Vulnerable Yankees Teams 1996-2012
Ken Davidoff lists his five most vulnerable Yankees teams (in spring training) from 1996 through 2012. Here they are:
- 2011
- 2008
- 2005
- 2000
- 1996
And, I think the point here, that he’s trying to make, is that these teams, for the most part, all won a lot of games.
But, what I think is different now, compared to then, is the A.L. East.
In 2011, the Orioles were terrible and the Blue Jays were just so-so. In 2005, both the Orioles and the Rays sucked. And, the Blue Jays were under .500 that year. Ditto in 2000. So, the Yankees were able to take advantage of that – playing those teams so often. That won’t be the case in 2013. (For what it’s worth, in 1996, what saved the Yankees bacon was their HTH record against the Orioles.)
Lastly, in 2008, well, the Yankees finished 3rd, eight games out. Nuff said. I suspect that 2013 may be just like 2008.
To me, the point here is that even vulnerable teams, like the 2000 and 1996 squads, can win championships.
Or in other words, you still have to play the game.
That being said, I’m not expecting much this year. Maybe this is the year I can score some cheap legends suite tix. I really want to go back to those seats…
Steve L. wrote:
And they held their own against the Rays and Red Sox… Go figure!
When I was picking the kids up from school today, I heard a guy on the FAN. He said he’s been going to Spring Training down in Tampa for 15 years in a row. Every year, the games sell out in January. This year, he said, you could buy tickets at the window, the day of the game. No problem – plenty of seats to be had.
I caught a little of the DR-Yanks game on YES. And, I was shocked to see all the empty blue seats.
A sign of things to come in the Bronx this year?
Corey wrote:
That’s the message here, more than anything else.
@ Corey: Maybe this is the year I can score some cheap legends suite tix. I really want to go back to those seats…
I remember the sort of good old days when the Yanks weren’t so popular and then move down to the good seats.
@ redbug:
You can’t actually move down to those seats. They have a special entrance all to themselves.
In other news, Furcal goes down needing TJS.
Does a Nunez for Craig/Carpenter trade work? If it took more, it wouldn’t be a big piece and I could live with it.
I think it pretty obvious, the Yanks need 2-3 “real surprises” to surface from the minors and play a significant role. This, in a sense, is what many Yankee fans have pined for over the last 10-15 years. It’s cool when you see it happen to other teams (and happen it does), the “homegrown” and “youthful exuberance”. Many of the “greybeards” nod their heads and think “Andre Robertson, Jay Buhner, Kevin Maas, Ken Clay, Oscar Azocar, Steve Balboni,etc………” We’ll just have to wait and see, maybe a juggernaut reemerges. It’s not like many people thought that the early Yank teams were “destined” for anything……
It’s possible, especially if the injuries to Tex and Granderson rob them of much of their power this year. If that happens, then they are down 100 HR after all.
Corey wrote:
Isn’t Carpenter’s career over? Why would St. Louis trade Allen Craig for Nunez?
Steve L. wrote:
I’ve been predicting this decline since they moved into the new stadium. I was a season ticket holder for 15 years and there were just too many of us that got screwed when the Yanks moved into the new stadium. No more opening day, no more automatic playoff tickets, and they threw us into the nosebleed sections. I know ALOT of people who were longstanding season ticket holders who gave up their tickets after one year in the new stadium. I told my husband at that time that it would eventually catch up to them and it appears that it now has.
Also, I’m sure the availability of tickets on StubHub doesn’t help. Tickets are being sold by the season ticketholders – sometimes below face value – and the Yankees get stuck not being able to sell their own unbought tickets. I have the Yankees calling me regularly now to try and sell me packages.
LMJ229 wrote:
Sooner or later a prediction is bound to be right.
Steve L. wrote:
Saw a little of the game in Tampa today on YES and noticed some empty blue seats in prime locations, FWIW