I haven't written about baseball in a while, but it's not for lack of paying attention. I just didn't have much to say, because most of the Yankees news has been about "the Rivalry," and as I've written here before, I hate the rivalry. I think it brings out the worst in both cities.
During yesterday's game, the game in which the Yankees finally sealed their comeback and clinched the AL East title, I began to keep a game log for posting here. But I failed to take into account some of the design vagaries of my bloghost, Typepad, and I lost the log two innings in. I was too frustrated to try to recreate it.
So I'll offer a few thoughts in summary. During the darkest parts of the Yankees' season I was known to say that I hoped they failed to make the playoffs - such failure of mission, I thought, might finally put an end to Steinbrenner's recent band-aid approach of buying aging stars and embarassingly bloating the payroll. He and his "braintrust" would be free to return to their earlier style of team-building - the homegrown greatness and wise trades and big spending only where necessary - that established the heart and soul of the 1996-2001 teams.
Even as I bitterly thought of failure, though, I was raised a Yankees fan and so I never stopped rooting for them to win every game. And then September happened, and for a while it felt as if they actually were winning every game. Suddenly the division title and the playoffs and who knows what else was within reach. And now, after a tense and emotional couple of days that threatened to evoke the horrors of last fall, it all came down to a couple of games with the Red Sox.
And the Yankees got the job done.
Manny Ramirez stood arrogantly at home plate in the bottom of the first, watching his home run sail over the monster seats in left. He pumped both his fists in the air as he slowly began his trot around the bases. What Manny seemed to have forgotten during his narcissistic display was that his home run did not give the Red Sox the lead. It did not even tie the game. All it did was cut a 3-0 deficit to 3-2. The Red Sox never tied or took the lead in that game. Manny celebrated too soon. There was a lot of baseball left to play.
In contrast, the Yankees played all nine innings before they celebrated. Yesterday's game was an example of the Yankees playing to their strengths. With the offense they have they should be able to score early and give their pitcher a cushion to work with, the freedom to throw strikes and challenge even the likes of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. They should get solid, if not dominating, starting pitching, and play competently in the field. This years' Yankees have the ability to send a message to the other team: "You have to beat us. We have the lead, and we have the ability to get more. Come and get us." They have the ability to take the advantage quickly and put the pressure on the other guys. When they execute, when they live up to this ability, these Yankees win ball games. That is just what they did to the Red Sox yesterday, and it was great to see.
So, good luck in the playoffs, fellas. And I hope my Sox fan friends and colleagues will forgive me for hoping the Indians wrap up the wild card spot and not the Red Sox. I don't think my stomach can take another Yankees-Red Sox playoff series.