So a week on...

I have been away doing other things and working on other projects but today I have a day off and a day full of blogging it shall be. A week ago today the Yankees were done for the year, a disappointing loss in Orange County ended what was a hard season for Yankee fans.

This one though didn't hurt half as much as others have and I'll tell you why. This years Yankee team were never that good. They battled hard and had hot and cold spells but the fragile starting rotation really killed this team. Apart from a great run after our 11-19 start and the last three weeks or so of the season, this team was barely .500.

Hitting wise we had a really nice bonus in Robinson Cano coming through and Jason Giambi once again becoming a feared presence in the line-up, but away from that we didn't see anyone else exceeding their expectations. A-Rod was great but I have to say I expect great for the money he is getting paid, Jeter had a good year and both Sheffield and Matsui did what we have come to expect. My boy Jorge had a down year and Bernie is done, much as I hate to say it, he's done. Tino had a hot fortnight but away from that all he ever was to this team was a defensive replacement for Giambi. Womack was always a strange signing and another one of George's failed attempts at bringing in a prototype lead-off hitter, if only he could hit then maybe the plan might've worked!

On to the starting pitching, Randy was not the ace of the staff we all believed he would be. He produced decent numbers but he gave up far too many long balls to ever to effective and that nasty slider we all know he has didn't seem to come with him from the National League. Mussina was great or god damn awful, very rarely anywhere in between. Carl Pavano...Did he ever pitch a good game at home? I remember a couple of gems on the road but really he didn't live up to billing and Jaret Wright's only hope for staying in the Bronx is if Leo Mazzone does come to the Yankees, more on that later. The last man in our opening rotation was...Oh yes Kevin Brown (it took me an age to think of who it was) he is definitely done, more done than Bernie and his time in the Bronx was not the happiest of his career.

So with all the injuries and problems, we had several other starters this year. Three of them came in and were just immense. Wang, Chacon and Small somehow kept the Yankees from coming completely off the rails and kept the juggernaut moving forward. Wang and Chacon are both well and truly in the mix for the rotation next season and I suspect Small will stick around and be the long-man in the Bronx. We also threw out Al Leiter, Tim Redding, Tanyon Sturtze, Darrell May, and Sean Henn as starters this season, did I miss anyone?

On to the pen and it was all about AL Cy Young contender Mo, and Flash was good as well. Below that and it was bad, real bad. The Yankees will undergo changes this off season and after Neighbours et al I shall write about why I think the Yankees will say goodbye to no fewer than five very important non-playing members of this franchise.