Thursday, September 21, 2006

Hats Off

With an assist from the team in red socks, the Yankees clinched their ninth straight AL East Division title yesterday, and their 10th in 11 seasons. As too many Yankee fans have forgotten in recent seasons, days like yesterday and today should not be spent lamenting the team’s deficiencies or the possibility of a tough playoff road ahead. The Yanks and their fans should enjoy the moment, live in the present, and thank the Baseball Gods (and Uncle Steinbrenner) that the team is so fortunate to be in this position once more.

Most of all, clinching the division should allow Yankee fans to reflect on what certain players must be feeling – guys who haven’t been to the playoffs before and who feel as though they’ve been delivered from the wilderness and into paradise. Courtesy of Pete Abraham of the Westchester Journal News:

“You had to feel good for guys like Aaron Guiel. Baseball lifer, never been around a team like this. He was sitting there at one point looking overwhelmed. I went over and shook his hand. ‘This must be great,’ I said. ‘You have no idea,’ he replied.”

And just so no one thinks this post represents a “kinder, gentler MJ”, Pete Abraham also reports:

“As the celebration slowed, reliever Kyle Farnsworth took note of the fact that the Red Sox would occupy the same sodden room tomorrow. ‘The best thing is Boston has to come in here next,’ he said. ‘It’s the smell of victory they’ve got to smell. You can print that.’”

Hey Boston, can you smell what the Yanks are cooking?

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