The Yankees knew their chances of making the postseason were over before this last series began.
Still, there was some finality in seeing the Orioles clinch a spot in the wild-card game — the one the Yankees had craved — when they fell to Baltimore in a season-ending 5-2 loss Sunday in The Bronx.
“You work so hard to get into the playoffs and make a run at a championship,” Joe Girardi said. “When you don’t, it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
It now has been nearly four years since they won a postseason game, with just a wild-card loss to the Astros last season to put on their postseason résumé since being swept in the 2012 ALCS by the Tigers.
Before Girardi managed the last game of the Yankees’ season with just one year remaining on his contract, he was asked about his job security heading into 2017.
“I never worry about it,” Girardi said. “I don’t worry about it.”
Another season like this one might change that.
They finished the year 84-78, the fourth straight season in which they have won 87 games or fewer. In the previous 17, they never won fewer than 87. The 84 victories matched the lowest win total for a full season since 1992.
Perhaps, given the way the last few years have gone in The Bronx, goals should be altered going forward.
“No, I think you should always set your goals high,” Girardi said before the game. “I don’t think in life you can be satisfied with just making the playoffs. I know there’s only one happy team at the end of the year, but that’s what we want to be.”
There’s no telling when that might happen again after a transformational season in which they dealt established stars Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran at the trade deadline and cut Alex Rodriguez shortly after.
And on Sunday, they also said goodbye to the retiring Mark Teixeira.
Now, they enter an offseason in which they don’t figure to make any huge splashes in free agency, in part because there aren’t many major players available.
Their attempt to make another run at the AL East title with older players didn’t pay off, which is what led to the arrival of Gary Sanchez, as well as other young players like Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin.
“I understand why they traded the veterans away,” Girardi said. “We were in a situation where we were not getting it done. [General manager Brian Cashman]’s job is to look at the immediate period, but he also has to look at the future. And the goal here is not to get into the playoffs. The goal is to win World Series. As an organization, we thought it was in our best interest to make trades and to try to get back to the World Series-caliber type of team that we know is gonna take some work.”
While they made a surprising run in August and September to close in on the wild-card and divisional races, they fell short.
“There’s been a big turnover the last few years, and that happens in this game,” Girardi said. “[But] our kids are gonna do great things, too.”
Just not this season.
“Did it turn out better than I thought?” Girardi said of the season after the trades were made. “No, because we’re not where we want to be.”
Instead, they played out the string during their last three games against the Orioles, having been eliminated from contention Thursday.
“You start thinking about next year right now, in a sense,” Girardi said. “It’s just hard.”
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