I was reading “The Yankee Years” over the weekend, and there was one thought that struck me as I finished the chapter on the 2003 ALCS: I miss the magic more than the winning. Yes, the Yankees have not won a playoff series since 2004. But I think the thing that we, as Yankee fans, find wanting is the lack of drama that the failed postseasons have brought. The Yankees lost the World Series in 2001 and 2003, but both are seasons that I will remember for the rest of my life. The Aaron Boone game, the back to back comebacks against Arizona, those are the types of games that cement your fanhood, that nurture the obsession within you. By contrast, the last four seasons have not only been unsuccessful, they have been nondescript. The mystique and aura have been lost, and the Yankees are just another perennially underachieving team. I certainly want the Yankees to win the whole thing this year. But in the process, I am hoping for just a little bit of magic.
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Yeah, I’ve been reading it as well. Good book, its a blast re-living thise early years.
The Yanks are going to play a different brand of Baseball. Girardi inherited an aging, inflexible Torre team and did what he could with it, especially considering the injuries. But now with a rebuilt rotation, Tex, Swish, and Gardner this will be a very different team than the late 2000’s teams that bludgeoned their way through the regular season and died quietly in the ALDS. They will catch the ball better, pitch the ball better and be able to create a run or two on nights when thy can’t get anything going.
Very, very different.
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
February 14th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I hope so. It sure seems more like a team built to pitch and play defense than in years past.
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The Yankees will win game 7 of the ALCS on a pinch hit walk off HOUR in the 16th inning by none other than CC Sabathia. How’s that for drama?
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Yeah, that would satisfy me.
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I think the magic will come along with the winning. One thing I got from reading that book is that this is the best rotation they’ve had for a while and if everyone can stay happy they should win close to 100 games.
Let’s hope that’s not too much to ask with Burnett in the rotation.
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
February 14th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
The rotation is the best since 2003, without a doubt.
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