Ok, New York Yankees, you have the best record in baseball. You have 50 come-from-behind victories, you have a clubhouse full of likable players, who seem to enjoy playing with and for each other, and beginning next week what does it all mean? Absolutely nothing.
Not to take anything away from the fabulous season that the Yankees have put together this year - they have been the best team in baseball since the beginning of June, and have looked poised and determined to win their 27th World Championship this season, but, as all baseball aficionados know October is a totally different story.
The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2000, when they beat the Mets in five games, and since that time have suffered one playoff disaster after another. There was the bloop single by Alex Gonzalez in the 2001 World Series that gave the Arizona Diamondbacks the trophy in game seven. There was the uncompetitive effort against the Angles in 2002. The shocking six game loss to the Florida Marlins and Josh Beckett, who knew that Beckett would eventually become a Yankee killer a few years later.
Then, as we all know, there was the choke in 2004. A 3-0 series lead over the Boston Red Sox erased by Curt Shilling's bloody sock, Johnny Damon's long hair, and big bat, and the fast feet of Dave Roberts that led Boston back from the dead in seven games.
2005 was a rerun of 2002, another lackluster effort against the Angles; 2006 saw the revenge of Kenny Rogers, as he danced on top of the Detroit Tigers dugout after they slayed the Yankees in four games. Finally in 2007, nats and Indian bats demolished the Yankees in the divisional round yet again.
It has been one failure after another for a franchise that will fire even the water boy, if the Yankees should fail to win a game in at any point in the season.
2009, on surface, appears to be different. Unlike past years where the clubhouse has been tighter than a drum, the players are loose and fancy free. They care about each, play hard for one another, and back each other up if one should fail. A.J. Burnett's "Pie-in-the-face" gimmick for whomever drives in the winning run has played a big role in keeping things even keeled in the clubhouse.
Nick Swisher's happy-go-lucky personality, and Mark Teixeria's excellent leadership are other key factors in creating a new environment in the Yankee clubhouse. This team believes that they can win no matter what the deficit, no matter where they are. 50 come from behind victories is a testament to the Yankees fortitude.
Therefore, credit is due to Joe Girardi.
He was the Manager of the Year a few years ago in Miami with the Marlins, and he should be a shoe-in for the honor again this year. Some will cynically look at the Yankees, and the $400 million they spent in the off-season on Burnett, Teixeira, and C.C. Sabathia and say that any manager could win with the Yankees roster.
Not the case.
It is not easy to manage a team full of all stars and overpriced players. Egos could easily raise their ugly heads at any moment in time, and players could easily care more about personal statistics instead of the concept of "team first." Girardi has kept this team even-keeled all year, by allowing players to be themselves. Last year during spring training, he made his players play in a team pool tournament to create a sense of team bonding, and it is now in 2009, that his strategies are starting to work as the Yankees are rolling into October.
That being said, October is a totally different animal. It is one thing to play the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Oakland A's in July. It is another to play the Detroit Tigers, Anaheim Angles, and possibly, Joe Torre's Dodgers in the bitter October air.
At this time next week the Yankees will be 0-0, and questions will abound about how the Yankee veterans will handle October this time around. Can Alex Rodriguez get past his issues in the playoffs, and just play relaxed baseball?
Will the Yankees get the C.C. Sabathia that has won 55 games in the last three seasons? or will they get the Sabathia who had two rather mediocre postseason starts in 2007 and 2008?
Will the Yankees get the dominant A.J. Burnett, who could easily pitch a no-hitter when he is on? Or will they get the Burnett who went through a terrible slump in July?
Will Mark Teixeira play continue to torch pitchers in his first postseason under the big lights of N.Y.C., the way he did in the regular season?
Can Joba Chamberlain provide a couple of solid postseason outings, instead of imploding as he has at times this year?
These are all legitimate questions that will be answered when the Yankees and Tigers meet up in Yankee Stadium next week for the Divisional Series.
Over the years, the Yankees have not been as clutch in the postseason as in the glory years in the late 1990's. From 2002 - 2007, the Yankees always entered October with one of the best offenses in the league, but when it mattered the most the bats went silent, particularly Alex Rodriguez, who became a talk radio punching dummy for years.
Thus, Teixeira will be the biggest key to the Yankee offense this month. Teixeira has played in only four playoff games, but owns a nice .467 batting average in October. If Teixeira can continue to rake the way he did throughout the year, it should definitely take a ton of pressure off of Rodriguez, who has hit .133, .071, and .267 respectively in his last three postseasons'. A relaxed A-Rod means the Yankees should go very deep into October, so deep it could take them to Halloween!
Of course October is all about pitching. The Yankees likely first round opponent, the Tigers have some solid starting pitching. Justin Verlander, Jarrod Washburn, Rick Porcello, and Edwin Jackson is a solid rotation for any team with World Series aspirations. All four could match pitches with Sabathia, Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Chamberlain.
It will be imperative for the Yankee starters to out duel that foursome, and get the game into the bullpens where the Yankees have a distinct and clear advantage over Detroit. Mariano Rivera vs. Fernando Rodney. Discussion over, the Yankees win the ninth inning battle, and maybe the series.
This is a great opportunity for the Bronx Bombers. They have a chance to begin a new era of Yankee dominance that we have not seen for a very long time. When watching this club in the latter innings through the regular season, it is hard to not believe that the Yankees would find a way to comeback and win - and like clockwork the Yankees have found ways one night after another.
Does that make the 2009 Yankees as intimidating as the 1998 or 1999 Yankees? No, not yet. Those teams had the rings, the playoff experience, the knowledge that they had been there and done that when the lights were brightest in front of the biggest TV audiences.
The 2009 Yankees can get there.
They have the talent to bring back the intimidation that used to swirl around old Yankee Stadium during the glory years. They can bring back the fear that used to exist in the back of the minds of all of their opponents, who would look at scoreboard and think about the possibility that the Yankees could come out of nowhere to win the game at the last minute.
This is their chance, their time, their golden opportunity. Unlike the last eight years, the Yankees have to take advantage of it.
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