It Ain't Over 'til It's Over

Any true baseball fan is familiar with Yogi Berra's most famous phrase, "it ain't over 'til it's over." This "Yogi-ism" has been proved many times over the years. Here are a few examples:

• In 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers had a 13 game lead in late August.
• In 1964, the Phillies had a 6½ game lead in September with 12 games to play.
• In 1986, the Boston Red Sox were one out away from winning the World Series against the Mets in Game 6.
• In 2004, the New York Yankees were up three games to none against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.

I believe you all know what happened...

As the 2007 MLB regular season ended with a stunning, extra-inning, come-from-behind, 9-8 victory by the Colorado Rockies against the San Diego Padres in a one-game Wild Card playoff game on October 1, I have a few observations that I'd like to share:

• In April, it seemed as if everyone declared the New York Mets as the National League East champions, and they lived up to that expectation for most of the season.
• By the time we turned our calendars to June, most Yankees fans had written them off from post-season play (shame on you, by-they-way).
• Phillies fans, having suffered through a few years of hope-followed-by-disappointment, were expecting more of the same.
• By the time we turned our calendars to September, everyone was talking about a Mets-Padres NLDS because it looked like the Mets would be the #1 seed in the NL and the Padres would clinch the Wild Card.
• The Colorado Rockies weren't even considered to be a Wild Card contender until they were well into winning their last 13 of 14 regular season games.

We all know what happened...

So the obvious lessons to be learned are:

• Never, ever be complacent
• Never, ever give up

As a 35+ year Mets fan, I still bleed orange and blue and will continue to do so. The challenge for them is how they rebound from this collapse.

In late June, a few of us attended the Mets-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. The atmosphere was such that it felt like we were in Shea Stadium West. All the Mets fans were singing "Jose, Jose, Jose" and the Phillies fans seemingly let us belittle them in their own "house." They obviously got the last laugh...

It ain't over 'til it's over...

Play, Kyle, Play!

When I first heard of the bone-headed move by the Eastern Region Little League office to remove third baseman Kyle Lacy from the South Vineland All-Star team due to an error on their part, I was outraged. How can an organization punish a 12-year old for something that was no fault of his own or that of the South Vineland Little League?

An appeal was filed and after the case was reviewed, I am happy to report that Easter Region Little League has reinstated Kyle in time for the game on Friday, July 27.

While common sense ultimately prevailed in this case, you have to wonder if cases similar to Kyle's are being handled by the Eastern Region Little League? I understand that more egregious cases of deception were processed in the past, but a situation such as Kyle's was clearly a no-brainer.

You also have to wonder if any of these league officials have kids of their own. What if one their kids was caught in a situation similar to Kyle's. I think we can all answer that question...

Play, Kyle, play!

Should A-Rod Stay With The Yankees?

I'm sure most of you have already seen or heard about Cynthia Rodriguez, wife of Alex Rodriguez, wearing an inappropriate shirt in the stands at Yankee Stadium a couple of weeks ago. This kind of behavior is obviously unacceptable, and she should have been made to change her shirt, put another shirt over it, or more appropriately, have her escorted out of the stadium. I shouldn't matter that she is A-Rod's wife. Did she really think making this profound statement in front of our children was a good idea?

The question is, should A-Rod stay with the Yankees? When Kris Benson was with the Mets, his very outspoken and flamboyant wife, Anna, was seemingly the reason the Mets traded him to the Orioles after the 2005 season. I personally thought it was a good move especially upon reading that Anna wore a low cut, red Santa outfit to a Mets holiday party. We certainly don't need that kind of trash representing our New York baseball teams.

What do you think?