BY John Harper DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER By the end the Yankees looked old and tired, beaten so soundly by the Rangers that they ran out of fight as well. Coming to bat after falling behind 5-1 in Game 6, they made Colby Lewis throw all of eight pitches to record three meek outs in the sixth inning, Derek Jeter grounding out - again - on the first pitch he saw. These were the Yankees? The team that made working the count and wearing down pitchers fashionable? Against the Rangers they sure didn't resemble the champs of 2009, or even the team that steamrolled the American League for much of 2010. In losing a mostly one-sided ALCS, however, the Yankees did look like the team that limped to the finish line in September, featuring ineffective pitching and an absence of clutch hitting. As a result, if you're Brian Cashman you can't write off this rather stunning postseason defeat as some sort of fluke and expect the stars to automatically realign for the Yankees in 2011. The problem, of course, is that the GM has a team of high-priced stars which leaves little room for creative retooling. Ideally Cashman might start by looking for a young, dynamic shortstop in the mold of the Rangers' Elvis Andrus, but instead will have little choice but to throw crazy money at Jeter, who failed in the playoffs to reverse the perception that age is the reason he needed a late surge just to hit .270 this season. Age is a bigger issue with Jorge Posada, who turns 40 next season and likely will be more of a DH than a catcher. And though Alex Rodriguez was a clutch RBI man in 2009, his power was down, he didn't hit a single home run in this postseason, and at 35 with a bad hip he may not be quite the same offensive force. Nevertheless, had the Yankees pitched as advertised, they may have still had a shot at beating the Rangers. Of the starters, only Andy Pettitte shined, and while he sounds like he wants to be back next season, his desire to be home more with his family makes his return at least somewhat uncertain. Javy Vazquez is gone, and Cashman can only wish he could make A.J. Burnett's contract disappear. Meanwhile, Joba Chamberlain's free-fall to postseason irrelevance, and the likelihood that Kerry Wood will get offers to be a closer elsewhere, creates urgent questions about the bullpen. So it is not the rosiest of pictures as the Yankees look ahead. They aren't in danger of falling off the map but they need a good winter to make them the team to beat in 2011. Here's a look at some of the issues facing them: STEP 1: LAND THE BIG FISH ***Go to the web page to read more of the story***
I believe Randy Moss already wrote this article many many moons ago. [video=youtube;5-aAitwm_yo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-aAitwm_yo[/video]
