  Good people, honest people.... and funny people.  I am happy to feature you guys in the latest installment of our BONDING OVER series.  Here's to you both!

And to the BYB audience, we'll be talking with the Ryans soon.  I want to get an update for all of you on how they're doing now that Brendan is in LA with the Angels!

Look for it soon! Enjoy your Friday.

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.

BRENDAN RYAN IS MR. DEPENDABLE

People look at Brendan Ryan and think of him as an OK ballplayer that moves around a lot.  I think of Brendan Ryan as a useful ballplayer that is always needed and a player that truly loves the game. It's not about Hall of Fame stats... it's about guts. And that's how I see Ryan.  Look, you know I've grown to really like both he and wife Sharyn just because they are very personable people who not only adore each other, but grind through the sometimes craziness in the baseball world when it comes to trades and what not.  In the end, of course you want to be on a team for a while and have that consistency and stability, but this is baseball and in the end, they know this is what they signed up for.  And so... they will grind again...

The word is, the Former New York Yankee is also now a former Washington National.  Ryan has been traded to the Angels.  I went to the Los Angeles Times for this story:

"The Angels moved quickly to fill a void at shortstop Tuesday, acquiring triple-A infielder Brendan Ryan from the Washington Nationals for a player to be named later or cash.

Starting shortstop Andrelton Simmons suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb while making a backhand diving stop of a grounder on Sunday and will undergo surgery that will sideline him for at least two months."

And so, Ryan will do what he does best... never complain and go do the job of utility or whatever his new team will need.  Admire it folks. It ain't easy, but in the end, Brendan's still working.  Gotta love and respect it.

My personal best to the Ryans.  And for the BYB fan base, re-read and listen to our interview with B and Sharyn:   EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BRENDAN & SHARYN RYAN.

Good luck guys! We'll talk soon.

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.

BYB PAL BRENDAN RYAN HAS A BRAND NEW GIG

There's news that our friend Brendan Ryan is going to the Washington Nationals. But there is so much more to talk about... keep reading...

According to Hardball Talk, "His deal includes an invitation to spring training, where he’ll compete for a spot on Washington’s bench in what has become a pretty crowded infield picture for the Nationals."

Now, you remember that Ryan was traded as part of the Adam Warren for Starlin Castro trade.  It was then revealed that Ryan was part of that deal, but more importantly, my source told me that Ryan was blindsided by the deal:

"I was able to find out alittle nugget that I’d like to bring to my Bleeding Yankee Blue audience.  According to my source, the Ryan family was pretty much taken by surprise and punched in the gut, so to speak, when they found out the news of Ryan being shipped to Chicago. But it was more about HOW they found out.

According to my source, the Ryan’s found out about the trade on Twitter at the same time everybody else did, having no idea what to think at the time.  My source said this of the story coming out about the Brendan Ryan’s trade news: “That wasn’t fun. It got leaked.”  It was definitely a blow and a bit nerve racking because they didn't have any official word from the New York Yankees."

Now look, I'm thrilled that Ryan is still working and there is no question that with his versitility, he will continue his career successfully with either the Nationals or any other team down the road. As a utlity man, he is a catch. Plus, full disclosure, I really like Sharyn and Brendan. 

They are a terrific couple, they have a terrific family and I wish them the absolutely best no matter what. 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BRENDAN & SHARYN RYAN is still considered one of the most popular BYB interviews ever, partly because we have audio of Brendan talking directly to the BYB audience... Sharyn's idea by the way... she's a genius.

Anyway, the best of Brendan... good luck pal.

 


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!

CUBS PLAY GRINCH & RELEASE BRENDAN RYAN

Yeah, you read that right.  It's 2 days before Christmas and the Cubs play Grinch.  The Chicago Cubs just released Brendan Ryan.

Hardball Talk writes: "...today they released the veteran infielder. Ryan already exercised his $1 million player option for 2016, so the Cubs will be on the hook for that and presumably his inclusion in the trade was simply intended to balance the salaries a bit given Castro’s much larger contract. 

Ryan has long been one of the majors’ best defensive shortstops..."

But I guess better defense doesn't get a stay on a club you just got traded too.  The Cubs couldn't wait a few days?

Look, baseball's a business, I get that, but the timing is rotten.  Now, don't go emailing me telling me that the guys still making money and you don't feel sorry for him.  I don't want to hear it. 

Also, don't go emailing me asking me to find out what happened? I'll chat with Sharyn and B when the time is right.  This is obviously not the time for me to insert myself into the story.

Whatever the case, that just happened.  Just wanted to keep you in the loop. My best to the Ryans.

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.