Life without Derek Jeter.

I’ve kept quiet with my Yankee commentary as of late (shocking, I know). I’ve been watching, yelling at the TV, and arguing with Boston fans, but in terms of putting my rants to paper (er, screen?) … not so much. However, last night something happened that warrants me coming out of my Yankee-blogging hiatus…

I make it very obvious that I am incredibly amazed by Derek Jeter. While I do find him to be eye-candy, it’s more than that for me. I think he is a man among men, someone who defines what it means to be a role model in a professional sports world so often dominated by questionable behaviors. Not only did he lead the Yankees as a rookie when they were down and not the team we so often see today, but he does it every day, with grace and with passion.

Up until his more recent contract negotiations, there was never a negative word in the media about him – drama simply doesn’t go with Derek Jeter. I will admit I’ve been bothered by all of the media attention centered on his age, his declining stats, and anything and everything that can be said about how he “can’t perform.” Until today.

ESPN tweeted an article by Ian O’Conner which truly spoke of just what makes Jeter who he is, what makes “Numbah 2” so deserving of the C on his jersey and the reputation he has earned. He called it effort, and I’d like to add passion to that as well.

Jeter, similar to other players who go down as Yankee greats, stands out to me because he has passion. He stands out because day in and day out, he gives his all to the team, the fans, and the field. There are plenty of athletes out there who know that they’re talented, and not only that, but they use their talent as a crutch when they have an off-day… or in Jeter’s case, an off-season. Not him though.

Last season Jeter put up some lower than usual statistics, instead of saying “I’m Derek Jeter I can do that because I am the captain of the Yankees and I’ve led this team to multiple World Series titles,” he showed up to pre-season early to get some extra practice and training in with hitting coaches.

That’s what defines him as a Yankee great – he wants to play for this team every single day; he wants to win and he wants togive 110%, even if his 110% isn’t the best it’s always been. And let’s face it, when your 110% was always beyond par, and well above average, your lesser 110% is still pretty damn good if you’re Derek Jeter.

Now, he’s racing to hit his 3,000^th hit on his home field, and become the first Yankee to ever hit that number. He’s said  that the only pressure he’s felt on this journey has been simply that: hitting it at home and not at an away game. The Yankees are set to hit the road after this series against Cleveland, so it’s no wonder he’s been feeling a little bit more pressure, with only 6 to go as of last night.

Until last night, Jeter has been seen by fans as invincible. He hasn’t appeared on the DL since 2003, and he’s never been one to complain or take a day off. He’s played in over 2,000 games for a team that makes the post season nearly every year without fail. He’s the Yankee with five World Series rings. He’s the Yankee who leapt into the stands against Boston to catch a fly ball, emerging with a bloodied face, and playing not only the next night, but the rest of the game, too.

He’s not one to take a day off, and so when he walked off the field last night, you had to know it was bad.

But who can say this is really that surprising? Shortstop isn’t exactly the easiest position in baseball, and he’s done so for sixteen seasons. He has more experience and “street smarts” about the position than any player in the league, and up until recently, he’s also had more physical skill. Now however, his body is wearing down from giving his all every single night for all of this time.

He’s had this passion about him for the past sixteen seasons and no one has been able to stop him. He plays through everything. Except this apparently. Rumor has it Jeter will be placed on the 15-day DL. For a team being hit left and right with DL players, this one hits a different nerve: life without Derek Jeter.

I for one can’t handle the thought. But I know the day is going to come. Someone younger, faster, and more athletic is going to come along and replace the captain eventually… but not today. For tonight at least, we’ll see Nunez in his spot on the field and Gardner taking his place in the lineup, but for fans, he’ll still be in our minds. 6 away from 3,000, and still, invincible.

 

And so we live to fight another day.

I considered seriously working on my management paper, but then I decided I have only a half-hour until my Honors Capstone Session and that is not ample time to get into the management spirit, it is however, ample time to get into the NY sprit.

Last night, I strapped on my seatbelt and got ready for what was sure to be an emotional rollercoaster. All day long I got comments from the crude Boston fans that roam this campus asking me if I was embarrassed to wear my Jeter t-shirt, telling me we were done and had no chance, and I just smiled, because if I’ve learned one thing from my dad it’s this: you never count NY out.

When the pressure is on, when it comes down to the wire, we show up to play. Yesterday afternoon, we showed up to play. I got out of classes and work around 4, went to my e-board meeting for Communication Society and ran back to my room. The plan was to hit the gym for a run and watch the game there, but my eyes were glued to the screen. Our bats were finally awake yesterday, and we showed Texas that we’re the defending champions everyone’s been talking about.

In the bottom of the second A-Rod worked a nice walk—you could tell the boys in pinstripes were trying to get something going. Berkman then walked, forcing Alex to 2^nd—talk about an ideal situation. Posada gets a single and Granderson follows with another single—allowing for the Yanks to take the lead—finally.

I sat there watching this game as if my life depended on it, my emotions were fierce. Then, the bottom of the third comes and Swish leads it off with a homer, followed by Robbie Cano doing the same. 5-0 Yanks. Woah. This is the team I know and love.

Up until this point, we have been outplayed. Texas has simply proved better than we have been in this series, and while this has been disheartening to me, I was accepting of it. I knew we had it in us to fight back, but I’ve been worried, I won’t lie. The fact of the matter is, I think as fans we need to set ourselves apart from our rivals, we need to accept what’s going on and stand behind our team hoping they can change it—leaving in the 7^th inning and starting fights in the stands isn’t going to cause the Yanks to win.

We came out of last night with a 7-2 lead. I was running my heart out on the tredmill in the gym watching as if my life depended on it. When I was in salmo the hour before, I stood in front of the TV watching CC get his last strike during an inning which could have blown our lead. When I went over to lift my cute 10 lb weights I was anxious because I couldn’t see the TV. This is the NY I know, the NY that makes me feel this way. That’s something I think I was missing, although I was eluding to it, I wasn’t accepting of the fact that this is what they do: they bring you all the way down, to bounce you back up again in an instant—there is never a dull moment with this team, and that’s what makes them so great to watch.

I went into last night thinking to myself, well, even if we lose, I got to watch them in the playoffs, baseball lasted through October for me, and I got to enjoy countless innings of baseball this season with my favorite team. I went to sleep last night dying for game 6.

Of course, as predicted, the momentum is back in our favor—which is exactly what we need. This is a team that feeds off of the energy from its fans, and up until last night, the energy was at an all time low if you ask me. It was a disgrace how empty the stadium looked during the bottom of game 4. Although our backs are still against the wall and we’re still in a do or die situation, we have hope to hold on to. We’ve done this before, taken 3 in a row—we just did it in the ALDS. Now, instead of reading the headlines about how we’re done and don’t stand a chance, headlines across the board are chanting in our favor, the media frenzy is focused on our fight to get to the World Series, on our chance to take back this series. Talk about irony. I’m pretty sure I said this was going to happen.

Now, the headlines are telling Texas they need to worry, telling us to look to game 7 (game 7, huh? So NOW we stand a chance) and ironically, no one is nailing Girardi to a cross. Let’s face it, CC didn’t have his best game of the year last night, but I didn’t find one article crucifying Girardi for that—I can guarantee if we lost, he’d be the scapegoat there. As I’ve said time and time again, this is the playoffs—we need to score runs, and we need to believe in our pitching—it’s a crapshoot, determined by luck in only a few games. The playoffs take a season of over 100 games and turn it into 12. Those 12 or so games determine who goes to the World Series—c’mon, how can it not be about luck?

The reality of the situation is that although I feel better than I did yesterday, we’re still not playing our best. Texas has still outplayed us. Texeria is still done for the season. And that 3 game deficit was the first one in our history in over 50 years. Obviously something is off for us this postseason, but the difference between yesterday and today is one thing: hope.

We have two games in Texas—the Rangers need to only win 1 and they’ll send us off to our respective golf courses. We’re still facing Cliff Lee in game 7—what lies ahead is far more difficult than the obstacle we overcame—but, similar to everyone else who was feeling down a mere 24 hours ago, I believe in this team. It looks better and I feel better, hopefully this is all translating over to the boys in pinstripes, too.

I leave you with this, courtesy of ESPNsports, regarding Girardi’s message to his team on the eve of their 3-game deficit:

“Girardi, according to three people in the room, stood on the large, white, interlocking “NY” in the middle of the Yankee-blue rug that spreads across the enormous home clubhouse.

His demeanor remained even and calm.

His approximately two-minute message was clear and concise.

‘It wasn’t really anything complicated,” captain Derek Jeter said. “It was just, ‘Win a game.’”

Win a game. Take one battle at a time. It isn’t over yet. If you ask me, that is some solid advice, for the team, and for the fans.

Talk to me tomorrow if we lose though, I’m sure I’ll be singing a different song.

Homerun derby? Oh nope, just the ALCS.

To the untrained eye, turning on the Yanks game during the 9th inning might be confusing. I mean, I wouldn’t blame you, the amount of homeruns taking place would have confused me years ago as well. But no, this is just your classic example of crash and burn.

I’ve mentioned recently that I started reading a great sports blog, haven’t I? It’s About the Money Stupid has been my source of Yankee commentary for the past month or so, and to be honest, I don’t know how I’ve lived without it. Now, as I sit here and stare at Pettite’s confused face, I myself wonder, where did it all go wrong? This is where I turn to IATMS.

Warning signs. As a fairly well-versed Yankee fan I can’t really be too sure as to why I didn’t see this sooner. We came out of the first-round of the playoffs with a quick win. We were feeling good, we were feeling confident. There’s the key there, because despite their business-like approach to their clinching of the first series, you had to have known they were feeling on top of the world. They came out of the division in 2nd place, took the wildcard and then outlasted their rivals the Rays. I understand the excitement.

Here are some things I don’t understand: let us look only to games 3 and 4, because let us face it, if I focused on this entire series thus far, you’d stop reading right now. Last night:

Dear NY,

Were you actually playing or even considering helping out Andy on the mound there, or were you enjoying watching him take on the elusive Cliff Lee while you polished your golf clubs?

Love eternally,

Theresa

But really. Last night there was nothing to blame for the loss aside from offense. Defensively, NY was doing alright, Pettite let in only 2 runs– a reasonable lead for the Yankees to overtake. However, this would only be reasonable in the event that NY decided to I don’t know, score a run. By the time the last innings came, and Texas started kicking ass and taking names, I decided we deserved to lose– and so we did.

Now we look to tonight, and as fans we think– no big deal, we’ve come up from behind before, this is what we’re known for! We come into the game pretty solid, we even have a lead for a bit. Then the dark clouds descend and we lay down and die. Tex goes out with a hamstring injury in the 5th and I said to myself, “self, stop watching, this is a bad sign.”

A gluten for punishment, I kept my NY faith and I kept on watching, I kept on watching the entire time, right until the announcers said “and that’s the game, Texas takes NY with a 10-3 lead.” 10-3. As in, double digits. Great.

I can never tell if they do it on purpose– was this all some act of excitement, putting all of our eggs in one basket for tomorrow night, trying to come up from behind giving Texas a 3-1 lead? Do we not want to make it to the World Series and get our chance at 28? I’m sorry, I thought we were chasing 28– isn’t that the slogan? Tonight just looked like a replay of the homerun derby, except this is OCTOBER, and we’re in the damn playoffs! C’mon!

P.S. let it be known right now that I in no way shape or form put all the blame on A.J. Burnett for this loss. I’m sure the headlines will be rampid with blame saying he is the reason we are where we are. He isn’t. The fact of the matter is we showed up to play tonight, but we didn’t show up to win. Further, I’d like to go on record now before all the other “fans” start freaking out putting blame on Tex, on Girardi and god-only knows who else for this loss and say that as a team, we blew it. The next 14 hours should be complete agony.

Alas, take a deep relaxing breath IATMS tells me, because the playoffs are a crapshoot. Life in the post-season is dominated by luck and we’re just running out of ours. If we had won tonight, things might have started to look up, we might have picked up some momentum, some pride, alas instead we’ve lost and gave Texas a 3 game advantage over us, paving their road to the playoffs and calling up the golf club to prepare for our own arrival.

I don’t want to sound like doom and gloom here but we’ve literally put all of our eggs in one basket. Everyone was so worried about AJ being erratic tonight and losing it for us– we have no one to blame but ourselves. We failed to easily get on the board, again, we failed to maintain our lead, again, and we failed to come up from behind, again. So now, we’ll look to CC, again, to pull us out of another slump– but can we do it, that is the question I will ask my self over and over until then.

So where am I at right now? I’m done with exams for the week, looking at a 10-page paper, a meeting for my capstone thesis Thursday and Open House this weekend. Oh and right, now I have the looming black cloud over my chest as I sit and wait for game 5. Despite the negativity I’m spewing right now, I’m going to rock my NY attire tomorrow, I’m going to have pride and faith in my team and I’m going to hope and pray with all I have that momentum will swing back to the Evil Empire and we will come out on top.

Let’s be honest, what will entertain me when baseball season really does end for the Yanks? There is only so much commentary on the trade deadline and deals that I can read about– it’s not as if I even understand a fraction of what goes on during a football game (GO JETS!)

The next 48 hours.

They (whoever it is they are) say that a picture is worth a thousand words; well then this should be worth at least three-thousand. A) Disney Princess blanket B) Understanding Organizations C) Yanks Cap.

This my friends, is multi-tasking at its absolute finest: studying for my management exam on Friday, while cuddled up with my favorite princesses, while screaming at my TV watching the Yanks take game 1 of the first-round of the playoffs.. talk about one fantastic Wednesday night. As for tomorrow, lets just say I should be avoided at all costs… unless of course you’d like to discuss cognitive biases, symptoms of groupthink, or Mintzberg’s roles of a manager, which, by the way, I totally know…

Verbal vomit.

Consider this your warning, internet. You are about to witness an absolute dump of words and thoughts– a verbal vomit, if you will.  Where to begin? How about this weekend. Let me say something first, I’ve mentioned time and time again that I am emotionally guarded and have serious trust issues. With that said, I tend to not let too many people in, and I also tend to instead, take on a more nurturing role when it comes to others, such as my friends (I’m verbal vomiting again, sorry!)

Friday comes and it’s raining, typical, thank you, Rhode Island. I was more than excited to be able to sleep past 7 a.m. and to just go to my classes and enjoy my day. That night we all had a great time being college kids and the night went seemingly smooth. But I will admit, I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop (get it, shoes, because I love shoes so much?) and I’ve been thinking about how stress/drama free this year has been thus far. Then the shoe dropped. A few of my suitemates got upset for a multitude of reasons and eventually, in my state of trying to help out with them and maintain composure, I allowed myself to get upset about something silly—resulting in everyone being upset. All is well that ends well I suppose, and the next day, we all picked up the pieces and remedied the situation. But let me tell you, on a Saturday night, the smallest of problems seems like the end of the world. I should probably just have my phone taken away from me so I don’t say ridiculous things via text, if you catch my drift…(verbal vomit you ask, check).

On another note, I tried out the “do work on Saturday” idea and actually, I will admit, it’s been working out well so far. When Sunday came along I felt much less stressed and I was able to relax a little, and devote time without pressure to other work. It was nice. Monday was its typical hectic whirlwind: up at 7a.m. with work 8:30-11:30, a rush to change into ‘normal’ clothes and then classes 12-2. At 2, I had my tour time but since no one showed up, I got to enjoy ravioli lunch (I somehow have convinced myself that Salmo makes good ravioli—they don’t – and I honestly just wish I was home to enjoy real Italian food—I’ll get there in a minute though). From 3-6, I worked in the Writing Center and then I went for a run and headed straight to the library… where I remained until midnight… working on my management study guide.

I foresee the rest of the week being a blur of management concepts and principles and stress, but so far I will admit I’m taking it one step at a time. I’m 3/4 of the way through the review packet he handed out and so once I get all of that typed out; I should be set for study intensity. We have a team jeopardy game tomorrow so our team just met for several hours to study together—it was definitely a huge help to talk it all out.  I’m thinking tomorrow I’ll head over to the library after I go for my run and finish the rest of the study guide.

In other news, I’m getting a little sick and really wanting to go home this weekend. Typically, everyone goes home for Columbus Day because it’s the first, and only, three-day weekend of the semester. However, with this year being Homecoming this weekend, I assumed many people would stay—I assumed wrong. I volunteered to work Monday from 10-4 in Admissions and I’m sure all will work out well, but I kind of wish I could go home for the weekend.

For starters, I miss the food, and … well, there was a casualty in the 240s this weekend: Theresa’s Straightener. After two years of bliss, my good old iron finally burnt out, leaving me in absolute distress. The good news is a friend of mine is heading home to Long Island and will stop by home where my mom will have purchased a new one for me from the store I got it from–  I know, I know, you were all very worried just now. Also, I’d really like to be in a place where there isn’t so much hostility and aggression toward the Yanks—I will admit, I am becoming disgruntled myself, especially after that series against Boston, but I’ll save that for another post…

Nonetheless, I’ll stay this weekend because it will be silly for my parents to drive all that time for 3 days and because I’ll hopefully get some work done and avoid stress in the future weeks…

As for now, shower and bed… before 1 a.m. you say?! I know, I know, I’m shocked too…

I hate the rain, but I hate the humidity more.

After my mini-nervous breakdown this week, I decided to just look at each day one at a time. So instead of focusing on what’s next, I just looked at each task as it happened– it made things a little easier. However, the problem with that is that in my college life, the world is full of all these paper, exam and project deadlines– and I have no choice but to look ahead.

The past two days all it has done is rain. I hate the rain. I hate walking to class in it. I hate how it ruins my hair. I hate how it makes my jeans sticky. But what I hate more, is how humid it’s been! Last night, when I was walking back from my five hour management meeting (yes, 5  hours) my hands were all sticky from how humid it was– ew.

It’s okay though, because today is Friday– my favorite day. I get to sleep in until 11 and I only have two classes! I told myself I was going to get ahead on some of the work I have due Monday and hit the gym for a run, but then Tor and Court came in and were like “LETS GO SHOPPING!” Now, we all know one thing: I cannot say no to shopping.

First we went to Marshalls and I got a real cute tank top with sequins and a pretty dress for work– all for 30 dollars! Then we decided we wanted more shopping so we headed to Kohls– next thing about me: don’t let me into Kohls for too long. I was doing fine until we somehow wound up in the Lauren Conrad section. Normally, I don’t shop over there– but within 20 minutes I’d found an adorable pink t-shirt with pretty sequins on the front, a gorgeous blue sweater and this perfect black cardigan with a lace back– I felt like I was in heaven. I’m sure I won’t feel that way when my Kohl’s bill comes in, but that’s neither here nor there. I decided I deserved a treat after such a stressful month of school

Now we’re all sitting around waiting to go walk to dinner in this terrible rain– I hate when it rains on the weekends, it ruins my hair and my clothes and my life– grr!

As for next week: management exam, annotated bibliography due for research methods, research methods quiz, team contract and project plan– and that is just the stuff I knew about ahead of time! I haven’t even considered reading and what not– grr!

Good news though; my management team got a 95, an A, on our first case– the highest grade in the class, and the only A I was pretty excited about that.

For now, I’m going to head to dinner, and watch the Yankee game later– tied for first, this is the last series to win the pennant– here goes nothin! I’ll probably blog about the playoffs sometime soon, I’ve been reading a ton about what those who are knowledgeable in all things sports have to say about our chances..

For my 17th birthday, I went to a wax museum-- Jeter was the highlight

Backtrack, end of summer and Bryant bound!

This post will be long. Let us go back a few weeks…

Despite how terrifying the ending of my last Yanks game experience went, I decided to go to another on August 18. They were playing the Tigers, and my cousin Kristin was coming up to visit. My dad scored us pretty sweet seats down in the lower level and me, my parents and Kristin went. Unlike last time, the Yanks won.  The game was incredibly exciting because it wasn’t one of those games where they win by a landslide, or no one scores—it was full of some incredible plays (Granderson was on fire) and the fans were amped.

Kristin stayed with us for a few days—we went out to dinner a few times, and went shopping—yes, I bought shoes (that is 112 pairs for those of you counting). The morning she left, the family got in the car bright and early to head up the Lake George for vacation.

We stayed in this great place near the lake and the village and despite some rain it was a ton of fun. We skipped the whole amusement park bandwagon and did some other fun things. We had wanted to go white water rafting, however the rain kept us from it—maybe next time. On the way home we threw around the idea of going snow tubing during my break in the winter, so I’m pretty psyched about that. Oh, I forgot to mention—I bought shoes (113). However, these were totally necessary shoes, it rains at least once a week in Rhode Island and they are new rain boots!

I also bought this sweet Yanks pennant that is currently displayed proudly on my desk… but I’m getting ahead of myself, I’m not up to Bryant yet…

After vacation, it seemed as if time was flying—as it always seems to do once August hits. (In other random news my laptop keeps changing my font to Chinese).  Most days, I hit the beach early in the morning to work on my pastey skin—I got decent color. I spent my last days home packing up all my clothes—I will admit, my compulsive and borderline obsessive packing before I left Bryant was a huge help—everything was so neat and organized (and labeled!) in the basement so I really only had to pack up clothes.

I guess now I’m up to BRYANT!

Last semester, I nervously applied for a highly competitive position in Admissions as an Admission Fellow. Out of all the applicants, they only hired 6 people for the job. I was so excited when I got the phone call offering me the job. I remember being so nervous when I saw the number in my caller ID and then being ridiculously happy with the news. As a result of this position, I get to move-in to campus early. Training began on September 2, so I moved in on the 1^st.

My mom came storming into my room at 5:30 a.m. to tell me we were “late.” Evidently my dad planned on leaving at 4 a.m. because he “doesn’t drive in traffic.” So we hit the road a little bit later and finally got to Bryant around 10 a.m. I checked in with Admissions, got my key and all that, and headed to my room.

I walked in shocked. Mina and I are in the 240s again, this time in Hall 4—so once again we took room 1. However, it took me about 2 minutes of standing there to figure out why the room looked so small—the beds weren’t lofted. “Ohhhhh Daddddyyyyy—wouldn’t you LOVE to loft my bed?!” After about a half hour of moving furniture the room started to look the way it should. I was there for about 2 hours before Mina and I used that time to put away my clothes—that takes the longest.

As I’ve said, I’m compulsive and obsessive—I organize my closet by work suits, dresses, going-out clothes, sweaters and coats… it took me about 3 hours to unpack my clothes into my closet and drawers— well worth it though because I was so organized that I have more room to buy new things! (Cue my dad’s excitement!)

I only brought up about 60 pairs of my shoes—they all look lovely inside my closet :) My parents were actually a huge help this year—my dad napped and surfed the internet after moving in my stuff and my furniture and my mom helped me get organized in my room and in the bathroom. She also always makes my bed for me (in my defense, its super high and annoying to make all by myself). Mina showed up at some point and with the two of us getting to work, it really started to look like home!

The two of us have a knack for decorating our room extensively—lots of pink and lots of pictures on the walls. This year, I even got these great frames with wall quotes that read “Always kiss me goodnight,” and “Chase your dreams.”

Keep in mind that it was 98 degrees out on move-in day. I can’t believe I didn’t mention this sooner. My body was dripping with sweat—and we had three fans! 

I obviously cried when my parents finally left around 7 p.m. We did a target run and had Chili’s for dinner, picked up my refrigerator from Mina’s sorority’s storage unit and then they hit the road.

We finally went to bed around 2 a.m. because we obviously needed our room to be perfect! The next day I had work at 9 a.m. until about 4 for training and I picked up my new laptop.

The past few days I’ve been alone, messing with my laptop, putting up my frames and organizing my planner. I’ve color coded my schedule, figured out which hours I can work in the Writing Center with Admissions, and my tour time (Mondays at 2 p.m.).

Today the freshmen moved in! I was sitting in the tent in the lot handing out ID cards from 7 a.m. until about 3. I had a ton of fun with it—it was great to see students I have been in contact with, such as Kelly, and it was also fun to create my own matches with their cards—freshmen, if you’re reading this, I may have found your soul mate today via your ID card!

Tomorrow the rest of Bryant moves in, I’ll be swiping keys in Bello most of the day—it’ll be nice to see all my friends as they move-in. As of now, I’m sitting in the room, it’s cooled off substantially now thanks to that “hurricane” last night. I’m super excited to see all of my friends, and to be able to be set up and ready for the first night of shenanigans with the girls without compulsively worrying about if my room is all set.

I’ll keep everyone posted on the new job, and life at Bryant—I’m certainly looking at a ton of work in my classes and 20 hours working a week, but I love being busy. In the next few weeks I also find out if I was accepted into ODK and I have my first e-board meeting for Communication Society on Wednesday! My planner is filling up—but I’m looking forward to it!

 

*P.S. all of these photos were taken on my new, super amazing camera! Mine met the toilet last semester (it was very old) and my dad’s met Lake George. So, last week I had to bite the bullet and buy a new one—which I love!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Heaven.

Physically and mentally challenging week at camp? Check. Work every day the last 2 weeks (that is since I got back from camp)? Check. Two jobs? Check. Bob Sheppard’s funeral. Check. Stress induced nervous breakdown starting with a tuna sandwich. Check.

The past 2 weeks of insanity finally caught up with me yesterday. I was incredibly excited to be covering Bob Sheppard’s funeral. As a lifetime Yankee fan and aspiring journalist, the event was two-fold for me. I got to experience a Yankee legend’s funeral and I got to experience the media frenzy surrounding news so big.

Despite being incredibly tired, I dragged myself out of bed around 8 a.m. and met Mary so we could drive over to the funeral together. The entire street was blocked off in front of St. Christopher’s Church on Merrick Road in Baldwin. There were Nassau County police everywhere (which made me wish I’d asked good old dad if he had any ins!). There were media everywhere. Well, devoting most of my high school career to concert going paid off.  Attending standing room only concerts in tiny venues where all anyone wanted was to get close to the front (where I usually made my way) taught me two things: 1) worm your way to the front at all costs, and 2) don’t mess with me—no, I won’t be moving, no, you cannot just sneak by me, and no, pushing me is not okay.

I will admit that after the initial moments of my being there, most of the photographers were relatively nice to me—I was fearful considering I look about 12 years old, that most people would look at me and laugh. At one point I was actually crouched down on the ground trying to get photos of Brian Cashman. (Mary says she has great photos of me actually, so I’ll post those when I see them).

 

The elusive bus that arrived before the funeral. Just who is that man directing the driver to turn?

The million-dollar question though—where were the Yankees?  

It was believed by anyone and everyone that considering they had the day off, and were still in All-Star break, most of the players would make their way to Long Island to pay respects to Sheppard—Derek Jeter especially. We were told that they players were being transported by bus to the funeral home. Now, a bus did show up, and I do have photos and I’m still trying to figure out why a giant bus such as this one was in Baldwin, conveniently turning down the street the funeral was on, and conveniently a large group made their way into the side door of the church shortly after. I’m not saying the Yankees were on the bus, however, considering they never showed up, I’m awfully curious as to just who was on that bus.

General Manager Brian Cashman actually made his way into the front of the church and an onlooker seemed to think she had spotted Nick Swisher and Joe Girardi walking in the back door with that crowd. I saw Brian Cashman, he was definitely there.  As for the Yankees, it remains unknown.

The services were broadcast outside the church via large speakers—which was a nice touch for the media’s purposes. General Manager Brian Cashman, NY Giants  President John Mara, and Sheppard’s oldest son Paul eulogized Sheppard.

Both Cashman and Mara made comments about how nervous they each were to be responsible for such a task—eulogizing the “voice of God.” Although Sheppard never stepped up to bat or caught a pop-up, he is a Yankee legend. “Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Yankee stadium,” his voice is recognized by any baseball fan—especially a Yankee fan. For 56 years Sheppard was the public announcer of Yankee stadium, announcing greats such as DiMaggio, Mantle and Jeter. Although his career ended in 2007, his voice lives on. Despite never announcing a lineup at the new Yankee stadium, Yankee captain Derek Jeter insists that only Sheppard introduces him to the plate. As a result, a recording of Sheppard plays each and every time. For this reason, among many others, Sheppard will live on in the hearts of fans forever.

However, considering Jeter’s deep love for Sheppard, it is questionable as to why he did not attend the services. Now, Derek Jeter is my favorite ball player. I hate to think that he would do anything uncharacteristic of great. In the defense of the Yanks, the news of Sheppard and Steinbrenner is enough to shake anyone—especially the players. But just where was this supposed bus? As we stood around waiting we were told that no, they weren’t coming by bus but instead via their own cars. They were stuck in traffic we said. Traffic was keeping the Yankees from the funeral.

Okay, I live on Long Island; I can understand that… each morning driving to work is a new test of my patience. However, why then, could they not get a police escort? We were told that we were still in a good spot—the players would walk right past us… or were we? I’m skeptical to think that anyone knew anything. There was in fact a horrific and fatal car accident on the Meadowbrook parkway which could have certainly held the players up—had they truly been on their way.

About 45 minutes into the services, we overheard from another reporter that the players had been diverted straight to Pinelawn—the sight of Sheppard’s grave. I honestly thought nothing of it but I will admit I was certainly bummed.

The services were beautiful. Baldwin and South Hempstead Fire Departments created an arch and draped a huge American flag outside the church, as well as a Yankee flag. The street was filled with mourners—many of whom were devote Yankee fans. I got to speak to several residents, and Mary and I put together a great story and column.

One Baldwin resident told me a story about trick-or-treating at Sheppard’s home one Halloween. She said that her and her friends were dressed as Yankee players when they showed up at his home and that he came outside and took photos and even talked with them for a bit. This sums up Sheppard, he was more than an announcer for the Yankees—he was a legend with a huge heart.

 

As for why the Yankees weren’t there… we called the stadium today and spoke with a PR representative, Jason, who told us he knew nothing of a “bus” and was offended by our accusations about the players not being there. “They were represented—Cashman was there,” he told us. Well, considering every paper in Boston is ripping the Yankees apart for not attending, and considering people want to know “just where were the Yankees?” I’d argue the offense is unnecessary.

It is unquestionable that Sheppard should be entered into the Yankee Hall of Fame, and also that the players, at least the ones who knew him best, should make a statement explaining what happened. Tonight’s game promises a tribute to both Sheppard and Steinbrenner… I’ll be watching.

Overall though, the experience was one I’d never take back—talk about baptism under fire. I just wish it didn’t lead to that nervous breakdown I had last night. At the risk of sounding like my mother, I think the stress of the past two weeks nearly killed me. I was so whipped out after working two jobs yesterday and shopping with my mom, all I wanted was a sandwich. And let me tell you, when I finally got around to going to grab a bagel at 930 p.m. and it wasn’t toasted like I asked—I was polite said it wasn’t a big deal, but then I had a meltdown. That was the beginning of a very upsetting night that only ended when I finally fell asleep. I am very thankful to be off tomorrow.

This just in!

After my somber post about the loss of two Yankee legends, Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner, Mary came over to me and said, “what are you doing on Thursday?”

Working. 10-4. “Well, the publisher wants us to go to Bob Sheppard’s funeral. They’ll be lots of Yankees there and I’ll need a fan to tell me who’s who.”

There will be lots of Yankees there. Bob Sheppard’s funeral.

“We’ll make you a press pass and we’ll go together on Thursday if you can go.” A press pass. Thursday. The Yankees.

After consulting my parents they have told me that attending the funeral is more important because this is my future and I want to be in media and this is a great place for me to see the hustle and bustle of it. So, I will be going. While I am sad about the passing of these legends, I am beyond excited that I can be a part of the media frenzy covering this history. It’s production day now though, so more later..

A sad week for the Yankees. A sad week for fans.

For my 17th birthday, I visited Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in NYC. Derek Jeter was the highlight for me.

My heart literally aches right now as if I’ve lost someone in my own family—and seemingly, I have. I make no secret of the fact that I am a devoted Yankee fan. When I made the decision to attend school in Rhode Island, I didn’t take into consideration that I’d be entering Red Sox Nation. I can recall my father telling me in the days before I moved onto campus, “I’m warning you kid, if you come home a Sox fan, I will cut you off.” He wasn’t joking.

I’m sure it more than thrilled him that instead of coming home a traitor, I came home more passionate than ever. Countless days and long nights fighting off the remarks of my witty Sox friends turned me into a Yankee fanatic. The best part: when I wasn’t sure of a witty reply back, I’d just shoot my dad a text message and he’d fire back with something that made me seem quite intelligent and well-versed in all things Yankee.

Suddenly, I couldn’t get enough of my Yankees. Growing up, like any other little girl, I loved Derek Jeter. Now, it seems my love for Jeter goes past his “oh so dreamy” looks and onto his stats, what he’s done and where he’s going. I turned my Google homepage into a Yankee haven—with sports scores, news headlines and anything else I could glimpse at daily.

Living in Rhode Island 8 months of the year means my chances of seeing a game revolve around two things: the playoffs and World Series, and the Yanks playing the Sox. I learned I could watch the games live online though. I’d spend hours in the library “studying” silently yelling at my computer screen.

Last year, when the Yanks won the World Series, I sat in my room, alone, running around screaming excitedly. I could hear the chants of “YANKEES SUCK” outside my window, mixed in with the sounds of excited fans… my roommates, Sox fans, all asleep.

This year, I knew we had to win another. A true Yankee fan, I thirst for championships. I constantly fight off the “store-bought” comments and the digs at all of our All Star players—and with that I laugh, because when you put 7 up against 27, there really is no comparison.

On Sunday, when I learned that Bob Sheppard had passed away, our voice, my heart went out to the Yankee greats. I will admit I was young when his career was in its prime—but I can certainly recognize his voice as the voice of baseball. I thought, ‘wow, this is a real tragedy for the Yanks, good thing we are in the All Star Break. Now we’ve got to come back strong!’

This morning, I was driving to work and I swear if my mother wasn’t behind the wheel I would have crashed in shock. I heard, “sources tell us that Yankee owner George Steinbrenner has died of a massive heart attack in Florida.” I looked at my mom, thinking no way; this has got to be some sort of mistake. Freaked out beyond belief, I called up a few friends to confirm this for me. Yes, it was true. The heart of Yankee stadium had passed away… days after the voice.

How can the Boss just be gone?  To me, and any Yankee fan, Steinbrenner and Yankees are synonymous. He only just turned 80 on July 4^th—how can this be happening? He has been the heart of the Yankees for the past 40 years, never during my lifetime, have I known Yankee baseball without The Boss.

Now, I’m sure this is going to spark some comments from many of my lovely Sox fans—it is my hope that they are comments of sincerity and remorse, but we all know that won’t be the entirety of it. The way I see it, love or hate the Boss, he was a dedicated man. He was dedicated to his team, and he was dedicated to winning. Any comments which will be fired his way in the wake of his death will be of jealousy. Let’s face it, if any other team could have welcomed the Boss and his attitude, along with his wallet, they would have done so. He turned the Yankees into a Dynasty of Champions… I can understand the jealousuy.

Since the news of his passing surfaced, the comments I have read from jealous fans are out of control. Specifcally, I was reading an article posted on Big League Stew and it truly amazes me some of the things people are willing to say. This man was a human-being. He was a father, a husband, a son, and a beloved baseball owner. How people can say such cruel things is classless to say the least.

When he took over in 1973 the Yankees were in a slump. While there are many who will criticize him for his spending and for his temper—consistently hiring and firing—he was a man who would do anything for a championship. If you ask me, what is so wrong with that, that is the goal, is it not? Under his reign, the Yankees won the World Series in 1977-78, 1996, 1998-2000 and 2009.

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing,” Steinbrenner was fond of saying. “Breathing first, winning next.”  Reading this quote from Yahoo Sports made me smile a bit—at least he died a winner. With the All Star break right now, the Yankees have the best record in baseball, and are defending World Series champs (a title they dedicated to Steinbrenner himself: “This one’s for you boss.” This if anything, should be the driving force for our 28^th title this year… we have to do it again for the Boss!

Steinbrenner was the leader of a dynasty—a dynasty which for my entire life, I have cheered for, mourned with and loved. Love him or hate him, this was a man, who did anything for his team—who can argue with that? He has transformed baseball. He has created intense competition. Without him, things would have never been this good.

With a heavy heart, I’ll watch the All-Star game tonight. I can only imagine what the scene there will be. I pray with everything that the saying ‘bad things come in three’ doesn’t ring true for the Yanks.

However, Yankees and fans alike should be going into the second half of this season thinking “Let’s do it for the Boss!” I know I will.