HOUSTON -- In a somber New York Yankees clubhouse following a recent loss in the Bronx, one player nodded his head vigorously in a far corner, muttering affirmations audible only to those standing nearby.
It was Tyler Wade, a 24-year-old infielder who just a day prior had been called up to fill the shoes of one of the latest fallen Yankees.
"Time to f---ing go," Wade said of the opportunity that comes with having a combined 825 career home runs languishing on his team's injured list.
For Wade and the rest of the group accompanying him on earlier-than-anticipated trips from Triple-A to the bigs, the job is to hold down the fort for a league-high 11 players -- several of them key stars -- who are on the IL.