Manny being Manny. Bill Belichick sporting his gray sweatshirt. John Madden making comments like, "They're going to have to put together a long drive if they want to score."
Some things in sports are certain. For the past 13 years, the Yankees making the playoffs has been one of them. I've worried about my G-Men making a run through the playoffs, or about my Knicks simply putting a respectable team on the floor. But even though I know that sports are unpredictable and anyone can have an off year, I never really worried about the Yanks.
They've had their injuries, their rough patches, those devastating losses to divisional opponents. They've been written off for their poor starts and their disappointing playoff exits, and for the past decade they've been too old.
But somehow, they always managed to step up when they needed to. They always had a bad April, they always trailed the Red Sox at the All-Star break, and yet they always made the playoffs.
Remember the Boston Massacre? Or Aaron Small coming out of nowhere and going 10-0? They simply won when they needed to.
So, as a lifelong Yankee fan who's accustomed to rooting for a winner, I must be pretty devastated by our team dwelling in fourth place, right?
Well, not really.
Don't get me wrong, it still sucks, but not necessarily as much as the last few years have. At least I've had time to come to grips with it.
The Yankees have made the playoffs the last few years, but for what? Three straight losses in the first round. Getting tossed out of the playoffs in the first round is almost as embarrassing as not making it at all. You go through your ups and downs of the season, grind out 162 games to get to where you want to be and then get the boot because of some bad luck in a five-game series. Screw that.
And while we're at it, screw Chone Figgins and the Angels, Kenny Rogers and the Tigers and the Indians and their gnats. Those, I think, are all more painful memories for me than this year will be.
This season has looked like a stinker for a while. They had one of the rougher first halves in recent memory, and they didn't right the ship as they normally do in the heat of summer. But I don't blame GM Brian Cashman or new manager Joe Girardi.
Obviously the Matsui and Posada injuries were devastating, but they've also lost three members of the Opening Day rotation for most of the year, and that's not even including the month that Joba Chamberlain missed.
But there is definitely hope for the future. The pitching is young, with Chamberlain, Hughes and Kennedy (ages 22, 22 and 23, respectively) still set to headline the rotation for years to come. Plus, they've got the types of role players, like Edwar Ramirez (our new bridge to Mariano) and Brett Gardner (our Jacoby Ellsbury), who key championship runs.
And if that's not enough, check out the behemoth contracts coming off the books this offseason: Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte and Carl Pavano. So, the Yankees will have the cash to make an impact signing or two (ahem: CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira). And perhaps the front office will even have enough savvy to recruit a low-risk, high-reward free agent (cough, cough, Mark Prior).
So what if we miss out on the October fun this year? If that's what it takes to build a dynasty, then I'm all for it. It's certainly better than continuing the string of first-round exits.
In the meantime, I'm rooting for the Dodgers to make the playoffs and go on a serious run. There's little I'd like to see more than Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Lowe winning a World Series. Under Joe Torre. In Los Angeles.
--
Dave Heck is a junior majoring in philosophy. He can be reached at David.Heck@tufts.edu.
