Let's be honest, AJ Burnett's tenyer in pinstripes have been less than a romance. Through the highs and the lows he has left Yankee fans hoping there is an express exit off of this ride. And tonight he will start game 4 of the ALDS, an elimination game for the Yankees...
(Oh boy...)
I want him to go out there and pitch a gem, I really do. I want the bats to come alive, I really do. I want the Yankees to win, I really do. But I don't want public opinion on AJ to change if he pitches well tonight, I really don't.
All too often in sports the perception of an athlete can change from one week to the next based on performance in big spots. (i.e. Tony Romo) This really bothers me. And to be honest, frightens me. If AJ Burnett throws a great game tonight and saves the Yankees season there is a legitimate chance he will become the darling of Yankee fans. If this happens, although I will be happy for both him and the Yankees, it will make me sick. He has done nothing but prove to the team and fans that he doesn't have what it takes to be an effective, consistent MLB starter.
So let me make this short and sweet.
Fellow Yankee fans, let us come together in hope that Burnett can save the season for the bombers tonight. BUT! I implore you to not become prisoners of the moment! Don't fall for his flirtations with success. No matter what the result tonight may be, keep your current opinions of AJ and don't fall for the same crush we've been battling with for years now. Yankee fans, join me in hoping AJ is a solid contributor in the immediate future but is NOT part of the not so immediate future. Yankee fans, join me in avoiding the AJ 180. Yankee fans, join me in rational thought!
Class Dismissed,
Student of Sports
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Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLB. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Not So Sweet Caroline
On my remote controller, a typical Comcast remote, there is a button located to the right of the directional pad and underneath the menu button, it is labeled 'last'. The purpose of this button is for me to be able to go back to the channel I was previously watching with one click. Safe to say last night, that button got A LOT of action.
Last night was probably one of the single greatest nights in baseball, if not sports, history. On the last day of the season both the American and Nation League had there respective wild card bids up for grabs and had 2 teams each in contention. And better yet, all 4 teams had games starting at the same time and 3 of which (Boston/Baltimore, Atlanta/Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay/Yankees) were all available to watch on national TV. When I sat down to watch these games I expected I was in for a great night of baseball, but what ensued was unfathomable.
If you are a fan who may not want to relive last nights occurrences, skip the next couple paragraphs.
Right off the bat, in the game not on national TV, the St. Louis Cardinals took a 5 run first inning lead off of the abysmal Houston Astros so that game seemed well in hand putting pressure on the Braves to force that one game playoff. The Tampa Bay Rays fell behind early to the Yankees 7-0 in what we thought was a death sentence for Tampa. And both the Red Sox and Braves, two teams needing victories, were leading in close games entering the 9th inning. (Note: The Red Sox had to deal with a rain delay of about an hour in the middle of there game)
Well, that's when the wild shenanigans and pandemonium began.
In what seemed like a split second the Cardinals win there game with ease. The Rays stormed back against the Yanks to take them to extras. Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel blew a save to the Phillies and sent that game to extras. And in a sort of poetic rhythm that only sports can illustrate, the Phillies beat the Braves, Jonathan Papelbon blew the save and the Red Sox lost, and Evan Longoria hit a walk of homer in the bottom of the 12th for the Rays.
Wow.
OK, forsaken Red Sox and Braves fans.. You can join in now.
Just like that, a matter of moments, we had 2 of the worst sports collapses in history come to a head in one night. Braves fans, I am sorry. That must have felt like putting your heart through a blender and then soaking it in radioactive waste. (Don't test this, you will die.) But, for the sake of time and creative integrity, I will spend the rest of this post discussing the team you eternally be tied to. The Red Sox.
Yes, I know, I am a Yankee fan so there is a deal of predisposed bias against Boston. But in the past decade I have grown to not only respect the Red Sox, but fear them as well. Since the start 2004 ALCS the Red Sox had completely changed their identity. They were no longer the lovable losers, victims of the curse, underdogs. Since that post season the Red Sox had become all that they hated about the Yankees, successful.
People will talk about last night's events and talk about all the history that it created, but I think the more important thing is the future it will create. The future, that in many ways, mirrors the past. The past that bandwagon fans know nothing about. And the one thing that all true (God bless their souls) Red Sox fans fear the most. The return of the disheartened Boston Red Sox. The return of your older brother's, father's, grandfather's, great grandfathers, and even greater grandfather's Boston Red Sox.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Red Sox will rebound next season to win the World Series. Who knows? But I do know one thing, I've been a baseball fan long enough to know more than any bandwagoner. I know what the past of the Red Sox fans has been like. And more importantly, I think the past always has the potential to repeat itself..
I guess all I can say know is LET'S GO YANKEES! And if you don't mind, I'd like to end with a song..
Class Dimissed,
Student of Sports
Last night was probably one of the single greatest nights in baseball, if not sports, history. On the last day of the season both the American and Nation League had there respective wild card bids up for grabs and had 2 teams each in contention. And better yet, all 4 teams had games starting at the same time and 3 of which (Boston/Baltimore, Atlanta/Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay/Yankees) were all available to watch on national TV. When I sat down to watch these games I expected I was in for a great night of baseball, but what ensued was unfathomable.
If you are a fan who may not want to relive last nights occurrences, skip the next couple paragraphs.
Right off the bat, in the game not on national TV, the St. Louis Cardinals took a 5 run first inning lead off of the abysmal Houston Astros so that game seemed well in hand putting pressure on the Braves to force that one game playoff. The Tampa Bay Rays fell behind early to the Yankees 7-0 in what we thought was a death sentence for Tampa. And both the Red Sox and Braves, two teams needing victories, were leading in close games entering the 9th inning. (Note: The Red Sox had to deal with a rain delay of about an hour in the middle of there game)
Well, that's when the wild shenanigans and pandemonium began.
In what seemed like a split second the Cardinals win there game with ease. The Rays stormed back against the Yanks to take them to extras. Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel blew a save to the Phillies and sent that game to extras. And in a sort of poetic rhythm that only sports can illustrate, the Phillies beat the Braves, Jonathan Papelbon blew the save and the Red Sox lost, and Evan Longoria hit a walk of homer in the bottom of the 12th for the Rays.
Wow.
OK, forsaken Red Sox and Braves fans.. You can join in now.
Just like that, a matter of moments, we had 2 of the worst sports collapses in history come to a head in one night. Braves fans, I am sorry. That must have felt like putting your heart through a blender and then soaking it in radioactive waste. (Don't test this, you will die.) But, for the sake of time and creative integrity, I will spend the rest of this post discussing the team you eternally be tied to. The Red Sox.
Yes, I know, I am a Yankee fan so there is a deal of predisposed bias against Boston. But in the past decade I have grown to not only respect the Red Sox, but fear them as well. Since the start 2004 ALCS the Red Sox had completely changed their identity. They were no longer the lovable losers, victims of the curse, underdogs. Since that post season the Red Sox had become all that they hated about the Yankees, successful.
People will talk about last night's events and talk about all the history that it created, but I think the more important thing is the future it will create. The future, that in many ways, mirrors the past. The past that bandwagon fans know nothing about. And the one thing that all true (God bless their souls) Red Sox fans fear the most. The return of the disheartened Boston Red Sox. The return of your older brother's, father's, grandfather's, great grandfathers, and even greater grandfather's Boston Red Sox.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Red Sox will rebound next season to win the World Series. Who knows? But I do know one thing, I've been a baseball fan long enough to know more than any bandwagoner. I know what the past of the Red Sox fans has been like. And more importantly, I think the past always has the potential to repeat itself..
I guess all I can say know is LET'S GO YANKEES! And if you don't mind, I'd like to end with a song..
Class Dimissed,
Student of Sports
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