HAPPY BIRTHDAY BYB. WE TURNED 1 BECAUSE OF YOU.

In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would actually have a Yankees blog that anyone would care about. But you readers out there are pretty damn passionate and need your Yankees news and opinion and we love it.

When we started on September 14, 2010, Bleeding Yankee Blue started as a rant page because I was tired of yelling at the TV because of another Yankee loss. Sergio Mitre, the thorn in my side was involved, so you can only imagine why I freaked out. Here’s the first post ever on Bleeding Yankee Blue titled WHY LAST NIGHT WAS IMPORTANT.

Since then we’ve posted 975 posts and we have writers who have developed into personalities and readers look for their work. Some of you think we’re the cat’s meow. Well, we know you are but what am I? This journey has been incredible. What we have built here isn’t because of any of us. It really has more to do with all of you. If you don’t read us, we write for no one. When you read, you send it to a friend who sends it to a friend. You Tweet it, you "Like" it on Facebook. Maybe Google news picks it up, or ESPN picks it up and calls us Intrepid Bloggers and some of you even send us pictures of yourself for Bleeding Yankee Blue’s Fan of the week. It’s pretty damn cool.I still remember our first "BYB Fan of the Week" on a chilly week in February. It was Robert in full Yankee gear and suddenly BYB's Fan of the Week was born. Since then we’ve had a fan of the week, well, every week and the pictures are pouring in, it’s just amazing. Keep it up by the way, just send them to mailto:Bleednyankeeblu@gmail.com

We do Yankee interviews here, many blogs do not. Our first was EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: STEVE KARSAY and since then we’ve interviewed Mickey Rivers, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch and our favorite gal of all time, Kimberly Jones. We love her.If BYB didn't exist, we would have never got to interview Kimberly Jones. But we do and we did and we're very happy about it. We've even helped bring awareness to David Robertson's charity High Socks for Hope.
On the flip side, people like to rain on our parade too. It’s OK, but the viciuous stuff needs to be checked at the door. Don’t hate, be constructive, that’s all we ask here. Hey, bottom line, we’re still relatively new, we haven’t worked out all the kinks yet and we’re not perfect, but we’re trying our best. You want to hear a funny story? I was on a commuter train maybe a month ago looking at Bleeding Yankee Blue on my phone. Pathetic right? That's not the story though. This is... It was tight quarters. There was a guy standing next to me and said “You read them?” He was looking over my shoulder at my phone. I said “Sure.” He said “9 times out of ten, Casey nails it, every once in a while, he ticks me off.” “Totally”, I said with a smile. What am I going to do, argue with a New Yorker and Yankee fan? Hell no. It was totally bizarre and a moment I'll never forget.

The point is, today we turn 1 and at this moment I have one focus; We will keep moving forward, for you. We vow to keep getting you interesting material, news and opinion as well as personality, something some of the others lack. We’ll try and keep it fresh, we’ll try to keep it fun and the day it doesn’t become fun for me personally, I’m closing shop. But right now, it’s really fun and you make it fun... so thank you.

We’ve had some real great posts over our 1^st year. Christy Lee wrote a truly touching piece called FAMILY RIVALRY & THE LAST WORD that has received tremendous feedback. Christy's like my sis and I'm glad she's in the BYB family.

I love Jesse Schindler’s piece titled WHY ROBERTSON DESERVES MORE CREDIT. He wrote it back in May and since then David Robertson has developed into one of the greatest set up men of all time.

There’s Mikey Blue’s piece titled WHY JORGE'S HEART BEATS STRONG. In our BYB world, we love Jorge Posada and this particular post hit home. Not only did Jorge have a great game in that 9-2 victory, we saw some life from the gritty veteran.

Grant Cederquist wrote WHY THE KIDS ARE GROWING UP and has proven he's one of the best bloggers out there when it comes to the minor league guys.

Jeana Bellezza, a newcomer and my go-to-gal who wrote a piece on Derek Jeter which is my favorite by her titled WHY IT'S MORE THAN 3000, IT'S DESTINY.

Lem Allen is a friend of mine and this one of his was my favorite: WHY IT'S JUST BASEBALL SUZYN.

Will Cohen, my first writer ever wrote WHY DOESN'T CASH LIKE SPENDING CASH? This was his first piece and with it, he became published and had a new passion in life.And Me? Well, I love to write, but if I had to choose, there would be 2; WHY JETER IS EPIC FOR 1 GOOD REASON and AN OPEN LETTER TO JORGE POSADA. They are 2 of my baseball heroes, never to be forgotten.

The point is, we love what we do because you love to read it. So, do me a favor, on our first birthday, today is important to us. So comment today on our blog, use the comment section and take a moment and tell us what you think, you can even wish us a happy birthday. Just take a moment and let us know what you like and don’t like. Keep it clean and have a good time with it. Tell us what you like about our pieces, the writers, me and the site itself. After all, feedback rules and that’s how we know how to improve. You have questions? Ask, we’ll try to answer. All I ask is you keep reading and enjoy it. Also, Word of mouth is key, so if there’s something you like, tell someone about it, after all, the playoffs are right around the corner and this is what we have been writing for all year... the Quest for 28.

And a special personal note to the Bleeding Yankee Blue writers. You do a great job. You approached me and I approached you and a marriage was made. Thank you for being there and thank for you taking this ride with me.

Again, thanks to the BYB readers, it’s been swell and you guys made it happen. We couldn’t do it without you… well, we could, but we’d be 8 writers reading each other’s material and that’s no fun, right?

We received some great notes from many of you, and decided to publish some of them in this post so you can be part of our history. I couldn't get you all in here, but I hope I got most of you. Thank you all. We now move on to our "Quest for 2."

"Bleeding Yankee Blue describes exactly what it's like to be a NY Yankee Fan!"
--Brittany Canal Fulton, Ohio

"I like Bleeding Yankee Blue because it is awesome and one of the best out there, Happy Birthday to you!" --Dana Trentacost

"Happy B-day BYB!!! Keep up the great job!!!" --Kiley

"You bring me the most informative YANKEE information available!"
--Mike, Loxahatchee, Florida

"It's run by true Yankee fans who write their posts from the heart and also appreciate other peoples views." -- Charles, Sydney Australia

"Happy Birthday! Keep the blogs coming~ One year? Went fast." --Debi

"Happy Birthday BYB! Living in Seattle, WA, it's hard to stay current with Pinstripe Pals and BYB has been an awesome resource for game summaries and info on future stars and all things Yankees! Great job!" --Tom, Seattle

"I like Bleeding Yankee Blue because they are informative, honest, and are HOPELESSLY biased towards the NY Yankees!" -- Marianne

"I like Bleeding Yankee Blue because they love and support The Greatest Baseball Team ever. The New York Yankees. Sing it Frankie!" --Judith

Please comment, we use DISQUS. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY RAYS HAD YANKEES NUMBER

(Photo: Getty)
Wins against division rivals is the most important part of making it to the playoffs. The second most important part of that equation is winning each series. Tonight the Yankees lost to a rival with a chance to win the series tomorrow. It makes tomorrows game much more important now, doesn't it? Yes, it's easy to beat the teams that don't mean anything, but winning when it really matters, like beating the Rays to a pulp, every time is much more important, especially in the second half of the season.(Photo: Getty)
Bartolo Colon was on the mound tonight and he did pretty good, he had a strong performance. I must say, there wasn't the worry I thought I would have. He went 6.1 innings pitched, and 5 hits gave the Rays 3 runs. Colon also had 9 strikeouts. He literally was able to keep the Yankees in the game but Jeremy Hellickson did great job tonight too. Oh well, it sucks, but it's true.
(Photo: Getty)
Robinson Cano continues his great season, hitting his 16th home run tonight and was able to get the 2 RBIs of the game tonight, but that was it for New York. No more runs, they were just unable to hit Hellickson.

Now, onto alittle rant. I don't like piling on Boone Logan because I think that in the back of my mind I don't feel it fair to rip on our only lefty specialist, but tonight I have to. Logan allowed a sacrifice fly and go ahead run and the Yankees lost because of it. To me, you can't come in against lefties and allow lefties to hit against you, ESPECIALLY IF YOUR JOB IS TO GET THEM OUT. Yes, Granderson made the catch but at that point, it was do or die for the Rays and it's more about the hit happening in the first place. And, of all people Boone, you had to allow it to Johnny Damon, didn't you? Damn it! You can't let that happen Boone, you just can't. So, tonight I'm praying to the Gods that put Sergio Mitre on the Disabled List today for alittle more action on my behalf:

Dear God who I love so much,

You were able to make Sergio Mitre go the the DL (read HERE), can you please just give Boone Logan alittle abdominal pain, or blister or something so he can join Mitre on the DL? Then we'll be forced to find a lefty immediately in the farm or in a trade and move on. Thank you.

-Casey

P.S. I've been good all year so far...tell Santa

Look, you know how I feel about playing baseball. If you know you have a certain job to do, for example, getting out lefties, or fielding the ball cleanly without making errors, or just hitting in the clutch, damn it, you just have to do it. That's why you get a pay check. I'm annoyed at Logan tonight, and I think it's time to go.

The Final Score tonight: Rays 3 - Yankees 2. Tomorrow's a must win boys, win that and you must win 1 more to win the Series. Garcia vs. Price tomorrow. Do it Yanks!

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF SERGIO MITRE

When Sergio Mitre came back to the Yankees this year again, I didn't think too much of it. I figured the Yankees were going to stock pile arms and see how he was pitching and use him on occasion or not at all, after all, with the Brewers, he was 0-1 with a 3.27. To me, I didn't think having Mitre back in a limited capacity would really affect the New York Yankees. After all, we are a smart team and if we learned anything from Mitre, we learned it the last time he was here... he's not good. Mitre, while probably a great teammate offers absolutely nothing to better or help our club. That's just a fact, it doesn't matter if the guy's starting or relieving or mopping up...ultimately, there is not need to for this guy.

I wrote WHY IN THE WORLD? on December 2, 2010. In it, I give my theory to why Mitre keeps coming into games and keep coming back to the Bronx. Now, while my post is clearly a joke, Joe Girardi's sick fascination with Mitre is not. Mitre and Girardi have a long history together. Girardi has a personal attachment to this kid, if it wasn't evident before, it damn sure is now. I don't care if the Yankees are losing 25 to 3, Mitre doesn't belong on this rotation, starting, relief, bullpen, parking lot warm up...nothing. Joe, in fairness to the Yankee fans who believe in pride for the pinstripes and elite playing ability, this poor guy just doesn't have it and you need to open your eyes. Brian Cashman is the GM and you have to stop getting in his ear and helping him make choices on guys that we don't need.
"Joe Girardi likes Sergio Mitre, but he likes him the way he was when he started on the Cubs when Joe Girardi and he got to know each other. Girardi saw something in Sergio Mitre when he came up with the Cubs back in 2003...He saw potential. But the talent never really ever panned out. There was never a shot at becoming a superstar. That's life, it sucks for Mitre, but it's life."

I wrote that about a week after Sergio Mitre returned to the Yankees this year in WHY WE DON'T NEED MITRE...EVER. In it, I try to again understand in my post why this keeps happening. It makes no sense to me, but it is clear this is a connection that runs deep, if it really didn't, Mitre would still be on the Brewers, putting up decent numbers and not on the New York Yankees where he allows a run or more literally every inning he's out there. It's just not fair to the Yankee fans and the team, and it's not fair to this guy who Joe keeps believing in. I have to laugh because I saw Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and in it, the wife looks at Dewey and she says to him: "I do believe in you, I just know you're gonna fail." That's how I feel about Sergio Mitre. I never want to totally NOT have faith in anyone the Yankees put out there, but when Mitre comes in, there is no upside...It's disappointing, it's tragic and I'm sorry, "It's over Johnny."

I am calling on Brian Cashman to do the right thing here. The New York Yankees are on a Quest for 28 this season and the world knows it. Cashman and Girardi are the closest to this situation. Now, while Mitre didn't lose it for us last night, he did put the game out of reach and to me, that is unacceptable. Yes, I blame Bartolo Colon for last night's loss, and yes, Boone Logan didn't help, but Mitre is clearly out of his league and to be honest, I'm not sure a major league team deserves him. He's not on the level.It may sound harsh, but this is the reality. Time's up, we need to go on without you Sergio. You got your ring in 2009. This is 2011.

Time to cut to cord Joe....time to cut the cord.

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WHY JETER GETS CLOSER, BUT YANKEES LOSE

(Photo: NY Times)
The Yankees just had nothing in the tank tonight until the 9th and by then, it was too late. The Indians pitching was brilliant and the Yankees were flat. Is this any way to treat the Captain as he is about to embark on 3000 hits? Hmm. That's me dripping with sarcasm.

Look bottom line, the Yankees didn't have anything tonight based on great pitching by Cleveland and that's that. Turn the page. You can harp on this game all you want, but you shouldn't because it's over.(Photo: Reuters)
Tonight was Phil Hughes big night. To tell you the truth, if Justin Masterson wasn't pitching, Hughes may have gotten his first win of the year. The trouble was the Yankees just couldn't get it together, Masterson was lights out. Hughes had a tough first inning but it changed. He pitched 5 innings, held the Indians to 2 runs on 5 hits and walked 2. His fastball was between 92 and 93 MPH. He settled down and his velocity was up, that's what was important.(Photo: US Presswire)
The Captain is now 3 hits away from 3000. His hit tonight, a double, was a beautiful shot to right field and the world is watching Derek, so Derek, do your thing. I feel just as nervous as Derek must feel right now. Mikey Blue and I collected his rookie cards before Jeter ever stepped foot in Yankee Stadium back in 1992 and 1993. I have watched him his entire career, I love the guy and I love his leadership. Believe me, I watch him every at bat and while he looks cool as a cucumber, his nerves are going crazy, believe me. Now I understand why Roger Maris said he was losing hair during his run for 61. It must be nuts.

And can I ask you a question? Why is Sergio Mitre pitching in any game for the Yankees? Why? Sergio Mitre is probably a great teammate and a real nice guy. But I think he's done. Girardi's man crush for Sergio Mitre is at this point about to break worldwide on TMZ. It's ridiculous, he doesn't belong in a game for the Yankees. The Yankees are a team made up of contenders, not mop up guys. Never pitch this guy Joe, ever. Hell, I'd rather pickup Chad Gaudin again... seriously, I would.

Final Score tonight: Indians 5 - Yankees 3. It's Rays time tomorrow, get ready New York.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY WE DON'T NEED MITRE... EVER

Joe Girardi likes Sergio Mitre, but he likes him the way he was when he started on the Cubs when Joe Girardi and he got to know each other. Girardi saw something in Sergio Mitre when he came up with the Cubs back in 2003...He saw potential. But the talent never really ever panned out. There was never a shot at becoming a superstar. That's life, it sucks for Mitre, but it's life.

Look, I coach Little League, and I see kids who play equally to other kids on the team, kids that are new to the game, yet, the coaches look at the ones that have been playing longer and look back to their Glory Days, when those kids were superstars. At the end of the day...they're really all pretty equal right now, but, they remember those older times, not the moments now and they bench the newer kids. Let me tell you something, Joe Girardi is thinking back to the Glory Days of Sergio Mitre. Except, there weren't any Glory days in Chicago, there was only possible potential and those days are long gone.
The Yankees have to cut Sergio Mitre. Release him and give that spot to a pitcher that deserves to be in that spot. There are plenty of them on the New York Yankees, either on the current roster or in the farm system and that opportunity is for someone that's earned it. What is the reasoning for bringing in someone like Mitre losing a 3-0 game and allowing him to load the bases and the next thing you know it's 5-0? Put it this way, if Mitre isn't in and a regular is there instead, the game is tied 3-3 in the ninth, not 5-0. See what I mean?

This rant clearly is the pregame before my recap of tonight's game, and something I had to get off my chest. In my mind, Mitre's career in pinstripes needs to be over. Sorry I sound so harsh, but it's the reality.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

3 YANKEES WALK INTO A BAR...

Well, not exactly, but how else to I get your attention. There are 3 players I want to tell you about, some good news and some weird news but still important to keep the base informed so here it goes:

Derek Jeter: Our Captain will be playing for the Trenton Thunder this weekend and I have to tell you, that is awesome for Yankee fans in Trenton. It's always great to see such a well established ballplayer playing on a lower level. First off, it packs the house, and secondly, it's just a fun time. I remember when Clemens was down there after Suzyn Waldman announced to the world that "Roger Clemens is in George's box." Click the video in this link HERE. I also loved seeing Hideki Matsui in his rehab down there after the wrist injury. It's a lot of fun. If you can get tickets, it 's a good ticket to get. Look for Jeter to be back with the big team in the Cleveland series next week. Very exciting.
Bartolo Colon: Colon is coming back and I can't wait for it. He threw a simulated game and a bullpen session and to use John Rowe's words from The Bergen Record, Colon "declared himself fit to come off the disabled list and start against the Mets on Saturday." This guy was a huge surprise this year and I know they'll be a Lifetime movie about him... I crack myself up.
Sergio Mitre: If Jeter, Colon and Mitre are the three stooges, Mitre is Shemp. He's the third Stooge that I just really didn't like as much as Curly and I feel that way about Mitre. He's there, he may be talented, but I'm done giving him chances.I don't care for Mitre, I feel like he's got a dirty secret about Girardi that is forcing Girardi to continue to give him a job. I just don't care for the guy. Now the Yankees paid the Brewers like $50 for him, and this is just alittle insurance this time around. I don't expect Mitre to be that affective and I don't even know if they'll use the guy. Bringing Mitre back is just to get another look. He had a 3.27 ERA with an 0-1 record in 22 games. Take a look HERE. You know I'm the first to say I can't stand the guy, but I don't take this signing too seriously.

All in all, the Yankees are coming, coming off injury and being added to the already talented team. Read WHY THE YANKEES ARE COMING and you will sense me smiling as you read it.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.