"I'd like to thank our great fans for their support throughout the entire 2011 season. We shared a number of memorable moments, including Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera's historic achievements, while earning the right to play in the postseason for the sixteenth time in the last seventeen years.
"I personally share in our fans' disappointment that this season has ended without a championship. That is, and always will be, our singular goal every season. I assure you that this disappointment will strengthen our resolve to field a team in 2012 that can bring a twenty-eighth championship to the Bronx. That work starts now.
"We played a very talented team in the Detroit Tigers and they deserve to play in the American League Championship Series. I congratulate Mike Ilitch, Dave Dombrowski, Jim Leyland and the entire Tigers organization. Their team has given the city of Detroit something to be very proud of."