HARRISON BADER: THE SMARTEST GUY IN THE ROOM

Today was the ridiculous Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman dog and pony show. 

A whole lot of nothing from a bunch of reporters, whom I respect tremendously by the way, but who are unwilling to deliver a severely tough punch to either Boone or Cashman about the true state of the Yankees. Why? Because they will lose access if it gets too rough. I respect them, but get me in that room, I'd be all over them.

Anyway, listen, today wasn't a great presser. People forget what this presser was supposed to be about. No, it wasn't about beating the Houston Astros and what the formula should be. It wasn't about IKF and trying to put blame on him for the failed season. 

What these press conferences should be about are WHY it went wrong, and WHAT SOLUTIONS are the Yankees going to make.  Boone said nothing significant, and Cashman said that Boone did a terrific job. That made me choke on my chicken wing, because the eye test alone will tell you that Boone is drowning out there every night with his Yankee pals.

But the big question was about Aaron Judge, which needed to be asked.  To that, Cashman said this:

“We’d love to be able to bring Aaron Judge back and have him being able to maintain being a member of this franchise and the path he’s currently on is Hall of Fame-like... Nothing better than to have him continue to man right field for us and impact us on and off the field the way he has thus far.”

When asked if he's talked with Judge and his agent, he said:

“We’ll have certainly the conversations as promised and see where they take us, but he’s put himself in a great position to have a lot of choices.”

Here's the thing though, this is all general banter to get through the press conference. You want to get a real feeling about the love of this guy, you got to talk to the players, his teammates. Rizzo loves him, Nestor Cortes says we need to bring the "captain" back.  Even new guy Harrison Bader loves him. But Bader was the most realistic about the reality of the situation and I actually love this guy for his honesty and bringing everyone back to earth.  At the end of the day, it's a business.

Yardbarker writes:

"Listen, if Albert Pujols … can [leave], anybody could [leave]," Bader explained during a Tuesday appearance on MLB Network...Bader was referencing how Pujols rejected an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals, his employer at the time, to sign with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2011. Meanwhile, Bader joined the Yankees via a trade from the Cardinals in August.

"It’s a business," Bader continued about Judge, who is on track to reach free agency after he turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million contract extension offer from the Yankees before Opening Day. "I learned that very quickly this year. There are no hard feelings at all. It’s never personal. It’s about the game. Selfishly, I’d love to continue to be [Judge’s] teammate. He’s an incredible talent."

"[Judge] earned everything that’s coming his way," Bader remarked. "I wish him the absolute best wherever he ends up. It’s a decision he and his family will make."

And so, here's the thing... Aaron Judge owes this fan base nothing. He's done what he was supposed to do. Is he torn? Maybe. This is the biggest franchise there is. Is he annoyed with the fans? Maybe. I mean you have to admit booing players is pretty JV and childish. But as fans you have the right. I'd never do it, but I understand why people would.  And finally, the big question, does money really effect Judge's thinking?  Sure, it does. It effects everyone's thinking.

But at the end of the day, out of everything I heard about Judge and the opinions about him and his free agency situation? The 28-year-old from Bronxville says it best.  Bader is right, it's business. The Yanks will make an offer, other teams will too. And ultimately whatever happens, life goes on, for us fans, for Aaron Judge. But I will tell you this... if Judge doesn't come back, I bet we see others willing to walk as well, including the fans. And I like this team, I don't want that to happen.

What's the solution? Yanks have to be on their game. A nice big contract within reason, for the rest of his time in NY, some incentives and other goodies sprinkled in and give this guy the captain title.  Oh yeah... and put some guys around him that can win a championship, will ya?  

The last time was in 2009. We want another!

YANKEES KEEP THINGS MOVING DESPITE JUDGE'S QUIET BAT

Source: Michelle Farsi for The New York Times

The Yankees are winning and that is what we need them to do. Sure, we all want Aaron Judge to hit number 61 and 62 for that matter. But while we patiently wait for Judge to add more to the history books, the team around him is making things happen and this is exactly we need them to do. The Yankees keep things moving despite Judge's quiet bat. 

“Just passing the baton, knowing that the guy behind you has got your back,” Jose Trevino said. “One through nine, guys on the bench … we believe in each other. Outside noise doesn’t matter to us. What matters is this clubhouse," reported MLB following the Yankees 5-4 win against the Red Sox on Friday. 

The Yankees also knocked off the Sox at the Stadium on Saturday with a 7-5 win. The hits and towering home runs came from Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. We also saw some heads of base running by Harrison Bader, who has been a great addition to the team with his glove as well. 

“I think the casual person thinks, ‘I’m going to come tonight and [see him] hit a homer,’” manager Aaron Boone said. “The reality is, he’s just missed two [homers] the last two nights. He’s getting off the right swings; he’s making good swing decisions. It’s going to come," reported MLB.

Source: The Guardian 

But while we all wait, the Yankees are quietly winning as the 2022 season ticks on and the Yankees enter the final game of the four game stint against the Red Sox. Not going to lie, it is exciting to watch Judge make history. And equally exciting is to see Albert Pujols hit career home run numbers 699 and 700 in the same game on Friday night. At the end of the day, both teams, St. Louis and the Yankees want to get to the playoffs. That is the goal—as both guys know it is team before player. 

“We have the ultimate goal of winning our division and setting ourselves up for the postseason,” said Judge, who added that he did not think he had hit that ball off Barnes well enough for it to go out. “But this is step number one of many steps to come, that’s for sure,” The New York Times after Friday's win against the Sox.

Source: Michelle Farsi for The New York Times

The Yankees keep rolling with only eleven games left to play this season. They will finish out their final series with the Sox in a 7:07 PM start on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Could this be numbers 61 and 62 for Judge? I hope so, but if not, I hope the Yankees win and get that much closer to clinching the AL East and continue to ramp themselves up for a what will be an incredibly competitive postseason.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

BREAKING HOME RUN RECORDS IS REAL!

We haven't legitimately seen players break home runs records and end seasons in the 700 club in a long time, and this is good for baseball and it's exciting if you are a Yankees fan, a Cardinals fan, or just a student of the game. 

Yahoo Sports writes of Albert Pujols...

"Albert Pujols' 11th-hour power surge continued on Friday with the 698th home run of his career, putting him two long balls away from becoming the fourth person to enter the 700 club.

6⃣9⃣8⃣ pic.twitter.com/mXt3fe7JzW

— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2022

The St. Louis Cardinals great took another step toward history against the Cincinnati Reds, blasting a first-pitch slider from Raynel Espinal 427 feet into the left-field stands."

And with Albert's career run, comes Aaron Judge with his big day yesterday. Yardbarker writes:

"Aaron Judge blasted a pair of solo home runs to raise his season total to 59 and move within two of the single-season American League record as the visiting New York Yankees avoided a series sweep with a 12-8 comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.

🚨New Record!🚨
2️⃣ more homers today for #AaronJudge! 🚀🚀 #58 and #59. Judge now holds the AL record for single-season homers by a right-handed hitter, passing Jimmie Foxx (1932) & Hank Greenberg (1938). @Yankees @TheJudge44 #yankees #RogerMaris #mlb pic.twitter.com/xnzvsv9g8s

— Patrick Mahan (@patrickmahan) September 18, 2022

Judge homered in the third and again in the seventh to pull within two of the AL and Yankees team record of 61, set by Roger Maris in 1961. Judge also hit a two-run double in the ninth for a 12-6 lead."

In the end, 2 nice guys who work their tails off. One ending a career and one looking for a long term deal to make him a Yankee for life.  I really hope that becomes reality for Judge. It's been quite a thing to see him play.

CC SABATHIA GETTING BIG INTEREST

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

CC Sabathia is a free agent.  And I hate that, because it means teams are looking at him and while that's great for him, I love him in pinstripes and I really hope Brian Cashman and the Yankees can see the value in a reinvented Sabathia and re-sign the guy. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

George King III has tweeted this about our big lug:

CC Sabathia and the Angels have held discussions about him signing with them as a free agent

— George A. King III (@GeorgeAKingIII) December 10, 2017

Now don't forget, they have Shohei Ohtani now too, plus Mike Trout, plus Albert Pujols and they won 80 games last season, second place in their division with room to move up easily.  CC could be a nice piece for them.

We shall see what happens.  But I hope not.

CHECKLIST REVEAL FOR TOPPS & SERIES 2

Gotta share the next installment of Topps baseball cards.  Check this out:

"The Topps Baseball flagship brand continues with the release of 2017 Topps Baseball Series 2 on June 14.

The base set consists of cards No. 351-700 featuring stars such as Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Salvador Perez, Justin Verlander; and Rookie Cards of Mitch Haniger, Hunter Renfroe, Trey Mancini, Amir Garrett, Jorge Alfaro and more.

Series 2 sees the continuation of the Topps Salute insert set that started in 2017 Topps Baseball Series 1.

This year’s Series 2 insert sets include Memorable Moments, Major League Milestones and a look at the greatest All-Star moments with a celebration of MVP Award Winners, HR Derby Champs and All-Time All-Stars.

The 30th anniversary celebration of 1987 Topps sees the inclusion of the All-Star and Rookie designs including retired stars, veterans and the top rookies in baseball.

The MLB Network Collection returns with 10 more on-air personalities and MLB Network shows to collect. The final nine cards of the collection will appear in 2017 Topps Update Baseball, which comes out in October.

Take a look at the full checklist for 2017 Topps Baseball Series here."

$99 Sale at SteinerSports.com! Up to 68% OFF sports and entertainment signed memorabilia, no code needed, ends 6/11/17.

HEY JOE, PUT THE BINDER DOWN!

Something has been bugging me lately, and I can't seem to get over it. There is an art to creating the most strategic and effective lineup. There are a lot of factors to consider when creating that lineup every game. Are the Yankees facing a righty or a lefty? Are they home or away? Is it an inter-league game? But one thing should never change....and that is putting your best hitters in the middle of the order, right?

Photo: John Munson/The Star-Ledger

Well, not Joe Girardi. Conventional baseball and tradition says your best hitters should be batting three and four for those RBI opportunities and another effective hitter in the fifth spot for protection. Baseball managers around the league still do this because HI.....it works!

So if Girardi would STOP listening to his binder here the correct answer would be to move Aaron Judge up in the order. So far in the season he has consistently hitting in the fifth or sixth spot. I usually stick to the idea of "If it ain't broke don't fix it" but in this case I do want to fix it. Sure, the Yankees are in first place in the AL East, that's great. Clearly a lot is going right for the Yankees even without the conventional lineup. I just don't like batting my hottest hitter lower in the order. Judge hit his 13th home run and drove in two RBIs last night. He is the American League Rookie of the Month and it's time to take the training wheels off, he is a big boy now. He doesn't need to be weened anymore, he has a .330BA and a .818 slugging percentage....why isn't he batting third?!

Photo: Newsday

When I look at other team lineups like the Los Angeles Angels, they always have Mike Trout batting third. Imagine that....and then Albert Pujols bats fourth and protects him. Same thing for the Orioles, they have Manny Machado batting third and then Mark Trumbo bats after and protects him for a reason. It's not a secret, and most of all....it works!

So I just don't understand why Girardi isn't putting Judge in one of these spots! It's not a matter of balancing out the lineup between lefty and righty hitters because they can still do that. Yes, we are still winning with Judge lower in the order but it makes sense to put him in these RBI spots. In my mind there is only one scenario where I would have Judge batting in the 6th spot...

If this were the All-Star game then by all means, bat Judge lower in the lineup. Here it makes sense to put him behind the Trout's, Edwin Encarnacion and Giancarlo Stanton's and whoever else you personally like. These are guys with the experience and the track record that belong in the heart of a lineup and Judge can compliment them until it is his turn. But this is no All-Star game with stacked teams where the best of the best battle it out for bragging rights. This is the 2017 Yankees driven by a youth movement.....and a young kid who is on fire!

(April 12, 2017 - Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America)

I'm not always so critical of Girardi but this time I disagree with the binder. The game has changed a lot over time, but fundamentally it still makes sense to put your best hitters higher in the order and that will never change. Maybe I am wrong here. Maybe I should just leave it alone since it is working and the Yankees are winning but I just can't ignore it.

I think Girardi's current strategy is a mistake. It's time to maximize the potential of this lineup and make some tweaks! Lose the binder. Maybe I am wrong but I think there is room for improvement. What do you think? Where would you bat Judge?

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ

BYB Stack Merchandise (2017)

BE RELIEVED THAT GLEYBER TORRES WAS SENT DOWN

Photo: USA Today Sports

I'd like to spend this at-bat in the BYB batting order to thank everyone in the Yankees' fan base, and  the handful of writers egging  them on who made impassioned pleas for Gleyber Torres to swoop into the Bronx from Single A like some kind of comic book superhero. I can see the title of that comic now. Will Torres snatch the shortstop gig from that evil super villain  "WBC Dummy" Gregorius.

It was an amusing 15 minutes hearing all the fantastic action adventure plots about Gleyber and his Wonder Bat, Gleyber and his Wonder Glove and how Gleyber and his Wonder Future are a waste of time because, you know... he's practically Albert Pujols now. Look, I get it, people are angry about the WBC and our injured Didi, but they also are wrong to think Torres can just swoop in!  Let's keep it real folks... Super Torres I not ready! Instead, look for a sequel entitled Gleyber's Adventures Mastering A New Position coming soon to a stadium near you in Trenton.

(Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

My condolences to you if you're one of those special people who are genuinely disappointed he didn't get a chance to make a Wally Pipp out of Didi. But honestly, did you really believe that's how it SHOULD happen? Or was it more like just wanting to believe it COULD happen. Like for example, when Joe has you believe the best players will play? Or the best pitchers, veteran or prospects, will be in the rotation?

Speaking of pitching prospects, anybody seen Dietrich Enns lately? Best pitcher in the system last year. He was the ace for the national champions of all minor league champions. His stats were totally dominant. Nobody else was even close. But he didn't even get a start in Spring training. They made him a reliever this year.  Made a couple of middle relief appearances and got sent down in the first cut.

For me, that's the stuff I think about. It's a far more puzzling question and frankly a far more pertinent one than why Gleyber's Wonder Clock should start ticking on Opening Day or a few months later. But I digress. Sort of.

(July 25, 2016 - Source: Bob Levey/Getty Images North America)

Frankly, it never even entered my mind that Torres could be Didi's  replacement and I was amazed by the outpouring of serious suggestions that he should be, because I think the plan to continue cross-training him at another position in Trenton could be the right way to go. But there's more; I didn't give Gleyber a serious thought as Didi's replacement was because of what happened to Didi under identical circumstances on Opening Day three years ago. That's the deal breaker right there, for Torres and every other not-yet-proven-ready-for-prime-time prospect in the Yankees' future.

(March 9, 2015 - Source: Brian Blanco/Getty Images North America)

To be blunt, the way this fan base and team's media treated Didi in the very same role three years ago that many pounded the drum to fling Torres into this Opening Day -- with little warning, a little before his time, into an ill-defined role replacing an established starter in a transitional year filled with question marks -- was downright nasty. And so, there can be no doubt that an organization that has infamously held petty grudges and lived by the feud for decades battling within and without itself to its own detriment has committed that awkward and unpleasant transition away from the Captain to institutional memory as a cautionary tale to avoid at all costs in the future; even though it seems nobody else beyond the team's own personnel appear to have taken the lesson to heart.

Now, you may say Didi is no Captain and Torres is no Didi. But that wouldn't matter to the Yankees -- or the media. They would  spin their Torres Takes Over takeover stories; a certain segment of the fan base, impatient for the future to get here, would jump on their bandwagon and start judging him like this Torres (and this team) was the finished product; and the mud would begin to fly again. And when Didi came beck, all hell would break loose as sides would be chosen and the clock would start clicking on both players to produce or be damned. That's certainly not healthy for team building.

Think it couldn't happen again? Well, let's think back...

(June 2, 2015 - Source: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images North America)

Didi wasn't supposed to be our starter that Opening Day. The Captain had just retired and Brendan Ryan was the transitional starter.  Didi was never been a regular starter with his two previous teams, and that, plus a poor split hitting lefties made platooning him behind Ryan a no-brainer until he learned how. But just a few days before Opening Day, Ryan became injured and Didi was suddenly thrust into the Jeter takeover role without any supporting cast to back him. A starter for the first time in his young career, he suddenly found himself debuting on the biggest stage in sports.

He never had a chance.

(July 4, 2015 - Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America)

The sharks were circling in the water for whoever that next guy was. Every move he made was magnified.  "He is no Captain."  With that, the entire team was stinking up the joint. Even Tex was missing easy picks in the beginning and looking like he was past it. But Didi was the lightning rod because he was the newest face replacing the oldest and most familiar face. The mistakes piled up. Meanwhile, looking around us, longtime fans were giving up on the team, attendance and TV viewership had become a national scandal and the social media interactions were truly depressing. It was more vicious than I'd ever seen it and symptomatic of a team disconnect from its fans.

Of course, you know the rest. By the end of the second month, he finally started showing marked signs of improvement, and after that every month was a new plateau of achievement. And by the trade deadline, instead of calling for his ouster, fans were calling the trade a steal. Pretty fickle of them, huh?

(Sept. 1, 2016 - Source: Patrick Smith/Getty Images North America)    

Didi had over two years of experience in Triple-A and years and years of minor league ball under his belt when he went through that. He had a reservoir of  experience overcoming adversity, meeting his limitations and overcoming them as he rose through the ranks to get him through that moment and sustain him through that ordeal. Torres has none of that. He's fresh meat who's had everything come easy to him so far. He hasn't come close to facing the daily grind of major league game speed and major league pitching in games where the relievers don't wear high numbers and the at-bats often only get tougher at the end.

Still don't think this make Torres a non-starter for this Opening Day?

Photo: MLB.com

OK, try this on for size. In this scenario, Didi isn't retired. Torres would have a month to six weeks tops. And he could either be outstanding or he could stink or be something in between. But whatever he was, what would be the point?

If he stunk, he'd be gone when Didi returned, the plan for him to learn another position in Trenton would be set back more than a month, his service clock would be started, and whoever got bounced from the roster to make room for him would've been lost for nothing. Oh yeah, and he's likely to get a good thrashing from the fan base as a bust and the team's media pack would be meticulously chronicling all of the above and more as he circled the drain counting the days until Didi returned.

And if he was terrific, then what do you do with a healthy Didi  -- arguably the team's most consistent offensive and defensive weapon last year.  You can't bench either of them and neither of them can really play another position. And you're not going to send Didi down to start learning a new one or trade him.  He's still young and an invaluable part of the transition from rebuild to new era; and playing side by side with the Torres he would be an invaluable mentor as well as combine with him to make for a potent defensive and offensive middle infield duo.

Who else could better help Torres navigate the taunts and and poison pens than the one who weathered an entire stadium derisively chanting for Jeter to replace him long after the Captain had left the building?

Photo: New York Daily News

And so the answer is there's no good that could come from bringing Torres up in my opinion. There'd just be a lot of nasty media stories, ill will and fan hostility directed at him if he sucks, and a lot more of the same directed at the team and Didi if he did good and got sent back down to resume his defensive re-training when Didi returns to reclaim his spot, as he should.

And the team will never, ever again put him or any prospect in a position to fail after they've already publicly acknowledged he still has work to do before he's ready for the Bigs. They will never  risk another one enduring the public scalding Didi suffered unless they're more than reasonably certain he can handle it. It's a no-win situation to bring Torres up now. It's a no-lose situation to stick to the Trenton start-up plan.

If you want to see Gleyber in the Bronx as soon as possible, root for him to wrap his wonder arms and glove around playing second or third base as quickly as possible while continuing to knock the snot out of pitchers in the Eastern League with his wonder bat.

What's waiting for him after that, we can only wait and wonder.

Hopefully, a couple of rings in pinstripes before he splits to chase whole lot of wonder bread somewhere else further on down his wonder road.

 --Barry Millman
BYB Writer
Twitter: @nyyankeefanfore

THE ODD COUPLE

Mark my first Spring Training game in the books, folks! My boyfriend Jay may be very misguided with his choice of baseball teams, but he knows I love my baseball! For my birthday he bought us tickets to see a game. My only mistake in this scenario was telling him to surprise me in this instance because letting him pick the game meant having to sit and watch a game starring the LA Angels.

At any rate, it was a good choice. It was partly cloudy outside, a little cooler (80 degrees is cool for us right now) and breezy outside. The only thing that could make the day even more picture perfect was to watch the the Kansas City Royals beat the Angels and I was crossing my fingers.

The first half of the game was rather uneventful. By the sixth inning the Angels had made two errors which led to a 4-1 lead for the Royals. We met up with one of my friend's... Heather, so by this point we were teasing him a little.

Me: "This is just a preview for what will happen when the Angels play the Yankees. Get ready."

Jay: "You better hope and pray that when we go to the dump (Yankee stadium) in August that the Indians don't beat you. I promise you will never hear the end of it."

Me: "By August the Angels will be crossing off days until they hit the golf course."

Jay: "Even better....if Mark Teixeira isn't in the lineup on that day you are going to hear about it for days."

Me: "Whatever it won't happen."

Jay: "I can just hear it now....'I flew all of this way and don't even get to see Tex play' I will laugh my ass off."

Me: "You want to make yourself that miserable?"

Jay: "Then you will start yelling and screaming at Joe Girardi."

Me: "You have a vivid imagination."

Jay: "Here, just accept it. You want my Angels hat since you are a closet Angels fan?" (puts hat on my head then Heather's)

Me: "Ew. That's gross. I call abuse."

Jay: "Just you wait until after we get back home....because then I am taking you to an Angel's game so you can see a real team at a real stadium."

Me: "Our stadium is a cathedral. You can't do any better than that....and the only REAL team is the Yankees. This is just 'slumming it' so I can watch a game."

Jay: "Whatever. You want to wear my Mike Trout shirt?"

Me: *gags*

Jay: "OK, how about Albert Pujols?"

Me: "Why would I do that when I have Tex?"

Jay: "Just admit it, Trout is the best player in all of baseball and you wish you had him!"

This went on all day...and Heather and I made sure to torture Jay at the end because the Angels lost 6-1 to the Royals. My day was officially complete. I got to watch the Angels lose, pick on Jay and do it with some awesome company. We may be the odd couple because of our love and extreme loyalty to other teams....but it works. I am still convinced that I will still convert him.


   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 





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THIS IS THE END!

All things must come to an end, eventually. I wish some things could be prolonged like Christmas Day, weekends, vacations, girls night out and last but not least.....Mark Teixeira in pinstripes. It's true, I may be one of few but it's not going to happen. His time is coming to an end. This is his big finale as a Yankee and I am just going to start talking about this now so once the end of the season gets here I will slowly but surely be accepting. Maybe.

The youth movement is finally hitting the Yankees. Sure, it is happening later than it should have but better late than never, right? It's a different era for the Yankees. This is not the same leadership that went out after a very disappointing 2008 season and went on a major shopping spree that brought AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira to the Bronx.

That same shopping spree brought us a World Series ring the following year in our brand new stadium. That was a different lifetime, a different ideology, and a bottomless bank account.

Here we are years later, in the Youth Movement and luxury tax age. Now, even the teams with deeper pockets are more inclined to try and build the younger more athletic team. Now the long term contracts of ten years are not only not "hip" but it is almost thought of as a bad investment made on the stock market. The days of the Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano contracts are fewer and far between. Now it is shocking, even for Yankee fans who didn't blink at those like other fans did. The cool thing to do now is to keep the prized prospects help develop them and then put them in the big leagues when they are young and exciting......and cheap. Now winning is more exciting when you can do it cheaper and you can also avoid paying that annoying luxury tax.

Mark Teixeira has had an underwhelming career as a Yankee, even I can admit that. The Tex we saw in 2009 was something of a "one hit wonder" until he magically resurfaced last season. He stayed healthy until the end of the season. I was disappointed because he was my comeback player of the year for the Yankees. I still wonder what his final stats would have been if he would have played the entire season. Sadly, this is the final year for him. At least, I will be able to start to let go when he stops by Chase Field in May. All things evolve, and sadly someone else is waiting in the wings.

If I had to pick one guy to fill his shoes in 2017 the only person I would even want to pick would be Greg Bird. It takes a lot for me to write that and say that YES I AM SINCERE. Tex is my favorite player but even I cannot deny the talent and presence that this kid has. He impressed me with his bat last season and how poised he was. He didn't look scared, and he is a smart hitter. He doesn't swing at garbage at the plate and yes, he has a good glove. It's no Tex Gold Glove but.....he will get there. He is the future, and I know this.

So I am setting myself up for the future now because this will be a process for me. No, Mark Teixeira is not coming back in 2017. He will be playing for some other American League team. Who knows, maybe he will still be a stating first basemen for some other team. Or maybe, he will be a bench player or DH for someone like the Oakland A's. I don't know.....I don't have a crystal ball. All I do know is that YES THIS IS THE END.....so if you are a Tex fan like me then enjoy every minute of it. Greg Bird and the rest of the youth movement are taking over, and that is just part of the game.


   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 





Thank you for your loyalty to Bleeding Yankee Blue. 
Please shop at the BYB store!  
On Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu 
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