Why the New York Yankees Will Not Make the Playoffs

As history will show, the New York Yankees have had more success than any other team in baseball. In 2008, however, the Bronx Bombers will not make the playoffs, and, as it's closing after the season, you will not see a playoff game in Yankee Stadium ever again.

There are too many things going against the Yankees this year.

Joe Torre was the savior of the Yankees in the past. He took a bunch of superstars and melded them into a team. However, Torre is now on the wrong coast.

Current manager Joe Giardi is not new to the game of baseball, and has as much field knowledge, but he lacks one knack that Torre made look easy: winning.

Other than a select few, there are not many Yankee managers that have won in the famous pinstripes.

There are two other mountains the Yankees will have to climb in 2008 to make it to the playoffs. The first one resides in Boston, MA. The Red Sox have the taste of blood in their mouths, and it's still fresh.

The other, and this might be the biggest part of the problem, is the Tampa Bay Rays. This club is young and energized. Both of these teams are well over the .500 mark at home.

Not only do the Yankees have to worry about teams in their own division playing well over .500, but they have to deal with the publicity of their last year at the cathedral of baseball stadiums.

With all the history that has occurred in the stadium's past, there is nothing this team will be able to do to surpass it. Fans sit around Yankee Stadium and talk about different feats that have already been accomplished.

The Yankees are known in baseball for being clean-cut and smooth on the field. When you dig up the past, all you get is dirty, and that's exactly what is going on this year.

The American League East is also the toughest in baseball right now. I would honestly be surprised to see the wild card come out of the East. These clubs are going to beat each other up all season, and they will pay for the prize.

Right now, I'm going with the Rays out of the East, the Angels out of the West, the Twins out of the Central, and the White Sox with the wild card. It's a far-fetched prediction, but it has some legitimacy behind it.

Nonetheless, the Yankees just don't seem to fit in that picture, and, unless something changes, there will never be another playoff game in Yankee Stadium.