The Yankees Season Comes To A Brutal End As The Sox Move On To The ALCS

Folks, it does not get much worse than that. As far as I’m concerned it goes family deaths and then the Red Sox celebrating knocking you out of the MLB postseason on your home turf. It does not get worse than those two things, and depending on the family member the Sox celebrating could shoot to number one (kidding, but not really). The image of those guys jumping on top of each other on the mound after Gleyber’s game-ending ground out is something that won’t escape my head for a very long time. I truly don’t understand how some Yankees fans say they’d rather watch the Sox win the World Series over the Mets. I was ill watching that final out tonight at Yankee Stadium. Sick to my stomach. I might just got throw up right now.

So what went wrong after Saturday’s awesome win? The bats just went completely silent, short of that 9th inning that cock-teased the shit out of me. Aaron Boone told the players the game was at 8:07 on Monday and not 7:40. You can list so many things, but at the end of the day the Boston Red Sox showed up to play on the road these past two days and the Yankees did not. They thought their precious home record in October over the last 2 years would guide them to the ALCS, but they didn’t take the time to put any effort into actually doing that. This Sox team is a fucking juggernaut and if they were going to lose this series over the last two games the Yankees were going to have to take it from them. They did not. ‘

Just brutal man. I really, really, really wish Aaron Judge didn’t play ‘New York, New York’ in the Fenway concourse following Saturday’s win. Sure we all loved it at the time, but that definitely motivated every Sox player in the right way to win these two games. They were playing it in the clubhouse as they popped champagne everywhere. I really, really, really wish Brian Cashman didn’t drop that Damage line before that August Fenway series. That word has become this team’s calling card. I wish they saved these types of things for when they knocked the Sox out. Then that’d be awesome, but the timing was awful. They both couldn’t have backfired any worse.

To be so lifeless all game on Tuesday only to lose after such a rally in the 9th was the perfect kick in the dick. The entire year one of their bigger issues was with the bases loaded. It’s like their brains just freeze in those situations. The only run they could bring home in that spot on Tuesday was from Neil Walker’s hit by pitch. Besides that we had a pathetic Giancarlo strikeout, a Gary sac fly to the warning track, and Gleyber’s ground out. There was about a 20 second period where I convinced myself this was actually going to happen. Kimbrel was going to blow this and we were going to have all the momentum going into Game 5. Nope. Shot right out of the sky. Season over.

So where do you go from here? This is about to be one of the more important Yankees offseasons in years. They are under the luxury tax threshold so their number resets and they are free to spend like crazy without penalty. Who will be in their crosshairs? Arizona’s Patrick Corbin I think is a lock, Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, etc. If they are a free agent, the Yankees will be calling. They have multiple people ready to help this team from within the organization like Justus Sheffield and my guy Michael King, along with maybe Florial and others. They will have to say good bye to some household names for sure like CC Sabathia and possibly Brett Gardner and David Robertson. The strategy towards how they play the game of baseball will also be called into question. This team was so analytically driven that maybe they overdid it? They took away the feel aspect of the sport, in a game where that will always be key. They tried to milk the strategy of OPS where you walk to get on base for the bomb home run. As a result they struck out a ton as a team and came up empty in countless spots with RISP, like tonight. There is A LOT to be unfolded over the next three to four months.

For now, I’m shipping up to Boston for Game 1 of the ALCS where I will fulfill my punishment of the Yankees losing this series after creating that stupid watch party that went to shit. I sleep in the bed that I made, and I’ve got to wear this on the chin. It’s going to suck, and maybe I’ll get punched in the face a time or two, but the way I look at it, at least I’m not an accountant or back making 300 cold calls a day at my old job. Sure it sucks, but whatever, you fuck up you own up to it and face the music. Go Astros.

Quickly, if you followed along this year, read a blog, watched a video, bought a shirt, listened to The Short Porch then I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My first year as the full time Yankee guy here was a blast and I know I can do better so I will do better. Some people may not like me and want someone else, but as far as I’m concerned I’m not going anywhere. Some guy came up to me at the wild card game last week and told me he listens to the show and reads the blogs but is about to get shipped off to Afghanistan with the military in a few weeks. He said he gets through his down time by following my stuff. That was one of the cooler things I’ve ever heard. If I can make that guys day somehow, then it’s all worth it, no bullshit.

I’ll be back (hopefully if I survive Boston) we’ll be back next year, and there will be one goal in sight as always. Ring number 28. But for now, let’s go Astros.