Results tagged ‘ Gardner ’
With Free Agency Upon Us…Let the Greed Begin!
The last time I had made an entry…I proclaimed the Yankees were dead…and within a few weeks, they indeed were. I said that the Swiss Family Steinbrenners should fire Brian Cashman and replace him with longtime Yankees’ executive Gene Michael. I also suggested that the Yankees replace Joe Girardi with one time Yankee skipper Buck Showalter. Unfortunately for us in the Yankees Universe, neither of these moves occurred. With the unrestricted free agent period upon us though, some of my August predictiions appear to possibly be coming to fruition over the next few weeks. Let us review…
I said both Moose and Andy “The Clunker” Pettitte had to go. Moose had the best year of his career at the end of it…Mussina has since decided to retire after going 20-9, and finishing 6th in AL Cy Young voting. Pettitte is simply washed up. Let him go back to Houston to his wife and kids, his church and Roger Clemens, and Drayton McClane and the Astros. Not worth another $16 million to have a repeat of 2008. As much as I love the Great Giambino, his time too has come and gone. Never once did Giambi produce anywhere close to his AL MVP season. Sure, he had his fair share of bombs, but a lackluster batting average for the most part. He also battled injuries, played subpar first base, and brought a cloud of controversy into the Bronx with the sterioid/BALCO investigation. Pudge Rorgriquez was not the Pudge of even three seasons ago, so he had to go as well. From this point, we shall take a look at what I said the Yankees should do, what they have done, and what we can look forward to in 2009.
Sabathia was an obvious move. After the youth movement imploded with the failures of Hughes, Kennedy, and Chamberlain, and factor in the Yankees shed just under $90 million in payroll, an immediate upgrade in starting pitching was a must. 5 or 6 years at $140 million will lure C.C. to the Bronx, regardless of what the west coast teams may try to come back with. A.J. Burnett did indeed opt out of his contract in Toronto and has been offered a 5 year deal for $80 million. Nobody will outbid the Bombers for his services. The one move I suggested that the Yankees should’ve make was the pursuit of Ben Sheets, the other big name Brewers free agent. Sheets broke down physcially at the end of the year, and no team in their right mind would offer him more than a 2 or 3 year deal…based completely on his health. Insert former BoSox postseason hero Derek Lowe. Yes, the possibility of the man who helped complete the greatest comeback in baseball history donning pinstripes bothers me too. But what better way to get back into the AL East race in 2009 than keeping him from returning to a depleted and one year older Boston rotation and signing Lowe as a back of the rotation guy? I’m smiling already!
I remember back in August when I wrote my entry, I received a comment from a what I believe is a fellow Yankees’ fan, who stated it all sounds good, but is not very realistic. Well my friend, whomever you may be…reality is upon us, Sabathia and Burnett along with Lowe could very well be Yankees come New Year’s Day…but, and that is a very big but, that wasn’t all I had to say about whom the Yankees need to import to drastically overhaul the 2008 roster. I also suggested the Yankees outbid everyone else and bring in a Gold Glove, switch hitting first baseman by the name of Mark Texeira. The Angels can’t afford Scott Boras’ demands…The Red Sox would have to move Youkilis to 3rd, and platoon Lowell and Ortiz at DH-THAT WON”T HAPPEN…Baltimore and Washington could make a run at him since they are his native area teams…Does Mark really want to play for basement dwellers? Scratch them as well. Leaving the Bombers to overpay for quality, and in this case as well as the Sabathia signing, will and must happen. Now, for the final pieces of the free agent puzzle…who else could help put the Yankees over the top either offensively or pitching-wise? Ready for this Bronx Bomber fans…Manny Ramirez! That’s right…the Washington Heights native has been a Yankee killer his entire career, the Yankees can afford him and he has stated multiple times since his exile from Boston, that he wants to stick it to the heart of Red Sox Nation. DH Manny, re-sign Abreu, and ship Godzilla Matsui to either Seattle or San Francisco-both of whom have inquired about Matsui’s services over the last season plus.
I will give Cashman credit for his buyout and re-signing of Damaso Marte. Most feel Marte did nothing upon his return to the Bronx, but he is young, throws hard, and is lefthanded. Pair him with the rest of the young Bombers bullpen who lived through the growing pains and will be a year better, along with the Sandman to slam the door, and you have yourself a recipe for another run at a World Series title in 2009. I also suggested the Yankees infuse some youth into their lineup, and I love the Gardner kid. Watching the final few weeks of the season, and making the pilgramage to the Cathedral one last time, I got to see firsthand what this young man is capable of. Platoon Gardner and Damon. Keep Chamberlain as the 8th inning setup guy for Rivera, and hand him the closer’s job upon Rivera’s retirement. So, with all of my suggestions, this is what the 2009 Yankees lineup should look like, followed by the starting rotation….
CF Damon/Gardner
SS Jeter
DH Ramirez
3B Rodriguez
1B Texiera
RF Abreu
LF Nady
C Posada
2B Cano
SP Sabathia
SP Burnett
SP Wang
SP Hughes
SP Lowe
One last note…I read yesterday that Yankees Legend Bernie Williams wants to return to the Bronx and play in 2009…he stated that playing in the new Cathedral is a dream come true and that he has been able to enjoy life while out of baseball since 2006. Here’s an idea…instead of giving Bernie the opportunity to embarrass himself, plan and execute a Bernie Williams Day at the new Stadium and retire his beloved #51. He could barely compete in 2006, and at age 40, probably has very little or less to contribute to the Yankees in 2009.
As always, be good, take care of yourself, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
Obituary: New York Yankees’ Playoff Run (1995-2007)
“Smell that, Bill? Smells like somebody died”
~Johnny Ringo from Tombstone
And at 10:53 EST on Wednesday night, at 161st and River Avenue in the Bronx, New York, the New York Yankees were officially pronounced dead from internal injuries. Their run of playoff appreances that started with Don Mattingly’s swan song in 1995, the run that saw 10 AL Eastern Division titles, 2 Wild Card berths, 6 AL Pennants, and 4 World Series titles came crashing down in front of a home capacity crowd, 11-3. Whom better to secure the final kiss of death on these Bombers in their own house than the rival and now class of baseball, the Boston Red Sox. How much more poetic can this be for Red Sox nation? The organization that not only handed the Babe to the Yankees on a silver platter, but helped secure the first Yankees’ dynasty by handing over player after player, until the Yankees of the 1920s and 1930s looked almost like the Boston Red Sox of the 19-teens. Wait a minute…they were. How sweet for Red Sox nation to slam the casket down on their hated rival, having given them a dynasty, in The House that Ruth Built, in its swan song? As they say in the Mastercard commericals…Priceless.
The Yankees now fall 7 full games behind in the AL wild card, and 10 1/2 games back of Tampa in the AL East. As much as I disliked Joe Torre, one had to see this coming. Especially the way they thanked Joe for 12 solid years, 12 years of playoff appearances, 12 years of World Series expectations, by offering him an insult for a contract, and then forced him to take his legend to the west coast and Dodger Stadium. Perhaps if the Steinbrenners had taken that same approach not only to Joe Girardi, but Brian (I too will be out of work soon) Cashman, and this bloated roster of has beens and underachivers, I may not be sitting here writing my version of a eulogy tonight.
As much as I trash this team on a daily basis, it’s only because I care. I have been a Yankees’ fan since 1981. I grew up in an era of Yankees baseball that was doomed with free agent busts, and not quite enough pitching to see the postseason. I always wondered what it would be like to see my Yankees make it to the playoffs. My loyalty was finally rewarded as I personally witnessed former Yankee great and my childhood idol Don Mattingly almost single handedley take the 1995 Yankees to the ALCS. However, they fell short and Donnie Baseball rode off into the sunset. Little did I know that dynasty was on the cusp of dominating baseball for the next half dozen years or so. I sit here tonight with not a sad, but more of an empty feeling. It hasn’t quite dawned on me just yet that the Yankees will not be participating in October for the first time in a very long time.
The difference between my childhood Yankees, the dynasty Yankees, and the current incarnation of what seems to be Yankees is large. My childhood Yankees, however uncompetitive as they were, always played hard, regardless of whether or not they were playing in October. Players like Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, and the like were always fighting for every run, every hit, every game throughout the season. Then again, for most of the decade, either Billy Martin or Sweet Lou Piniella was manning the dugout. They made their players play hard, or those players wouldn’t be on the field. One knew that with a Martin or Piniella team, they were going to get the most out of their roster, win, lose, or draw.
Then all of a sudden came the dynasty Yankees. Unknown players for the most part, role guys that played the perfect role when the chips were down. Tino, Pauley, Brosius, a young Jeter, Bernie, Jorge and Mo. The cornerstones of a championship squad that refused to accept defeat, no matter the odds. The only thing that mattered was winning rings. Joe Torre knew he had the leaders within the clubhouse to keep house. We were all spoiled as Yankee fans, rewarded for the long decade and a half that had passed since the glory days of the late 1970s and early 1980s. We were back where we belonged…on top of the baseball world…consistently. I remember thinking during this last dynasty run, that it was unthinkable that George Steinbrenner would ever allow the Yankees to revert back to non-competitive status. Unfotunately for me, and the rest of you in Yankeeland, we didn’t realize that success was going to be the undoing of a once proud franchise. The Subway Series victory of 2000 seems a lifetime ago…little did we know.
Little did we know that between 2000 and now, that Brian Cashman would destroy a dynasty by being careless with George’s dollars…be careless about the careful chemistry that helps build winning teams. Guys like O’Neill retired, and they were replaced with the likes of Raul Mondesi and Gary Sheffield. Tino leaves and is replaced by a steroid using shell of his former MVP self in Giambi. Bernie with Damon, and on and on it went, until today. Cashman allowed Rocket and Pettitte to leave, and we had nothing in Game 7 at home against the Red Sox. Nothing! Instead of reloading the rotation, Soriano gets dealt for A-Rod. Matsui is imported, and the bullpen becomes Mariano Rivera and Rivera only. Hard for the Sandman to close games out when the Yankees are always playing from behind.
During this recent string of playoff appearances, I hold many, many great memories from days gone by. Leyritz’s bomb off Mark Wohlers…the perfection that was the ’98 Yankees…Tino’s grand salami when it was supposed to be Trevor Time…Donnie Baseball’s Stadium shot in ’95…the consecutive World Series game winning streak…Bernie catching Mike Piazza’s fly ball to clinch the ’00 series, which at the time I didn’t know would be our last…Boone’s moonshot off of Wakefield to make one more series appearance. All are stored in my mind…enjoyed like an old friend. It has been a great run…more than anyone (myself included) could’ve ever asked or wished for. We as Yankee fans became spoiled…as if the title rightfully belonged to us in Gotham and beyond. That if anyone else were to be holding the World Series trophy, that they simply would be borrowing it until we righted our ship within 12 months. 12 months has come and gone every year since 2000, and nothing has been corrected. It has been a great run…and the Yankees who hold World Series rings in their possession should be proud, and I just want to say thank you for the wonderful memories.
As for the current regime…You ******** have some things to answer for. If I were the GM, the following would be my plan of attack heading into the 2009 season…
1. Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman would be let go. They were hired to win, and they both have done anything but…
2. Trade Damon, Cano, Melky Cabrera, and as much as I love him, Hideki Matsui.
3. Let the expiring contracts of the following current Yankees expire, and bid them adeu: Giambi, Mussina, Abreu, Pavano, Pudge, Pettitte, Ponson, etc. etc. etc.
4. Make big bids on the following free agents…and when I mean big, overpay for quality this time: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Mark Texeira.
5. Hire Buck Showalter as the field manager, and Gene Michael as the GM.
So on Opening Day 2009, the lineup should look like the following, followed by the starting rotation and bullpen:
(CF) Gardner, (SS) Jeter, (1B) Texeira, (3B) A-Rod, (RF) Nady (2B) Betemit, (C) Posada, (DH) Duncan (LF) Christian
(SP) Sabathia, (SP) Sheets, (SP) Wang, (SP) Chamberlain, (SP) Hughes
(RP) Veras, (RP) Robertson, (RP) Ramirez, (RP) Marte, (RP) Bruney, (CL) Rivera
The Yankees must do exactly as the Red Sox have done: build with youth and proven veterans. Mix in speed, with right-handed power, along with the established left-side swingers. Many of your probably don’t realize that over his last 120 games, Wilson Betemit has hit around .290, with 32 HRs, and close to 100 RBI. Not bad when you consider he is a switch hitter, and appears to be much more of a hustler on the field than the disinterested Robinson Cano. I know, my rotation doesn’t have a single lefty. The Cano trade can handle that, then the Yankees can move Chamberlain back to the 8th inning set up role where he truly belongs, and you can insert the lefty into the rotation.
How does one handle their rival? They become them. Check out Jason Smith on ESPN Radio, he did a wonderful eulogy to the Yankees earlier tonight. I will attempt to link it into this entry later on today.
I will as promised, continue to review everything Yankees-all the way until the last day of September, as the wound goes deeper, and the numbness and shock set in.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
New Blood Shines Through, Yanks Finally Win…One
It’s only one game. As Fox’s Kevin Kennedy said after viewing the highlights of the Yankees’ thrilling 13th inning win yesterday against Kansas City: “It’s a start, but for the Yankees to make it to October, they will have to play around .750 ball with roughly 40 games to go.” And with that, finally someone on the national stage not named Peter Gammons is calling it “Mission: Impossible.” Don’t get excited Yankee fans, this was one win against a team they should own, but for some reason don’t.
Congrats to speedster Brett Gardner went 3-5 with the game winning single, driving in Robbie Cano to lead the Yankees to a hard fought 3-2 victory. Yesterday’s win can be viewed in one of two ways. The first is, is that it is just another win, and it shouldn’t have taken 13 innings to handle a team from Kansas City. Or, this win is just what the doctor ordered, hopefully getting this group of Bombers in the mindset that every game from here until the end of September should be viewed as an elimination game. Fortunately for the Yankees, Tampa and Boston also went down to defeat, thus gaining little, but precious ground on what will be a long road back to the promised land.
I also want to send kudos out to the Yankees young, and ever improving bullpen, who shutout the Royals for 6 2/3 innings Saturday afternoon. This performance coming off of the heels of arguably the worst road trip mentally and emotionally for this franchise in a decade. It will take these types of gritty, hard nosed performances for the Yankees to find light at the end of the tunnel. Myself, I believe yesterday was a mere aberration and they could just as easily lay down to Brian Bannister later today. The Moose is taking the mound for New York, looking for season win #16, and to get one step closer to that magical 20-win season he has longed for his entire career. I have been fooled too many times by this Yankees’ team before…they string together a nice winning streak of 7 or 8 games, get you thinking that they have turned the corner, and then they lay an egg on the road, all but eliminating themselves without trying very hard.
The road to greatness doesn’t get any easier for the Bombers in the coming week either. After a much needed day off on Monday, the Yanks head north of the border for three against what is always a tough Blue Jays squad, and then next weekend, after possibly having their collective ***** handed to them in Canada, they get to go to the birthplace of the Bambino, to face the Orioles, whom like the Angels, seem to have their number this season.
This weekend marked the 60th anniversary of the death of the Bambino, and I want to take this time and say to all of you out there, take a half an hour, go to baseballreference.com, and simply look at Ruth’s numbers, season by season. It never ceases to amaze me what an awesome player the Babe truly was, and how we as Yankees’ fans should never forget that he was the Yankees’ long before anybody else was. He is the one that gave us today in 2008, the ability to strut around, proud that we wear the interlocking NY and know that when people see Yankees, hear Yankees, or think Yankees, they think of winning, tradition, and excellence. It may not be so in 2008, but as the memory of the Babe lives on, so to will the greatness he provided regardless of whether or not it is in his original house, or the new one next door.
I will return tomorrow with a summary of the Kansas City series, as well as the key matchups the Yankees will face before heading into Toronto on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
It’s Official: Yanks Should Start Looking Towards 2009
I could’ve sworn that I have seen this before. I could’ve sworn I saw this identical ending to a game, less than a week ago. Wait a minute, I did. In fact, this game looked eerily similar to the game my family and I travelled to Anaheim for this past Sunday. Shoddy defense, inattention to detail on the basepaths (A-Rod last weekend, Justin Christian last night), and the Yankees fail to drive in runners when the game is on the line. Last weekend: Angels 4, Yankees 3. Last night: Royals 4, Yankees 3.
I hate to be the one to break the bad news (I know all of you out there in Yankeeland are some of the smartest fans alive), we can officially stick the proverbial fork in the New York Yankees for the 2008 season. A miniature pre-game roster shakeup did nothing to motivate the players that needed to find something within themselves. Cashman can’t simply blame Melky Cabrera and Richie Sexson for this mess. Given, Melky has regressed since making his debut three seasons ago, but so has Robinson Cano. Perhaps sending both of them back to Triple-A would’ve turned some heads, stating that nobody is safe. Hell, at least Wilson Betemit hustles out his hit balls and plays hard on defense. Can anybody, and that includes Robbie’s dad, the former major leaguer, say that Robbie Cano has done that in 2008? And poor Richie Sexson…steals a king’s ransom from the Mariners, underperforms, gets cut, signs for the league minimum, and cries that he can’t change to being a platoon player. Here’s some advice for you Mr. Sexson: don’t strike out 190 times every season, and hit better than .215, and perhaps somebody else will take you seriously. If not, perhaps you should spend your offseason in Henderson, Nevada at the Jason Giambi Hitting Academy. Sure couldn’t hurt.
As for the present…the Bombers now fall 10 1/2 behind the Rays in the AL East, basically ending any chance of winning the division with 39 games left to play, and I believe the count is now at 7 or 8 games behind Boston in the wild card chase. The historic consecutive postseason run of this proud franchise will indeed end in 2008. What should the Yankees do now? Here are some ideas…1. Bring back up Hughes and Kennedy. Why? Let them take their lumps at the major league level against big league hitters. Make this an extended spring training so that by the time next year starts, these two promising arms have some experience to fall back on. 2. Do not, and I cannot overstate this enough, give Carl Pavano a snowball’s chance in hell of taking the mound in 2008. Why? He has already fleeced this team for $40 mil, and is only trying to rush back before he hits the free agent market in 2009. Don’t help him do this to another team for God’s sake. 3. Bring up some of the younger players along with Hughes and Kennedy and get them some big league at bats and innings pitched. The future has to start somewhere, and it might as well be now. Christian and Gardner are already here, give a young catcher like Chris Stewart the opportunity, afterall, Molina and Posada won’t be around forever. Give guys like Alan Horne and Mark Melancon the chance to show their stuff at the Stadium.
The national media always says that the Yankees don’t rebuild, they reload. Okay, given, the Yankees perhaps go a little overboard on their free agent spending. And what has it gotten us as fans since 2000? Two World Series losses, an LCS collapse, and a handful of 1st round ousters. These should be the finals weeks of Yankee careers for the likes of Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu, and Carl Pavano. The free agent market shows some promise with Brewer aces C.C. Sabathia, and Ben Sheets, along with a guy out in Anaheim that plays first base…Mark Teixiera. I would also propose attempting to deal Cano for some arms, and a power hitting outfielder (one that is in his prime for once…Matt Holliday anyone?), and insert Betemit as the future second baseman. He plays better defense, hustles, and has much better power numbers over the long haul than does Cano…and he is a switch hitter. I like the makeup of the young bullpen…they are taking their lumps, but they will be a strong point for New York in ’09 led by the aforementioned Mark Melancon assuming the 8th inning role left vacant by Joba Chamberlain. Melancon will be and is the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera in the closer’s role. Throw in a healthy Humberto Sanchez, Jason Jones, and Daniel McCutchen, along with Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy and whoever the Yankees sign between Sabathia and Sheets, no to mention a fully recovered Chien Ming Wang, and the Yankees not only have a stable of young horses, but young horses with firepower.
Now, who should the Steinbrenner’s use to harness and nurture all of this youth and inexperience? The same two men that did it the last time the Yankees were in the toilet and needed mouth to mouth an electric shock to the heart to get them back where they belong…Buck Showalter in the dugout, and Gene “Stick” Michael in the GM’s chair. While Big Boss was gone suspended, Michael drafted and kept the likes of Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. I don’t think those guys turned out too bad did they? Hard to argue with 4 World Series titles, 6 American League pennants, and 10 division titles with those cornerstone players. Buck was rushed out the door, and Stick had simply had enough. Perhaps the younger Steinbrenner will look to the past to brighten the Yankees’ future.
Sidney Ponson will be taking the hill for the Bombers in Game 2 of the home set, and I have absolutely no idea who is pitching for the Royals. At this rate, it really doesn’t matter, because the Yankees will play shoddy defense, pitch well enough to win, and find a way to let an inferior team beat them yet again. It truly amazes me how long this Yankees’ squad was able to stay in contention before the wheels came off. I do have one question, and perhaps one of my fellow Yankee fans can answer it for me. This is the third year in a row that injuries have decimated this team. Why isn’t the training team being questioned or held accountable for this annual M*A*S*H unit that is held together from one DL stint to the next? I know the team loves assistant trainer Steve Donahue, but they also loved Mickey Mantle. Mantle knew when it was time to go…perhaps Donahue needs a push from upstairs to find his way out as well.
I will be back on later today or early tomorrow morning to summarize what I am sure will be another agonizing loss for Yankee fans to stomach, and perhaps shed some light on what went wrong yet again.
As always, take care of yourself, be good, and take care of your buddy next to ya!
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