Hold Your Head High

 

The ball had barely reached Yuli Gurriel's glove before the mockup of Aaron Judge in a Mets uniform was on Twitter. I saw one later on him wearing a Red Sox jersey and hat.

Astros 6, Yankees 5. Season over in New York. The Astros and Phillies will meet in the World Series beginning on Friday.

The better team won and I congratulate the Astros on a four-game sweep.

My heart hurts right now but I expected it. I said the Yankees were a decided underdog before the series.

I've written about this feeling before. I said a while back that Mets fans need to be proud, give credit to the other team (in their case, the Padres), and move on.

I'm here to do just that.

Oh, it will sting and I'll feel anger, etc. I'll likely rave a bit on "Doubleheader."

But that's sports, friends. It teaches you that, generally, you're going to deal with hurt, deflation, depression, and, in some moments, euphoria.

If it grabs you, then you embrace it and hold on, even in the bad moments when you want to jump off.

For all of the remarkable moments I've written about, there are moments of heartbreak.

Or, tonight, basically, disgust. I had limited hope but the Yankees showed a few promising signs in three of the four games.

On the other hand, there was the abysmal, heartless performance in Game 3. For many, that's when it felt like it was over.

For me, it just felt deflating. The odds were clearly stacked against the Yankees but all I could do was lean into one game at a time.

And it was not to be. The Yankees' season --  a fun, wild ride -- was over around 12:10 a.m.

The drought -- such as it is in Yankees Universe -- extends into 2023 at 14 years since a title. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.

There's always that question of "Will I watch the World Series?" and the answer is, "of course, I will." I've watched them all since 1975 and it won't change. 

I love baseball and I love the history of the World Series so of course, I'll pay attention.

I'll likely be rooting for the Phillies since Sean and I were there in August for a game. But if Dusty Baker finally wins a World Series as a manager then I can live with that.

Yeah, I know, "cheating Astros," etc but that's an often exhausting way to go through life. While it won't be forgotten, it's simply best to move on. I hate losing to the Astros because they're a rival now and because I hate losing.

But I'm from the Derek Jeter camp of a season is a failure unless there's a championship. No American League East Division title will satisfy that craving.

It's championship or bust.

It was bust in 2022.

Oh, and I think Judge will be back with the Yankees. I've said it all along and I'm standing by it. There will obviously be other necessary changes in the offseason.

Which begins now.