• Ban Bud

    I console myself thusly – we’ll never see another run like the Yankees had through this season. It’s hard to imagine a franchise so successful that an entire professional sports league feels forced to enact rules specifically designed to punish only them. It took 10 years and the confiscation of $500 million, but Bud Selig can finally rest easy. Mission accomplished.

    • pat

      you cant be serious dude. you really think bud selig wants the largest market in all of professional sports to not watch the playoffs? Selig is probably pissed that about 38 people in florida are gonna watch the tampa bay rays in the playoffs and about 3 million yankee fans in the tri state area alone arent gonna tune in.

  • greg

    I’m 20 so this is the first time i really remember the yankees not making the playoffs. It sucks.

    http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/groinbaseball.jpg

  • http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CRsmithT1.jpg tommiesmithjohncarlos

    And, literally within fucking SECONDS, ESPN’s glee in reporting on the demise begins. The top story on the Baseball page: Two Buster Olney articles shitting on the team, a Gammons article about the Yankees sucking and the Red Sox being awesome, a fucking fantasy article shitting on Yankee players by some no-name called Jason Grey…

    We have an amazing Yankee Stadium finale, and ESPN.com treats it like an afterthought to a pointless Week 3 Packers-Cowboys game.

    The Red Sox beat the shitty Indians to clinch the Wildcard, and they’re fucking tripping over themselves to scream about us missing the playoffs to everybody in earshot.

    FUCK YOU BRISTOL… FUCK YOU.

    • Bryan

      I hate to fucking say it but I totally agree with Hank, fuck ESPN, its nothing but a red sox mouthpiece

    • http://www.workwithpete.com Pete

      You just know they were working on that graphic since June.

      This little headline caught my eye, too: “Gammons: N.Y. falling, Boston rising”

      Really? Gammon thinks that? I heard the sun’s coming up tomorrow too.

  • Bryan

    It is unbelievable how the injuries did us in, Wang and Posada killed us. Think about it, Wang had a great chance of at least matching his win totals from last season, and posada’s bat and leadership was missed. 6 games over the course of a season is nothing, I have to think that with a healthy wang and posada, we would have been in the middle of a tight wild-card race.

    • Steve

      Wang is healthy-add 5 wins
      We sign CC-add 5 wins
      Posada stays healthy-add 2 wins
      New 1B/CF- 2-4 wins above Giambi/Melky

      Assume some injuries next year, subtract 5-7 wins total. Total it up 95-98 wins next year. I would also expect to get more out of our 5th starter, be it Hughes/Aceves.

      I have no doubt we can bounce back quickly and I don’t think this was a bad year or that Girardi did a bad job.

      • http://www.workwithpete.com Pete

        Only 5 more wins for Wang? The guy had 8 when he went down! I’m thinking at least 7-8 more personally.

        By my calculations, that leaves the BoSox home in October — not us.

        • http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/CRsmithT1.jpg tommiesmithjohncarlos

          Do your calculations assume that we lost every game that Wang would have started? Because we didn’t.

  • Tripp

    In better news has anyone noticed the awesomeness that is Rivera this year? 6 walks…6 freakin walks this year….simply amazing. One blown save! Too bad Cliff Lee is having a good year.

  • http://conservationvalue.blogspot.com Jon G

    I grew up going to the 77, 78, 80 and 81 world series, so had quite a long wait (including several hopeful seasons in the 80’s that were blown in the 2nd half) for 1995. I remember when the strike hit in 1994, I was 22 and living in Boulder, and was so pissed that the strike was hitting the year the Yanks were going to make the playoffs for the first time since I was 9, you have no idea.

    Then in 1995, when they finally made it, I was working on a project for The Nature Conservancy on a 300,000 acre ranch in remote southern New Mexico – 60 miles from the nearest place to watch a game. I had to drive miles of dirt roads into a Mexican restaurant in Douglas, Arizona to watch those games – and what a heartbreaker that was. So that made 1996 all the sweeter.

    Fortunately, this time around, there is no way we are going to have to wait over a decade between dynasties. Even with all the injuries, we’re going to win more games this year than we did in 2000, when we won the world series. And despite the lack of production from Hughes and IPK, Hughes is now looking great, and we got our young pitching from a bunch of surprise candidates – like Coke and Aceves. With Melancon and others on the way, Jackson likely to see his first MLB time in 2009, and Brackman, Sanchez and others making their way up through the minors, next year promises to be exciting.

    But first, we have to make it through what promises to be the most intriguing hot stove season for the Yanks in a long time. I think Gardner deserves a shot in Center next year the way he’s been playing – to make the OF Damon, Nady and Gardner, with Matsui mostly DHing. Melky will likely be gone. The big questions – who will be on first? Who will be the starters? Who – out of MANY great candidates – will comprise the bullpen (which will likely rotate hot candidates between AAA and the mlb team).

    So all things considered, I have to feel good about 2009 – I just can’t see us having the same level of bad injury luck as we did this year, but I can see the division being very tight again with Boston, Toronto and Tampa also being competitive. Maybe we can send one of them to the AL or NL West somehow to make their divisions a bit stronger..? ;-)

    • Steve

      Good post. Were about the same age and I have a very similar take on this season.

      BTW-96 was the sweetest.

  • http://conservationvalue.blogspot.com Jon G

    P.S. in 1980, of course, I was at the playoffs, but KC swept us, so no series… In 1981, I was at all the playoff series – weird year, with the first round being between the first half winner and 2nd half winner!

  • doty

    oh the pain!!!

    • Steve

      We’re 15 games over .500. That’s not real pain.

      Ask a Pirates fan about pain.

  • Joel

    It always hurts.

    Do not be fooled by this run at the end, however. Even if this team manages to win 90 games, there are some serious issues here.

    If it’s major overhaul vs. moderate tinkering for Cash in the off-season, I would err on the side of major overhaul.

    • dan

      If this team can win 90 games then I can’t wait for next year with Posada, Wang, and Matsui back for full seasons.

    • pat

      seriously dude? 90 wins without your number one pitcher and all world catcher? Matsui was a shade of himself all season damon missed time arod missed 20 games jeter played hurt. joba missed a few weeks cano straight up sucked melky was demoted and freaking darrell rasner and sidney ponson prob made about 30 starts. Ipk and hughes fsll on their face.And you think this team needs a major overhaul? This team need to be HEALTHY with maybe a tweak or two made. Thinking we need an overhaul is insane and ignores the facts.

  • E-ROC

    You jinx us Ben! Ah, ‘ol well.

  • Joel

    As far as ESPN is concerned, there are some pro-Yankee guys like Ravitch and Kruk, but the main journalist/baseball commentators, Gammons, Olney and Kurkjian all hate the Yanks.

    It’ll be that much sweeter to watch “Baseball Tonight” after the Yanks win #27!

    • Ivan

      Really Onley is not a yankee hater, infact he’s really one of the few who has some credibility.

      • Capital T

        I would agree and actually recomend His book about the last day of the dynasty even though the ending is horrible (even dampens the amazing comebacks during that series). His article on ESPN really highlights how bad the drafts were but also shows how Cash’s attitude has really turned the team around. When Andy Phillips, who I liked, is your best position player since Jeter, then the truth be told, the drafts stank. When the pitching during that time was worse than the hitting, then the drafts were horrible.

        Lets not forget that Bos didn’t make the playoffs 2 years ago. I look for a series next year as the young pitchers flourish (see CHW this season) and the vets continue to produce

        • Steve

          Onley is a first rate reporter.

          For some fans, if you dont spend all day giving the Yankees side of a story and dismissing every other take, then you must obviously hate the Yanks. Just childish.

    • http://www.workwithpete.com Pete

      Kruk, “pro-Yankee”…?

      Since when?

      • Steve

        . . . and why would someone HAVE to be pro-Yankee to have credibility? What if they just report the facts from all sides and get it right?

        Buster Onley had the Torre firing first, the Girardi hiring before anyone else, and the Yankee Santana trade position nailed from day 1. Thats what gives him credibility, not what hat he wears at the ballpark, if any.

        • jsbrendog

          that’s because he was yankee beat writer for years before he got his espn break weasn’t he? he’s no hater, he is a credible baseball journaluist.

          I think kirkjian is too, he just loves baseball so much. can’t you tell by listening to him on baseball tonight? he gets so excited about stats his vouice cracks and he’s near tears lol.

          hate gammons because in his dotage he gave up, like a teacher with tenure. ALso, one mroe note, just cause you played baseball doesn’t mean you know what you’re talking about and can do announcing, etc.

          IE Joe Morgan, and I can’t stand oen other guy who’s name escapes me, but i think he was a marlin in the expansion draft.

          who care sif harold reynolds sexually harrassed some ladies, he was a great analyst.

        • http://www.workwithpete.com Pete

          IMO any of these talking-head types on ESPN’s featured shows are just sitting behind a desk creating sound bytes.

          It’s well-known that very often they don’t firmly believe what they’re saying, but producers have them take the opposing viewpoint for the sole purpose of creating a discussion that will draw ratings.

          I do give reporters like Olney a lot more credibility because they’re on these shows trying to report the facts — and when they *are* pressed for their opinions, it’s based mostly on the truth. Although sometimes it’s obviously not what we want to hear…

          Gammons used to have more respect in my eyes, but somewhere he crossed over into talking-head status — and of course a complete Red Sox shill, now that they’re doing well.

  • tom

    yea this definitely hurts, but we all remember what the sox did the following year after missing the playoffs in 06. Hopefully we follow that same pattern.

  • Manimal

    Like I said before, For a transition season with a lot of youth and experimenting(come on, you know Joe is smarter than that, he’s just trying to see what he can do in 09)

    • Manimal

      sorry, never finished. For a transistions season we did pretty damn good. Nady and Marte were good pick ups(Marte’s only one inning kind of guy, more than one hurts him). Our bullpen is as good as ever, we just need some sort of stable rotation and we are good to go.

  • Accent Shallow

    Dear Cliff Lee,

    Thanks for waiting until tonight to have a lousy start. Go to Hell.

    Hearts,

    Yankee fans everywhere

    Hey, at least we get to see Hughes tomorrow, right? Can you imagine the shitstorm if the Yankees were still in the hunt and he lost?

    • Stephen

      and the game winning hit came on a groundball up the middle that the statue Jhonny Peralta had about 4 seconds to get to, but still couldn’t.

  • Manimal

    OH snap, Leno owned Arod
    “He can’t take his team or his marriage into October”

  • Joey

    A lot.

  • Lanny

    Sometimes you need to fail and take a step back to take three forward.

    See the Sox in 2006.

    Now we can evaluate the roster and the free agents and trades with a clear eye and right the ship and reload for 2009.

  • Harry G

    Oh, come on guys. I get it that some or even most ESPN shitloaders come off as Yankee-Haters/Sux-Lovers, but Olney’s column couldn’t be more spot on, especially for the majority of us here on this blog who aren’t hatin on Cash for stressing patience and putting an emphasis on player development, aka “The Youth Movement.”
    All Olney is pointing out is that the reason we’re missing the post-season this year is because of the years of draft neglect and signing lots of top-tier FA’s which resulted in the loss of high-round draft picks, effectively leaving us with an empty farm system.
    I’m sorry, I hate the Sux and Rays as much as any Yankee fan out there, but I do respect and envy the success they’ve had with the players theyve drafted and called up over the last couple of years, i.e. Youkilis, Pedroia, Lester, Shields, Longoria etc.
    I don’t sense glee and hate in Olney’s column at all. Granted, the Yanks missin the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years is gonna have some wri-tards excited as it’s a juicy issue.
    Olney actually mentions a point i’ve been thinking alot about lately, and even has a separate column about it. Namely, the impending re-signing/departure of Brian Cashman. Olney correctly points out that since ’05 Cash has overall done a pretty good job of drafting and restocking the farm to the point where it’s on its way of becoming a real player-development-powerhouse, (granted we’re way short on position-player prospects but hey, at least the man’s tryin…) so if he leaves in middle of his project, it potetially represents a big-ass problem because the guy who’ll replace him might succum to the “win-now” pressure and sign every big name in the damn book which will mean we’ll have lost another year of high-round picks. So you may as well let Cash finish what he started.
    Hey, since ’01 we’ve gone the “big-name-FA/losing-draft-picks/All-Star-at-every-position” route. And where exactly has it gotten our asses? Into $200-million-dollar-shitloadin-failure oblivion. That’s where.
    Let’s face it. Isn’t that the reason those of us were happy that Cash didn’t trade for Johan, because we realized that at some point we’ve got to stop tradin prospects, give up draft picks (and in the words of Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys) “AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT SHIT” give a pitcher a 7-year, $150 million dollar deal???
    I understand that some of you will try to spin Olney’s column into Yankee Hate, especially those who still had their hopes of us makin the playoffs until two hours ago, but i’m sorry, Olney is right.
    He also makes another good point; In a way, after years of draft neglect, it’s not the end of the world to miss the post-season one year so you can get good draft position and restock for another multi-year title hunt. Of course, all this goes out the window if we go out and sign CC, Tex, Manny, Sheets, Burnett, and every other veteran.
    I know the youth movement hasn’t gotten off to a good start at all this season with the injuries and underachievment of Phranchise and IPK. But the bottom line is this:
    Whether you agree with Cashman’s philosophy or not, the man deserves a chance to at least see through the plan and inevitable result that he envisions for the franchise he’s worked – and had a hand in delivering a couple of titles – for his whole life. Hopefully he comes back and enjoys great successs. And hey, if his vision doesn’t work out, you can always replace him then. But not wanting him back smack in the middle of his plan which we already have reaped some very sweet fruits of, (see: Mania, Joba) makes no sense. Brian Cashman, please come back.
    I don’t have the patience or time to post here very often but when I do, I try to make and support my point very clearly. That’s why I write these long-ass posts. Because I would like to believe that the people who read and post on this blog, love the Yankees, for the most part at least, are sane Yankee fans, aren’t spoiled, and don’t overreact when not all the chips fall our way.
    I’m out.

    • jsbrendog

      amen.

  • stuart

    they did not make the playoffs for 1 reason not phil or IPK, or Rasner, or the pitching at all, there pitching actually overachieved.. THE LINEUP FILED MISERABLY ALL YEAR. NO CLUTCH HITTING, FEW TOUGH AB’S THEY ARE SOFT.

    They need to get rid of Giambi, abreu, and others.. Afraud the smalles $300 mill. player is a boat anchor that we are stuck with… Don’t tell me about his #’s he is a fraud, plain and simple and the rest of the lineup is very unathletic and fading…

    Get CC, and then work on the lineup, the pen is loaded.. they have robertson, melancon, and others that have not even contributed yet…..they need to trade some pen arms for addtl. pieces….

    • Manimal

      Abreu was the most consistant yankee all year, 300 BA and 100 rbi’s almost guaranteed. I don’t know what your smoking but Abreu was one of the best this year.

    • Steve

      Actually, you just contradicted your own argument with your remedy. Abreu and Giambi are two of the guys who see the most pitches and work the count the most. They are two of the most “TOUGH ABs” we have. So jettisoning those two will be counter productive, unless you have upgrades at both positions. That’s why I don’t rule out a Tex signing.

      It was more about clutch hitting/RISP than anything else. A-Rod/Giambi were HIDEOUS with RISP for most of the year, and batted in the run producing #4 and #5 holes. Sprinkle in losing Posada and theres most of the 200 runs we were down this year. The RISP #s were actually pretty good for everyone else that mattered.

      But I agree with some of the rest. The lack of hitting exposed the mediocre pitching we’ve had for years, so BOTH need to be addressed this off season.

      • jsbrendog

        and the captain’s propensity for gidp

  • mustang

    Don’t want to talk about it 2008 was just mostly a waste and the whole thing suck.

    • mustang

      Don’t want to talk about it 2008 was mostly a waste and the whole thing suck.