2017 Yanks Have Something Special

Friday, Cinco de Mayo in Chicago, the old Wrigley Field still holds the thrill of the Championship that ended a long, long drought.  Yankee fans have not tasted victory since 2009, 100 years for a Cubs Fan is far less wear and tear than eight winless years for a Yankee Fan.  The expectation are so much higher and the experience so much more compelling. Having won 27 Championships creates a dire thirst for number 28.

2017 Has Hot Prospects

The 2017 Yankees have a chance at that type of season. They have by luck, skill, and adventure chanced into some outstanding talents. The talent level is higher than in most recent years, perhaps the best since the late 90'swhen the last Yankee dynasty flowered. They have some indomitable spirits on this roster. Both new and old, they play with a belief that they can win.  That belief, a sort of unstated confidence, put the Yankee franchise apart form the rest.  It is like the old Celtics with Bill Russell, the Bulls with Jordan, or the Canadiens when they ruled hockey. Some  franchises establish this trait of winning with or against the odds. The 2017 Yankee have a chance to join the line of heroes.

 Core Four Legacy

When the Yankees had Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte  as headliners, they also had side players like El Duque, Paul O'Neil, Chili Davis, and Darryl Strawberry. These were great talents but they had a sense of playing as a unit. One might fail only to sit and cheer the next person in the order on to success. Sharing success and failure, every man owned the team's accomplishments. They had big stars but no one was bigger than the team, no one more important than winning.

2017 has the Spark

The 2017 Yankees have that trait, the Yankees DNA. Playing hard, playing as a team, and picking up the next man's failure and moving forward.  They are the young phenoms like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. The team has promising young players from their own system for a change like Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Chad Green, and great signings of young veterans like Ronald (Mighty Mouse) Torreyes, the smallest Yankee with maybe the biggest drive to win.

The veterans have caught the fire too and have responded like youngsters with energy and enthusiasm. Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, and Chase Headley have dragged the Yankees down the past two seasons with lackluster performance and injury. This season they are leaders on the field.

You're as good as your Pitching

CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka have guile and talent. They can dominate games, but so can Severino and Michael Pineda.  The rotation has Chad Green in waiting and Montgomery as the surprise from Training camp. The bullpen lost the best reliever in the game last season in Andrew Miller but still has Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman firing 100 mph fastballs and slow curves.

Hitting, Power, and Speed

This team has timely hitting, power and speed. They run the bases and hit the gaps for extra bases. They do not live by the Home Run but they thrive on them. The season is early and the hot days of summer will enliven the ball and the stadiums. This team has lit the spark, it will be a fascinating experience to see how far and how fast they can grow and achieve. The hard part is done, they have assembled a team with the potential for a remarkable season.