Tedious take.

"The comeback, this winning streak, the rise from the dead -- it's all been a pleasure to watch. Even those nail-biting ninth innings have been kind of cool, sometimes. If you told me the Yankees would win 34 of their next 45 games after that Mets loss, let alone still be in the Wild Card hunt, I would have laughed at you.

But now that they are almost a lock to make the postseason (like we expected months ago) here is a reminder that anything less than an American League pennant is unacceptable.

...

As things stood on Opening Day, you could not name one Yankee fan who would have been happy with anything short of a World Series appearance. You're not allowed to go from Opening Day American League favorite to 'it would be nice to make a run' just because you made a comeback from what once looked to be a lost season."

You're not allowed to enjoy simply enjoy the ride and enjoy being a fan of a baseball team.

If the Yankee don't make the World Series in 2021, it would be unacceptable. Which is a filler adjective devoid of meaning. I don't accept that an event happened. An undesirable event. The consequences will be ... ummm ... I'm not sure. I will blog derisively.

 

 

I mean, OK: The Yankees have to make the World Series in 2021.

If they don't make the World Series, the season will be a failure.

Which means the season will probably be a failure. 

I could have told you that one month ago or three months ago or nine months ago or ten years ago. No team ever started a season with a 51% chance of making the World Series and the rest is just boring PR.

We already know the rest of the story, anyway.

If the Yankees win the World Series in 2021, it's only one. 

It's still not as good as the Torre Yankees or the Stengel Yankees or the McCarthy Yankees and Taillon can't hold a candle to Real Champs like Pettitte and Arroyo and Herb Pennock.

I've been a Yankee fans since 1875 and, let me tell you, in the clutch, you need a guy like Herb Pennock who one time threw back-to-back-to-back no-hitters in the playoffs and never threw one ball out of the strike zone the whole time. Two-hundred innings in one weekend and he didn't complain once. Now I see Cole come out of a game after 7 2/3 innings while Lefty Gomez spins in his grave.

If the Yankees win the World Series in 2021 and it starts a streak of four Championships in a row, it's still not as impressive as what Epstein did with the Red Sox or what Tampa did with a smaller payroll. Sure, I'm happy that LeMahieu hit .350 in the playoffs, but it's not not as impressive as Tom Brady's seven Super Bowl rings.

 

I'll design a credo that make easier on fans and analysts:

• Winning is good.
• Winning is fun.
• Winning is always better than losing.