Saturday, December 08, 2012

Yanks In For Long Season?

Are the Yankees Willing To Repeat 1964-1976? If you are a die-hard Yankees fan with a 54 year track record to back you up, you know that the Bronx Bombers had their own fiscal cliff period in the Mick’s final years as their team went from one final World Series against the Cardinals (lost) and then dropped to the bottom of the American League for the first time in franchise history. Are they destined to repeat that formula? Without King George on the throne, the Yankees are turning into a bunch of bean counters instead of Bombers. The team is getting older with each passing season and they are quickly being passed by teams with open wallets and the desire to win now. The desire to win now? That used to be the Yankees motto. Not any more! Consider the left side of the infield. Alex is an aging superstar, now on the shelf to June or longer and the Yanks are paying him 25M per year to not play third base. And when he does play, his manager has such little confidence in him, his manager benches him, as if he was not a potential Hall of Fame with 600 plus home runs, but a journeyman by the name of Horace Clarke. At shortstop, we have an even older Derek Jeter who was last seen in New York, dragging a shattered ankle off the field. He will be paid 17M this year and who knows if he will be able to return to even his playing level of 2012, which cannot compare to his range and speed when he broke in for the 1996 championship season. Are you getting the picture? I am just getting started. Free spending teams like the Rangers and Dodgers are passing the Yankees as if they are in mud. Compare Jeter versus 24 year old Elvis Andrus who is a young, developing superstar shortstop just entering the prime of his career. No, the Yankees are in trouble and all the fans can do is watch this train head down the tracks on the way to oblivion. Are there any real stars left on the roster. Maybe Cano and CC qualify, but only CC is certain for any longer than 2013 and he began to show age for the first time in his career in 2012. Cano is a young stud, but the Yankees will have to pay him a whopping sum after this season and I am not convinced that they are willing to do this any longer. Are you? Teams like the Red Sox are retooling with players like Victorino and Napoli and the Yankees are saying---“no thanks, we’re fine.” What? Your pitching staff which showed how not fine you are in the playoffs last year is one year older. CC was on the disabled list. Andy is pitching on fumes and missed half the 2012 season with a broken leg. Phil Hughes was up and down. Nova wasn’t even trusted to be on the postseason roster. Only Kuroda could be considered as having both an injury free season and a solid pitching record. However, he will be 38 next season. How long until he breaks down? This is an old, getting older team. Where is the youth? If you are going to tell me that Brett Gardner is the answer, I am going to say that you are of your rocker. First of all, he is not as young as you may think. Gardy will turn 30 during the season. Last season, he was practically worthless nursing an arm injury. Is his lack of durability supposed to make us confident? Can someone say Nick Johnson? And I haven’t even started ranting about free agent signings. Why? Because there aren’t any. And not only that, but our own free agents, Chavez, Martin, Swisher, are either out the door or on their way out. Once the Yanks were the most aggressive team out there during winter meetings. Now, I could be wrong, but I thought I saw GM Brian Cashman, sitting like a little old lady, curled up with a shawl and a cat on his lap, by the fire at the Grand Old Opry Hotel, while the Dodgers, Rangers and Angels were dealing. I was going to go up to Cash and see if he was dead, but his loud snoring indicated that he was only asleep. Yes, the New York Yankees are asleep at the wheel as the rest of MLB is spending their record profits from the most lucrative TV deal in the history of sports. So when this Yankee team goes off the rails, you won’t be surprised, because you read it here first

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