The Yankees loss this postseason is their worst loss in my lifetime. You can say that the Red Sox loss was a huge collapse and it obviously was, but the Red Sox had great talent and caught fire down the stretch. The Yankees have no excuses to lose to the Tigers, they dominated them in the regular season, they had more experience and talent all around and the Tigers came in reeling.
General Mismanagement
Here's where I believe the Yankees killed themselves the most, and the biggest reason for their lack of postseason success. Concluding the 2003 season the Yankees had a rotation which included Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens. Then their weak pursuit let Pettite venture to his hometown and eventually persuade Roger to join him. This left the 2004 team relying on a recouped Jon Lieber, newly traded for Javy Vazquez, Jose Contreras and Muss. After their collapse in the playoffs the Cashman and George decided they needed to splooge on pitching and this has fully destroyed their roster. The Yankees made 3 major mistakes in signing Jarret Wright, Carl Pavano, and trading for Randy Johnson. At the time none of those moves made sense, Randy Johnson was an elderly man and you knew he was only going to get worse. Carl Pavano had a single successful season and one postseason prior to the Yankees giving him a huge deal and Wright resuscitated his career with the Braves which everyone does and then when they leave they stink.
Situational Hitting
Here's another major problem with the Yankees and with other teams in the playoffs most notably the Padres. The Yankees don't move runners over and certain hitters especially Sheffield and Giambi never alter their swings in any circumstance. They always swing full out. And while they put up big numbers through the course of a full season, in the postseason you aren't necessarily going to hit a homer and more instances than not you need to scratch and claw to get runs. The Yanks have stopped doing that and thats why they've lost their postseason success.
Arod's Nightmare
No one person can be blamed for the Yankees demise, as all were accountable, but Alex certainly made sure he stayed at the center of attention. His season was mired by slumps, media outbursts, errors in the field and most of all a feeling of uncomfort. It's time for him to move on like many others. If I was the Yankees I would target a National League Team to deal him to and get a few young arms in return and a serviceable 3b replacement. I avoid American League teams because you know that if they trade him to the Angels or the White Sox that they will face him in the playoffs and go 10-20 with 3 HRs and 10 rbis.
Joe Torre's Demise
There are a few issues I have with Torre this postseason. First off Randy should have pitched game two, its not a major flaw but Randy on the road in a crucial game with his back problems was a mistake. His instistance on playing Gary Sheffield hurt the Yankees in the field and in the lineup. And he mismanaged his order by shifting around Arod and batting Sheffield in the 4 hole. All in all he did a bad job, which was compounded by the Yankees lack of production.
Zero Excuses
The fact that the Yankees did not hit Kenny Rogers is the most pitiful failure of recent postseason games. The Yankees didn't have good statistics against Kenny Rogers, they had phenomenal stats. For instance Arod was 10-19 with 5 HRs career against Rogers, the only player that didn't have good numbers was Sheffield and he was benched. In addition Bonderman was getting rocked every game down the stretch, the lineup choked, the pitching staff was poor, everything was terrible.
The Solution
I don't think the solution can be made this offseason, its obvious this roster doesn't work in the postseason. They don't get big postseason hits, they don't have big time starting pitching and both of those are the most important postseason ingredients. Many of these players need to go and the Yanks need to start producing more talent through their farm system.
The Yankees are slowly becoming less fun to rout for as well. If you're a Yankee fan is Arod, Giambi, or Sheffield your favorite player. Or is it Jeter, Cano or Bernie. Its just more fun to see guys come up through the system and have success, and there's no reason the Yankees shouldn't be able to do this, they have the money to give themselves the best minor league system through scouting and coaching. Its time to infuse the Yankees with youth, especially arms. For now I'll watch the young pitching staffs of the Tigers and the A's battle for a spot in the World Series.
General Mismanagement
Here's where I believe the Yankees killed themselves the most, and the biggest reason for their lack of postseason success. Concluding the 2003 season the Yankees had a rotation which included Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens. Then their weak pursuit let Pettite venture to his hometown and eventually persuade Roger to join him. This left the 2004 team relying on a recouped Jon Lieber, newly traded for Javy Vazquez, Jose Contreras and Muss. After their collapse in the playoffs the Cashman and George decided they needed to splooge on pitching and this has fully destroyed their roster. The Yankees made 3 major mistakes in signing Jarret Wright, Carl Pavano, and trading for Randy Johnson. At the time none of those moves made sense, Randy Johnson was an elderly man and you knew he was only going to get worse. Carl Pavano had a single successful season and one postseason prior to the Yankees giving him a huge deal and Wright resuscitated his career with the Braves which everyone does and then when they leave they stink.
Situational Hitting
Here's another major problem with the Yankees and with other teams in the playoffs most notably the Padres. The Yankees don't move runners over and certain hitters especially Sheffield and Giambi never alter their swings in any circumstance. They always swing full out. And while they put up big numbers through the course of a full season, in the postseason you aren't necessarily going to hit a homer and more instances than not you need to scratch and claw to get runs. The Yanks have stopped doing that and thats why they've lost their postseason success.
Arod's Nightmare
No one person can be blamed for the Yankees demise, as all were accountable, but Alex certainly made sure he stayed at the center of attention. His season was mired by slumps, media outbursts, errors in the field and most of all a feeling of uncomfort. It's time for him to move on like many others. If I was the Yankees I would target a National League Team to deal him to and get a few young arms in return and a serviceable 3b replacement. I avoid American League teams because you know that if they trade him to the Angels or the White Sox that they will face him in the playoffs and go 10-20 with 3 HRs and 10 rbis.
Joe Torre's Demise
There are a few issues I have with Torre this postseason. First off Randy should have pitched game two, its not a major flaw but Randy on the road in a crucial game with his back problems was a mistake. His instistance on playing Gary Sheffield hurt the Yankees in the field and in the lineup. And he mismanaged his order by shifting around Arod and batting Sheffield in the 4 hole. All in all he did a bad job, which was compounded by the Yankees lack of production.
Zero Excuses
The fact that the Yankees did not hit Kenny Rogers is the most pitiful failure of recent postseason games. The Yankees didn't have good statistics against Kenny Rogers, they had phenomenal stats. For instance Arod was 10-19 with 5 HRs career against Rogers, the only player that didn't have good numbers was Sheffield and he was benched. In addition Bonderman was getting rocked every game down the stretch, the lineup choked, the pitching staff was poor, everything was terrible.
The Solution
I don't think the solution can be made this offseason, its obvious this roster doesn't work in the postseason. They don't get big postseason hits, they don't have big time starting pitching and both of those are the most important postseason ingredients. Many of these players need to go and the Yanks need to start producing more talent through their farm system.
The Yankees are slowly becoming less fun to rout for as well. If you're a Yankee fan is Arod, Giambi, or Sheffield your favorite player. Or is it Jeter, Cano or Bernie. Its just more fun to see guys come up through the system and have success, and there's no reason the Yankees shouldn't be able to do this, they have the money to give themselves the best minor league system through scouting and coaching. Its time to infuse the Yankees with youth, especially arms. For now I'll watch the young pitching staffs of the Tigers and the A's battle for a spot in the World Series.
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