Thursday, September 26, 2013

Day 179: Is it possible I kinda feel bad for the Yankees?

Something rare happened Wednesday night in New York. The Yankees were officially eliminated from the 2013 post season after losing to the Tampa Bay Rays. It's only the second time in 19 seasons they will not play October ball. And it's the first time since the new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009. It will be weird to not root against them this fall...

There was nothing they could've done about it. Even if they won, it didn't matter. They were actually eliminated before their game even ended when the Cleveland Indians beat the White Sox to officially thwart any slim chance New York may have still had.

Do I feel bad? Sort of. I feel bad for Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. I feel bad that their careers are going to end with a fizzle. That these last outings are all for nothing. I don't feel bad for Alex Rodriguez. In fact, I think he was a pinstriped curse. He's a greedy, egotistical piece of shit whose only concerns in life revolve around money and how and when he's going to get paid... I bet he tries to spell TEAM with an I. The best thing that could happen to this team and the game of baseball is that A-Roid gets suspended for a long, long time.

The Yankees never really had a chance this season. The injury-plagued roster often featured names no one recognized, or names you knew but you probably thought they had retired long ago. They spent a large portion of their season without names like Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Kevin Youkilis. And as if to add insult to injury, Yankees pitching lacked its usual pizzazz, and while CC Sabathia had the most wins with 14, he also racked up 13 losses.

With the oldest roster in the Major Leagues, the Yankees will have some serious off-season decisions to make with regards to their future. The biggest being whether or not to resign Robinson Cano whose .315 batting average is about 40 points higher than any other starter. Then there's the issue of what to do with the 39-year-old Jeter, who now looks like that gimpy, aging shortstop you sort of feel bad for because he just doesn't cover the ground like he used to.

Like any decent Red Sox fan, I will admit that, while I hate the Yankees with every fiber of my being, I still respect the rivalry and alway hope for a 2004-like playoff battle.

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