Ever since the ball came off of Shane Victorino’s bat to Robinson Cano’s glove and then thrown to Mark Teixeira’s glove for the final out of the 2009 World Series (I really enjoyed writing that); we have been clamering for Baseball to re-start and come back in 2010. You probably have been waiting a little longer then myself and Phillies fans depending on where your team made an exit in 2009. If your for some reason a Pittsburgh Pirates or Washington Nationals fan you have been waiting for Baseball to start since Opening Day 2009. If you are a fan of one of those two teams, may god bless you (And I’m not even that religious!).
Living in the Northeast all my life mean’t that when teams took the field in Florida or Arizona for Spring Training that year we were getting that much closer to warm weather. That much closer to hot girls in sun dresses and of course fist pumping like champs in the local club. Imagine this Irish, pale skinned, red head with a blowout and a spray tan, it’s an amazing site to see.
For me Baseball started back up yesterday when I turned on the YES network to watch the New York Yankees play their arch-rival and potential National League Champion Pittsburgh Pirates in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Nothing like watch Chad Gaudin take on Paul Maholm have a pitchers duel for over two innings or 35 pitches thrown. I watched not only for the fact that it was Baseball but I watched as a Yankee scout as I watched closely to which Pirate will become a Yankee at or near the Trading Deadline this season. I enjoy Ryan Doumit’s work and it’s possible if Jorge Posada goes down with an injury.
Despite it being Baseball and Yankee Baseball at best, I could not watch the entire game which will probably be the same thought process for most of Spring Training. I watched the first six innings religiously so I could go on the show that night and sound like I was hardcore, but I knew it wouldn’t improve my street cred. I tuned into the last innings since it was tied at 3 because I enjoy watching Baseball games becoming a tie, almost as much as when Football games end up in a tie. No one loses you just feel like you need a rape shower afterwards.
Then as if the 2009 New York Yankees baseball gods were piercing through the clouds that day (as if it was a cloudy day in Florida, just keep going with me) and some little nobody named Colin Curtis stepped up to the plate with two on in the bottom of the 9th. With one swing of the bat Colin Curtis sent the 1300 fans still in attendance home happy with a game-winning homerun. Almost poetic that the Yankees would start their spring training season with a game winning homerun/base hit right?
Get it?
Remember when the Yankees would win a game in their last at-bat and AJ Burnett would pie the player in the face?
Oh you do but your not a Yankee fan? Gotcha.
As Colin Curtis crossed homeplate and somebody’s grandparents here in New York that have a winter house screamed, yelled, said “We want pie!” Which lead AJ Burnett to not come out of the dugout at all to pie the youngster as he was getting interviewed by Kim Jones of the YES network. I’m sure AJ Burnett was eating with CC Sabathia at the local TGIF (I could say Perkins but they get so much damn press lately) for a late meal; of course I’m sure it was paid with “AJ Burnett money” and CC enjoyed the meal on his #2 starter.
With that being said, Baseball is back and no matter how we look at it or watch it (or not watch it since MLB.com wants you to watch for free on the internet), it’s still Baseball and thank god it’s back. I can’t take the last three weeks of NASCAR, horrible Winter Olympics coverage and College Basketball which I could care-less about until March Madness now-a-days.
Thank you Baseball. I can not wait for Sunday April 4th for the season to open!
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Watched a good part of the game, needed to leave, Yankees ahead 5-1. Came back, what! People saying dicey call Pedroia with strikes from Chan Ho Park, next pitch, 2 homes, Wow! Not gonna panic though. Yanks lost first eight games to Boston last year.