Sleep Tight Baseball

There are plenty of reasons why Girardi was the right choice to take over in the place of Joe Torre, his experience with young players and the fact that he has been part of the organization as both a player and a coach just to name the most obvious. But I have to say that I didn't see Mattingly taking the decision so hard. I'm sure that in some back room George all but promised him the position when he rejoined the team in 2004, but he of all people should have known that a promise from a Steinbrenner comes with conditions. Chin up Don, you may not be in the drivers seat next season but I would be willing to bet that if Girardi fails you are next...that is if you'll take it. Enjoy the Dodgers, since that is where I am assuming you and Torre will go, but don't forget you are a Yankee and always will be.

I don't see Girardi failing though. I think that this is exactly the type of situation in which he will excell in. What's more, for all of the tales of doom and gloom about the Bronx right now I have to say that we are not in as bad shape as ESPN might like you to believe. Consider this, assuming we don't have to work through the injuries that plagued us this year our pitching staff will be stacked next season. The young guys like Duncan, Melkey, and Cano have all proved that they can hit and play solid defence. We'll lose some numbers now that Dick-Rod is gone but who cares, he was never a Yankee and we will be better off without him. I wouldn't be surprised if we used some of the Jerk-Rod money that has been freed up to make a move for Santana which would give us a rotation second to none. We may not go all the way next year, but give us two and we will be right where we belong, drenched in Champagne and hoisting up number 27.

I didn't say much about the end of the season yesterday thanks to Ass-Rod, but the few days after the World Series are always bitter sweet for me. I'm going to keep writing about baseball as much as I can in the post season, but as the winter sets in you'll be seeing fewer posts. A few years ago when I lived in Boston I walked by Fenway park the day after the season ended. Even though I hate the red sox and I was happy that they were eliminated, walking by Fenway was depressing. It was dark, cold, and quiet. Baseball had gone to bed for winter and the old park almost seemed lonely. I still think about that every year after the season ends, all the stadiums quiet, their lights out, fields covered...waiting. So that's what I have to do too, wait, wait for the days to get warmer and longer so we can do it all over again. Sleep tight baseball, see you in the spring.

The Morning After

Well that's it, the season is over for the Yankees. Chances are Torre is going to get fired, but is it really all his fault? In my opinion everyone deserves some of the blame. You certainly can't put it all on A-Rod, he wasn't great but he did get a few hits. The offense as a whole only showed up for a game and a half this series. The pitching stunk worse than the Coleslaw I put in my co-workers desk last Friday. Wang was terrible, Mussina flopped, and Roger wouldn't have pitched another game even if we had gone deeper into the postseason.

But there were other factors at play here aside from the biblical plague of bugs. I think that we can all agree when I say that I hate it when George drops his ultimatums. It is distracting and it doesn't help the focus any when you are concerned about losing your job. Especially in a game in which your team faces elimination. Because of that I think you have to chalk up some of what happened to the Stien. Regardless, here we are at the end of the Joe Torre era. I think that he has a chance to save his job, but only if he really wants it. The players would have his back, but that probably isn't enough to quell the fire up in the front office.

At least we have things to look forward to next season. Chamberlin should continue to improve, as well as Melkey, Duncan, Hughes and Kennedy. Cashmans plan does seem to be working. It still just doesn't seem to help take away the sting though. It will be especially painful if Torre doesn't get to manage the last season in one of baseball's last shrines.

So now I have to figure out what to write about until next April, but in the meantime I will be entering my post loss depression for a few days. It sucks more than I can tell you, but it is all part of being a fan. Next year is a whole new season, and you can bet I'll be watching and writing about it with no less enthusiasm. We lost, but I still love this game and especially this team!