October 13th, 2006 → 7:09 am @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
“What did anyone expect to see when the Yankees were losing Saturday night? With the Yankees, and a growing extent the Red Sox, childish joy is not a part of the equation.”
— Peter Gammons, “Torre is not part of Yanks’ problem,” ESPN.com Insider column, October 11, 2006. (You’ll need an ESPN Insider account to read the whole piece, which was posted yesterday.)
It’s not that surprising that the image of Jim Leyland kissing a fan through a screen — an image of childish joy if there ever was one — is one of the most enduring images of the Tigers’ annihilation of the Yankees in the ALDS.
This’ll likely be the last post of the day: I’m about to head out to take a train to Boston and will be in a (non baseball-related conference) the rest of the day. So I’ll leave you with one last thought: it’s a good thing George Steinbrenner vetoed his baseball operations staff and decided to spend his money on an aging and gimpy Randy Johnson instead of a fleet-footed and still very elite Carlos Beltran in the ’04 offseason…althought right now, I’m sure the Cardinals disagree.
Post Categories: 2006 Playoffs & Carlos Beltran & George Steinbrenner & Peter Gammons
roknrol78
17 years ago
Now two years removed from that magical season I’m still a little bothered that Theo broke up a team that was successful. In addition to having great players, that team had great chemistry. THAT team had guts and resolve as well as childish joy. Pedro, Derek Lowe, Johnny Damon, Orlando Cabrera (the image of him whipping out the swim goggles in Yankee Stadium still brings a smile to my face, even if it is a little “in your face,” which is not my personal style), and Kevin Millar, among others. Do you think that team would have let themselves be swept five games at home to the Yankees? I don’t think so.
I think I read somewhere that Lowe thought that championship team, if kept together, could have won another one or two World Series. I don’t doubt him. That was a special TEAM and now the Sox are turning into a less expensive version of the Yankees, with new players coming and going. I realize that economics had something to do with the breakup of that team, but still, I can’t help but look fondly at that team, with its gritty, fun players.
WishfulThinking
17 years ago
In 2002, the Angels won the World Series. To a man, the players thought that if they kept that special team together they could repeat. Management forked out the money and kept the team together.
The 2003 Angels finished in 3rd place in the AL West with a losing record.
Pull out the DVDs if you want to remember the 2004 team. It’s not management’s job to keep the team together as some kind of memorial.
Ogie Oglethorpe
17 years ago
Well played “WishfulThinking”, well played. Some people (fans and media) like to complain about the 2004 team being broken up and talking about what might have been. We might have gotten the chance to see Pedro fall apart in front of our eyes (like he did in his return) on a regular basis, we might have seen Millar’s batting average dip below the Mendoza line while making anonymous quotes about Schilling to reporters, we might have watched DLowe get shelled on a regular basis…