Unfortunately, this is also a season wrap up after the Yankees were defeated in the ALDS by the Cleveland Indians, culminating with the 6-3 defeat Monday night. The Yankees were unable to mount a Dallas Cowboys type comeback as the ‘Boys simultaneously did as the Yankees went down. The Yankees failed to escape the first round of the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row, failed to appear in a World Series for the 4th year, and failed to win a World Series for the 7th year in a row, a drought of immense proportions for the Yankees. Chien-Ming Wang, pitching on 3 days rest, failed to make it out of the second inning and capped a dreadful series for him as well as for Yankees captain Derek Jeter. This series marked the end of many era’s, the most likely being the last of Joe Torre as the Yankees manager as well as the end of Roger Clemens career in a not so fitting way, as well as what could potentially be the end of Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Bobby Abreu, and Andy Pettitte in pinstripes. It’s unlikely that Cashman will let most of those guys escape but it could be a potential doomsday for the Bombers to lose such a huge portion of the team. Here’s a breakdown of the series as a whole from the Yankees perspective:
Would- Have Been Hero: Johnny Damon- Damon has created quite the resume of his postseason pedigree and this series proved that he can do it with the Yankees just like he did with the Red Sox. Yankee fans will remember Damon’s heart breaking grand slam off of Javier Vasquez in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS that put the final nail in the Yankees coffin, but now that Damon is doing it for the Yankees its much easier to swallow. Damon had 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s this series, as well as a tremendous catch in left field in Game 4 that saved a couple of runs and gave the Yankees a legitimate chance to come back in the 9th. His play this series has even likely saved his roster spot for 2008, as he seems unlikely to be shopped after his strong second half and performance in this series.
Runners Up- Andy Pettitte and Robinson Cano
Goat- Chien- Ming Wang: It could be argued that Wang single handedly cost the Yankees this series with his putrid performances in Games 1 and 4. Wang went 0-2 with a 19.06 ERA this series and now features a career playoff ERA of 7.58. The 19 game winner only pitched a combined 5.2 innings in his 2 starts and left the Yankees in a big hole in both games. There is little doubt now that Andy Pettitte should have started Game 1 of the series and is the Yankees true ace. Wang also proved that he should never again be considered one of the elite pitchers in this league, at least not to the extent that Josh Beckett or C.C. Sabathia are true aces.
Runner Up- Derek Jeter (Batted .176 this series)
Turning Point: “Bug Gate”- Joba Chamberlain picked a bad time to blow his first career save in Game 2 of this series, although he did so without even allowing a hit and it was aided by a swarm of bugs. This swarm can be taken as nothing short of an omen out of the Bible for the Yankees, as Joba’s wild pitch and subsequent blown save put the Yankees down 0-2 in the series and gave them a hole they were never able to climb out of.
This series certainly did not go the way the Yankees wanted. Despite the fact that the Yankees were the 2-1 favorite to win the World Series, they fell to the team they swept twice during the regular season and went into the night and into what is sure to be an uneasy and eventful off season. I plan to go more deeply into different aspects of the series, this is just the general wrap up so don’t fret my loyal readers.
Would- Have Been Hero: Johnny Damon- Damon has created quite the resume of his postseason pedigree and this series proved that he can do it with the Yankees just like he did with the Red Sox. Yankee fans will remember Damon’s heart breaking grand slam off of Javier Vasquez in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS that put the final nail in the Yankees coffin, but now that Damon is doing it for the Yankees its much easier to swallow. Damon had 2 HR’s and 5 RBI’s this series, as well as a tremendous catch in left field in Game 4 that saved a couple of runs and gave the Yankees a legitimate chance to come back in the 9th. His play this series has even likely saved his roster spot for 2008, as he seems unlikely to be shopped after his strong second half and performance in this series.
Runners Up- Andy Pettitte and Robinson Cano
Goat- Chien- Ming Wang: It could be argued that Wang single handedly cost the Yankees this series with his putrid performances in Games 1 and 4. Wang went 0-2 with a 19.06 ERA this series and now features a career playoff ERA of 7.58. The 19 game winner only pitched a combined 5.2 innings in his 2 starts and left the Yankees in a big hole in both games. There is little doubt now that Andy Pettitte should have started Game 1 of the series and is the Yankees true ace. Wang also proved that he should never again be considered one of the elite pitchers in this league, at least not to the extent that Josh Beckett or C.C. Sabathia are true aces.
Runner Up- Derek Jeter (Batted .176 this series)
Turning Point: “Bug Gate”- Joba Chamberlain picked a bad time to blow his first career save in Game 2 of this series, although he did so without even allowing a hit and it was aided by a swarm of bugs. This swarm can be taken as nothing short of an omen out of the Bible for the Yankees, as Joba’s wild pitch and subsequent blown save put the Yankees down 0-2 in the series and gave them a hole they were never able to climb out of.
This series certainly did not go the way the Yankees wanted. Despite the fact that the Yankees were the 2-1 favorite to win the World Series, they fell to the team they swept twice during the regular season and went into the night and into what is sure to be an uneasy and eventful off season. I plan to go more deeply into different aspects of the series, this is just the general wrap up so don’t fret my loyal readers.
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