Yankees' Playoff Hopes Fading Fast
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 03 September 2008 - 16:18
Author: Steven Rawlins
Banged up and playing poorly, the New York Yankees are staring down the barrel of a baseball-free October for the first time in sixteen years. Their upcoming schedule does not bode well for a late rally, but this could actually be a blessing in disguise for a team that has not produced performances to justify the money it spends.
Fighting for a wild card
The Yankees, who have won ten American League East titles in the past eleven seasons, will not be winning one this year, as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are well clear with a 12 and a half game lead. Even to clinch a Wild Card spot, the Bronx Bombers will need to pull off an incredible season finish, and will need Minnesota and Boston to suffer similarly ground-breaking meltdowns if they are to leap frog both of these ball clubs and scrape through into the postseason. Things do not look good for New York, however, since they are set to embark on a ten game road trip across four cities, two of those being Tampa Bay, likely winners of the AL East, and the Los Angeles Angels who currently have the best record in baseball. These two teams are approaching the post season with quite the opposite momentum to the Yankees.
Struggling without Joba
If you’re a New York fan that shelled out for season tickets this year in order to have first pick of seats in the final playoff games at Yankee stadium, you’ve got to be feeling pretty sick right now. Not only were the ticket prices hiked up to milk the fact that it’s the last season before the iconic arena is torn down, but the team that’s usually a sure-shot to make it through to October is languishing without key players such as Joba Chamberlain, who is on the disabled list with tendinitis in his rotator cuff.
Don’t rush him back
Hank Steinbrenner, the new Yankees boss, has made it clear that the offseason will bring with it big changes to the team. Big name players like Derek Jeter, who is on the verge of sitting out the first postseason of his career, will no doubt welcome the shake up, and will probably agree that not making the playoffs will actually be a step in the right direction towards next season’s effort – primarily because it means Joba Chamberlain will not be hurried back into the rotation when he should be resting his stiff shoulder for next year. Although the fast-paced right-hander has pitched 35 times in a simulated game over the weekend, and according to Joe Giradi will be used from the bullpen when he returns, it seems too risky to potentially worsen the 22 year old’s injury in games that will in all likelihood turn out to be worthless anyway.
A chance to test out talent
Meaningless September games (of the Yankees do indeed crash out of the playoff race) are no fun for the fans, but they are a good excuse for Giradi to try out some new blood in his pitching rotation and get the young guns some experience in the majors, if anything just to see whether they are worth nurturing for the future. Without the pressure that is usually a part of any new player’s step up from the minor leagues (and probably more so at the Yankees than anywhere else) the Bronx bullpen has the chance to use potentials such as Edwar Ramirez and see how they might fit into next year’s rotation. It’s too bad that most of the fans won’t like it.