SPRING HAS SPRUNG IN YANKEELAND!

If you’re in the Northeast, you are getting shellacked with snow and ice right now.  No better time to just think about Spring Training which begins today for the New York Yankees.  To me, it’s my favorite time of year, next to the World Seires… featuring the Yankees of course.

There’s a lot us Yankee fans are expecting to see.  For 1, we want a championship right at the jump.  But it’s bigger than that.  Many are immediately wondering if guys like Dan Johnson, Travis Hafner and the others can cut it.  I am here to say 2 words to you… Hiroki Kuroda. Not following? OK fine... keep reading...

That’s right, I am happy to go back to the well and tell you that I was the guy who blasted the Yankees decision to sign Hiroki Kuroda and thought it was a terrible idea, read WHY HIROKI'S NO-ROKI for guidance on that.  I said he was old, I said he couldn’t handle the pressures of Yankee Stadium.  I told you that he wasn’t a very good pitcher.  And you know what happened? He made me eat crow.  Boom. There, you have it.  So what’s my point? My point is anything can happen and Hiroki Kuroda is the perfect example of that.  He had most likely his best season ever in his career in New York and proved it enough that the Yankees re-signed him.

Let me throw you another name out that I blasted early on… Raul Ibanez.  Yeah, that’s right, I killed him for his terrible fielding.  I called him old. I thought it was a waste of money and I couldn’t believe what the Yankees were doing in signing this broken down baseball player.  Well, if the Yankees followed my lead ,we would have lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.  The point is, I am just a fan like you and sometimes my emotions get the best of me.  That’s why I wrote NO DOOM & GLOOM WITH OLD AGE... JUST SKILL when the new year hit. In a nutshell, sometimes old age brings skill and  I realized that while the off season was slow and we didn’t get what we wanted for player personnel…  maybe I should sit back and see what these new guys have to offer. Maybe, just maybe I reacted too quickly last year.  In this new year, I am trying my hardest to try and not get too nutty.  At the end of the day, it’s just baseball.  Sure, we love our New York Yankees and we want them to succeed, but what's to say we won’t do it with the talent we have? When you look at the names, at the numbers, the talent is there, the big question is, can we turn it on in 2013 and become that driving force in major league baseball again?

There are writers out there that have already predicted a Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers World Series.  Sure, on paper, that makes sense. But what ever happened to teams "Buying" championships.  Or, is that only when the Yankees "buy" players.  Not once did the Dodgers or Jays get called out for signing top talent.  But hey, if the Yankees do... that's the sin. I hate the double standard, but I'm over it now, because the Yankees don't spend big... let's call it spending smart instead.   Look, 2013 is already here... I can't believe it.  And yes, writers have made their predictions and writers are out there suggesting that if Derek Jeter isn’t at top form, the Yankees will wind up in last place. What a bunch of crap. I think I remember a few times when Derek Jeter was out of the lineup for an extended period of time and we actually played quite well in his absence.  

Remember the shoulder injury in Toronto in 2003? (read HERE.) Jeter was out for quite a while and the Yanks did just fine.  Then, let’s not forget the injury right before his 3000^th hit a few years ago.  Sure, sloppy Eduardo Nunez filled in, but it was the rest of the Yankees that really stepped up and kept it competitive in the American League.  When Jeter came back, he thanked them with his bat and has never looked back.

Sure, we all know the ankle is a terrible injury to come back from, but again… anything is possible and by the way, Jeter will be ready for Opening day.  Bet on it and read RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT, JETER'S BACK! for guidance on that.

The point is, a new season brings a new slate and even though there are distractions, us Yankee fans have been salivating for months.  And there is one thing that brings us all together on a winter day in February... baseball.  The beginning of Spring Training... Pitchers and Catchers and all the players that come with it.

We see the guys our kids worship. We see the guys we root for every game of the year.  It's about the fans, the pinstripes, the pride and the heart and love of the game.  It's the Yankees and when all the signings appear to be complete.  When all the moves appear to be made and when all the snow starts to melt... we see the light... Yankee baseball.

When I think about Yankees Spring Training, it brings me back and I think about things in my younger years... I equate it to being girl crazy as a teenager or to taking out my baseball glove from the closet.  I equate it to pulling out my old baseball card collection or noticing that it starts to stay lighter outside longer... all those things come to mind, because as Spring is sprung... the Yankees come alive and baseball slowly creeps back into our lives... and if you're Yankee fan, it's for the better.

Truth be told, when baseball's in my life, my life seems complete and when it's not there, there's a disruption. I've felt that way since I was kid and almost 35 years later that feeling is exactly the same.  This morning I woke up with a spring in my step and not because I can look out my window and see the Yankees playing like in Field of Dreams, but because I know that in no time at all, the snow will melt away and we'll soon be playing baseball again!  Thank the good Lord for that.

So enjoy it, and enjoy this day. Read all you can about our boys in pinstripes and get excited.  Think about it all day and all week and let's make this season a good one, as Yankees and as Yankee fans!

It's Yankee time again ladies and gentlemen. I can't wait to get started.

Oh yeah... and LET'S GO YANKEES!






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