Yankees Clinch Playoffs
September 23, 2009 · Rob Abruzzese · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
When Mariano Rivera shut the door on the Yankees 6-5 win over the Angels last night they clinched at least a Wildcard victory and got back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 1994 last season.
There was no champagne or celebration though as they have their sights set on the division championship and beyond.
Not one bottle of champagne was popped. Joe Girardi gathered his team in the clubhouse, congratulated them on achieving the first of their goals and told them there was a lot of work to be done.
The Yankees knew weeks ago that they would be in the playoffs. Celebrating a wild-card berth they won’t even be using would have been pointless. Beyond that, they have a day game against the Angels and Scott Kazmir later on today.
“I’m glad we did it that way,” Phil Hughes said. “We have bigger things to celebrate. The division is something to celebrate and hopefully we can do that home with our fans.”
Said Nick Swisher: “We followed the what the team leaders wanted to do and they wanted it to be low-key. I think we all agreed. If we do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll have our fun later on.”
The Yankees are currently six games up on the Red Sox as the AL East’s division leaders and five and a half over the Angels for the best record in baseball. So it’s no sure thing that they will take the division, but it has seemed like a forgone conclusion for a while now.
I’m not sure how people feel about them celebrating or not last night, but when teams do it too often, to me, it seems cheap. This is a team that has realistic World Series aspirations so I’m glad they skipped any celebrations last night.
How does everyone else feel about this?
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