Are We Counting Out the Yankees?

Could we be doing the inevitable? Could we be counting out or underestimating the New York Yankees chances in 2011? In my estimation: Yes.

Many Yankee haters and many disenchanted Yankee fans will point to a “down” year in 2010. It’s baseball analysts that blast the Yankees successes (or lack there of) in 2010 and pinpoint that as an indicator of the Yankee legacy starting a rapid tumble out of contention for not only a World Series title, but an AL East Division crown.

Call me a Yankee home (go ahead) but are we all losing a grip on baseball reality? So we are discrediting a team that was a couple wins from a second trip to the World Series? We’re discounting a team that despite down years from Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Aj Burnett, Mark Teixera, Curtis Granderson and others, but still managed to make it to within a few games of the World Series?!?

Derek Jeter, the Yankee captain who had perhaps the worst season statistically of his career…Alex Rodriguez whose OBP was atrocious by his estimations, and AJ Burnett who gave up more homeruns than a blind underhanded pitcher lobbing soft pitches to Babe Ruth in a little league park..yet the Yankees were only a FEW games from the World Series?!

Excuse me for being a bit defensive. Maybe it is because I am a Yankee fan but am I seriously supposed to believe the “experts” when they pick a team that didn’t even make the playoffs last year (Boston Red Sox) to topple the Yankees without a fight?!

Okay, so I’m supposed to buy into this because of Carl Crawford? Wait, this is the same Carl Crawford who in the ALDS against Texas went 3 for 21 with 1 RBI. So THIS is your Clutch addition that will win you big games down the stretch against the Yankees? That’s like going to a dentist for pilonidal surgery, it just doesn’t make any sense.

Maybe it’s Adrian Gonzalez..Okay. This is the same man who led that juggernaut San Diego Padres team to the Playoffs right? Oh wait, the Padres couldn’t make the playoffs.

So by all of these experts deductions two Regular Season Monsters injected into a Red Sox lineup is going to bring them to the World Series?!!

You’re also telling me that Daisuke Matsuzaka who posted another mediocre -at-best campaign (9-6 4.69 ERA) is going to be all of a sudden “effective”?

And you’re also banking that Josh Beckett who has been on the decline in recent seasons is going to make a dramatic turnaround from a 6-6 5.78 ERA season?

The fact is that the Yankees have finally posted a team that is younger, faster and built moreso from their own farm system than in recent years.

My bold predictions are that the Yankees grab the Wild Card and make it to the World Series. A-Rod will nab an AL MVP Award and carry the Bronx Bombers to title number 28.

Care to debate me about it? Bring it!