2009 SEEMS LIKE A MILLION YEARS AGO

It’s no secret that I am a runner and I have often written about the work ethic correlation between training for a marathon and becoming physically fit to compete successfully in Major League Baseball.  The other morning, I jumped on the treadmill and found my eyes fixed on a metal sign from the 2009 World Series hanging across the way and I thought to myself, wow 2009 seems like a million years ago.  And in my heart, it was because so much has happened in the years since our last championship that I almost forget how it felt when we won.

Derek Jeter had a healthy ankle, Mark Teixeira was on the Mark, and AJ Burnett was stellar.  Hideki Matsui gave us the Godzilla of a lifetime, earning the series MVP and Raul Ibanez was a Phillie.  We were winners- riding high and relishing every moment of the magical ride to the Fall Classic. 

"It's a great feeling, with what these guys (the 2009 New York Yankees) did and how hard they worked. They never gave up, even when we went through some tough times, they were there. They kept fighting back. Our team has showed a lot of character." - New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi on MLB.com.

(In Photo: Phil Coke)
We had Robertson, Aceves, Coke and Rivera all in action.  Hughes showed his value in the bullpen as well and Joba won a game.  We had Melky, Damon, Hairston and Molina with us- sounds like a museum exhibit.  We had energy and we had heart.  I miss having heart in the batting order.  As a student reminded me today at the university “heart is what keeps us alive as well as what allows us to connect with others.”  We have written about connection a lot here at Bleeding Yankee Blue and I guess this is what I am saying; 2009 seems like a million years ago because the connection is just so weak.  We are missing the cohesiveness that other teams seem to exemplify in more recent years.  The Tigers, Pirates, Cards, and Sox all have it.  And the Sox, who went from worst to first, have it in their leadership as well.  We just don’t have it- not in our veterans, leaders and not in our rookies.  And with Mo out and Jeter beaten down by the game, I wonder from where the connection and heart will come.

The unknown is killing me quiet frankly.  There is no heart in greed.  There is no heart in “testing the free agency market” and there is no heart in turning your back on the team that home grew you.  That last comment is for you Cano, who I straight up called a jackass this week on Twitter.

Seriously, Cano, Granderson & Kuroda want to test the free agent market? Well, we don't need them so test away jackasses! #Yankees #MLB
— Suzanne (@suzieprof) November 12, 2013

So as early November quickly turns to end of November and we are asked to reflect on thankfulness and gratitude, I thank God for making me a Yankee fan but I ask him to help them regroup and find their heart.  2009 should not be a distant memory in the archives of my brain and lost in the metal sign in my basement.  It should serve as a reminder of what we had and what we can have again if we only had heart.

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




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