"DO IT FOR DONNIE!"

No, I didn't think that title up myself... my friend Bob did!

@BleednYankeeBlu do it for Donnie.
— Bob Divincenzo (@bdivincenzo) October 16, 2013

Look, Yankeeland lost it's mojo the day the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs this season.  Once that happens, there are several options; you shut the playoffs off and pout in the corner until spring training, You read Bleeding Yankee Blue and smile and laugh your ass off…I like that option… You root for other teams and you root against the Red Sox.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were my pick originally, (Read THE PIRATES WILL WIN IT ALL...).  There was something sweet about seeing the Pirates take it, especially for my 9 year old who is a Pirates fan with absolutely no valid reason why other than he believes in the underdog.  For me, I was pleased that  AJ Burnett and RussellMartin were there.  I also remembered how those "We Are Family" days went with Willie Stargell and Bill Madlock and it was an exciting time for Pittsburgh and it was a different team in the playoffs for a change.  I was in the minority though because many of you wanted the Los Angeles Dodgers…not for the Dodgers… but for Don Mattingly.

It goes back to that quote above by my buddy on Twitter the other night.  It makes sense.  “Do it for Donnie.”  I think about that a lot because I said it a ton of times in the early 90’s when Donnie was a New York Yankee.  The Yankees could never win a championship for Donnie, but should have.  We had a huge shot in 1995, but we didn’t. 

The Mariners crushed our dreams and Donnie then left. It was terrible. Our leader had left us. With a bad back and too many disappointments, it was clear that it was time. We understood, but we wanted to do something about it… but we couldn’t.

When Donnie came back to be the bench coach for Joe Torre, we saw the planet’s aligning.  We knew then that after 4 championships, it was clear, Donnie would finally get a ring as a Yankee.. finally. But the timing was wrong and by the time we did win, he was the bench coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  That Dodger blue looked strange and the number 8 on his back was weirder.

Donnie was groomed to be the manager for the wrong team!  Donnie was given every tool he needed to make the Dodgers a historic team and win a World Series.  Right now, the Dodgers have a real good shot.

I’ll tell you something… I have mixed feelings about Donnie winning as a Dodger.  Winning as a Dodger manager means he didn’t win as a Yankee.  Now, that's selfish of me and yes, I understand that players and managers play hard for any team they are on because of the love of the game.  Donnie’s no different, but Don Mattingly is a New York Yankee and I wonder that if he wins it all with the Dodgers, will that legacy as being a "Yankee for life" be tainted?  After all, if he won in New York first, it would be different… but he hasn’t.

Look, I wish Donnie the best.  Next to Ron Guidry and Rickey Henderson, Donnie was one of my favorites growing up. But you have to think about all he did for New York and he never winning here… well, it’s sad!  Sure… I get it, and I can get on board with “Do it for Donnie”, but does it change everything if he does win it all in Los Angeles? Something to think about...I know I am. 

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