Derek Jeter officially played his last game as a New York Yankee in Boston and although the New York captain received much respect from the Yankees’ biggest rivals, the decision to play in Boston has not been welcomed by some of the Yankees’ biggest fans.
It’s a pretty big issue in the Yanks community — a lot of New Yorkers believe Jeter should’ve hung up his cleats after his last game at Yankees Stadium last week … and NOT played out the final games of the season at Fenway against the Red Sox.
Clearly, Jerry Seinfeld thinks Jeter chose poorly … saying, “He should NOT have played in Boston. You don’t owe anybody ANYTHING!”
Of course, Jeter got a standing ovation in Beantown … with the crowd chanting his name … but according to Jerry, the storybook ending went on a few pages too long.
Derek Jeter’s days with the Yankees are coming to an end and in honoring his work, Nike has released this touching video featuring New York’s favorite Yankee, #2. The new Nike Jordan Brand ad, titled ‘RE2PECT,’ features baseball fans and New York’s finest giving Jeter a tip of their hat in honor of the World Series champ’s farewell season.
It was the night of March 31st 2013. Many of us Yankee fans were getting ready for Opening Day the next day. It was late, already dark for several hours. When out of the cold windy night I heard an unfamiliar sound. Between the gusts of wind on this particularly chilly March night, I heard the sound of chains rattling. The sound continued for some time, seemingly getting closer with each rattle. I began to feel my nerves jumping with each thrash of metal that now sounded like it was outside my bedroom door. I locked the door hoping whomever was out there would be stopped, but I was mistaken. The door swung open with brut force and the chains were thrown at my feet.
Connected to these many links was a familiar man. Though it couldn’t be him, it was, staring me directly in my eyes. I said, “what are you doing here?” Nervous yet excited to hear his answer, hear him speak. He told me of a crime committed against the game of baseball. He said it was a injustice to the game. I asked him who was to blame expecting any answer other than the one I received. “Yankee fans.” He replied in a stern voice. I told him he must be mistaken. That we Yankee fans are among the best in baseball. He emplored me to listen to his reasoning but I interrupted.
“You see sir, this city is the greatest city in the world and so is this team. Winning is our legacy and October is our birthright. We live and die by the World Series.” I believe I spoke passionately, enough to sway him and make him see that we Yankee faithful could not be guilty of a crime. To my surprise, I only angered him. “You do not see the error of your ways!” He said, but continued “there is still time for you to learn what I never did, during the coming months you will be visited my three ghosts. The Ghost of Seasons Past, Present and Yet To Come.” And with that, he was gone. I woke up the next morning believing I had some strange dream the night before. The season started that day.
Before long I was visited by the first ghost. The Ghost of Seasons Past:
He emplored me to pay close attention to Mariano Rivera. Mo had already announced that this would be his last year but after spending almost a full season on the DL with a torn ACL, you wondered how affective he would be this year. The ghost showed me that it was wrong to wonder. Mariano would not blow his first save until late May and would be just as dominant as ever. In his final act, he would take us back to 1996 and show us just how truly special his career is. Watching him has been like watching a man frozen in time and the ghost expressed to me how much I need to cherish the past and be grateful that some things haven’t changed. But then the ghost left and late May is where it all went south for this team.
Everyone was hurt and the guys that weren’t hurt, couldn’t hit to save their lives. No righty power was present. The team would constantly lose low scoring games. The Ghost of Seasons Past was right but this team wasn’t the same anymore. No way they can win a World Series. And as if things couldn’t look any bleaker during the Yankees hitting woes, the Ghost of Seasons Present showed up.
The Ghost of Seasons Present:
The ghost showed me players that the Yankees had failed to re-sign this past offseason. He showed me Nick Swisher that by the All Star break, was having his usual offensive year that could have strongly benefited this Yankee team, but he was doing it in Cleveland.
The ghost then showed me Russell Martin who’s offense had not only improved but who also had become a clutch hitter for the Pirates. A leader for the Pirates as well, being not only a presence at the plate but also behind it. Martin was helping them become one of the best teams in baseball. Meanwhile our catcher was hurt and linked to a steroid scandal and we were stuck with a lack luster tandem of Chris Stewart and Austin Romine.
The ghost finally showed me a player that wrote himself into Yankee playoff history. A player that tied an October game in the bottom of the ninth with one swing and later won it with another. He showed me Raul Ibanez. Ibanez at 41 was having a prime season. One of the league leaders in home runs through the All Star break, missing out on him hurt badly. Especially with the injuries to Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixiera and Alex Rodriguez, the team’s home run threats.
Realizing this could just be a lost season. A season decimated by injuries, the anger faded but the disappointment was still strong as the Ghost of Seasons Present left and the final ghost arrived.
The Ghost of Seasons Yet To Come:
This was the ghost I feared the most. This was the ghost that showed me what the Yankees would be like without its beloved captain. Derek Jeter broke his ankle last October only to re-break it in march. He then came back after the All Star break only to injur his quad in the first game. He came back about 2 weeks later only to injur his calf. He’s provided a small spark each time he’s come back but the ghost was showing me just how little time could be left in the story book career that I and many like me have been blessed to whiteness since day one. The ghost made me realize how much I need to stop obsessing about certain things and just enjoy watching the team I love play the game I love. The players won’t always be the same but the game always will. I have to cherish it no matter what. Find the joy in it even when they’re down because that is the whole point of baseball. It’s a game meant to entertain.
The final ghost left me and I awoke the morning of August 31st. I hadn’t missed it. The season wasn’t over! And miraculously, the bruised and battered Yankees are only 4.5 games out of the Wild Card. Jeter is back again and with the return of guys like Rodriguez and Granderson and the addition of Mark Reynolds, things are looking up. Austin Romine has really come around and shown this team he belongs here and with a gift from the Ghost of Seasons Past, Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees are a threat from both sides of the plate, capable of making any pitcher pay.
They may not make it to October, but they are fighting. They are grinding it out. We Yankee fans are a proud bunch but if October doesn’t end with a parade it’s “bah humbug!” We need to realize that October is not a right, it’s a privilege. And maybe a visit from these 3 ghosts will make us smile a little easier, cheer a little louder and beam a little brighter when our team grinds it out hard enough to have the honor of October baseball. This year, or seasons yet to come.
I think that’s what The Boss’ ghost was trying to teach me, trying to teach us all.
Alex Alex Rodriguez has effectively turned himself into MLB’s public enemy number one. He is now Baseball’s Villain.
It’s been almost six months since we first heard about the Miami based anti aging clinic that was allegedly pedaling performance enhancing drugs to more than 20 MLB players. And here we are, waiting with bated breath to find out exactly how Major League Baseball will deal with these dopers. We have already seen Ryan Braun served with a 67 game suspension that will cover the remainder of the 2013 season. Now word is Nelson Cruz will be suspended this week. Braun’s suspension doesn’t hurt the Brewers because they are not in a pennant race. Cruz’s absence is much more noticeable for a Texas team that seems playoff bound.
But what about the big fish? The 1,000 pound marlin that Bud Selig would love to reel in and mount on his wall of shame. The word around the baseball universe is that the amount of evidence the league has on Alex Rodriguez far surpasses the amount they had on Braun. The analogy has been used that the league has “a skyscraper of evidence on A-Rod compared to a Lego they had on Braun.” It seems as though Bud Selig is absolutely fed up with Alex Rodriguez because insiders are claiming that Selig is getting ready to put the final nail in Rodriguez’s coffin.
Commissioner Bud Selig poses with child wearing an “A*ROID shirt.
The team A-Rod has hired to defend him has said that they will fight any suspension handed down to Alex. This was stated just after word had leaked that the commissioner’s office offered Rodriguez a deal. Accept a plea of a suspension for the rest of this season and all of next season and Selig would not seek to ban him for life. Now that it seems Rodriguez will fight the ban instead of taking the deal, Selig is no longer messing around. A-Rod could appeal the ban based on the collectively agreed drug policy and he would still be eligible to play during that appeal process. Selig wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The commissioner now plans to use the Collective Bargaining Agreement to ban Alex Rodriguez rather than the drug policy. What’s the difference, you ask? Well, according to Article XI Section A1b of the CBA, the commissioner has the ability to ban a player for life based on preserving the integrity of the game of baseball. In this situation, Rodriguez can still appeal but he would not be eligible to play through the process. Also, instead of having an arbitration hearing to decide his fate, A-Rod would instead be appealing to very man that enacted the punishment, Mr. Bud Selig. Needless to say, Rodriguez would lose the appeal.
A-Rod could then take MLB to court but at that time, MLB would move to ban Alex based on the drug policy, to which he could also appeal. So Rodriguez and the MLB would be locked into a court case and an arbitration hearing. So lets talk scenarios.
Best scenario for Alex: He wins the court case and the CBA ban is dropped and then the arbitrator rules in his favor for the drug policy ban. No way the arbitrator lets him walk with the mountain of evidence he has against him. He still serves a severe suspension but is able to attempt a return to the game after a certain amount of time and look to collect on the remaining $60-75 million left on his contract.
Worst scenario for Alex: He loses the court case so therefore the arbitration hearing is moot and he is banned from the game for life. Never being eligible for employment in any regard by Major League Baseball. Plus he loses the rest of his money and the Yankees get out of a major contract.
It’s hard not to ask yourself why this man would even consider fighting at this point. Selig isn’t f**king around.
In a move of pure class, the New York Yankees paid tribute to the home of their baseball rivals in Boston. After suffering from the bombing acts of a coward, the Yankees acknowledged a moment of silence before their Tuesday night game with Arizona, and played a Boston favorite between the second and third quarter of their eventual win.
The Neil Diamond classic was appreciated by the Fans in attendance.
Showing his appreciation, Neil Diamond himself tweeted to say thanks to the Yankees for their support.
Thank you NY Yankees for playing ‘Sweet Caroline’ for the people of Boston. You scored a home run in my heart. With respect, Neil #OneBoston
Derek Jeter has officially reported to spring training and sat down to address the media mainly about how his ankle is feeling. If you don’t recall, last year during the ALCS, Jeter broke his ankle and had to be carried off the field. He had been playing on what was thought to be a bone bruise but later turned out to be a stress fracture. Jeter revealed to the media that he had screws inserted into his ankle and that they would be there forever. When asked how the off season went, Jeter told the press that it was terrible having to rehab from this injury. Jeter admitted to having to learn how to walk again and even using a motor scooter to get around his 30,000 square foot home.
However, when Jeter was asked if he would be good to go on opening day, his answer was simple. “Why not?” Jeter sees no reason why he wouldn’t be fine to start the season on April 1st. He claims that his ankle is completely healed and that his only hurdle is getting the rest of his 38 year old body into game shape. Jeter was recently cleared by team doctors to resume all baseball activity but said he would not play in a spring training game until March.
I’ve noticed that many baseball “fans” believe that Jeter is too old to come back from this injury and too old to produce on a high level. These people compare him to other short stops and other players of his age. What people don’t understand is that there isn’t a single player in the league like Derek Jeter. If anyone can come back from this injury it is him. To those who say that he is too old to produce, let’s not forget he led the league in hits last season. Jeter believes he can have another year like last year and the Yankees are relying on him to do so. One thing I’ve learned about Derek Jeter since he came up with the club in 1995; he rarely disappoints.
The Steinbrenner family has a rule. That rule was not even broken for the captain himself. The rule is that the team does not talk about a new contract with a player until that players contract has expired.
Today, word broke that the Yankees have broken that rule. The team has reached out to Robby Cano in hopes of extending the leagues best second baseman. The organization wants Cano to be a Yankee for the entirety of his career and this is the first step. There is no word on whether or not Cano is open to discussing an extension or not but word is that he does not intend to give the Yankees a home town discount.
The Yankees have a very rich history with the Military Academy at West Point. Often, West Point cadets are invited to Yankee Stadium for countless reasons ranging from unfurling large American flags, playing the Star Spangled Banner, fund raisers and College Football games. The history goes back to the days of Gehrig and Ruth. It was not uncommon to see the Yankees play Army in an exhibition game in those days.
Recently though, no such games have been played. In fact, the most recent visit the Yankees have made to West Point was in 1982 when at the request of George Steinbrenner, the Yankees conducted preseason workouts in front of cadets due to snowy conditions at Yankee Stadium. Steinbrenner’s admiration and respect for the school was very well known but for some reason he either never tried to or never succeeded in setting up an exhibition game between his Yankees and the Army Black Knights.
However, this year the Yankee organization was able to do just that. After the Yankees leave Florida, they will make a stop in Washington D.C. to play an exhibition game against the Nationals in their home park. After that, on March 30th, the Yankees will make the trip north of Yankee Stadium to play an exhibition game against the Black Knights in historic West Point. I’m sure many fans will take this opportunity to see a great afternoon of Baseball. I know I will.
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