Sorgen: An Ode to Don Mattingly and a Little Perspective for the Fans of the 2008 New York Yankees

On October 3rd, when the starters for both teams were being announced, we all knew a special ovation would be reserved for Mattingly.  An ovation for fourteen years of meritorious service.  An ovation that showed how much we, as New York baseball fans, appreciated the way he went about being the fantastic ballplayer he was day in and day out.  I remember the ovation.  I believe it lasted for over five minutes.  After about three minutes, my buddies and I looked at each other as if to realize how special a moment it was and how lucky we were to be there.  Believe it or not, we cried a little.  I don’t know why, it just happened.  Four grown men just, tearing up.  We talked a little about why we got so choked up, and we agreed it was because we were simply happy that someone who worked so hard for so long got what they deserved.  In this case, our beloved Donnie got a chance to play some meaningful baseball in October.

...Here’s the upshot of this article.  The Yankees had gone thirteen seasons in between playoff appearances prior the 1995 season.  Now it looks like their run of consecutive playoff appearances will end at thirteen.  Okay, so be it.  But I will place a small wager with any triskaidekaphobia sufferer that we will NOT have to wait until the year 2021 to see the Yankees back in the playoffs again.  However, if we do, let’s hope one of today’s young rookies will get the ovation that HE deserves.  A “Mattingly-esque” one, if you will

Kinda gets you right there...but then I SYNTHEPAKED® a ripe M-80 into an unsuspecting neighborhood puddy cat’s squatzone and I was back to normal.