YOUNG AT HEART!

"I'm going to call it as it is. We have go at least 17-3 and still hope for help down the stretch if we are going to get that 2nd Wild Card. If this happens, that would be an enormous high going into the playoffs. Our problem this year lies 100% on the offense and their inability to produce and offer any run support for the pitching staff."  
--Anthony Tony Pecora, regular BYB reader

Do you want to know what my favorite moment is in Yankees highlights? Bigger than the Jeter flip or the Scott Brosius home run in the World Series back in 2001? It's 2 individuals with more heart than anything I've ever seen before.  The date was October 16, 2003 and it was the 8th inning of Game 7 of the ALCS. Jorge Posada hit a bloop double to knock in Hideki Matsui to tie the game verses Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox.  The Yankees would go on to win that series. 

Do you remember Jorge Posada standing on second base with emotion dripping from his pours on that double? Do you remember the roar and his fists out, full of passion... full of heart?  

Do you remember Hideki Matsui? There he was jumping in the air and landing on home plate, and then the roar like he just won the World Series? Remember the passion? Remember the heart?  Those were my Yankees.  Fearless. Unwilling to give up.  And yes, in all my life, with all the great moments in history, I loved that moment most. 

It was hard to watch the Yankees this game tonight, not to mention the entire season.  For most of the game tonight, there was frustration. I was having a text conversation with Mike O'Hara around the 4th. Mike was at the game tonight. Let's just say the phrases, "they're abysmal" and "I loathe this club's lack of heart" were written.  I'm sure you were telling a friend the same thing at some point tonight. Heart is key and heart was lacking for most of this game. We saw nothing.   Now, in fairness, Alex Cobb was great and had a no-no going for quite a while tonight.  But as you know, and if you read BYB, we write about and appreciate "moments".  Much like that Posada / Matsui moment I just spoke of, there is nothing better for a club to get going.  It's energy... and it helps bring confidence. In a word, it's "heart."

Tonight, the guy that I've been ripping for weeks, Chris Young, did something incredibly special. Not only did he break the Cobb no-no, he walked off for us as well.  I guess I should listen to my own advise sometimes.  I guess I shouldn't forget about my love for the believer.  Instead of ranking on Young's .205 average with the Mets, I should have turned it into a positive... maybe even written about how it's not a bad hitter that the Yankees signed, but instead, the Bronx was a new opportunity for Chris Young.  After all, I root for the believer... and I should have been rooting for Chris Young all along.  I've learned my lesson.  He proved me wrong... and I freakin' love it.

First off, Michael Pineda started for New York, and he gave up 4 runs.  It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but when the Yankees couldn't hit Cobb... it was a bad situation.  Then, in the 8th, Martin Prado came in as a pinch hitter and hit a 2 run homer. Chris Young was one of those runs that scored. 

In the 9th, after Chase Headley got hit by a pitch and was removed, Ichiro doubled and Austin Romine, Headley's replacement, went to third.  At that point there was an energy at Yankee stadium. There was life. You could see things happening.  Mike O'Hara texted me, "This is becoming something..."  He wasn't kidding.

Down 4-2 in the bottom of the 9th, with men on second and third, I tweeted this:

Fans need to get in McGees head! #BYB
— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) September 12, 2014

Well, there wasn't enough time.  The next pitch was launched into the left field seats from Chris Young... the hero tonight, the fighter... the believer and just like that... the walk-off, and the Yankees won!

Finally, let me say this... that quote up top is very significant to tonight's win.  It's from a reader and BYB fan and someone that believes that we, the Yankees can do this! He also knows it's not gonna be easy.  Bottom line... it comes down to heart.  The Yankees found it tonight, but they need to keep believing!  Chris Young is a perfect example of fighting and believing. Chris Young woke up the giant. 

Young did something special tonight, and it's that moment that I'll remember for a long time.  Not only was it exciting, it was all about heart.  

Final: Yankees 5 - Rays 4

It's this win that can lead a club further.  Let's hope it does.


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