Calm down.
…Relax
…Take a deep breath
Are we good? Great.
Now, for all you Yankees fans and Yankees haters out there, I just want to let you know your worst fears or best hopes will not come to fruition. The Yankees will be fine. Yes, I took the plunge; the Yankees will be fine.*
(*Do I have a crystal ball you ask? No, but do you?)
In recent weeks, the Yankees have seen other teams improve quite dramatically while they have “sat back” and done nothing. Their prize free-agent target Cliff Lee, the toy they HAD to have, spurned their offer and returned to Philadelphia. Their arch-enemy, inter-divisional foe, the Boston Red Sox, made a splash for a former San Diego first baseman and a speedy left fielder.
So yes, if you feared that the Yankees would lose out on Cliff Lee and that Boston would actually try to improve themselves after missing the playoffs, your worst nightmares have come true. While at the same time, if you were hoping the opposite of what was just mentioned above, than you are probably either popping the champagne corks or naming your child Cliff or Adrian. Hell, maybe you’re doing both.
However, with this said, we must all take a step back and look at this “situation” the Yankees find themselves in with a rational perspective. We must check our biases at the door and ask ourselves two questions.
1. What team are we talking about again?
2. When was the last time that the Yankees didn’t do anything? And by this I mean, when was the last time the Yankees did not put a winning team out on the field?
If you could answer these two questions without much thought, then we are on the right page. If you couldn’t answer these questions without having to search through a baseball almanac, or if you immediately started yelling at your computer screen because you hate where I am going with this, than you might just want to stop reading and find something else to do to waste your time.
So, if your still actually reading this, let me answer the questions I posed above. First off, this team we are talking about is the New York Yankees. The team we either love or hate. For a team this polarizing, they must compete. There is no “bridge year,” there is no “next year’s champion,” there is only the here and the now. They have an image to keep, and more importantly, the have a new $1-billion-plus stadium they are interested in keeping your behind in.
So, they can’t fail, they won’t fail. They might not win the World Series, but they will keep you coming back for more. They want you to root for them, they want you to hate them. As long as we talk about them, they won’t stop trying to win.
Which, already answers my second question for me. The Yankees haven’t had a losing record since 1992, when they went 76-86. So what makes you think this coming season will be any different? For God’s sake, it is only December 18. Are they currently the best team on paper? No. Will they be when the season starts? Maybe not. Will they be competitive this season? Very likely.
I guess what I am trying to say, in so many words, is that the Yankees are the Yankees and winning is what they do. Yes, it must be nice for those Yankee haters out there right now when they can talk about how the Yankees won’t win and how Boston or some other team has overtaken them. Let them enjoy it. Let them talk about, it plays right into what the Yankees want. And for all you Yankees fans out there walking around with brown paper bags over your head, really? You must not know your own team.
For the Yankees know what needs to be done, and trust me, they will do whatever they can to accomplish that goal. But in the meantime, relax, gloat; do whatever your crazy little heart desires. But, when all is said and done, the sky won’t be falling; the sky will only be the limit.
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