This has been a transitional year for both the industry and this blog. I have not posted with the same fervor and frequency as in years past and the posts have been much more visual (video/photos) than the typical word format you have all become accustomed to. In the meanwhile, through all that, we have had one of our busier years to date (certainly mine). The Yankees have certainly been the prevailing theme of 2009. We looked back at past greatness through the treasures of the old stadium (including the thousands of seatbacks I have gotten signed) and then celebrated a championship in the new stadium's very first year of existence. Abstractly the year began for me in Tampa, Florida where I got my first inaugural season baseballs and 2009 patch jerseys signed. I spent only a few days in spring training- a far cry less than the ten days I have become accustomed- but over those few days there was a definite sense that this could potentially be a special season. The whole year is basically a blur from then on - with a few highlights standing out.


I remember being at Citi Field the night Mo got his 500th Save. There I was- Mr. Met in his Santana jersey- not only cheering on a Yankee but sending a congratulatory text from the parking lot where Shea used to be. Then there was Old Timer's Day where I sat in the Old Timer's family suite as a guest of Doc Gooden's. It was awesome to not only be a guest of my favorite player but also to see all of the guys I work with in one room (Dent, Rivers, Larsen, Yogi , Richardson, etc..) I had a blast. Then, of course, there was the World Series which, as a Met fan, was Armageddon (couldn't get any worse). I was actually in Philadelphia on Halloween for the Govt. Mule show (Tower Theater, Jackie Greene, Rolling Stones them..'nuff said). I drove down directly from our Cal Ripken appearance and made it there in record time. It was amusing that whole week as I would tell people I was going to Philly they all assumed I was going to the game (by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around I just white-lied and said yes and that I was sitting in the upper deck- Mule is too much to explain to people on the outside.) Anyway, I did make it to one game- which happened to be Game 6- the clinching game, the Matsui game. As a Mets fan (even in my position) I don't feel comfortable at Yankees games. I moved around a lot during the game and actually saw the last out from the upper deck with an old friend and his son. Then the next morning ("the bus came by and I got on" that's when it all began.. A five week Yankee-thon between team signed, individual and public appearance (including an epic show on my birthday and culminating in the Arod signing at Last Licks Manhattan last Thursday). Interestingly enough- personally my year seemed to end this weekend. I was back in Tampa (where it started so innocently with a handful of inaugural baseballs at the Grand Hyatt and a Pentel RSVP blue ballpoint pen) for a Jorge Posada signing. Over the past few weeks the hottest items have been anything signed by the Core Four (Pettitte, Posada, Rivera and Jeter) and Jorge was the last name needed to fulfill our Christmas orders. With that in mind I flew out to Posada's Friday evening for what was supposed to be a quick, in and out, signing Saturday morning. We knocked out the signing fairly quickly but it took me a long time to pack up (out of practice I guess from a year that had me pretty much grounded in New York). The extra time was irrelevant though as the snow left me trapped in Tampa overnight. I finally made it back Sunday evening with a definite sense of closure (as I happily watched last week's episode of "Jersey Shore" on my Jet Blue flight). So really the year kind of ended for me right where it started (with a flight delay at Tampa airport... there were rainstorms in March).

Having said that- I am looking forward to bigger and better things for the situation in 2010. We are closed from Christmas to New Years (if you happen to see me at any of the Biscos or Mule shows in NYC be sure to say hello) but will be back and ready to go January 4th. I hope to incorporate more webcasts, photos and reader/viewer interaction as we move into the next decade.

Happy Holidays!

Let's Go Mets! (Yes, even after all that my loyalty remains to the team in Flushing)

Happy New Year!

Here are some pictures from the past year, hope you enjoy.