As New York Yankee Fans we are all, in a way, the adopted children of George M. Steinbrenner. We’ve learned a lot from the late, great Boss. The most important lesson he taught us was WINNING! There simply is no substitute. There are no medals or glory for placing second in the race. And moral victories are for those who find comfort in “Participant Ribbons”.
I have bought into these policies lock, stock and barrel. I feel that you should always play to win. Some more non-competitive types or the “Yay Sports” hipster crowd may not see it that way, and they are absolutely entitled to their opinion…but it doesn’t wash in the Bronx, New York.
The fine line we need to walk is how we deal with losing. Yes, we should NEVER be okay with coming up short. In all walks of life I feel that the goal should be to succeed, but losing is a fact of life. We learn from losses…often much more than wins. A loss shows us how to be better. It gives us the chance to reevaluate our plan of attack and try again.
I will always defend Yankee Fans. The Bombers are my team. They are my Father’s team. They were my Grandfather’s team. The Yanks are family. And as a family member it gives me no joy to say that the bulk of this fan base have become irrational, spoiled brats. And I haven’t seen it more clearly than in the venom spewed at our skipper Joe Girardi.
You want him canned? He's done a lousy job? If the Boss were alive he’d be gone? Do me a favor, count to 10 and take a look in the mirror. This awful season is hardly all Joe’s fault. Is he innocent of blame? No, and I don’t think Joe would ever claim to be.
A friend of mine made mention that he is the 1st Yankee manager to miss the playoff in consecutive seasons since the early 1990’s. Well, seeing as we had only Buck Showalter and Joe Torre at the helm since then…yeah, I guess he’s right. But let’s take a closer look at this sin against Yankee fandom.
The ABSOLUTE MASH UNIT of retreads and never-will-bes the Yankees fielded in 2013 HAD NO BUSINESS being anywhere near the race in late September…and yet, they were. This year the big time signings failed to hit at all. Not a lick! Sure, they play for Joe, but THEY have to hit. I’d say that it's time for K Long to go…but Girardi? Nah. Not yet. Joe is doing a hell of a lot with this dead to the neck up ball club. The Yankee fan wants blood on their Nathan’s hot dog as soon as something goes bad. The wave of success had to crash, folks. And it did because we stopped working on the farm and drafting worthwhile talent. The front office fell into the trap of the 1980’s again. Throw bad money after bad money. Chemistry? What’s that? It’s the backbone of what helped the dynasty teams win!
So the party ended with Joe Girardi at the wheel and now all of this is his fault? Well, that’s brilliant. If you can Joe you lose a good manager who KNOWS what it’s like to play in New York.
He never runs his players down (And boy could he). This guy stood up for ARod when “Dempster The Gutless One” drilled him last year in Boston. Why? BECAUSE JOE GIVES A DAMN!
Joe’s guys respect him. They know he knows his stuff. He learned from Torre and Zim. He has been through the wars. Did he fly off the handle in the 6-1 loss to Tampa? Maybe…but what would Billy Martin have done? Or Buck? Hell, even Mr. T. would have put down his cup of Bigelow Tea and had a word with the Umps.
So this is what will happen. Joe Girardi will still be the skipper next year. The Yankees will go through a transition period and it won’t be easy. Yes, the Boss might have sacked Joe and the BOSS WOULD HAVE BEEN WRONG. Remember when Big Stein had a leave of absence Stick and the boys got to work building a foundation that ended up putting together an historical run. It is lousy not to have October baseball. It’s awful…but Joe Girardi wanted to get the Yankees there more than anybody…these Yankees flat out let all of us down. Just my two cents…
** This one is for you GI Joe. Keep that iron chin held high. LET’S GO YANKEES! **
Senior "Features" Writer
MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."
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