The 2008 baseball season, the final one at historic Yankee Stadium, looks to be just about done for the New York Yankees. With 30 games remaining and the Yankees 7 games behind the Red Sox in the Wild Card it looks as if the Yankees will not make the playoffs for the first time since 1993. This is a sad time in Yankee history. With the Old Ballpark set to close this season it seems as if the Yankees turned the lights out a tad too early.
Since 1996, the Yankees were about as synonymous with winning as any franchise in sports. The pressure to keep up those winning ways might have, in fact, sunk the Yankees this season. The Yankees have, by far, baseball's highest payroll. This can be attributed to bad contracts such as Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, and even Alex Rodriguez have put the Yankees over the top while limiting the identity of the team. There are no scrappers like there were in the late 1990's. There is no Tim Raines type who is a team first guy. There is no Paul O'Neill to smash a water cooler to loosen up the team when times are bad. There is no veteran leadership. Derek Jeter, the Captain of the Yankees, is failing at his job. His boring, unemotional comments after bad losses is tired and old. It seems the Yankees machine has turned Jeter into an all-business, no emotion robot who is programmed with the same answers. I hate to say it, but Alex Rodriguez has shown more emotion lately and as well he should. He has had a horrid season worthy of a refund. Speaking of refunds, Jason Giambi should personally apologize to every fan. A $20 million professional hitter, a former MVP, who can't hit to left field unless by accident. Wow! I truly have seen everything.
This brings me to Brian Cashman, the architect of this slop of a team. I know you saw the writing you put on the wall Brian. Why else would you all of a sudden commit to a youth movement with a team this old? You misled your fanbase by telling them you were going to trim payroll, make the roster more flexible. Well, the roster certainly has flexed. Your use of the 60 day DL and the 40 man roster is dizzying. It almost seemed that once things began to turn sour, Mr. Cashman, you hit the panic button and lost all semblance of a plan. Why else would you bring Carl Pavano back to the major leagues? Why else would you play eeney, meeney, miney, moe with the catching situation after Jorge Posada, the man you gave a $46 million contract to at age 36, went down with a bum shoulder? Why is it that almost every other team can get service out of their pitching staff, with the exception of the Rangers, but you can't? MMM, yeah, good answer, Brian. The blame can't rest on George Steinbrenner for this mess. No sir, the blame rests right on your head, Cashman. You are the one that thought Carl Pavano would be of some service at any point. As I recall, the Mariners were willing to take on Pavano last year. Great idea! Oh wait, you decided Pavano would be your Opening Day starter. Boy, am I thankful about that!
Well, I can't blame for Cashman for all of the ills that this team has come down with. The media, who need to stay on the good side of the Yankees to maintain a working relationship won't tell you the truth. The truth is the Yankees have stunk from the get-go. Derek Jeter got off to a slow start and seemed to hit into a double play every time up with the game on the line. Alex Rodriguez seemed to be Derek's doppleganger this season only with more power and more strikeouts. Robinson Cano proved how vulnerable a free-swinging kid can be at the plate. when he is on, Cano is one of the best. Sadly, I have seen blind church mice with better plate vision. Jason Giambi has been an albatross in some fashion ever since he was signed to a contract the Yankees should have torn up long ago. Jorge Posada finally broke down. It was bound to happen. He was probably the most used catcher in baseball over the last half-decade. Of course, when your backup is Wil Nieves and company I would have hesitated to sit you too during that time frame. Melky Cabrera lost his zeal for the game. Sure, he looks like he has fun after a game, but during it he was awful. He should have been benched or sent down to the minors long ago. Joe Girardi doesn't escape blame either. So much for the ability to read a game. Girardi struggled to find a rhythm with this team. He seemed to be afraid to take risks. There was too little bunting, especially after it was discovered this team could not hit with runners on. I also blame Girardi for this blind faith that he, and many others had, that the Yankees were going to someday, someway wake up and put it all together. Well, it was his job to make sure it happened and it never did. I am not asking for Girardi to be fired but rather to fire it up. There is nothing wrong with being a fiery leader as he was in Florida. Yell at players for not hustling. Sit players who don't listen. Take risks when the situation calls for it. And, for God sakes, make sure your entire team knows how to hit to all fields and bunt! The players get paid to win, not pad their stats.
Yes, 2008 will go down as one of the saddest seasons in recent memory. There is one more year for the Yankees to redeem themselves. This offseason should be one of the richest in free agent pitching in many years. C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, and possibly A.J. Burnett headline a nice class. The Yankees need to make a huge coup early in free agency. They need to sign two of those three. The Yankees rotation next year should look like this: Sabathia, Chien Ming Wang, Ben Sheets, Joba Chamberlain, and Mike Mussina. It is evident that Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy need a full year of triple A under their belts to work out some kinks. They will be able to provide depth in case of injury and will be able to step right in, hopefully, when Mussina retires. (For those of you who are wondering about Pettitte, I think he is retiring at the end of this season).
The lineup also needs an overhaul. Thankfully, the Yankees will have money coming off the books with some hideous contracts finally expiring. A full court press should be made on Mark Texieria if he hits the market. I doubt he will sign though. However, that is not bad news. There is a possibility Hank Blalock might become a free agent and he would be cheaper. He would just need to accept the move from third base. Elevating Juan Miranda who has had a good season at AAA would be another option, as would moving Xavier Nady over to first. Joe Crede is also a free agent and might be convinced to save his back and move to first. The Yankees need to allow Brett Gardner and Justin Christian chances tow in spots on this roster. If one of them has a huge spring training then the Yankees might be able to package Melky and Ian Kennedy for a better bat.
The Yankees need to do a quick turnaround here. They have one offseason to do it. They need to put a winning, championship-contending team on the field, while staying committed to bringing up the youth that served them so well recently and in the 1990's. Cashman had better get it right this time around. If not his job should be taken from him. In the mean time I will be hoping the Yankees finally see the light that it really is the pitching stupid, and build around it. Oh, and that the three-run home run thing is vastly overrated.
