It's a sad day in New York for Yankee fans as the Detroit Tigers have choked the life out of the Bronx Bombers 8-3. The post season is over, and what can be said to improve the situation for next year? I've said it before I'll say it again, pitching. Damnit Brian Cashman, It's THE PITCHING!! After watching this train wreck over the last few days I've come to understand that the Yankees don't have any pitchers who can do what Verlander, Rogers and Bonderman just did to them in this playoff series. After the first spectacular game which I crowed about on Wednesday, the Yankees then went on a 20 inning slump where they scored nary a run. From Damon's three run homerun on Thursday till Matsui hit an RBI Fielder's Choice to put the Yankees on the board with a run in the seventh on Saturday. Pathetic, sad, frustrating. Yes this is certainly what I am feeling, and it didn't help that the Fox announcers were just bad. They lorded over the fact that the most powerful sluggers in baseball were getting their asses handed to them, yes thank-you ass hole for pointing that out. Also, I'm sure many Yankee fans would agree with me that comparing the Yankees to Globo-Gym from that stupid movie Dodge ball is worthy of a face stomping. I understand that if you are not a Yankee fan you more than likely hate them and think they are the evil empire or something. Okay fine but for an announcer to call my guys when they come up to bat the bad guys. That's it the gloves are off. Deep breath. In out. In out.
The season is over now what to do. Usually I have found that Steinbrenner overreacts to these situations and we end up getting rid of the wrong person. There is no question heads will roll but whose head will it be? There is no question in my mind that Sheffield is done. We just made Abreau feel very comfortable with a pay raise so it makes sense to me that we won't re-sign Sheff. Of course there is speculation after speculation about Joe Torre and A-Rod. The reporters smell blood in the water. Jon Heyman and John Donovan of Sports Illustrated are absolutely convinced that Steinbrenner is going to probably can Torre and Rodriguiez in favor of Lou Piniella and pitcher Barry Zito from Oakland or maybe nab Andy Petitte from Texas. That would be nice to pick up a great pitcher like that but I would be surprised if Oakland gave him up, especially now that they are in the ALCS. I love Lou Piniella, but this kind of talk is premature. Steinbrenner is unpredictable and he likes to give his favorite players and coaches’ second chances. It is fair to say though that Joe's job may be uncertain. The Yanks have lost consistently in the first or second round of the post season for three straight years now. He also made some very stupid batting rotation changes in this post season that seems to have everyone stumped, including myself. Personally if the Yankees were to entertain such an idea I hope they don't just up and fire him. Hopefully, if this happens he'll just resign or retire. I can't forget the 4 World Series Joe won for us a while ago.
The general manager, Brian Cashman, has not publicly stated the course of action for next year's season. Everything is up for grabs. The Yankees could end up trading Mussina and possibly some of the relief staff. Personally I think it's time we traded Mike Myers and Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth has a great arm and may do well somewhere else I don't see why we can't get a great to good pitcher for him. I think we can use Andy Phillips, Aaron Guile, Jaret Wright, Cory Lidle and maybe even Johnny Damon as trade bait to get more pitching. I think the Yanks need to decide now whether or not they want to make Melky Cabrera a full time member of this team cause I think it's time. He's got a better arm than Johnny and he wants to be in center so I don't see why it can't be an option. This in no way is a sleight on Damon, I think he's a good clutch player and he, like Posada and Jeter were the only ones to really come through in a pinch in this miserable series, but we have too many guns and not enough positions and someone will have to go. Johnny Damon is going to be 35 in November he ain't no spring chicken anymore. Melky is what, 23 or 24. This team has to get younger next year. I appreciate the veterans but they can't go on forever. Cabrera, Cano, Proctor and Karstans at this point are the future of this Yankee ball club. There has to be more young blood and soon, otherwise, I fear that my Yankees will suffer another humiliation in the post season next year.
The season is over now what to do. Usually I have found that Steinbrenner overreacts to these situations and we end up getting rid of the wrong person. There is no question heads will roll but whose head will it be? There is no question in my mind that 
5 comments:
A comment on the Fox coverage of Game 4, which is the only one I watched in its entirety: yes, they were verbally assaulting the Yankees at every turn. It was ridiculous to the point that they had to *remind* viewers every inning or so that the responsibility for the events they were witnessing lay partially with, yes, Detroit! and its magnificent rotation. The implication in the other 90% of the broadcast was that the Yankees determine their own destiny singlehandedly.
However, as much as I hate Fox baseball coverage, there was a perfectly good reason for the focus: baseball assumes that the random baseball fan in Honolulu is watching for the Yankees, not whoever else is on the field. MLB treats any Yankee playoff game as more important than any other, giving it the 8pm slot whenever possible. The announcers repeat over and over how the Yankees haven't won a WS for all of 6 years, as if the Tigers deficit of 18 years is expected and justified because they don't spend $200 mil per season. They even go on about how the Yankees are the most "renowned" sports franchise in the world (not true, try Real Madrid or Manchester United), parroting the YES network.
So as long as playoff games are Yankees-focused, you're stuck with them commenting about that no-scoring streak.
Now for the real question: of course any fan/player/owner should consider a year without a WS win "not good enough", but when your team is one of the 27% that make the playoffs, can you at least concede that the yankees had a "good" year? If not (and Steinbrenner apparantly doesn't), then you are begging for exactly that kind of one-team-on-the-field, apocalyptic TV coverage.
P.S. Lets Go Mets!
You make some excellent points Maccabee and I am very proud of our boys for this season. It's been a special season for me especially because of the many great games I was able to go to and I guess it hurt even more that we went out the way we did. But thats part of being a Yankee its a tough place to play because everyone expects them to win and when they don't people slam them harder than with normal teams. I also wished that they did not focus so much on Yankee baseball all over the nation because again it fires up so much vitriol against my Bronx Bombers. I will say I would much rather win and be hated then be hated and lose and we are starting to look like the latter more and more.
I am rooting for the Mets if they meet Detroit in the World Series I hope the Mets crush them in a sweep.
Go Mets!
Dodgeball is a good movie.
And yes, the GloboGym analogy is fitting.
GloboGym! GloboGym! GloboGym!
Actually, the Yankees are more like the British Empire in the 19th century. They go all over the world flashing their money and power along the way, robbing poorer nations of their most valuable resources. All empires crumble, eventually.
Mike,
Someday the healing must begin you have an unnatural hatred of the Yankees and you just need to purge that my friend. The Yankees are not Globo Gym if any team in baseball were Globo Gym it would be, well, when I think about it no team acts like that as a whole. The Yankees spend a lot of money on their players but so does Boston, so what. Your Red Sox rob other teams of their fortune too so don't give me that holy than thou art crap. You want to talk about poor clubs how bout the Cubbies or the Royals. Not the Yankees and certainly not the friggin Red Sox, so take that to the bank Captain Mike of the SS Loserville!!
P.S.
Your Empire has crumbled a lot more than mine! HAHHAHA!
I don't have an empire. I have Red Sox Nation, and I never said Boston was poor. I said poorer nations - that includes everyone but the Yankees.
And my hatred for the Yankees is 100% natural.
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