Yankees Exorcise Ghosts of Playoff Failures Past

When I covered the New York Yankees for Gannett Newspapers in the 1990s, the club treated an American League Division Series clinching as no big deal.

The goal was always higher: World Series or bust.

Although the 2009 Yankees are saying much the same publicly, their Division Series sweep of the Minnesota Twins was a big deal.

Very big.

Because these Yankees — from general manager Brian Cashman to manager Joe Girardi to the game’s highest-paid player Alex Rodriguez to veteran shortstop Derek Jeter to this year’s big free-agent acquisitions CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira — had much to prove.

A decade of postseason failure had turned the Yankees into an expensive baseball team of underachievers, much like the teams assembled by owner George Steinbrenner that missed the playoffs every year between 1982 and ’94.

The Yankees reached a crossroads in 2008 after finishing third in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. Questions abounded:

Had the Yankees erred by making Joe Torre an offer he could refuse, prompting the popular manager’s move to Los Angeles, where he has guided the Dodgers to two straight National League Championship Series?

Was Girardi, fired after one year as Florida Marlins manager, really the best man for the Yankees job?

Was Rodriguez on the decline after his spring-training outing as a drug cheat and subsequent hip deterioration (a possible result of repeated injections)?

Had Jeter so lost his range that he had become a defensive liability?

Could Sabathia and Burnett, with no previous postseason success, be counted on to win in New York?

The Yankees silenced those doubters in their Division Series sweep. Teixeira delivered the game-winning homer in the 11th inning in Game 2.

Jorge Posada, the gritty 38-year-old catcher, shook off a pride-wounding benching in Game 2 (because he and Burnett don’t mesh) to hit the game-winning homer in Game 3.

And then there’s A-Rod, a lightning rod for controversy in past years who has become bland in his interactions with the media and clutch on the field.

Before the Division Series, A-Rod in the playoffs had been 0-for-his-last-27 with runners on base and 0-for-29 with runners in scoring position and had just one RBI in 59 previous at-bats.

But Kate Hudson’s beau erupted against Minnesota, hitting .455 with 2 homers and five RBI, including a game-tying, two-run homer off Joe Nathan in the bottom of the ninth in Game 2 and a game-tying solo homer off Carl Pavano in the seventh inning of Game 3.

(If the Yanks win it all, does Kate get a ring. . .from A-Rod or the club?)

The Yankees’ pitching was superb. And the Yanks were far better on defense and in situational hitting than the Twins.

Despite Girardi’s penchant for pulling his pitchers too quickly, this Yankees team has the look of eagles. No longer does it resemble a postseason club in need of the Heimlich Maneuver.

There is still much work to be done. The Yankees don’t need to be reminded of how they have fared since winning their last world championship in 2000 against the Mets. But here’s the rundown anyway:

2001: Lost to Arizona Diamondbacks in World Series
2002: Lost to Anaheim Angels in Division Series
2003: Lost to Florida Marlins in World Series
2004: Lost to Boston Red Sox in League Championship Series
2005: Lost to Anaheim Angels in Division Series
2006: Lost to Detroit Tigers in Division Series
2007: Lost to Cleveland Indians in Division Series
2008: Failed to make playoffs
2009: ?

The Angels will be a formidable foe in the ALCS. So will the National League champion in the World Series. But the Yankees look like the class of Major League Baseball. Now it is up to them to continue to prove it.