I had the game on yesterday and right in the middle, as if in a trance, I got up, grabbed a lawn chair, and went outside to enjoy the onset of the delta breeze.
I ended up watching my neighbors hose down their driveway. Not sure why they did that but it seemed very important to them.
It was far more entertaining.
When I finally picked the game back up after the sun went down I just kept hitting fast forward until I got to the final score. Took me less than three minutes.
I didn't care if they won or lost much less how it happened. That was a first for me.
Truth is, I'm pretty much done with this team. Life is too short.
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I'll still read the blog if only to marvel at our collective ability to say the same things in infinitely creative ways. I mean that. This blog is far more entertaining than the team itself.
And, I guess I'll wean myself from the team by watching the MLB condensed game the next morning because I've always got seven minutes for pretty much anything, even a YouTube video on, "How to Make No Ingredient Bread." or "Things to Buy at Trader Joes in July!"
Both more entertaining and beneficial than watching the Yankees BTW.
Bonus: The "How to Grow Potatoes in a Box!" video actually worked! Taters!
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But I digress.
Look, I'm sorry. I just can't do it anymore.
Mostly, I'm sorry that Yankee ownership is so clueless and holds our fandom in such low regard that not even the opportunity to watch the best player I have seen in a lifetime of watching baseball, Aaron Judge, is enough to hold my interest.
I'm tired of losing. Not the games per se, the Yankees win more than enough. They are not a "losing team", well, not until October anyway.
I'm just tired of watching a team that doesn't will its way to wins. I'm tired of watching them make the same mistakes over and over and over. Listless and lifeless. They play like they are as bored as we are.
El Duque pointed out the solo HR problem, others the lack of situational awareness. Why we should put up with any Mark Leiter Jr. appearance or any decisions made by an algorithm as opposed to what's actually taking place on the field is beyond me.
And Then There's Boone.
A failed sitcom name if I ever heard one.
Maybe Gracie Cashman can play his daughter.
Spoiler Alert, at the end of Season One she becomes engaged to Anthony Volpe and sets the wedding date for the middle of the playoffs. Hilarity ensues!
"Daaaaad you know you're going to lose in the first round anyway!"
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I wish the Yankees the best. I wish all of you the best. We all deserve better.
Perhaps I'll be back.
It once took me five years to truly break up with a girlfriend. But eventually, break up we did.
This feels like that.
Doug……………………….(. 👍🏼😵💫🙀😔 .)
ReplyDeleteI feel similarly. Watching the Yanks fail, time after time, is a waste of energy. In a big moment, any Yankee will strike out or hit into a one hop DP. There is no fire. Just laconic effort, like Boone in his post game pressers, searching for something positive. I used to tape the games. Now I don't even bother with that. I just wait for other sports to return ( football, Tour de France, US soccer, track and field championships, etc).
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reaction. When I saw the game was 3-3 and Leiter was pitching, I checked out. The outcome was foretold. The overdependence on solo home runs - queue Judge - and the utter lack of situational awareness - besides Judge - is stunning and as predictable as sunrise. Or sunset, in the Yankees case.
ReplyDeleteI admit, I peeked at the progress of the game, but mostly for confirmation of my expectations, which were fulfilled in the end.
I'm not ready to hang up my Yankee hat yet. I still need it for softball games. But I'll never pay for a Yes subscription. The team ain't worth it and it will feel like wasted money.
My exact reaction and thoughts to a "T," Doctor.
ReplyDeleteDoug, what I want to know is, did your girlfriend know it took 5 years to break up?
ReplyDeleteYes. Problem was we liked each other. Still do. So we kept finding our way back. I watched her cat when she went on her honeymoon. We stayed distant friends.
DeleteIt's possible to remain a Yankee fan and pull back a bit.
ReplyDelete13 - I'm still a Yankee fan. But now it doesn't matter if they win or lose and I'm no longer going to pay attention -- much like the front office.
ReplyDeleteThat's the same place I"m in, Doug. Same place, sadly. At least we have our fellows here.
DeleteMr. Doug K., et. al.: I offer Pan B. Get a Sirius XM Radio streaming subscription that includes MLB. Make yourself comfortable somewhere (outside, preferably). Include light refreshment. Then listen to the game from the opposition's radio station. Advantages: You don't have to SEE the Yankees, just listen to them. You don't have to listen to any "homer" happy talk. Each game feels a little fresher because the broadcast team is always new. You can turn the volume low and enjoy a nice summer evening outdoors. You can even do other things while listening. The game can become mere white noise as you watch your neighbor hose down the driveway or your garden grow. Experience the day as it moves from light to dark. Maybe some stars will come out. The Yankees might play well, in which case the evening is enhanced. Or they might suck, in which case you haven't truly lost anything, because you've enjoyed the new voices and the great outdoors. Baseball is a radio game meant for a summer evening. Watching on TV only makes it worse. In any case, good luck.
ReplyDeleteIs that really Cashman's daughter in that pic? Holy crap, she's pretty hot. Hell, I'd like to bonk her, and "that's fuhr shure", as Lynyrd Skynyrd would've said. I can't blame Anthony Volpe if he's got the hots for this wench. She's hot, and her father is loaded from milking the Steinbrenner family fortune. Volpe is a lucky boy if I ever saw one!
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