COLUMN: Bronx Bombers get eliminated
Four games.
That’s all it took for the Detroit Tigers to end the New York Yankees’ World Series hopes.
In those four games of the American League Championship Series, the normally hard hitting Bronx Bombers could barely manage to get a hit, let alone a run.
They scored a total of six runs during the course of the series, and five out of those six runs came via the long ball.
The team also failed to gain any type of lead in any game during the series.
It was an embarrassing collection of games for a team that has a lineup packed with offensive power.
Big time players Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, who in the regular season had a combined total of 460 hits and 94 home runs, had a grand total of two hits.
And to add insult to injury, team captain Derek Jeter was forced out of the series with a fractured ankle.
The only good thing to come out of the series for New York was the great pitching by starters, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda and Phil Hughes. But no matter how good the pitching was, the Yankees’ hitting woes were just too much in the end and New York was swept for the first time in the postseason since 1980 when they were swept by the Royals.
All of that being said, many fans and sports analysts alike are calling for the Yankees to make some moves this offseason.
Many want to see Alex Rodriguez tossed out onto the street and left to continue his postseason problems with another team.
This is very unlikely however because Rodriguez’s costly contract still has three years left on it, along with $114 million. The Yankees have said they are open to discussion but that it most likely won’t happen.
New York is also going to have to deal with other things this offseason. Nick Swisher will become a free agent during the winter and it is currently unclear if his first choice would be the Bronx. The Yankees have shown little desire to keep him in pinstripes. There will also be injuries for Yankees players to take care before next season.
Derek Jeter recently had ankle surgery and it looks like it could take up to five months before everything is fully healed for the shortstop. To make matters worse, ace CC Sabathia is now talking to Dr. James Andrews about an elbow problem that may have been re injured during the playoffs.
It is never a good thing for anyone to pay a visit to Dr. Andrews, so the Yankees will be holding their breath for the meantime.
Will the Yankees’ hitting problems and injuries affect them in the 2013 season?
We’ll just have to wait until the winter is over and baseball comes around again. My guess? The Yankees will be just fine and back in the playoffs yet again next season
