A COUNSELING SESSION WITH MICHAEL KAY

Monday night, the eve before the first series with rival the Red Sox in Boston, I attended a Yankee counseling session with YES Network's own Michael Kay.  Well, he didn't know I was there, but I surely was.  "The Yankees are five and five; it's like one week in the NFL," Kay said in a raspy loud voice to fans on his radio show Monday afternoon.  I caught the replay at night and it was equally meaningful to me; in fact it helped me sleep.

Source: AP

You see, like you, my expectations for this season are at an all time high and suffering devastating losses this soon and this severely like the one in Fenway, is a lot to handle: hence the counseling session with Michael Kay. "And how about this crowd, that’s a little harsh, booing him with the five strikeouts in a game which the Yankees are leading 9-4," said Kay regarding Giancarlo Stanton in an article in the Boston Herald.  He reiterated his concern about the booing in the "counseling session" and wondered if booing helped the fan feel better.  "Booing doesn't do anyone any good," suggested Kay.

In his bellowing voice, fired up and cautionary, Kay helped me breathe and heal a bit, knowing that it is a long season and there are many games yet to be played.  His concerns were more about the seemingly mixed up signals and base running antics on the field.  He frankly called the aimless base running errors ridiculous.  Yet, he did say that if we drop three in Boston, we may need to revisit things. "How could that happen?," I rationalized. 

Source: YES Network

As I gazed at Kay's impassioned body language behind the mic, I reflected on Giancarlo Stanton's multiple strikeout games and how cold he looks physically here in the Northeast.  Is he just too cold? All that time playing home games in a temperature-controlled facility could have made his soft.  Why didn't the Yankees simulate Northeast weather for Stanton?  Why didn't they prepare him better?  One could argue all of the Yankees could have used some simulated-Northeast weather prior to the season's start instead of the false atmospheric weather of sunny Florida.

And the injuries...oh my goodness, there are so many and it is only April.  Keeping in mind that yes, it is only April, early April that is, and we have a lot of baseball ahead of us, is another way to counsel myself; shifting the negative trajectory toward one of hope.  Will I tune in from time to time as I continue my rehab with Michael Kay? Yes, his passion is contagious and healing.  Keep focused fans and know that better days are ahead of us.  Our time will come....soon but not last night- time for another counseling session- bed at 9:30.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof