For the new Yankees, this is what success looks like
The New York Yankees' season ended with a 3-0 loss to the Astros in the AL wild card game, but there's no reason for the team to hang its head.
Back in February, nobody really knew what to expect from the Yankees.
(We picked them to finish last in the AL East, for what it's worth)
The team had missed the postseason two years in a row for the first time since 1992-1993 and there was a laundry list of worries.
Derek Jeter was gone. The rotation's top three – Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda – had major injury concerns, having combined to make just 41 starts in 2014. Mark Teixeira and Brian McCann were coming off the worst season of their careers. Alex Rodriguez was returning from exile and was supposed to make the team a three-ring circus.
Each of those issues turned out to not be one.
Didi Gregorius established himself as of the league's best defensive shortstops and exceeded expectations at the plate. Tanaka's elbow didn't implode. Still just 26, Pineda stayed healthy and became a serviceable starter. Teixeira made the All-Star team. McCann led the team in RBI. Rodriguez hit 33 home runs and won the fans back over.
After two years ranking near the bottom of the American League in runs, the Yankees finished with the second-most in baseball. The team went on a 17-7 tear in July, building up the equity it would later need to earn a playoff spot. Somehow, the back end of the bullpen was even more lights-out than anticipated.
While the team's core is undeniably older, 2015 showed signs there may be actual roles for young, inexpensive players. Luis Severino, 21, posted a 2.89 ERA and won five of his last six decisions. Greg Bird emerged as a potential long-term option at first base, hitting 11 home runs in just 157 at-bats - though he'll probably be blocked by Teixeira and A-Rod, at least initially, next season. Robert Refsnyder showed flashes during his September cup of coffee and should compete for the starting second base job next year.
A loss in the wild card game is ultimately disappointing, but Yankees fans still living in the "championship or bust" era must learn to adjust their expectations.
Looking ahead to the offseason, the Yankees will likely be in on big-name free agents and the pieces are already in place for success in the short- and medium-terms.
Contention is the new normal for the Yankees and everyone around the organization – regardless of the typically haughty expectations of its brass and its fans – should feel some sense of satisfaction for what was accomplished in 2015.
Stars of the night
1. Dallas Keuchel – On just three days' rest, the 20-game winner tossed six shutout innings, scattering three hits with seven strikeouts. Getting Rodriguez to fly out when he represented the go-ahead run in the sixth, might have been the game's biggest moment.
2. Jason Castro – The bane of ESPN's K-Zone, can this guy frame a pitch or what? He saved the Astros nearly 13 runs over 162 games with his "pitch presentation skills," according to Baseball Prospectus.
3. Carlos Gomez – Hitting a home run in a one-game playoff is awesome, but it's sweeter when you do it in front of your sworn enemy, Unwritten Rules Czar Brian McCann.
On deck
Cubs at Pirates, 8 p.m. ET, TBS: We've been waiting weeks for this one, a wild card matchup between the NL Central rivals and their respective aces – Jake Arrieta (22-6, 1.77 ERA) for Chicago and Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60). The Cubs won the season series 11-8 and were 6-4 at PNC Park. While Arrieta dominated just about everyone in 2015, he was particularly hard on the Pirates, going 3-1 with a 0.75 ERA.
PHOTOS: Best of the AL wild card game