What Happened to the Yanks?

The 2005 postseason for the New York Yankees followed one of the most challenging of all regular seasons for manager Joe Torre. The Yankees used a club-record 51 players on their roster, which included 14 different starting pitchers and were still able to win the American League East.

Also overshadowed by the Yankees' slow start of 11-19 was how they faired after May, going 84-48, which was the best record in baseball excluding May. And after closing out the regular season with a 16-5 record and taking over first place in the East by overcoming the Boston Red Sox, one can hardly think of their season as a failure.

However, the Yankees failed to advance to the American League Championship Series. After playing under wet conditions in Game 3 of the American League Division Series in Yankee Stadium, suffering a rainout in Game 4, and then flying across the continental U.S. in order to play a must-win Game 5 in Anaheim, California, the Yankees appeared to run out of steam.

Game 3's entirety was played under a steady rainfall for nine innings, which had an impact on all play, as the ball was difficult for players to throw, with both the outfield and infield slick. But the biggest story of the night was how lefthander Randy Johnson got rocked for three innings, and was chased in the fourth after giving up five runs, including two home runs. It was what turned out to be a four-hour heavyweight bout with both teams punching away at each other.

The Yankees, however, eventually, made up ground from a 5-0 deficit which was mainly produced by leftfielder Garret Anderson, who went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer and five runs batted in. Including second baseman Adam Kennedy's single and first baseman Darin Erstad's double, Johnson gave up a total of 9 hits.

The Yankees would eventually take over the lead at 6-5, but with the final score 11-7 in the Angels' favor, many left the stands scratching their heads as to what happened in what was to be a Yankee advantage with Johnson starting. But defensively, play was as sloppy as the field at times, on both sides. The weather also played a key role in the tempo of the game's slogging pace and when all was said and done, it appeared that all players were just anxious to get off the field. It was one that the Yankees would soon rather forget even though the Yankees had 12 hits. But right-hander Aaron Small (10-0) called in for relief for Johnson did not have his usual sharpness in his 2 2/3 innings pitched in giving up 2 runs.

For the Angels, it was a collaborative effort and they looked more like the Yankees than the Yankees did. But perhaps that is why the Yankees looked more like the comeback team they were all season in Sunday's game. Starting pitcher Shawn Chacon, in his first postseason start looked like a veteran and proved to be the star that he will be if he continues to pitch well the rest of his career. The Yankees would be nowhere in 2005 without him along with bargain basement pitchers Aaron Small and Chien-Ming Wang.

In Sunday's Game 4, postponed from Saturday due to the continuing rain, Chacon gave up only two runs and four hits over 6 1/3 innings, although he did not earn the win. Likewise, pitcher John Lackey pitched brilliantly allowing one run and two hits over 5 2/3 innings while pitching on only three days rest. The difference in the game was the Yankees' DH Ruben Sierra's pinch-hit single in the seventh to tie the game in addition to shortstop Derek Jeter's ground ball RBI. It was enough for the Yankees to pull out 3-2 win, as they barely stayed alive in the ALDS. The postponement of Game 4 then required both teams to travel 3,000 miles overnight in order to get in the deciding Game 5 on Monday in Anaheim.

And as many a Yankees fan, as well as Angels fans, knew, there were no certainties about a winner until every last pitch was made. The Yankees had come back too far to lose now, and the Angels had worked too hard on fundamental baseball all season to give in to the Yankees. The pitching starters were to be Bartolo Colon (21-8, 3.45 ERA) for the Angels and Mike Mussina (13-8, 4.41 ERA) for the Yankees. Both were questionable, however, as Colon had been complaining of back problems and Mussina was still nursing an inflamed elbow, which kept him on the DL for two months during the regular season.

As luck would have it, Colon did not make it out of the second inning when he was yanked at the top of it, this time with an inflamed right shoulder. But what was to transpire was nothing short of remarkable when rookie sensation Ervin Santana pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Angels in which the Yankees were stymied. He allowed three runs and five hits, but never buckled after his shaky start, before giving way to reliever Kelvim Escobar and closer Francisco Rodriguez, who racked up 45 saves over the regular season.

Unfortunately, Mike Mussina did not fair as well as he did in Game 1 when he provided 5 2/3 shutout innings. He was pulled in the third after giving up five runs and six hits. Ironically, he was relieved by Randy Johnson, whose appearance most looked at as his chance for redemption for his performance in Game 2. Johnson pitched well in his first relief performance since the 2001 postseason when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks, while pitching 4 1/3 innings keeping the Yanks in contention.

But the Yankees bats were not timely enough with the exception of Derek Jeter's, who went 3-4 including 2 RBI and a solo home run in the seventh, along with right-fielder Gary Sheffield and first baseman Jason Giambi also with three hits apiece. But it was too little too late, and the regular season offensive feats of both leftfielder Hideki Matsui and third baseman Alex Rodriguez were sorely missed throughout the entire series.

The entire ALDS seemed to be in the Angels' favor as they did all of the little things for which the Yankees were previously known. The Angels not only made timely hits and played terrific defense, but its pitchers were able to capitalize on the sluggish NY lineup in addition to NY's 6 errors in the field. Base-running also was not the Yankees' best pursuit this series, as they had trouble generating runs.

When all is said and done, however, most fans will be left with the impression that A-Rod, Sheffield, Giambi, and Matsui were largely hamstrung offensively while dominating offensively all year long. It would not be fair to point fingers at one player, as many are quick to dump on A-Rod. But it is worth noting how much these veteran ball players were pressing. In the end, it appeared they left their guts on the field in the regular season and simply were mentally and physically exhausted throughout the ALDS. The better team in this particular series won, but for the Yankees' fans, this will be another long winter.