YANKS WILL KEEP PUSHING TO GET "IN SYNC"

It always sucks when our team starts 0-2...especially if you’re a Yankee fan. But now we're 1-2 and believe it or not, before last night... worse had happened in Yankeeland.  Remember how you felt in 2004 when we were swept 4 in a row by the Red Sox in the ALCS?  That feeling hurt like hell.  A few losses in April ain’t nothing compared to 2004.   

Remember Luis Gonzalez prancing around after he hit that liner off of Mariano Rivera in 2001? That stung like hell.  Now compare it to the 1-2 record we have.  It doesn’t rise.  Truth be told, I’m not getting crazy yet… but I’ll get crazy soon if my Yankees don’t start winning consistently.

The Yankees are out of sync, but they are working toward being in sync.  It’s as simple as that.  Sometimes when you have a group of guys unfamiliar with each other, it takes a few games to get going. Baseball has never been an individual sport and so, 9 guys on the field and in a lineup need to work together, strategize and come to a goal… win… together.

(In Photo: Travis Hafner)

The game of ball and the basics of the game from Little League to the pros are identical if you break them down.  You need to get on base. You need your teammates to knock you home and when you’re in the field, you need to not let the other team score. That’s it.  A 10 year old knows it just as well as a pro ball player.  What I saw in the first 2 games this season was just life. I saw a group of guys getting their at bats, getting into a live game and starting to contribute...slowly.  I mean, there is no question that this team is unfamiliar to each other as well as all of us. So, we as fans are still trying to find our way, but we root for the uniform and we hope a player like Brennan Boesch, or Vernon Wells or Travis Hafner understands the importance and does their best.  I trust they will.  And for the record, it started last night... we won Game 3.

I question the lineup, but I know Girardi is feeling his way through this as well. I mean, why not put Ichiro first and Brett Gardner last? Ichiro has a history of getting on base all the time...remember 200 + hits per season for a lot of years. I mean, how many hits does he have in his career? It’s almost automatic in my mind.  Then, use Gardy as a second lead-off guy in the 9 hole.  Whatever it is, I know Joe’s trying to figure it out as well, and he will.

But what we will see in the next several days is us Yankees “feeling” our way through it and we did last night with our veterans and our new guys.  Getting into a routine helps, then, getting in sync starts and I believe that there will be wins and confidence and Yankeeland will soon be happy.  One thing I do know for certain though is the return of Derek Jeter will ignite a fire under everyone's ass. 

I mean, sure, we have Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera and last night it was clear, they are leaders, but there is something about having a Captain there to right the ship… and I believe Jeter is the final piece of the puzzle to get us going in 2013.  Let’s just hope it doesn’t take too long and the Yankees can win consistently without him. Otherwise, we'll be looking at a sinking ship…

Let’s hope not.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.