Lessons learned from the 2007 Yankees…
August 13, 2007
After Eric Gagne blew another game for the Red Sox today, the Yankees are now 4 games back and playing like a juggernaut. This is interesting because just a few months ago, the team was being carried by A-Rod, suffering from a poor bullpen, and 14.5 games out of first. How things can change.
I’ll admit, there were a couple of times this year when I felt like the team just wasn’t going to be worth following anymore. A 4-1 loss to the Devil Rays. Losing a series badly with the Blue Jays. Making it harder was the fact that Boston was playing so well. 10 games back. 12 games back. 14.5 games back. I was already looking ahead to 2008. How can anyone come back from that?
Still, I tuned in every night on mlb.tv. Even with low expectations I followed the team, it was far to early to quit. Ever since the All-Star break, the team has been on a tear. While they have certainly benefited from playing poor teams like the D-Rays and Royals, they pretty much gotten the better of everyone else, including finishing a sweep of the Indians today. It just goes to show that the baseball season truly is a marathon. Being in first in May is worthless. While poor play can be discouraging early on, the right time to abandon ship is July 31ist at 3:00 pm EST. What if the season was going the other way around for the Yankees – a great start followed by poor play? It would be hard to get excited about a team that was a sinking ship before the playoffs, although being hot or cold doesn’t mean very much once you get into the playoffs.
As for the postseason, I’m not to optimistic. I still remember last year. Its going to be a tough fight just to get in this year too – Seattle is playing well although the Indians and Tigers aren’t. Winning the division is still a bit of a reach. Even then, the playoffs are a crap shoot. Either way, its very nice to see the team rebound from a poor start. They didn’t give up. Neither did the ‘05 Redskins who were 5-6 and finished 10-6 and won a playoff game. The ‘04 Red Sox didn’t either. Did I just write that?
