YOU’RE DONE:Manager Joe Girardi takes the ball from CC Sabathia in the sixth inning of the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Tigers in Game 5 of the ALDS at the Stadium. (Getty Images)
The best we could now say for the 2011 Yankees is at least they weren’t the Red Sox.
They earned their way into the playoffs. But fell short of their mandate. Way short.
The Yankees never kid about their aims. It is championship or bust. So losing a first-round decisive game on your home field is unacceptable. Alex Rodriguez called it “devastating” and manager Joe Girardi termed it “a terrible day.”
It might not be choking away a sure playoff spot in the final weeks of the regular season like their enemies to the north. But around here it is failure just the same.
PHOTOS: ALDS GAME 5: TIGERS 3, YANKEES 2
Why did the Yankees not get to an ALCS rematch against the Rangers?
There were many goats. But when the Yankees won the championship in 2009 a huge reason was because the highest-paid pitcher ever and hitter ever excelled. It has not been that way the past two postseasons for CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez. And in this series, won three games to two by Detroit, A.J. Burnett outpitched Sabathia and Brett Gardner outhit Rodriguez.
This is not how the Yankees were designed to win big games — and they didn’t. The Tigers won in five games because, in general, their collection of power arms tamed the Yankees’ power bats. Still, the Yankees lost three games by a total of four runs. So they were a star turn away from winning this series; a game-turning pitch, a big hit, and, in particular, Sabathia and Rodriguez never delivered.
For all the worry all season about who would start behind Sabathia in a big series, it was Sabathia who hurt the Yankees the most from the mound in this best-of-five. He did not lose Game 3 or Game 5, but did more than just about any Yankees pitcher to assure the outcome. Girardi weaved six relievers over the final seven innings yesterday. Five pitched scoreless ball. Sabathia gave up the run that ultimately would be the difference in a 3-2 loss; a two-out RBI single from Victor Martinez in the fifth inning.
“I just didn’t make pitches,” Sabathia said. “That’s pretty much my postseason.”
It was a lament that could have covered the past two months as Sabathia devolved from an ace to No. 3-ish starter — his fastball not as lively or as accurate. Now he can opt out of his contract and almost certainly will — but he is not going to ask for No. 3 starter money. The Yankees need him, but how far will they go to keep him?
The Yankees already are into Rodriguez for six more years at $143 million. And after this season of knee and thumb injuries, and a postseason of 2-for-18 in which he was outplayed by the Tiger third base duo of Brandon Inge and Don Kelly, the Yankees must wonder what they will get for the money. Rodriguez vowed an offseason workout regimen that will be designed to trim down a bit more and become more athletic. But at 36, is the calendar just working against him? Is he in a steady, irreversible slide now that will drop him soon from cleanup toward the bottom of the lineup?
“I have a lot to prove and I am looking forward to the challenge,” Rodriguez said in a champagne-free clubhouse. “I am coming back with a vengeance.”
He left with the stink of failure. The Yankees went just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, and both hits were singles that loaded the bases with one out and did not score runs. The second of those came in the seventh and brought up Rodriguez, who was struck out by Joaquin Benoit. Mark Teixeira walked to force in a run to make it 3-2. Nick Swisher, another playoff dud, struck out to end the threat.
With one last shot to avoid a shower of boos, Rodriguez came up with two out in the ninth and for the third time in the game was struck out, this time by closer Jose Valverde. Just like last year, Rodriguez struck out to end the Yankees postseason.
He insisted after this game that he had no problems with confidence and that his injuries were not a factor.
“I would pay to be in those situations,” he said.
But the Yankees are paying him and — for now anyway — Sabathia to be stars; to carry a team through tough times, like they did in the 2009 postseason; carried them all the way to the Canyon of Heroes; helped meet the organizational mandate. This year — failed by their stars — the best the Yankees could do was not be the Red Sox. Thus, Rodriguez had the proper coda for the 2011 Yankees season:
“A major failure.”