Monday, May 16, 2005

Yankee Fans Haven't Been So Excited About .500 Since...

Maybe the days of Buck, Donnie, and Pat Kelly. When the Indians ruled the world behind Albert, Manny, and Thome. When the biggest jerk in New York wasn't A-Rod or Big Unit, but Jack McDowell. Back when Mo Vaughn was still relevant. Back when Randy Johnson was able to strike out 10 a game. Yes. I'm talking about 1995.

It's really amazing to me how things have changed in this town. In 1999, the Yanks were off to a bit of a rocky start. They were a few games over .500 and in first, but the Sox were knocking on the door and everyone was freaking out. Torre was sick that year, and everyone was waiting for him to take over for Zim and set things right.

The Yanks would love to be back in '99 now. But the fact that Yankee fans are thrilled about hitting .500 shows that the expectations for this $200 Million juggernaut have fallen. In '99, one year after winning 114 games, everyone was worried when the Yanks weren't 10 games up in May. Now, everyone is thrilled even with the Yanks 6 games back in May.

The fact is, after that series in Tampa, Yankee fans were scared. Scared their run was over. Scared that they were going back to '65 or '82 or '89 or whatever. Now, they're relieved.

And with 3 games against the M's, the Yanks have a chance to get a few more wins. But after that, it's back to the majors for this club. And after that, maybe Yankee fans won't be so excited or relieved anymore.

And let's see how close the Yanks get to first. Baltimore just finished a 4-3 stretch against the White Sox and Twins. Bedard and Cabrera are hot, and Bruce Chen held his own against the game's hottest pitcher, Jon Garland. The Sox had a rough weekend against Seattle, but hey, even Miguel Olivo is good for a big hit every once in a while. Plus, Wells is on his way back.

And let's see if Tino will be doing this in September. Let's see how long it will be till Giambi's next RBI. Let's see how long this streak lasts.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately too much of what you say is true

This will be 65,66,82,89,pick one
revisted

PizzaBagel said...

No ... fortunately what you say is true. Hopefully, my .500 team (the Schmets) will take this weekend's series.

Anonymous said...

I think the thrill comes more from a 9 game winning streak! It's way too early to be excited about getting back to .500. But I can understand why Yankee haters would be disappointed about the quick turn around. Not what you guys were hoping for, but I mean come on... did you really expect it to last?

Manny Ortiz said...

Hey, I picked the Yanks to finish first in the AL East this year. But I sure as hell wouldn't mind being wrong on this one. Either way, as long as the Yanks don't win it all, it's a good year.