ENOUGH ALREADY! IT'S BASEBALL SEASON!

I cannot believe we're into March and there is still a foot of snow on the ground in New Jersey.  We want baseball back now! 

April 1st is Opening day in my town for Little League, and I can tell you, that's the biggest April Fool's joke of them all!  Even if the snow melts, the fields will be too wet to play and then everything gets pushed back, kids and parents get annoyed and you immediately have people that lose interest.  As a Baseball administrator... it can be stressful.

@pcaldera sent me this great shot of Masahiro Tanaka dealing today. Thanks Pete. #BYB pic.twitter.com/seinQ2Nt1n
— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) March 2, 2015

I received this picture from Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record yesterday and I tweeted it.  It's a shot of Masahiro Tanaka dealing in sunny and "warm" Florida, as Caldera described it.  Bottom line, I told him, "More snow up here. I want to cry."  It's true, I want to scream.

So what can we do to pass the time? Well, we can watch Yankee baseball on YES. It's Spring, but it's baseball.  I also like to pop in Ken Burn's Baseball Documentary.

It's slow and some might think it's boring, but it's the most thoughtful documentary on baseball ever and it will always be my favorite.

I also need to get into shape. As a Little League coach, one thing I do NOT do is sit in a dugout barking orders.  I throw BP, I run laps with the kids and trust me, they dog me because I'm the "old guy." But there is something important about not being Buttermaker to my Bad News Bears.  If you're a passionate coach... if you're involved and you do what you want them to do... there's a trust and a respect and those kids will fight for not only you as their manager, but for themselves as a team.  It's called respect... respect each other... respect the game.

Gym workouts are the worst, but as I try to explain to the kids, "Look, even Derek Jeter hits off a tee in a hitting tunnel, and that's INSIDE."  You gotta try to keep it positive, otherwise, we'll all go batty... pardon the pun.

I love baseball.  I've thought of packing up and moving my family to a warm weather state, or hang with the Posadas down in Florida year round, working out, being on a baseball diamond 5 days a week all year round, but ultimately... that's not me.

I'm a New Yorker.  I bitch and moan every winter... and every Spring the snow melts and as I'm walking to work in mid-March, stuck in the hustle of the city... I look around and see Yankee hats everywhere.  I start to get excited.  I'm a New Yorker... and I'm a Yankee fan... and sure, I may not go to as many game as I'd like, but I'll tell you what; I'm 15 minutes from Yankee Stadium and when I think about it... I get chills. I could go every day if I wanted!

Winter's almost over in the Northeast.  You gotta think Mother Nature is gonna mess with us 2 more times with alittle more snow. But then, according to my prediction.... the warm weather comes in.  How do I know? Because I've had the same routine every February / March for the passed 40 years.  I'm a New Yorker... I'm a gigantic baseball fan... and I love my New York Yankees.

I may bitch about them, but that's because I'm a Yankee fan.  I love everything about them... and I'm ready for spring ladies and gentlemen...

Almost there... get ready to play ball! Go Yanks!

 

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