UNLUCKY 2013?

Legendary Notre Dame Football Coach Lou Holtz once said, “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”  This quote exemplifies how I hope the Yankees will go quietly into the sunset this season.

Reflection is such an important part of professional growth.  Many of us fans wonder how the Yankees upper management will respond to what has gone down in the books at “Unlucky 2013” for the New York Yankees.  How will Joe Girardi respond?  Our veterans?  Our newbies?  What about us as fans?  How can we respond to what has happened to us this year?  Was it just unlucky from the start?  Were we doomed because the year is 2013?

"Baseball is a very funny game," says Luke Scott, an outfielder for the Rays. "If one little thing doesn't go right, it can throw you off. If you don't complete your superstition, it can throw you off and make you look like you've never played the game before,” as per the ESPN article posted on September 13th.  Many a player and manager will quietly follow their protocol before a game- it is superstitious to even talk about a superstition in many clubhouses.  So was 2013 just unlucky 13 at work?  I don’t know.  Andy Pettitte, who ended his season and career with a complete game this week, begins his pre-game rituals by motivating himself to the Rocky soundtrack.  So, on days he didn’t have a productive day did he turn off the soundtrack too early?

Has Alex Rodriguez’s career been doomed since he started wearing #13?  Did Babe Ruth curse ARod and now, finally in 2013, he has hit the wall?  You see, when Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees, his steady #3 was unavailable because, of course, only the Sultan of Swat could ever wear that uniform in New York.  ARod not only changed his position from shortstop to third but he had to change his number- no big deal, right?

Rodriguez said he chose #13 to honor his childhood quarterback, Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins.  Yikes, no Superbowl Marino seemed to have his own curse cast upon him; wasn’t he part of the plot in Ace Ventura’s Pet Detective?

Many a team decides not to shave as a superstition to keep a winning streak alive.  That, of course, would never happen in the Bronx.  So, is hygiene a superstition?  Or I should say, lack of it?  I mean have you looked at the starting lineup for the Red Sox.  Just awful- all that hair makes me sick.  But, they are going to the postseason and we are not- they are the anti-curse; 13 may actually be lucky for them.  It took them 86 years to win a series- 2013 could be their year.  We still have 20 wins on them and remember how they blew it in 1986 to our stepbrother the Mets?

Fans, I hope the Yankees, particularly the general management, really hones in on the meaning of the Lou Holtz’s quote and thinks about where we as a franchise is headed.  I also hope that veterans like Derek Jeter zero in on it as well.  There’s always next year and next year does not end in a three so it’s all good.  Good bye 2013- don’t let December 31st hit you on the way out!  Let’s Go Yankees, rest up and bring on Spring Training.

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




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