They haven’t won 26 titles in 40 appearances for nothing, or haven’t spent an outrageous $423.5 million for the series MVP C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett. Even the house Derek Jeter built was invested, confident of reliving glorious celebrations and pennant runs.
Last year alone the dauntless co-chairmen Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, spent $1.5 billion in creations of the immense Yankee Stadium when times were fragile, and battered in economic downturns.
At the time, squandering massive profit was considerably trivial. Eventually, last winter turned into a crazy uproar, labeled as an egotistic and greedy franchise.
For much of the winter, the Steinbrenner family was criticized for spending foolishly, knowing their unsuccessful letdowns in the yesteryears, slumps that were cynical in which lavishing sizable paychecks weren’t an antidote for reviving traditional pinstripes.
But in a season of uncertainty, the Yankees vanquished adversity, without derailing and encountering a financial collapse to doom prestige and stature, earned decades ago when it became America’s team, where beloved icons were merely perceived.
This time, New York arrives on schedule when the leaves shed, when pumpkins harvest, and when Jack-O-Lanterns sit on your neighbor’s front porch celebrating the most foolish holiday. This isn’t a prank the Yankees have arrived, fulfilling a familiar scenario in a month where children wear costumes and Trick or Treat collecting sweets to satisfy a rowdy bunch for a few weeks.
But now, in New York, long-awaited fans are satisfied that the most scrutinized and capitalist franchise in sports has erased ghastly fiascoes and memorable collapses in the postseason.
Not long ago, the Yankees collapsed amid a nightmarish series, facing archenemies the Boston Red Sox, who trailed the series 3-0, and suddenly pulled off the most dramatic comeback in sports breaking 86 years of misery.
For a long time, New York failed to cease agonizing defeats against the Los Angeles Angels, a team at one point with magical aggressiveness in running the bases and producing runs. It was perfect magic, located a block away from Disneyland, but magic now resides near the subways in the Bronx.
A primary factor in the Yankees successful drive to the pennant, amid a revamped year, is the sudden uprise of Alex Rodriguez, who failed in previous postseasons. He faltered in previous seasons, amassing most of his RBI and homers in the regular-season when games weren’t as significant. But now, he’s worthy of the nickname “Mr. October”, guiding this franchise to their first World Series appearance in nine years.
In the meantime, A-Rod isn’t A-Fraud, convincing us he’s free of contaminated juice after confessing and apologizing to the world when his name was revealed from a list of 104 players using performance enhancers, which disheartened the masses who were convinced that he was the purest slugger in the game.
Of course now, we believe all his homers are belted naturally, untainted of any substances. Arriving to the biggest level, for the first time in his career, he’s chasing hardware on the grandest stage. But above all, the Yankees as an entire are favorites and craving to win their 27th title, staying atop all teams in the majors.
In fairness, after spending billions and owning the largest payroll in the game, the main priority is to win a championship. Otherwise, the Steinbrenner’s are considered failures, and in likelihood, could be portrayed as spending fools.
Next thing, skeptics will consider the Yankees as the biggest bust, while typical fans will defend and wait again. The worst case scenario is their believable season could finish wastefully, but the best case scenario is their persuasive season could symbolize a dominant franchise, possibly starting off the new decade with aspiration.
A franchise with a $210 million payroll cannot afford to perform the choke job. But with a mentor, Joe Girardi, who can actually manage the world’s most demanding job and has handled the scrutiny and media tension well, the players are grasping a sense of the game from a well-experienced and well-respected manager.
It took long enough, but now $275 million giving to A-Rod makes sense after having a breakout and monster postseason, ending all dreadful droughts. Sure, critics could utter he has a good luck charm in Kate Hudson, his starlet girlfriend. But Mark Teixeira might have a slight impact as well, making A-Rod’s assignments less painful. His presents have definitely abstracted tremendous pressure, of which much isn’t strictly relied upon Rodriguez.
In the offseason, Teixeira was a huge blockbuster deal, shocking majority of the masses after landing with the Yankees. Courtesy of the powerful and manipulating agent Scott Boras, Teixeira was certain to earn the biggest deal on the market and accepted an eight-year, $185 million deal to wear pinstripes.
There’s also Sabathia, the best pitcher arguably in the postseason, which tells us why he’s the richest hard-thrower in the majors.
The Angels were unsuccessful, striking out constantly and failed even to hit ground outs or fly outs. Sabathia’s ridiculous fastball seems untouchable, his nasty slider seems impossible on making contact, and his presence seems intimidating, which might pose problems for the Philadelphia Phillies. At the newly stadium, fans vastly shout out “C.C.! C.C.! C.C.! Usually, Sabathia lasts in late innings and almost pitches complete games, because of his dangerous arm that cannot be reckon with.
On the other side, the overpowering Yankees, ruined the Angels optimistic season. But it mostly came from errant plays and costly plays that are formidable amid a pennant race. For many, this was their year, riding on inspiration of the late Nick Adenhart. But clumsy base running, botched throws and goofed up pitching, enough to make Goofy hide out in Disneyland, wasn’t passable to trounce pinstripes.
Still, credit goes to the Yankees for closing it out in Game Six with a 5-2 win that punched a ticket to the World Series with the Phillies waiting. No rain was in the forecast, but it was a night when Andy Pettitte’s cutters were as flawless as C.C.’s fastball, pitching in the greatest game of his lifetime. Then, Mariano Rivera entered the game in the eighth inning to post a six-out save, striking out Gary Matthews Jr. on the final out, and relived the glorious celebrations that average New Yorkers are accustomed to in a well-known ritual.
Again, the Yankees are your renaissance team.
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