SORIANO WAS THE BEST TRADE THIS SEASON

I'd like to start this piece by saying that I was adamantly against the Alfonso Soriano trade. I had a list of reasons, as a lot of fans did. For me, I thought the excitement was more a sense of nostalgia. No one was really happy when Fonzie left the Yankees. It is a frequent topic of conversation between my husband, and myself in fact. Fonzie was a fan favorite, so of course when the news broke that he would return, fans were more than thrilled. I wasn't moved in the slightest. And I am here to say that Fonzie has made me eat my words.

For me, I couldn't understand why the Yankees would go after him. The line-up was falling apart, and in desperate need of a productive bat. Fonzie, while an excellent home run hitter, has a high strike out ratio, and that bothers me. The home run is great. Fans get excited for it. But really, what we needed, or rather what I wanted, was a guy to get on base, and move runners around. You can't do that if you have a large amount of strike outs. Regardless of what my opinions were on it, the trade went through, and Fonzie would once again grace the outfield in Yankees Stadium.

I rooted for the guy. Granted, I wasn't on board, but I will never root against a Yankee. As long as he can be productive in our line-up, and help the team, he's got my support. I mean, if I found it in myself to root for Johnny Damon, and  Kevin Youkilis, surely rooting for Fonzie wouldn't be an issue. And with his first at bat in pinstripes once again, he homered. Quite the pleasant "Welcome Back Kotter" moment, I must admit. But still, I remained unconvinced.

Since that late July day, Fonzie has continued to be an excellent addition, providing power to a line-up that had otherwise fallen flat. He has come in with big hits in crucial situations. Honestly, Fonzie is a huge part of the reason why there is the slightest glimmer of hope for the Yankees during this play-off run. It may have been possible to get here without him, but let's face it, he is making it easier.

So yes, I am eating crow. I was wrong. Fonzie was an excellent idea, and Hal Steinbrenner was a genius for not wanting to wait, and getting the deal done quickly. Write that down, because I may never call Hal a genius again. So thank you, Yankees Front Office. You got this one right. And thanks to Fonzie, for making me very happy to eat my words.

 
 
--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804



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