The World According To Kate » Yankees

Congratulations, New York Yankees!

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:08:55 +0000

As you may recall, I am a life long fan of the New York Yankees, so it would be remiss of me to not take a brief moment to congratulate the 2009 New York Yankees on their 27th World Series title. Winning the World Series is of course always special, but this one somehow feels extra special, christening the new stadium with a new World Series Championship. Now that the party’s about over, it’s time to start thinking ahead to Number 28! Congratulations, Yankees!

Thoughts On David Ortiz’s Steroid Use

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:28:21 +0000

I wasn’t going to comment on the recent news concerning David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez testing positive on a performance enhancing drug test back in 2003, but I thought as a proud Yankees fan, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. The thing is… well, it’s complicated. My feelings about it are a bit complex and I didn’t want to just hastily bang something out and then realize that I left out important ideas.

As a life time Yankees fan living in Connecticut, I’ve always been very familiar with the Yankees/Red Sox Rivalry and all the trash talk that goes along with it. I’ve learned to dish it out and take it with the best of them. In the past decade (has it really been that long?), there have been some ups and downs – mostly ups for them and downs for us. The tables had turned and we were humbled. As I’ve grown and matured as a fan, I’ve learned that a classy fan is a quiet fan. This is why I was so hesitant to make any comments at all about the subject.

Am I shocked? Of course not. It was 2003 – right around the time he went from your average player to a baseball superstar. And it was just before they really started cracking down and testing for the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball. There’s a lot of pressure on these guys to be great. I get it… I want to be great at my job, too. And if so many people were doing it, and it sounds like they all were, how could they not? They had to keep up with the competition, right? I get it.

This should quiet some of the smack talk I’ve had to endure the past few years… I’ve grown tired of always hearing about A-Rod (who hasn’t heard him referred to as A-Roid?), Giambi and Pettitt and everyone else using steroids and getting called cheaters. It was only a matter of time before news broke of a Red Sox player testing positive for steroid use. I hear Big Papi is a really good guy, and you almost feel bad, but he was so outspoken about being against them!

This is what Ortiz said in Fort Myers, Fla., last Feb. 16: “I know that if I test positive for using any kind of substance, I know that I’m going to disrespect my family, the game, the fans, and everybody, and I don’t want to be facing that situation. So what would I do? I won’t use it . . . you test everybody three, four times a year and that’s about it. You do what you got to do. Yeah, whatever they say. Ban them for a whole year.’’

It got headlines. Ortiz says one-year ban for players who test positive. It played well to the masses.

Again, I’m not really going to say anything bad about the Sox… On Facebook the last couple of days, I’ve seen lots of Yankees fans running their mouths. That’s just not my style. A healthy dose of schadenfreude feels good once in awhile, but lord knows we have our own pile of dirty laundry. Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and Yankee Stadium is one unbelievably fragile glass mansion.

Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe really summed up my own ideas best is his article, Suffering From Roid Rage:

The timing and the numbers are particularly damning for Big Papi. He was ordinary before 2003. Then he cheated. Then he was great. Now there is testing and he is less than ordinary. You don’t need Jose Canseco to connect the dots.

As for Manny, what is left to say? When he got caught this year, Sox fans wanted to believe he started cheating after he left Boston. Now his entire career is flushed down the toilet. Along with Ortiz.

It’s horrible.

No more innocence.

No more fairy tales.

The 2004 Red Sox really were Idiots. Just like the Yankees and everybody else.

Our cheaters were better than their cheaters.

Yahoo.

The Red Sox have really been no different from the Yankees all these years. Welcome to the club, RSN, we’re all rooting for overpaid, overgrown children. They’re jerks and they shouldn’t be worshipped as heroes, but they’re our jerks.

Dear Baseball Gods

Kate Czlapinski — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:25:23 +0000

Dear Baseball Gods,

You were the only gods whose existence I acknowledged let alone actually prayed to, but that’s now over. I hope you enjoyed it, because we are no longer on speaking terms. We’re finished. I hope you have fun living it up with Red Sox Nation, because you will no longer be welcome at my house and drinking my beer. Come football season, I’ll be spending all my free time with the football gods. Go Giants!

Sincerely,
Kate

In case you missed it, the Yankees were swept again and we’re currently losing to the Mets. I just wanted one game… one game and I would have been thrilled. Oh well

Yankees / Red Sox Rivalry

Kate Czlapinski — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:29:43 +0000

If you haven’t caught on by now from reading this blog, I’m a pretty big Yankees fan. I’ve been routing for them since I was a little kid and my parents would take me and my younger brother to at least one game almost every season. Living in Connecticut can make being a baseball fan quite interesting, because we’re geographically right in the middle of baseball’s greatest rivalry – the Yankees and the Red Sox. It’s kind of special… and can make the long baseball season fun and at times excruciating.

Let me explain for those of you who have not been following… The Yankees and Red Sox are in the middle of their third series of the season, and while the two teams should be fairly well matched ( they ARE tied for first in their division at the moment), the Yankees have yet to have beaten the Red Sox once this season. It’s a bit painful and, to be honest. a little bit embarrassing. We lost last night 0-7. I actually stopped watching in the 5th inning – I just couldn’t torture myself any longer.

I wasn’t looking to kill the Sox in this series – I just wanted one win. That’s all I’m asking for – one win and I’ll be happy. Red Sox fans have been a little smug the past 5 years and if they keep sweeping us every time we meet, it’s certainly not going to help matters. Tonight’s game 2 of the 3 game series… will this be the big night? C’mon boys, do it for your fans in Connecticut!

We Want Torre

Kate Czlapinski — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:33:26 +0000

Chants of “We Want Torre” could be heard in the 9th inning of Tuesday night’s game versus the Red Sox, as the Yankees lost their 5th consecutive game (and every game so far this season) to our division rivals. It was pretty painful. I don’t know that we necessarily want Joe Torre back managing the Yankees, but thing sure were looking a lot better when he was around. One thing is for sure, the new Joe – Girardi this time – certainly hasn’t been all we had hoped that he would be We expected him to infuse new life and energy into the team and that unfortunately has just not happened. Torre, however, has had some great success with the managing the Dodgers since . Sigh. The Yankees have now dropped below .500. The season is still young, but it’s just not looking too pretty.

First Yankees/Red Sox Series of the Season

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:15:09 +0000

Tonight at 7:10 is the first (of many) Yankees / Red Sox games this season and I am really looking forward to it. It’s always special when the division rivals meet, but that first time in a new season is a particularly exciting event. I’m sure tonight will be no different. Kevin and I will be celebrating in grand fashion tonight in front of our television (despite the beautiful Spring weather we’re having) with pizza, wings and a few beers. Actually, that’s probably how we will spend a good portion of our weekend… and I couldn’t be more thrilled!

In case you’re interested, this is what ~~my weekend~~ the schedule looks like:

Friday: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 5.06) vs. LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 5.50), 7:10 p.m., YES

Saturday: RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 3.20) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (2-1, 3.79), 4:10 p.m., FOX

Sunday: LHP Andy Pettitte (2-0, 2.53) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (1-0, 3.18), 8:05 p.m., ESPN

.500 Record at New and Improved Yankee Stadium

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:25:42 +0000

So after this afternoon’s 6-5 win vs Cleveland, the Yankees have a .500 record while playing at the new Yankee Stadium (unless you count the exhibition games vs Chicago). It definitely would have been nice to get a win yesterday for the big home opener (their 10-2 loss was a a disappointment at best – hello pitching???), but at least the game won’t be aired for the next month as a Yankee Classic on the YES Network They have a .545 record overall – not great by any means (especially considering the mammoth salaries of a few of the players), but the season is still quite young and things often seem to start off a little slow for them (I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure this is a much better start than we had last year). Could be a lot worse. I have confidence that things will be looking up for the team in the near future.

A 360° View of The New and Improved Yankee Stadium

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:36:04 +0000

I have been a Yankees fan since birth… As a kid, we used to go to at least one game every year, but as an adult I just don’t get there as much. Last season, because it was their last season in the old stadium, Kevin and I made it a point to go to three games. I’m not sure if we’ll get there for the first season in the new stadium, so it was neat to come across this in the New York Times. It still has the same feel of the old place, but it’s bright and shiny and modern. Sweet. It opens tonight for an exhibition game against the Cubs. Wish I could be there. Go Yankees!

The New Stadium: A 360° View