They’ll reload in the offseason, they always do. They’re the Yankees! They have too much money to lose.
We’ve grow so accustom to having the Yankees around at the end of the season that no one has even taken the time to look objectively at what’s happening right now. In the past month ownership has changed hands, their manager hopped on a plane to the west coast, and they lost three Hall-of-Fame players. Oh no, the Bronx isn’t just burning, it’s in shambles.
Wearing Pinstripes doesn’t mean what it once did. It’s not enough to trot around the same outfield as Mickey Mantle, or dig into the same batters box as Babe Ruth. They have a great tradition, but the luster is wearing off. Who wants to play in a town where there is no loyalty, the press are pariahs, and the fans appreciate nothing? The pressure is suffocating. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera have been there throughout their careers, and almost certainly could have demanded top dollar, but instead they decided to hit the open market. Hank Steinbrenner may not realize it, but when he pushed Torre out of town he was embarking on a rebuilding process.
As long as they have the money to arm a small country they have a shot at winning, but first they have to get the players to the table. They were ready to give Alex Rodriguez the keys to their safe but he opted out of his contract before they could even discuss his future. Presumably there are few teams that will try to match their offer, but I don’t think it matters to him. He was going to leave New York no matter what, of course he wants his money, and he’s going to get it, but if I was a betting man (and I am) I would put my money on him taking a pay cut to play in Boston. He was willing to do it before, and he’ll still be ready if the time comes. It’s the new New York, everyone wants to play there.
When George was at the helm all they had to do was take open the vault and everyone came running. They had the money, the prestige, and, most importantly, they gave players the best chance to win. No one knows what the baby Steinbrenners are about yet. Are they going to do whatever it takes to get the title back, or are they more concerned with their bottom line? No one knows, and that’s going to hurt them. They don’t have the superfluous amount of talent they are accustom too, so players are a little gun shy right now. No one wants to gamble on them and get burnt. Their father was a notorious meddler, and no one ever accused him of being a gentleman, but he was the kind of owner that players wanted to play for. Everyone knew that he would stop at no cost to win, and at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about.
Can they still offer that to the players they are courting? With Posada, Rodriguez, and Abreu possibly gone they have very little offensive pop left. Basically their only strengths are Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrera. Which leaves one little problem: who’s going to drive in the runs? There’s little help on the open market so if they don’t retain Abreu and Posada they are going to be in trouble. The only other real prize on the market is Mike Lowell, and I don’t see the Red Sox letting him get away unless they get a commitment from Rodriguez. Even then they still might keep both guys around. If this were to happen, Torrii Hunter, Barry Bonds and the slumping Andruw Jones would have to be considered the most attractive options available in a shallow market. (See list of free agents below)
Their pitching isn’t much better. Mike Mussina is only getting older, Roger Clemens will likely retire, and after that it’s a bunch of young guys. If Chein Ming-Wang doesn’t have a cast of All-Stars behind him it’s unlikely that he’ll succeed. He doesn’t strike anyone out, and his ERA resides on the wrong side of three, so his success is dependent on those behind him. Phil Hughes looked brilliant at times this year, but is ready to be the anchor of this staff, and does he have the ability to do so? Unfortunately his development was hindered by a series of injuries, so he is probably still a few years away from being the pitcher he is destined to be. Then there’s Joba Chamberlain, the can’t miss prospect with the golden arm. He impressed all of us with his stellar work out of the bullpen, but so did Adam Wainwright in 2006. Wainwright had a decent year, but it pales in comparison to his work as a relief pitcher, it’s a lot different when hitters get to see you three times a night. Chamberlain should do well, but I don’t see him being as nearly as dominate. He should fare better than Wainwright though. Again, there are few options on the open market, Francisco Cordero could fill in nicely for Rivera, but as far as starting pitching is concerned this class of free-agents lacks a true ace. You could make a case that Curt Schilling is the prize, and win.
After a decade of sheer dominance it’s hard to imagine the Yankees in a vulnerable state. Obviously it won’t last. They are simply to wealthy, and the players are too greedy for them to be perennial losers. You never know though, during the 1980’s they had some hard times. If the Steinbrenners want to be truly successful they need to destroy the blueprint and find that semblance between youth and veteran players like the Red Sox have.
During their days of dominance in the 90’s they created the blueprint for Boston, but they abandoned it after they failed to pick up their fourth straight ring. The problem is they have traded away too many of their prospects, so they for awhile they weren’t developing any talent. This is a problem that Brian Cashman has addressed, but it will take some time before their farm system is brimming with talent. You simply can not place all of your hope in picking up world class talent on the open market every year or else you leave yourself open to situations such as these. If they wouldn’t have been so frivolous in their spending and maneuvering they would have a solid foundation to stand on. Luckily he gained enough control over his team to deter George from trading Hughes and Chamberlain. Otherwise they would be in some serious trouble right now. Clearly they’ve had some success since their dynasty days, but they need to abandon this mentality that they can have whatever they want, because it’s simply no longer true.
2008 Free Agents
Catchers
Michael Barrett (31)
Ramon Castro (32)
Jason Kendall (34)
Paul Lo Duca (36)
Jorge Posada (36)
Jose Molina (33)
Yorvit Torrealba (30)
First basemen
Sean Casey (34)
Tony Clark (36)
Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for ‘08
Darin Erstad (34) - $3.5MM club option for ‘08
Scott Hatteberg (38) - $1.85MM club option for ‘08
Ryan Klesko (37)
Mike Lamb (33)
Doug Mientkiewicz (34)
Second basemen
Luis Castillo (32)
Damion Easley (38)
Marcus Giles (30)
Tadahito Iguchi (33)
Mark Loretta (37)
Kaz Matsui (32)
Jose Valentin (38)
Shortstops
David Eckstein (33)
Cesar Izturis (28) - $5.45MM club option for ‘08
Alexei Ramirez (26)
Juan Uribe (29) - $5MM club option for ‘08
Omar Vizquel (41)
Third basemen
Pedro Feliz (33)
Mike Lamb (32)
Mike Lowell (34)
Alex Rodriguez (32)
Left fielders
Moises Alou (42) - $7.5MM club option for ‘08
Barry Bonds (43)
Milton Bradley (30)
Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for ‘08
Cliff Floyd (35) - mutual option for ‘08
Luis Gonzalez (40)
Geoff Jenkins (33)
Shannon Stewart (34)
Brad Wilkerson (31)
Center fielders
Mike Cameron (35)
Darin Erstad (34) - $3.5MM club option for ‘08
Torii Hunter (32)
Andruw Jones (31)
Kenny Lofton (41)
Corey Patterson (28)
Aaron Rowand (30)
Right fielders
Bobby Abreu (34) - $16MM club option for ‘08
Milton Bradley (30)
Kosuke Fukudome (31)
Shawn Green (35) - $10MM club option for ‘08
Jose Guillen (32) - $9MM club option for ‘08
Geoff Jenkins (33)
Trot Nixon (34)
Reggie Sanders (40)
DHs
Mike Piazza (39)
Sammy Sosa (39)
Mike Sweeney (34)
Starting pitchers
Tony Armas (30) - $5MM mutual option for ‘08
Kris Benson (33) - $7.5MM club option for ‘08
Paul Byrd (37) - $8MM club option for ‘08
Shawn Chacon (30)
Roger Clemens (46)
Matt Clement (33)
Bartolo Colon (35)
Josh Fogg (31)
Casey Fossum (30)
Freddy Garcia (32)
Tom Glavine (42)
Livan Hernandez (33)
Jason Jennings (29)
Joe Kennedy (29)
Byung-Hyun Kim (29)
Brian Lawrence (32)
Jon Lieber (38)
Kyle Lohse (29)
Rodrigo Lopez (32)
Greg Maddux (42) - $8.75MM player option or $11MM club option for ‘08
Eric Milton (32)
Tomo Ohka (32)
Russ Ortiz (34)
Odalis Perez (31) - $9MM club option for ‘08
Andy Pettitte (36) - $16MM player option for ‘08
Kenny Rogers (43)
Curt Schilling (41)
Carlos Silva (29)
Julian Tavarez (35) - $3.85MM club option for ‘08
John Thomson (34)
Brett Tomko (35) - $4.5MM mutual option for ‘08
Steve Trachsel (37) - $4.75MM club option for ‘08
Jeff Weaver (31)
David Wells (45)
Kip Wells (31)
Randy Wolf (31) - $9MM club option for ‘08
Jamey Wright (34)
Jaret Wright (32)
Closers
Armando Benitez (35)
Joe Borowski (37) - $4MM club option for ‘08
Francisco Cordero (33)
Octavio Dotel (32) - $5.5MM mutual option for ‘08
Eric Gagne (32)
Todd Jones (40)
Al Reyes (37) - $1MM club option for ‘08
Mariano Rivera (38)
Bob Wickman (39)
Middle relievers
Jeremy Affeldt (29)
Antonio Alfonseca (36)
LaTroy Hawkins (35)
Jorge Julio (29)
Joe Kennedy (29)
Scott Linebrink (31)
Troy Percival (39)
David Riske (31) - $2.85MM club option for ‘08
Julian Tavarez (35) - $3.85MM club option for ‘08
Mike Timlin (42)
Luis Vizcaino (31)
Kerry Wood (31)
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Eddie 10.31.07 at 1:44 am
The Bronx is never going to Burning, they have way way way too much wealth to ever have that happen. Sure, some free agents might be a little leary if they fail to bring back posada and abreu, and next season might be a little rough because they have absolutely NO help on the way. But it will be only one season and then they will be on the way back. I wouldn’t be suprised if they signed the Japanese player and the Alexis Ramriez to fill the gaps. They need to do something or just start rebuilding. But they don’t rebuild like others teams do. If they were smart they would dump the aging Jeter for a young, star pitcher and a hot prospect. That’s just my opinion. He’s always put up good numbers but he isn’t as good as everyone says he is. Believe that. His best years are in the past, but that would be like them dealing Mick or Joe, just wouldn’t happen.
WB 10.31.07 at 1:47 am
Trade Jeter, get out of here! Are you crazy, Derek Jeter? Just making sure we are talking about the same person. It would cause a riot like you have never seen. IT would be different if he was in his twilight years. I can’t believe I just saw that. We’re talking about the general of this team. We’re talking about the guy that should have won the MVP last year. He’s far too valuable and means too much to New York
Sean from the Bronx 10.31.07 at 3:17 am
First of all the Bronx isn’t burning. Try winning as many titles as us before you call it a pandemic, alright? To the guy that suggested we trade DJ, your a moron. I’m not even going to get into because it doesn’t deserve a response. Ridiculous.
eddie 10.31.07 at 3:45 am
I’m not saying they should dump DJ. I’m just saying that it could be an option. A player of that caliber could return a dan haren and a daric barton, placing them in a better position for THE LONG RUN instead of just FOR NOW. Think about it, what good would DJ do if they are going to rebuild? He’s not. Now I know DJ to Oakland would never happen, but that’s just an example of the type of return they could get for him. Hell, maybe that moves puts them in a better position for today if they don’t bring Posada back.
bronxilla 11.02.07 at 1:06 pm
The issue here isn’t just that the Yankees are in transition, losing their manager of twelve years, their (soon to be) two-time MVP and potentially other key members from their championship years (Posada, Rivera and Pettite). I think that Joe Girardi will do a credible job, especially with the young guys, like he did in Florida. The Yankees will remain competitive in what has become a two team division. That is, so long as the Orioles and Blue Jays do not improve significantly (why bother mentioning Tampa Bay) the only team in front of them will be the Red Sox. But there is the rub, as they say.
The other side of the coin here is that the Red Sox are ascending, and in such a way that they will be the dominant force in baseball for at least the next five years. With young solid arms - Beckett, Lester, Buckholtz and Matsusaka - and a tough bullpen to boot - one can only predict bigger and better things from them. Their only Achilles heel seems to be their inability to defeat the Yankees soundly during the regular season.
If I were a Yankees fan, I’d accept the transition and look towards possibly another wild-card entry into the playoffs, hoping that the Mariners, Tigers or Twins don’t make some major moves to improve themselves.
Nick Underhill 11.02.07 at 2:35 pm
That’s the thing, the Mariners contended until the end of the season, the Tigers got better by picking up Edgar Renteria and addressed their only true weakness. Their young pitchers are only going to get better, and they have a plethora of talent in their minor league system. The Twins are going to miss Hunter, unless they find a bag of money on the side of the road and retain him. Although, they are going to have Francisco Liriano back, aka the young Johan Santana, aka the best young pitcher in the game. That is, if he healed properly from his Tommy John Operation. The Indians will be there again, the Angles, the Mariners, the Blue Jays could make some noise if Burnett stays healthy, The Sox, the Angles, I mean it’s not no a two team race anymore. The Central is stacked, the wild card is theirs to lose.