Yanks for Nothing

The 2011 postseason will be remembered as the postseason in which the Yankee fan had exactly a week and a half to celebrate. A postseason that began for Yankee fans with an epic September collapse by the rival Boston Red Sox ended with a dose of utter disappointment in the Bronx.

Yankees fans had a week and a half to enjoy the collapse of Pedroia and the Sox.

When the Bombers drew Detroit in Round 1, all the buzz was around Verlander. Could the Yanks survive a short series with Detroit trotting its all-world righthander out there for 2 starts? As it turns out, it wasn't Verlander who did the Yanks in, it was their own bats. Specifically, their own bats when the game was on the line.

Justin Verlander's right arm  was enough for him to get his fair share of creampies to the face this year. However, it was not what ultimately did the Yankees in. 

It's ironic, because if you look at the series statistics, the Yankees were supreme in almost every offensive category. But that was largely due to offensive outbursts in Game 1 and Game 4, with most of the numbers coming when the game was on its way to being in had.

Don't get me wrong. As much as we joke about it, you really "can't predict baseball." These players are only human. It's hard to hit a baseball. Real hard. (That's what she said) But when you have players hitting 4-5-6 making $62.5 million, you have every right to expect them to produce when the game is on the line. As a Yankee fan, I grew up watching players like Jim Leyritz, Luis Sojo, Shane Spencer, Scott Brosius, and the soon-to-be-discussed Joe Girardi come up with big time October hits. These were not highly paid superstars putting up video game numbers in the regular season. They were hard-nosed players with the moxie necessary to slow the game down in a big spot.

Before starring as a derelict, Leyritz was once a Yankee postseason hero.

The 2009 World Series team was more-or-less the exception to this, as a star-studded lineup made its run through the playoffs. The only role players on that team of the same ilk as the previous list were Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner.

Aside from this 2009 championship, we have seen a run of "hired guns" brought in by the Yankees to sculpt an all-star caliber lineup. In their defense, clearly the run of 1996-2000 significantly raised the expectations of fans. When you are expected to be in the World Series every year, it's pretty difficult in New York to answer the question of "How are you going to address your open RF situation?" with a name like Cody Ross or Scott Podsednik (to name a few unsung postseason heroes in recent years). Brett Gardner is the current closest thing to that, and look at the scrutiny he was under this year when he slumped. By the way, he was one of the Yanks who had a good series against Detroit.

Ahh..What ever happened to the Scott Brosiuses of the world? Mediocre regular season numbers, but an absolute stud in the clutch. A member of the 98, 99, and 00 World Champions, and did all he could in 2001 in search of a 4-peat. The World Series MVP in 1999.

Today's fan falls in love with regular season stats, but if you aren't getting it done in October, what is the regular season really worth?

Joe Girardi has been highly scrutinized for almost his entire tenure as Yanks manager. His biggest critics will say that he micromanages. I have more-or-less always defended Girardi, as with the bullpen for example, it's difficult to manage a perfect game if you don't have the horses. Clearly not talking about Mo here, but when you consider recent bullpen arms such as Kyle Farnsworth, Edwar Ramirez, Alfredo Aceves, Brian Brunney, Damaso Marte, and Rafael Soriano this year, this statement makes sense.

How do you manage a bullpen with guys like this as an option? Edwar once gave my friend a ticket for spitting in the pedestrian bridge to Yankee Stadium. True story.

My immediate reaction last night was to "jump ship" on Girardi when he started emptying the bullpen. I felt like I was watching an all-star game, as every 1-2 innings a new pitcher took the hill. I was skeptical that Nova was truly hurt, but it turns out that he was (MRI reveals strained forearm). It also turns out that Girardi's bullpen revolving door worked out for the team. The only run after Nova's first inning was a run that ace CC Sabathia surrendered. To that end, I can't kill him too much for this loss.

You simply have to hit in a big spot. That's the bottom line. And so, it leaves us as Yankee fans with some burning issues heading into 2012:

• CC Sabathia can (and will) opt out to look for more money. The Yanks will have to pay him. They have no choice. Despite his postseason woes, there are no more-viable alternatives on the open market. It's scary to imagine the rotation if CC leaves.
• Nick Swisher has a club option for 2012 at $10.25 million. That's not getting picked up. But will they bring Swish back? No one has been more of a fan favorite than Swish, but three straight awful postseasons will punch your ticket out of town (.169 career postseason hitter). I'll root for him wherever he ends up, but I'm ready to move on in RF.
• Alex Rodriguez has SIX more years left on his contract at $20 million plus a season. And he looks like he's starting to break down. His bat speed has slowed down, and he has looked overmatched at the plate for the first time in his career. Consider that in 2017 he'll be 41 and making $20 million. Scary. They had better start winning some more championships to make that pay off. One is not enough.
• Jorge Posada is a free agent and will surely try to find a way to stay with the team. Going off Girardi's "wherever he plays" comment after Game 5, it doesn't look like the Yanks will bring him back. And they shouldn't. Please retire Jorge. I want you to have a civil end to your Yankee carrer. I don't want to see you DHing for the Minnesota Twins.
• AJ Burnett and Phil Hughes, who both entered the season with high hopes for being a part of a stellar rotation, had forgettable 2011's. While we are counting the days until AJ is out of town, Hughes' situation is one of greater urgency. In the span of a year, he went from looking like the next Yankee stud to looking like he could go the way of Sterling Hitchcock. 
• The catching situation. Russell Martin looked lost at the plate, but solid behind it. However, with Jesus Montero and Austin Romine seemingly ready to be in the show, how will this play out? Montero projects as a position player, but could also be traded for a starting pitcher. Martin should come back for another year, but not without a shorter leash.

It will be a long, and very interesting, off-season.