someone wanted a review so here's one kinda

they shouldn't have even come THIS far, but they did.

it's too bad so many people see not getting out of the first round of the playoffs as an abject failure -- and i'm sure somewhere mike lupica is pawing himself from the rooftops -- but in my mind, for this team, it was a success. does my heart hurt a little bit? sure. but less than it did last offseason when i was displeased, to say the least, at the front office's decisions. less than it did as i sat at one of randy johnson's first starts and watched as he bombed against baltimore; as i watched them trot out tony womack day after day, week after week; as i listened to a season ticket holding meathead behind me scream his throat raw for arod to be traded back to texas for soriano. less than it did when they got swept by the likes of the devil rays and the royals. i thought the team i watched play in the alds (shaky defense, shaky starters, shaky pen, the population of china left stranded on base) resembled more closely the team i'd watched all year than whatever team of bloodthirsty aliens came roaring down the stretch.

still, there was plenty to love -- mo's cy-worthy year after a few blips (0.87 WHIP, .177 BAA, 1.38 ERA, with a .26 road ERA and a 23 game scoreless streak), arod being arod (.321/.421/.610, and a 67 game errorless streak after a miserable start), tino's may, giambi's july, no more The Graphic flashing across the screen as jeter struts up with the bases juiced, aaron small's unlikely and amazing run, my baby daddy chacon suprising everyone, the emergence of cano of the 60 watt smile and tiger "i hope he can't understand a word mel's saying" wang, that the historically trade-happy yankees actually kept cano and wang, the beautiful improbable ulcer-inducing race for the al east title.

would i have liked more? of course. but baseball doesn't give you what you want 99% of the time. june says it's 18 weeks to pitchers and catchers. that's not so bad, now is it?

Labels: yanquis