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Trailing 2-0 in the American League Division Series, the New York Yankees are one loss away from their season ending — a situation that Bernie Williams had been in during his playing days.
The Toronto Blue Jays demolished the Yankees in each of the first two games of the ALDS up north, and the panic meter in the Bronx is high.
Williams found himself in a similar hole in 2001, as his dynastic Bronx Bombers were aiming for a fourth straight World Series. Those Yankees lost the first two games of that ALDS at home before winning the next two in Oakland against the Athletics and then winning Game 5 back in the Bronx.
“I think Joe Torre had a lot more to say as far as choosing the team and choosing a lineup. I think Aaron Boone is working with a situation where you have a lot of people, or a lot of mathematicians, checking their analytics and crafting some sort of a lineup for him to make an educated guess, predicting the future outcome of a game that hasn’t happened yet based on past performances,” Williams said. “I think Aaron is playing at a different time.
“I think the front office itself is different, especially without Mr. [George] Steinbrenner, which was an ever-present presence and very influential in the decisions that were made. Very low patience, and he wanted to shake things when they needed to be shaken. And I think the front office in this particular reiteration of the club, it’s a little bit more slow to make those changes. And I think they have to deal with that.”
Williams, though, did hint that this Yankees team — better yet, the entire league — does not put emphasis on “the little things in the game.”
“Moving runners over, bunting, playing strong defense. It didn’t hurt that we had probably the best closer in the game. They’re playing a different brand of baseball right now. And I think a lot of those teams that we’re playing against have taken this framework of the Yankees and have taken up onto themselves to craft teams in that way. So we’re basically fighting ourselves, all these teams, because they have used the same process to craft their teams,” Williams said. “And it’s kind of hard to have a bull’s-eye on your back and say, ‘I’m the team that you have to beat.’ The Yankees have been that team for so many years.”
Williams admitted that his dynasty “spoiled” the Yankees fan base into thinking that winning was “as easy as we sort of made it out to be,” but even with their backs against the wall, the five-time All-Star feels this year’s squad can make some magic happen starting at 8:08 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“I think that they have the amount of expectations that are expected from that team right now, because those guys in the ’90s did it, why can’t you guys do it? And I think not only the fans and the organization, but the players themselves, they have that burden and say, ‘You gotta get this gorilla off your backs, you got at least win one,’” Williams said.
“Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, those guys are now a generation ago. But I still think that they still have a great opportunity. They just got to keep doing the things that they need to do to be successful and then just get that little spark of luck. I mean, one game in this series can turn the tide, and we’re hoping that that game is [Tuesday].”
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