Positive reflections on the 2011 season

By On October 7, 2011 · 6 Comments · In General Musings

Just wait till next year!

Shortly after a scheduling conflict prevented me from writing my typical Monday, 1pm post it dawned on me that my next scheduled post might be due just after the Yankees had been eliminated from the playoffs. As a result, I’ve had ample time to reflect on what I would write about if events didn’t break the team’s way. Imagine my surprise to discover that, in the end, I only had positive things to say about the 2011 season.

It is natural to be disappointed when a 97 win team finishes with home field advantage in its league only to lose in the first round of the playoffs, but the Yankees defied odds to finish in first place at all. Entering the season no one anticipated such a strong performance from the 2011 Yankees. The assumption was that the best the Yankees could do was win the Wild Card, and nothing more, while the Boston power house collided with the Philadelphia starting rotation in the World Series. Along the way the Bombers didn’t get the memo, and gave us one of the most entertaining regular seasons in recent memory.

The composition of the team also began to change this season. , a great Yankee and possibly a future Hall of Famer, saw his role on the team reduced while and struggled with injuries. Despite this, the team continued to win, resting on the performance of what has become a newer core: , , , , and (erratically) . (Unsurprising to all, just kept on going.) Furthermore, we all got a glimmer of what could potentially be a dramatically different Yankee team in 2013, one that includes heavy hitters like Jesus Montero, with a rotation that may very well feature , and Manny Banuelos. If this is the future, then the Yankee future is bright.

It is always disappointing when a team with home field advantage loses in the first round of the playoffs, but that frustration is reduced given how much this Yankee team over achieved. In comparison, the 2010 Yankees were a much bigger disappointment. That team entered the season with repeat written all over it only to underachieve in a variety of ways en route to an ALCS loss. Sure, the 2010 team made it deeper into the playoffs than the 2011 team did, but that team was meant to be only a slightly retooled version of the 2009 World Champions. They were supposed to win it all! This year’s crop was only supposed to go as far as and would carry them, which turned out to be just one more of the year’s pleasant surprises.

While I am most certainly upset that the Yankees didn’t pull out the victory last night, I’m not as hung over from the excitement and the adrenaline of the postseason as I thought I’d be. By comparison, I was much more terrified in 2009 when the team was obviously the best in baseball, and absolutely had to win (and take a monkey off its back in the process). This entire season was a rousing success, given the team’s long odds (relatively speaking) when the season began. While this in no way makes up for the Yankees going home after losing an eminently winnable series, it does serve as a reminder of just how much fun 2011 was, and how lucky I am that the team I get to root for doesn’t need to catch lightning in a bottle to be competitive. We’ll be right back in the swing of things next year.

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6 Responses to Positive reflections on the 2011 season

  1. Larry Koestler says:
    October 7, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    Well said, Mike. Awesome.

    Reply
  2. Matt Imbrogno says:
    October 7, 2011 at 1:21 pm

    The last lines are perfect, Mike. Great job.

    Reply
  3. Rich in NJ says:
    October 7, 2011 at 2:10 pm

    Given the abundance of talented young players, the future is really bright if they have the patience to see it through.

    Reply
  4. Mike Jaggers-Radolf says:
    October 7, 2011 at 5:20 pm

    Thanks guys. I’m glad you liked it.

    Reply
  5. T.O. Chris says:
    October 8, 2011 at 8:21 am

    What are the odds of Granderson repeating his 40 HR season? He has an approach tailor made for Yankees stadium, but I have to admit I never saw more than 35 HRs as possible from the time we made the trade. I think his follow up season is going to be the thing I look forward to the most out of the Yankee offense.

    Reply
  6. Del says:
    October 10, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    A wonderful article. I have to say, this season is the first in a while that I didn’t feel too badly about once the final out was made in the ALDS. There was just too many good things that happened during this season to feel badly about how it ended. I was more upset before the season started that practically no one saw the team winning the AL East; there were even those who said the team might not make the postseason at all. To the latter, I wag my tongue out at them. As I always tell other baseball fans, the game is played on the field, not on paper.

    I also had the same observation about a new core of players. This actually makes me very optimistic about the next few seasons. If we can maintain this core, the team can survive the eventual exit of Rivera, Jeter, and even A-Rod. I am also revved up in seeing players from the farm being brought up and having success in the Majors. How I’d love to see a Yankee team composed of several players that came up their system.

    Reply

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