Your 2009 AL East Champs: The New York Yankees

Although part of me was hoping the Yankees would clinch tomorrow so I could watch it live, I must say it felt great to finally take the division back. And to do it by sweeping the Red Sox, locking up 100 wins, and the best record in baseball, well, that just makes it even sweeter. I think it's safe to say that, with consecutive series wins against the Angels and Red Sox, not to mention their domination this year of the Tigers and Twins, the Yankees are in the heads of the other playoff teams (and not, as we often like to complain, the other way around.) As such, this seemed like as good a point as any to reflect on the team's season.

Success starts at the top, and even though I'm as big a Cashman hater as there's been over the years, color me impressed with his work this year. For once, he didn't just make the big moves, he made the right moves (OK, they were pretty big,) and I'd hate to think about where this team would be without CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Andy Pettitte, and even A.J. Burnett (although the jury is still out on his absurd contract.)

And speaking of those pitchers, they all deserve a lot of credit. At the All-Star break I was bemoaning Dave Eiland and the underachieving staff. Since then, they've cobbled together a group of reliable, and at times downright dominant, starters and relievers. The pitching depth is, well, deep. Maybe the deepest in all of baseball. Not too long ago Rob Neyer described the Yankees as a team without a weakness, and well, I couldn't agree more. 100 wins will do that, I guess.

It's also pretty plain to see that at least some of our staff's troubles have come from the team's absurdly homer-prone new home. But now that our pitchers have adjusted, and the offense has exploded, we're left with the best home record in baseball. The Yankees have as big a home field advantage as anybody this postseason, and wouldn't you know it, they also have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This is not a minor point.

And lastly, you have to give credit to all the players who bounced back this year after a disappointing 2007. For some it was injuries, for others it was a question of job security, and maybe even a little bit about pride (playing in a bandbox helps, too.) But if you look up and down the Yankee lineup, you see a lot more production from the 2007 regulars.

Since there's not much else to talk about in the waning days of the season, we'll inevitably start talking about post-season matchups. Who we would rather face, who we think the Yankees would rather face. But it doesn't matter all that much. Nobody wants to face the Yankees. Nobody.

- Posted by Scott