A Question of Pinstripes Articles / David Lengel Date: Sep 23, 2005 - 03:31 PM It’s been a while since we were talking about the possibility of baseball playoffs without the Yankees. The last time the post-season was held without the Bronx Bombers was 1993. They bowed to the John Olerud, Joe Carter, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Pat Hentgen, Juan Guzman, Duane Ward, Rickey Henderson Toronto Blue Jays, who finished seven games up on the second place New Yorkers, and won their second straight championship. There was no Derek Jeter. Bernie Williams and Paul O’neill were around, but they were still surrounded by names of the pre Pax Torre era. Yankee haters remember them fondly. Deion James, Steve Howe, Melido Perez, etc. Don Mattingly was the poster boy for captains without crowns. The Yankees hadn’t won a title since the Bronx Zoo days of 1978, when they beat Tommy Lasorda’s Dodgers. After that, they made one last appearance in the Fall Classic—losing to the Dodgers on that occasion four games to two in 1981. Then came the drought. For 13 seasons, there was no playoffs for New York—the Yankees that is. The Mets dramatically won their second title in 1986, a year when the National Leaguers owned the city. The Yankees won 90 games, and lost the division to the hated Boston Red Sox by just 5.5 games. And while there was talk of a possible Subway Series, the New York tabloids were in love with covering the colourful and dominating Mets, and mostly focused on the team from Queens. In 1988 the Mets went back to the post-season, choking in their National League Championship Series loss to the Dodgers of Kirk Gibson. That year the Yankees finished in fifth place, just 3.5 games out. But New York was still a Mets town. By 1995 order was restored, and the Bombers began their run of ten consecutive playoff appearances—four world championships, six pennants, and eight division titles. Today, 23 September 2005, is just the eighth day of the season in which the Yankees have been in first place. They are one game ahead of the Red Sox, who enjoyed the top spot for 90 days. The Orioles early season run kept them ahead of the AL East for 68 days. Joe Torre, who has been poked and prodded by George Steinbrenner since their last title in 2000, has had the heat turned up on him. But he never wavered, kept his traditional Joe cool, and has his team on the verge of an 11th straight October. Whether you hate the Yankees or not, one must confess that this is probably the best managerial job Torre has performed since arriving in New York after the departure of Buck Showalter. Will he get sympathy for struggling to keep water out of an old, seemingly sinking ship with a payroll of over $200 million? Of course he won’t. But from a baseball standpoint, you have to admire the work he’s done under extraordinary circumstances. The question is do you want to see the baseball playoffs without the New York Yankees? Are you crazy…? Of course I want the Yankees out of the playoffs. Just because they wear pinstripes, have won 26 World Series titles, and have all the money they will ever need, does not give them the right to make the playoffs every year. Nothing would bring me greater pleasure then NOT seeing A-Rod, Jeter, and his buddies run around the diamond performing their “October magic.” Sure, the Red Sox are also baseball superpower, but isn’t it time for someone else to win the AL East? I don’t care if Joe Torre lost the services of Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano, Mike Mussina, and Kevin Brown for extended periods, and that Randy Johnson didn’t measure up to his hall-of-fame career. Do you think I was upset when they were forced to stick two rookies into their everyday plans just to get by? Everything always works out for them, and this time I really hope they miss out on the party. If we’re lucky, maybe George Steinbrenner will go on a mass firing spree and help bring the franchise back to the grand old days of 1990. You know, I have to admit… The idea of staging the baseball playoffs without the Yankees leaves me feeling a bit empty. There’s nothing better than rooting against them down the stretch. Remember the look on Derek Jeter’s face when they lost to Anaheim in the 2001 Divisional Series? That was worth it. And where would we be today without the memories of their spectacular collapse in the 2004 ALCS? It hurts to write this, but the 2003 ALCS was some of the most dramatic baseball I have ever watched, and that would have never happened if the Yankees were not in the post-season. This team has used 14 starting pitchers, has iffy middle relief, and features a bunch of old men ripe for an October collapse. This could be the last straw for this run of theirs so let’s see it all break down this autumn. Let’s see the look of disgust on Steinbrenner’s face as a team like the Indians roll over them. If we’re lucky, maybe The Boss will go on a mass firing spree and help bring the franchise back to the grand old days of 1990. This article comes from UK MLB Supporters Club http://www.baseballfan.co.uk/ The URL for this story is: http://www.baseballfan.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=196