OVERBAY ANSWERS YANKEES' 9-1-1

FOX 5-News pushed out a story the other night about people calling New York City’s 3-1-1, the special line set up for city folk to inform officials of annoyances and disturbances within the five boroughs.  Complaints range from an ice cream truck playing its jingle too loud to problems with buses.  This got me thinking about the Yankees and how Lyle Overbay answered their 9-1-1 call when Boston set him free back in late March.

According to CBS Sports (HERE) from June, “this is all you need to know about the Yankees' makeshift lineup: Lyle Overbay has become indispensable.”  Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  In the last seven games, Overbay is 7 for 15, batting .400, with an OPS of 1.150!  Wow and with the Boston series upon us, he may just up these stats with an extraordinary 3-game stint, sending his old team a message about their “left for dead” move with the 36-year-old just before the start of the 2013 season.  Boston released Overbay on March 26th and within hours, the Yankees picked him up. And the Yankees don't believe they can live without him.

When Mark Teixeira returned for a brief appearance before exiting early with season-ending wrist surgery, the Yankees wrestled with taking Overbay out of the lineup for the every day first baseman.  Instead, they asked him to play the outfield and although he was slightly intimidated by the offer, he went in like a champ. 

Overbay made his major league debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks just after 9/11, ironically.  He made his real splash when he joined the Blue Jays in 2006.  He had his best season to date smashing 22 home runs and 92 RBIs.  The Yankees are hoping he continues his hitting ways as a valuable member of the 2013 team- a team riddled with injuries and heartbreaks.  But Overbay is one of the feel good stories for the Yankees this season as he continues to contribute in a big way both offensively and defensively for the ailing team. 

As our everyday first baseman for the remainder of the season, I hope Lyle brings us what we need to stay in the pennant race.  Thank you, Boston for dropping Overbay and thank you

Overbay for anticipating our 9-1-1; you are just what we needed.

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





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