And a new baseball season begins...

The 2017 Baseball Season officially began yesterday, April 2, and the Yankees had the honor of being the first game, against the Tampa Bay Rays. With the way the Yankees looked in Spring Training, especially Tanaka's pitching; yesterday's game promised to be the beginning of winning baseball for Yankee fans. Well, as the saying goes "You plan, God laughs", apparently that holds true for baseball Gods as well.

Tanaka looked terrible. He gave up seven runs and couldn't get out of the 3rd inning (which apparently gives him the dubious honor of having the worst opening day start in franchise history-YEAH!).  I truly believe it was nerves. There is no indication he is hurt; Tanaka himself said he was disappointed in his start but no mention of an injury. The problem with playing for a storied franchise is the pressure of starting the season looking like the great teams that came before you. Added to that was the fact Tanaka only gave up one run through all of Spring Training. The good news was that the bull pen pieced together the remaining innings, without allowing any additional runs. Additionally, it's the first game of 162. The players and fans need to turn the page, especially Tanaka. As Mariano Rivera always said "Pitchers need to have short memories. Forget the results by the time you leave the clubhouse, regardless of how you pitched".

In other baseball news, Commissioner Rob Manfred is clearly worried about how much time baseball will take from my life, so he is looking for ways to speed up the game and allow me to do other things. His latest idea is to fore go the long tradition of a four pitch intentional walk to the team pointing to 1st base and the hitter just taking it. Baseball geniuses need to understand baseball and football will never have the same revenue share, if for no other reason, the number of games in a season.  I'm a baseball purist. When pitchers are forced to throw four pitches outside the strike zone, it lends to the possibility of a wild pitch. Besides, there is nothing better to do than watch a baseball game on a hot Saturday summer afternoon, whether it be at home, at a bar or at the stadium.  Mr. Manfred can worry about his own lack of free time and leave mine alone.

Lastly, with the baseball season now here, I am attempting to restart this blog.  Yankee girl has many point of views and those who know me personally will be glad it's not all about the current administration.

As usual, Go Yankees!

Turning the Yankee page for the next generation

I hate change. I also love sports. Loving sports and hating change are completely counter intuitive. I remember a CEO of a corporation I worked for in my 20's would say "the only thing in life that is certain, is change". No truer words when it comes to the current Yankees.

Over the 30 plus years I have rooted for the Yankees, I like everyone, have seen them come and go. I know trades, retirements and releases are inevitable. In the last 5 years, the Yankees ever changing roster has made me at times frustrated. Two release/retirement announcements, three trades resulting in a countless number of AAA call ups, all since August 1, has made my headspin and is giving the baseball gods a good laugh.

The Yankees, for better or worse, have turned and continue to, turn the page for next the generation. As a faithful fan, I will too.  And who knows, maybe creating the next great Yankee team (fingers crossed). 

As always, Go Yankees! 

Another Yankee chapter closes - Alex Rodriguez

The Yankees have become experts on farewells. It's not surprising given the talent that gave had over the last 20 years. At times the farewells have come during the season like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera; some have come after as Andy Pettitte, Joe Torre and Jorge Posada all experienced recently. Last night came another farewell. This time it was Alex Rodriguez. This time the Yankees failed.

Alex has had a tumultuous relationship with the Yankees, his teammates and the fans since his arrival in 2004. There were post season fails, embarrassing personal life headlines and of course accusations of PED use. But Alex was also one other thing, the guy who no matter how many times he tripped and fell, he always got back up and always came back swinging.

ARod was notorious for having horrible post season numbers (even being dropped in the batting order by Joe Torre). Season after season the Yankees made the playoffs and season after season Alex struck out, popped out and could never get that clutch hit. Then came 2009. Alex hit .455 and .429 in the series' against the Twins and the Angels respectively.  The man who was considered a jinx finally found his swing. Alex may have fallen in the post season in years past; but he found the ability to get up and help the Yankees win their 27th World Series.

After being suspended for alleged PED use and not being honest about what he did, Alex was forced to sit out the entire 2014 season. When he came back he was boo'd and villified. But Alex never quit, said the right things and worked hard to repair his relationships with fans, teammates and the organization. He smiled when they boo'd. He waived to fans if there was one fan cheering and celebrated his teammates successes. He is known for metoring young players and they appreciate his tutelage. 

This past week the Yankee decided to release Alex from the team and his final game in pinstripes was set for August 12th. For as great as the Yankees have been at farewells, this one for the most part was a fail. From Joe Girardi saying ARod could play every game that final week and then changing his mind, to his denial of Alex's request to play 3rd in his last game.  The Yankees half hearted pregame ceramony that was poured on peppered with thunder and dark clouds.  The Yankees bounced between kicking him out and celebrating his years as a Yankee. 

But like Alex, the Yankees found a way to get back up. After the pregame storm past, a rainbow formed just beyond the outfield. In the 9th inning, up 6-3, Joe Girardi put Alex in at 3rd base for one batter. ARod grabbed a glove and bounded to the position he spent 10 seasons playing. After Betances stuck out the hitter, Alex came off the field to 40,000 plus cheering and hugs from his teammates. As he sat in the dugout, the fans chanted "A-Rod" as if to say "thank you and all is forgiven". Two outs later, Alex high fived his teammates on the win, walked around the field, collected some infield dirt and waived one last time to the Yankee fans. He walked off with a smile that could light up the Bronx. He was, as he said, at peace.

Thank you Alex Rodriguez for 12 yesrs of home runs, amazing plays on the field and most of all showing us that it reallly isn't about the falling down; but the getting up.

Embarrassing night for the Yankees

Last night the Yankees lost 7-1 to the Mets, the last out being made by Alex Rodriguez and I was embarrassed.  Not because of the loss, the lack of offense, Tanaka giving up home runs or even the booing of ARod by Mets fans (your house, your right to boo). What embarrassed me and frankly pissed me off was how Joe Girardi and the YES network handled that last out.

It started by Michael Kay announcing ARod was coming in to pinch hit. Michael made sure they "pause to hear fans reactions" and the booth went quiet. Really??? Did be think they were going to cheer the man at Citifield? They all knew the expected reaction and Mets fans came through.  Did Michael and those at the YES network take joy in that? Shameful behavior. Then there was Joe Girardi. Alex was not in the lineup last night. He has clearly struggled all season. So with the Yankees down by six runs, with two out in the 9th inning, he puts ARod to pinch hit? Was that just another opportunity to make him feel so bad he walks away? Joe wasn't asked why he had Alex pinch hit. He was too busy stuttering when asked if that was Alex's last game (every way imaginable), to which he said he didn't think so (way to commit). 

I have never been ARod's biggest fan; but I also will never understand the vitrial that people have for him. Has he made mistakes? Yes. Has he had bad judgement? Yes. I don't dispute that; but to act like the man is baseball's version  of Saddam Hussain is ridiculous. Yankees from the past (some not so distant) have committed FAR more terrible acts, which include manslughter, drug abuse and domestic violence; all committed by Yankees, none of which are named Alex Rodriguez.

Jim Leyritz killed a woman as a result of being drunk, running a red light and smashing into the side of her car (how he avoided jail is ridiculous). Yet, after all the smoke cleared and Jimmy was found not guilty, he was welcomed back to Old Timer's Day with open arms. 

Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden have been arrested for cocaine/crack possession, solicitating protitutes and DUI. Straw, like Leyritz, was welcomed and cheered at Old Timer's Day. I havr no doubt Doc would be too.

And let's not even discuss Aroldis Chapman (who's Yankeeography is probably in production on YES).

Have all of these men paid for their mistakes, I suppose; but hasn't Alex paid for his? "Judge not lest ye be judged" should maybe be a sign hanging next to "I thank the good lord for making me a Yankee"

The current presidential election has produced ugly words and disgraceful behavior. Yankee games have always been a way for me to escape the ugliness of the outside world; that is until last night. But I am for second chances. So, let's try to stay classy Yankee fans. 

As always, go Yankees! 

How far have we really come as a society

My Dad was in the National Guard in the the late 50's and 60's.  In 1959 my father was sent to Tennessee for the Guard. Two of the young men in my Dad's company were black. As they all arrived a day early, they went to a local hotel to stay for the night before reporting in the morning. The hotel manager told the group "You white guys can stay, but you ni*****s  can't, this is a whites only hotel" My father was shocked and disgusted. He told the young men, while glaring at the hotel manager, "We'll go somewhere else". The young African-American men where appreciative he wanted to stand up for them but told my Dad there was no point, this was the south and it would be the same everywhere they went. The two left and found a place to stay, where my Dad never knew.  They never discussed it after that night.  Growing up his entire life in New Jersey and never having been anywhere else until this point, it was behavior that my father had not experienced before and was appalled by. Over 50 years later, when my Dad tells that story, it is with anger, never understanding how this country could treat it's own people with such hate. Even in 2014,  I have asked myself that same question.

All these years later, we no longer have "Whites Only" establishments. Our current president is of mixed race. There are extreamly successful people of all minorities in almost every sector of business.  Yes, we have progressed. But then you have Michael Brown and Eric Garner and the thousands like them. What happened in Ferguson and Staten Island are not isolated incidents in this country. And although they were both complex and different legal issues, they both involved a white police officer and an African-American citizen, the key words being American citizen. It brought to our attention that dispite our society having progressed, at times we are still a racist country (even if you only base this on ugly things written on Twitter by bigoted assholes). No matter what you think of Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, etc  they were someone's child, brother and husband. My heart breaks for their families and for any family who has lost a loved one to senseless violence, regardless of their race. 

Sadly, we are never going to stop prejudice and racism entirely .  Maybe if we continue to be disgusted by people's behavior we will change how society acts towards each other. If we continue to protest peacefully that as citizens of this country, we will not tolerate racism of any kind. Legally, I don't know if what the grand jury in the Brown and Garner cases and the actual jury in the case of Treyvon Martin decided were the right decisions. Morally, I know all three of those men did nothing that should have resulted in their deaths and people should have been held accountable. We have come only so far as a society - but we can do so much better. I will never give up hope that can happen.

  

My grandmother, Johnny Carson and Me

On October 23, 1919 Mary Turek was born in Czechoslovakia. She emigrated to America with her parents when she was two on a trip on a steamship that lasted 2 weeks in steerage. 

She grew up in Hopelawn NJ, married when she was 18, had two children and eventullly bought a home in Metuchen with her husband, William. 

Her husband had a heart condition, which meant he couldn't always work. As William had a series of various jobs, including baker, Mary took a job in a factory to help make ends meat. She went to church, made pies for thanksgiving and cookies for Christmas. When she was only 52 years old, she lost her husband. Her children grew up and married. Fifty years to the day Mary was born, on October 23, 1969, her first grandchild, a girl, was born. In case you haven't guessed, that granddaughter was me. 

I was only two when my grandfather died and from then on I slept at Grammie's every Friday night. We had a our routine. In the summer we would walk to the local park. She would push me on the swings or we would sit and watch the local little league games. We played cards or boardgames when the weather got colder. I would dance with her by standing on her feet, looked through old photo albums with her, played catch or went exploring in her attic or basement with her. As it got later on those Friday nignts we would climb into bed, she would put Johnny Carson on and stroke my hair until I fell asleep. Grammie loved watching Johnny. I remember her joy when she found out he too was born on October 23rd. "Me, you and Johnny Carson all born on the same day". Saturday mornings were french toast and orange juice. To this day, the taste of maple syrup and orange juice takes me right back to those Saturday mornings. 

I loved sharing my birthday with her. I have great memories of all the birthday cakes with buttercream icing which read "Happy Birthday Jennifer and Grammie". Those Friday night were some of the best the times of my youth. Grammie never talked down to me. We had long talks during those card and boardgames. We had a closeness that I think even my mom (her daughter) never really understood. I always wondered if it was the Friday nights we spent together or the fact we were bound by a shared birthday. Maybe both. She taught me "The Lords Prayer", how to bake cookies and the importance of taking a stand (my soapbox was another gift she gave me). Grammie was not only my grandmother, she was my friend. 

I lost Grammie 6 months after my 16th birthday. To be honest, my birthday was never quite the same after that. I remember the cake looking empty for my 17th birthday, as it read "Happy Birthday Jenn".  It's been almost 30 years and it still feels like someone is missing on the 23rd, regardless of where or with whom I celebrate. When Johnny Carson died a few years ago, I realized I was the last of the three of us left. My hope is she finally got to meet him and tell him about our special day we all shared. What I am so grateful for are those 16 1/2 years I had with her. "Twenty minutes of something wonderful versus a lifetime of nothing special" (Steel Magnolias). 

In the years since she passed away, I have always felt her with me. She is my guardian angel. On more than one occassion, something has saved me or popped in my head and I knew it was Grammie. What she couldn't do on Earth, she did in Heaven..be there for me. Even in death, our bond was never broken. 

So today, what would have been Mary Turek Pyonteck's 95th birthday, I wish her a Happy Birthday in Heaven and thank her for always being there for me. She was a special lady who I was lucky enough to call Grammie. I love you. ❤️

An open letter to my nephews - part 2

Dear Sam and George,

Happy 3rd Birthday!! 

How has three years gone by already? It was just yesterday you were these tiny little cuties I saw for the first time at your Nana and Pop-Pop's house when you were all of two months old. Since then not have you only grown taller, your personalities have developed. 

George, you my sweet are the thinker, the planner, the "idea man". You see a task and inevitably will get someone (right now your brother) to carry it out, if not do it yourself. You will no doubt be the go-to guy in years to come. You will study a situation and figure out a way to get it done. 

Sam, you my cutie are the muscle of this operation, with little fear.  You also study people. You watch what others do or how they interact with those around them and store that for another time with a look like you know something no one else knows.  You will be the one who can answer the question: "What were they thinking?"

Both of you share some wonderful qualities. Both of you have your daddy's love of music and your mommy's wonderful sense of humor.  You two are little flirts (know a pretty girl when you see one) and have smiles that light up the darkest room. You are smart and constantly show those around you why you will have much success as adults.

As I told you almost three years ago, in my first open letter to you, I have little doubt you will be bright stars in the world as you continue to grow. You have amazing parents who will guide you through the ups and downs in life, while still loving you as much as the world is big.  You have a great-grandmother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and  extended family and friends who will be there at every milestone cheering you on.  You, my beautiful boys, are loved. 

So, continue to be the funny, sweet, loving, kind, precious little boys you are today. Your future is bright and may your today be filled with the joy and laughter you bring each day, just by being here. 

Love Always,

Aunt Jenn