The Yankees are the closest thing the United States has to a dynasty other than the Bush family.

They are respected, almost revered throughout the world. Everybody knows who the New York Yankees are. During WWII the Americans used to shout at the Japanese troops saying Hirohito was a bum. The Japanese troops shouted back saying Babe Ruth was a bum.

The Yankees have won 39 American League pennants and 26 World Series titles. They have dominated baseball through the years and became known as the Damn Yankees with a very successful Broadway musical based on their reputation. Naturally called, “Damn Yankees.”

They had the biggest stars in the game: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. The collectable market shows this easily with a Babe Ruth autographed ball selling in the thousands.

All the hoopla and tradition surrounding the Yankees was very evident when the Twins came to town to play their last game in old Yankee Stadium. (The house that Ruth built). Much to-do was made over the stadium, the monuments and even the walkway to the field from the locker room. Our guide, through the courtesy of FSN, was Ron Coomer part-time commentator for the Twins. Coomer played one year for the Yankees and FSN treated him like the second coming of Mickey Mantle. Ron Coomer had a batting average of .274 for his career and was a good journeyman player. You wouldn’t think he would bleed Yankee pinstripes, but he did. Coomer seems a pleasant enough fellow, but for the network to devote several hours to Ron Coomer and the New York Yankees seems a bit much.

While I don’t always agree with Bert Blyleven and his clichés about the Yankees and other topics, it seems to me he deserves some air time based on his credentials. However, both Dick and Bert exclaimed over and over again about the Yankees both past and present. That attitude may have had some effect on the Twins and Yankees.

The Twins looked intimidated, even Ron Gardenhire. An example of Gardenhire’s, (let’s just take what the Yankees give and be thankful,) is when Denard Span led off the first inning with a double. There was no one out and the Twins had a chance for a big inning. What does Gardenhire do but have Casilla, a .300-hittter bunt Span to third base giving the Yankees an out. Do you think the Yankees would have bunted in the same situation? Of course not.

Alexi Casilla, after playing well and using his head all season, forgot the number of outs and cost the Twins a couple of runs. Another play that steamed me was an attempted steal of second base by the Twins. Derek Jeter the Yankees’ shortstop, tagged the runner out and then patted him on the back as if to say “good try, but what do you expect against the Yankees?” Like a big brother saying to a little brother, “maybe some day you’ll be as good as I am.”

Among the many, many accolades laid on the Yankees by Dick and Bert was that you could not expect to get through this powerful Yankee lineup without giving up runs. I think Dick and Bert were also intimidated or following some hidden script. The Yankees had two definite weak spots with a newcomer in left field and a second string catcher. Not only that guys, if you look at the statistics you would find the Twins have scored more runs than the Yankees this year! Bah!!

The Twins may make the playoffs, but their mind set has to change regarding the Red Sox and the Yankees to have a chance of advancing.