A Yankees sportswriter admits he was wrong about two players

The Yankees may or may not have noticed, but back in December, yours truly wrote a scathing article denouncing the Yankees signing of Matt Holliday. Sure, he was a big name, a guy with a baseball resume most would envy. He was 37 and coming off two injury-riddled, mediocre seasons. He was done, right?

Well, this Yankees sportswriter was wrong about that. Coming into Saturday’s game, Holliday had twelve home runs (he hit his 13th homer during the game) and is on pace to have his highest home run total in a decade. While nobody wants to admit they were wrong, I’ll gladly eat some crow here. Plus, it was a good thing to be a mistake about.

I had prepared myself to forget everything I said in that article. However, at my niece’s first birthday party, my father called me out on it. As the conversation switched to the Yankees success so far this year, I stated that not only did Holliday find his groove again, but that he’s been a great mentor for the Baby Bombers. That’s when my old man reminded me that I never wanted him in the first place.

I owe Matt Holliday an apology for that article. As I stated above, the younger players have gravitated towards him. His experience and knowledge of the game have him in a role where he is almost like a coach. A coach who is capable of driving in a hundred runs that is.

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Holliday isn’t the only player I had significant doubts about. I also was the genius who thought that Luis Severino was a better fit for the bullpen. After his impressive 2015 season, where he was called up during the stretch run, Severino was torched the next season as a starter. When the Yankees moved him to the bullpen though, he was lights out.

So, what’s an impatient Yankees fan to think? Well, I figured he was exposed as a starter. The league figured him out. The Yankees best chance of success with him was in the bullpen. I mean, the proof was out there, wasn’t it?

Not quite. Severino has become one of the Yanks most dependable starting pitchers. Some are saying that he may have the stuff to become an ace. If you’ve watched his last four or five starts, you can see that he has the stuff to become a winner.

Maybe his issues were mechanical. Perhaps it was a confidence issue. Here’s hoping that whatever it was, he’s put it behind him for good.

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In the end, I’ve never been happier to be wrong. I’ll gladly admit that until the end of time, or this season. It’s just a good thing that I’m not the general manager.

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