Yankees lose playoff series in close game, after choking many opportunities to win

Irv P., former baseball coach and Yankees fan, writes to a friend who says the Yankees are like Nazis who won’t anyone else live, with a cc to me:

You’ll be happy to note that the Yankees got knocked out of the playoffs last night by a score of 3-2 against Detroit. All of them failed miserably in the clutch to come up with a key hit that would have won the game. Very frustrating for those of us who know they are Nazis but love them anyway.

Go have some champagne to celebrate!

The friend who says the Yankees are like Nazis who won’t let anyone else live replies:

Wheeeeeee!

I replied:

The lead photo in the Post and the Times is of Alex “$200,000 per game” Rodriguez walking dejectedly away from the plate after striking out for the last out in the game as the Detroit catcher, behind him, starts to jump up in celebration.

Irv replies:

The real failure came in the 7th inning when he came up with the bases loaded and one out. A single ties the game and a fly ball would bring in a run to narrow the deficit to one run. The second strike which he fouled off, was a mistake by the pitcher…a fastball right down the middle, belt high. (What we call a “cookie”). He struck out. Failed to put the ball in play. As I said, he wasn’t the only culprit. They all choked at one time or another in this disaster. They’re all overpaid! I considered going, but the prices for a decent seat were just too high.

But, that’s why they compete. If the outcome was a no doubter, there would be no drama, no entertainment. As the Dodger fans used to say in Brooklyn, “Wait ‘till next year.”

P.S. They all go off into the sunset of an off season where they suffer in their mansions, swimming pools and have the best of everything life has to offer. Excuse me for not shedding a tear.

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JC in Detroit writes:

There is something which is missing from all the analysis of the Yankee’s loss to the Detroit Tigers in this year’s ALDS. The Yankee roster, management, style, coaching, defense, pitching, hitting, trade choices and schedule have all been minutely examined in order to determine “what went wrong” for the Yankees. How could they have lost?

How indeed.

What is missing from all of this is the recognition of the Detroit Tiger’s grit and determination, the will to victory. Against a team which was statistically “better”, they put together three games worth of sometimes excellent, but always sufficient, pitching, more than decent hitting (Yankee defenders actually kept the Tiger victories much closer than they could have been), and very good defense of their own. And then the Tigers had that certain something. They got the bounces they needed, the breaks they wanted, the luck required. They pieced together a victory. Yeah, the Yankees lost. They blew their opportunities. But the Tigers won. And made the most of theirs. And that’s the way baseball is played, friends.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at October 07, 2011 03:35 PM | Send