VOLPE HAD HIS MOMENT & THE YANKEES STILL LOST

Maybe I’m getting old. Maybe I’ve watched too many Yankees teams that actually finished the job.

But can we please stop celebrating every little moment like we just won Game 7 of the World Series?

The Yankees lost to the Twins Wednesday, 5-4, in 13 innings. They had chances. Lots of them. Anthony Volpe delivered a two-out, two-run double to tie the game. The Yankees took leads in both the 10th and 11th. Then they loaded the bases with nobody out in the 12th and somehow scored nobody. Minnesota eventually walked it off in the 13th.

Yet watching Yankees social media after Volpe tied the game, you would have thought the Canyon of Heroes parade route was being mapped out. And yes, I’m picking on Volpe because everybody knows I’m not exactly president of his fan club. But this really isn't about him.

It's about the constant need to manufacture stars and manufacture moments.

A big hit happens? Clip it. Slow motion. Dramatic celebration. Everybody loses their minds.

Wonderful.

They lost the game. That’s the part that actually matters.

It reminds me of how we still see Aaron Boone’s home run off Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Was it incredible? Absolutely. I remember exactly how that felt.

But here's another thing I remember:

The Yankees didn't win the World Series.

Florida did.

Volpe is Boone. I think that's why Boone glazes him so much.  He sees so much in him. My opinion of course.

And maybe that makes me different from today's marketing department, but I don't want moments. I want championships. I want moments when championships and wins happen, not when they lose. When they lose, I don't care.

Meanwhile, the biggest story Wednesday wasn't Volpe's double anyway.

It was Aaron Judge leaving the game.

Judge was removed in the sixth inning because of tightness in his lower right leg. He said he first felt it while playing the field in the first inning and tried to continue before deciding it wasn't worth risking something worse. This was only his seventh game back after missing more than three months with a stress fracture in his right rib. Judge indicated afterward that he probably wouldn't need imaging, but we'll see.

That's the story I'm worried about.

Because we've already watched this Yankee season without Judge for far too long. The last thing this team needs, with October approaching, is another Judge injury.

So spare me the premature celebrations.

I'm a Yankee fan. I want this team to win. I desperately want to get excited about them. But give me something worth celebrating. Win the games.

Win in October. Win the World Series.

Then post every damn video you've got.

Until then, they're just moments.

And Wednesday's big "moment" ended exactly where too many of these Yankee moments eventually end:

With somebody else celebrating.