I have some major posts lined up for the next few days, with month-by-month season recaps and a full postseason recap on tap, among other things. However, I did want to briefly run through the people I am most happy for now that the Yankees have won their 27th World Championship.
I am happy for Alex Rodriguez, who took his reputation for failing in the clutch and shattered it with a barrage of clutch hits and epic home runs.
I am happy for AJ Burnett, who will catch plenty of flak for Game 5, but turned this Series around with a great performance in Game 2 and was able to saty healthy all year.
I am happy for CC Sabathia, who came through with 5 huge postseason starts after being questioned about his playoff history ceaselessly all year.
I am happy for Nick Swisher, who really changed the culture in this clubhouse and resurrected his career in NY.
I am happy for Hideki Matsui, who came here with the weight of a nation’s expectations on his shoulders, and finally delivered with a World Series MVP.
I am happy for Phil Hughes, who turned a disastrous 2008 into an excellent 2009 and reestablished himself as an arm to watch.
I am happy for Joba Chamberlain, who struggled with innings limits but found a way to contribute in the playoffs. He’s had a tough life, and provided one of the indelible moments of the celebration last night.
I am happy for Damaso Marte, who finally showed New Yorkers the stuff that made him a great reliever for many years.
I am happy for Melky Cabrera, who bounced back from an awful 2008 and quelled some doubts about his viability as a starter.
I am happy for Brian Cashman, who finally has a champion that he can unequivocally call his own.
I am happy for Joe Girardi, who stuck by his convictions all season in the face of doubts, and helped mold this team into a World Champion. He made just a handful of mistakes in the playoffs, and compensated by making some excellent decisions. He reconfigured his bullpen on the fly in the playoffs, was not afraid to use his pitchers on 3 days rest, and was liberal in his use of his greatest weapon, Mariano Rivera. I tip my hat to Joe, like this.
And finally, I am happy for us, the fans. It seems silly to outsiders, but 9 years of overwhelming expectations combined with Boston success made for an excruciating dry spell. But the wait is finally over. The Yankees are once again the World Champions of baseball. How sweet it is.
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12 Responses to Feeling Happy For……..
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TIQ IQ
I’m so happy man. I was laughing so hard during the postgame last night when Kim of YES was interviewing Johnny -and Joba looking tipsy pours champagne over JD’s head. JD still continued talking to KIm and Joba looking wrecked just stares at JD for a couple of minutes silently while hes still doing the int. and tells JD in his ear “I love you” in a calm voice. JD just ignored him, so joba pours all the champagne down JDs back….funny stuff.
My biggest worry is; Who drove everyone to their homes? Joba and the rest of them hung one on last night, not like the old days. All those guys; Whitey, The Mick, Billy, Moose and Puff were all non-drinkers, they would never think of getting drunk, would they…or, would they?
I heard The Babe use to be the team’s designated driver… to the bar…
This is a joke, right?
wow…
I’m sad Moose wasn’t a part of this!!
Yeah Moose should have been here but I doubt he would have done as well this year as he did last year, he survived on a lot of magic last year and I don’t think even he believed he could do it as well this year. He won 20 games and was the only good part of last year hopefully he was watching last night and feels somewhat apart of molding some of the players on this team.
The last 9 yrs were not as hard for me to endure as some other periods.
The last 9 yrs at least were powerhouse run-scorers, and made the playoffs every yr but one.
The late 1960′s and early 1970′s were hard in retrospect, but at the time, I was young, and i actually thought the Yanks were close to putting together a winning team, every yr. Didn’t happen. We actually finished last (10th!) one yr and 9th the next. I remember Jake Gibbs at catcher, Bobby Cox at third (got a lot of kudos, but only hit around .230 for the yr), Jerry Kinney at third,Horace Clark, Bill Robinson (the next Mantle) hit below .200, etc. I watched the whole crop of early 60′s Yankee stars decline and being given away for journeymen, (Maris to St Louis, where he won a WS), Clete Boyer to Atlanta (where his power hit its peak), Elston Howard go to Boston, Tom Tresh and Jim Bouton diminish to nothing,Al downing never quite make it.etc. Stottlemeyer was the only star for a while, toiling for horrid teams (that I still rooted for). 1977 and 1978 were a long time coming.
But the worst period was the late 1980′s and early 1990′s. The constant upheaval and tension made the best free agent players in the league say that they would never be a Yankee. When the Yankees had a somewhat good yr,(in the ’80′s) the best teams of the league (like the Tigers, would come in and totally demolish us in a series). We always played decent against Boston, though. I eventually came to beieve that the Yanks would never win a WS again.
Then we stared getting good again. I felt we would have went to the series in 1994, if not for the strike. Then 1996 came, and the Braves looked like the team of the decade, but the Yanks took it from them.
So, the last 9 yrs, except for 2 yrs, were not that hard for me to take at all.
Good post oldfan. I remember those years when staying ahead of Cleveland for last place was the only realistic hope. CBS ran the team into the ground until George came along. The teams with Henderson, Winfield, Baylor and Mattingly never had enough pitching. The decades+ before and after ’76-’81 were much different than this decade. Back then, the Yanks were not in the playoffs. With a few exceptions they were not even contenders. The youngsters that occupy 99% of the internet were spoiled by the late 90′s teams and are influenced by fantasy games that they always win. In real life, winning it all is the only true satisfaction but losing in the playoffs is nothing to be ashamed of and certainly nothing to complain about. Every year (but one) in the playoffs is easy to take. Even last year the Yanks stayed in it until the end but it was like the end of the world to everyone but guys like you and me. We know stuff that the young whippersnappers have yet to learn, even though they think they know it all.
Peter,
I agree 100%. Thanks.
Tom
Yes, Those early and mid 1980′s Yankee teams had powerful lineups, but were always short on pitching. I always thought that we were one ace pitcher away. I always hoped that George would acquire Jack Morris, as I thought that that would do it for, at least, 2 or 3 pennants.
Never happened, After the Dodgers came back on us in 1981, and Reggie was traded away–it was a long decade. I liked watching Donny M., Henderson, Winfield, Guidry, Tommy John, Phil Niekro, etc. play, though.
Your last lines hit it on the head…
Now days most fans are very spoiled (as you guys stated), they never saw Joe D, Whitey, Yogi, The Mick, Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, Phil Rizzuto and (one of my favorite pitchers of all time) Ed Lopat play in person. Reading and seeing clips of these guys is great but, having watched them play in person gives one a little leg up on those that have only second hand knowledge.
This team of 2009 is a good comparison to some of those earlier teams; good hitting and pitching plus good defense and BP.