I wanted to sit down and write something important about the 2005 New York Yankees. About how, as a fan, it was darn near impossible to fall in love with this team. About how they teased us into thinking they were tough and resilient, but in the end, they were just underachievers. About how they managed to sleepwalk through various parts of the season, and then somehow expected to “turn it on” when it mattered, although ultimately they couldn’t. About how I refused to believe in the death of a dynasty after Game Seven in 2001, but now I’m convinced.
But whatever. Who cares, right? The problems surrounding this team aren’t under the surface somewhere – they’re staring us all in the face. So I refuse to be one of the eight million people with a keyboard who is going to wax poetic about what, exactly, is wrong with a team whose payroll exceeds the next highest team by $100 million. Instead, I’m going to hand out individual epitaphs for every relevant 2005 Yankee. Because in the end, they all played dead.
***Note: In the upcoming issue of The Courier, these comments appear on tombstones, which make them a little bit funnier. I hope. This blogger site, unfortunately, does not a have a feature for "graphically-produced fake tombstones," so I apologize.***
Jason Giambi: To all of you who left me for dead, look at me now!
Robinson Cano: Am I poised, or do I just not care? You decide.
Derek Jeter: It’s harder being clutch when everyone else isn’t.
Alex Rodriguez: Most Valuable Player, Los Angeles Angels.
Hideki Matsui: In Japan, “Godzilla” means “ground out to second base.”
Bernie Williams: See ya!
Gary Sheffield: I was wrong - Derek IS the leader. Talk to him.
Jorge Posada: If it weren’t for April, May, June, July, and August, I would have had a really good year.
Bubba Crosby: New York Yankees’ center fielder. Yep.
Ruben Sierra: Productive off the bench. Except for the “productive” part.
Tino Martinez: We’ll always have April.
Randy Johnson: Yeah, 2005? Sorry about that.
Mike Mussina: Momma always said, “Life is like a box of Mike Mussina. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Chein Ming Wang: Kevin Brown makes HOW much?!
Shawn Chacon: Ace.
Jaret Wright: There’s no “I” in “Disabled List.” Oh wait – yeah there is.
Aaron Small: Diamond in the rough.
Tanyon Sturtze: Wait – you DON’T want me to give up any runs? My bad.
Tom Gordon: The reason Mo gets a two-inning save when it matters.
Mariano Rivera: Don’t look at ME.
Joe Torre: Alright Donnie, think you can handle this?
2005 New York Yankees: The new Atlanta Braves. Only richer!
