YANKEES WASTE CAPUANO'S QUALITY START

Another day, another chance to play the Blue Jays, and another chance to gain some ground in the American League East. It was also a chance for the Yankees to put their latest starter acquisition on the mound and put him to the test.

Chris Capuano took the hill today in his first start as a Yankee, having joined the team just this past Thursday. The Red Sox, who used him as a middle reliever, released him earlier this month. The Colorado Rockies decided he was not worth a look, and sold his contract to the Yankees. You have to wonder why a team would use a career starter as a reliever, but that is their call. Either way, the Yankees may end up looking like geniuses, because Capuano had a very good start against the Toronto Blue Jays.

He gave up only two runs over 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, walking 4, and striking out 4. He kept batters off balance, throwing off-speed breaking balls in the mid 80's and a fastball topping out at 89 mph. The most impressive thing to me was how well he got out of trouble. He loaded the bases in the first and put men in scoring position in the second and sixth innings, but he got out without surrendering a run. He kept the run scoring limited to one inning. It was a quality start, and one the Yankees should have won.

Honorable mentions go to Derek Jeter for reaching base 3 times in 5 plate appearances, and to Chase Headley for bunting to an unmanned third base, to counter the shift, and getting a single in the process. (The picture above was taken from my seat, at the game, to show you how easy it was to do this). I noticed that the third baseman was covering his normal position the next time Headley came to the plate. I hope the Yankees noticed that too

Matt Thornton let the third run score on a bloop single that the infield should have caught. Nevertheless, the Yankees still kept it to a 1-run lead until the ninth. Dan Johnson, who had not hit a home run all season, hit a 3-run home run to give the Jays a 4-run lead. Being in the ballpark, I can tell you that the place became electric when Carlos Beltran hit a 2-run home run in the bottom of the ninth. However, talking to the others there, all we could think was that it would have been a walk-off had Chase Whitley and Jeff Francis kept the top of the ninth scoreless. When you are in a pennant race as we are, trying to make up ground, losing when your pitcher gives you a quality start comes at a high price.


Final: Blue Jays 6 - Yankees 4

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row



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CHRIS DICKERSON IS A FREE AGENT... JUST SAYIN'

Don't get excited if you're a Chris Dickerson fan, because the likelihood of him coming back to the Yankees is slim... but Chris Dickerson is now a free agent.

According to the Baltimore Sun, "...Chris Dickerson and infielder Dan Johnson, who were taken off the Orioles' 40-man roster Thursday and outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk, have to decided to become free agents instead of accepting the assignments."

We like Chris Dickerson here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  We interviewed him this past year (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CHRIS DICKERSON)and the piece was well received by BYB readers, even though at the time he was an Oriole.

There was a great nugget in the interview when ask him about believing in yourself.  Check out this exchange:

BYB: If there is one thing you can tell kids out there who want to make it to the pros, but are frustrated as they try and climb the ladder?

Chris Dickerson:  Believing in your abilities and giving a FULL commitment to each task is very important. One of my biggest things in the off season is to make visits to my High School baseball team and make sure they know the importance of putting forth their best effort, both in the classroom and on the field.

Anyway... we wish Dickerson well.  He's a good dude and he gives his all whenever he's out there... you can't ask for anything better than that! Good luck Chris!
 
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BYB READERS WANT JESUS MONTERO BACK!

So there it is.  We did a poll around a month ago after a very depressing off season of not signing a top player that made Yankee fans say, “You know what? That’s an awesome signing!”  Instead, there were a lot of guys that combined, could be a terrific player, but as an individual, we’re rolling the dice.  Matt Diaz has already been signed and released by the Yankees and Dan Johnson and Juan Rivera aren’t exactly lighting it up.  So I had to know… since some players have left New York, be it free agency or trades or whatever over the past 7 years, if you had a chance to get 1 guy back, who would it be?   

There were 9 players on the list.  I left Nick Swisher off the list, and maybe I should have kept him on it.  The reason why was because I didn’t have any indication from Yankee brass that he was coming back because of his free agency year and so, it was a decision I made. But the reality was, that probably wasn’t fair because believe it or not, as far as write-in votes go, Nick Swisher received 12 votes.  So, I apologize to the BYB readers, but thanks for keeping me in check, with comments and emails, I appreciate it.  Anyway, here are the results of that poll:

 

93 people voted and Jesus Montero was the top of the heap with 31 votes, or 33%.  Losing Montero was like a punch to the gut when he was traded. Probably because there was really no chatter about the Yankees ever wanting to trade him and then... it just happened. To me, Montero leading in this poll made sense.

 Next up, receiving 18 votes was Raul Ibanez.  Ibanez was the post season hero for the Yankees and right around Christmas time, it was clear that the Yankees were going to re-sign Ibanez.  Shockingly, that never happened and Ibanez signed with the Mariners because the Yankees waited to long to make an offer.  That spawned a rant that will be read on BYB for years to come… read YANKEE FANS REVOLT: "ENOUGH'S ENOUGH!" for context on that. 

Chris Dickerson and Russell Martin each got 13 votes a piece, a tie.  Both guys contributed in their own ways and when both guys left after the season, Martin by choice, Dickerson by force, it was sad to see.  Again, Martin never got an offer from the Yankees, a surprise by many of us.  We all knew Dickerson would bounce back, he has the talent and always contributed.  He was a good soldier.  By the way, read EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: CHRIS DICKERSON if you haven’t already. He's on the Orioles now.

Next was good ol’ Nick Swisher with 12 write-in votes… Not too shabby for a guy I left off the list on purpose.  I guess I was thinking too hard.   I apologize again.  

And with 11 votes was Eric Chavez. Chavez did some great stuff while in New York and it was sad to see him leave to go to Arizona. Again, and I hate harping on this, but the Yankees didn’t really engage him and they let him walk.

You can check out the other voting as well, but I must say, you gotta feel alittle bad for George Kontos and Hector Noesi… big fat zeroes for them.  Oh well, life goes on. 

So there you have it, Jesus Montero is your guy!  Montero is the 1 player you’d like to have back if you could, and I happen to agree with you.  It would have made for some fun times in the Yankees catching situation right now, I’ll tell you that.  

Anyway, thanks for voting and thanks for reading.  We appreciate you guys here at Bleeding Yankee Blue.

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WILL THE YANKEES PURSUE BOBBY CROSBY?

Just a quick note... and not one that I want to bring you. That being said, it's one, that if you wear the thinking cap of the Yankee brass right now... you have a framework for the making of a bunch of players who come together with the same goal, but when you look at them on paper, they seem like a bunch of misfits. Am I right? Dan Johnson? Juan Rivera? Brennan Boesch?  You feel me so far?

If I'm the Yankees, I now pursue newly released Bobby Crosby.  Not because he's good, but because he's 33 and cheap.

Yes, Bobby Crosby has been released by the Milwaukee Brewers just hours ago, read HERE, and again, it is my feeling as a Yankee fan knowing everything I know and feel about my team right now, that we will at least sniff around the hydrant of Bobby Crosby.  Why? Because he's unemployed and he's vulnerable and knowing the Yankees, they are thinking they can get him at next-to-nothing to fill-in at first base for an ailing Mark Teixeira.  Plus, they already tried with Derrek Lee and Scott Rolen and they are not coming to the Bronx.  At least Crosby is closer to baseball right now than they are.

Why am I posting this? I'm doing it because I want to jinx it.  I am hoping if I do this, they WON'T pursue Bobby Crosby.  No offense to Bobby, I'm sure he's a great teammate... I just want something else.

Stay tuned....

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MY YANKEES: FROM POWER TO SMALL BALL

I’m a big fan of small ball and I’ve written extensively about it here on Bleeding Yankee Blue.  That being said, I understand the importance of power on my New York Yankees and losing Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira to the disabled list removes a ton of power from our lineup.  So, what the hell do we do? We’re going to have to re-invent ourselves, it’s the only way. Trust me, we are just a few short weeks away from opening day, and we're doing a whole lot of nothing.   Pretty soon, we're going to have to start doing something, or you will quickly see a man who doesn't care about losing exhibition games, start to care a helluva lot.  You want to see me angry? Well, let's just hope the Yankees don't get swept by the Sox in the first series of the season.  If we do, I will scream holy hell! But let me not get ahead of myself...

While this isn’t the Yankees Spring training of "doom" as David Brown of Yahoo Sports wrote the other day, read HERE, it’s pretty depressing to see our guys once again dropping like flies and losing... alot.  I’d love to scream from the rooftops that "I told you so."  I would love to blame Yankee brass for old broken down players that can’t “do it” anymore, but I can’t.   It's just baseball and luckily for us... it's still Spring training.  Grandy just happened to get clocked on the forearm, a legitimate injury.  Mark Teixeira happened to sprain his wrist getting ready for the WBC.  That in itself is ridiculous, because you have to think that if he wasn’t doing that stupid WBC, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt.  But we can’t go back, so we move on without them for several weeks.

But, what do we do in the meantime? Well, we grind through the spring. We make our cuts and we hone in on the replacements.  That’s all we can do. Most importantly, the power won’t be there, so I’m not expecting to see anyone swinging for the fences and I don’t think we should go that way, especially without Tex or Grandy.  Sure, Kevin Youkilis has a big chance to win over us fans, and if he needs to swing hard, go for it, but there are plenty of players without power in this line up. In fact, we need to open our eyes and see the tools we actually do have. We need to get quicker, we need to be athletic and we need to play alittle small ball, for however long it takes.  And then, as Tex comes back…and as Grandy comes back, we transform into the power house that we can be. 

Now look, it won’t be easy. You'll need to tack on at least 2 to 3 weeks on Grandy’s 10 week sentence and Tex will easily be 3 weeks extra because it’s the Spring and they’ll take their time.  One things for sure though, guys like Melky Mesa and Dan Johnson are clearly going to need to step it up.

(In Photo: Dan Johnson)
Dan Johnson doesn’t have Mark Teixeira power, but he’s got power and some athletic ability around the bag at first base. Unfortunately he's shown us none of it this Spring and it makes me wonder if he's even going to make it through.  Actually, Johnson is better than he's playing. Plus, truth be told, he’s no Tex, but he’s got the ferocity to earn a spot, and prove that he’s a reliable dude in Mark Teixeira’s absence. Will he? Well, it's pretty bad right now... I'm not sure.

Melky Mesa makes be forget all about Melky Cabrera… there, I said it because you couldn’t.  The reality is, this is a special kid.  I like what I’m seeing and I hope the Yankees hang onto this dude.  Read about him in our piece by Rudy Laurens titled MELKY MESA IS MAKING HIS CASE. One thing you need to worry about with him is strikeouts.  That can be fixed because he’s young and while he may be in a routine, little tweaks can fix it.

Throw Melky Mesa in the mix with guys like Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki and you have 3 leadoff guys.  Plus, it's safe to say that Derek Jeter is officially back and things are starting to happen.  And that’s another important part of this puzzle.  Sure, the Yankees are worse off then we were before, but with Jeter brings leadership and where there’s leadership comes the twinkle in a teammates eye that says “I’m playing with the great Derek Jeter. There isn’t room for excuses and there isn’t any reason to quit… these are the Yankees.”  

Ichiro did it when he came over to the Yanks from Seattle, a young man like Melky Mesa will do it… and the whole team will follow, veteran or not.  At the end of the day, there is no doom & gloom… just alittle maneuvering, adjusting and playing hard baseball.  Sure, we lose some power right now... but it’s March ^15th, not September ^15th,  we’re actually a lot better off than you think.

Oh yeah... and Go Yanks!

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THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD OF BRIAN CASHMAN

I’m now officially confused. 1 week ago, Brian Cashman made a joke about the Free Agent market and it not looking too good... OR, as he put it “It’s kind of like a baby pool. Kids pee in it.”, read HERE.  I understood what he was saying and what he was doing… he was being provocative as to say to the media, “Look, I don’t see a player that we could use, and so, we’re not going there.” OK… fine.

I’ve stated that life goes on in Yankeeland.  We have what we have and we just need to deal with it.  Try out a few guys at first, Juan Rivera, maybe Dan Johnson, move Kevin Youkilis over there, put Ronnier Mustelier at 3^rd. Basically, we do what we need to do and try to figure it all out.  It happens all the time with injuries with teams.  Then something weird happened.   Brian Cashman became nutty…and I say that in the most affectionate way possible.

These reports about Derrek Lee or Chipper Jones, or Scott Rolen are just mind boggling to me, read DERREK LEE, CHIPPER JONES OR FRED MCGRIFF? for that context.  I mean, it’s like Cashman doesn’t know what he wants to do either. I mean, am I right?  Is it possible that Brian Cashman would actually skip over the Free Agents left over, like Carlos Lee and Aubrey Huff and go straight to retired players and try to convince them to come out of retirement?  Derrek Lee? Chipper Jones? Hey, is Tony Clark available?

(In Photo: Glenallen Hill)
Hey, maybe we sign Glenallen Hill, throw him in the outfield and move Juan Rivera to first.  Jose Canseco is willing to play on the company softball team, maybe he’s available. The whole thing seems ridiculous.

My friend Mike said to me on Twitter this morning “What are the Yankees doing?”  The short answer is… I don’t know. The long answer is they are trying to get their bearings, moving things around, moving money around, saving when they can and most of all, going for the cheap alternative that can hopefully make a big splash quick and then, when their time is up, we send them home.  Sure, none of it makes sense to us, we’re Yankee fans. Many of us grew up with George and we got whatever the hell we wanted.  We’re spoiled, face it.  The hardest thing for us to do is understand this latest stunt by Cashman, and so, we don’t understand it and we become frustrated.

“Off with his head!”, some have screamed or written on Twitter of Brian Cashman.  Some suggest the broken ankle was karma for a crappy off-season.  I say this… let this whole thing play out.  I am pissed just like the rest of you. I don’t get it. But something is actually happening in the process…. The kids are playing and we’re seeing dudes like Zoilo Almonte and Ronnier Mustelier and Melky Mesa make a nice run this spring.  Ultimately, we’re going to see these guys at some point this season, maybe at the start, or later. Ultimately that's what we want anyway right?  So yeah, say we DO sign Derrek Lee temporarily and then Tex comes back.  No doubt we’ll have an injury down the road again from someone else and maybe we'll see Melky Mesa in July.  Then, maybe we make a trade for another veteran, and soon, maybe we bring up Ronnier Mustelier by August.  All I’m saying is, mixing up alittle veteran help with the kids may make for a brilliant formula… a formula for a championship team.

I often think about that 1996 team. A bunch of talent, mixed in with some veterans, some kids, and we won the whole damn thing!  Don’t forget, no one thought we had a chance under “Clueless Joe”, but we did it.  We did it with a guys named Charlie Hayes, and Mariano Duncan.  Old man Cecil Fielder was there and who could forget Luis Sojo.  The point is, we didn’t think those guys could do much either… but we did win it that year!

All I'm saying is, this is the mysterious world of Brian Cashman... but don’t panic yet Yankeeland.  It’s March 12^th, not September 12^th… we’re almost up to Opening Day.  Cash is just getting his team in order.  Let’s wait and see what we have before we get all nutty. Have faith. I know it's hard, but have faith.

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COULD DAN REALLY BE THE MAN?

(In Photo: Dan Johnson)
Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record brings up the name everyone has been wondering about ever since Mark Teixeira was put on the shelf for 8 to 10 weeks. Could Dan Johnson really be the guy we want to fill in a first base until Tex comes back? You can read about Johnson HERE from Caldera, but he writes:

"... with Mark Teixeira sidelined until May because of a strained right wrist, the lefty-hitting Johnson suddenly has the odds in his favor to play a good chunk of time at first base. He’d arrived at camp as a non-roster player attempting to fill Eric Chavez’s role as a backup corner infielder.

'There were a lot more safer jobs, but I feel like the upside is so much greater here,' Johnson said of turning down better opportunities on weaker teams. 'I’m willing to take the risk to come here and prove myself...'"

(In Photo: Aaron Small)
So in other words, or at least the way I'm understanding it, coming to the Yankees was a big deal, and probably is for many players looking to play. The pinstripes do something to players. We've seen players either get traded or called up and the magic happens. We've seen it happen dozens of times in our past history.  Scott Brosius, Shane Spencer, Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon.  Yeah, true, it's a Motley Crue I chose, but the reality is, those names remind me alot of Dan Johnson... never a superstar, but had flashes of success in the Bronx.  Johnson could in fact do the same.

Look, I understand we're gonna miss Tex, but the bottom line is, we either go out and get a guy like Michael Cuddyer, read HERE, or we stick with what we have in Dan Johnson and hope he catches on nicely.

Johnson told Caldera, "It’s just the lure overall of being a Yankee...". That it is Dan, we just hope you do your best and make us proud in Mark's absence.

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DON'T PEE IN THE POOL

 

(Photo from: Dog Days, Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

With Mark Teixeira out for 8 to 10 weeks, read HERE, many have gone into full panic mode in Yankeeland.  I'm not yet. An Opening Day pitch has not been thrown yet... it's the Spring. I just can't get crazy about it yet. I will tell you that the idea of certain dudes internally already available for 1st or 3rd has diminished.  

Yes, we have Kevin Youkilis, and he'll fill in for Alex Rodriguez, but we lost Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, 2 guys that would be have been great at first base in Tex's absence.   No bother... we can't go back in time, what's done is done. We don't have them and no one would have predicted this.

(In Photo: Juan Rivera)
Is Dan Johnson the answer at first base? He may have to be.  Will Juan Rivera also contribute there? Sure, but we may also need him in the outfield.  Questions, questions and luckily for me, I don't have to come up with the answers, the Yankees do.

Brian Cashman isn't too excited about the free agents that can fill in either by the way.  He was asked about it and as you can see from Mark Feinsand of the Daily News's Tweet below, Cashman's statement is obnoxious:

Now, Carlos Lee and Aubrey Huff are out there as possible "plug-ins" for the Yankees,  this is true.  After all ,they are still free agents. But the reality is, they either need to suck it up and just make a phone call to Cash and tell them that they'd be happy to sign on, OR they should just turn their back on the Yankees and tell Cashman to scratch.
  

(In Photo: Carlos Lee)
Cashman meant nothing by it his "pee in the pool" statement.  He was trying to be provocative, and he believes in what we have internally. But the reality is, that statement is insulting and cuts deep if you're a player still on the junk heap.  Me personally, I don't see how this Tex situation is as major as everyone else thinks it is.  Sure, without him, Granderson and Alex, we lose a shit load of home runs, but there are 2 things we can do... play small ball and manufacture runs the way baseball should sometimes be played, or the Yankees need to go out and get a big bopper or... 2.   Sitting on the sidelines questioning what can be done, is no way to go through life... the Yankees need to act.  The question is, what will Cashman do?  

Quick, someone get Giancarlo Stanton on the phone...not only will that provide stability in the outfield, but we'd also have more options at first. I know... I know, I'm silly. But the idea of Stanton in pinstripes would be glorious.

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SPRING HAS SPRUNG IN YANKEELAND!

If you’re in the Northeast, you are getting shellacked with snow and ice right now.  No better time to just think about Spring Training which begins today for the New York Yankees.  To me, it’s my favorite time of year, next to the World Seires… featuring the Yankees of course.

There’s a lot us Yankee fans are expecting to see.  For 1, we want a championship right at the jump.  But it’s bigger than that.  Many are immediately wondering if guys like Dan Johnson, Travis Hafner and the others can cut it.  I am here to say 2 words to you… Hiroki Kuroda. Not following? OK fine... keep reading...

That’s right, I am happy to go back to the well and tell you that I was the guy who blasted the Yankees decision to sign Hiroki Kuroda and thought it was a terrible idea, read WHY HIROKI'S NO-ROKI for guidance on that.  I said he was old, I said he couldn’t handle the pressures of Yankee Stadium.  I told you that he wasn’t a very good pitcher.  And you know what happened? He made me eat crow.  Boom. There, you have it.  So what’s my point? My point is anything can happen and Hiroki Kuroda is the perfect example of that.  He had most likely his best season ever in his career in New York and proved it enough that the Yankees re-signed him.

Let me throw you another name out that I blasted early on… Raul Ibanez.  Yeah, that’s right, I killed him for his terrible fielding.  I called him old. I thought it was a waste of money and I couldn’t believe what the Yankees were doing in signing this broken down baseball player.  Well, if the Yankees followed my lead ,we would have lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS.  The point is, I am just a fan like you and sometimes my emotions get the best of me.  That’s why I wrote NO DOOM & GLOOM WITH OLD AGE... JUST SKILL when the new year hit. In a nutshell, sometimes old age brings skill and  I realized that while the off season was slow and we didn’t get what we wanted for player personnel…  maybe I should sit back and see what these new guys have to offer. Maybe, just maybe I reacted too quickly last year.  In this new year, I am trying my hardest to try and not get too nutty.  At the end of the day, it’s just baseball.  Sure, we love our New York Yankees and we want them to succeed, but what's to say we won’t do it with the talent we have? When you look at the names, at the numbers, the talent is there, the big question is, can we turn it on in 2013 and become that driving force in major league baseball again?

There are writers out there that have already predicted a Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers World Series.  Sure, on paper, that makes sense. But what ever happened to teams "Buying" championships.  Or, is that only when the Yankees "buy" players.  Not once did the Dodgers or Jays get called out for signing top talent.  But hey, if the Yankees do... that's the sin. I hate the double standard, but I'm over it now, because the Yankees don't spend big... let's call it spending smart instead.   Look, 2013 is already here... I can't believe it.  And yes, writers have made their predictions and writers are out there suggesting that if Derek Jeter isn’t at top form, the Yankees will wind up in last place. What a bunch of crap. I think I remember a few times when Derek Jeter was out of the lineup for an extended period of time and we actually played quite well in his absence.  

Remember the shoulder injury in Toronto in 2003? (read HERE.) Jeter was out for quite a while and the Yanks did just fine.  Then, let’s not forget the injury right before his 3000^th hit a few years ago.  Sure, sloppy Eduardo Nunez filled in, but it was the rest of the Yankees that really stepped up and kept it competitive in the American League.  When Jeter came back, he thanked them with his bat and has never looked back.

Sure, we all know the ankle is a terrible injury to come back from, but again… anything is possible and by the way, Jeter will be ready for Opening day.  Bet on it and read RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT, JETER'S BACK! for guidance on that.

The point is, a new season brings a new slate and even though there are distractions, us Yankee fans have been salivating for months.  And there is one thing that brings us all together on a winter day in February... baseball.  The beginning of Spring Training... Pitchers and Catchers and all the players that come with it.

We see the guys our kids worship. We see the guys we root for every game of the year.  It's about the fans, the pinstripes, the pride and the heart and love of the game.  It's the Yankees and when all the signings appear to be complete.  When all the moves appear to be made and when all the snow starts to melt... we see the light... Yankee baseball.

When I think about Yankees Spring Training, it brings me back and I think about things in my younger years... I equate it to being girl crazy as a teenager or to taking out my baseball glove from the closet.  I equate it to pulling out my old baseball card collection or noticing that it starts to stay lighter outside longer... all those things come to mind, because as Spring is sprung... the Yankees come alive and baseball slowly creeps back into our lives... and if you're Yankee fan, it's for the better.

Truth be told, when baseball's in my life, my life seems complete and when it's not there, there's a disruption. I've felt that way since I was kid and almost 35 years later that feeling is exactly the same.  This morning I woke up with a spring in my step and not because I can look out my window and see the Yankees playing like in Field of Dreams, but because I know that in no time at all, the snow will melt away and we'll soon be playing baseball again!  Thank the good Lord for that.

So enjoy it, and enjoy this day. Read all you can about our boys in pinstripes and get excited.  Think about it all day and all week and let's make this season a good one, as Yankees and as Yankee fans!

It's Yankee time again ladies and gentlemen. I can't wait to get started.

Oh yeah... and LET'S GO YANKEES!






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LET'S TURN THE PAGE ON THE YANKEES OFFSEASON

Thank God we made it.  Spring training is literally days away and when Spring Training starts, baseball fans get giddy.  For us Yankee fans, every crappy thing that went down this off season need to be forgotten. We need to stop wondering about the guys we didn't get and start thinking about baseball with the team we have... that's it... it's time.  Think about the fresh cut grass. Think about your baseball glove you wore as a kid and think about that smell as you put it to your face.  It's baseball.  Bottom line, the Yankees need to play ball now no matter who we have.   At the end of the day, the team knows they need to win no matter who’s on the field. 

Sure, the cloud of Anthony Bosch is hanging over Major League Baseball and sure, it’s very true... once a cheater, always a cheater, but fans need to step away from that right now and think about the positive of this great game of baseball.  Let MLB do what they need to do and for you and me, we just need to focus our own families and keep them on the right track. It’s all we can do.  Plus, baseball makes me happy, and it’s time to turn the page on all that negative stuff and concentrate on the game itself.

So, who’s going to Spring Training? Anyone?  I won’t be attending, but if I'm putting this out there... If you go and you want to be part of the BYB family, you have an assignment.  Check it out.   Take pictures and write a piece for us throughout your Spring Training experience.   If you meet a player, take a picture and send it to us. 

If you saw something fun while you were in Tampa, write about it and email us. Look, I’m not saying I'm guaranteeing your article will be on BYB, but I will take a look at all of them and put up what I can.

Of course we'll be trying to bring you stories from Florida when Spring Training officially starts because, let's face it, I love seeing the new guys take the field in their new uniforms.  We’ll see Matt Diaz and Dan Johnson trying to earn spots. 

We’ll watch Travis Hafner walk out in blue and the inner-locking NY on his chest and we’ll even see a clean shaven Kevin Youkilis, hopefully breaking balls with Joba Chamberlain on the field.  They’re teammates now, and all that crap the media ran with this winter about the fued, well, it’s just BS.

At the end of the day, no matter who’s on the field, they are the New York Yankees, and we are the fans that root all season long no matter what. Yes, it's true... I will be front and center as always because truth be told, you root for your team in thick and thin.   This year won’t be any different no matter what kind of tough talk I write here at BYB... I love my Yankees. 

Baseball’s here ladies and gentlemen… the greatest sport in the world without a doubt. I'm a baseball nerd, what can I say...

Go Yanks!

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