I'm starting to see the disgruntled scribblings of Yankee fans on what they perceive as the disturbing inaction of the team to improve itself during this offseason. And it reminds me that there are times I truly question whether I belong among Yankee fans.
"Why didn't we get Gio Gonzalez?" they're asking. "How come we weren't (really) in on Yu Darvish?" (By the way, since when is "Darvish" a Japanese name? Are the Texas Rangers sure about what they're getting here?) "No Mark Buehrle. No C.J. Wilson. This team is deliberately trying to kill itself. I think I'll root for the Mets."
Oh, for crying out loud.
Maybe this is a generational thing. Maybe you had to live through Horace Clarke and Jerry Kenney and then through the geezer period of Danny Tartabull and Jesse Barfield to truly appreciate what's been going on here since 1995. That's a period of 17 years with only ONE failure to make the postseason. Five World Series rings. Seven World Series. Year after year after year of a winning record. Great moments, great victories, great players. What do you people want them to do better?
There was once an axiom that "rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for U.S. Steel." Well, U.S. Steel isn't exactly tearing up the league the way it used to, but the Yankees are still winning their 90-100 games every single year, giving us six great months out of a possible seven, and sometimes the seventh one, as well.
All the team did in 2011 was win 97 games, have the best record in the American League, and come within one clutch hit of the League Championship Series. And that was with a starting rotation that included such luminaries as Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, the inconsistent Phil Hughes, the unproven Ivan Nova, and the infuriating A.J. Burnett. All at the same time.
But for the fans, that wasn't good enough. They believe Brian Cashman should have completely blown the budget--yes, there's a budget--on an uninspiring cast of free agents, or traded away the future prospects the fans have been salivating over for years for pitchers who might be an okay number two or three starter and might not be able to stand the scrutiny in New York.
Why didn't the Yankees get Gio Gonzalez? Maybe because it didn't seem like a good idea to send Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and/or Jesus Montero to get him. Why didn't they go nuts on Yu Darvish? Does the name Kei Igawa ring a bell?
When the team began this golden run in 1995, the fans were clamoring that the kids in the Yankees farm system weren't going to be good enough to win. The team hadn't been in a World Series since the early 80s, and it hadn't ended well then. Bringing up a skinny kid shortstop, a spacey outfielder who didn't seem to be concentrating on baseball all the time, an even skinnier starting pitcher and a catcher who couldn't catch seemed like desperation. Rebuilding? In the Bronx? What was wrong with the Yankees? We needed solid major leaguers, like Tony Fernandez, maybe Kenny Lofton. Roger Clemens. That was the guy to trade for. But no moves were made.
We had to settle for Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.
You want to talk about "true Yankees?" Want to silence those jerks who complain the Yankees "buy championships?" Let's see what Montero and the Killer Bs can do.
I say, nice work, Brian Cashman. Keep on doing what you're not doing. I'll take the 97 wins a year and worry about our chances later.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Well (Not) Done, Brian Cashman
Beside the enormous stories generated by the Angels and Marlins, one of the recurring storylines coming from the baseball winter meetings was the amazing (according to the pundits) lack of activity on the part of the Yankees. No free agent signings, no trades, only a couple of Rule 5 deals on the last day.
To which I say, bravo, Brian Cashman.
There was a time (say, before George Steinbrenner died) when the Yankees HAD to make a statement every winter. What happened in the past four days--or more to the point, didn't happen--would have been unthinkable.
But the thing was, a lot of those moves were counterproductive. They brought in stars past their prime, sent away players who would be productive elsewhere, and worst of all, led to no championships. Yes, there was the occasional Roberto-Kelly-for-Paul-O'Neill deal, and I'm not saying that all trades or free agent signings are bad, by any stretch. I was hoping for a shock wave out of Dallas, too, but the reasons it didn't come make perfect sense.
Yes, the Yankees could use another starting pitcher, but there wasn't a good one available reasonably. I can hear the anti-Yankee crowd shouting, "Reasonably? Since when does that enter into the Yankees' vocabulary?" Since Brian Cashman has had serious control over baseball operations.
The Yankees could have probably trumped Miami's offer to Mark Buehrle and gotten themselves a reliable starting pitcher would would immediately have become the #2 man in their rotation. But the money would have been exorbitant. That's not really a problem, but the number of years he wanted would have been. You'd have been dealing with a pitcher on his downside for two, maybe three years at the end. Does the name A.J. Burnett ring a bell?
Speaking of Burnett, there were actual news reports that the Yankees were trying to get someone interested in him in a trade. No kidding. Shockingly, there were no takers. $33-million left on a guy who can't get out of his own way and is stuck with two years left on his contract? With a 5 ERA? Astonishing that there were no takers. No, Yankee fans, A.J. will be ours for another two years, and we can logically expect that his best pitches will be with cream pies.
So what about a hitter? Surely we can use one of those! Okay--where would you like said monster to play? The two best hitters on the free agent market BY FAR were first basemen. We already have a pretty good one that everyone jumped up and down about when he was signed only two years ago. Yes, Teixiera has been a little sluggish in the postseason. But what he does to get the Yankees to those October games is really, really valuable. There was never any suggestion the Yankees would be even vaguely interested in the two big offensive players at first.
The other guy was a shortstop. We have one of those, too.
Let's look at the projected starting lineup for the Yankees in 2012, one which bears a striking resemblance to the one that took the field on the first day of the 2011 season:
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixiera 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Montero DH
Swisher RF
Martin C
Gardner LF
Okay, which one of those guys would you like to replace, and with whom, exactly?
The bullpen? The Yankees will have David Robertson, Luis Ayala, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Rafael Soriano and eventually Joba Chamberlain out there. Oh yeah, and the closer is pretty good, too.
Where's the desperate need?
Again, another starter would be fine. But the willingness to trust some of the younger people on the roster is encouraging. Let's see whether Hector Noesi can be this year's Ivan Nova. Let's see if IVAN NOVA can be this year's Ivan Nova. It's not going to be long before Dellin Betances and/or Manny Banuelos is pitching for the major league club. So the starting pitching can be at least as good as it was last year for a team that won 97 games, and lost almost the entire first half of the season every time they played the Red Sox.
I say, kudos, Brian Cashman. You succeeded in getting CC Sabathia back. You brought back Freddy Garcia,who isn't sexy but eats up innings. And you managed, at the winter meetings this year, not to do anything that would make the Yankees worse.
Job well done.
To which I say, bravo, Brian Cashman.
There was a time (say, before George Steinbrenner died) when the Yankees HAD to make a statement every winter. What happened in the past four days--or more to the point, didn't happen--would have been unthinkable.
But the thing was, a lot of those moves were counterproductive. They brought in stars past their prime, sent away players who would be productive elsewhere, and worst of all, led to no championships. Yes, there was the occasional Roberto-Kelly-for-Paul-O'Neill deal, and I'm not saying that all trades or free agent signings are bad, by any stretch. I was hoping for a shock wave out of Dallas, too, but the reasons it didn't come make perfect sense.
Yes, the Yankees could use another starting pitcher, but there wasn't a good one available reasonably. I can hear the anti-Yankee crowd shouting, "Reasonably? Since when does that enter into the Yankees' vocabulary?" Since Brian Cashman has had serious control over baseball operations.
The Yankees could have probably trumped Miami's offer to Mark Buehrle and gotten themselves a reliable starting pitcher would would immediately have become the #2 man in their rotation. But the money would have been exorbitant. That's not really a problem, but the number of years he wanted would have been. You'd have been dealing with a pitcher on his downside for two, maybe three years at the end. Does the name A.J. Burnett ring a bell?
Speaking of Burnett, there were actual news reports that the Yankees were trying to get someone interested in him in a trade. No kidding. Shockingly, there were no takers. $33-million left on a guy who can't get out of his own way and is stuck with two years left on his contract? With a 5 ERA? Astonishing that there were no takers. No, Yankee fans, A.J. will be ours for another two years, and we can logically expect that his best pitches will be with cream pies.
So what about a hitter? Surely we can use one of those! Okay--where would you like said monster to play? The two best hitters on the free agent market BY FAR were first basemen. We already have a pretty good one that everyone jumped up and down about when he was signed only two years ago. Yes, Teixiera has been a little sluggish in the postseason. But what he does to get the Yankees to those October games is really, really valuable. There was never any suggestion the Yankees would be even vaguely interested in the two big offensive players at first.
The other guy was a shortstop. We have one of those, too.
Let's look at the projected starting lineup for the Yankees in 2012, one which bears a striking resemblance to the one that took the field on the first day of the 2011 season:
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixiera 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Montero DH
Swisher RF
Martin C
Gardner LF
Okay, which one of those guys would you like to replace, and with whom, exactly?
The bullpen? The Yankees will have David Robertson, Luis Ayala, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Rafael Soriano and eventually Joba Chamberlain out there. Oh yeah, and the closer is pretty good, too.
Where's the desperate need?
Again, another starter would be fine. But the willingness to trust some of the younger people on the roster is encouraging. Let's see whether Hector Noesi can be this year's Ivan Nova. Let's see if IVAN NOVA can be this year's Ivan Nova. It's not going to be long before Dellin Betances and/or Manny Banuelos is pitching for the major league club. So the starting pitching can be at least as good as it was last year for a team that won 97 games, and lost almost the entire first half of the season every time they played the Red Sox.
I say, kudos, Brian Cashman. You succeeded in getting CC Sabathia back. You brought back Freddy Garcia,who isn't sexy but eats up innings. And you managed, at the winter meetings this year, not to do anything that would make the Yankees worse.
Job well done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)