R.E.L.A.X

By Ryan “The Goose” Gosiker

It is not frequent that you will find me quoting Aaron Rodgers, but I feel like it needs to be said for both baseball teams in New York. Everyone needs to take a chill pill. Baseball is a beautiful thing because it is 162 games. It is not 17 like the NFL. It is not even 82 like the NBA and NHL. It is a marathon, not a sprint. In the NFL, despite few exceptions, if you play poorly for 5,6, or 7 games, you can play yourself out of title contention or even playoff contention. In baseball, that is the equivalent to 2 bad series. Obviously, every win is important as the Yankees chase a division crown and homefield advantage in the playoffs and while the Mets scrap for a playoff position. On both sides, the respective fanbase went ballistic to start the season. The Mets started 0-5 and were just a couple outs away from 0-6. It felt like the entire fanbase turned their backs on this team. They have since been one of the hotter teams in baseball as they continue to win games win minimal contribution from Francisco Lindor, who starts cold every season, and they are without their ace, Kodai Senga. Teams are generally in a great position if they can win without their best being the best. Let me not forget, their real DH is still not with the team as he works to get to 100%. This team has holes that we knew coming into the year, but for them to start 0-5 and yet somehow be close to .500 is outstanding. That includes a series win in Atlanta, something they had not done since July of 2022 and including impressive comebacks and a beatdown to finish it off. On the other side of town, Juan Soto threw out a Houston Astro to save Game 1 of the season for the Yankees as it prevented the tying run from scoring. After that game, the fanbase claimed that the team is just “different” and that is all you hear about them. Some of us who watch games knew coming into the year that this is a World Series or bust team. Anything else is unacceptable for an aging roster with bad contracts. Their start has been tremendous, and they have done so with Aaron Judge starting the year slow comparative to his standards. They, also, are without their ace in Gerrit Cole who will return this season. This team has plenty of tools and will be a force but pump the brakes on how “different” this team is because their success is marked by postseason play, not in April. We have a long way to go in this season, so sit back and relax. Check out my sports show: “Game Time with The Goose” every Saturday from 8:00 to 9:00 AM on WTBQ AM 1110 FM 93.5 and on WGHT Radio with co-host Zach Kruk, Sports Director of WTBQ and WGHT!