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.
The Yankees instead had Carlos Beltran coming up empty in three of four at-bats. Catcher Brian McCann went hitless in four plate appearances. In total, three members of the Yankees reached base via hits. That, unfortunately for the Yankees, matched the amount of runs the Astros scored en route to notching the 3-0 victory.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi, per ESPN, spoke about the state of his roster following the loss to the Astros:
"Physically it's not a very healthy group in there right now at the end of the season. Guys are beat up," Girardi said. "But they never stopped playing. They never stopped playing hard."
Girardi wasn't wrong in pointing out that he did not have the lineup of his choice when the Yankees hosted the Astros. Among the Yankees players who were sidelined on Tuesday was first baseman and slugger Mark Teixeira. Teixeira has been inactive since fouling a ball off of his shin in the middle of August.
Also missing was designated hitter Alex Rodriguez, even though Rodriguez was in the lineup. A-Rod went hitless in four at-bats. He was twice downed on strikes. In all, Rodriguez saw a total of 10 pitches.
Maybe the biggest takeaway from the Yankees' loss to the Astros is that the result erased a spectacular season had by Rodriguez. Little had been expected of A-Rod among fans of the Yankees back in the spring. The often-criticized A-Rod was a revelation in his return to the Yankees, launching 33 home runs and accumulating 86 RBI throughout the 2015 regular season.
ESPN Staff Writer Wallace Matthews wrote about how Rodriguez could have been a hero for the Yankees against the Astros. Rodriguez stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning. Two runners were on, and the Yankees were trailing by a pair of runs. Astros ace Dallas Keuchel, pitching on three days' rest, was on the hill. The stage was set for A-Rod:
Only this was not the Rodriguez of 2007, or even the Rodriguez of, say, Aug. 1, 2015. This was a 40-year-old player coming off 19 months of idleness, who had played 151 regular-season games, more than he had since 2007, and his moment in the spotlight lasted all of one pitch. Even though it was the pitch he thought he wanted, a waist-high cutter, Rodriguez could do nothing more than loop it harmlessly to centerfield, where Carlos Gomez was waiting to tuck it -- and the Yankees' hope of pushing their season further into October -- into his glove for the final out.
Keuchel, not Rodriguez and not anybody else wearing Yankees pinstripes, was dominant on Tuesday. While Masahiro Tanaka gave up two earned runs off of two solo round-trippers, Keuchel struck out seven batters in six full innings of work. The Yankees then failed to register a single hit off of three Houston relievers, a final whimper from the New York lineup that had run out of steam.
Rodriguez spoke to reporters, Matthews included, about the 2015 campaign following the loss to the Astros:
I mean, it’s hard to kind of reflect on the year right now, but it’s been an incredibly fun year overall. I played a lot of games and that’s probably the biggest surprise of the whole year. Just had a lot of fun playing with the guys and just feel grateful for the opportunity to come back and re-establish myself as a major league baseball player.
How much fun Rodriguez has left in the tank is a great unknown heading into the offseason. Rodriguez turned 40 years old this past July. He is, per Major League Baseball rules, clean as far as the public knows. The body of every great athlete, even that belonging to A-Rod, eventually breaks down.
It is possible that Rodriguez has made his last great contributions to the Yankees as a player. He may not be alone on that list.
The previously mentioned Teixeira could be on his way out of New York before next spring. Greg Bird is ready to take his rightful spot in the Yankees lineup at first base. A team looking for a veteran right-handed bat could make the Yankees an offer, one that would likely include the Yankees eating some of Teixeira's pricey contract. Teixeira is, according to Spotrac, owed over $46.2 million between now and the end of the 2016 season.
The perception is that the Yankees will swiftly and easily rebuild the roster via free agency. That's what the Yankees do, after all. These Yankees are not the Yankees from a decade ago or even from 2009. These Yankees may not be willing to hand left-handed ace David Price a blank check. Zack Greinke will be looking to lock down the final massive contract of his playing career. Bryce Harper isn't joining the Yankees in 2016. Neither is Mike Trout.
It should not be ignored that the Yankees have young talent. Didi Gregorius, as explained by Roger Rubin of Newsday, has thus far been a solid replacement for the retired Jeter. Bird seems ready for the big show years ahead of schedule. Twenty-one-year old starter Luis Severino went 5-3 in 11 starts.
Fans of the Yankees are going to be asked to embrace patience. The Yankees of old got old. "Buying" a World Series is not an option this time around. The foundation of a championship team exists in the Bronx. A new era for the Yankees will soon arrive.
What's painful for fans of the Yankees is that the old era must first die before the new era begins.
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