N.Y. Times: Glanville: It Gets Late Early Out There (RR)

Another terrific piece by Doug Glanville...(as Lupica squats out another teen novel).

In theory, I had come to the Yankees ready to play ball “from Day One.” The idea that my history didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt was disconcerting. Because there was this younger kid, who played a little better than I did that spring and who would certainly be less expensive. I’d had a bad week, and he’d had a good week, and that made all the difference.

I understood that I was now entrenched on the other side of the bell curve. I was sliding downward into the “long in the tooth” spiked pit. My competition’s relatively minimal major league experience had become more valuable, in a way, than my library of experience. Somehow I had missed the transition point in my career where my value to a team had intersected with the value of a new kid on the block.

There was a time in Philadelphia when, as a young player, I had replaced the veteran Lenny Dykstra as the new center fielder in town, much to the dismay of the Philly faithful. But I felt I had plenty to offer. Maybe I wasn’t as wise as Lenny in terms of game experience, but I thought I made up for it with enthusiasm, newness and energy.

So I understand the cycle.