2013: YANKEE WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR

As I sit here watching the Polar Express with my family, I can’t help but think about what was in Santa’s sack for me this year.  As a Yankee fan, with a tree filled with championship ornaments, there was only one gift for me this year, besides the iPhone 5- a World Series Championship!  2013 seems like a great year for this to happen but in order to get there, we need to believe it’s possible.

I think that we all lost that belief somewhere during the 2012 post season.  Our guys tried to do it with just muscle and we all know how well that turned out.  So my first wish for the New Year is that our Yankees believe in themselves and we as fans believe in them too.

It was in 1973 when New York Mets pitcher Tug McGraw coined his famous phrase, “Ya Gotta Believe.”   Almost 40 years later, this phrase still reigns true and it is perfectly relevant for us to adopt for this upcoming season.  Although I hate to steal a perfect phrase from our evil stepbrother, the Mets, it may just be the thread we need to hold us together.

With Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter at the helm next season, I feel like we can believe.  They seem to be the glue we need to hold our seams together and keep us from unraveling.  “For all the talk of Moneyball, the game remains Heartball. As talented and focused as major leaguers are, they still need something or someone to give them motivation and confidence,” coined the ESPN article “With the Finish Line in Sight, Baseball’s Finalists Reach for the Tug of Destiny.” 

My second wish for the New Year is for Andy Pettitte to pitch a full season at his best.  We waited for a miracle last season, and when Andy came back on Mother’s Day (my kids and I were there to see his 2012 debut), we got it!  But it was short lived as he went on the DL with a fractured fibula and it wasn’t until late in the season that we got our Andy back.  I remember watching him throw some rehab pitches on September 9th in Orioles Park at Camden Yards and just wishing it was July and we had him for two more months instead of only a few weeks.  “Pettitte missed a lot of the season with a fractured fibula, but went 5-4 with a 2.87 ERA. At 40, he knows what he is doing on the mound,” according to a November ESPN article “Rapid Reaction: Andy Pettitte Returning.”  I wish for him to be healthy so he can win 12 or more games for us this season.  Now that would be some wish!

My third wish for the New Year is that our prospects in the farm system produce and make their way to the Bronx.  We can’t do it with just the everyday players, we need our new guys to come up and produce.  And honestly, we need to hold onto these guys long enough to see them produce.  Sure, we held onto Robinson Cano as he moved up the ranks through the farm system and we all know how well Jeter turned out, but we let Jesus Montero go across the country and for what?  Michael Pineda?  Really?  According to CBS Sports, Brian Cashman (HERE) stated in November that, “All I can report is his arm was working very well, very healthy, very loose. He had zip on it. He’s in great physical shape in terms of body weight. He’s not going to be a choice in game action until probably sometime in May or June. Whether it’s majors or minors, who’s to say?" Again, I say, really?  I would like to hold onto our minor leaguers a lot longer than we have been instead of trading them away for hopes and dreams. 

I don’t think my wishes are too outrageous, and like the Polar Express Santa says to the loud and enthusiastic boy, “A little patience and humility would do you good,” I feel like we as fans have been patient and humble and now it’s our time.  Now it’s our time for our wishes for the New Year to come true.  

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




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