A few hours have passed since the final score was tallied. The stadium in Minnesota is now empty. The media has quietly dispersed to write their newspaper stories and edit their sound bites. The respective clubhouses have both been cleared out; one filled with the lingering questions of ‘what if?’ and the other covered with the remaining residue of a raucous champagne celebration.
One of the most exciting “regular season” play-in games to ever occur is now finished; but a distant memory to some, an unforgettable moment to others. For fans of one franchise, the season is now over, a bitter and long winter lie ahead, pondering the questions of what should happen next and who needs to go. Fans of the other lie in anticipation for a quick turn around to compete in a first round playoff game in the Mecca of sports, the big apple, New York City.
Players on one roster must pack their bags and board a plane to head home, their eyes cast downward, sorting the disappointment from their minds, playing back each moment in their heads, wondering what could have been done to prolong their season for one more week, at least. Players on the other roster pack their bags eagerly awaiting the red eye flight to New York, their heads held high knowing they were the last men standing in an all out dog fight for 12 innings and nearly 4 and a half hours, living to play another day.
The manager of one squad must live with the decisions he made possibly being the cause of his club’s defeat. Having all winter to second guess his choices while trying to sort out roster fluctuations and getting back to the grind in preparations for spring training in February. The manager of the victors has to move on from the utter jubilation of a hard fought victory and assert himself and his coaches to prepare for their upcoming game a few short hours in the future.
Of course, I am talking about the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. In case you missed it, the Twins came from behind twice in the game (first down 3 – 0 and then down 5 – 4) to stage an improbable comeback 3 weeks in the making to win the American League Central Division Title and set up a first round match up in the American League Division Series with the New York Yankees.
For the past 10 days, Yankees fans have long been debating who they would rather see their beloved Bronx Bombers face, the struggling Detroit Tigers or the hottest team in the land the Minnesota Twins. It seemed as if people were on the fence (I, myself would talk myself into rooting for one and then 10 minutes later find myself thinking of reasons to root for the other) with their opinions, but now that the opportunity to debate is over with, let’s get down to the important matter, do the Twins pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th World Championship?
In short, I’d say, yes, the Twins do pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th title and a victory parade through New York City in 3 weeks. That’s not to say I expect the Twins to win the series, but I don’t think it’ll be as easy as many Yankee fans hope it will be. People will take a look at the head to head records of the two teams and see that the Yankees had a clean sweep of Minnesota this season defeating them in all seven games. But, if you take a closer look at the scores of the games, the Yankees beat the Twins by a 8 runs in 6 of those games. The only game that wasn’t close was a 10 – 2 victory in July. The rest of the games were decided by no more than 2 runs and in mid-May the Yankees needed three straight walk off victories to defeat Minnesota. It’s not as if Minnesota is just going to roll over and let the Yankees run right past them towards the American League Championship Series.
Many people felt that the Yankees were better suited facing the Twins because they lack superior starting pitching and their lineup isn’t as strong as Detroit’s, therefore they would be the better opponent for New York. I admit, before I began to take a closer look at the Minnesota team, I was one of those individual’s. After a brief analysis of their statistics, I came to the following conclusion: they’re a better team than Detroit. It’s really not even close.
The Tigers would have been an easier opponent for the Yankees to face (I know, I know, you’re going to start yelling at me that the Yankees would’ve faced Justin Verlander twice, but hear me out). Detroit was a team that should’ve wrapped up the division 3 weeks ago, then 2 weeks ago, then last week. Hell, they were up 3 games with 4 to play. It took a Hindenburg like disaster for the Tigers to lose this division to Minnesota (disclaimer, the Titanic of all collapses is still held by the Mets. Sorry, the Tigers made it close, but the Mets were the best team in the National League when they choked in 2007. Detroit was lucky to be in the AL Central and have a chance). Detroit is the team that all Yankee fans should’ve hoped and prayed they saw them face.
I fully understand that the Yankees would’ve had to face the Tigers ace Justin Verlander in 2 games of that series, but, who cares? Verlander wasn’t exactly that great of a pitcher in his career against New York and even if Detroit won those games, they still would have to win another game, which wasn’t exactly in their favor. Not to mention their closer had an earned run average way north of 4.00 (terrible, utterly terrible) and they had exactly 2 relievers with earned run averages under 4. Basically, you could score on their bullpen more than Paris Hilton.
And their starting lineup? Well, they’re just named recognition only. They aren’t throwing out the Magglio Ordonez or Placido Polanco of 3 years ago. They aren’t even throwing out the Curtis Granderson of last year. The only guy the Tigers lineup to really fear facing is Miguel Cabrera. He was the only person on that team who made you worried. Brandon Inge hit a bunch of home runs this season, but he’s batting lowering than David Ortiz on the season (in other words, he sucks guys). Curtis Granderson struck out nearly once per game and didn’t even get a hit one out of every four times (in other words, he sucks too guys). Their starting catcher and starting short stop were both batting worse than the previous two! Why was there even a debate on who the Yankees would be better off facing? I feel foolish for ever thinking Detroit was good!
But, Detroit lost, can’t talk them down any longer. I can only talk up the Minnesota Twins and what a problem they will pose for New York tomorrow night. Sure, the Twins starting pitching doesn’t boast an “ace” or someone that can conceivably silence the Yankees bats for a long stretch of time. But, they do have guys that consistently throw strikes and allow their defense (one of the best in baseball) to make spectacular plays behind them. They may not have the strikeout machine, flame throwing, pitchers that other teams have, but they’ve got guys who are crafty and know how to pitch. (even Carl Pavano).
Their bullpen is one to be weary of as well. Joe Nathan is their closer. He’s one of the top 3 closers in all of baseball (I’d rank him ahead of Jonathon Papelbon and about 9 miles behind Mariano Rivera). These guys don’t screw around. After adding Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay to the mix, to compliment Matt Guerrier, the Twins have one of the best bullpens in baseball as it stands right now.
Everybody thought the Twins were done when one of their best hitters in Justin Morneau went down with a back injury forcing him to miss the rest of the season (after all, that’s 30 home runs and 100 rbi they’re missing). But, they’re being powered by the MVP Joe Mauer (it’s not a question of IF he’ll win, but by how much he’ll win by…I vote unanimously). They also have two guys in Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer who have hit nearly 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in a piece. Orlando Cabrera is a veteran player who knows how to hit (and knows how to stick it to the Yankees. We haven’t forgotten 2004, you rotten little…) and Denard Span may be one of the biggest surprises of the season stepping into the center field job superbly and playing tremendous defense and adding in speed and poise at the top of the batting order.
All in all, the Twins are going to be a tough team to beat. They’ve essentially been playing must-win games for nearly a month and have risen to the occasion tremendously winning 17 of their last 21 games to reach the playoffs. There has been no team hotter in baseball over the past 6 weeks than these Twins. They are riding a hot streak we haven’t seen since the 2007 Rockies (who rode it all the way to the World Series).
I wouldn’t like to be the team that has to see these 25 guys sitting in the dugout across from you. They’re a fundamentally sound team, who are well coached by Ron Gardenhire and have not only momentum, but the confidence in themselves to play at a high level and succeed. Add in the fact they play their home games at the Metrodome (between those thunder sticks and the homer hankies, it’s a tough place to play in given all the noise) and the Yankees are in for a tall order to come up victorious in this five-game series.
Have I convinced you yet that the Yankees aren’t going to just steam roll right on through Minnesota? And that this series will be extremely tough and an absolute melee to see who comes out on top? Compelling argument isn’t it?
Well, forget every damn word you just read. It means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter that we play the Twins. It didn’t matter if we played Detroit either. They’re the New York Yankees. They aren’t the Yankees of 2000 – 2008. They are THE New York Yankees again. (did you just get chills reading that? Because I did). They’re back in the saddle and ready to roll on through October. No disrespect to the Twins, they are a great ball club and have been playing terrific baseball for the entire month of September (and into October), but what did that get you? It got you a first round date with the executioner; the Yankees. Sure, the Twins have been playing great for the past month, have you read the newspaper lately? The Yankees have been playing outstanding baseball for the past 4 months. Since June 23, the Yankees have gone 65 – 27, or just the best in the big leagues. They’re clicking on all cylinders. Offense, defense, pitching. You name it, they have it.
The Twins have starting pitching that challenges hitters and makes you put the ball in play, that’ll help in Minnesota, but in Yankee Stadium? You need to strike people out guys. That’s why the Yankees are the best in the business. No team fuels the high octane heat the Yankees throw out there on a nightly basis. They’ve got the big dogs in the rotation (Sabathia and Burnett). The big dogs in the bullpen (Hughes and Rivera).
The Twins have a terrific lineup filled with both power and speed, but, the bottom of their order is something to laugh at. Their 7 – 9 hitters couldn’t hit the backside of a barn if you gave them three tries. The Yankees 7 – 9 hitters? They hit a combined 67 home runs and 225 runs batted in. Yikes. The Twins have 4 players who hit 25+ home runs and had 90+ runs batted in. That’s impressive. The Yankees? They have 7 players who hit more than 20 home runs and had 7 with 80+ runs batted in. That’s historic.
The Twins are a terrific team, but the Yankees are better. It’s not even close. The Twins aren’t even in the same class as the Yankees. Honestly, no team in baseball is at this point in the season. The Yankees should be the odds on favorites to not only get to the World Series from the American League, but to win the whole thing.
The Yankees had the best record in baseball at 103 – 59, no other team was closer than 6 games back to the Yankees pace. The season the Yankees as a team and as individual’s had, would be the talk of town if it were any other team. But, it’s the Yankees and they just ‘spent another $400 million to get back to the post season’. If this were any other market in baseball, people would be salivating over them as being an unstoppable team with nothing in their way from a World Series birth. But, the Yankees don’t get the respect any more. They haven’t won anything in 9 years and didn’t make the playoffs last year and haven’t made it past the first round since 2004.
Things have changed. This was the year where the Red Sox and Rays were going to surpass the Yankees and leave them in a cloud of dust. Nobody expected the Yankees to be able to compete with the depth of the Red Sox or the youth and skill set of the Rays. How’d that work out for everyone? The Yankees effectively gave the rest of baseball the giant middle finger, a resounding “eff you” and went onto post historic seasons from many of their star players.
Derek Jeter? I wrote about him back in March, saying he was in decline, the Yankees needed to move on from him and get as far away from the Captain as possible. (I can be an idiot sometimes I guess) I was wrong. Dead wrong. Apologies to the faithful leader of the Yankees. He’s gone on to post arguably the best season of his career both offensively (.334, 18 home runs and 68 runs batted in) and defensively (he can actually move to his left this year) and would’ve been the sure-fire MVP if Joe Mauer decided not to play baseball this season. A giant “eff you” to me and the rest of the media for doubting him.
Alex Rodriguez? Embarrassed by being ousted as a former steroid user and subject to public ridicule, he suffered a hip injury and was forced to have surgery and miss the first 6 weeks of the season. What did he do? Come back with a passion and determination I never thought was possible and he put up numbers in ¾ of a season that most people would dream of having during a full season. A giant “eff you” to the entire world, including some of his own teammates.
The list could go on and on, but you get the picture. This isn’t your typical run of the mill Yankee team from years past. This is a team that is unified and actually likes one another. It’s a team that has a little old school flavor with that new school look. From top to bottom you can see it in their eyes. From the old guard in Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Posada, to the new guard of Sabathia, Burnett, Teixeira and Swisher. They have the look. The hunger in their eyes. The determination. The grit. This is the year where all the past demons are exorcised. Consider this post season to be “The New York Yankee Exorcism”
First up on the agenda? The Minnesota Twins. The Yankees need to exorcise the first round post season demons that have plagued them in years past. In 2007, the Yankees soundly defeated the Indians in all 6 regular season match ups, only to be bounced out of the playoffs by the Indians and some bugs. In 2006, the Yankees were poised to wipe the floor with the Detroit Tigers and were promptly send home packing in stunning fashion. It’s always been said what happens in the regular season means nothing once the playoff starts. Usually, that would be the case. In this instance, it’s not. The victories the Yankees had over the Twins during the season speak volumes. They beat them early, they beat them late, they came back when they were down. They did it with offense, defense, pitching. In any way you could win a game, the Yankees did so against Minnesota. It’s time to exorcise the first round demon.
Carl Pavano is a Minnesota Twin. Yes, the American Idle himself. Spending 4 years and $40 million of the Yankees money to sit on the bench and never pitch, Mr. Pavano finds himself in the unfamiliar spot of actually having to pitch. (think you can find the Yankee stadium mound on Friday night Carl? You haven’t seen it too much before). There is nothing any Yankee fan wants to see more, than they want to see Carl Pavano on the receiving end of a good old fashioned butt whooping courtesy of the Yankees. Let’s exorcise that demon, shall we?
Let’s say the Yankees are able to get past Minnesota and move onto the American League Championship Series, this is where the exorcising demons get interesting. Red Sox or Angels; take your pick. There’s revenge to be sought from each of them. Memories of 2004 whirl around in our heads with each passing day on the calendar. Every time the Yankees play the Red Sox our blood pressure rises with the memories of the celebration on our field in 2004. But, then the Angels have eliminated the Yankees from the post season not once, but twice in the past decade. They’ve also been the only team over the course of the last 10 years to constantly and soundly spank the Yankees worse than a troublesome four-year old. We want revenge on each of them. It doesn’t matter who. One would be sweeter than the other, but the prize would be equally the same. Exorcise those demons any way you want.
If the Yankees somehow make it to the World Series, ah the sweetest revenge. We WANT the Dodgers. No, not for the posterity of avenging our 1981 World Series defeat. No, it’s Joe Torre. It’s Manny Ramirez. It’s the showdown people have been itching to see in New York. Torre was forced out of New York and didn’t have the most glowing things to say about some of his former Yankee friends. Manny Ramirez is just hated by everyone for being, well Manny. Nothing would be sweeter than to see Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez in Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the World Series. Actually, the only thing sweeter would be seeing them walk off the Yankee Stadium field in disappointment following a Game 6 loss as the Yankees celebrate (we can only dream).
This could be the year for it all to end. Every demon can be exorcised. Every loss, criticism and failure atoned for (this means you A-Rod and you too, CC). The next 3 weeks could dispel the bitter taste that has been in the mouths of all Yankee fans since that faithful night in 2001 when Luis Gonzalez’s bloop floated majestically over the head of Derek Jeter, ending the Yankee dynasty and putting us through 9 years of baseball hell.
The next 3 weeks could put the Yankees back on the track to beginning a new dynasty; with a mix of old Yankees and new Yankees united as one. Will it happen? I’m not sure. Can it happen? You bet. Do I think it will? I hope.
One thing I do know, and I’ve been seeing it for the past 6 months from game 1 all the way to game 162. Derek Jeter has the look. He’s got that championship gleam in his eye. He’s 35 years old, but he’s hungrier now than when he won the World Series for the first time 13 years ago.
If he comes running out of that Yankee dugout at 6:05pm tomorrow evening for Game 1 of the Division Series with a little extra hop in his step, well, the rest of baseball should be worried, because then I won’t be the only one thinking they’re back.
But, until then, I’ll leave you with this thought. To quote a song by T.I. and Jay-Z
One of the most exciting “regular season” play-in games to ever occur is now finished; but a distant memory to some, an unforgettable moment to others. For fans of one franchise, the season is now over, a bitter and long winter lie ahead, pondering the questions of what should happen next and who needs to go. Fans of the other lie in anticipation for a quick turn around to compete in a first round playoff game in the Mecca of sports, the big apple, New York City.
Players on one roster must pack their bags and board a plane to head home, their eyes cast downward, sorting the disappointment from their minds, playing back each moment in their heads, wondering what could have been done to prolong their season for one more week, at least. Players on the other roster pack their bags eagerly awaiting the red eye flight to New York, their heads held high knowing they were the last men standing in an all out dog fight for 12 innings and nearly 4 and a half hours, living to play another day.
The manager of one squad must live with the decisions he made possibly being the cause of his club’s defeat. Having all winter to second guess his choices while trying to sort out roster fluctuations and getting back to the grind in preparations for spring training in February. The manager of the victors has to move on from the utter jubilation of a hard fought victory and assert himself and his coaches to prepare for their upcoming game a few short hours in the future.
Of course, I am talking about the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. In case you missed it, the Twins came from behind twice in the game (first down 3 – 0 and then down 5 – 4) to stage an improbable comeback 3 weeks in the making to win the American League Central Division Title and set up a first round match up in the American League Division Series with the New York Yankees.
For the past 10 days, Yankees fans have long been debating who they would rather see their beloved Bronx Bombers face, the struggling Detroit Tigers or the hottest team in the land the Minnesota Twins. It seemed as if people were on the fence (I, myself would talk myself into rooting for one and then 10 minutes later find myself thinking of reasons to root for the other) with their opinions, but now that the opportunity to debate is over with, let’s get down to the important matter, do the Twins pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th World Championship?
In short, I’d say, yes, the Twins do pose a threat to the Yankees quest for a 27th title and a victory parade through New York City in 3 weeks. That’s not to say I expect the Twins to win the series, but I don’t think it’ll be as easy as many Yankee fans hope it will be. People will take a look at the head to head records of the two teams and see that the Yankees had a clean sweep of Minnesota this season defeating them in all seven games. But, if you take a closer look at the scores of the games, the Yankees beat the Twins by a 8 runs in 6 of those games. The only game that wasn’t close was a 10 – 2 victory in July. The rest of the games were decided by no more than 2 runs and in mid-May the Yankees needed three straight walk off victories to defeat Minnesota. It’s not as if Minnesota is just going to roll over and let the Yankees run right past them towards the American League Championship Series.
Many people felt that the Yankees were better suited facing the Twins because they lack superior starting pitching and their lineup isn’t as strong as Detroit’s, therefore they would be the better opponent for New York. I admit, before I began to take a closer look at the Minnesota team, I was one of those individual’s. After a brief analysis of their statistics, I came to the following conclusion: they’re a better team than Detroit. It’s really not even close.
The Tigers would have been an easier opponent for the Yankees to face (I know, I know, you’re going to start yelling at me that the Yankees would’ve faced Justin Verlander twice, but hear me out). Detroit was a team that should’ve wrapped up the division 3 weeks ago, then 2 weeks ago, then last week. Hell, they were up 3 games with 4 to play. It took a Hindenburg like disaster for the Tigers to lose this division to Minnesota (disclaimer, the Titanic of all collapses is still held by the Mets. Sorry, the Tigers made it close, but the Mets were the best team in the National League when they choked in 2007. Detroit was lucky to be in the AL Central and have a chance). Detroit is the team that all Yankee fans should’ve hoped and prayed they saw them face.
I fully understand that the Yankees would’ve had to face the Tigers ace Justin Verlander in 2 games of that series, but, who cares? Verlander wasn’t exactly that great of a pitcher in his career against New York and even if Detroit won those games, they still would have to win another game, which wasn’t exactly in their favor. Not to mention their closer had an earned run average way north of 4.00 (terrible, utterly terrible) and they had exactly 2 relievers with earned run averages under 4. Basically, you could score on their bullpen more than Paris Hilton.
And their starting lineup? Well, they’re just named recognition only. They aren’t throwing out the Magglio Ordonez or Placido Polanco of 3 years ago. They aren’t even throwing out the Curtis Granderson of last year. The only guy the Tigers lineup to really fear facing is Miguel Cabrera. He was the only person on that team who made you worried. Brandon Inge hit a bunch of home runs this season, but he’s batting lowering than David Ortiz on the season (in other words, he sucks guys). Curtis Granderson struck out nearly once per game and didn’t even get a hit one out of every four times (in other words, he sucks too guys). Their starting catcher and starting short stop were both batting worse than the previous two! Why was there even a debate on who the Yankees would be better off facing? I feel foolish for ever thinking Detroit was good!
But, Detroit lost, can’t talk them down any longer. I can only talk up the Minnesota Twins and what a problem they will pose for New York tomorrow night. Sure, the Twins starting pitching doesn’t boast an “ace” or someone that can conceivably silence the Yankees bats for a long stretch of time. But, they do have guys that consistently throw strikes and allow their defense (one of the best in baseball) to make spectacular plays behind them. They may not have the strikeout machine, flame throwing, pitchers that other teams have, but they’ve got guys who are crafty and know how to pitch. (even Carl Pavano).
Their bullpen is one to be weary of as well. Joe Nathan is their closer. He’s one of the top 3 closers in all of baseball (I’d rank him ahead of Jonathon Papelbon and about 9 miles behind Mariano Rivera). These guys don’t screw around. After adding Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay to the mix, to compliment Matt Guerrier, the Twins have one of the best bullpens in baseball as it stands right now.
Everybody thought the Twins were done when one of their best hitters in Justin Morneau went down with a back injury forcing him to miss the rest of the season (after all, that’s 30 home runs and 100 rbi they’re missing). But, they’re being powered by the MVP Joe Mauer (it’s not a question of IF he’ll win, but by how much he’ll win by…I vote unanimously). They also have two guys in Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer who have hit nearly 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in a piece. Orlando Cabrera is a veteran player who knows how to hit (and knows how to stick it to the Yankees. We haven’t forgotten 2004, you rotten little…) and Denard Span may be one of the biggest surprises of the season stepping into the center field job superbly and playing tremendous defense and adding in speed and poise at the top of the batting order.
All in all, the Twins are going to be a tough team to beat. They’ve essentially been playing must-win games for nearly a month and have risen to the occasion tremendously winning 17 of their last 21 games to reach the playoffs. There has been no team hotter in baseball over the past 6 weeks than these Twins. They are riding a hot streak we haven’t seen since the 2007 Rockies (who rode it all the way to the World Series).
I wouldn’t like to be the team that has to see these 25 guys sitting in the dugout across from you. They’re a fundamentally sound team, who are well coached by Ron Gardenhire and have not only momentum, but the confidence in themselves to play at a high level and succeed. Add in the fact they play their home games at the Metrodome (between those thunder sticks and the homer hankies, it’s a tough place to play in given all the noise) and the Yankees are in for a tall order to come up victorious in this five-game series.
Have I convinced you yet that the Yankees aren’t going to just steam roll right on through Minnesota? And that this series will be extremely tough and an absolute melee to see who comes out on top? Compelling argument isn’t it?
Well, forget every damn word you just read. It means absolutely nothing. It doesn’t matter that we play the Twins. It didn’t matter if we played Detroit either. They’re the New York Yankees. They aren’t the Yankees of 2000 – 2008. They are THE New York Yankees again. (did you just get chills reading that? Because I did). They’re back in the saddle and ready to roll on through October. No disrespect to the Twins, they are a great ball club and have been playing terrific baseball for the entire month of September (and into October), but what did that get you? It got you a first round date with the executioner; the Yankees. Sure, the Twins have been playing great for the past month, have you read the newspaper lately? The Yankees have been playing outstanding baseball for the past 4 months. Since June 23, the Yankees have gone 65 – 27, or just the best in the big leagues. They’re clicking on all cylinders. Offense, defense, pitching. You name it, they have it.
The Twins have starting pitching that challenges hitters and makes you put the ball in play, that’ll help in Minnesota, but in Yankee Stadium? You need to strike people out guys. That’s why the Yankees are the best in the business. No team fuels the high octane heat the Yankees throw out there on a nightly basis. They’ve got the big dogs in the rotation (Sabathia and Burnett). The big dogs in the bullpen (Hughes and Rivera).
The Twins have a terrific lineup filled with both power and speed, but, the bottom of their order is something to laugh at. Their 7 – 9 hitters couldn’t hit the backside of a barn if you gave them three tries. The Yankees 7 – 9 hitters? They hit a combined 67 home runs and 225 runs batted in. Yikes. The Twins have 4 players who hit 25+ home runs and had 90+ runs batted in. That’s impressive. The Yankees? They have 7 players who hit more than 20 home runs and had 7 with 80+ runs batted in. That’s historic.
The Twins are a terrific team, but the Yankees are better. It’s not even close. The Twins aren’t even in the same class as the Yankees. Honestly, no team in baseball is at this point in the season. The Yankees should be the odds on favorites to not only get to the World Series from the American League, but to win the whole thing.
The Yankees had the best record in baseball at 103 – 59, no other team was closer than 6 games back to the Yankees pace. The season the Yankees as a team and as individual’s had, would be the talk of town if it were any other team. But, it’s the Yankees and they just ‘spent another $400 million to get back to the post season’. If this were any other market in baseball, people would be salivating over them as being an unstoppable team with nothing in their way from a World Series birth. But, the Yankees don’t get the respect any more. They haven’t won anything in 9 years and didn’t make the playoffs last year and haven’t made it past the first round since 2004.
Things have changed. This was the year where the Red Sox and Rays were going to surpass the Yankees and leave them in a cloud of dust. Nobody expected the Yankees to be able to compete with the depth of the Red Sox or the youth and skill set of the Rays. How’d that work out for everyone? The Yankees effectively gave the rest of baseball the giant middle finger, a resounding “eff you” and went onto post historic seasons from many of their star players.
Derek Jeter? I wrote about him back in March, saying he was in decline, the Yankees needed to move on from him and get as far away from the Captain as possible. (I can be an idiot sometimes I guess) I was wrong. Dead wrong. Apologies to the faithful leader of the Yankees. He’s gone on to post arguably the best season of his career both offensively (.334, 18 home runs and 68 runs batted in) and defensively (he can actually move to his left this year) and would’ve been the sure-fire MVP if Joe Mauer decided not to play baseball this season. A giant “eff you” to me and the rest of the media for doubting him.
Alex Rodriguez? Embarrassed by being ousted as a former steroid user and subject to public ridicule, he suffered a hip injury and was forced to have surgery and miss the first 6 weeks of the season. What did he do? Come back with a passion and determination I never thought was possible and he put up numbers in ¾ of a season that most people would dream of having during a full season. A giant “eff you” to the entire world, including some of his own teammates.
The list could go on and on, but you get the picture. This isn’t your typical run of the mill Yankee team from years past. This is a team that is unified and actually likes one another. It’s a team that has a little old school flavor with that new school look. From top to bottom you can see it in their eyes. From the old guard in Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte and Posada, to the new guard of Sabathia, Burnett, Teixeira and Swisher. They have the look. The hunger in their eyes. The determination. The grit. This is the year where all the past demons are exorcised. Consider this post season to be “The New York Yankee Exorcism”
First up on the agenda? The Minnesota Twins. The Yankees need to exorcise the first round post season demons that have plagued them in years past. In 2007, the Yankees soundly defeated the Indians in all 6 regular season match ups, only to be bounced out of the playoffs by the Indians and some bugs. In 2006, the Yankees were poised to wipe the floor with the Detroit Tigers and were promptly send home packing in stunning fashion. It’s always been said what happens in the regular season means nothing once the playoff starts. Usually, that would be the case. In this instance, it’s not. The victories the Yankees had over the Twins during the season speak volumes. They beat them early, they beat them late, they came back when they were down. They did it with offense, defense, pitching. In any way you could win a game, the Yankees did so against Minnesota. It’s time to exorcise the first round demon.
Carl Pavano is a Minnesota Twin. Yes, the American Idle himself. Spending 4 years and $40 million of the Yankees money to sit on the bench and never pitch, Mr. Pavano finds himself in the unfamiliar spot of actually having to pitch. (think you can find the Yankee stadium mound on Friday night Carl? You haven’t seen it too much before). There is nothing any Yankee fan wants to see more, than they want to see Carl Pavano on the receiving end of a good old fashioned butt whooping courtesy of the Yankees. Let’s exorcise that demon, shall we?
Let’s say the Yankees are able to get past Minnesota and move onto the American League Championship Series, this is where the exorcising demons get interesting. Red Sox or Angels; take your pick. There’s revenge to be sought from each of them. Memories of 2004 whirl around in our heads with each passing day on the calendar. Every time the Yankees play the Red Sox our blood pressure rises with the memories of the celebration on our field in 2004. But, then the Angels have eliminated the Yankees from the post season not once, but twice in the past decade. They’ve also been the only team over the course of the last 10 years to constantly and soundly spank the Yankees worse than a troublesome four-year old. We want revenge on each of them. It doesn’t matter who. One would be sweeter than the other, but the prize would be equally the same. Exorcise those demons any way you want.
If the Yankees somehow make it to the World Series, ah the sweetest revenge. We WANT the Dodgers. No, not for the posterity of avenging our 1981 World Series defeat. No, it’s Joe Torre. It’s Manny Ramirez. It’s the showdown people have been itching to see in New York. Torre was forced out of New York and didn’t have the most glowing things to say about some of his former Yankee friends. Manny Ramirez is just hated by everyone for being, well Manny. Nothing would be sweeter than to see Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez in Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the World Series. Actually, the only thing sweeter would be seeing them walk off the Yankee Stadium field in disappointment following a Game 6 loss as the Yankees celebrate (we can only dream).
This could be the year for it all to end. Every demon can be exorcised. Every loss, criticism and failure atoned for (this means you A-Rod and you too, CC). The next 3 weeks could dispel the bitter taste that has been in the mouths of all Yankee fans since that faithful night in 2001 when Luis Gonzalez’s bloop floated majestically over the head of Derek Jeter, ending the Yankee dynasty and putting us through 9 years of baseball hell.
The next 3 weeks could put the Yankees back on the track to beginning a new dynasty; with a mix of old Yankees and new Yankees united as one. Will it happen? I’m not sure. Can it happen? You bet. Do I think it will? I hope.
One thing I do know, and I’ve been seeing it for the past 6 months from game 1 all the way to game 162. Derek Jeter has the look. He’s got that championship gleam in his eye. He’s 35 years old, but he’s hungrier now than when he won the World Series for the first time 13 years ago.
If he comes running out of that Yankee dugout at 6:05pm tomorrow evening for Game 1 of the Division Series with a little extra hop in his step, well, the rest of baseball should be worried, because then I won’t be the only one thinking they’re back.
But, until then, I’ll leave you with this thought. To quote a song by T.I. and Jay-Z
"No one on the corner have swagger like us"
And it’s true. No one does. Sorry Minnesota Twins. It’s an admirable job you’ve done by making the playoffs. But, your good fortune is about to run out. It’s the New York Yankees time again.
And it’s true. No one does. Sorry Minnesota Twins. It’s an admirable job you’ve done by making the playoffs. But, your good fortune is about to run out. It’s the New York Yankees time again.
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