Ya Gotta Have Heart

Remember when THIS happened? The best closer in the history of baseball injured his knee shagging fly balls before a game.   Yet somehow the Yankees made it to the ALCS without Mo.

 And now.. this. Is it stupid that I cried? Joe Girardi was literally about to carry Jeter off the field singlehandedly, and I got the feeling that it wasn't about "protecting the investment". It was about loving this guy. Jeter is a class act, on and off the field. And it's heartbreaking that his season ended this way. He injured his foot a while ago, yet kept playing because he loves October. He loves baseball. And that is what we are missing. This postseason has been fantastic. Teams just aren't giving up. Games are being tied in the 9th inning and won in the 12th, 13th or 14th innings. Guys are playing with heart again. Like the 1998 Yankees. Those guys were part of a team. Not in it for the endorsements or the big contracts. Just in it for love of the game.

Paul O'Neill (who threw out the first pitch today), Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams. And of course Joe Torre and Don Zimmer.

 I thought we'd NEVER see that kind of heart again when we lost Joe Torre. I didn't like his replacement.

 And that feeling lasted for four years. Until last week. Girardi's Dad passed away on Saturday and over the next few days, in spite of this challenge in his own personal life, Girardi made the bold move of benching the $29 million a year superstar, Alex Rodriguez, who isn't hitting worth a crap and has a "me" mentality. Girardi earned my respect this past week.

 THIS guy.. .THIS guy! Raul Ibanez came out of nowhere. He wasn't even on a team during spring training, and now he's winning games for the New York Yankees in the postseason. And he's not being paid $29 million to do it. He has heart .

The winner of the 2012 World Series will be the team with the most HEART. I don't know if my team can do it. Plagued with injuries, facing challenges, it might not happen for us this time. But whatever happens, both national league and American league teams are giving us some quality baseball this postseason.

I LOVE this game!!!