This is going to sound really rich coming from a guy that
co-owns a blog called The Greedy Pinstripes but here I am once again trying to
squeeze some forgiveness and patience out of my fellow Yankees fans. Let’s be
frank here and not waste too much time beating around the bush, Didi Gregorius
has sucked in his first three weeks or so as a member of the Yankees. He hasn’t
hit the ball, he hasn’t run the bases well, he hasn’t done well with simple
fundamentals and Baseball 101 and he especially hasn’t played defense very
well. That much we know but what a lot of us don’t know apparently is how to be
patient with a guy who is struggling out of the gate.
You’re all reading this because you’re a fan of my work and
the work of my TGP family (and we truly do appreciate each and every one of you
just as an FYI) but I wonder how many of you starting reading on Day One and
are still here. This blog sucked in its first three or four weeks (months) of
existence but you know, we grew from it and we made it better. Now we touch
thousands of people a day not only on the blog but on Twitter as well. Who here
reading this jumped into a car when they were 16 and could drive like Tony
Stewart and Jeff Gordon in their first three weeks? You may have matched them
on the speed but I’m sure the precision and such wasn’t there. You may be
thinking how that’s a bad example, that Didi has been playing minor league
baseball and splitting time with Chris Owings in Arizona in the major leagues
but what many forget is that this was the first time Gregorius was ever on an
Opening Day roster. I could keep going on and on forever on things you weren’t
especially good at and you could counter with a million and one arguments,
arguments I’m not looking for here. Playing in the major leagues every single
day in New York is totally different them playing once a week in Arizona or
playing every day in some minor league stadium that you took a bus to get to.
I’m not defending the guy, he’s sucked bottom line, and I’m
not asking you to respect or even like the guy. All I’m asking is to show the guy
a little bit of patience. He’s a sensitive person (yes baseball players are
people too) that wears his heart on his sleeve and when he’s playing well would
be the poster child for the New York Yankees and their image. What is not
helping is the “Der-ek Je-ter” chants and the constant tagging of him of
Twitter to tell him how bad he sucks. You’ll catch more flies with honey then
you will with shit and (excuse my language) many out there are just throwing
the latter and none of the former. Give the guy a chance, if he’s still
struggling in June or July then have at it if it makes you feel better but this
constant attack is only compounding, not helping, the problem.
