BOSTON – They only stamped their playoff ticket on the last day and they were the first team to come out of the tournament.
Aaron Boone’s 2021 Yankees were an infuriating, streaky and unpredictable team who will be remembered for what they failed to accomplish.
At the very end of the day, they were a club capable of doing a deep race in October and entering their first World Series since 2009.
But they couldn’t win a game set up for them to win.
“The end was really cruel,” Boone said Tuesday night as the Red Sox and their families still celebrated in front of the Fenway Park canoe. after Boston’s 6-2 wild card win.
What went wrong for the Yankees
Of course, and that is also a cruel setup.
But those Yankees didn’t perform well (36-40) in a division that had three other teams with more than 90 wins and the Orioles with 110 losses – which posted a respectable 8-11 record against the Yanks.
For too long periods, their roster did not shoot, finishing 10th in the AL in points, seventh in OPS and leading the league in double play.
Tampa Bay won the division the Yanks were supposed to win, by eight games.
And Boston won a wild card elimination game with the Yanks having every advantage – starter, box, roster – except the home field.
The Yankees are wondering galore
Is Boone coming back?
He wants to continue and he has a good chance of coming back, although members of his coaching staff might not be back.
Is Joey Gallo Made For New York?
His disappearing act continued in his first playoff game, after a shaky introduction to the stripes. And he is under contract until 2022.
Was Gerrit Cole treating a bad hamstring during the playoffs?
His 8.23 ERA in his last four starts, allowing seven homers in that span – including Tuesday at Fenway – suggests something was wrong.
Did Brett Gardner play his last game as a Yankee?
He can exercise a $ 2.3 million player option, which could be the way to go. Gardner says he hopes to be back, but his first thoughts were to deal with what just happened in ’21.
Pete Caldera is the Yankees Beat Writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Yankees analysis, news, transactions and more, please register today and download our app.
E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @pcaldera
