Yankees Swept Out of Playoffs As Title Drought Continues -- WSJ

The October magic that defined the team's late '90s dynasty now feels like a distant memory By Jared Diamond For three delirious minutes on Wednesday night, the New York Yankees believed that they had saved their season. With his team on the verge of elimination, Anthony Volpe launched what looked like a game-tying home run, conjuring the spirits that once seemed to make their presence felt around these parts every October. But the baseball gods don't favor the Bronx all that much anymore. That much became painfully evident when replays revealed what had actually happened: The ball never cleared the left-field fence. A fan clad in a midnight-blue Yankees jacket had reached over the wall and interfered with the play. After a lengthy review, the umpires ruled the hit a double. Three innings later, it was the Tampa Bay Rays who were partying on the Yankee Stadium field after a 4-3 victory, completing an emphatic three-game sweep of the Yankees in the division series. And once again, the most successful team in American sports history was left wondering what went so wrong. "I think we've got the.