From the USS Mariner WRT the Yanks as related to the Washburn trade. Granted, the authors have an anti-Yankee slant, which goes back to before 1995 (and was cemented after the Nelson/Martinez salary dump deal after that season) but the article still is worth a read.
- Posted by Raf
Excuse me while I go on a little rant…
I am so tired – and done – with hearing people talk about pitch counts and innings limits. (And, in Yankeeland, where there’s “Joba,” there’s talk about counts and limits, etc.)
Regarding pitch counts and innings limits, with respect to preventing abuse of pitchers, to quote the dying Comedian “It’s a joke. The whole thing is just a joke.” And, here’s why:
1. Using an inning as a measuring unit for pitcher workload is a mistake. Not all innings are alike. Do you really think a pitcher works as hard in a 9-pitch inning as he goes in a 35-pitch inning? Of course, the answer is “no.” But, in the world of limiting innings, based on innings pitched totals alone, you are treating the 9-pitching inning the same as the 35-pitch inning and that’s just silly.
2. Using pitch counts, to determine a pitcher’s workload, alone, is a mistake. Not all pitch count totals are the same. Do you really think that a pitcher who throws 100 pitches over 7 innings in a game has worked as hard as a pitcher who has thrown 100 pitches over 4 2/3 innings? Of course, the answer is “no.” But, in the world of watching pitch counts, based on pitch count totals alone, you are looking at the destination and ignoring the journey that it took to get there. And, the journey is where all the labor is – and it’s not at the end of trip.
3. Heck, not all pitches are alike in terms of the stress they put on a pitcher’s arm. Do you think it’s the same on a pitcher’s arm when he throws a four-seam fastball as it is when he throw a split-fingered fastball? How about when he throws a two-seam fastball and a curve? Think that feels the same on his elbow? How about a straight-change versus a slider? While we’re at it, how about a pitch thrown from the full wind-up versus the stretch? Think they both feel the same on the arm?
So, forget pitch counts and innings limits when worrying about protecting a pitcher’s arm. If you really want to protect a starting pitcher’s arm, do this: The day after each of his starts, do a test on his arm – the shoulder, rotator cuff, elbow, etc. – and measure the strength of it. And, if you see that his arm is not losing any strength after each start, more so than usual, then he’s fine. And, only if you start to notice a trend where his wing is starting to weaken, again, more so than usual, after his starts, then you can start to back-off on his workload.
Anyway, that’s what I would suggest – rather than just look at pitch counts and/or innings totals. How about you?
Darren Everson, over at the WSJ, says that “in recent years, winning the World Series has had nothing to do with being good against good competition.” (H/T to Marc Carig.) More from Everson:
After losing three of four games to the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees are 24-29 against teams that are currently .500 or better. Even worse, they are 0-8 against their archrivals, the Boston Red Sox, against whom they open a four-game series on Thursday. How can the Yankees win in October, the thinking goes, if they’re so-so against good teams now?
This actually isn’t a bad sign at all, though. In fact, it’s the mark of a champion. In recent years, winning the World Series has had nothing to do with being good against good competition. Five of the nine champions this decade posted losing regular-season records against opponents that were .500 or better, including the 2008 Phillies (43-46).
Conversely, teams that excel against tough opponents tend to flop in the postseason. Not since the 1995 Braves has the team with the best record against .500-or-better competition won the World Series that same season.
…Five of the nine champions this decade posted losing regular-season records against opponents that were .500 or better…
Wow. That sounds impressive. But, if you give the 2000 Yankees just one more win against teams that were .500 or better, and you give 2001 Diamondbacks just one more win against teams that were .500 or better, then it becomes:
…Six of the nine champions this decade did not post losing regular-season records against opponents that were .500 or better…
And, then, it’s just the 2002 Angels, 2006 Cardinals and 2008 Phillies who were champions this decade while posting losing regular-season records against opponents that were .500 or better. And, a case can be made that those three teams were very improbable champions…because of some wild things that happened in their favor during their World Series.
Some skinny on the recent SABR annual trivia contest, via Alan Schwarz -
[Michael] Caragliano had won not just a baseball trivia contest, but the baseball trivia contest: the annual jamboree held by the Society for American Baseball Research, whose annual convention took place this weekend just blocks from the White House. More than 6,000 of baseball’s most avid historians populate SABR, and its internecine trivia skirmish is one of its most eagerly awaited events, crowning the sport’s official factoid aficionado — or egghead, depending on whether you can actually throw a curveball.
Indeed, to a sizable portion of the civilized world, baseball trivia is a contradiction in terms. Knowing that Pat Moran managed the 1919 Cincinnati Reds or knowing the name of the Washington Senators’ last pitcher — Joe Grzenda! — is something to be admired, if not in all settings shared. Nowhere is this skill more safe and celebrated than during SABR’s annual trivia contest.
More than 100 competitors — mostly middle-aged men in various states of baseball garb — were whittled to four based on knowing that Vic Davalillo served as a designated hitter in the World Series and on knowing the nine rookies who started for the Astros one September day in 1963. (What, you forgot Sonny Jackson?) When the moderator announced that the career home run leader of the 19th-century National Association was one Lip Pike, with 15, a collective swoon wafted from the crowd.
“There should be a wow factor with the answer,” said Scott Brandon, who concocted this year’s quiz when not running his marketing company near Seattle. “The answer should be unexpected or grab you. If it’s truly trivial, like who was the third-leading hitter on the 1947 Pirates, that’s not a good question. I can do tough all day — it has to be interesting, and deceptively difficult.”
SABR held a separate team competition, with four-person squads with names like the Placido Polancos, but the individual contest would name the single top baseball trivia expert in the room, and almost certainly the world. Most agreed that the field was wide open now that Al Blumkin, a 66-year-old former computer systems manager for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, had hung ’em up after dominating for years.
Blumkin attended this year’s contest wobbling on a cane, as legendarily as Babe Ruth on his bat.
“I won one year because I knew that Jimmie Foxx hit seven home runs in his last season — for the Philadelphia Phillies,” Blumkin said. “My best moment was 1991 in New York, when I won on the first St. Louis Browns batter to hit two homers in a game. I knew it wouldn’t be something simple like George Sisler. It was Branch Rickey. I got a standing ovation.”
They’re as real as the honor Caragliano pursued on Saturday, when he scrapped his way to the trivia finals against Cliff Blau, a retired accountant from White Plains. Caragliano mounted an early 17-1 lead on easier questions — like knowing that Bob Swift was the catcher during 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel’s at-bat in 1951 — and outlasted a late Blau rush, capped by naming Biz Mackey as a platoon catcher on the Negro leagues’ 1924 Hilldale Daisies.
When Blau said that the Hall of Fame executive George Weiss once owned the Hartford franchise of the Eastern League, when it was in fact New Haven, Caragliano won.
“How did I not know that Kiko Garcia was the first Oriole to hit a single, double and triple in a World Series game?” Blau joked afterward. “I have to brush up on my Kiko Garcia.”
Compared to the baseball layman, I’ve been told that I’m a pretty good baseball trivia player. Ask me questions like:
What significant event occurred during the first night name at Ebbets Field?
Who was on base when Kirk Gibson homered in the 9th inning of Game One of the 1988 World Series?
What was the relationship between Ruth Steinhagen and Eddie Waitkus?
Who is the father of the boxscore?
What player ran around the bases backward to commemorate his 100th career homerun?
…or…
Name the only pitcher to fan over twenty batters in a Major League game.
Name the first switch-hitter to collect 100 hits from each side of the plate in a season.
Name the player whose nickname was “Gumby.”
Name the only player to win a Rookie of the Year Award with less than two months experience in the Majors.
Name the one batter to homer for the Yankees in the 1976 World Series.
…and I can do just fine. But, knowing that Bob Swift was the catcher during Eddie Gaedel’s at-bat? And, knowing the pitcher who gave up Reggie Jackson’s first postseason home run? Stuff like that is just out of my league…
Which three players appeared in games when they were older than the sitting United States president? I mean…com’on…
In fact, if the guys in the SABR Trivia contest were All-Star big leaguers, then my trivia skills are more at the solid, but not a star, everyday Double-A player level…maybe borderline Triple-A player level (where I would play in the league but not consistently do well).
While there’s a part of me that thinks some of these guys are out there – I also recognize that the non-baseball fan probably thinks the same of me…if they knew how much baseball trivia was in my head. In any event, one of these years, it would be great to see the MLB Network televise SABR’s annual trivia contest (like ESPN does with Spelling Bees). Having the extra pressure of being on national T.V. could bring participating in a contest like this to a new level…
Some Yankees baserunning stats via Baseball-Reference.com…
OOB = Outs On Base (Runners put out while making a baserunning play. Example: Out attempting to advance on a fly ball, being doubled-off on a liner, out trying to advance on a hit, or out trying to advance on a PB or WP. This does not include pick-offs, force plays, or caught stealing.)
BT = Bases Taken (Bases advanced on fly balls, passed balls, wild pitches, balks and defensive indifference.)
Tm OOB Tm BT LAA 53 CLE 118 NYY 46 TBR 117 MIN 45 LAA 117 TBR 42 MIN 113 CLE 40 TOR 99 KCR 37 OAK 97 LgAvg 36 LgAvg 90 CHW 36 CHW 89 BAL 36 BOS 87 SEA 33 TEX 86 TEX 30 DET 85 OAK 30 SEA 78 BOS 30 BAL 71 TOR 25 NYY 65 DET 23 KCR 44
This all said, the Yankees have been doing a very good job this season, so far, in terms of going from first to third; and, a decent job at going from second to home. But, for sure, they’re running into a lot of outs when on base and not advancing that much this season, to date, on fly balls. The two seem to go somewhat hand-in-hand…not advancing on flies and making outs on the bases…
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And, just to prime the pump here, I’ll throw out the scheduled pitching match-ups for the big upcoming series against the Red Sox:
Thursday, 8/6, 7:05 pm – Joba Chamberlain vs. John Smoltz
Friday, 8/7, 7:05 pm – A.J. Burnett vs. Josh Beckett
Saturday, 8/8, 4:10 pm – CC Sabathia vs. Clay Buchholz
Sunday, 8/9, 8:05 pm – Andy Pettitte vs. Jon Lester
Seeing these, which games do you think the Yankees will win?
Looking at some A.L. team pitching stats, through yesterday’s games, we can see that the Yankees are just about league average, overall, with respect to their performance this season (to date):
Tm #Pitch PitAge R/G ERA ERA+ BOS 18 30.2 4.35 4.12 114 CHW 21 29.6 4.53 4.15 112 SEA 17 28.1 4.30 3.91 110 DET 21 26.3 4.42 4.14 109 TBR 19 28.3 4.47 4.20 108 TEX 21 28.3 4.41 4.18 107 TOR 24 28.5 4.45 4.14 105 LgAvg 20 28.4 4.73 4.43 100 NYY 20 29.4 4.86 4.50 98 KCR 17 29.1 4.95 4.52 96 LAA 23 29.0 4.97 4.75 95 OAK 19 25.8 4.92 4.52 91 BAL 23 28.8 5.32 5.04 91 MIN 19 27.6 4.87 4.65 89 CLE 27 28.7 5.39 5.18 87
The key here is ERA+ which is park adjusted – thus taking out the launching pad stats that Yankees pitchers get for having to work half their time in the Homerdome that Trost Built.
So, the Yankees pitchers, on the whole, are not great or terrible – they’re just a tiny tick under league average. So, because of that, should we say “Great job Dave Eiland!”?
It’s funny. Lately, when I think of Dave Eiland, the same thought comes to my mind: If the Yankees, without warning, were to fire Dave Eiland, now, and replace him with anybody, would there be a huge outcry of dismay (over the firing) by Yankees fans? I guessing: Probably not.
So, that leads to the question: What value does Dave Eiland add to the New York Yankees…if hardly any Yankees fans would miss him…should he be gone in an instant? Dare we say: Little value at all?
What do you think of Dave Eiland as the Yankees pitching coach? Has he done a great job, a good one, an average one, a bad job, or a terrible job – and why?
Have you seen the 2009 numbers for the Yankees first round picks from the drafts of 2007 and 2008?
New York took Andrew Brackman with their first pick in the ’07 Draft and they took Jeremy Bleich with their second first round pick in the ’08 Draft. (The Yankees took Gerrit Cole with their first overall pick in 2008 but did not sign him.)
Here are the stats for Brackman, so far this season at Low-A Ball Charleston, and, the stats for Bleich, to date, since he’s been called up to Double-A Trenton:
Year Age Tm W L ERA G IP H BB SO WHIP BB/9 SO/9 Brackman 23 Charleston 1 11 6.65 20 86.2 89 65 79 1.777 6.8 8.2 Bleich 22 Trenton 2 4 5.36 7 40.1 39 22 32 1.512 4.9 7.1
Based on these ugly numbers, it doesn’t look like anyone will be coming up with any fan-boy nicknames or cute T-Shirt slogans for these two prize draft picks too soon, does it?
What stands out the most in my mind, this past week, is the “good news/bad news” nature of the last seven days in Yankeeland. Facing Tampa Bay and Chicago, on the road, the Yankees went 3-4, overall. And, while that doesn’t seem like there’s any good news in there…there is…as New York did take two of three games from the Rays.
Of course, the bad news is that the Yankees lost 4 of 7 games this week – and their play in those four losses was just terrible. They looked like chumps in those games…in as many ways as a team can look like chumps.
And, that’s scary – because the Yankees now play Toronto for two, Boston for four, then Toronto for another three, and then New York heads out to the West Coast for seven games. Yes, that’s 16 games in a row, meaning no days off, including facing Boston four times, Roy Halladay once, and then having to deal with adjusting to a different time zone…oh, and, then, after one day off, then the Yankees have to head to Fenway Park for three games.
The next nineteen games, given the Yankees position in the standings and the calendar, are make-or-break time for New York. If the Yankees don’t show up for half these games, like they didn’t show up for those four games this week, it’s possible that New York might go something like 5-14 between now and August 23rd. And, if that happens, you can stick a fork in the Yankees chances this season – because they will be done.
Me? Being realistic, I expect the Yankees to go 10-9 in their next 19 games. And, hopefully, if that happens, Boston and/or Tampa won’t use that result to pass the Yankees in the standings. Or course, in a dream world, I could hope for the Yankees to go 14-5 over their next 19 games and send a message to the league. But, I don’t think that’s really going to happen…based on what we’ve seen from New York so far this season…when they’ve had to play tough.
What do you think? Will the Yankees go 5-14, 10-9, or 14-5 over this span? Or, will it be something else? And, why do you feel this way?
Yankees pitching prospects Ian Kennedy, George Kontos, Christian Garcia, Alan Horne, Zach McAllister, Brett Marshall, Garrett Patterson and Dellin Betances are all currently on the disabled list, in the minors. And, most of them have serious injuries. Just who is in charge of keeping the Yankees minor league pitchers sound? Or, is it more a matter of the Yankees drafting guys without doing their homework on their injury risk?
First, via AltoonaMirror.com last night -
Trenton catcher Jesus Montero, one of the top prospects in the Yankees’ system and the entire minor leagues, suffered a hand injury in the third inning of Saturday’s game against the Altoona Curve and had to be taken to Altoona Hospital for X-rays.
Montero was crossed up defensively and got hit on the left hand — his glove hand — by a pitch from Lance Pendleton. The catcher went down in a heap of pain and was lifted from the game.
“He got hit with a pitch,” Trenton manager Tony Franklin said. “It screwed up his finger, and I just don’t know what the extent of the injury is. We have to kind of wait for the doctor’s report.”
Franklin went on to add: “He could have gotten crossed up. He didn’t get his glove up in enough time.”
Next, via Mike Ashmore today -
Jesus Montero is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a broken middle finger on his right hand.
This is a relatively small blow for Montero, who will inevitably heal from this and be good as new when he likely returns to the Thunder in 2010.
Here’s a crazy idea…why not have Montero spend his D.L. and rehab time in the Bronx while the Yankees play out the season? Could be a nice chance for him to get his feet wet with respect to the big league scene…and…then…when the time comes for him to play in the majors…the awe factor will be somewhat offset…right?
There will be no harmonica throwing on the trip to Toronto! The sweep was averted!
We had family plans for today that was supposed to keep us out of the house from 1:30 pm ET until very late this evening. But, the weather forecast washed them out. So, instead, we ended up having a late lunch in Sea Bright around 2:20-ish. They had the Yankees game on the T.V. in the bar at restaurant. But, I really couldn’t see it – sans when we were leaving. At that point, it was 7-4, Yanks, and Sabathia had just recorded the first out in the bottom of the fifth.
From lunch, we decided to run some errands and I was in and out of the car a lot. I was able to hear a little bit of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings on the radio. So, I knew that Melky Cabrera had a homer, double and single…but, that was the last I heard…until we were later back in the car and I got the post-game on the radio.
Now, this is a true story: After we hit our last store, I decided to take the family to our local Ralph’s Italian Ices. I grew up around the corner from the first Ralph’s and have been eating their ices since 1967. If you’ve never had it, I highly recommend it. Back when I was a kid, it was pretty much orange, lemon, cherry, chocolate and maybe a couple of other flavors. But, today, they have more flavors than you can imagine possible.
So, we get there and I order an orange, my wife orders a malibu bay breeze, and my son, age 5, orders a chocolate peanut butter cup ice. Now, my daughter, age 7, has been on a mission this summer. She’s out to try a different flavor every time we go to Ralph’s – and, today, all on her own, without any prompting, whatsoever, she decided that she wanted to order a “dulce de leche” cream ice.
When daughter got her ice, my wife and son decided that they wanted to try a taste of it too. And, across the board, they all said it was “Awesome!”
Then, later, when we were back in the car, and I heard the post-game on the radio, I found out that Melky, aka Leche, got the cycle with triple in the ninth. Dulce de leche (sweet milk) was “Awesome!,” indeed! Couldn’t have come at a better time Melky…attaboy!
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Via the Boston Globe with a H/T to BBTF –
Major League Baseball opened an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs inside the Red Sox clubhouse at the height of last year’s pennant race after two members of the team’s security staff were implicated in steroid use.
Both men were fired in a case that speaks to both Major League Baseball’s new intolerance for steroids and its inconclusive efforts to investigate suspicious cases.
The security staffers said they were dismissed after what they termed a cursory inquiry by Major League Baseball, and very limited questioning by the team – even though one of the guards says he swapped advice about steroids with David Ortiz’s close friend and personal assistant.
Both men said they told investigators they had no direct knowledge of steroid use by Red Sox players, including Manny Ramírez or Ortiz, both of whom were named in a New York Times report last week as having tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.
But, in interviews with the Globe, both revealed clubhouse details that could have fueled a more zealous inquiry. And the investigation did not even resolve the basic question of where the steroids the security staffer was caught with came from.
“I’m sure they were hoping I didn’t know anything,’’ said Jared Remy, one of the security staffers who lost his job. “It’s like they didn’t want to know. It’s like: Do we really want to know or do we just want it to go away?’’
The major league inquiry began after State Police confiscated a vial of steroids from the car of Nicholas Alex Cyr, a security staffer who was returning from a Red Sox-related event just before last year’s All-Star break in mid-July. Cyr told police he had bought the drug from Remy, the son of Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy.
Jared Remy denied being the supplier, but acknowledged in interviews with the Globe that he has been a steroid user.
Wow, so, RemDawg’s son was in the middle of this one. I think the worse thing Scooter Jr. ever did was telling Yogi that Yoo-Hoo with a beer chaser was no substitute for a Kahlua Mudslide…
Via Bill Madden -
Say this for the Yankees and Mets: They went into the baseball trading deadline with low expectations and met them.
Privately, the Yankees were astounded at the seemingly underwhelming return Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik got for Jarrod Washburn (second-tier pitching prospects Luke French and Mauricio Robles) – especially after he’d pulled off such a coup earlier in the week by fetching shortstop Jack Wilson and former 14-game winner Ian Snell out of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ firesale for light-hitting shortstop Ronny Cedeno, defensively challenged catcher/first base prospect Jeff Clement and three low-level pitching prospects. The Yankees thought they could have given Seattle a better package for Washburn, who’s a free agent after the season, but Zduriencik kept asking for top-tier prospects such as outfielder Austin Jackson.
Nevertheless, the Yankees have to be classified with the losers at the deadline, if only because they really needed to add a starting pitcher, while two of their potential postseason opponents, the Tigers (with Washburn) and the Red Sox (with catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez) made significant upgrades.
I’ve seen the reports since Friday that say the Yankees passed on Jarrod Washburn because Jack Zduriencik was insisting on Austin Jackson in return…and, I have to confess, it sounds like Yankees propaganda to me. You know…like…”Hey, we wanted Washburn, but, Seattle tried to rob us blind…and Brian Cashman is too smart for that!”
Sure, maybe the M’s asked for Jackson. I bet they may have asked for Jesus Montero too. Shoot, maybe they even asked for Mariano Rivera? After all, that’s the job of the G.M. – to get the best player in return, if possible. But, on the flipside, the Yankees should have not let it go at that…there’s an art to negotiations, no? If Jack Zduriencik started high on the return for Washburn, the Yankees should have tried to get him down from there…rather than just say “No way!” and walk away.
Maybe the M’s would have taken a package of Dellin Betances and Ian Kennedy for Jarrod Washburn? When you look at what Seattle got, Luke French and Mauricio Robles, it’s not an insult to say Betances and Kennedy are somewhat close to that…
In any event, this whole “They wanted Austin Jackson and that was the end of it” thing just bothers me…because it really does make it seem like the Yankees really weren’t trying here…
This is one of those dates in Yankees history that will always be hard to forget.
Sorta of strange, too, that the Yankees are playing the White Sox now – since the last game that Thurman Munson played was on August 1, 1979 – when the Yankees were in Chicago to play the White Sox.
If you haven’t read Marty Appel’s “Munson: The Life And Death Of A Yankee Captain” yet – what are you waiting for? Related, don’t forget that, today, from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm, Marty Appel will be at the Yogi Berra Museum to discuss the influence of Munson – followed by a signing of his book. If you’re in the area, this is one that you might want to check out!
Earlier today, I was asked the following question: “Are you able to enjoy Yankee wins?”
Before I answer that, I’m going to take a step back, to a year and a half ago, when some accusations were made towards my “fandom” of the Yankees. At that time, I shared that WasWatching.com prides itself in being “Yankees-blinders and Pinstripe-Pollyanna” free – but, that should not be confused with me not being a fan of the Yankees. And, I hope this new question is not some insinuation that I’m not a Yankees fan, etc.
Anyone who wants to debate or challenge me being a Yankees fan can go can scratch themselves, as far as I’m concerned. Anyone who knows me knows that I am an ardent fan of the Yankees, a zealot, and then some… And, asking me if I’m a fan of the Yankees is like asking if Dolly Parton sleeps on her back – meaning it’s something I view as a rhetorical question since the answer is so obvious that it does not require a reply.
Getting back to “Are you able to enjoy Yankee wins?,” I’ll be honest and share that my answer to that question today is different than it would have been in the past.
When the Yankees lose, I’m not a happy-camper, to say the least. In fact, a Yankees loss is a disturbance to my well-being. After a Yankees loss, to put it bluntly, I’m irritated. When it happens, I find myself anguished. It’s stressing. You know how it’s said that men need a “man cave” to go to when they’re stressed? Well, for me, it’s true. When the Yankees lose, right after it happens, those close to me know that it’s best to leave me alone so that I can go to my “cave” – which, for the last five years has been writing this blog – and work out my perturbation. However, that said, venting via blogging doesn’t always work – and, when the Yankees lose, there are many times when I can’t sleep at night because I’m too upset about it.
I’ve felt this way about Yankees losses since I became a fan of the team in 1973. And, in all these years, it has never changed.
Now, some may say this is not “normal” or “healthy”? And, while I understand that, I would offer that those saying it do not understand what it’s like to “live and die” with a sports team that you fervently follow. It’s just the nature of the beast, as far as I am concerned.
However, my “state” following a Yankees win, as mentioned herein, has changed.
In the past, a Yankees win basically brought on the opposite effect of what would follow a Yankees loss. It’s like Billy Martin once said: “Everything looks nicer when you win. The girls are prettier. The cigars taste better. The trees are greener.” For me, back in the day, like Martin, a Yankees win was a pleasure enhancer.
Remember when Phil Rizzuto announced the death of Pope Paul VI and then said “Well, that kind of puts the damper on even a Yankee win”? Many probably write that off to “Scooter being Scooter.” But, not me – as I understood where Phil was coming from there. A Yankees win, for me, would almost always, somehow, manage to take “the damper” off something…a Yankees win was a natural elixir…unless it was something “major” that not even a Yankees win could fix.
I’ve felt this way about Yankees wins since I became a fan of the team in 1973…until something happened between October 2004 and October 2005. At least that’s when I think it happened? It was after September 2004, for sure. But, maybe it happened between October 2004 and October 2006? It’s possible. I know, for certain, that it didn’t happen after October 2007. So, maybe I should say it happened between October 2004 and September 2007? I dunno…it’s hard to pinpoint…at this junction.
Bascially, I still “enjoy” Yankees wins now because a “win” is not a “loss” – and I still react very badly to Yankees losses. It’s a “positive” in the sense that it’s the absence of a “negative.” However, I no longer derive exhilaration from a Yankees win – the way that I once did in the past.
Why is this? When forced to think about it, the only conclusion I can offer is that the disappointments and pain from the Yankees Octobers of 2004, 2005, and 2006 have caused the build up of a callous on the Yankees pleasure center in my brain…and, instead of making me emotionally hardened and providing an indifference to suffering, it’s brought cause for me to become somewhat non-responsive to Yankees wins…where my reaction is not the same as it used to be… Perhaps, in my mind, thanks to the Yankees regular and post-seasons of 2004 and 2005 (and maybe 2006 too) I now see Yankees regular season wins as a Trojan Horse…in the sense that they are a desirable outcome, but, in fact, they are a trick that facilitates future broken promises and dreams, and the arrival of suffering, down the line when October comes?
Maybe, after the Yankees bad endings in 2004, 2005, 2006, etc., I just need a Yankees World Championship to cleanse my palate, and remove that aforementioned callous… Well, at the least, it couldn’t hurt, right?
In any event, to the question “Are you able to enjoy Yankee wins?,” the answer is: Yes, especially when the alternative is enduring a Yankees loss. However, today, I don’t enjoy them as much as I used to…because, lately, Yankees regular season wins have provided a ring-tease experience which has left me somewhat dulled by the eventual deficiency that follows in Yankeeland.
With this loss, the Yankees are still “Oh’fer Sox” this season – now being 0-8 against Boston and 0-3 against Chicago.
Three bases loaded walks allowed? Posada tagging a runner with his mitt and not the ball? Say, weren’t those plays out of the 1919 White Sox World Series playbook?
In the end, when you get your fanny kicked, 14-4, I guess it really doesn’t matter…in terms of looking at individual misplays, etc. As a team, the Yankees were just flat out horse-bleep today. And, New York has now lost five of their last eight…and the losses have been ugly. The Yankees are not playing like a team that’s on a mission to win their division. More so, they’re playing as if they are devoid of passion. And, that’s the really bad news here.
Christian Friedrich Hebbel was right when he said “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.” The Yankees need to learn this – and fast. Hopefully, General Joe will rip them a new one after this game and maybe it will sink in…
…if not, this season could be over by August 24th.
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Some stats and facts about the Yankees won-loss record so far this season:
Is it just me, or, have the Yankees yet to prove this season that they are capable of playing well against very good teams? Further, does anyone else think that sans those two (11-2) streaks where the Yankees padded their season win totals playing teams like the O’s, Jays, Twins and A’s, the Yankees record this year is basically that of a team that loses as much as it wins?
