JT the Brick

The New York Yankees enter the playoffs as the American League wild-card winner and open the divisional series against the Indians on Thursday in Cleveland. The most storied franchise in baseball history awaits an opportunity to put their roller-coaster season behind them and live up to their hype. They just watched the Mets choke one away for the ages, and it's up to the Yankees to satisfy the remaining baseball fans of New York.              

Last Wednesday, I watched Mariano Rivera and Roger Clemens pour champagne over the heads of their teammates after they clinched the wild card in Tampa Bay. The players seemed to understand the magnitude of finally making it to the playoffs, but also realized that they have not accomplished the only goal that counts most to George Steinbrenner.

The 2007 Yankees must win the World Series if they want to be considered anything other than high-priced underachievers. Anything short of the franchise's 27th championship is a loss, and that is the way it should be for a team with that much talent. 

This was not how general manager Brian Cashman envisioned his $200 million team getting to the playoffs for the 13th year in a row, but they did it. Joe Torre managed a roster that limped out of the gate and dug an almost insurmountable hole, before deciding to wake up after the All-Star break and fight for a playoff berth. Injuries, poor hitting and pitching looked to be a recipe for disaster. I have to give Cashman and Torre credit for not pushing the panic button when the going got tough. I was all over them for putting a team out on the field that did not look inspired other than the times they watched Alex Rodriguez carry them. At times, I wanted to see Torre be more animated and deploy a different managerial style to get his team going.

The Yankees played poorly against weaker teams this season. They dropped five in a row in Anaheim and Toronto in late May, falling to 21-29 and becoming the laughingstock of baseball. They were swept in Colorado before limping into San Francisco and losing two of three to the hapless Giants in June. And all season, the Yankees struggled against the worst teams in their own division, losing eight games to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and splitting their season series against the Baltimore Orioles.

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So now, we get a chance to see for what this particular New York Yankees team will be remembered. After battling from behind all season, they take the field this Thursday in Cleveland as the most expensive team in history, with the failures of the past six postseasons front and center. No current Yankee needs to be reminded that their franchise has made it to the playoffs for 13 straight years, but has not won a championship since 2000.

Fortunately, the Yankees match up well against the Indians, even though they did not face C.C. Sabathia in the regular season. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona each won 19 games and will start the first two games of the series. They will be expected to shut down the best lineup in baseball and give their team a chance. The Yankees should feel fortunate that they are facing a team that they owned during the season, but the Indians are much more confident, and they tied the Red Sox for the best record in the American League.

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Even though I lost confidence in this team several times this season, I am sticking by my prediction of the New York Yankees winning another championship.  There’s nothing better than having the luxury of your boyhood team continue to play baseball through the month of October.