

I truly thought the Yankees would be chasing the Sox (and the wild card spot) all season. I expected we would make the playoffs, I just didn’t think we had the pitching to compete. And as things stand right now, I still feel that way for next season. But to channel the precious Tim Gunn, this was a “make it work” season. And we fucking made it work. CC, Fat Bart, and Freddy Garcia kept the ship from sinking; Ivan Nova blossomed into a front-end starter; Russell Martin toughed out injuries and provided great defense behind the plate; Robbie undoubtedly established himself as one of the best hitters in the game; the Baseball Jesus bounced back, as predicted, and not only made history, but produced when we needed it most; David Robertson seamlessly became our set-up man, after Rafael Soriano disappeared; the MoBot3000x, now 872 years old and still throwing one pitch, was unhittable, as usual; Jesus Montero came up and finally proved that he really can hit; Brett Gardner’s sparkplug status flourished further; and Curtis Granderson became a genuine star in the Bronx. I really can’t complain. We won the AL East and it wasn’t even stressful.

Undoubtedly, we have holes to fill. We still need pitching, but I love the prospects in our farm system. My two biggest concerns – resigning Cashman and extending CC – have already been taken care of, which gave me warm fuzzies as soon as it happened. So overall? I can’t help but think that the Yankees did a great job this season.
At the moment, my biggest concern is that, with the baseball season over, what the f do I watch now?* Turning on the YES network after work and getting lost in baseball for hours every evening is basically my favorite thing to do. And now we having nothing! The NBA is a total clusterfuck. Football can only entertain me on the weekends (and Monday night, if I prefer record-setting turnovers and botched snaps over Gossip Girl). College basketball hasn’t really heated up yet. I mean, we are left with, what? Hockey? Only people from America’s Hat still care about such a sport.


All I know is that spring training cannot come soon enough. And now that I am thinking about it, it is probably better that the Yankees didn't win this year anyway; when we win too often, we inevitably have to debate the salary cap. So I am pretty sure the 2011 season, while ultimately a failure, was planned and executed by the Ghost of George Steinbrenner. And I am cool with the way it turned out. I miss you, Boss. Almost as much as I miss baseball itself.

I apologize for the lack of posts this week, guys; it has been pure insanity in my office. But CDTF will be back in full next week, with lots of good stuff coming up. A Ball Four book club, Batting Practice Bitches with a partially new cast, predictions for the college basketball season, an update on why people hate Duke, color commentary on the Cubs, and lots more. Please email me if you would like to get involved with CDTF. Until then, have a great week and please check back tomorrow.