wow. 9 years! congrats, alex!!! i've been reading you since the very beginning, back when you were at all-baseball.

i'm so glad you're still happy with it and continuing. most of all, i just wanna say:

THANKS!!!

Started at blogspot, moved to all-baseball in '03, then went to Baseball Toaster and then Wordpress after that. It began as a blog about rooting for the Yankees and living in New York and over the years it has evolved into a New York lifestyle site, a culture site, featuring the Yanks. It's been a wonderful ride so far.

Onward!

we still need:

- banter softball game at a park in nyc
- banter/score truck t-shirts
- banter supported "chyll will & thelarmis" food show!

[2] oh, okay. i must've found you at all-baseball in '03, then followed you thru the toaster days to present & future.

just curious:

when you preview your comments now, there's a number "0" to the left of the username. it's not an anything, i just don't remember seeing that before and wonder if it's a product of the new server or if there are still some kinks in the system...

Your blog has outlived the 9 train!

congrats!

oh the 9 train, how well you shuttled us blacked out MC freshmen to and from the Columbia bars in the fall of '02...

btw, the royales just sent melky on the 9 train from KC to SF. got jonathan sancez and a minor league arm in return. leche will leadoff for the giants. his offensive #'s will certainly take a hit playing in pac bell park (or whatever it's called nowadays, at&t, maybe...) lorenzo cain will take over for the melkman in front of the waterfalls at kaufmann stadium.

congrats alex - crazy that it has been that long for you but great that you are still at it and enjoying it.
i came aboard the toaster years.
pick it up!pick it up! pick it up!

Kudos Alex! You're the best!

So next year we actually have a party, right Alex?

Great job keeping this thing going. A salon for a bunch of baseball-loving weirdos. It's Alex who keeps this thing together and brings us all into the fold. Cheers, buddy.

Look at that. The Banter and I share a birthday!

Congrats my dude!!! 9 years and still going strong. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back!!!

Wow, you were just a youth when you started, huh?
Well blogged, Belth.

[5] I decided when I reinstalled the preview plugin on the new server to make the layout of the preview match the layout of the comments. But I didn't have a way to know what number comment it's going to be, so I picked zero as a placeholder.

Congrats, B! Looking forward to double digits...

I fully support a Chyll Will/thelarmis anti-foodie show! >;)

Seriously Alex --- we need Banter Tshirts. Those nomaasholes have them! Why not us. I'd be proud to wear one.

[14] so...what's this i hear about you not liking reese's peanut butter cups? that's about as un-american as not liking apple pie. or, even worse - not liking apples or pie! ; )

Cheers! Been checking here each day since the end of the Serious just to see what's what.

[19] you pulled a "Hawk" and altered your screen name?!

Congrats, and long live the Banter.

A nice t-shirt, wouldn't be so bad?

Any designers out there?

[21] hey kb - the guy who made you cry is up for the hall of fame, via the veterans committee. let's hope he doesn't get in! ; )

[22] Ken Boyer was a great player, and important to Cardinal history, but not HoF worthy. There are players who really need the veterans to make it happen, he's not one IMO.

Between Ken, Clete, and actor Charles, the Boyer's had it going on. Their parents must of been proud.

One of these things is not like the other...

Man, thelarmis is manning the peanut gallery all by himself. (What's that flower in the gallery? Is it a buttercup?)

17) Okay. I'll see what I can do.

[3], [17], [25] et al: There's gotta be an old piece of Afternoon Art or something from the Tumblr gallery that will screen well in one or two colors on a shirt.

[3] What does it take to book a diamond at Heritage Field?