Yankeetorial: Once again, the humiliation of being a Yankee fan is to be waiting for the return of our three ghosts of Christmas

Welcome back to the 2013 Yankees! While you were sleeping, we lost last night. Kuroda is fading. The Bronx is not Vernon. We're back to one run per game and  reviving the careers of journeyman pitchers. For four games, we dreamed it was 1999. It's not. 

We're back to waiting for the cavalry, which would be bearable if the force on its way was not F-Troop. Because being a Yankee fan isn't always about choosing the style of your ring. It means having to throw in with the biggest disappointments in New York sports, and here we are, folks, waiting for our three stooges. You know them. I don't need to list them. But, hey, it's the joy of being a Yankee fan.

1. A-Rod. Insert sigh here. Sorry, but I don't have it in me to gin up an A-Rod rant. I just don't. Nevertheless, it's clear in the base of my noggin that about the only way this team can win in 2013 is if A-Rod somehow avoids the MLB kangaroos of the court and reclaims his stroke. Kevin Youkilis is starting to look like Mattingly, after Mattingly's back turned to Jell-O. Remember the difference in Mattinglys? So... let's not even discuss all the reasons why thinking A-Rod will come back are tantamount to Doc Ellis-level LSD flashbacks. Here's the truth: We need his bat. So... we wait.

2. Pineda. I spent most of the last 20 months crucifying Brian "Happy Landings" Cashman for his betrayal of Jesus, who has turned out to be the iconic religious combination of  Lyndon Larouche and L Ron Hubbard. Well, if Pineda comes back and pitches as he once did in Seattle, I'll happily take my meds and be lashed to the duty post and exposed as a demented clown (anything for a Yankee win.)  They tell us he'll be back in a month. Who knows? But I guarantee you, in a month we will be desperate - I'm talking Wally Whitehurst desperation here - for a starter. Is Pineda the answer? Or is this the final chapter in an unprecedented exercise of cruelty to Yankee fans? We need the guy. So...  we wait.

3. Grandyman. It's terrible how badly I've gotten down on him. I'm sorry, folks, but 200 strikeouts a season will do that. When Curtis strides to the plate, I forget his charities and his causes and and even his 40 HRs. All I see are those Ks, which happen in terrible moments. It just seems to me that a guy with his talent and his brains should be able to shorten his stroke and put the bat on the ball - especially in critical situations, when a grounder or long fly ball can make the difference. But he doesn't. Nope. He takes his grandiose, roundhouse cut, and then he strides right back to the dugout - giving one quick glance of tribute to the pitcher. I'm screaming at the set. But he will never hear me. Ahhhh... but we need him. So... we wait.

Yesterday, we lost Chien-Ming Wang to free agency. Watching him improve in Scranton was the exact opposite of the above scenarios. The guy never disappointed us. If anything, I felt the Yankees disappointed him. We should have stuck by the guy through thick and thin -yeah, I dunno how it could have happened, either, but remember: The Steinbrothers are billionaires; they're probably on a same monetary keel as the Koch brothers; they certainly could have kept this guy as a pool man, or something. Right now - we don't need Wang. So we cut him loose. We are sooooooooo going to regret that move. I hope I'm wrong. But I wish we could have waited.