A Sad Reminder

While strolling along on the Disney Boardwalk, I passed the ESPN Club that reminded me that my New York Yankees didn't make it to the World Series this year. I thought for sure that they were going to end their drought by the way they performed all year. They actually had more players on the injured list during the course of the year than they had on the roster. Subs and minor league call-ups were even getting hurt. Yet, they still topped 100 wins. If that doesn't prove that Aaron Boone should be Manager Of The Year, I don't know what does.

While the Yankees need for starting pitching has been highly documented, it was the lack of timely hitting that did them in during the ALCS. Although they were successful using an opener instead of a starting pitcher during the regular season, it didn't work out as well against the Astros. It has already been announced that Aaron Hicks, Masahiro Tanaka and Luke Voit will all be experiencing some sort of surgery this offseason. Even though we haven't seen Jacoby Ellsbury the past few seasons, Brian Cashman had already stated that we shouldn't expect to see him next year either. I don't know what type of injury Ellsbury is experiencing and Cashman never went into any kind of detail.

They are talking like they plan on bringing Brett Gardner back next year, even though he will be a free agent. Despite his aging, Gardner was the most reliable outfielder this past season with everyone else hitting the injured list. In a season where many players exceeded their single season home run totals, 2019 saw Gardner accomplish the same feat.

The passed ball woes came back to haunt Gary Sanchez during the Astros series, even though he showed a major improvement with his defensive skills when not on the injured list over his previous seasons. The ALCS was lost after a home run was given up by Aroldis Chapman creating a devastating walkoff. Watching it on television seemed very odd as Chapman had a weird smile on his face as the ball sailed over the wall. It might have been his way of dealing with his failure, but I was surprised that none of the announcers mentioned it.

In actuality, the Yankees had plenty of exciting moments this year. There were numerous players who stepped up to keep us in first place. LeMahieu, Urshela, Torres, Maybin and Tauchman are names that come to mind without spending too much time thinking about it. LeMahieu is actually the reason that the Yankees were still playing in that last game setting up the chance for the Astros to walkoff.

Once again, we will be looking towards next year. Gerrit Cole is expected to be a free agent next year. If not the Yankees, he will make some team a contender. Last offseason, I remember thinking how Miguel Andujar is going to be an improved third baseman. Boy, what a difference a year makes!