New York Yankees Take a Break From the Soap Opera

To many, it’s just a game. However, it probably didn’t seem that way to the New York Yankees since the Mitchell Report went public.

In a time where players should be worrying about regaining their timing, the Yankees were caught supporting their teammate Andy Pettitte, an admitted user of HGH.

As the players should have been concentrating on perfecting their mechanics, they became engulfed in a war of words and take out slides with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Although the grind of the season hasn’t officially started, the Yankees could use a laugh. Who better to provide that than comedian and long time Yankees fan Billy Crystal?

Calling it the opportunity of a lifetime and something that he is taking seriously, Crystal--who hasn't been surrounded by this much athletic talent since he starred in "My Giant" with Gheorghe Muresan--should still provide some levity as everyone watches him pretend that he is 1/3 his age with 3 times the talent.

Slated to bat leadoff, it seems appropriate that Crystal will dig in against the laughable Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday afternoon.

While Crystal gets to live his dream, Pirates starting pitcher Paul Maholm probably sees nothing but dread in the leadoff man. Maholm is in a no-win situation. If he gives up a hit or walks Crystal, he will be made fun of for the rest of his life. If a pitch slips, he will be known as the guy who broke a comic legend. If he whiffs the leadoff man on three pitches, he is heartless

No matter the outcome of the at bat, the players will enjoy watching the mind attempt to do what the body is no longer willing. After Crystal is done taking his hacks, the players will return to another tumultuous preseason in New York, a place where ballplayers are bombarded by reporters digging for backpage fodder.

While seeing Crystal flail a bat will not inspire the Yankees to win the World Series, this moment could be a reminder that they are playing a game and help forget, if only for a moment, that they have seven months of soap opera in front of them.