Expectations can be a burden when not put into the context of reality. For years, I have wondered whether my expectations of the Yankees were rooted in the past. Flames from the 1990s have long ago burned out, but the embers still resonate throughout this franchise.
I pondered whether it was time to reset my mentality, the one where competing for a World Series was not just hoped for but expected. I couldn’t help but think that I was getting in the way of my own fandom, to be setting a bar so high that most certainly wouldn’t be met.