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Insufficient offense doomed Yankees

By Larry Fleisher, The Sports Xchange
New York Yankees Carlos Beltran reacts after striking out in the 9th inning against the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium in New York City on October 6, 2015. The Astros defeated the Yankees 3-0 and advance to face the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 3 | New York Yankees Carlos Beltran reacts after striking out in the 9th inning against the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium in New York City on October 6, 2015. The Astros defeated the Yankees 3-0 and advance to face the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees had short postseasons before.

Just ask anyone who watched or who played for the final three teams of the Joe Torre era from 2005-07 or anyone familiar with the 2011 edition.

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All of those teams lasted a week in the playoffs, losing in the American League Division Series.

This time, the Yankees' postseason lasted one workout day and the AL wild-card game, a 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

"We made the playoffs, but we didn't make any noise once we got there," center fielder Brett Gardner said inside in a somber clubhouse after he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts while getting the start in place of Jacoby Ellsbury.

Gardner was speaking about a team one New York tabloid described as the "Men without Bats."

It was the seventh time the Yankees were shut out this year, but this one obviously stung more.

"It was fun to be out there, but it sucks to be on the losing end," Yankees reliever Dellin Betances. "That's just going to motivate me to work hard this winter and do better things next year -- like win the division."

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In the end, the Yankees were too suspect against left-handed pitching, especially after switch-hitting first baseman Mark Teixeira was lost for the season. Teixeira was injured Aug. 17 against the Minnesota Twins, and since then, the Yankees were mediocre at best and often overmatched, especially against the Toronto Blue Jays.

"Down the stretch, we didn't bring our 'A' game," general manager Brian Cashman said.

For the first half of the season, as the Yankees built an seven-game lead in the AL East, the perception was it was done on smoke and mirrors.

The reality didn't sink in even if the Yankees tried to execute their game plan of driving up the pitch count of Astros ace Dallas Keuchel on Tuesday. The left-hander threw 87 pitches in six innings and was behind in the count at various instances to 10 of the first 11 hitters he faced.

It mattered little.

Because the New York offense wound up amassing just three hits and two walks, the Yankees are no longer focused on whether they overachieved. They are dealing with the reality of an early postseason elimination.

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"It's really disappointing," manager Joe Girardi said. "It's hard. You know seasons end abruptly, and it's very difficult. This is a club that fought all year long, and there's a lot of character in that room and this hurts. We just didn't get it done."

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