BRINGING US YANKEE FANS BACK FROM THE DEAD

We're excited again, aren't we. But we as Yankee fans weren't always this happy.  This season has been unbelievably rough on our fan base, but then we got younger making some monster trades at the deadline.  We received retirement announcements from Mark Texieira and Alex Rodriguez. 

And then the kids came up and Gary Sanchez is leading the charge.  And us Yankee fans see hope because of it. 

My friend Jason Keidel writes a terrific piece for CBS Sports and I wanted to share some of it here on BYB with you.  I do it because Keidel's the man, approachable, smart and just a cool cat, and so, here's some of that story today:

"This will shock the Yankees, their fans and those who read this space with any regularity.

I was wrong.

Before the MLB trade deadline, I said that detonating the Yankees’ nuclear bullpen was not only counterintuitive, but also bad business.

While many of us misguided folks said the Bombers are only allowed to reload, the Yankees indeed have the right to rebuild. In fact, they had a duty to do so.

And Exhibit A is their glittering new catcher, who was merely promoted and not acquired.

While Gary Sanchez goes all Roy Hobbs on the sport, his binary impact has the media and the masses drooling. Sanchez provides not just the illusion that the Yankees are World Series contenders this year, but also the reality that they are much closer to future contention than they were the day before he was called to the majors."

If you don't Keidel, know him now.  He's honest, keeps it fresh and to the point and sometimes we Yankee fans don't want to hear from him, but he dishes it.  He's also usually right.  And he's right about Sanchez.

Gary and the new New York Yankees have a big shot, and we're all pretty psyched because of the moves we've made, but mainly because of Gary Sanchez and his explosion.  Can the Yankees make the post season? If you asked me 2 weeks ago, I would have said "Hey, let's just finish the season and look forward to 2017."  Today I'm saying it looks real good.

Look, we have a crucial 10 game home stand that will pretty much determine our post season dreams in 2016.  But I feel good about it, I really do, especially is Sanchez and company can do the job.

Anyway, Be sure to check out Keidel HERE, and make sure you read him regularly. He's one of the good ones, and he's always been cool with us here at BYB.

As for the Yankees and Sanchez... root hard fans, we're back! I hope we can keep the wins going.

A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE

(In Photo: Armando Benitez)

Let me start by stating I intend to say less than favorable things about the current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, many in the BBWAA and Hall of Fame voting in general in this piece.  I also want to congratulate Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas on becoming the latest group of players to be headed for Cooperstown. 

These three men are all deserving of a place in the Hall. The way they played the game, the numbers they put up and the manner in which they conducted themselves on and off the diamond make their inductions a no-brainer in my opinion.

I am writing about baseball, but I am not a baseball writer. It is not my profession. I receive no paycheck from a major publication or report to an editor. I understand how difficult it must be to cover the game. I get how challenging it is to break in and become a Buster Olney or Peter Gammons. I am in no way saying that anyone could do what these men and women do. What I am saying is that I absolutely feel that many of these “writers” have officially lost their minds and sense of who they really are with respect to the game and the men who play it. 

I remember the great Robert Duvall playing Sports writer Max Mercy in “The Natural”. And each year when the Hall of Fame vote is announced I think of the line he utters to Redford’s Roy Hobbs, “I am here to protect this game.” With all due respect to Max and the Baseball writers of today, GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! Don’t spew that holier than thou nonsense at us. You write about the game. That is the beginning and end of your job description. The players play. The fans watch and cheer. And the writers write. That is the dynamic. Don’t make yourself out to be more than you are. You build up and tear down the heroes. You get the temperature of the clubhouse and add fuel to the fires of rivalries. When there is scandal or wrong doing you report it. You are not Judge, Jury and Executioner, ladies and gents. That is NOT your job. 

Giving the writers a Hall of Fame vote has never sat well with me. Why should they hold the keys to immortality? Why should they decide what makes a player one for the ages? I’ll be honest; I’m a bit of a bias jock at heart. I firmly feel that many of those who write about the men who play the game don’t like them. They have a deep seeded resentment towards the guys on the field. I may be wrong, but that’s how I feel. I think they take the one thing they have over the players and use it to get back at them. 

Seriously can ANYONE explain to me how Greg Maddux doesn’t receive 100% of the vote for the Hall? It is truly insane to say; “I don’t see Maddux as an All-time great.” Yet 16 of these so-called baseball writers didn’t vote for him. Yeah, you’re protecting the game all right. Maybe you should look into a new career as an E! News reporter. You can spew gossip and innuendo and think you’re a celebrity because you talk about them.

There are writers that voted for Armando Benitez this year…that’s a joke. Armando was a good player, but unless you’re related to him you don’t give him a Hall of Fame vote. Especially considering Biggio and Mattingly are still out there. Now, I don’t think Donnie is a Hall of Famer. He is a borderline candidate…but WAY more deserving of a vote then the great Benitez!! That is inexcusable and that “writer” should have his or her vote taken away. Why not just vote for Anthony Weiner or Kelly Clarkson?

Another thing that has me livid with this arrogant process is the steroid dilemma and reign of “Bud The Disgraceful”. Look, I think that if you took PEDs than you should be penalized no question. If you take them again you should be out of the game immediately…but if they don’t have definitive proof linking you to HGH, Andro and so on, then play ball. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are now like Voldemort to MLB and Selig. They act as if they never existed and dare not speak their names.

I’m sorry, Bud, they do exist. They did a lot to make the game money and YOU let anything they might have done happen. YOU needed to bring the game back to popularity after the 1994 season and “Chicks dig the long ball” right? Bud wants to leave office as the man who cleaned up baseball…but Bud dirtied it up! And the real crime is that he and the baseball writers will hold the players Selig used to bring the game back from the brink out of the Hall. That is a FACT! Crazy how a guy nicknamed “Bud” is no friend to the game.

Look at the Alex Rodriguez case. Do actually think if ARod was “Big PAP-ULAR”, selling apparel and well liked that Bud would be going after him with such venom? NO HOW, NO WAY, folks. This whole thing is such a sham. And the truth is it all cheapens the honor that it is to named to the Hall of Fame. Writers going on rumor or suspicion will not vote for a player they believe used PEDs. That is a very slippery slope gang. 

Between self-important baseball writers playing God with their undeserved vote, to a Commissioner who smugly stood watch and profited over the rampant juicing in the sport, the shine on the Hall of Fame plaques has dulled. I simply don’t care what they think. I will not put any weight into the decisions of these writers and those in the Selig Regime. There are crooks and criminals in every clubhouse in baseball…but there are more on the outside looking in. The game is worse off because of who is minding the store.

 I don’t want to paint all writers with the same brush. I think a guy like Jack Curry is a great example a writer who reports on the game and knows his place within the bigger picture. I just wish there were more of him. 

I love baseball. I always have and always will. I liken it to listening to a great record. I see the poetry in it. It’s just one of the greatest things around. It’s our game. It belongs to the players and the fans…all the other stuff? Well, the suits and writers can have that. I don’t need to have them deem a player worthy to make one a Hall of Famer in my book.

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."



Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

TRAGEDY IN PINSTRIPES

When the walls close in, they really close in, don't they?  I am often remembered of the psychologist in "The Natural" who chats with the Knights club, explaining that "Losing is a disease" and  the whole team sits there listening to him in the clubhouse because, well, they're desperate to start winning. Roy Hobbs thought the whole thing was bunk and walked out.  Well, it wasn't bunk... it was dead on.


The Yankees were fighting at least, but sometimes in a losing a streak, nothing works.  It wasn't more evident than last night.

CC Sabathia pitched well last night, and we knew he would because he was overdue.  He went 7 innings, allowed 5 hits and gave up only 3 runs.  Clearly the Yankees would be able to come back from that, right?

For the Yankees offense, it all started with Alfonso Soriano's 2 run homer in the first inning.  In the 3rd, Vernon Wells singled in Alfonso Soriano and in the 4th, Eduardo Nunez homered.  The Yankees were on their way until the White Sox fought back.  With it 4-3 in the 9th, the White Sox struck again, this time tying the ball game.   In the 11th inning, the Yankees fought back with a Robinson Cano home run.   The win was finally here, right? Wrong.

With Adam Warren pitching in the bottom of the 12, the White Sox would not die and didn't, when  Alejandro De Aza tripled and 2 runs scored.  It was a walk off and we were on the wrong side of it.

There were a lot of things right that happened last night for the Yankees... but more wrong.  We're in a deep slump and we are falling like a rock right now.  There are many teams that can never recover from a losing streak, or a losing season like this and Lord knows we are headed in that direction.  It's a tragedy what has happened really. As a fan, you watch knowing that the Yankee can't hold a lead, or WILL DEFINITELY strike out in a clutch situation.  Fans may love the Yankees, but fans don't believe anymore because it's clear they as a team, just don't believe in themselves.  

Final: White Sox 6 - Yankees 5 

Confidence is key.  If you don't have that, well, you will never succeed.  That's not just a baseball thing... that's a life thing.  Print it and put it on your wall.
 

The Bleeding Yankee Blue store is opened! CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING! Also, follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

WHY IT'S UNFINISHED BUSINESS FOR POSADA

You don't want to hear it, but you must. This is not a joke and it's not a post to make every Yankee fan scream... but it's the reality... Listen up: The New York Yankees may not have a need or want for Jorge Posada any longer and they may have considered bringing Posada back in 2011 as their gift, but Jorge Posada is on a mission and there are teams out there that do want Jorge Posada, in a diminished role of course, but a role of some sort.It's only a matter of time before we either see Jorge in another team's uniform or he puts a halt to all this misery and takes a chapter from Andy Pettitte's playbook and holds out for a press conference at Yankee Stadium to reveal to Yankeeland that he has decided to retire a New York Yankee. There is one problem though... Andy Pettitte was ready to retire and Jorge Posada isn't.

Look, Jorge has something more to prove. You ever get the shaft from someone and you want to get out there and prove to them, you and whomever is watching that you "still got it?" That's what I'm talking about.People look at Jorge Posada and think he should have walked away after 2010. They look at him and his role as a fumbling DH and they look at him as being selfish because he wants to play in 2012. I don't. You try doing the same job for 17 years and then suddenly have a completely different routine where you have only think about hitting and mentoring others who now have your old job...you get me? Believe me... you'd want to punch a wall. I understand Jorge's emotions and true, it's bad sportsmanship to do such a thing, but Jorge gets a slide on this one. I mean, how often did Jorge have a fit? Not much. You can't confuse selfishness with passion.

To me, I get it... and now as we enter 2012, more will get it, whether it's the Yankee brass who let him walk, or the Philadelphia Phillies (Read HERE), or Baltimore Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays (Read HERE). Believe me, someone will take notice, even if he hits 15 homers and takes a backup role as a catcher, he will contribute if he wants to keep playing. Sure, it won't be like Roy Hobbs using the Savoy Special...



No, it won't be that kind of moment, but it will be Jorge Posada doing his thing, one more time, to prove to himself that he still has it. You can say whatever you want about it, but at the end of the day, you need to respect it... that's my take any way.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.