EXCUSES
EXCUSES.
Cashman continues to peddle the injury line, how they'll be fine once they recover from all their hurts. But they've lost 8 of the last 9 with thier line-up essentially intact, and half of those losses came with their #1 and #2 starters on the mound and another one with their # 4, who has also given them their only win in that string. The rotation of late has really only been short Mussina and since he hasn't thrown a fastball at better than 85 MPH all year, he is likely to be more of a liability than an asset at this point. The return to physical health has not entailed anything like a return to competitive health. Quite the contrary. The pitching remains mediocre to poor and now a whole series of bats have gone in the tank: Damon, Matsui, Cano, Cabrera, Mankiewicz. As a result they have developed new ways to lose.
When I tallied all the money Cashman has squandered on bad pitching of late, I should have included the 24 mil he paid for the dregs of Mussina's career. Mussina never received sufficient blame for blowing the lead they got him against the Tigers last year in game 2. He holds ion and they go up 2, they might well be the defending champs right now. He was good in then spring and early summer of last year but he wore down in the late summer and fall, obligingly leaving the handwriting on the wall that the Cashman elected not to read.
Cashman continues to peddle the injury line, how they'll be fine once they recover from all their hurts. But they've lost 8 of the last 9 with thier line-up essentially intact, and half of those losses came with their #1 and #2 starters on the mound and another one with their # 4, who has also given them their only win in that string. The rotation of late has really only been short Mussina and since he hasn't thrown a fastball at better than 85 MPH all year, he is likely to be more of a liability than an asset at this point. The return to physical health has not entailed anything like a return to competitive health. Quite the contrary. The pitching remains mediocre to poor and now a whole series of bats have gone in the tank: Damon, Matsui, Cano, Cabrera, Mankiewicz. As a result they have developed new ways to lose.
When I tallied all the money Cashman has squandered on bad pitching of late, I should have included the 24 mil he paid for the dregs of Mussina's career. Mussina never received sufficient blame for blowing the lead they got him against the Tigers last year in game 2. He holds ion and they go up 2, they might well be the defending champs right now. He was good in then spring and early summer of last year but he wore down in the late summer and fall, obligingly leaving the handwriting on the wall that the Cashman elected not to read.
posted by joe valente | 12:33 AM
1 Comments:
My biggest fear for this season is not the losing, as painful as that is, but the thought that the Yankees waste the opportunity to evaluate their young pitchers. I include not only Philip Hughes, but also the other guys who bounce up from the minors when the Yankees need a fill-in starter, only to be sent right back down afterwards.
Now, let me backtrack on that a bit and say that I am not quite ready to throw in the towel here at the end of April. Let's see what May brings. If they get hot and overcome their pitching troubles, they can be right at the top of the division in a heartbeat.
Long-term, I see the same failings as last year: mediocre pitching and a below-average defense. They overcame these shortcoming during the regular season last year, but they were exposed in the playoffs. The Yankees were not then and are not now a serious post-season threat. I could see them coming back in the race this year to either win the division or get the wild card. But they will be feared by no one in the postseason as currently constituted. Their line-up is Murderer's Row when healthy, but great pitching equalizes that advantage. And great pitching is what they'll see come playoff time.
If things do fall apart and it becomes clear that their playoff hopes are non-existent, I hope they can use the opportunity then to evaluate the younger players. I don't think the fans would be angry if that occurred. They know the team is old and needs more younger players besides Cano, Cabrera, Wang and Hughes.
My last thoughts are what I sense in Joe V's comments: the lack of fire in this team as they wallow in their current mediocrity. I want to see some sign that the players care, that they are as incensed at the current state of affairs as we are. The emotionless, corporate attitude they typically portray looks like indifference from here. - MUNSON
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