What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson? Those New York Yanks have left and gone away?
Good.
Simon and Garfunkel references aside, it is hard for me to contain my joy after seeing the Detroit Tigers knock off the Yankees in the American League Divisional Series this past Saturday night.
It's not because the Tigers, three years removed from one of the worst seasons in baseball history, won a playoff series, but because the Bronx Bombers bombed out of yet another postseason.
So what's next for this decade's version of the Atlanta Braves, with all those division titles but no World Series championship?
How about everyone's favorite $252 million man, third baseman Alex Rodriguez? With two words after game four of the ALDS, he became the runaway winner for the Understatement of the Year Award: I sucked
he told reporters after the loss.
Rodriguez acted if the 1-for-14 performance at the plate in the ALDS didn't speak loud enough. He is now 3-for-29 in his last two postseasons with the Yankees ' a .103 average for those keeping score at home.
If Rodriguez was smart, he would waive his no-trade clause and take the first flight out of New York. The beating he is taking from Yankee fans and the New York media, combined with the pressure of playing in Yankee Stadium and being worth his massive contract, seems to be getting into his head.
By getting out from under the New York microscope, Rodriguez can avoid constant criticism and go somewhere where he'd be appreciated, which is something he needs. Besides, if he really wants to get back in the spotlight, he can become a Kleenex spokesperson. He has done his fair share of crying recently.
Moving on, I'd like to remind everyone that you can't spell overrated without Torre. Yes, manager Joe Torre has won four world championships with the Yankees, but his teams have come up short every year since 2000. That would be somewhat acceptable if his roster didn't include Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina, among other stars.
Underachieving shouldn't even be in this team's vocabulary, yet since 2000, it has been the only word anyone associated with the team can utter.
Enter Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. After the series loss to the Tigers, he called his team a sad failure. While this may be true, let's look at the criteria Steinbrenner looks for when adding to the Yankee pitching staff. All you have to do is be over-the-hill (Johnson and Mussina), injury-prone (Carl Pavano) or washed-up (Jaret Wright).
If The Boss wants to be drinking champagne instead of eating crow every year, he should start looking for young pitchers who can actually get the job done.
Steinbrenner should know that pitching plays a huge role in winning championships. After all, the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks and 2004 Boston Red Sox used pitching to win their respective titles. Oh yeah, and they got a little help from Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera, who blew saves for New York in games that the Yankees could have won both series in.
Unless things change in the Bronx, expect the annual flaming-out to continue. Just don't expect me to be crying along with the rest of Yankee Nation. 17
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Jason Fazzone
After ALDS loss to Tigers, Yankee fans turn their lonely eyes to anyone that can win in October
