Living in San Francisco as a Yankee Fan!

Life as Yankee Fan in the Bay Area

The Golden Gate Bridge. Photo Taken by John Cruz

  

Living in San Francisco, I am 3,000 miles away from home. I lived in the Bay Area now for approximately four years. The title of my blog, Yankee fan lost in SF seems comical, but at times it feels like I am lost but not literally speaking.

I mean it, more in sense of not having other Yankees fans around me.

I am sure that they do have fans here; but those fans are not in my circle of friends.

In addition, I live here, so I do support the local teams from the Bay Area such as the San Francisco Giants, the Warriors, 49ner's, and the San Jose Sharks. Sorry guys, not a fan of the Raiders. Here is an image, of one my favorite ballplayers Stephen Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors.

Stephen Curry. Photo Taken by Noah Salzman

However, my allegiance shall and always be with my Bronx Bomber's, the New York Yankee's.

161st Street-Yankee Stadium. Photo Taken by CompuRIP

Speaking of the Yankee's, how about those Mets? 

Wow, what a run that team has had this season! They have my support; I hope they win, so they can bring back the trophy back to New York City.

The trophy has not been in NYC since 2009, when the Yankees won, the World Series. For the Mets, this will be their third trophy, if they can pull this thing off. 

San Franciscan's love their teams and they are very vocal about it sometimes. But, they do have respect for the Yankees and all the accomplishment and prestige that comes with that ball club.

I have had some interesting conversations with the people here in San Francisco. In particular, at Safeway with my buddy Eric; who is a huge fan of all the local teams here, Eric even likes the Patriots.

That is ok; I won’t hold that against him....lol. The Yankees did better than, I expected them to do this year. I think most people felt the same way. 

I mean nobody in their wildest imagination, would have expected to see Arod have the year he had, with that type of production!

It was an amazing season for Arod; then Tex goes down from some freak injury and he was having a " heck of a season." "What a bummer."

When Tex went down, I had a bad feeling about that one! I have to tell you guys, that Joe did an admirable Job, with what all the adversity, he had to deal with all season long.

Now we will look towards next season, I will be keeping you guys posted with the rumors, winter talks, hot stove etc. For now, I leave you guys, with some of the greatest moments in Yankee History.

Now That the Season is Over!

A New Era and New Dynasty

Now that the season is over, I can talk to you guys a bit about my early experiences with the Yankees. My first vivid memory of the Yankees was the 96 World Series Championship.

 Paul O'Neill at New Comiskey Park, 1996. Photo Taken by Clare and Ben

That was a "heck of a year." It was the beginning of a new era and a new dynasty.

I remember saying to myself, "Joe Torre, are you kidding me"? "That guy has never won anything."

"Doesn’t he have a losing track record, I said oh my gosh, come on guys, you could do better than that."

Boy was I wrong; he brought the winning way's back to Yankee stadium and helped end an 18-year drought, for the Yankees.

In addition, to ending the drought Joe Torre; brought with him that, National league style, of playing which was completely awesome.

I wish the Yankees would go back to that kind of style of playing, when there were no superstars; just teamwork, hustle, and hard work.

 

I remember Jete, short for Derek Jeter, Mo, short for Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Joe Girardi, Wade Boggs, and of course BernieWilliams. Man that was a great team.

Anyhow, that was the first of four championships under Joe Torre. For me, it will always be the most memorable one too.  

Out of the 27 Championships, I have had the fortune of watching five of them, 96, 98, 99, 00, and 09.

David Wells in the Bleachers. Photo Taken by Cris Ptacek

Still waiting for number 28, but we will have to wait until next year, to take another crack at it! For now here is a full clip from that 96 championship highlights enjoy guys.

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Picking up the Pieces!

The Aftermath

So the season is the finally over, for the New York Yankees and as the usual winter talks will take place, talks about which holes need to be filled, etc. 

Sure as a Yankee fans, we would have loved to have seen our team advance, into the next round of playoffs; but unfortunately that is baseball, some teams go home, while others continue to chase their dream. For us as Yankees fans, we enjoyed the fruits of our labor 27 times.

Even with all of those accomplishments, if would have been sweet to add one more ring to the collection. Joe Girardi did what could with this team, he had a lot of adversity to deal with injuries, and what not! 

The major need for this team, that definitively needs to addressed in the off season, is the second base issue!

Greg Bird did an admirable job for Mark Teixeira when he went down for the season.

Greg Bird. Photo Taken by Arturo Pardavila III

Tex will be returning next season, which means more than likely that the Yankees will be sending Bird, back down to triple A. As far their rotation is concerned, there isn’t many gaps that have to be filled, they just need more consistency.

But knowing Yankees, we will be looking for ways improve the team, to make us more competitive and ultimately, bring home that 28th championship trophy.

During my next post, since the season is over; I will be going into some of my own personal memories, of the Yankees while I was growing up in the Bronx.

The Bronx-Yankee Stadium. Photo by Courtesy by Gryffindor

 Until my next post enjoy :)

Devastating Loss For The New York Yankees!

Are you Kidding me? Once again, we are off to Play Golf, instead of Baseball!

Brett Gardner. Photo Taken by Keith Allison

Heartbreaking loss for the Yanks, this one feels like crap. A year ago, no one could've pictured this. Yet here they are the Yankee's watching the Houston Astros, soaking in the champagne, happily posing for a victory shot on the mound at Yankee Stadium....smh!

After all that losing, this is one October the Yankees will never forget. This one stings folks!

You have to give the Astros all the credit in the world, Dallas Keuchel was pitching on three days' rest for the first time in his career; he completely mesmerized the Yankees for six innings of three-hit ball.

The Astros were able to score their runs by Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez, who homered, and the Astros beat the Yankees 3-0 Tuesday night in the American League wild-card game.

"Nobody really gave us anything at the start of the year. And I don't think anybody gave us a shot at the end of the year," said Keuchel, the AL's only 20-game winner.

The Astros were aggressive and came out swinging against Masahiro Tanaka in front of a pumped-up Bronx crowd.

Rasmus sent Tanaka's first pitch of the second inning flying into deep right field. Then it was Gomez, turn who prior to this game, had only had five plate appearances; after missing almost two weeks with a strained chest muscle in mid-September, he connected with the first offering by Tanaka in the fourth inning.

"That really settled me down, and that's who we are," Keuchel said. "We hit a lot of home runs, pitch well and play defense."

The AL hits leader Jose Altuve had an RBI single off Dellin Betances in the seventh inning.

For the Astros reliever, Tony Sipp walked one, and Will Harris and Luke Gregerson were each immaculate for an inning to finish the three-hitter for the Astros.

One can hear boos and clearly the frustrations of 50,113 fans who were stunned by this outcome! I don't blame the fans for their displeasure. Gregerson closed the game for the Astros. 

This video sum's it up perfectly how we, the fans feel about this devastating loss.

Then the nightmare began for us Yankees fans, as the Astros raced to an area between first and second after Brian McCann grounded out to end the ballgame!

The Astros then jumped up and down in celebratory fashion and in pure jubilation.

Now the Yankees are off to play Golf, while the Astros get to move on to play the Royals. Smh!

Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/astros-advance-end-yankees-season/ar-AAfaXMH?li=BBgzzfc

Breaking News: Yankees' CC Sabathia Checking Into Rehab for Alcohol Problem, Will Miss the Playoffs!

 The "Big Fella" Is out for the Rest of the Playoff's

CC Sabathia. Photo Taken by Keith Allison

Oh come on guys, can we catch a break?  I just found out that the Yankees' CCSabathia is checking into an alcohol rehabilitation center and will miss the rest of the postseason; Sabathia said Monday in a statement released by the team.

This is really a shock for me and I am sure for the rest of the Yankees fans as well. Sabathia said in a statement that he was seeking "the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease."

Treat a disease? What disease? Folks, times have changed!

I am not saying that alcohol is not a problem, because for some it's a real problem.

From what I gather, most of the legends drank ,rumor has it that "Sultan of swat" Babe Ruth himself came to games drunk, and what about the "Mick" he was a notorious alcoholic, Billy Martin was another one. 

Without passing judgment, this must be something really serious for Sabathia to be checking himself into rehab at this time!

The Yankees are in a pitching "funk" and Sabathia is known to stop those funks, like he did recently in Boston!

Sabathia said he wanted to thank the Yankees organization for "their encouragement and understanding."

Great how noble of you, I hope you get the help you need, in the meantime, I hope we can get the help we need if we get past the Houston Astros in a critical one-and-done AL Wild Card game.

It's the Yankee's first postseason appearance since 2012.

Sabathia expressed his feeling to the fans, the Yankees with this statement "I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series," the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner said.

"It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player."

According to Sabathia, he said it was difficult to publicly share his decision, but he didn't want to "run and hide." He is also asking for privacy at this for him and his family.

In addition, Sabathia said that "Being an adult means being accountable. Being a baseball player means that others look up to you," Sabathia added.

I want my kids -- and others who may have become fans of mine over the years -- to know that I am not too big of a man to ask for help. I want to hold my head up high, have a full heart and be the type of person again that I can be proud of. And that’s exactly what I am going to do."

This was not a stellar season for Sabathia, who was 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA this year; this was due primarily to his surgically repaired right knee. 

After Sabathia returned from the disabled list and using a tighter brace, the rotund left-hander was 2-1 with a 2.17 ERA in five starts and as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, he got the win against Boston that clinched the Yankees' return, to the postseason following a rare two-year drought from the playoffs.

Sabathia, who played an important role in helping the Yankees win the 2009 World Series during his first season in the Bronx, is signed through next season.

Sabathia's deal includes a 2017 club option that would become guaranteed if his left shoulder doesn't get hurt. I don't know about you guys, but something is not right here. Listen to this one fans reaction. Viewer Discretion is advised.

I truly hope that if in fact, he does have an alcohol problem, that he gets the treatment that he needs to help him recover from this addiction.

"I am looking forward to being out on the field with my team next season playing the game that brings me so much happiness," Sabathia said.

My thoughts and prayers will be with the "big fella" and with my team tomorrow against the Houston Astros.

Source:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/sports/CC-Sabathia-Yankees-Pitcher-Alcohol-Rehab-New-York--330713411.html

10,000 Wins- What a heck of an Accomplishment!

10,000 Wins And Counting

Wow folks, the Yankees had a tough one this week, losing three straight to their rivals; the Boston Red Sox, before calling on the "big fella" CC Sabathia to stop the "bleeding." 

Sabathia pitched five gritty innings, before turning the ball over to Adam Warren, who was just tremendous for the Yankees. 

He pitched three scoreless innings, before turning the ball over to Dellin Betances, who shut the door down; to clinch the postseason birth for the Yankees and end their two year drought! Here is the highlights from that game.

The Yankees will now rest some player's, before they have to meet their next opponent, in a one game death match, winner take all.

The Yankees must win this game to move on to the next round. This game will take place on Tuesday the sixth of October, 2015.  Before I leave you guys here is Didi Gregorious on his take on the Yankees clinching. Enjoy until my next posting. Go Yankees.