Opinion

The New York Yankees losing a one-and-done Wild Card Game at home to the Houston Astros on Tuesday night provided another harsh reminder to fans of the famous franchise: These are not your Yankees of old.

Derek Jeter was not coming to save the Yankees this time around. Johnny Damon wasn't picking up a clutch base hit. Nick Swisher could not provide an emotional boost with his energetic attitude. Jorge Posada was but a spectator.

If you live in the Atlanta metropolitan area and hear a loud, prolonged steak-fart coming over your radio Wednesday, don't be alarmed.

That's just Mike Bell explaining his tweets.

The offseason officially started for the New York Yankees Tuesday night after they lost the American League Wild Card Game to the Houston Astros, but most of the league already had its eyes firmly set on the rebuilding winter months. 

Theo Epstein once traveled to Arizona for Thanksgiving dinner at Curt Schilling's house. No word on how many slices of pumpkin pie he devoured, but over turkey and dressing he laid the groundwork that ultimately convinced Schilling to waive his no-trade clause, come to Boston and change history.

The focus has all been on the other guy, all about what Jake Arrieta has done and how unfair it is that the Pittsburgh Pirates' 98-win season now hinges on finding a way around him in the National League Wild Card Game.

But what about Gerrit Cole?

NEW YORK — They made it through April, and they made it through May, and as September wore down, the Houston Astros were still hanging on.

All of a sudden it was October, and the Astros were still playing. And even on a Tuesday night when Yankee Stadium finally got loud again, the young Astros were up for it.

Even in an inning and a moment guaranteed to scare, the young Astros didn't scare.

On Tuesday night, the New York Yankees embarked on their first postseason run since 2012. Surely they were hoping it would last long enough to see them through to championship No. 28.

Instead, it lasted about three hours, as the Yankees finally succumbed to an offensive slump that had been trying to kill them for the last two months.

Think about what an obituary is.

It's the collaborative effort of a newspaper writer and a deceased's loved one to tell the abridged story of a person's life.

It has to be dignified. You have to paint a picture and do the person justice. But it's still Cliff Notes of elegies, meaning there's not a lot of room in obituaries for stuff like, "He loved every ingredient on Supreme pizzas but the olives."

A lot of the talk surrounding Tuesday night’s American League Wild Card Game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros has been about Houston ace Dallas Keuchel, and for good reason.

The Chicago Cubs head to the Steel City to face the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday night.

What do the Pirates need to do to win? Will Jake Arrieta be able to dominate on the road?