CASHMAN'S COMING BACK... BUT SHOULD HE?

It's been revealed by many, that Brian Cashman will get a new contract with the New York Yankees.  I'll use Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com on this one who writes:

"While the Yankees appear likely to miss the playoffs for a second straight season, top team brass isn't about to blame any possible disappointment on long-time general manager Brian Cashman, and by and large give Cashman good or better marks for his performance, assuring that he'll be asked to return for a 18th season as general manager and beyond, according to people familiar with the situation."

 The headline? Yankees Likely To Offer GM Cashman A New Contract.

First off, "people familiar with the situation" means anyone Heyman can pin it on without naming names. Secondly, "likely" doesn't mean Cashman's coming back. It means it's likely.  Hal and Hank could change their minds tomorrow if another solid GM became available.  Now that we've cut through that... let's talk turkey...

I'm not a Cashman hater. Many of you are, and that's OK.  Personally, I think what he did in the off-season, getting some top free agents, made a lot of sense and it needed to happen.  Sure, looking back at it, Brian McCann seems like a lousy signing, but at the time, I was jumping up and down with excitement.  I give credit to McCann for dealing with pitcher turnover and that's a plus for the Yankees, but I hate his bat right now and I hope it improves.

I love the fact that Masahiro Tanaka is in pinstripes and Cashman was instrumental in getting that done.  But those are just 2 examples of what Cashman had to do to improve this club who was slammed with injury. Plus, we've had to deal with a lousy offense. Cash improved the pitching staff tremendously with a bunch of guys I would have never grabbed, let alone be able to pick out of a lineup. Chris Capuano. Brandon McCarthy? They're brilliant for us and I could not be happier with them.

(In Photo: Brandon McCarthy)
Shane Greene is a beast.  Nice work bringing him up!

But back to the offense... Not exactly Cashman's fault, although at the trade deadline, the idea of swapping Kelly Johnson for Stephen Drew seemed ridiculous.

I don't think I'll ever understand it.  Martin Prado, his energy, has appreciation for the pinstripes... it was a great move.

In this world of Yankee frustration, I need to tell you though, there's not a lot to blame Cashman for.  We've really just had terrible offense, and as a player, you need to fix it.  It's what professionals do. Figure out the problem with Kevin Long or yourself and improve.  If you can't, you shouldn't play.  Don't agree?  Let me make it clearer;  It's my belief that if a team is in a free fall, and you have players unwilling to change their routine and continue to clog up the lineup with strikeouts and RBI-less at bats... you bench them.  Like business, if productivity ain't leaning the companies way, bench them, move them, fire them... do what you gotta do. Make a statement. Make someone an example.  You know who does that when he needs to?

Don Mattingly and he's done it to a true athlete in Yasiel Puig, read HERE. The point is, don't tell me how valuable these Yankee hitting stars are... if they're not performing the "Yankee way", bench them and let them and the rest of Yankeeland know.  This however does NOT fall under Cashman's job description.  Cash brings the players in, good players mind you.  He did his job. Joe Girardi needs to do his alittle better. Anyway, I'm rambling now and getting off track, but that's how I feel.

The only slap against Cashman I have is not giving the Yankee youth movement enough time to blossom.  This week we Designated Zoilo Almonte for Assignment.  If he's not outrighted and picked up by another club, I'm gonna be pissed.  Almonte is a good player, young and talented.  We've seen others leave as well.  Eduardo Nunez went away.  Melky Mesa disappeared.  Remember Austin Jackson? We traded for Curtis Granderson, and now Curtis is a Met now. That was fast. We don't give our youth enough time, and we should. And I don't mean on the farm, I mean in the bigs. If you're gonna blame Cashman for anything, blame him for that.

Cashman is "likely" to come back... and that's not a bad thing.  So far we've got 5 Championships with him as GM.  He brought in players that contributed to that.  It's a guy you want in the Yankees corner. Sure, you can argue it's more of the same, but the reality is, we have some interesting star pitching coming down the pike... Max Scherzer... Jon Lester.  Don't you want Cash around to try and snatch those two up?

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I FOUND MELKY MESA

You remember Melky Mesa right? He was the young Yankee outfielder that was going to be the next big thing for the New York Yankees. Much like Austin Jackson, and Jesus Montero... there was also Melky Mesa.  Well, like the Yankees do often, they either cut loose their young talent or trade them away in the hopes for veteran "lightning in a bottle." Well hey, at least we have Zoilo Almonte, right?  Melky was released around the beginning of September last year.  Read MELKY MESA IS GONE & OTHER BIG MOVES.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I know where Melky Mesa is these days.  According to MLB.com, he just signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.  Adam McCalvy writes:

"The Royals on Saturday signed former Indians utility man Jason Donald and former Yankees outfielder Melky Mesa to Minor League contracts. The club also said it would announce at a later date whether either player would get an invitation to big league Spring Training camp... Mesa is 26 and played in five games for the Yankees last season, going 5-for-13 with two doubles and two runs scored. He also hit .261 in 84 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with 15 doubles, 13 homers and 39 RBIs.

Mesa's best season was 2012, when he hit a combined .264 with 23 homers and 67 RBIs between Double-A Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre."

So there you have it.  You were curious about Mesa? We brought it to you. Thanks for reading BYB. We appreciate your support!

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MELKY MESA IS GONE & OTHER BIG MOVES

Well, that was fast.  Remember Melky Mesa? He was one of the kids the Yankees really had high hopes for. Well, he's gone, released by the Yankees. They announced it on Twitter:

Jayson Nix transferred to 60-day D.L. and Melky Mesa unconditionally released to make room on the 40-man roster for Cabral and Marshall
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) September 1, 2013

He'll land on his feet somewhere, the kid has potential. According to Madison.com HERE,other things happened too today!: "The New York Yankees have expanded their roster with September call-ups, adding infielder David Adams and three pitchers. The Yankees promoted right-handers Dellin Betances and Brett Marshall and lefty Cesar Cabral from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. They also signed catcher J.R. Murphy and selected him from Triple-A before Sunday's game against Baltimore."

On a side note and because I like Clay Rapada, I'm happy to announce that Clay was called up by the Indians! Good job bro! Now take a picture in your Bleeding Yankee Blue T-Shirt and send it to us!!!

Good luck to all the boys! September is here!

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SAD REALITY... MAYBE IT'S TIME

Perhaps the time has come for we who are Yankees fans to accept the inevitable.   This just isn’t going to be our year.

We’ve hoped against hope each time our captain Derek has returned, only to see him once again land on the disabled list.

We even offered up glimmers of excitement at the return of Curtis Granderson from a broken arm.  Once again that excitement turned to utter disappointment as he too found his way back from whence he came.

He at least is back now, but even that seems to be tempered, as he is being benched against left-handed pitchers by manager Joe Girardi.

I can’t help but wonder aloud “What is the point in that Joe?”  How can anyone possibly use matchup lineups against opponents when they don’t have a complete team to work with?  Why not run your best players out there every single day?   If you should fail, you are at least failing with your best.  Screw the damn binder and the statistics that lie within.  It won’t work this year.

Third base has been a carousel of mediocrity.  We finally get our regular back from his umpteenth hip procedure only to realize that It will be temporary - courtesy of his own poor life decisions and Bud Selig.

The starting rotation was the pride of the team going into the season.

We finally had Andy after a full off-season of preparation, and CC was supposed to be new and improved after elbow surgery and a loss of some weight. 

Phil Hughes was coming off a decent year, and at 27 years-old would be moving into the prime seasons of his career.

Instead Andy, CC and Phil have been tremendous letdowns.  CC in particular is getting pounded early and often in games.  Hughes has already allowed 20 HR in his incredibly inconsistent season, and Andy is starting to look like an aging pitcher.

David Phelps, our promising spot starter is on the DL.

Michael Pineda has been shut down for seven to ten days with shoulder stiffness. 

Only Hiroki Kuroda and Ivan Nova have been bright spots.

The bullpen hasn’t been devoid of performance issues either. 

Joba Chamberlain looks more and more like he needs a change of scenery and rumors have persisted that the Yankees are trying to make that happen.

Every time Boone Logan steps on the mound the Yankee fans hold their collective breath.  You never know when the flood gates will open against him, but you know at some point they will.

Well, at least we still have our beloved Mo.  No signs of depreciation there.  He just keeps rolling along – right to Cooperstown.  God, we are going to miss him.

So what do we do?

Maybe it’s time we let the next generation of Bombers have their say. 

Let’s trim the fat off this old and proud tree and get on with the business of growing pains.

(In photo: Austin Romine)

Bring up JR Murphy and let him share time with Austin Romine behind the plate.  Chris Stewart, we thank you for your stability as a backstop but when you are standing at the plate we can just see opposing pitchers’ mouths watering.

Mark Teixeira won’t be standing at first base this season so rather than throwing retreads out there, continue with the precedent Girardi set on August 6^th and keep trying David Adams there.  Since ARod has returned, we should continue to “season” Adams in “the show”. 

At this point, it can’t hurt.

Second base is Robbie’s until further notice.  We need to encourage him to stay.

With Jeet breaking down every other week, we may as well let Nunez remain there (maybe share time with Nix?)and hopefully plug some of the holes in the sieve that he wears for a glove.  Nunez has flashed a decent bat in the past, and with regular play it may just surprise us.

Third base is ARod’s until at least next season.  Should he ultimately get suspended, the daily inclusion of Adams in the 2013 lineup (at first base) will allow the baby Bomber to hone his bat and step over to the hot corner in 2014.

Brett Gardner has developed into perhaps our most valuable outfielder.  He is a sparkplug at the plate and an underrated centerfielder. 

24 year-old Zoilo Almonte exploded on the scene when called up to the Bronx, but cooled off prior to getting hurt.  He’s still developing but has shown he’s not intimidated at the major league level.  Get him into the lineup (and field) often when he returns from his injury.

The Yankees outfield future lies with the likes of Gardner, Alimonte, Melky Mesa, Slade Heathcott and Tyler Austin.  We should use the remainder of the year to gradually get the “newbies” some playing time in our cathedral – even if it comes at the expense of playing time for Grandy and Ichiro.

Our team needs rejuvenation. 

When we have our star second baseman half-heartedly jogging down to first base on a groundout, maybe it’s a sign that we need some life in that dugout. 

If he saw kids who were fighting to stay with the big league club giving their all with every play – regardless of how insignificant it may seem to the game – it might rekindle a fire within.

The same goes for the pitching staff.

(In Photo: Preston Claiborne) 
Preston Claiborne and Adam Warren have already injected new hope into the bullpen while subtly taking appearances away from the likes of Joba and Logan. Warren has made a strong case for being in the starting rotation.

We need to continue pushing the deadweight out of the way and bring up Dellin Betances.   In his new role as a reliever at Scranton, he has struck out 85 in 70 innings of work while walking only 36.  That’s a far cry from what he was doing as a starter.

I realize that what I’m proposing goes in direct opposition to the way the Yankees have conducted business the past few years.  But, what our front office has been doing is trying to maintain the excellence of players who have made up our foundation for the better part of the past 17 years.  It has been a GREAT run, but that foundation is cracking and withering away with age. 

What I am asking is that before the entire house collapses, inject it with new life. 

I realize it risks the present, but it does so to ensure the future.

Maybe it’s time.


   
--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer
Twitter: @oswegos1

 

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GUESS WHO WAS DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT NOW?

Just a quick note to keep you in the loop on "Yankee activity" as I like to call it.  When the Yankees activated Curtis Granderson yesterday, they had to make a roster move, so they did.  Thomas Neal was designated for assignment, according to Bryan Hoch at MLB.com in his tweet below:

Curtis Granderson activated by Yankees, batting fifth. Melky Mesa sent to AAA and Thomas Neal DFA.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 2, 2013

It went like this;  First, Alfonso Soriano was traded for and Thomas Neal was sent down the AAA. Then the Yankees activated Grandy and Melky Mesa was sent to AAA and that left Neal as the guy to be DFA'd.

Roster moves are never easy, I hope we're able to hang onto Neal, I like the guy. Good luck Thomas!

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LONEY TUNES

See what I did there? Loney Tunes? James Loney has been having himself a breakout season this year, and he rolled right along at the Stadium. To the tune of two hits, a homer, and four RBIs. Loney Tunes go “Smack, smack smack!"

Jeremy Hellickson took his sweet time twirling from the Tampa mound. At one time he lolly gagged around between pitches for nearly a full minute. Apropos, as he lives and dies by the off speed stuff, and he kept the Yankees swinging far too early as he dawdled his way through innings.

CC had a terrible second inning. The Rays jumped all over him for six runs. Sabathia looked uncomfortable, and had trouble finding the zone. Lotsa balls, couple wild pitches, and the game was pretty much sealed.

As it turns out, CC hasn’t won against the Rays the last five times he has faced them. His ERA against Tampa Bay has bloated to an incredible 7.71. If the Yankees are going anywhere in the second half, Sabathia will need to get that monkey in a Rays jersey off his back.

Yankee bats? When Austin Romine is your best hitter and meets the Mendoza line on the same night? That’s bad. The Bombers stirred in the 8th and 9th, and the movers and shakers were David Adams, Romine, Melky Mesa, Chris Stewart, and Brent Lillibridge.

Oh yeah, Alfonso Soriano. While it did make me happy to see him back, Fonzie blew two glorious chances to return to to New York in style. Twice he came up to bat with the bases loaded. He flied out the first time and singled on the second. While he did score a run as well, and will contribute on offense, his return came off a tad anti-climatic.

The bright side is that the bottom of the order seems to be heating up. It is also worth noting that the Yankees did not give up when they were down by nine runs. Instead they clawed back from a 10-1 deficit and died trying to tie it up.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late. Here’s a picture of my kid to make you feel better.

Your final: Rays - 10 -  Yankees - 6

 
Chad R. MacDonald
BYB Writer
Facebook: New York Yankees the Home of Champions
My Blog: ChadRants

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NUNEZ NEEDLES NATHAN & LILLIBRIDGE HELPS WIN IT!

 (In Photo: A smiling Nunez, but more importantly the Captain is smiling)
The Yankees won a game.  Not only that, they scored 5 runs.  Crazy I know, but these are the Yankees we've been waiting for.  Let's start with the pitching and then we'll get to the dramatic part:

Phil Hughes started and went 5.2 innings.  He gave up 4 hits and 3 runs.  He was not outstanding, but you know what? None of our starters have been lately... except for the recent appearance by Ivan Nova and of course... Hiroki Kuroda.  One thing Hughes did do was keep us in the game.  Boone Logan came in and gave up an earned run on a homer.  But that was the end of the run scoring for the Rangers. The Yankees hitting went like this:

In the 3rd inning, Austin Romine doubled in Melky Mesa. Shortly after that, Ichiro Suzuki knocked in Romine. In the 4th, Brent Lillibridge reached on a fielders choice, and with that, Vernon Wells scored.  Then nothing... until the 9th.

In the 9th, Eduardo Nunez tripled and with it knocked in Vernon Wells to tie the game.  Then .... Holy Lillibridge... That's right...

Brent singled in Nunez for the go ahead run off Joe Nathan and Yankeeland rejoices... we won!

Final: Yankees 5 - Rangers 4

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THOMAS NEAL & THE GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS

I wanted to tell you about the Yankees shell game that took place today.... follow me:

Melky Mesa and Thomas Neal arrived today to meet our Yankee club in Boston.  Why? Because Zoilo Almonte was put on the disabled list because of that sprained ankle from last night's loss to the Red Sox.

(In Photo: Alberto Gonzalez with Zoilo Almonte)
The team then designated Alberto Gonzalez for assignment and they did that because they already had called up Brent Lillibridge from Scranton.  As Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger HERE wrote: "Gonzalez’s presence here was redundant."

McCullough also writes: "... Girardi intends to use Mesa, a toolsy switch hitter who has struggled to produce in Triple A this season, as a backup outfielder. Neal will be the team’s designated hitter against left-handed pitchers. That role shifts Vernon Wells back into the outfield on those days. Neal is a liability in the field."

So there you have it... musical chairs.

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CHECK OUT HOW MESA & NUNO ARE DOING...

I just wanted to bring you some news about Melky Mesa and what he is up to these days since the start of the season. I know you guys are curious...

So far Melky is hitting .250 with 6 hits in 24 at-bats. He has 1 HR with 3 RBI's. We wanted to see Mesa make the major league roster but with Vernon Wells and Brennan Boesch added to the outfield depth chart, we were pretty certain he would be sent down to AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre. For the most part, he had a 5 game hitting streak between April 4th through April 8th. I hope to see some progress out of him down on the farm. We know what he did at Spring Training and we hope if he gets enough at bats down on the farm, eventually it will get him call up to the Bronx sometime in the near future. Time will tell for Mesa.

Remember Vidal Nuno? He is the lefty who had a big Spring Training and drew some attention as a possible option for our major league roster. You can find out more about Nuno in Jeana Belleza's piece, VIDAL NUNO COULD BE THAT NEW YANKEE LEFTY.  Nuno still has yet to win a start but is pitching with an ERA of 2.31 and has struck out 12 batters in his first 2 starts with the Rail Riders. Again, hopefully Nuno can continue to gel as we already know that having effective lefties on your depth chart is definitely like striking gold.

As for the rest of the Baby Bombers, just like the Bronx Big Brothers started, they too are off to slow start. With only one win in their first six games, they can still turn this around. I personally will get a look at the Rail Riders when they roll into my town to play the Red Sox Triple A affiliate the Pawtucket Red Sox. I hope to get a good look at the kids and bring you a report on what's happening down on the farm soon... look for it.

-- Rudy Laurens, BYB Writer
Facebook: House of Champions



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THAT'S MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN APRIL FOR YA!

It was Thursday night after a long week and the prize- opening night at the Trenton Thunder with my son at its newly tooled Arm and Hammer Park .   As you know, the Trenton Thunder is the Double A feeder club for our very own New York Yankees.

The front page of the very first score card of 2013 dons Thunder veterans’ Melky Mesa, David Phelps and Adam Warren.  We are definitely off to a good start.  I should also say that the Alumni Spotlight article features new Yankee Kevin Youkilis who will be “immortalized on May 10th” with his very own bobble head.  After all, you haven’t made it big until you get sculpted into your very own bobble head.

Now like most people who are avid baseball fans, there’s a routine or ritual that you follow when you enter the park.  For me, at the Thunder, it’s a bee-line to Chickie & Pete’s for some Italian hot dogs and a bucket of their infamous crab fries.  Now, I am ready for some baseball.

(In Photo: Zach Nuding with the River Dogs)
My son, Chris, and I head to our seats just behind third .  Pitching prospect Zach Nuding is on the mound for the Thunder.  Nuding pitches well against the San Francisco Giants’ club, the Richmond Flying Squirrels.  Nuding gives up six hits in six innings and only allows one run for his opening day outing against Richmond.  He’s a big guy, with some bulk to him- 6’4” and 240 pounds.  I have to say he looks like a Joba Chamberlain who I also saw pitch in Trenton only about five years ago.  Nuding is taller than Chamberlain, but he has that look, the hungry for the majors’ look and that’s what we need in our future stars.

I also got a good look at catcher JR Murphy, outfielder Slade Heathcott and shortstop Walter Ibarra.  Ibarra made a crazy snatch at the deepest part of shortstop just shy of third base and hurled a strike to first base to nab the runner.  Awesome, play as one of the fans yelled, “Yeah, you are ready for the Bronx, kid!” 

It’s not baseball weather at ballpark tonight.  Anyone who’s been to a game in April at night knows that it’s not a picnic- it’s raw, windy and cold, but that’s baseball in April for ya!  Even though Nuding pitches a stellar game, the Thunder could not hold down the Flying Squirrels who picked away at the 5-1 lead to tie the game at the top of the 9th. 

As fans beg for a walk off in the bottom of the 9th, they would have to wait in the cold until the bottom of the 11th for a 6-5 win thanks to a tremendous triple by Slade Heathcott followed by a sacrifice fly to win the game.  That’s the first game in the books for 2013. 

Some takeaways from tonight’s game and win: starting the season with a walk off is a great sign of things to come.  I’m a little superstitious like that, in a good way and I like what I felt at the ballpark tonight in Trenton, NJ.   I felt passion.  The team has some heart and some talent in first baseman Kyle Roller up from Tampa, Heathcott, Nuding, and perhaps even the shortstop from Mexico Walter Ibarra.

Good things are in the making in Trenton folks and we already have many of their stars in our major league club in Derek Jeter, David Robertson, Robinson Cano, and Brett Gardner to name a few.  Let’s keep the momentum going and invest in our guys in the farm clubs.  The future is ours, if we take the time to grow the garden right now. 

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




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THE YANKEES INSPIRATION STARTS AGAIN ON OPENING DAY

"You only get 1 shot to not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity 

only comes once in a lifetime."

-- Eminem, Lose Yourself

I wear a faded Yankees cap and rarely wear a tie.  When I do, I've been accused of "cleaning up nice." When I write at night, I will sip a Dos Equis or a Corona and I never finish it.  I also used be a student of creative writing and had my balls broken on several occasions by teammates, roommates  and fraternity brothers in high school and college. But I liked to write and stuck with it. I'm not great, I am good and it’s a release for me. 

Bleeding Yankee Blue is my baby. I made it out of frustration and it’s turned into something special, because of you.  2 years into Bleeding Yankee Blue, I continue to keep grinding it out, like Jorge Posada did for so many years before. I'm passionate about what I do because I know you look for us and this writing thing has actually become therapeutic for me. Getting rants on paper, or computer, allows me to lighten my brain a bit.

 

But quite often, I think about Jorge Posada and what he would do. He'd stick around, but more importantly, he'd want to make it better. Giving up wouldn't cross his mind and I sure as hell don't want it creeping into mine. BYB is relevant now and I've realized something pretty significant 2 years in...it's no longer just about me. It's about the readers, the great writers we've collected and about the New York Yankees of course.

Today is Opening day. My Yankees are not quitters and at the end of the day, we are handed a team of 25 guys that we have to rely on, whether we like the personnel or not,,, they wear the pinstripes and as fans, that’s what we sign up for. 

It’s our team whether Derek Jeter’s out there or Bobby Meacham is out there.  Bottom line, the Yankees are our team and we’ve seen some special moments over the years.  We’ve seen players who contributed hard, end up leaving New York due to free agency and we’ve seen big players sign in the Bronx, only to become distractions, not athletes.  But at the end of the day, there are always fans who like 1 guy and hate another, but they are still our team and over time, we learn to like the players who do their job.  Look at Kevin Youkilis… a guy no one wanted on the Yanks, but this Spring, he’s been a pleasant surprise.  Look at the kids, Melky Mesa, Ronnier Mustelier, Zoilo Almonte.  It’s great when they come on in the Spring and shine.  Hopefully we see them in 2013 contributing when it counts the most… the regular season.

Look at Vernon Wells, a guy who no one really saw coming to the Bronx, but he’s here and when he puts the pinstripes on, our job is to embrace him. 

I laugh because I was re-living the lousy off season in my mind.  I was reading though old comments, old posts by BYB and fans writing stuff on Facebook. I laughed.  We Yankee fans just don’t know what we want! Me included!  I mean think about this… many of us bitched about not getting a good signing this off season.  And, the Yankees signed Ben Francisco… we poo pooed it.   

They signed Brennan Boesch, and there were complainers, and yes, some liked it, but it was almost like it wasn’t good enough.  The Yankees signed Travis Hafner, another big name, but even I wrote that I’d rather have him in 2006, not now.  Then the Yankees signed Vernon Wells, a guy with a good career with the Blue Jays and a lousy career after that.  Yet, half of us love this signing, pointing to his great Spring... and the other half hate it, pointing at his crappy time with the Angels.  Yet, if you think about it… aren’t the Yankees doing exactly we want? Sure, we’d probably like someone better, but who’s really out there? Who could we really get?   

I mean, no doubt, last season when the Yankees signed Ichiro, for me personally, I loved it. I mean I have to crush on this dude and the way he plays the game.  For me, it was the best! (Plus, we predicted it here at BYB, and we were the only ones. Read ICHIRO TO THE YANKS IS MY PIPE DREAM for guidance.)  Now though, we sign big named guys like Wells or even Lyle Overbay and it’s STILL not good enough.  What do you make of that? Why the hell are we so picky?

Truth be told, and maybe this is me being older and wiser, (I kid, I kid)… I think I’ll root hard no matter who’s out there. After all, Opening day is new life, a clean slate and today is the best time of year for baseball... this, and the playoffs.  These are my Yankees and sometimes when players have a lousy season somewhere else, they feel the power of the pinstripes and things happen.  Players change, the ghosts come out and magic happens.  Look at Ichiro? Look at good old Scott Brosius.  Look at Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon?   

Sometimes the Yankees make a player better.  Maybe it’s the tradition, maybe it’s us fans… and maybe, just maybe it’s being given another chance, like Darryl Strawberry or Dwight Gooden… or even Vernon Wells.  A new team, new life and maybe, just maybe a championship with us fans as the backdrop. 

So, for all those new Yankees, grab the reigns, seize the moment and realize what you represent when you put on the pinstripes today!  And don’t worry about us fans… sure we’ll complain and bitch and moan about how nothing’s good enough, but at the end of the day, we want wins and we want players who believe in themselves,  like the guys who wore the pinstripes before you.  At the end of the day, don’t give up and we won’t give up on you… that’s honesty….and that’s the damn truth.

I put this video together for today... alittle inspiration with some great music to psych you up and some great quotes from some inspirational films... take it all in, feel the love for the Yankees and root hard... the Quest for 28 is here... it's Opening day!

I hope you pass this post along and thank you all for reading and believing in Bleeding Yankee Blue. You are the reason why we're successful.   

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