Got to keep my rooting to the AL East, like to see Tulo do well. Expect to visit frequently, should be an interesting off season between FA and the primary spool up for 2016.
yeah, I'd like to see Tulo do well, ... looking forward to Winter Meetings, and FA's being wined and dined....
...and fwiw, I don't like Houston's PS chances moving forward...their batting approach is too much like the Yanx.
"I'm really not very optimistic going into next season". ______________________ That's a heart warming thought coming before the last person has left the ballpark of the last game of the 2015 season. Way to go! Looks like the groundwork (agenda?) has already been laid out for the 2016 season. lol, way to go! Yanks highwater mark of the 2015season was 17-18 games over .500- If they were to at least sustain that pace, they would've finish along the line at 89-73 / 90-62......but don't act like this season was a let down from expectations....they were(are) what they are. We all would've liked to see them win the division with over 90 wins, but Toronto finally kept their top hitters healthy for the first time in years while acquiring a couple of more TOP players/pitcher. Now the Yanks have just been eliminated by a by a "good" team with very good young players approaching their prime years AND an excellent SP who has indeed proven to be the real deal....Tanaka pitched a "good" game and the bullpen did it's part keeping it close. Yes, Yanks were an older team but they HAVE managed to bring along no less than five YOUNG players (Murphy, Didi,Bird,Refsnyder, Severino) who have done well and shown promise. Next year(?)....Yanks obviously need more production and explosiveness from their outfield, and at least ONE MORE SP who will be a legitimate top of the rotation guy. I know this may sound over simplified but- One Kuechel-type pitcher (effectiveness & IP) on the Yanks from beginning of the season eliminates a lot of damage and a few losses.....I know it's easier said then done. But -imo- this was, and still is the biggest flaw and weakness of the org for the last decade, AND LONGER ---- they just can't come up with one or two top young SP , preferably a lefthander. They lost 3-0 in an elimination game....their top SP did a commendable job...they were shutdown by an excellent SP who could be the CY YOUNG winner this year.....it is what it is..... and how many actually thought the Yanks were an "obvious" pennant/WS contender coming into the season? They HAD a very fair chance to play in a division series and possibly get hot. It is what it is.....they were one of five teams with a chance to win the A.L pennant after the 2015 regular season ended. No tears from me! I DO EXPECT a couple of "corrections" going into next year. We'll see what shakes out from now until the end of next ST! I'm already ANXIOUS at the thought of possibilities to improve the team.....I guess I'm kinda kooky that way....instead of wringing my hands!
...the Yanx failed miserably, period. ...wonder what the "plan" will be next year?...whatever someone perceives it to be, I suppose.
Yanks got shutdown in an elimination game by a CY YOUNG-type pitcher who unfortunately has had, and still does, have their number! That's my take on the season ending story. Let's not go around in circles on this one, okay? None of us are happy over the loss. We all know the Yanks had flaws.... but the name of THIS game..IMO, was KUECHEL.
...the Yanx were "shut down" by a lot of pitchers down the stretch, and many of them were shit pitchers...the Yanx lost because their roster was poorly constructed and no amount of silver lining drawing and pom pom waving can change that. ...and just because people point that out does not by default make their opinions "sickening".
Read post 191 again and add..... Yanks were indeed shutdown in the WC game by one of the VERY BEST PITCHERS in MLB who has NOT ALLOWED a Yankee run in his last three games vs them. If you want to try and prove the scenario would've been the same with any "other" pitcher facing them in the WC game....be my guest. And as for next year's "plan"- I certainly am expecting to improve on being one of 5 teams (out of 15) with a chance to play for the league pennant when the season ends. My guess is, next year's "plan" is to become ONE of THREE teams (out of 15) with a chance to play for the pennant when the season ends, with the luxury of losing a couple of post season games. i.e, win the division. Got all that? ......Good. If anyone can come up with a "plan" which can guarantee the Yanks going straight to the WORLD SERIES, I'm all ears. You're move.....or shall we just let it go?
Time for a reality check blg, the Yankees did not have a good season, they had a good HALF season. See my new thread titled "A tale of two half's" for proof of that.
[MODERATED] Yanks won 87 games.....they were one of five teams with a chance to ultimately play for the A.L. Pennant....if you doubt it...go ask the Houston players. Now you and company are complaining and whinning to holy hell about the Yanks having a bad second half when in fact they actually won more games than the team which eliminated them in the WC game......and IMO, the obvious clearest most solid legitimate explanation for it is Houston had a SP who not only is having a Cy Young season, he had pitched 16 inn in his two previous starts vs the Yanks including one at YS and allowed O runs, 12 H, 21 K....he stepped up big time on three days rest and held the Yanks to O runs in 6 IP in the WC game. Sure, the Yanks still had a chance vs the Houston bullpen...they needed at least three runs. Keuchel held them scoreless over the first 2/3 of the game. Remember, I AM the one who picked the "higher" win total ("approx 90 wins") before then season began so please don't tell me about being disappointed, okay? Nobody here picked them to WIN the division yet there are a couple here who are acting as if this WC loss was some kind of unexpected choke job by an underachieving team......and it came primarily at the hands of a Cy Young type pitcher who has absolutely OWNED the Yanks, lock stock and barrel......and you guys are complaining as if the Yankees failed to meet YOUR expectations coming into the season....did you actually think the Yanks were going to maintain a pace for over 90 wins?........werent you and your buddy at the head of the line all season long talking about the team being old with a real chance of them slowing down or getting injured in the later half of the season?....... You can't have it both ways and stop talking out of both sides of your mouths. You can save these last couple of posts of mine in this thread, re-run them at the start of next ST, and they'll still be an accurate and rational assessment of the season ending WC loss and scenario.
The offense hadn't hit for a sustained period even against mediocre pitchers. The fact that they couldn't touch Kuechel shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. In the playoffs you're for the most part getting some of the best pitching in baseball thrown at you. The Yankee bats have been so bad for so long there's no logic that would suggest they would've done any better against another playoff arm. They lost because they stunk. A below .500 team since the end of the July and that mediocrity carried right into last night. Spring training expectations, what the team did in the first half and any other made up parameter you want to include to make yourself feel better has nothing to do with what happened with this team down the stretch and what was an embarrassing performance last night.
^^^not to mention that the Yanx were embarrassed at home by a Houston team that played just as badly down the stretch and was 33-48 on the road this year.
The bottom line is that the season is over. That's it. Turn out the lights, send everyone home, clean up and go on up to bed. If you enjoy the game it's time to watch the remaining teams battle it out. If that doesn't grab you we have the NFL season and if you're a hockey fan that gets underway tonight. As for the Yankees it's about next year and the future. What they can do to better the team and put themselves into position for a sustained period of competing. The season for the Yankees is over and we're all disappointed by that.
