Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Sep 08, 2009 
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Derek Jeter did not get any hits, never mind a record. But the Yankees took two games from the Rays. Jake Thomases has the story.
Brett Gardner came back to the Yankees and made a great catch. This notebook also has updates on Mariano Rivera, Shelley Duncan, Carlos Pena and Nick Swisher.
My better half, Mrs. Ditmars1929, has a theory that “Gehrig” is German for “butterflies”, but Jeter will have a monster game tonight.
IMO, if the Yankees lose this year, it absolutely diminishes what they’ve done (which isn’t anything to write home about – every division has to have a winner). The regular season means nothing ……they don’t award medals for winning your division. At the beginning of the playoffs, the Yankees will be in the same exact position as the Red Sox……..
Betsy, why are you always such a … I don’t know, an alarmist? And if you think the regular season means nothing, then why do you bother to follow it?
Just politely curious.
The worst part of Jeter not getting his hits yesterday was sitting through the post-game interview. Of course, I didn’t have to – that was my choice – but having watched it, I can say it was such an uncomfortable thing to watch. You know what Jeter is going to say before he says it. And yet he has to say it anyway. Oh, well.
And when he breaks the record, depending on whether the Yankees win or lose the game, each and every one of you and I would be able to answer the questions for him in that post-game interview.
Not complaining here, mind you. Just observing. It was really cool, though, watching Jeter’s parents’ reactions.
Won’t they have home town advantage?
Wow, Betsy. I know you generally take the glass-half-empty view. But even the players will tell you the playoffs can be a crap shoot, and specifically that first 3 of 5 series can be “interesting” to say the least. I’d say this Yankees team has a great shot at doing some fun thiings in the playoffs, because of how they’ve been winning this season. Sometimes with small ball; sometimes with power; sometimes with pitching. They seem to have all the bases covered.
It’s not fair to discount an entire 162-game season, played beautifully, if they don’t win the WS.
I want them to win the WS and will be very disappointed if they go this far only to be thwarted in the post season. But this HAS been a great regular season, with great work done by both individuals and the TEAM. The emergence of a true TEAM has been, arguably, one of the best thing to come out of this season, for me. Think of all they have overcome.
Another uplifting post from Betsy — I’m not shocked. How about enjoying the moment…the pressure comes in October and until then, I’m soaking up every game because each one has been interesting in its own way. Nothing can diminish that in my eyes — I am really enjoying the ride…you should try it.
Wont they also be playing the weakest team? And yes, I know that hasn’t always worked out so well in the past, but this is a different team.
Betsy,
You are the most bestest poster. Can you seriously post something without dark ominous overtones. Have a drink or something…do something non Yankee related. Good lord, you are like the dark angel.
it is truly remarkable how great this team has become at playing each game starting fresh, with no apparent effect from the previous one. that bodes well for the postseason!
Betsy isn’t even glass half full at this point. There is a drop of water in her glass.
To say what the Yankees have done this year isn’t anything to write home about is laughable.
All the walk off wins, all of Alex’s clutch hits, CC, Mo, Jeter. I guess it all mans nothing, well according to Betsy.
Doreen, lol – every time I say something that people disagree with, it’s because I’m being a glass half-empty kind of person. I don’t see it that way, what can I say? I somehow doubt that if the Yankees get knocked out in the first round or even the 2nd, people (yes, including on this board) are going to say what a great year they had. It’s easy for people to say NOW that they would, but I don’t think so…….I’ve seen Yankee fans after the team has lost in the playoffs.
You know what’s sad? The fact that Betsy is probably serious and not just trolling.
It only confirms what I believe has become the absolute truth:
A significant portion of the Yankee fanbase doesn’t enjoy baseball. It only enjoys winning.
How’s that for a sad state of affairs?
I should have said glass half empty. My bad.
Dark overtones? Wow – talk about dramatic. It’s just baseball, for pete’s sake……. different strokes for different folks is what it comes down to.
Well, I’m laughing Jennifer……sheesh. I don’t need you to speak for what’s in my glass or not.
I’m not sure why Betsy’s post touched such a nerve with me, but I can’t shake it. For someone who appears to be so invested in the team, I just found it so disappointing. Oh well – that’s life.
You’re not glass half-empty by any means. There’s just no water there whatsoever. I feel for you. You’re missing out.
Betsy,
There is nothing like reading your posts in the morning that gives the rest of us Yankee fans such a positive feeling about our team.
Betsy, this team is not the teams that got knocked out in the first round. Those teams got knocked down and didn’t get back up. How many times have you seen this team get knocked down and they punched right back? This team does NOT stop fighting. Look at Sundays game, they played like garbage but they continued to fight! Look at the game they were down by 5 in the 9th, they came back and almost tied it!
Give this team a little credit!
Betsy, you should be a Pittsburgh fan instead.
Betsy it isn’t dramatic. Every single person who is replying to you here thinks you are overly negative. Can’t you be happy with where this team is? They have 90 wins, and the best record in baseball. They are already one win better than last year with almost a month left of baseball.
ditmars1929 September 8th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Betsy, you should be a Pittsburgh fan instead.
******
What would she say if she was? 17 years of losing baseball. Now that is something to complain about!
Betsy -
What I think is that if the Yankees get knocked out of the playoffs, everyone’s immediate reaction will be like they took a sucker punch to the gut. It will be ugly. But I think a good portion of fans will appreciate the year they’ve had. (It will depend on whether they lost tough games or fell apart).
I don’t see how winning the division is nothing. You kinda have to do that (or WC) to get to the playoffs. You have to be one of the best 4 teams in the league. I can’t imagine fans of any other team not being ecstatic about winning their division.
Although I have been a life long Yankees fan, I really only got into the daily baseball grind this season. Even if they don’t win it all, it has been refreshing seeing a team that played consistently well every day. This season has been a success in my eyes.
There are no guarantees in the post season, but this is the best team we’ve had since the Dynasty years. I like our chances alot. We can beat Boston & Detroit hands down. If we have homefield, LA will get beat too.
Betsy
The guys who worked out for months in the off season and played 162 games have earned the right to see anything other than a WS win as a failure/success or whatever way they choose.
The fans who pay for a ticket or watch a game at home on TV have earned nothing but the right to be entertained for a few hours a night.
In all your dread of what could happen, you seem to miss out on the entertainment and fun along the way.
The all or nothing approach is more likely to bring you despair in baseball and in life.
Here’s what is bothering me about this discussion-
We are now 39 games over .500 with a 9 game lead. We just swept a doubleheader. This team is playing, for the most part, like a well oiled machine.
Why are we even discussing what happens when we lose in the playoffs?? There is no reason to believe this team is not destined for a World Championship. I know the whole, hope for the best, expect the worst deal- but can’t we just worry about the hear and now?
New thread
Yes Betsy,
It is just baseball. You ought to think about that every time you post one of your im worried about this, or worried about that or the year is a disappointment posts.
Was at the game last night, and after some foolishness about letting the people for the second game in, we settled in for an enjoyable beating of the Rays.
Saw a couple of characters outside the Stadium as we crushed together, texting, calling, waiting to get in at Gate 6, and I felt the artistic eye of Todd Drew. One young guy, in a joysticked wheelchair, was selling candy. He looked like he had CP or some other neuro deficit, couldn’t physically make change. He carried the brightly wrapped candy bars in boxes on his lap, at the mercy of the customers. Everyone who bought candy from him treated him well, even though most people gave him the usual avoidance of eye contact we accord the differently-abled.
All that physical talent inside the shining, palatial stadium, all the god given coordination and the millions flowing toward it, and here was this one kid on the outside hawking candy to make ends meet, if he makes ends meet.
The nuns taught us to smile at people like him, people who get the stares from insensitive adults, the brutal questions from innocent children. It’s a gesture that’s supposed to say “God loves you.” I smiled at him like an idiot even though he couldn’t really smile back. In a few minutes I was inside Gate 6 collecting my collectible stadium miniature give-away, having a beer and sitting next to my beautiful wife. And today I’m at work in an office, starting another week of trying to keep people out of jail while the kid with the joystick listens to the weather and hopes it doesn’t rain tonight in the Bronx.
If the regular season is “meaningless”, then why watch the games? Just watch them in October.
For a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year, whatever happens from hereon out doesn’t diminish the season.
This has been a GREAT season so far for the Yankees. The entire organization has been reborn. Why not be happy about that?
Fact is, George Steinbrenner is WRONG about the “WS or bust” attitude. That’s not how you evaluate teams.
You evaluate teams on whether or not they improve from the previous year.
This team didn’t make the playoffs last year. Getting in this year already makes it a good season. Anything after that is a bonus.