Bucking the trend, against the odds

This tidbit struck me (emphasis mine):

The Rays and Phillies last year provided another reminder of the trend toward younger, more athletic players by reaching the World Series without counting on old, everyday players. The past seven world champions have used a combined total of only seven starting everyday players who were 33 or older, including just four players who were playing past their 35th birthday.

The Yankees, for all the money they have spent, will try to buck this trend by starting Alex Rodriguez, 33, Derek Jeter, who turns 35 in June, Johnny Damon, 35 and Jorge Posada, 37, with Hideki Matsui, 35, getting at-bats in the outfield and at DH. No team has won the pennant with a 35-or-older shortstop since the 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers with Pee Wee Reese. Only two of the 240 teams to make the postseason since then used such an old shortstop: the 1996 Orioles (Cal Ripken) and 1981 Phillies (Larry Bowa).

Whoa.