The 2009 Yankees: A Return to Normalcy

Everything that takes place in the fall is slowly arriving.  The leaves are changing to the majestic colors of red, orange and yellow.  The wind chill is dropping all over the country.  The smell of popcorn, candy apples, funnel cakes and raging little kids are all about at local and state fairs.  The MLB World Series is a mere week or so away.  Isn’t it lovely?

Oh yes, it is.  Fall is perhaps my favorite season.  It’s not that the leaves are a prodigious sight for the eyes.  It’s not that my birthday takes place within the mind-blowing months of autumn.  It’s not that I have so many sports to watch.  It’s not that I don’t mind getting on scary, hazardous rides at the fair.   It’s because of the unpredictability.

For a person who usually doesn’t embrace changes with open arms, I spread my arms graciously to welcome fall into my life.  Thankfully, I did.  Because, in truth, change in normal.  It’s one of the only certainties we have in life besides death and taxes.  It is a slight surprise that while celebrating the coming of fall that I choose to celebrate the rise of the New York Yankees.

After years of hating the New York Yankees, I have come to once again have admiration for the villain.  After all, it is the villain that gives the hero his purpose.

Over-rated, over-spending, self-indulgent, sore losers are all words that have been placed on the Yankees.  Though all of those thoughts are true there is one word that so many non-Yankees fans will ever say: appreciated.

The Yankees are truly appreciated.  They are the team that goes out and tries to compete every year.  Though those pinstripes could easily be replaced by orange jumpsuits on days when we feel ill-fated to Jeter and Company, the pinstripes are so fitting in the fall.

Through a pivotal off-season, the Yankees have shown that talented money can bring about a classic October.  In the off-season, the Bronx Bombers went out to get 2 Hall of Fame pitchers and a gold-glover.  They acquired C.C. Sabathia from the Milwaukee Brewers with a 7 year, $161 million dollar contract.  They stole A.J. Burnett from the Atlanta Braves during trade talks for a 5 year, $82.5 million dollar contract.  They got a former Braves player and a gold-glover 1 st baseman in Mark Teixeira for an 8 year, $180 million dollar contract.  All of these moves were integral in their summer success and is leading to a memorable October.

By the MLB All-Star break, the Yankees held a 51-37 record and were 3 games behind their rival, the Boston Red Sox.  They were in perfect position to strike the Sox.  They did that resuming play after the break.  Going an astounding 52-22 after the break, the Yanks secured their playoff berth after the uncanny absence the prior season.

So far, their playoff run is looking pretty good, even in an 11 th inning walk-off hit that caused them to lose their 1 st playoff game.  The Yankees started the post season by sweeping the Minnesota Twins 7-1, 4-3 and 4-1.  Currently, they lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3-1.

Unsure of what the future of October will hold, I wish the Yankees success because they have brought a refreshing feel to baseball in October.  And, after years of wishing any other team but the Yankees would reign supreme, I now understand that the victors are meant to be the victors because we can’t always root for the underdogs.  How many Cinderella stories can we have?  How many can we stand to watch and believe they were the better team?  I want to see the Yankees at the top.  I want a return to normalcy, where winners take the crown and the losers continue to once again chase the pinstripes.

RomiezzoLegend

37 days ago

Score 0

As I said during the All-Star break, this truly is the Yankees' year. The money has really paid off... and that is thanks to two great acquisitions and one more decent one; this doesn't include Nick Swisher just because the highlighted ones are considered the big three. The Yankees actually have a good rotation and a better bullpen, as well as the chemistry that every team wants. This team, in particular, is definitely a lot better than the other Yankees teams we've seen this past decade or so... which is why they look unstoppable.

The one thing that really stands out, in my mind, is the fact that A-Rod is proving all the critics wrong this year. After the steroid scandal, Rodriguez came back from injury and bashed 30 homers and collected 100 RBI's during the season in only 124 games, along with a .402 slugging percentage (good for 5th in the league). Also, A-Rod is "defying the odds" (so to speak) and has been more clutch in the playoffs in one year than almost anyone else has in any year. Against the Twins, in the 2009 ALDS, A-Rod hit .455 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's. Against the Angels, he is currently hitting .375 with 3 homers and 5 RBI's. This doesn't include the fact that he hit a two-run homer in the 9th inning in one of the games to tie the ballgame in one of the games against the Twins, and another game tying homer against the Angels in the 11th inning to keep the game going and eventually lead to a Yankee win on an error.

The Yankees/Angels series is actually pretty exciting, if you think about it. A couple of walkoffs, a couple of pitching gems, and just all in all good baseball games to watch.

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