The 27-time World Champions, the New York Yankees are in a tough position if they want to win their 28th World Series title. The “Bronx-Bombers” are currently down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series, or ALCS, against the Detroit Tigers. It seems as if they have lost the ability to close a game during the postseason.
In the first game of the ALCS, the Yanks needed to rely on a ninth inning push in order to give themselves a chance of winning. They were down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Raul Ibanez was clutch in the ninth inning. It appeared as if he had temporarily saved them again, following his masterful performance in the divisional series with the Baltimore Orioles, hitting a home run with two outs, tying the game at four.
After two scoreless innings, the Yankees blew their opportunity. In the top of the twelfth inning, Tigers’ outfielder Delmon Young doubled to deep right field, allowing triple-crown winner Miguel Cabrera to score the go-ahead run. The Tigers added another run in the inning, giving them a 6-4 lead going into the bottom of the twelfth. The Yankees were unable to repeat their ninth inning heroics and the Tigers took a 1-0 series lead.
Making the situation even worse, the captain, Derek Jeter, fractured his ankle in the tenth inning, ending his postseason prematurely. In addition, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher continued their poor hitting. Both were benched for the next two games.
During the second game, the New York Yankees were without their captain for the first time and they found themselves a game down in the series. After six scoreless innings, Delmon Young came up again with the clutch hit, driving in a run in the top of the seventh inning. The Yankees failed to comeback in the bottom of the seventh. The Tigers showed no mercy, scoring two more runs in the top of the eighth. The game ended 3-0, in favor of Detroit, digging the Yankees into an even deeper hole.
Game three was a close game. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Delmon Young came through again, this time with a home run. Again, the Yanks had no answer. Miguel Cabrera then came up with a double into deep right field, bringing in another run, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees’ Eduardo Nunez surprisingly hit his first home run of the season, cutting the Yankees’ deficit to one. However, the Yankees could not score again.
Without their future Hall-of-Fame captain and two key players on the bench, a comeback from a 3-0 series deficit is neither an easy nor a likely task. In fact, the only team in MLB history to ever come back from a 3-0 hole in a playoff series is the 2004 Boston Red Sox against these New York Yankees. So, it seems that New York Yankees are not due for another World Series title this year and fans should start looking to next season.
