Tuesday, February 4, 2014

ROAD TO 28 IN 2014: A FAN'S TAKE


It's amazing that it's February and I just received my annual invitation to join my fantasy league, a league  I won last year by the way.   I live in Arizona an Spring training is gearing up here!   As I make my way to the park to see players gearing up for a new season, I drive by many winter homes of major league teams and while I will take in a few of those games, I have to say, my 2014 New York Yankees are shaping up nicely.

Thank goodness for Bleeding Yankee Blue. They had numerous great posts this past off-season and while I may not have had many comments about them, it was easy to keep up with what my Boys of Summer from he Bronx because of BYB.


The past few off-seasons were kind of a bummer for me, and I know you too.  In the past, I've commented on how since the passing of George Steinbrenner, both Hal and Hank were turning the team into the "Dollar Store" Yankees.  Well, I am pleased with the way things changed for us this past winter.  Sadly, we had to see the retiring of both Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera but on the other end of it,  we also no longer have to deal with the ups-an-downs of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain.  In fairness to them though,  I hope they do well on the Twins and Tigers... except for when they play us of course.


Finally Hal and Hank opened their wallets. Thank goodness. They've allowed Brian Cashman to go and sign stars like Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and the biggest prize that we Yankee fans hoped for... Masahiro Tanaka.  Bleeding Yankee Blue kept us going this winter,  hoping we'd get Tanaka, as well as keeping us occupied with the saga of Alex Rodriguez, his suspension and loss of Robinson Cano to Seattle.

Cano bailing on us was interesting. Let's see how much press coverage he gets up there.  We even picked up a few to fill the holes...  Brian Roberts, a guy we truly need lightning in a bottle from, Brendan Ryan, Kelly Johnson, and even Scott Sizemore.


Mark Teixeira is hinting he may not have a good year, but I'm hoping despite his age, our fearless Captain Derek Jeter is fully recovered from his injury and will make a big impact for us.


While I am a big David Robertson fan, I think we need a closer with a bit more experience and I am not 100% set on our starting staff.  We will do great if Ivan Nova continues the way he finished last year.  And an IF, a big IF is that we get a solid Michael Pineda. Hopefully he'll be a pleasant surprise.  Oh, and we can't rule out Manny Baneulos either!  As Casey has written... is Ervin Santana next? Hey, I agree in that regard...  I don’t think we are done spending and I look to see another few signings before the first pitch is thrown.  Overall though, I am much more optimistic going into this season than I have been the last few seasons.

I see a flashback and I see a Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series 2014... but the Yankees win in 6...



 --Dave Goode, Die-hard Yankee fan
Interviewed for his 30 plus years experience as a vendor at Yankee Stadium
THE VENDOR FROM THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT




Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

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