YOU, ME & JORGE POSADA GET BETTER WITH AGE

This is a bottle of wine I received on one of my birthdays a few years ago. It's never been opened and it probably never will be.

Jorge Posada is one of my favorite catchers of all time. Sure, who didn't love Thurman Munson, Yogi Berra or some of the others? But for me, it was Jorge.  He's my peer. As I approach 42 in August later this year, I feel that while life is hard, I feel good. I'm happy.  If life was easy, there would be no challenge and so, we'd all forget what hard work and pushing yourself is all about. Sure, there's always time to rest, but then you need to get up the next day and it's back to the grind. That's life, that's baseball. Look at Clay Rapada today for example. He's been working his way back to the major leagues, and tweeted this:

Grinding.  That means getting out there every day and doing better than the day before.  You have to appreciate and admire that!

But back to Jorge for a moment. He'll continue to be a huge part of our Yankee family for years to come and that's because he proved the doubters wrong and got out on the field every day, even if the day before was a bad one. Giving up was never an option.

In the end, he won several championships and he did it with 24 other men with 1 mission...win.  It's a life lesson as well as a baseball lesson. Sure, there are so many times I come home from work, the kids are driving me crazy as soon as I get in the door. There's homework to be done, sports, the kids are fighting, my wife wants a night out and it's nuts. But once it calms down, I'll pour a glass of wine, I'll sit in a dim room and it's silent. I reflect. I think. I'm grateful. I'm blessed.   Another day under my belt and after I map things out in my head as Jorge would do after an at bat, I'm back the next day ready to kick ass and accomplish something big. Why? Because giving up is not an option. You learn from your peers and your heroes about the importance about being a hard working person, a solid individual and keeping your family on track, and it's contagious, you hope it brushes off on your kids. I do at least.

What's this all about? Me. That's right, I'm being alittle selfish here. I know you are my readers and Bleeding Yankee Blue is my vehicle. Sometimes I need to vent. Sometimes I need to think things through because in my busy world, I can't always just talk to a random stranger about my daily grind. Getting it on paper is therapeutic and thank you for allowing me to force this on you. Truth be told, I know thousands of you are just like me and you know exactly what I'm saying right now.

When you fall, you get up. When you see the finish line, push yourself to win. Rise and Shine. Never give up. Believe. Don't stop! All are true and that's why it all goes back to that bottle of wine. There is something ironic about that bottle that will never be opened. You, me and Jorge, that bottle of wine, we all get better with age. But succeeding is not gonna just be handed to us...No. We need to go out and grab it and fight for it. That my friends, is how you succeed.

Thanks for letting me vent this morning...I needed that.

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