@ Tresh Fan:
All good points and a fair take on it, IMHO.

My personal take:

2009 may well be the Yankees last best chance to win the World Series for a while—maybe a long while. Rivera will be 40 next year, Posada will be turning 39, Jeter 36, and so on. So if the Yankees don’t win it all this Post Season I will be very saddened no doubt. But if they go down fighting, losing the WS in say 7 tight games I won’t be crushed. But if they lose in ALCS in 4 noncompetitive games I will be extremely pissed.

I don’t get mad when teams lose but here’s my thinking.

If I thought the Yankees were not the best team in baseball, if I thought they had over achieved to win 103 games, if I thought they were the underdog to the Angels, I’d be ok if they lost the series.

But I don’t think that.

I think the Yankees have the most talent in baseball.

I think the Yankees have that je ne sais quois or confidence that comes from knowing that they can come back to win a game no matter how late it is.

I think they have great balance.

I think they play heads up.

I think they can out pitch teams, and out score teams.

So I will be sorely disappointed if they don’t win the Series, because I believe the F.O. has given the Yankees as good a chance to win as they’ve had in a very long time.

That said, the Angels are a very good team, and I fully expect a knock down drag out brawl.

Evan3457 wrote:

Was not angry at 1976. Knew the Reds were much better.
Was angry after 1981. Thought the Yanks blew a series they should’ve won by losing miserable games in the middle 3. Leaving a ton of guys on base in the 5-4 loss to Valenzuela after they got 4 in the 1st three innings, blowing a 6-3 lead in the 6th inning in game 4, and losing a 2-1 lead in the 7th in the 5th game on back to back HR’s by Yeager and Guerrerro against Guidry of all people, while going 1 for 9 with RISP vs. Reuss.
Was not angry after 2001. Thought the Yanks had been thoroughly outplayed the great majority of that series, and were only in a position to win because Byung Hyun-Kim was an awful closer. When Mariano gave up the scratch hit to Gonzalez, I was stunned and angry for about 5 seconds, then I turned to my father and said: “You know what, Dad? The better team won. It was amazing the Yanks even got that close to winning it.” He agreed.
Was not angry in general after 2003. Was specifically angry at Wells, who didn’t keep himself in shape, but told Torre and Stottlemyre he was ready for Game 5. Game 5 was critical, because Beckett loomed in Game 6, and I knew he’d pitch a great game and would probably beat them. When they had to pull Wells because of his back, and I saw Contreras had to come in, I was 99% sure the series was gone, because Contreras was awful in key spots the whole year that year. Sure enough, Contreras buried them in Game 5, and cost them the Series. I was so angry at Wells for his immaturity and irresponsibility, I never wanted to see him again. Still don’t, really.
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How far do they have to go?
Right now, they’re at par. This is as far as they needed to go for me to feel the season is not a total waste. They should’ve made the playoffs and they did. I felt they had as good a shot as anyone to win the division, and they won it. They should’ve beat the Twins and they did.
Now, the Angels are just as good as the Yankees, and matchup well against them. If the Yanks win, I’ll be very happy, and expect them to win it all. If they don’t win, depending on the manner in which they lose, I think I can accept it. If the Angels hit like they did against them in July, or in 2002, well there’s nothing anyone can do. On the other hand, if the Angels win it because the Yanks don’t hit at least a couple of their starters, and bounce the Angels’ pen around; if the Angels don’t hit that well, but run wild and steal every game on the bases, then I’ll be a little torqued off about it.
Let me put it this way: the Yanks can win this series, but I have no firm expectations on it, either way.

Evan, I agree with you for the most part once again! Us old farts think bloody weel alike . I had zero expectations in 76, that wasn’t a dissapointment, I was just happy that they were there.

IN 81, the loss was shocking. As I keep on saying it was devastating to me to say the least. I never expected the Dodgers to come back.

2001 was a surprise given that the invincible MO was touched up. That was somewhat of a wake up call.

@003. I remember telling one of my brothers during the ALCS that if the Red Sox or the Yanks played the Marlins,they would lose. They was something about the way the Marlins played that really piqued my interest. I wasn’t surprised it happen.

2004. I remember that oneof my brothers and I had a talk about the ALCS when the Yanks were up 0-3. Strangely enough, it was surprising how we both agreed that it wasn’t over yet. Another Yankee fan(a doctor no less) wanted to bet my brother a considerable amount of money that the Yanks would win at that point. One stupid doctor I might add! I had a cousin of mine(a very successful doctor) who called me up for consolation on Game 6 and Game 7. During Game 6, I tried to console him and basically told him,it wasn’t over yet…when I knew that it was. The 2004 Yanks just weren’t that good.

The Yanks should beat everyone they play in every stage of the playoffs,BUT I won’t be shocked if the Angels beat them. They match up better against the Yankees than the Red Sox do. Jorge Passedballsada isn’t a great defensive catcher, so expect Scioscia to command his troops to steal early and often. Yeah, the Yanks did well against the Angels in September BUT this is a different season. As for aroid, is he going to putter out like he did in 04? Will Damonic and the Baseless Runner hit some more? I really don’t know but if they lose to the Angels, it wouldn’t come as some sort of surprise. The Yanks are stronger in certain areas like the BP,their closer, power etc so on so they have a chance to beat the Angels. The Angels have the better manager and a better ability to manufacture runs.

The Angels finally vanquished their demons with the decisive victory against the dread Red Pox. Can the original Evil empire finally get rid of that red themed uniformed scourge from So Cal? I had to see the Angels beat the Red Pox to believe that could happen, so anything is possible!

Good enough? With my rational hat on and no game in progress at the moment, I say maintaining the Yankees real standard of winning about one quarter of every WS ever played is good enough, and that I am satisfied as long as we keep adding rings at about that clip.

If you had put that query up with a game on the line I might have fallen into the Yankees pretend standard way of thinking, which is to claim that nothing is satisfactory but to win it all every time.

Jeter may be no kid in terms of player age, but he’s a kid in terms of my age and even in terms of my years of fandom, and I understand why someone who came along when he did might have expected to keep winning at that impossible rate. Sorry, Captain, but a longer look at reality will convince even you otherwise somewhere down the line.

MJ wrote:

I think we’re due to beat them

Yup, this is the year the Yankees get the rally monkey off their back.

@ Raf:
I noticed the Tokyo hat when I met you at the 125th Street Metro North! I was wondering where you got it!

True, the Yanks need the Red Sox in some way. But I’m not saying they should be contracted, I’m just saying I want them to go 0-162 next year! After all, before this year, the ’06 season was kinda fun because of the Boston Massacre II and them missing the playoffs (although all the A-Rod hating took a ton of joy out of that year overall).

Nah, I was rooting for the Angels all the way. I think we’re due to beat them and I think the Red Sox might’ve swung the wild season back their way (0-8; 9-1; ??).

@ MJ:
Same here, I’ll always rep the white and blue, for the most part; I haven’t bought a Yankees cap in years, I keep having to give them away (and they’ve gotten quite expensive). I rock a Tokyo Giants cap, a gift a friend game me from Japan.

As for the Red Sox, well, we need them to be the ying to our yang. Bugs had Daffy, The Bandit had Smokey, The Roadrunner had Wile E. Coyote. We have the Boston Red Sox.

While the rivalry may be overplayed, I haven’t seen how it can be any other way. I was kinda hoping they’d make the ALCS so I can make a quick trip to Boston and watch a game in person.

Evan3457 – I know. I’m just having some fun with it all.

I’ve been a die-hard Yankees fan for over 35 years and have experienced all the team’s ups and downs during that time. I know how hard it is to win a title, because there have been many seasons – as noted above – where it all went oh, so wrong, when it looked like all the stars were aligned.

I’m having a blast watching this team in the post season. It’s beginning to feel like a special team and season and my expectations are high. But if they don’t win it all, it still will have been a wonderful season.

MJ- Anyway, the larger point is that I don’t believe in the so-called Steinbrenner Doctrine (I find it — and anyone who believes in it — idiotic and simple-minded) so I don’t view any season that ends without the WS as a failure. Disappointment at missed opportunities can hurt for only so long but you have to take a step back and appreciate the process too.

The worst thing is that its not just our fans that do this. The haters and the media do as well. I had Pirates fans giving me shit in 2003…PIRATES FANS! Us losing anything is a failure and a reason for the haters to hate. You can rest assured, even if we sweep LAA, but lose in the WS, the media/haters will come out and call the season a failure and bring up the recent failures.