Sad Ending To An Amazing Yankee Season

There are so many emotions going through me as a life long Yankee fan, much of it has to be with the performance of certain players, a lot of it has to do with the amazing fans that never give up on this team.  I am being honest here… I said we weren’t making it out of Houston alive. I knew that in my mind as much as I didn’t want to believe it in my heart.

I’m done with the Fucking orange towels. There…I said it.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) October 20, 2019

That Astros ballpark is too loud, incredibly intimidating and that Astros team is damn good.  It was stacked against us when we walked in the door.  And pitching… yes pitching was the issue again.

But let’s start with Gary Sanchez.  Love the guy in a Yankee season.  His performance is great when it comes to big home runs and throwing out players from his knees trying to steal second.  But when it comes to a short series… the microscope is on him.

The one thing that people don’t get when it comes to Gary Sanchez. Over a full season, numbers and performance are solid. In a 7 game series where it’s a whole new season? He’s exposed… bat and glove. Yankee brass have a lot to discuss this offseason.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) October 20, 2019

I tweeted this last night.  Not many disagreed. That’s because it’s true.  There were more passed balls and more lackluster at bats that just expose this dude for what he really is. Slow. Lazy. Just there.  Never had a big moment.

Never wow’d anyone all series. Can that change? I’m not sure.  In fact, I will venture and say no.  MLB players are set in their ways.  He needs to slim down, work on agility and get ready for 2020. The problem is he won’t, because he’s set in his ways. He was a huge disappointment.

Chapman smiled last night after giving up that home run to Altuve.  But folks, before you get on this guy, that wasn’t a smile of joy.  That was a smile of stunned. Disbelief.  This guy is the best in the game when it comes to closing them out.  He was against a guy that was the best in the clutch. As a major league player, that’s what you want. You WANT that moment.

Big question is why even pitch to Altuve?

— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) October 20, 2019

I’m not fond of people that criticize after the fact. The fact of the matter is Chapman DID pitch to him.  Because Chapman wanted that. He lost the battle and that smile? He was beat, he knew it, he felt horrible and he realized that he gave it his best and lost. Hey… that’s life.  But now he’s getting crucified for being a gamer? Stop.  People need to stop.  If you’ve never lost big like that after going 110% perfect, you have no idea the emotion going through Chapman… so shut up. Seriously.

DJ LeMaheiu.  What can I say? Clutch is the word for him.  A dude who came over… really didn’t have a spot, but they made one for him because he hits, hits, hits.  Impressive, love him… I never want him to leave New York.

I can’t sleep https://t.co/KQCLspNRJN

— TheLastSingleDigit0 (@LastSingleDigit) October 20, 2019

He is a silent leader now that CC Sabathia is retiring.  The line of questioning is so stupid in this video by the way, but he’s such a pro, you just gotta tip your cap.  It wasn’t Didi Gregorius. It wasn’t Aaron Judge that kept the Yankees alive. It was DJ.

Boone. Hmm. Tough one.  Aaron Boone impressed me alot this season, but much like Gary Sanchez, when it comes to a smaller series and using his personnel, he mismanaged more than he managed.  For example, guys like Tyler Lyons… guys like Luis Cessa should have never seen the light of day.  They don’t belong there.

I know Cessa did OK, but let’s face it… these are guys that are only there for 1 reason, to give the Yankees time and to not eat all their relief.  This comes back to starting pitching. If we had guys that were competitive for 6 or 7 innings, we’re not talking about this.  But the fact that we had to duct tape our way through games just puts us in a spot where 2020 will be about getting a big time starter. We don’t have that… or… we don’t have enough of them.

James Paxton impressed me this series… but James Paxton is not a big time pitcher.  He can develop into one, but he’s not there yet.

In the end, like Judge said, we failed.

Judge: “It’s a failure. In spring training we talked about winning the division, putting ourselves in a good spot in the postseason & the World Series. And we came up short. So not matter how many games we won in the regular season or anything else we did, the season’s a failure”

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) October 20, 2019

It’s not the way it should have been, but if you really think about it, with all the injury and situations we were in all season, we didn’t give up and really surprised everyone. But these are the playoffs.  The games are fewer than a season, and that’s where we were exposed.  We weren’t supposed to be here… but we made it.  The problem however was we were running out of luck.

Momentum is a beautiful thing, but the ones that were supposed to perform in big moments didn’t and the surprises… DJ, Urshela, Paxton… they were shining, but it never works if a team of 25 can’t contribute too.  We didn’t. We fell short. We’re the loser here.

And the worst part? CC Sabathia rides off into the sunset with nothing.  Our unofficial team captain. Our leader.  Our guy in the big moment walks away, crippled, sad, upset and incredibly empty inside.  There is no excuse for this.  We all let him down. The team… the fans… Yankee brass… all of us.

CC Sabathia is by far one of my favorite players because of his poise and passion for not only the game, but for this team.  He’s a leader, a hero.  He never gives up ever. Yet… we gave up on him.

God damn this is tough. pic.twitter.com/rzPZo5eGZ0

— Evan Daniel (@mrevandaniel) October 20, 2019

The season was great folks. This team was very special… but it’s over now.  The hugs are emotional.  The clubhouse was quiet last night.  No one likes to lose. But this is now a wake up call to what we all knew since Game 1 of the season… pitching wins ballgames… or at least helps secure wins in a short, important series.

No heads should roll. I tip my cap to Aaron Boone and to Brian Cashman.  But hell… we need to fix this for 2020.  I have no doubt we can.

Congrats to the New York Yankees for an unbelievable season. You gave me joy and happiness all year long.  We were the underdog until we were the dominant force in the American League east.  But last night we fell short… and that’s life when it comes to champions and baseball.

I tip my cap. You make me all proud.

–Robert Casey
Chief and Head Writer, Bleeding Yankee Blue
Twitter: @BleednYankeeBlu