KEEP YOUR COMPOSURE!

Let me set the scene: It was Game One. The stadium is packed and the smell of fresh popcorn and hot dogs fill the air. The Yankees have their expected young ace on the hill in Luis Severino. 

The stage is set and it's time to play some baseball! After a superb first inning, things get a little rocky in the second for the young hurler and before you know it the Yankees are down 5-0.

Man! What a disappointment. But here's the thing; it was Game one of spring training and it doesn't matter! Sure things could have gone better for the youngster, but they could have gone much worse. Severino saw his first live action of the spring and got his feet wet facing Major League hitters again and made it out of the start in one piece. It's OK.  I saw Twitter. I saw Facebook the other day.  EVERYONE WAS FREAKING OUT! STOP!

We just need to keep our composure!

I love all of you Yankees fans. Your energy and dedication to the team is bar none. Every day we expect perfection and expect our beloved Bombers to be nothing short of Murderer's Row in 1927 or the winningest team in Club history like the 1998 Yankees. If only it were that easy.

One thing I loved about the first spring game was the fight the club showed and what some of the newbies and youngsters did. Starlin Castro had a good day, as did Aaron Hicks, minus his base running blunder in which he said he was too excited. Jorge Mateo opened some eyes too with a triple off the left field wall in which he even supposedly jogged to first. Joe Girardi was impressed by those three things in particular.

We all just need to R-E-L-A-X.

This season's Yankees are in flux. The team is very old and also very young. The older vets provided the experience while the younger guys provide the excitement and energy that has been seemingly lacking. I'd love for a guy with a little flare and maybe someone who is even a little over the top to come in and bring some life. I know the Yankees are a business first type organization, but every team needs the guys that keep them loose on and off the field.

So yeah, we lost the first Spring Training game.  Ivan Nova pitched well and ARod homered against the Phillies yesterday but we lost again.  IT DOESN'T MATTER!  There is still a month until Opening Day and six months until the stretch run in September. There will be ups and downs and I'm sure we will be ecstatic and miserable along the way. Being a fan is tough. I know I can take a Yankees loss hard. Real hard. But over 162 games, even the best of the best teams lose 50 games, normally more.

The Yankees have a chance to be very competitive this year but do need a lot of things to fall into place. It's a long season and one meaningless spring game brought out the good (the comeback), the bad (Severino's outing) and the ugly (Hick's base running).

As a group, we need to enjoy the spring and everything it brings. We get to see Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino, James Kaprielian and other future Yankees play with the Big Leaguers and learn from the best.

The spring is my favorite time of year!

 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia




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