It’s getting warmer, the sun is peaking out, and people are talking baseball.
Some people have asked me how I think the Yankees will do this year. For the most part, I give a fairly optimistic answer. I think the Yankees will be better in 2015. I think it’s possible that they’ll win 85+ games and make the playoffs. I really believe they are an improved team. The division isn’t great. They have a great manager. This tends to go against the views of every single person on the internet, where the consensus is:
The Yankees will be bad, really bad, they’ll probably win 75 games at most, and they’ll continue to be stuck with a bloated salary and aging players, and OMG LOOK AT THIS CAT GIF.
Look, there’s a good chance that the Yankees will be bad. I hear what you’re saying. And cat GIFs are great.
Here’s the thing about baseball – you can’t predict it. You can’t! John Sterling says this all the time to Suzyn Waldman, and you know what? He’s absolutely right. The Royals made the World Series last year. The Red Sox finished in last place. Corey Kluber won the Cy Young. It’s a long season and weird stuff happens and nothing makes sense and you just cannot predict this game.
There’s a great quote from 12 Angry Men where Henry Fonda’s character is trying to explain his thought process to his fellow jurors. You may remember that Fonda’s character is the only one that believes the defendant is innocent. He calls into question the accuracy and reliability of the only two witnesses to the murder. His fellow jurors don’t understand it.
“Aren’t you trying to make us accept a pretty incredible coincidence?”
“I’m not trying to make anyone accept it. I’m just saying it’s POSSIBLE.”
I’m not here proclaiming I know how the season will go for the Yankees, or the Red Sox, or the Dodgers, or anyone.* I’m just saying: it’s POSSIBLE that the Yankees will be good.
*That said, I proclaim that the Angels will beat the Nationals in the World Series.
It’s possible Masahiro Tanaka stays healthy for the entire year. It’s possible Michael Pineda continues to dominate and becomes one of the better pitchers in the league. It’s possible CC Sabathia can be league-average or better. It’s possible Nathan Eovaldi continues to develop his split-finger and has a breakout year. It’s possible Beltran and McCann and Teixeira and Ellsbury are better than they were last year. These things could happen. It’s possible.
That’s all I’m saying. It’s possible.
Hope springs eternal. Opening Day is in four days.
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