Breaking Even

The Yankees split their two game series against the Mets. Not a surprise, correct?

There remains this general illusion, in all sports really, that there are teams that are playoff teams, and there are those that are not. In an academic sense, yes they are, if you define playoff teams as those that make the playoffs, but there’s more to it then that in terms of true contenders.

Then there’s the intangible aspect. Teams that wouldn’t have been considered playoff teams, but the expansion of playoff formats and the inclusion of wild-card rounds have brought more teams into the mix. Yes, they are playoff teams academically, but in practicality they’re not. They are horses included in the race that have no shot, but are there to make the forward dash more interesting than what it is.

With MLB it’s much the same, but obviously the primary reason the expanded playoffs exist is to make more money. It is not for the betterment of the game. I commend the NHL for keeping their playoff format to 16 teams even with the added expansion. It probably should be dropped to 12 (and maybe expand the regular season to offset the financial constraints of contracting the format, but that’s for another debate). One of the worst things the MLB did was to add a divisional series. I totally understand the league championship series – baseball had grown during the ’60s, and the need for an easy/west division was clear. The division series less so. It meant the playoff rounds would be diluted with fringe teams that weren’t necessary at the same level of the division leaders. Yes, there are exceptions, but generally these teams offer no surprises. Then it got worse with a wildcard round, but at least fundamentally it was a one game winner take all. Now, with the two out of three format is amounts to unnecessary wasted time we can never get back. I enjoy baseball just as much as the next fan in my age group while the younger generation is watching draws in soccer matches, but the wildcard round, best of 3, is essentially the kids at the stack table in the kitchen while the adults are eating in the dining room on Thanksgiving. It’s just not needed.

So how does all this relate to the Yankees? At the time of this writing the Bronx Bombers are 2.5 out of a wildcard spot, and while I know I’ll get hate for saying this, never has 2.5 games been so far away. It’s an illusion. It might as well be 10.5. In fact, 10.5 might even be preferred at this point because you know it’s out of reach. At 2.5 it seems the playoffs are within grasp, but here’s the catch. It’ll always be there – slightly out of reach, when you’re nothing more than a .500 team, and that’s what they are. Presently they’re at .529. That’s because teams like Kansas City are around, but it all serves as this smokescreen that they are a legitimate contender. They are not. It’s something to put on a marquis that they are more than the sum of their parts, injuries have been brutal including our superstar captain. All true. Injuries have had a role, but not to the level of inconsistent hitting by other superstars that remain in the lineup.

So the fact they split a two game set with the Mets is almost predictable. It’s .500. It’s breaking even. Those teams don’t go very far. The win percentage can go on a sliding rule from .500 to .529 to .517 and so forth. It means playoffs are forever frustratingly out of reach. However unlikely they do get in it’ll be because other teams lost not because they won. These Yankees are the break even edition; not the championship version. We get accused of being fair weather fans. I balk at that. We are fans, but we’re also realists. As fans we get frustrated when we see our team make the same continuing mistakes – especially when the mistakes have been close to a decade now.

• High payroll.
• High priced free agents.
• High profile playoff exits.
• Repeat.

That’s where the Yankees are at. I say frequently having a large checkbook in baseball means you can keep your star players where other teams can’t. It means you can purchase and absorb a contract to fill a hole in the roster and address a specific need. It doesn’t mean you should build an entire roster of disjointed free agents. Which is exactly what the Yankees have done over the last decade, and this soak, wash, rinse, and repeat process has gotten old for loyal fans; so we are not fair weather fans. We’re just exhausted by the same approach being done each season with the same results.

This year it might be coming to a head. There’s a high probability, 2.5 games not withstanding, that they will not make the playoffs. From the wide-angle view it’ll probably be the best thing to happen to the club since the disastrous early ’90s which helped build the championships at the end of the decade. As a true fan I don’t hate that they won’t make the playoffs, I welcome it so I can see what happens next.