Projo Sports Blog

By Kat O'Brien
Newsday

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It was painful enough for the Yankees to miss the playoffs this year. That's a tough blow for the most consistent contender in baseball during the last 15 years.

But looking at the League Championship Series matchups provides another slap in the face for the Yankees. Their bitter rival, the Red Sox - who, by the way, have assumed the Yankees' former perch atop the baseball world - is in the American League Championship Series again and looking to win the World Series for the third time in five years. And the Rays, who play a short drive from the Yankees' spring training site and who could formerly be counted upon to be an also-ran, have home-field advantage in the ALCS.

Then there's the National League Championship Series. There's nothing particularly painful about the Phillies making it, but the same can't be said about Joe Torre's Dodgers.

The Yankees were noncommittal enough about keeping Torre as manager last October that they offered him a one-year contract. Torre turned that down and soon went to the Dodgers. Now the Yankees' postseason streak has ended at 13 seasons and Torre's remains alive at 13, which must irk some in the Yankees' organization.

General manager Brian Cashman played down the idea that it stings more to see certain teams in the postseason, saying: "If it's not us, it doesn't really matter. I'm not surprised (about the Red Sox and Rays). The AL East is the toughest division in baseball."

The success of the Red Sox and Rays should concern the Yankees. Both teams are good and are built for sustained success. They have young cores that could stick around a while.

At Rays manager Joe Maddon's news conference before the start of the Division Series against the White Sox - the first postseason series in club history - he said: "This is our first foray into this October thing, which is kind of fun. And I don't want it to be our last by any means. This is just a beginning for us."

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of the Rays: "They got better, they stayed better, and it's exciting for baseball because now you have another team that's kind of got involved, especially in the East. Not necessarily exciting for the Red Sox, because it makes our division a heck of a lot tougher."

That the Red Sox are a team to watch out for is not news. The reason they are good, though, has changed. They still have some highly paid veterans (i.e. David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Josh Beckett), but they have regrouped and rebuilt with homegrown talent. Closer Jonathan Papelbon is an All-Star. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia is an MVP candidate. Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury is becoming a household name, starter Jon Lester is an ace in the making and reliever Justin Masterson burst onto the scene.

It's the Rays who have been a revelation. Those in the know have talked glowingly about their farm system for years. The position players arrived first - Carl Crawford and, a couple of years later, B.J. Upton. The Rays scored lefthander Scott Kazmir in a 2004 trade that still causes Mets fans angst.

The Rays were 66-96 last season, but the breakthrough came this year as the pitching caught up to the offense. The Rays' rotation of Kazmir, Andy Sonnanstine, James Shields, Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson had a 3.95 ERA. Offensively, there was Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Longoria.

Said Francona: "For the past few years, they were becoming very athletic, but at times we could get into the bullpen and maybe win some games where they were leading. That stopped this year . . . Their defense, they may be the best in baseball."

Cashman said the Rays' leap forward doesn't change his task much. The Orioles were good a few years back, and the Rays have taken over that mantle. The Red Sox are constant contenders and the Blue Jays have been in the mix of late.

"Our division, I think all four of those teams were good enough to make the playoffs," Cashman said. "In the end, though, we're on the outside looking in."

For the Steinbrenner family, which lives in Tampa - close enough to be bombarded with chatter about the upstart Rays - it's a bad time to be on the outside. The Red Sox, the Rays and Torre's Dodgers. Yeesh.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox MLB playoffs New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays

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