The Future of the Yankees.

"You want to count Monday night’s sleep-inducing 3-0 loss to the Astros as making the playoffs, go ahead. Yet the last time the Yankees played a postseason series was 2012, when the Tigers swept them out of the ALCS. Adding a second wild-card spot is the product of MLB’s marketing department to keep more teams alive in September and a very flawed concept."

George A. King III just atoned for a multitude of sins with one beautiful paragraph.


"Though Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t possess the knee-jerk gene his father did, Steinbrenner likely will make changes if 2016 is the fourth season without the Yankees playing a postseason series.

Here are five topics Girardi likely will be asked to address Friday."

Girardi is not going to find too many supporters, frankly. Suzyn Waldman isn't going to weep on the air, put it that way.


"1. What was more costly in September, losing Mark Teixeira or the way Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner played?"

Easy answer: the latter.


"Considering the Yankees’ starters aren’t likely to go from 12th in the league in innings pitched (927) to among the leaders next season with likely the same names, does the bullpen need another arm in front of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller to go with Justin Wilson?"

I am a proponent. The game is changing. Relievers are more effective because it's an easier job, so stop relying on starters to get through the lineup four times ... or even three times.


"4. Whom does Girardi see at second base next season?"

George A. King III, I think it's just "who" instead of "whom."

I'm pretty sure the answer is Refsnyder, half a season too late. Which brings me to my digression ...



October 2012 is when Jeter broke his ankle.

The Yankees had just beaten Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs. It was exciting.


In Game One of the ALCS vs. Detroit, the Yankees scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie up the game ... Ibanez did it again!

Jeter breaks his ankle in extra innings, Yankees lose the game, Yankees get swept by Detroit.

Three years ago. Roughly 500 games ago.

The Yankees have been a boring team ever since with virtually zero realistic chance of winning the World Series.

They have finished over .500 every year and a lot of these games have been exciting for sure. At times, the Yankees have over-achieved for extended periods of time, which is nice and perhaps provides some optimism for the fans.

But I think I speak for a lot of Yankee fans when I say the team is boring and the brand is broken. We're all just waiting for the big contracts to end and the team to get a fresh start. The line about striving to win a Championship every year is stale (one whole ring since 2000?).

So the answer to every question should be the younger guy who has potential. Don't worry about the egos of ARod, Teixeira, Beltran, Sabathia, McCann, Headley. We know what they can do. It's not going to be enough.

Rolling the dice with the youngsters isn't just the best strategy, it's the only strategy.

Jeter's broken ankle was a turning point.

I think Tuesday's Wild Card loss may have been the breaking point.

I think this team needs more than a few tweaks.