THEY'RE BAAAACK!
And so am I. Returning from a forced layoff from the blogosphere, I find that everything has changed about the Yankees, changed, that is, into something far more familiar than what we endured in April.
At the end of last month, incessant injuries combined with an overused and overrated bullpen to create the impression that the Yankees' pitching woes were insoluble, condemning the team to an early exit from the championship stage. Now with the acquisition of Clemens, the news that Hughes hamstring isn't so bad after all, the emergence of Rasner and DiSalvo, the continued brilliance of Pettite, the return to reasonable form of Mussina, the projected return to consistency of Wang, and the liberating relegation of Pavano to the ahs heap of baseball history, one can envision a fairly formidable rotation and a transfusion of young pitching into the bullpen, allowing losers like Vizcaino, Meyers et al. to be designated for retirement. But you will do me the justice of remembering that even at the nadir of the pitching fiasco, I noted that the Yankees were squandering some decent efforts. Now that mini-trend has become an epidemic as the Yankees have reverted to the kind of offensive malaise we saw much of last year, i.e. lousy situational hitting, even worse late inning, clutch hitting, too much station to station baserunning, too much waiting for Homer etc.
Damon, Abreu, Cano, Cabrera have all been pretty bad most of the season, and with the exception of Damon, they have been even worse in the clutch. Giambi has done nothing since the bone spur cropped up, and his production was crucial throughout April. Speaking of April, Mr. April decided to get a jump on October futility by going silent in May--maybe he just figures Dave Winfield has the patent. Jeter and Posada simply cannot drive the offense by themselves, as well as they are hitting, and Torre continues to believe he can afford to play Mankiewicz at first because he has such big names--though not big bats--elsewhere in the order.
Today the Yankees wasted a great outing by Pettite in a manner that recalled last year all too clearly. Down 2-0, they get one back thanks to Jeter, but they go on to waste two rallies, one in the 7th inning and one in the 8th. In the first Torre replaces Phelps with Mankiewicz to get the match-up and a double play immediately ensues. You don't sub for a decent hitter with a crappy hitter just to get the match-up, particularly when the better hitter is warm and the worse is coming up cold. Pinch-hitting is difficult enough for people whoi can actually hit, without leaving it to the likes of that feeb. Then in a classic moment, AROD strikes out on a 3-2 fastball with 2 on in the eighth. This after AROD's error in the third cost the Yankees their first run. In other words, AROD failed to win the game at the plate and managed to lose the game in the field. Yes, it's just like old times.
Only now the Yankees are 8 back of Boston and in danger of being blown out of contention before Clemens even returns to overblown fanfare and compensation.
At the end of last month, incessant injuries combined with an overused and overrated bullpen to create the impression that the Yankees' pitching woes were insoluble, condemning the team to an early exit from the championship stage. Now with the acquisition of Clemens, the news that Hughes hamstring isn't so bad after all, the emergence of Rasner and DiSalvo, the continued brilliance of Pettite, the return to reasonable form of Mussina, the projected return to consistency of Wang, and the liberating relegation of Pavano to the ahs heap of baseball history, one can envision a fairly formidable rotation and a transfusion of young pitching into the bullpen, allowing losers like Vizcaino, Meyers et al. to be designated for retirement. But you will do me the justice of remembering that even at the nadir of the pitching fiasco, I noted that the Yankees were squandering some decent efforts. Now that mini-trend has become an epidemic as the Yankees have reverted to the kind of offensive malaise we saw much of last year, i.e. lousy situational hitting, even worse late inning, clutch hitting, too much station to station baserunning, too much waiting for Homer etc.
Damon, Abreu, Cano, Cabrera have all been pretty bad most of the season, and with the exception of Damon, they have been even worse in the clutch. Giambi has done nothing since the bone spur cropped up, and his production was crucial throughout April. Speaking of April, Mr. April decided to get a jump on October futility by going silent in May--maybe he just figures Dave Winfield has the patent. Jeter and Posada simply cannot drive the offense by themselves, as well as they are hitting, and Torre continues to believe he can afford to play Mankiewicz at first because he has such big names--though not big bats--elsewhere in the order.
Today the Yankees wasted a great outing by Pettite in a manner that recalled last year all too clearly. Down 2-0, they get one back thanks to Jeter, but they go on to waste two rallies, one in the 7th inning and one in the 8th. In the first Torre replaces Phelps with Mankiewicz to get the match-up and a double play immediately ensues. You don't sub for a decent hitter with a crappy hitter just to get the match-up, particularly when the better hitter is warm and the worse is coming up cold. Pinch-hitting is difficult enough for people whoi can actually hit, without leaving it to the likes of that feeb. Then in a classic moment, AROD strikes out on a 3-2 fastball with 2 on in the eighth. This after AROD's error in the third cost the Yankees their first run. In other words, AROD failed to win the game at the plate and managed to lose the game in the field. Yes, it's just like old times.
Only now the Yankees are 8 back of Boston and in danger of being blown out of contention before Clemens even returns to overblown fanfare and compensation.
posted by joe valente | 6:45 PM
2 Comments:
It's these games where the Yanks score no runs, the offense goes in the tank, and everyone seems to have an 0-3 or 1-4 day that really scare me. And that point back to Torre's management of the team. When he could point to the injuries, he saved his job; now the pitching is doing well, and what excuses are left?
It's not just that everyone is going 0-3 and 1-4, it's that noone (other than Jeter)can hit with runners in scoring position. And that is symptomatic of a team with very little in the way of nerve, grit or urgency. The problem is they think (and Torre encourages them to think) they are way better than they are.
However big the names. this is a team that fields badly, runs slowly, throws weakly, hits inconsistently, starts spottily, and relieves brutally. It is a line-up of seemingly unparalleled firepower that is populated with players prone to slumps: Giambi's on an 0-18, not unusual, Abreu was on an 0-23, Cano and Cabrera have both gone double digits without a hit, as has Damon.
What excuses? Only that this is not, contrary to appearances, a good team playing badly, it is a bad team finding their specific level of ineptitude. Yes, Torre should be fired immediately, all the more so since he has performed his only remaining function: wooing Clemens to the Bronx. But I think this team has to be dismantled after this season in any event, beginning with the release of Brian Cashman, who is an even worse GM than Torre is a field manager. Certain contracts will need to be eaten (Abreu, Damon, Giambi) in whole or in part; certain players need to be released outright (Vizcaino, Farnsworth, Meyer, Mankiewicz, Pavano, Nieve). But the important thing is to recognize that the strategy of relock and reload hasn't worked; it has only produced steadily diminishing returns. They are going to have to bite the bullet and rebuild.
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