NEW YORK – Today will be the final day to remember all of the great times from the 2009 season.
As Yankee Stadium opens for business for the first time this year, all we can remember was what took place that last time the building was open.
Game 6 of the 2009 World Series.
It was there that nearly nine seasons of frustration, near misses and heartbreak of not winning the ultimate prize became a distant memory.
This team, comprised of young and old, homegrown and imports, business and casual, all came together as a family as opposed to individuals for a common goal.
As a goal, they accomplished their mission.
27th heaven.
The funny part about the ending of the season was the way it began.
Early on, one of the major complaints was about expensive seats that went unsold around the bases, giving the impression no one was at the new palace.
If I told you the Yankees were under .500 five weeks into the season, would you believe it?
Remarkably, it was true. On May 8, the record was 13-15. Alex Rodriguez was not in the lineup, recovering from hip surgery, and forced to endure Cody Ransom (remember him?) for those many games.
Relievers Edwar Ramirez and Jose Veras graced us with their presence, gave all of us enough agita watching their appearances in these games.
Then, Rodriguez returned.
It would be in Baltimore where the genesis of the season would begin. He swung at the first pitch he saw and hit it into the first few rows of the left field seats at Camden Yards for a three-run homer.
You couldn’t make this stuff up even in the movies.
There was that string of three straight walk-off victories against the Twins that help provide the new Yankee Stadium with a few memories, and AJ Burnett introducing everyone to the world of pie.
They had lost their first eight games of the season to the Red Sox, one loss worst than the other. It looked as if they would never beat them anymore.
Losing two of three at home to the woeful Nationals sent out an alarm, and things weren’t getting any better in Atlanta the following week until Joe Girardi finally saw enough after Brett Gardner was falsely called out on a pickoff throw.
From that moment, something happened.
The Yankees went on a roll, winning 31 of their next 40 games, including a momentum turning four-game sweep of the Red Sox at home to control first place in the AL East.
Boston beat them down early, but now they had finally responded. It was a trait on display all season. The toughness showed this resilient group all year, not caring about previous Yankee teams of the past. Instead, this group dismissed of that talk, seeking to write their own story that Yankee fans would remember forever.
From 0-8 down to a 9-9 finish against the Red Sox was a testament to their character.
They went from winning 13 of their first 28 games, to winning 103 games in all. An incredible 90-44 mark. It was a remarkable turnaround.
Final judgment though would not come in until October began.
The Yankees achieved those elusive 11 playoff victories when previous teams could not. For as much talent as those previous rosters had, something was always missing in the years where they did not get the job done.
Some years, the offense did not deliver. Who doesn’t remember Aaron Boone not being able to hit a fly ball with the bases loaded in the tenth inning of Game 4 of the 2003 World Series with the Yankees leading 2-1, having rallied from two runs down in the previous frame? A victory in that game would mean a 3-1 series lead and almost certain 27th championship seven years ago.
Other years, the pitching staff would break down. Who doesn’t remember David Wells lower back
going out in Game 5 of that World Series? I was there in the crowd that night and watched in horror as the championship slowly began to slip away. Or how about seeing Kevin Brown’s dead corpse in Game 7 the following year?
Who can’t forget Jaret Wright’s badness in Detroit in 2006 with the season on the line? All of this topped off by seeing Roger Clemens lose his battle with old age and watching Chien-Ming Wang implode twice against the Indians in 2007.
Perhaps other times, different forces seemingly were at work, whether they be a curse or midges coming from the lake.
It was always something.
Last year, everything came together.
It had come to the point where I waited for them to screw it all up, but it did not happen.
The starting pitching was exceptional. CC Sabathia was the horse. AJ Burnett pitched several key games. And when needed most, Andy Pettitte still prove to have enough arm left to throw big ballgames.
While the bullpen had its struggles, Rivera was the constant. The offense, much maligned for never getting “the big hit”, finally came through. Notably Alex Rodriguez, and in situational spots, they never showed cracks. They wore down opposing teams pitchers into submission.
The Yankees were the best team in baseball during the season, during the playoffs, and eventually became world champions.
They were finally able to scratch their eight-year itch.
Now this is a new year. As the banner raises and the players receive their rings, all of what happened in 2009 goes away. It is forgotten.
Time to write a new chapter.
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