I should say that this fake curse I've devised isn't to say that the players involved were the reason the Yankees have fallen short each year. Obviously, most have been role players in their return, and Ruben Sierra, in particular, was particularly valuable in 2004.
I say this because perhaps the most underrated postseason pitcher of the wild-card era is Sterling Hitchcock. Highly mediocre in the regular season, but a demon in the postseason. He's not David Wells, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling or Josh Beckett, but he's damn good. I list those guys because they've a decent number of postseason starts (Wells and Smoltz are near or at a full year's worth) with a significantly lower ERA come playoff time.
Hitchcock in the regular season: 74-76, 281 G, 200 GS, 90 ERA+ (4.80 ERA)
In the playoffs: 4-0, 9 G, 4 GS, 30.2 IP, 1.76 ERA, 1998 NLCS MVP
While the bulk of that impressive stat is his 1998 line of three runs in 22 innings, he did give the Yankees four scoreless innings in the 2001 World Series, including a win.
So yeah, he was pretty terrible (and out of baseball at 33). But he had some moments of which he can be damned proud. No World Series, unfortunately. But that's the curse, not him.
