Yankees Trio Part Of My Childhood. My Daughter’s Too.

By Jason Klein

“Dewick Jeeta!”  “Annie Peditte!”  “Mo!”

That’s what my three year-old daughter calls them.

I’m just ecstatic she even knows who they are.

Like the iPhone, baseball rosters change every year.  Players come and go, switch teams, retire, or fade into baseball ambiguity as their skills diminish.

Taking my daughter to a game in April 2013.

Taking my daughter to a game in April 2013.

Yet, incredibly, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera have remained a constant within the Yankees Universe for 19 years.

Long enough for me to enjoy them with my daughter.

It’s every father’s dream to share their passion with their children.  Jeter, Pettitte and Rivera were a major part of my childhood.  Remarkably, they are now a part of my daughter’s too.

I’ve watched them compete since 1995, when I was a fifteen year-old sophomore in high school.  I grew up celebrating their success.  Some of my happiest memories were made watching the three of them play, and win, in the Bronx.

Now I’m 33 years-old, married, and have a child.

They’re still playing.

Think about that.  They’re still playing!  Not on a YES Network Yankees Classic from ten years ago.  They’re still out there grinding today (Jeter’s injuries aside), at a high level for the Yankees, in 2013.

It’s a remarkable tribute to their consistency, longevity, and drive to succeed.

When the 2013 season ends, so will Pettitte & Rivera’s careers.  Jeter isn’t far behind.  Together, they’ve authored tons of memorable moments.  Baseball fans of all ages are fortunate to have watched their extraordinary careers.

There may never be another trio quite like “Jeeta, Peditte & Mo.”

When they finally leave the game for good, they’ll take a piece of my childhood with them.

My daughter’s too.

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Sanchez Bamboozled Again

By Jason Klein

It fits.

You know, Mark Sanchez reportedly losing his job the way he did.

One final indignity for the man continuously bamboozled by his own organization.

Inexplicably thrown to the wolves during his 4th quarter preseason appearance against the Giants, Sanchez was done in, again, by the very team he once led to two AFC Championship Games in a row.  This time, he sustained an injury that could ultimately derail his career in New York.

Bruised Shoulder.

Broken Career.

It’s not shocking, over the last two seasons, that Sanchez has regressed.  It can’t be easy to succeed in the NFL when you have to battle an opponent, and your own team at the same time.

Seemingly on a weekly basis, Sanchez has been given every opportunity to fail.  After his first two successful seasons, Jets decision makers left him with a diluted supporting cast, flirted with Peyton Manning, and publically humiliated him when Woody Johnson told the world “You can never have too much Tebow.”  It was a statement, and a personnel decision, that divided the Jets locker room and fan base.

Then, Tebow left and Geno arrived.

They drafted Geno Smith and privately hoped he’d unseat the incumbent Sanchez.  New GM, John Idzik, ultimately got his secret wish…by default.

When Rex Ryan decided the Snoopy Bowl was more important than the wellbeing of his Week 1 starting quarterback, Sanchez sustained a hit to his throwing shoulder.  He now finds his status with the Jets more questionable than a Miley Cyrus performance.

Bottom line is, they haven’t treated Sanchez like a franchise quarterback, and consequently, he hasn’t played like one either.  He’ll never be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but Sanchez has certainly proven he can win in this league when surrounded by capable talent.  Plus, it’s easily forgotten, he played only one season at USC, and is only 26 years-old.  He’s still a kid.

To be fair, Mark hasn’t done himself any favors either.  In buttfumbling fashion, he’s turned the ball over 52 times over the last 2 seasons and proved to be mistake-prone at the most inopportune times.  Opponents have undressed the inconsistent Sanchez on the field.  Frivolous, camera phone-carrying party girls have undressed him off it.  Poor decisions during, and after, games haven’t helped Sanchez.  Again, he’s still a kid.

If this is the end of his stint in New York, it will mark a stunning fall from grace for the kid from SoCal.

It’s just a shame there was nobody from the Jets organization there to catch him on the way down.

For a team who always seems to handle things with complete ineptitude…it fits.

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