PRAISE FOR THE MOOSE

Mike Mussina’s 18-year career in Major League Baseball is a testament to excellence, consistency, and quiet dominance. Spanning a decade with the Baltimore Orioles and eight seasons with the New York Yankees, Mussina amassed a resume that earned him a rightful place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. Yet, despite his accolades, Mussina’s brilliance often flies under the radar, overshadowed by flashier names. Let’s explore the highlights of his illustrious career and give the credit Mussina so richly deserves.

The Clutch Performer: Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS

One of the defining moments of Mussina’s career came on October 16, 2003, in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox. Through his first 13 professional seasons, Mussina had been a starting pitcher in all 400 of his appearances. But when Yankees manager Joe Torre called on him to relieve a struggling Roger Clemens in the fourth inning with runners on the corners, nobody out, and the Yankees trailing 4-0, Mussina rose to the challenge.

In his first relief appearance ever, Mussina delivered under immense pressure, escaping the jam without allowing another run. Over the next two innings, he shut down the Red Sox lineup, keeping the Yankees within striking distance. Mussina’s heroics paved the way for one of the most iconic moments in Yankees history: Aaron Boone’s walk-off home run in the 11th inning, which sent the Yankees to the World Series. Mussina’s calm, calculated performance in such a high-stakes situation epitomized his career-long ability to rise to the occasion.

Chasing Perfection: September 2, 2001

Few games in Mussina’s career showcase his dominance better than his near-perfect game on September 2, 2001, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. In his first season with the Yankees, Mussina mowed down Boston’s lineup, retiring the first 26 batters he faced. With history just one out away, pinch-hitter Carl Everett spoiled the bid with a two-strike single. Undeterred, Mussina closed out the game, finishing with a one-hit masterpiece, 13 strikeouts, and a 1-0 Yankees victory. While perfection eluded him, the game remains one of the most memorable pitching performances in baseball history and a testament to Mussina’s precision and poise.

The Ultimate Milestone: September 28, 2008

The final start of Mussina’s career on September 28, 2008, was as poetic as it was historic. Facing the playoff-bound Red Sox at Fenway Park, Mussina entered the game with 19 wins, needing one more to achieve the elusive 20-win milestone for the first time in his career. The 39-year-old right-hander delivered, throwing six shutout innings before handing the game over to the bullpen. The Yankees secured the victory, making Mussina the oldest first-time 20-game winner in MLB history. He also joined Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers to retire following a 20-win season. The achievement capped an extraordinary career with a flourish of elegance and excellence.

Dominance on the Biggest Stage: 2003 World Series

While the Yankees fell short in the 2003 World Series, Mussina shone in Game 3, facing the Florida Marlins. He squared off against rising star Josh Beckett and delivered a gem, allowing just one run over seven innings to secure his lone World Series victory. Mussina’s composure and precision kept the Yankees competitive in a hard-fought series, though they ultimately fell in six games. The performance exemplified Mussina’s ability to shine in postseason play, even under the brightest lights.

Despite his accomplishments, Mussina’s name often doesn’t come up in conversations about the greatest pitchers of his generation. Perhaps it’s because he never won a Cy Young Award or because he pitched in the same era as dominant figures like Randy Johnson and Pedro Martínez. But Mussina’s brilliance lay in his consistency, his intelligence on the mound, and his ability to adapt and succeed year after year. Few pitchers combined precision, longevity, and excellence as seamlessly as Mussina did.

Mike Mussina’s career is a masterclass in what it means to be a professional athlete. From his clutch performances to his statistical achievements, Mussina’s greatness deserves to be celebrated. His journey from Orioles ace to Yankees stalwart and finally to Hall of Fame inductee in 2019 is a story of hard work, resilience, and excellence. For fans of the game, Mussina’s career is a reminder that greatness doesn’t always have to be loud; sometimes, it’s about showing up every day, doing your job, and letting your results speak for themselves. Mike Mussina did just that, and baseball is better for it.

--Alvin Izzo
BYB Yankee History Contributor

THE GREAT TRADE CASHMAN NEVER MADE!

Not too long ago, Chris Archer was a big deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.....but the scenery change in Pittsburgh hasn't been very kind to him. Now he's not a big deal, and he could actually be a big flop.

In 2018, the Yankees were shopping for a starting pitcher before July's trade deadline. The Yankees were interested in Archer, but the idea of trading within our own division was going to be tough but the Yankees still took a swing and struck out. At the time Archer was a nice prize, so I understood why the Yankees tried to get him. I wasn't heartbroken that we didn't get him though and now I am stoked that we didn't. He may be one of the best trades Brian Cashman never made!

Funny how baseball works out sometimes, huh? I bet the Pittsburgh Pirates wish they didn't trade for him now too. Last week the Pirates announced that Archer had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and will miss the 2020 season, if there is one. Who knows if there will be one at this point. So basically, Archer won't be back until 2021 and that point, his time with the Pirates may be done.

Archer has an $11 million club option for 2021 with a $250,000 buyout. The Pirates aren't expected to pick up the option because frankly....since leaving Tampa Bay Archer has been awful. In Tampa Bay he was an All-Star who finished fifth for the American League Cy Young Award. In Pittsburgh he tanked and finished 3-9 with a career worst 5.19 ERA in 23 starts for 2019. Yuck!

When 2021 comes around it will be interesting to see if he is able to regain any from for his 2018 self. Someone out there will take a chance on Archer if the Pirates do not pick up his option  as expected. He could be a low-risk but high reward for some team out there....maybe. But a return back from this surgery will not be easy.

Remember Former Red Sox postseason pain-in-our butt Josh Beckett? He is a good example. This same surgery is eventually what ended his career.

And what about former New York Mets Ace Matt Harvey also known as The Dark Knight? His future may be dark but without the nickname. At 31 he is hoping for another opportunity to redeem himself after having the same surgery. After pitching for the Mets he played for the Los Angeles Angels last season and went 3-5 in 12 starts with a 7.09 ERA. The Angels tried the low-risk high reward idea and it didn't work out so well. He tanked, so I wonder if someone else will give him a shot this season. Last I read, he was drawing interest from Korean teams for a potential comeback in KBO. Sounds like his super agent Scott Boras isn't able to persuade an MLB team at this point.

Maybe Casey will finally get his wish and Harvey goes away! I know he'd like that.

So who knows what will happen to Chris Archer. It will be interesting to watch, but it sure sounds like the Yankees dodged a bullet by not getting him after all so thank you, Cashman!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj 

HALL OF FAME 2020 COULD BE A ONE-MAN SHOW

I don't understand how some people can say baseball is boring. There's so much strategy and I love how things can change in a game faster than you can blink. All of the walk off home runs or the unbelievable plays and the pitchers duels keep me interested. Then there's also just the human interest side of it. We all have our favorite players, Mariano Rivera was mine. I loved watching him play and I loved watching him get inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend. But have we just seen the most interesting Hall of Fame class for years to come?

It's been fun to watch all of these new names be added to Cooperstown recently. In the last 6 years, the Hall has been working overtime making new bronze plaques for their 29 new additions. That's more guys added to the Hall in the last decade without including the 17 Negro Leaguers that were inducted back in 2006. So, can the trend continue?

It doesn't look likely. According to baseball reference HERE the 2020 potential Hall of Fame Ballots there could be fewer bronze plaques being made not only for next season, but for a few years to come. Looking ahead to next year's first year eligible players include: Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Eric Chavez, Alfonso Soriano, Adam Dunn, Paul Konerko and Derek Jeter.

The biggest name on the list goes without saying, and that's Derek Jeter. The rest of the guys on the list for the first time were all good players, but even media outlets like Newsday are wondering.....could Derek Jeter be the only one inducted into Cooperstown next year? Could it be unanimous? Rivera was the first to get a unanimous vote, could Jeter be the second?

The first year ballots are not as exciting as recent years so that theoretically opens the door for players returning to the ballot to possibly earn extra votes. But would they get enough votes? The player with the highest votes from last year is Mr. Controversial Curt Schilling with 64.7% of the votes. After some stupid and racist comments back in 2015 and 2016 that hurt his votes he has won back a surprising number of votes the last couple of years which has inched him closer to the needed 75% to be voted in.

So whether you like Schilling or not, the smaller pool of eligible players may help him get voted into Cooperstown. His eventual election into Hall of Fame looks like it is getting more likely. He may not get in next year, but he may get in by 2021 which is his ninth year on the ballot.

The upcoming first year players through 2023 look pretty uninteresting compared to recent years. We could see very small classes for the foreseeable future. Is Jeter the only inductee next season? It will be interesting to see how many votes Jeter does get, and if anyone else shares the stage with him.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

HOMAGE TO GODZILLA

It is uncommon to get to watch a baseball player that plays his heart out and does not stop until he wins. It is those gladiators that get you pumped for the game, knowing that you will get 110% from them when the game or the series is on the line. On Sunday, July 28, 2013, one of those gladiators – Hideki Matsui – came home to finish his career as a Yankee. What a career it was!

By the time the Yankees signed him in the 2002/2003 offseason, he had already played 9 years for the Yomiuri Giants and established himself as Godzilla – a hitting machine that hit for power (regularly hitting close to 40 homers per 140 game season) and average (career .304 batting average). Therefore, it was no surprise that at age 29, Matsui continued his hitting ways. His average hovered between .280 and .300, and it was his consistency that could be counted on. He rarely had slumps, finding ways to reach base and moving runners over even when he was not hitting well. Only twice during his time with the Yankees did he fail to reach base for more than three consecutive games. When you think about how long an average player can sit in a slump, that statistic is just amazing. He never had an outburst or was involved in anything that would harm the team’s reputation or his own – a consummate professional.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about watching Hideki Matsui play was his ability to dial it up when the opposition was of premier quality. The Yankees reached the playoffs six times in Matsui’s seven years with the team. In the 6 ALDS he played, his slash line was .261/.365/.443. In 3 ALCS, it was .333/.389/.556. In the two World Series he played in, it was .389/.463/.750. Notice how the numbers keep climbing as the stakes get higher, and as the opposing pitching gets better? Those World Series numbers were against pitchers named Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, Cole Hamels, Brad Penny, and Josh Beckett – all premier pitchers in their day. Against these pitchers, in October, he had a combined OPS of 1.213. That is the definition of clutch. He was the definition of clutch. Most of us agree that without Hideki Matsui, we may not have won the 2009 World Series.

This past Sunday, in his usual calm and humble demeanor, and a smile on his face, he rode into Yankee Stadium and signed a contract to be a member of the New York Yankees for one day. On the final “day” of his baseball career, it allowed him to say that he finished his career with the Yankees. From the first day in the Bronx, when he hit that grand slam, to his final day when he went 3 for 4 with a homer to help defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6, he showed what it means to be a Yankee. We were blessed to witness it.

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

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MATTINGLY WILL ALWAYS BE OUR CAPTAIN... BUT NOT TONIGHT

Yes, Derek Jeter is our Yankee captain, but there is something quite comforting about Don Mattingly, and there always will be, at least to me. He was a true Yankee leader and should have probably won a ring during his time in pinstripes if it wasn't for his bad back.  He was only a New York Yankee in his baseball career… until he became the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  To me, that may be the strangest visual ever!

Sure, Yankees move on, but in my head, it was never supposed to be Don Mattingly. No, he was only to be in pinstripes and never in another uniform.  Sure, if given an opportunity to stay in this great game of baseball, you move on and Mattingly did and when the Dodgers called, it was an opportunity to shine again.  In the back of my mind, I often think about what it would be like if Mattingly were our manager.  Who knows what type of job he would do for us, but it would have been nice I believe.  That’s not a swipe at Joe Girardi, I like him there, and he won the job fair and square… I do think about it though.

It seems like 3 weeks ago or more that Ken Rosenthal reported that a “source” thought Donnie would be fired as Dodgers manager because they just couldn’t get it together this season. Read GUESS WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO DON MATTINGLY?  The thinking was, the Dodgers gave Donnie every tool he needed to win, and they just weren’t winning.  I have always believed that it doesn’t matter who the manager is, a team of just veterans will never win because they are set in their ways.  You have guys like Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez... and all veterans combined is just a recipe for “sameness” and “non-change.”  Sure, the Dodgers have mixed in a few GREAT youngsters, but they need to also mix in alittle momentum and then, then you have something. But it takes time!  Throw in a hungry manager like Mattingly with the will to win and yes, there you have it....but not overnight... eventually. Brass need patience sometimes.  Dodgers brass and all brass for that matter believe that buying veteran guys with talent automatically ensures a championship… that’s not the case and I believe that.

Don Mattingly is a smart manager, he’s a baseball guy and he can mold his club into competitors.  When the Dodgers aren’t playing the Yankees, I root for Donnie.  When they are, then Donnie is just another manager. That being said, how do you NOT love Donnie Baseball.

Mattingly is coming to the Yankee stadium for a 2 game series starting today.  The games will be competitive and every newspaper around the country has billed this as "the Return of Mattingly" and “Payback” or something.  Sure, the Yankees need to win, but to them, it’s just a game. They aren’t reading the papers and they sure aren’t looking to “beat” Mattingly.  There will be hugs and joking on the field, it’s going to be a great reunion with our former captain, but the game still needs to be played and someone needs to lose.  For us Yankee fans, after the joking and smiling we need to put our game faces on and run the Dodgers over like a truck with no brakes… because in the end… that’s the game.

When it’s all over, I’ll see Donnie as a Yankee again, our captain, our leader of the 80’s… but for now, it’s GAME ON!  Welcome back to the Bronx Donnie Baseball… get ready to lose… Go Yanks!

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TIME TO BRING BACK CHIEN-MING WANG?

It was reported by George A. King III of the NY Post, HERE, that "the Yankees were keeping close tabs" on Chien-Ming Wang during the WBC. We wrote about it in February.

At first, I was thrilled. After all, not too long ago he was the Yanks best pitcher. In 2006 & 2007, Wang posted consecutive 19 win seasons. In 2006, he was 2nd in the Cy Young voting, losing out to Johan Santana.  In 2007, he was tied for 2nd in wins behind Josh Beckett's 20. He was also a fan favorite and a likable low key player. After pitching 19 scoreless innings in the WBC for Chinese Taipei it's a no brainer right? Another low risk, high yield sign. Not so fast Bomber fans, it's really not that simple. Why? I’ll show you…

I decided to weigh the pros and cons on Mr. Wang:

Pros:

Wang comes cheap and that’s been the theme this off season. Yankee brass has been rather thrifty in their pursuit of their self-imposed salary cap. (Read THE YANKEES ARE STILL THRIFT SHOPPING in case you live under a rock.)  They could offer him a non-guaranteed, performance laden contract or a minor league deal and hope he bites. He will be 33 by Opening Day, which is young by recent Yankees standards. He has a lot to prove and he is hungry for another shot.  Wang has proven he can pitch in the Bronx and would welcome a chance to redeem himself. This is probably his last chance at a MLB contract and would work hard to earn his way on the team. With his heavy sinker, he will induce many ground balls and double plays. He will provide experience and depth either at the Major or Minor League level. The Red Sox won't get him, although the Focus Taiwan News Channel report that no US or Japanese teams have had contract talks with him, for the same reasons the Yanks would sign him… I believe so will the Red Sox.

Cons:

First off we already have Ivan Nova and David Phelps competing for the 5th spot in the rotation. I know, I know, you can never have enough pitching. What does that do to their morale or mindset that after working so hard and being on the verge get sent down to the farm in favor of Wang? What about the other minor league pitchers who are up and coming? Now they get pushed back a notch as well. Will signing Wang hamper their development and growth? Will they become discouraged and stop working hard? Will the allure of playing for the Yankees wear off? Wang has also been injury prone and has not been too successful in the postseason. In the 2007 ALDS against the Cleveland Indians Wang started 2 games and took the loss in both appearances. He pitched a combined 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up 12 earned runs, for a postseason ERA of 19.06. The Yankees lost the ALDS in four games. In 2012 he admitted to having an extramarital affair while recovering from a shoulder injury in 2009. His biological maternal grandfather, whom he visited often committed suicide in a park in Taiwan by hanging himself with an electrical cord in 2011. Since his foot injury in 2008, while running the bases his career has taken a nose dive. Does he have enough left in the tank to make it through the season and be consistent along the way?

Whatever the Yankees decide, I am sure they'll ask themselves some of these same questions, but we'll have to wait and see...





 --Carlos Gee, BYB Writer





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THE PRESSURE NOW FALLS ON MATTINGLY

"If we lose, we're failures."

That quote above came from Dodgers manager and Yankee Icon, Don Mattingly. This is a guy that played for George Steinbrenner, a guy who never played for second place. George has been quoted saying "Second place is really first place loser." also been quoted as saying . Randy Levine, has been quoted as saying "When you don't win the World Series, it is a bitter disappointment."  Our captain Derek Jeter was brought through the same farm system as Don Mattingly was before him and subscribes to the same mentality.  They speak the same way because they grew up the Yankee way... and so do we, so I get Mattingly and his important quote. The Dodgers made big moves with guys like Hanley Ramirez and Josh Beckett and Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford during the season, and Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu now.  They have plenty of money and their eye on the prize.

The Yankee way has been pounded into our players heads for years and us fans follow the philosphy. We love our Yankees, but we love them to win the whole damn thing. That's why 1996 through 2000 were so damn special. The only downside was Don Mattingly never won a ring with us and now, the Dodgers have handed him the keys to win it all next season...no pressure right?

Mattingly needs a ring, the Dodgers have the dough to give him all the parts he needs to do it. No doubt a few years under his belt as a manager have made him more experienced and while I rarely root for another club, I root for Don Mattingly and always will.

I often wonder about if Donnie's back didn't crap out on him, if he would have been part of that 1996 team, or even maybe 1998, you never know. Nothing against Tino Martinez, but as Yankee fans, everybody feels for Mattingly...Everybody.

Well, now he has his chance in another shade of blue, and with the same type of make-up of talent that the Yankees used to pull off in the offseason. Look, the Dodgers have a shot. And Donnie's right saying what he said to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, HERE, if they don't win it all, with the talent they have, the season will be a true failure. Unfortunately, as a manager, it will all fall down on Donnie and he'll be to blame. Is it fair? No. No one needs that.

Hey look... Maybe it will work out in our favor. Maybe if things don't work out OR they do in Dodgertown, it will be right about the time Joe Girardi ends his contract in the Bronx. Then, maybe Donnie comes back to New York to manage our club. I see it now... Donnie Baseball's the Manager, Jorge Posada's the bench coach, Derek Jeter is the hitting coach. The pitching coach is Andy Pettitte and 1st and 3rd base coaches are Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera.  It's like the band never broke up...or maybe this is all just wishful thinking.

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DODGERS SIGN HYUN-JIN RYU. NEXT UP? ANYONE THEY WANT

Who can't the Los Angeles Dodgers sign right now? Magic Johnson is Don Mattingly's angel because they have done it again.  The latest is the Dodgers just signed South Korean lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu to a 6 year, $36 million contract.  That is coming from CBS Sports.com's Jon Heyman HERE and HERE from Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.

I'm not sure why any Yankee fan would care, but I guess it's just a satisfying reminder of what the Yankees used to do when we had a few bucks.  I have no problem with the Dodgers collecting players as they push toward a common goal in baseball... put the players on the field you think are the best to win it all for your club.

Most of all, I smile when I think about Donnie Baseball heading the team.  While I want my Yankees to be champions again, I can't help but want to root for Donnie... this is good thing for the Dodgers. 

(In Photo: Clayton Kershaw)
The Dodgers now have a rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Chad Billingsley, Chris Capuano, Ted Lilly and Aaron Harang and now they add Ryu... Stockpiling arms... holy crap.  You have to wonder who's about to be shipped off to make room in that rotation...maybe a Ted Lilly? A New York Yankee reunion maybe? I'm kidding... I guess I'm just blah right now...

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THE 2012 YANKEES WERE MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN YOU THINK

Twenty.

No, I’m not talking about the number of at-bats it took before Robinson Cano got a hit in the ALCS.  Instead, I am referring to the number of consecutive winning seasons the New York Yankees have provided their fans.  No other team can say they’ve given their faithful that much success.  Not a single one.  Not the Red Sox, or the Tigers, or the Cardinals, or the Rangers.  No other MLB team’s fans can claim so many years of winning more than they lose.

Yes, we were just swept in the American League Championship Series by the Detroit Tigers and yes, our bats were quieter than a Buster Keaton film, but let’s not forget the season that was.

All year long we were backed up to a wall, and all year long we kept pushing ourselves off it.  Right from the start our team was behind the eight ball after dealing phenom Jesus Montero for Seattle hurler Michael Pineda who, despite all his promise and after securing a spot in the rotation, was lost for the season without so much as throwing a pitch from our hallowed mound.

The so-called “experts” all threw in their prognostications, and nearly all said we were too old, too thin on the bench, and too over-matched in the rotation.  The Red Sox with Adrian Gonzalez, Big Papi, Carl Crawford,  and a beer-drinking, chicken-loving rotation led by Josh Beckett and Jon Lester were sure to bounce back from a sub-par finish in 2011.  If they couldn’t, well then there was no doubt that the fiery Tampa Bay Rays led by Evan Longoria and a young flame-throwing pitching corps would dominate the AL East.

They were wrong.

With each setback, we found a new hero, or set of heroes who more than filled the holes.  Pineda was replaced by a combination of Freddy Garcia and David Phelps.  Joba Chamberlain came back from a trampoline accident and did a great job for us despite doubters who said he'd be finished. We lost left-fielder Brett Gardner one month into the season and Raul Ibanez, Andruw Jones, and Jayson Nix took over.  When our “Great One”  - Mariano Rivera – suffered a devastating leg injury while shagging fly balls on the warning track, Rafael Soriano stepped up and gave us 42 “untucking” saves. 

At the end of June, during our assault the top of the division, both Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia went on the disabled list on the same day.  Yet, we didn’t miss a beat as Freddy Garcia, once again, stepped up his game and went 6 – 5 with a respectable 4.16 ERA over the next two months.

In the month of September when the Baltimore Orioles made their splendid run at us, who could ever forget the incredible hitting displays of Ichiro Suzuki  (14 for 20 during a five-game stretch) and Robinson Cano (15 for 24 over the last six games) in the last two weeks of the regular season? 

Beyond that, it would be criminal to not mention what Raul Ibanez meant to the squad throughout the year and even more so in the divisional series where he seemingly carried the team into the ALCS.

And last but not least, Derek Jeter knew he had a job to do because of all the inconsistancy and injury and he had the season of his life, for himself, for the team and for the fans!

Finally, even though I am one of his harshest critics (hate the binder / IPAD Joe!), what Joe Girardi was faced with during the 2012 campaign was overwhelming.  Think about it.  Before the season began, a young, promising piece of the rotation was down with injury.  One month into the season, his left-fielder, and fastest man on the team, succumbed to arm injuries.  Mid-season, on one hot, yet bleak day, he lost perhaps his two best starting pitchers, and he lost the greatest reliever in the history of baseball before April could turn into May. 

Yet when the dust settled, the Yankees held the best record in the American League. This was, perhaps, manager Joe Girardi’s finest season.

Rather than criticize our hitters or manager for the sudden finality to 2012, applaud the Detroit Tigers for what they were able to do.  They shut us down – something no one else could do with regularity.

Right now we Yankees fans feel ill about another year of promise lost.  The “haters” out there are reveling in our suffering, but we can take solace in the fact that we have had an organization willing to do whatever it takes to improve.  Be sure that they will this off-season too.  After all, we have twenty straight years of proof to believe in.

 
--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer

Twitter: @oswegos1

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THE SHOWDOWN: YANKEE VETERANS VS. ORIOLE YOUTH

You can mold youth, but you can’t remold a veteran who’s been stuck in their ways for years.  The difference in this Yankees/ Orioles series will be whether or not Yankee veterans are open minded to playing situational hitting and whether the white hot Orioles youth will absorb Zen Master Buck Showalter’s words like a sponge to try and squash the Yankees.  For Buck, this isn’t just a series in a season, it’s his own personal World Series. If Buck Showalter’s Orioles sweep the Yankees in their house this weekend, it will not only define that series, it will define the rest of the season for New York. 

That will easily deflate the Yankees, it will deflate the fan base and will, in turn, make a winning season turn bad.  I’m writing this as a true fan that believes, but I’ll tell you something very important;  There is a lot to be said about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  Think about  those words.  Think about what that phrase means. Trust me, a black eye like a sweep against the Orioles will provide instability in the Yankee clubhouse and chaos in the New York Sports media.  That will in turn snowball into uncertainty, an embarrassed Joe Girardi and anger among Yankee fans.  

The reason why is simple…Buck Showalter has molded his youth, 25 guys with unknown names that believe they can run through a brick wall.  The Yankees? We’re a bunch of gritty veterans yes, but we’ve traded away our youth and the heroes we have, have been in the same routine for years.  In other words, Kevin Long won’t dare rework a guy that’s been in the majors for 8 years + doing the same thing he’s always done, because that player's established…he’s going to let him hit in the hopes that a home run or a spark will ignite the team. It's Hope…not necessity.

Again, this is me as a fan believing in my team, but looking for that spark.  With the Yankees, there have always been big moments, but for some reason, when I think about the big plays lately, it’s the kids or the non-all stars… the hungry young player that wants to take everything in like a sponge. 

I always think about Jose Vizcaino and his hit to score the winning run in the 2000 World Series (Read HERE)…it set the tone.   I think about Derek Jeter learning from day 1.  I think about Scott Broisus, a guy with a career in Oakland going absolutely no where and when he came to the Yankees he became a champion. Why? Because he wasn’t set in his ways…he just wanted a job and was willing to work at it. It paid off, he was the 1998 World Series MVP.

No, I have not given up on my Yankees.  I am not angry at Kevin Long or Joe Girardi. I’m not going to sit here blaming everyone, but I want results. My take is simple, I don't care if you're a veteran set in your ways, change your ways to win.  You teach Little League players situational hitting from day one.  Overtime, the player translates that through high school, college and when they hit the pros, IF they make it that far, it’s usually what got them there.  Then suddenly, that player becomes a veteran and they're “allowed” to be set in their ways. Why?  

Look, I’m not saying the Yankees need to transform their blue print at the end of August during a pennant race, but I am saying it’s alittle too late to start... we’re running out of time. Now the Yankees HAVE to grind it out and you damn sure better incorporate situational hitting into your game plan now!  The Orioles are not push overs. Sure, they are a bunch of kids, but so were the Florida Marlins in 2003 and Josh Beckett beat us. 

The point is the Yankees need to wake up because right now it’s not enough that we’re in our house and we have a sold out stadium of Yankee fans.  That’s expected…we’re the Yankees.  No, it’s time to up our game. It’s time to press the reset button and kick the crap out of the Orioles.  Change it up, play some small ball, do the unexpected and that even goes for the fans too.  You want to throw a wrench in the whole thing and open the Yankees’ eyes? DON'T DO A ROLL CALL TONIGHT. Let the Yankees have their routine broken to let them realize just how important this is to enter each game differently. Make them feel like they need to snap out of the funk. I'm tired of hearing that "we did our best and we just got beat" or "we just didn't have it tonight." You always have to have it. You always have to win, that's the goal, in baseball, in life.

My Yankees can do it, they are our heroes.  They do great things off the field, they make great plays on the field, but with the same routine comes a rut and I’ll tell you what, they’re in one.  Sure, I told you all that we’d start playing winning baseball when CC Sabathia pitched against the Indians last Friday night (Read HERE), but guess what, now it MUST start.  No one needs Buck Showalter winning anything at Yankee Stadium… I can picture his sneaky smirk right now and I want to smack it. You know that look right? It's the one where he looks like he's better than everyone else...So help me God, if the O's score a few on a Yankee mistake...we'll see it and you'll say to yourself "Damn...  BYB nailed it!"

Today’s the day Yanks… let’s do this.

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