Yankees Fans, Hopelessly Hoping

As game 5 of the ALCS approaches, Yankees fans find themselves between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.”

Logic says, it’s time to spend time and efforts outside of the baseball world, but our hearts still hang onto the seemingly delusional hope that maybe the Yankees can win one more game. And then another. And another.

There really is no hope left -- on paper, that is.

The cards are stacked up against the Yankees.

They have to beat a very, very good Texas team that has fed off its first postseason series win in the ALDS like a deer tick on a dog. And they should.

They deserve to feel that confident. They’ve earned that right. They’ve played very well and they have plenty of talent to make it to the World Series.

In the ALCS, the Rangers are batting .307 with 7 home runs (3 by phenom Josh Hamilton), 28 RBIs and an impressive ERA of 2.75.

The Yankees, on the other hand, have given fans no reason to believe in them.

The “Bombers” are batting a combined .198, with 3 home runs (all by Robinson Cano) and a meager 11 RBIs. Their inflated, 7.17 ERA was punctuated by a 6 run top of the 9th inning in game 3, turning a somewhat surmountable 2 run lead (even with Cliff Lee pitching) into a mountain of epic proportions. As the cliché goes, it’s all about pitching in the postseason.

Five of the 11 pitchers at the Yankees’ disposal have ERAs of 10 or higher, and despite all the skepticism, A.J. Burnett’s ERA is lower than both Phil Hughes and C.C. Sabathia. Despite a solid start from Andy Pettitte, Mariano being, well, Mariano, and Robinson Cano batting .467, there are positively no reasons to get excited for this afternoon’s 4 p.m. game.

And yet, many of us will be on the couch or at the bar in case what is supposed to happen actually happens.

Many of us will be clad in as much Yankees gear as we can possibly find, watching every pitch with great angst -- every pitch, unlike the fans who left Yankee Stadium before the final out on Tuesday night.

That was a disgrace, not only to the team and the organization, but also to the rest of the fans.

As Yogi said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

That’s the thing about baseball: in it’s illustrious history, seemingly everything has happened. That’s where the hope comes from.

The fact that 6 teams have come back from a 3 game deficit should fill every Yankees fan’s heart with hope, despite the fact that the 42 teams with a 3-1 lead have gone on to win the series.

The Yankees have a knack for coming back when behind (especially in the postseason) and that only adds to the hope.

So, this afternoon many fans will reluctantly watch TBS, hopelessly hoping for some classic Yankee October magic.
 

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