I'll TAKE THE TWO-FOR

Ahh, the All-Star Break. The time when hopes are renewed, and we’re once again like little kids at Christmas, waiting to see what Santa Baseball has in store for us under the tree. The players flex their muscles at the Home Run Derby, and then, of course, is the exhibition game of all time... The All-Star Game. Some players rest, as did our Derek Jeter, fresh off of achieving a 3,000 hit milestone. Others play the game, and we watch in hopeful anticipation that after the break, our teams will come out swinging.

Yankees fans have had quite a let-down. Even Red Sox fans are empathizing with us. They know the frustration we felt after getting spanked hard with double-digit scores. How angry we feel at the amount of money spent on lackluster pitching, batting, and bench players. We turn our angst to the front office, which seems to be paying for “star power” rather than performance. We yell at our TV, swearing at Girardi, Long, and every other poor bench coach that sits at the helm. This is a 27-time championship team, for God’s sake...What’s going on?
This weekend showed a little more promise, as we were able to take two in a row from Toronto. Not huge wins, by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll take it. The Yankees scratched and clawed to stay in the game and come out with two wins. A big sigh of relief came across Yankees Universe, as we once again hummed “New York, New York” to ourselves as we finally saw victory again. Ok, I’ll take the “two-for”.

As fans, though, we can’t be lulled into a false sense of security. The rest of this season will have biting our nails, and squirming in our seats. We must be strong. We must continue to show support, and most of all, don’t give up hope. That’s what baseball is all about, isn’t it? Having every game handed to you is not very fun for me. I like a challenge, and in that respect, my team isn’t letting me down. They say “never go to bed mad”, and although that’s been the case more often than not lately, a little perspective can change things a bit.

It’s a little bittersweet, though, isn’t it? The Sox are in first place and we are fighting to stay alive. Upon further reflection, though, I like it. I’m tired of the rumors or talk that the Yankees don’t have to “fight to win”, that they “bought their victories”, etc. It’s also kind of nice to have the best rivalry in baseball competing for the same spot again. If you recall, it wasn’t that long ago that the New York Yankees had no post-season at all.

So let’s not lose hope, and let’s have some fun with this, shall we? It’s not the end of the world. It’s just making things a little interesting!




--Christy Lee, BYB Staff Writer



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