Emotional Overreaction. It's a staple in the sports world. For example, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant or Dwayne Wade having a phenomenal game and being called "the Next Jordan." The Detroit Tigers of 2008 being dubbed the "greatest offense ever assembled" and then finishing in 4th place in the AL Central. NY Giants fans calling for Tom Caughlin's and Eli Manning's head on a platter only to be worshiping the ground they walk on after winning them a Superbowl. Or even, the fan sitting in the bleachers in Major League 2, who loves the Indians when they're doing well and hates them when they're doing poorly, my friend Nate can sympathize.
It seems as if this same emotional overreaction is happening with my beloved Yankees. ESPN has called for Girardi's job, questioned the money spent in the offseason on Mark Texiera and C.C. Sabathia and have crticized their record, which is a game under .500. Despite all this, I'm not worried, and here's why:
-This happens every year. The Yankees as a whole tend to start out slow, and continued that trend by signing two slow starters who generally dominate in the second half. I'm reminded of an article I read on ESPN 2 years ago. The article was written in May and stated that mathmatically, there wold be no way the Yankees made the playoffs. They ended up going to the playoffs that year after a phenomenal second half.
-They are not at 100 percent. Sometime next week, A-Rod will be back in the lineup. Despite being a poster boy for the NY tabloids, the center of scandal, and being absolutley terrified of the post-season, the man produces runs and will allow Tex to have some protection in the lineup. Even if he starts out cold, the Yankees 3B combined have 0 home runs right now, the sky is the limit. Also, Posada will return from his injury and has put up good numbers so far. Not to mention Brian Bruney, who throws gas and settled into the setup role nicely and Demaso Marte, although I'm not sure how excited I am about that one.
-Joba showed signs of life the other night. I love Joba, however, I love him in the bullpen. With the lack of starting pitching right now, I understand that Joba will be kept in the rotation, while I don't think this is the ideal spot for him, I would love to see him succeed. A few nights ago, Joba gave up 4 runs in the first inning, but then rebounded by striking out the next 9 batters in a row. If he could put together consistent starts, (keeping his pitch count low, staying under control, etc.) I think I could be on board for him in the rotation.
I'll keep this post short, Danny has some reasons of his own as well. Anyways, I'm going to go on continuing my summer and have hope. These are my confessions....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I must say, it seems a bit naive to not be at least a little worried about your beloved Yankees. The great thing about sports is loyalty. Sticking with your team through thick and thin is a great test of how much you love your team. I'm not doubting your love of a team, but I just want to point out some things. Forget specific stats and individual numbers, what trends are the team experiencing? The Yanks experienced a great run of 13 straight years in the playoffs. New York was a great place to be. SNL was still funny, the beer was flowing like wine, and the women were instinctively flocking like the salmon of Capistrono. Before that? The Yanks were in the midst of a 13 year drought of being in the playoffs. What's even more interesting and noteworthy is the noticable decrease of deepness into the playoffs the Yankees had experienced: 95'-01', 7 appearances in divisional playoffs, 5 appearances in the ALCS, 5 appearances in the World Series, where they won 4 of them. 02'-07', 6 divisional appearances, 2 ALCS, and 1 World Series, which they lost. 05'-07' the Yanks didn't even make it past the first round. Finally, in 08' the Yankees failed to make the playoffs. I know all of this information you know far too well, but it is necessary to remember this in order to emphasize one very important point: Yankees fans are too used to winning. You expect to win, and that equals your demise.
ReplyDeleteIt is no secret the Yanks play in the best division in baseball, which is another deeply rooted problem. In my opinion, the fact that the Yankees did not make the playoffs last year has absolutely nothing to do with them, but everything to do with the Tampa Bay Rays. My only question is, since the Yankees have a record very similar to last years (May 11th 2008: 19-19; May 11th 2009: 15-16), can they overcome having to beat 2 teams in their division rather than just one? I know you can say that it was just one year, but hey, I bet some fans said that in 1919, and then 1920, and then 1921, etc...Worried? I think you should be...
GO SOX