ХудожникБогородицаThe sport’s most expensive team took a shortcut to the offseason.

With bulging wallets and rapidly-aging bones, this year’s Yankees cruised through the regular season but stalled when it mattered.

Former Sox manager Terry Francona, in a bit of an ironic twist, was announcing the Tigers/Rangers playoff series while the YES Network’s Michael Kaye was still trying to make sense of the Yanks thud of a season.

A-Rod pleased non-Yankee fans throughout the U.S. when he struck out in two key situations in the decisive game of the ALDS against the Tigers. While Jorge Posada received most of the scrutiny this team for his declining skill set, it was A-Rod who left the organization wondering: “How could we have signed on for 6 more years of this?”

Yankee fans, who thoroughly enjoyed Boston’s rapid fall from the playoff race, were left without a contending team less than one week later. When the Rays also got bounced from the playoffs, the A.L. East was collectively eliminated from championship contention.

So what’s next for the AL East? There will be many new faces in Boston next year, not enough new faces in New York, and just a lot of young faces in Tampa.

Either way, the Yanks will still charge big bucks for food and tickets, while their fans will still insist on a winning franchise. But George is no longer there to save the day, and the remnants of his legacy are fading with each year. So, we’re about to see what happens when the kids try to run daddy’s business anew. It may not be pretty.

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