SIT BACK & ENJOY THIS YANKEE SEASON

My friend Rich always makes good points when it comes to the Yankees.  Talking to him the other day, he told me quite simply that he was looking forward to this Yankee season.  He told me straight, “Look, I’m not looking for a World Series win here with this team, but anything is possible.” I tend to agree with him in that regard.  I mean, let’s face it, we have a good team, on paper, we're made up of good talent, but health always seems to be the big issue with the Yankees, and excluding 2009 when we were just animals in the playoffs, we seem to limb when we get there.   I asked him why he was looking forward to the season, he snapped back, “This is it man, we’re losing our Core Four, and they are so talented, Pettitte, Mo, Jeter, we just need to sit back and take it all it.  It’s been a pleasure to watch them all these years, We won’t experience that again for a long, long time.”  Right again. The guy's a genius. It’s times like this that I get chills thinking about it.  I mean, This could very well be Mariano Rivera’s last season ever in pinstripes so this season will be his farewell tour... part 2.  

(In Photo: The late Eddy Feigner)
Sure, we all know he can probably pitch until he’s 65 and then he'll do a tour with "The King and his Court" around the country, but let’s face it, sports are tiring and Mo’s accomplished so much already. Much like Jorge Posada, these guys fell in love with the fans and the Yankee experience and that’s hard to walk away from, but it does happen... and it will soon enough.   Jeter and Pettitte and right there too, make no mistake about it.  Rich is right, we need to let this season happen and enjoy it. Sure, we need to root for a World Series win, but we also should hang on every pitch and enjoy this team of gritty veterans that we've all seen since they came up with the team in the 90's. It's special when you think about it. It’s funny, years later, my hairs getting gray, but when Jeter runs out onto the field, I feel like it’s 1998 all over again.  Time flies, and strangely I feel like our champions never age... but they are.

These guys are true Yankee champions.  In the end, they did it for their team, but the fans flocked and will continue to flock because the Core Four played hard for us.

So Rich is right… let's take it all in.  Enjoy every hit by Derek Jeter.  Enjoy every pitch from Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, because it’s for sure a very special thing to see these guys out there performing at their best and they’re doing it for us, the fans, who pay their hard earned money to watch them win.  They get it, they're Yankees.

Sure, it’s most likely the farewell tour for Mo, but the others will soon follow.  Time does that to teams. Change happens, but in the end, we witnessed some pretty incredible baseball and I’ll take Rich’s advice… I’m going to make sure I watch it all happen this year and enjoy it, because Lord knows… change will soon happen and our heroes will be gone from that Yankee roster.

And then, in my world, if we’re so lucky in 8 or 9 years, at Yankee stadium on George Steinbrenner’s birthday, July 4^th, there will be a very special sold out crowd ceremony... a number retiring… #2, #20, #42 and #46 will all be unveiled as some of the greatest Yankees ever in this era and retired in Monument Park. And hey, maybe they can even throw in #51... after all, it's my scenario. Sure, the idea may sound ridiculous… but not to me.

Listen to Rich... enjoy this season... 

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