Looking ahead

I want to follow up on some observations El Duque has offered in the wake of last evening's horrible injury to Dustin Fowler.

In particular, his take on Joe Girardi.

When that kid hit the wall, I could tell it was bad. When Fowler took a step and crumpled in a heap on the ground, I knew it was likely season over. It felt like it must have felt when Mickey tripped over the sprinkler head. And when Joe got down there, anyone with a pulse could feel in an instant just how heartbreaking this injury was.

You all know the details. I don't need to repeat them. But El Duque's assessment of just how much Joe cares about these players has caused me to re-evaluate how I feel about the manager. Sure, the binders drive me nuts. His insistence on continuing to throw Clippard out there is maddening. (Another reminder that these are human beings out there; Clippard has left the team because his grandmother passed away).

We put so much into rooting and caring for this team. We are not alone. White Socks fans do it. Giants fans do it.  NBA, NHL, college football, you name it. Fantatics, fans for short. Multiply that by the intensity people put into their endeavors around the globe: Soccer, music, art, war, politics, whatever. It all adds up to the human condition.

But bring it back home to the Bronx. These are not only people. They are OUR people. We are them. They is us, as Pogo might have exclaimed.

I feel understanding that makes it easier and more fun to root for Our Boys.

But damn, that kid. Ugh. And today, Joe called a closed-door meeting so the team could face-time with Fowler. All class. And what a great attitude Dustin has. Look up the quotes. I'm not in the cut and paste biz. He will be back. And apparently it's not as bad as an ACL, so we've got that going.

I say Joe and Co. should just hang in there. What were our expectations heading into the season? Certainly not high enough to rail at the gods now that we've hit a rough patch. Don't sell out these kids to pick up a rental in the pen. Things will straighten out. There are SO many strong kids coming up. You guys who have the benefit of watching Scranton and/or Trenton know this better than me.

I say hang in there. Let's see what they do tonight, after the last 24 hours. It'd be great to see the Bombers come out and then just beat the bejabbers out of Houston.