Yankees need to remember how to swing the sledgehammer

Back in the day, back when October success was a habit with the Yankees, regularly etched into the annual calendar alongside Columbus Day, Oktoberfest and Halloween, they would know exactly what to do now.They would know exactly how they would approach Game 3 of this American League Division Series when it resumes in Kansas City on Wednesday.As the years have passed, there has emerged a narrative that those Dynasty Boys were so good, so dominant, that they simply rolled over teams.

The passing of time tends to airbrush the Maalox moments from championship teams.Sometimes, they did simply overwhelm all comers.And sometimes they had to counterpunch.Sometimes they had to crush the spirit of upstarts who had the temerity to believe they might’ve gotten in the Yankees’ heads, gotten into their nervous systems.

And just about every time, those Yankees not only had an answer but an immediate one.It was one of their superpowers.They knew how to swing a sledgehammer.So in 1998, down 2-1 in games to Cleveland in the ALCS, El Duque Hernandez wrote the first chapter of his legend: seven innings, 115 pitches, four hits in snuffing out Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome and friends.

The Yankees didn’t lose again the rest of the playoffs.So in 2000, after the Mets had taken Game 3 of the World Series and the Yankees had looked so uncomfortable that George Steinbrenner had the furniture from their Yankee Stadium clubhouse shipped across the Triboro to Shea, Derek Jeter hit a leadoff home run off Bobby Jones.Immediately, order was restored to the Subway Series.

The Yankees didn’t miss another game that year, either.So in 2001, Jeter executed his flip play in Oakland at a moment of the ALDS when it seemed the A’s were going to end the Yankees’ run at last.This was in the same stadium where, a year earlier, the Yankees faced a do-or-die Game 5, heard an Uber-confident Eric Chavez talk a little too much trash on the scoreboard during batting practice, and slapped a 6-spot in the...