Crystal & Yankees strike out

If anybody still wondered about the importance of Spring Training to the New York Yankees, then Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates should have settled that for good.

I have no problem with a nice gesture to a lifelong fan. Actually it should be a priority for any professional athlete, no matter what the situation is. But letting an actor have an at bat in a real Spring Training game?! I don't know. Maybe I'm biased because I don't particularly like any of Billy Crystal's movies, but I just think the whole situation is very odd. This now is the second "incident" if you want to call it like that in a week that proves that the Yankees and their manager Joe Girardi (after his rants over the Rays game) don't give a crap about the March exhibition contests. Well, why shouldn't they as the real season only matters, right? Not really. For 250 million man Alex Rodriguez, sure. But for young players or guys who are fighting for roster spots, certainly not.

Even if you can debate about the importance of Spring Training, the Yankees still did something uncalled for and basically gave baseball the finger with full force. What would happen if now every team started to include fans or celebrities?! If Bill Murray would suit up for the Cubbies? Or the Boston Red Sox give Ben Affleck a shot at pitching an inning? While we are at it, let the Phillies mascot roam the outfield for a game. It sure would be fun, just like Chrystal's at bat. Or maybe not as it would turn the entire Spring Training process into a circus.

And for everybody who didn't see the whole thing, there you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4j-xmgUEx8