Yankees Baseball
by: Brandon Diaz
This offseason brought many ups, downs, and turns for the Yankees. For this upcoming 2009 season, the Yankees now have added to the roster three major players--AJ Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and CC Sabathia. The revelation that Alex Rodriguez used steroids has added some unnecessary drama. Last, but certainly not least, the historic opening of the new Yankee Stadium has created a great deal of excitement, hope, and anticipation. How will the new Yankee roster perform? What will Alex Rodriguez do to win back the hearts of Yankee fans? Will the new Yankee Stadium carry on the legacy of pride, power, and pinstripes?
This season, Yankee fans expect to see AJ Burnett, Mark Teixeira, and CC Sabathia have explosive seasons. Fans expect both AJ and CC to win quite a few games and help the Yankees return to the postseason. According to yankees.com, AJ won 18 games last year, only allowed 19 homeruns, and struck out 231 players. CC won 17 games, had an era of 2.70, allowed 19 homeruns, and struck out 251 players. Yankee fans also expect Mark Teixeira to put up tremendous numbers. Last year he had 33 homeruns, drove in 121 rbis, walked 97 times, and finished with an average of .308. Fans hope that they will fit in the Yankee atmosphere.
A-Rod, on track to become the homerun king, is struggling as much as ever to become a Yankee. He is one of the greatest third-basemen to play the game. Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids in an interview on 60 Minutes. Baseball fans were shocked and flabbergasted to hear those words come out of Alex's mouth. Alex was supposed to be the one player that put up numbers through his own body strength and power. George Mitchell's list of player that used steroids included big names, but not Alex Rodriguez. His name did appear on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in MLB's '03 survey testing. Baseball fans thought this was absurd. Nonetheless, the idea was still floating around in the MLB. In the interview on 60 Minutes, Katie Couric asked, "For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance enhancing substance?"Alex replied, "No". Alex also stated in the interview, "You hear a lot of things. I mean, I came in 1993. And you heard whispers from the '80s and '90s. But I never saw anything. I never had raw evidence. And, quite frankly, I was probably a little bit too naive when I first came up to understand the magnitude of all this."
(See http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/13/60minutes/main3617425.shtml for the transcript.)
According to wikipedia.com, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is contemplating whether to punish Alex for his admitted use of steroids. Rodriguez's admission could be damaging to his image and legacy. In addition to the steroid drama, Alex Rodriguez will miss six to nine weeks of the season due to a hip injury. He went through surgery in the preseason and will also need it at the end of the regular season.
Saying goodbye to the old Yankee Stadium was hard, but welcome to a new era. The new Yankee Stadium promises to carry over the legacy of pride, power, and pinstripes. The new ballpark will include improved comfort and sight lines, customer service, increased size, state-of-the-art audio and visual experience, and improved food options. Prices for seats will range from $12 for bleacher seats to $325 on the field level. Let's hope the new stadium will create more Yankee memories and bring home a 27th title.
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