Joe Torre is out and Joe Girardi is in as the manager of the Yankees. The deal is reportedly worth $7.5 million a year- 50% more than what they offered the guy who took them to the playoffs 12 years in a row and won 4 World Series titles.Somebody asked me today if I thought the Yankees would make the playoffs and at this point it's really hard to know because we don't know where free agents like Alex Rodriguez, Torii Hunter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Barry Bonds, Mariano Rivera, Curt Schilling (or so it seems), and others will end up.
Pitching help, which the playoffs clearly showed us they desperately need, is just not there this offseason. So if they lose Pettitte and if Clemens retires for good, Wang will be about the only sure thing in their starting rotation. Phil Hughes certainly shows signs that he is ready to be a productive big leaguer, but it will still be his first full season, so counting on him for much more than 14 wins is a stretch. And let's not forget about how difficult it will be to replace A-Rod and (potentially) Jorge Posada.
So basically they're looking at question marks at catcher, first, third, starting pitchers 3, 4, and 5, plus they need to find a closer (is Joba Chamberlain ready now?), all with a brand new manager. And it's not like Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, LA, or Seattle will be getting significantly worse.
That's why my answer was no.
4 comments:
A lot of that free money will go to Posada and Rivera. The Yankees won't be outbid for them.
Girardi's deal is 3 years for a total of $7.5 mil, not $7.5 million per year.
The Yankees have too many assets to sit still; too much money and too many pitching prospects not to fill their holes. I can see Miguel Cabrera in a Yankee uniform very soon. He can man third until the Yankees can be rid of Giambi and Damon and such, and then he'll DH.
I also have questions as to whether Andy Pettitte will be back, but I think ultimately he'll decide to come back.
As for the young rotation, there are plenty of injury-discount guys that could fill in early--Bartolo Colon, Kris Benson, Matt Clement, to name a few--if the Yankees deem it necessary, and they could afford as many as they wanted.
There are huge question marks with this team right now, but you can believe a return to the late-80's is not an option for the Steinbrenner's.
Thanks for the clarification on Girardi's salary. That makes a lot more sense.
But I have to disagree with your overly-optimistic assessment of the situation in New York. I don't think Cabrera to the Yanks is as near to happening as it may seem. Pettitte may stay, and if he does, the Yanks will be the better for it. But he may also get a lot of money tossed at him and go elsewhere, given the hit the Yanks offense has taken and given the lack of pitching talent on the market.
And I don't think a rotation of Wang, Hughes, Mussina, Colon, and Benson will get you more than a couple of games above .500, especially if you're not scoring 6 runs a game.
A lot can change between now and Opening Day, though. And you're right, the pressure is definitely on the Steinbrenners and Girardi to make it 14 playoff appearances in a row.
I have no idea what's going to happen. I won't even try and guess, I was certain there was no way ARod could opt out of his contract and I was wrong about that, so who hell knows, it's a mess. I mean, they're the Yankees, they're definitely making the playoffs still, but they're a mess.
Colon, Benson, and Clement?
Pavano and Wright say hi.
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