A Last Hurrah for Our Childhood

What happened in last night's game was both surreal and yet not at all surprising. We didn't need another iconic moment out of The Captain, we have already been spoiled enough.

But yet, when David Robertson nearly pitched his way out of New York and into a mob of pitchfork wielding fans, irate that this heir to the great Mariano Rivera had sucked the life out of the stadium and ruined Yankee Christmas, up from the despair came a glimmer of hope and a familiar confidence.

The YES Network graphic showed that Derek Jeter was due to hit third in the bottom of the 9^th. The Captain would have a chance to be a part of another miracle in the Bronx, one last time.

Jose Pirela singled. Antoan Richardson pinch ran and Brett Gardner bunted him to second. As Ian O’Connor wisely points out, not even the ultra-competitive Buck Showalter could make the intelligent baseball play and walk Jeter, setting up the force.

The game meant nothing and yet, the moment meant everything. Two innings earlier, in what we thought was the final at-bat, Jeter reached on a throwing error, but picked up the go-ahead RBI in the process. It wasn’t the dramatic moment we were waiting for, but it would have been OK.

I recall quite vividly the day of hit number 3,000. As my friend Sean and I watched Jeter smash a home run to left-center for the historic hit, we both wondered allowed if we were watching Jeter’s last great moment.

To that point, a staple of our childhood, the wizard of the jump-throw, that we and thousands of others impersonated on the fields after school, was having his worst statistical year. Who knew what would happen the rest of the way. Of course from that point on Jeter returned to form and backed that up with a strong 2012 season, before an ankle injury and the image of the immortal Jeter being helped off the field brought it all crashing down.

Three years later, up walked The Captain, Mr. November, master of The Flip, architect of The Dive and the iconic baseball player of an entire generation ready to bid farewell with one last moment, one last inside out swing, one last leap in the air with a smile and clenched fists and one last mob of Yankees teammates mobbing him.

And out walked Jorge and Andy and Tino and Mo and Bernie, and then there was Mr. T. and of course the Jeter family, complete with his nephew tipping his cap to his famed uncle. The crowd roared, chanted, and cried.

Finally, The Captain addressed the thousands of fans in attendance and millions more who had always been around for the ride. And for the first time in his 20 years, admitted that the emotion of the moment had even gotten the better of him, Derek Jeter, Mr. Calm. He thanked the crowd, thanked his teammates, congratulated the opponents, though it pained him to mention the Orioles were headed to the playoffs and he was headed into the sunset.

It was one more moment for us all to enjoy, but it would never have been possible for it to happen with those many that preceded it. And it would have never happened if Robertson had just gotten that save in the first place…I bet he was relieved.

Yankee Midseason Report

Below I'll give you some grades and explanations about the working parts of the Yankees so far this season.

Jorge Posada- Grade- C: Jorge got off to a hot start, but really has been plagued by injury ever since. I think he can still hit, and having him as a switch hitter in the lineup is crucial for the Yankees success. That being said, it's time for him to transition into being a full time DH because his days behind the plate at age 38 are numbered. Defensively he's never been great anyway, and with mounting injuries and growing age, it's only going to get worse.

Mark Texeira- Grade- C: I "wasn't worried" about Tex all the way through June, but when he still wasn't hitting, I must say I was perplexed. Still he picked it up in July, leads the team in homers and is on pace to knock in over 100 runs. His defense is the best the league has to offer at first base and if July was any indication, Mark could improve himself to a B+ by the end of the year.

Robinson Cano- Grade A: Sure he had a late slump, but he's still hitting over .330 and given how bad his first halves usually are, there is plenty to be happy about with Robby. He's having his biggest power year and if he hits in the second half the way he has in the past, he may just add an MVP trophy to the World Series ring he got last year. Also of note is how good of a defender this guy has become–should win a gold glove.

Derek Jeter- Grade B: It hasn't been a great year for Jeter, but remember, he's 36 years old now. You'll notice how cautious the writers are being about his lack of production, and that's partly because he's a legend, and partly because I think we all expect him to snap out of it. My guess is that he ends up over .300 like he does every year, no big deal.

Alex Rodriguez- Grade B+: What is it with this guy? He's leading the team in RBI, has a number of big hits, and is till under fire for not having the same HR totals as before. He's had some injury problems that have probably limited the HRs, but he seems to be getting healthier and that could help.

Brett Gardner- Grade A+: Best defensive player on the team, leads the team in steals and OBP, is hitting over .300 and managed 5 homers in the first half. Best part about it? NOBODY KNEW.

Curtis Granderson- Grade C-: I thought about going with the D+ on this one, but he has been injured and still has managed some big hits. His problems against lefties are well documented and he's going to have to start hitting.

Nick Swisher- Grade A-: He's flamboyant, the ladies love him and finally, he can hit. Swisher has revamped his swing and actually is having a consistent year. He can hit out of any spot in the order and basically has. Flexibility in the lineup is something the Yankees have had this year that they didn't have much of last year and Swish and Gardner are the reasons why.

CC Sabathia- Grade A: He started rounding into his second half form a little early this year and went from looking like he was having a down year to being in Cy Young contention pretty quickly. He's a big dude, but he's a GREAT pitcher.

AJ Burnett- Grade C: If C really is average, than he's been a C his whole career. Sometimes he looks like an ace, sometimes he looks like a scrub. Remember those grit it out performances that Clemens used to have? AJ doesn't have those. It's dominance or futility and nothing in between. Still, as long as Dave Eiland has been around AJ has pitched well this year, hopefully he can keep it up the rest of the season, but don't count on it.

Andy Pettitte- Grade A+: At this point all you can be is amused when Andy talks about retirement come the conclusion of EVERY season. He's been the best and most consistent pitcher on the team and clearly the fans have forgiven Andy for his HGH use. Andy COULD win a Cy Young award this year, that would be his first.

Phil Hughes- Grade A-: We may have gotten a little ahead of ourselves when we had Hughes winning the Cy Young award after May, but he really has been good. The big question for the second half is going to be how he holds up since he has not thrown this many innings in any season in his life.

Javier Vazquez- Grade B-: He started off the season as bad as Yankees fans remembered him from the first go around, but after Girardi skipped his spot in the rotation, he's been brilliant. Hats off to Girardi, though Vazquez still worries me in a big spot.

Joba Chamberlain- Grade D: The honeymoon is over and the divorce papers are filed. Inconsistent stuff mixed with an inconsistent head have plagued Joba since his return to the bullpen. I mostly blame the Yankees for this, but Joba is no longer a kid and he has to pitch better. Kind of reminds you of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn does it not?

Mariano Rivera- Grade A+: He's 40 and he's pitching like it's 1998. In fact he's been pitching like that the whole time. Quite simply he's STILL the best closer in the game and that in fact makes him the best closer ever. Much like George Steinbrenner, Yankees fans will miss what they never knew they had if he ever stops pitching, maybe he will in 10 years, we'll see.

Joe Girardi- Grade A-: He's guided the ship through a number of injuries and the defending World Champs have the best record in baseball. He has to figure out his bullpen still, but that's really been his strength in his first two years as Yankees skipper.

Overall- Grade A-: People may say I should give them an A for having baseball's best record, but in all honesty, the Yankees can play better. The bullpen sans Rivera has been a mess and the offense, though oft-injured has struggled at times. The Yankees starting rotation is the best it has been, maybe ever and the team is strong defensively as well. While Tampa and the Red Sox have had more dominating stretches than the Yankees, its the bombers that have played most consistently, and that's why they're in first.