The Giants are the current World Series Champions and they're not even in the playoffs.

"Lately the progression goes like this: Win World Series in 2009, lose ALCS in 2010, lose in first round in 2011. But George Steinbrenner as much as he wants to act and sound like a boss (lower-case 'b'), still called his team's season 'a bitter disappointment.'

Actually, it is quite normal, if you put it into current historical context."

Right!

Derek Jeter has lost in the first round more ofthen than he has won World Series.


The Yankees insult their fans when they label successful seasons a "disappointment."

A 97-win season, best record in AL, milestones for Jeter and Mariano (if you're into that kind of thing), the emergence of Ivan Nova and, to a lesser extent, Jesus Montero.

Granderson led the league in runs and RBIS.

Robertson brought back memories of '96 Mariano.

The 2011 Yankees have strong candidates for MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Cashman even deserves consideration for GM of the Year considering how he reacted to the "loss" of Cliff Lee.


"The Yankees always win a ton of games during the regular season and make the playoffs every year out-spending the competition by a lot - every year - and then are more likely to lose in the first round than they are to make the World Series. It is the way they are built and will continue to be built because Hal Steinbrenner seems perfectly happy to watch the money roll in under the current management."

YES!!!!

Lupica finally GETS IT!!!!

The Steinbrenners make so much money, they can afford personal acting lessons from Javier Bardiem. That's how they are able to convincingly act sad when they go in front of the cameras and pretend the season is a disappointment.


By the way, using this all-or-nothing criteria, no major American sports entity is "successful."

• The Yankees have won only 27 Championships in 98 seasons.
• Jack Nicklaus lost more often than he won.
• Michael Jordan only won 6 rings in 15 years.
• Tom Brady has lost in the playoffs more often than he has won the Super Bowl.

"Somehow that management still talks as if it is 1996-2000 and Joe Torre is still the manager and the Yankees of that time - still working off a blueprint created by Gene Michael - always seemed to find a way to win the game they lost Thursday night to the Tigers.

Only this team is not that team despite the way they always invoke the spirit of the dead Boss. This operation is not the old one that actually built a Yankee dynasty."

Bleh.

For one thing, the Torre Yankees always seemed to find a way to win close games, except when they lost close games. Like when they lost in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

The Yankees' dynasties were actually built by outspending their opponents.

Ruth and Berra didn't have to deal with three rounds of the playoffs.

"If it was the old operation, maybe there would be more accountability for the 'failure' to reach a goal that they make sound like an inherited right:

The winning of the World Series. And that means winning more than one in 11 years.

But the most dramatic thing the Yankees do, other than sign more free-agent stars, is change pitching coaches once in a while. They make the playoffs with amazing consistency, year after year. Make boatloads of money. Then they make the Series about as often as a lot of other people in baseball, even as they talk about how special they are."

Now Lupica is getting funny.

Is he baiting the Yankees to make dramatic roster changes?

What sort of dramatic changes does he envision for a 97-win team?

The "old" operation ... and I'm going back to 1980 ... may have indeed over-reacted to a tough ALDS loss. That's really the only way to ruin the team.

The best reaction is to sound like you're panicky and angry ... probably an attempt to empathize with the fans ... and calmly make roster decisions.


"They are a playoff-making dynasty. Just not a Yankee dynasty. It means they are the modern version of the Atlanta Braves of the 90s. Only those Braves made the Series a lot more than the Yankees have over this past decade."

Lupica meant that as an insult.

"The Mets of the 90s." That would be an insult.

The Braves of the 90s were one of the best teams ever.


By the way, the Braves of the 90s were the modern version of the Braves of the 90s. Because the 90s were, like, only twenty years ago. Which is still modern. Many of the Braves of the 90s are still alive. Some of the Braves of the 90s are still playing baseball. One of the Braves of the 90s is still playing for the Braves.


"The guy continued, 'You know what they need? They need more guys like Brett Gardner. More tough guys like that. But they keep getting away from the essence of who they were once. They can't wait to get rid of old guys like Posada and Jeter. But when they're all gone, and Rivera is gone, they'll be further away from their essence, the thing that made them great in the late 90s, than ever.' "

Right.

Brett Gardner and David Eckstein and Don Mattingly and David Dellucci and Wil Nieves.


No one knows what the Yankees "need." Brett Gardner might hit .000 in the playoffs next season and Teixeira might hit 12 HRs in his next 5 playoff games. In the regular season, you can only win the regular season. You try not to get picked off in the playoffs.


Let's play a mind game to support my point. Let's replace the "albatrosses" ARod, Sabathia, and Teixeira with Longoria, Shields, and Kotchman. You save a lot of money and you might be grittier, I suppose.

Does that less expensive Yankee team win the World Series? You can guarantee that this team beats the Tigers in the first round?


In fact, you can pick any 25 players you want in all of baseball. Pujols, Halladay, Lee, Valverde, Lincecum, Verlander, Beltre, Brett Gardner ... and this team isn't guaranteed to win the World Series. This team isn't guaranteed to win a weekend series vs. the Astros.


Ryan Howard just hit .100 in a playoff series. Joe Dimaggio hit .271 in the playoffs. Ted Williams hit .200 in the playoffs. Willie Mays hit .247 with 1 HR in the playoffs.

Go ahead and pick Brett Gardner (.246 playoff BA and 0-for-10 in the World Series, by the way, so an unusual choice) over all of these players. I'll cross my fingers that the superstar opposing pitcher will make an occasional mistake ... my HOF batter will hopefully connect and hit the ball very far.


"The season wasn't a bitter disappointment at all. It was perfectly normal for the Yankees. Somebody should have given Levine a cigar when it was over."

Yup, they should have given him a cigar. The "boss" (with a lower-case "b"). Celebrate the so-called lost decade where you made $1 Billion (with an upper-case "B").