Seriously, why keep sending A-Rod and Swisher out there and leave Chavez and Jones rotting on the bench? Has he forgotten 1996 when Joe Torre had the stones to bench Boggs and Tino in favor of Charlie Hayes and Cecil Fielder?
Unfortunately, this is probably the end of the Yankees' amazing 16 year run. They're more likely to lose 90 then win 90 next year, and you can bet the Red Sox won't collapse again.
Age is the biggest factor, and the biggest reason why the Yankees just seemed tired in the playoffs. Jeter and A-Rod are toast, and are locked into multi-year contracts. Mark Teixeira is far from the superstar he once was, and Granderson is not going to have a career year every year. The pitching, outside of Rivera and possibly Sabathia, is extremely suspect. Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon did a nice impression of Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon in 2005, but remember how long they lasted in 2006. The free agent market looks very thin, so there doesn't look to be a way to buy a championship like they did in 2009. Back to being an ordinary team...
By the way, my latest installment of This Week in Baseball Cards is up at The Hall of Very Good. I look at Boston collapses old and new, as well as mention one of the most despicable recent Yankees (for off-field, not on-field reasons).
Ah, but remember Jesus (Montero) saves!
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