How about those Yankees? They look like a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter during their first thirty-seven games. They can’t hit, especially with runners in scoring position. And their defense was never their strong point.
The Yankee pitching, with the exception of Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera is totally unreliable at best. Whenever one of the relief core steps up his game the disabled list is just around the corner.
The wheels are spinning but the hamster seems to be dead.
Although their future is bright the strongest things that the Yankees have going for them today, are their yesterdays.
Now the Yankee pitching staff has to endure the horrors of Kei Igawa. This guy has as much control as two rabbits on their first date. On the mound his appearance seems to project the luminance of a black light.
It is quite obvious New York or the major leagues are out of Igawa’s league of mental endurance. During the game, when the pressure is on, Igawa appears to be as smart as a box of hair. Sort of like our great president George W. who on occasions (like everyday) is a few clowns short of a circus under pressure. “Hey Ya’ll, the government is open seven days a week and weekends too.” “It`s tough to make predictions, especially about the future...”
Sorry for the side bar it’s that dementia thing creeping in and politics are on my mind. “ Where’s my watch?”
The Yankees invested forty-six million dollars on Igawa, this body by Nissan brains by Mattel toy. The Yankee scouting team was a few peas short of a casserole when assessing Igawa’s talent. Revoke their passports please.
Packaging Igawa in a deal to acquire a player with a pulse has certainly had to cross management’s minds. I’m sure Cashman and Hankenstien are afraid that Igawa will suddenly find his niche the minute he is dealt to another team. But even in Japan his pitch location was up in the zone. He will do no good here.
Management’s assessment of its young pitching staff was a bit premature. Patience has never been a virtue with this organization no matter what they preach. The rest of this year should be interesting if things continue to deteriorate. If the Yankees are still close to their division leaders by the end of June look for a packaged deal for pitching.
Getting A-Rod and Posada back will at least help this anemic offense. But the offense has not helped them in the playoffs. That is IF they make the playoffs. It’s all about pitching.
With a new stadium in the mix and the economy in the state of flush attendance next year could be an issue. Although corporate America seems to buy it’s share of seating in the Bronx, so maybe not.
The Yankees need some front line pitching and this off-season should produce some major changes. There is a lot of money coming off the books so look for a major free agent or two to be signed.
Well you get the idea. A man is only as old as the woman he feels. (Sorry, I just had a senior moment and that was truly uncalled for).
If I were a tree there would be more than twice as many rings in my trunk than in the Yankee organisation. So why is it that I still have not taught myself the rewards of patience?
I guess it all goes back to when I was young and I started out to try and save the world. Then I saw something shinny. A.D.D. Attention Deffisate Dissorder. Riddlin would have been the drug of choice to address that syndrom but the drug makers hadn’t formulated that yet. So for my generation our Riddlin was Catholic school. I’d prefer Ridlin.
Back to my original thought and that was my attention and attitude towards baseball. Specificially, the Yankees.
On any given game day I will treat that days game as the seventh game of a world series. I know you can’t win every game but yet that is what I expect. Years of therapy haven’t corrected that character flaw. Unlike women who won’t admit their age I refuse to act mine when it comes to watching the Yankees.
Each day I read about the team and all of the current events surrounding them. (By the way, at my age I don’t need glasses. I just drink straight from the bottle). After reading I rationalize, with great logic, the reality of this team’s place in time, talent and standings. I put all of this information into my logical storage vault somewhere in my cranium. I go about my daily business and the world goes round .
I will proceed to have daily conversations with other sports people regarding the Yankees. My comments are very rational and analytical. I never make predictions. I know better. Sometimes I am even respected… Okay, let’s not get carried away.
Then I settle down to watch the game and it’s like I fell out of the #### tree and hit every branch on the way down. I become a cynic like the guy who smells flowers and looks around for a coffin. I think every Yankee is going to hit into a double play given that game situation. A-Rod is a piece of #### and will strike out with runners in scoring position. Mariano is washed up and will blow every save opportunity. Johnny Damon throws like a girl. Well that one makes sense.
In other words my in game logic is rather sad. Sort of like a mosquito sucking on a mummy. I become the inventor of stupidity.
It is this inconsistency in my mental behavior that makes me a true sports fan. It makes me ponder my age, my self worth and my commitments. Whenever I feel all knowing and wise I look forward to watching a Yankee game. This always humbles me back to reality. Home is where you can scratch where it really itches.
Blessed are the cracked people for it is they who let in the light.
Right after the disappointment of being ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the under dogged Detroit Tigers I was all over some much needed changes. I wanted to get rid of Joe Torre and Alex Rodriguez. Obviously decision makers who REALLY count on the Joe Torre issue out voted me. No surprise there.
Alex Rodriguez is not going anywhere either and after rethinking, I have decided that it is a good thing for A-Rod to stay put. After all pitching did in the Yankees and…well so did hitting but that was spread out equally amongst this post-season offensively challenged Yankee team.
A-Rod did not cost the Yankees a division title and he did not single handedly cost his team a shot at the AL pennant. It was a team effort.
A-Rod plays a decent third base and we all know his numbers offensively during the regular season. He helped put the Yankees in a position to get into the playoffs every year that he has been in New York.
Rule number one: Get to the post season. After that it really is about pitching in a short series. That is where the Yankees have failed to match up with their opponents in post-season play, during this recent championship drought run.
Who cares if Derek and A-Rod don’t like each other or if A-Rod is prettier or self-proclaimed more Bi-racial and makes more money than everyone else. Actually it makes for great arguments at bars, stadiums, water coolers and message boards. It sure takes your mind off important issues like when the hell are we going to get out of Iraq and stop trying to fight two wars and bring our boys home. That’s for another article though.
It’s fun to pick on A-Rod because he always has something really scripted and eyebrow rising to say. This has been a writers dream to have the likes of Alex Rodriquez in New York. Derek gets the endorsements but A-Rod gets the press. When it comes to whether Derek gets more money for his endorsements or writers get more page exposure writing about Alex, I’ll opt for Alex every time. It makes a writer’s job easier and we get out all our frustrations to boot.
A-Rod bashing has been in Vogue, but fall fashion is history. It’s time for a new wardrobe. Something geared for spring with a little curve around the right or left arms. Something that says hard and fast and young…but always in pinstripes.
Joe Torre is a true mentor in his ability to keep a level presence when the boiler room reaches scorching temperatures. His slow methodical demeanor has a calming effect on all who surround him.
Unfortunately, Joe is not a motivator. He has been part of three straight colossal collapses in the post season. These failures have been monumental and embarrassing to the Yankee organization and it's fan base. Unless the organization finally realizes that pitching really is the key to post season success, Joe will end his reign as manager with just four rings (not a bad number).
During his first six years and four World Championships Joe had the horses on his pitching staff to be successful. There was quality starting pitching and great middle relief leading to the best closer of all time in the post season, Mariano Rivera.
Since 2002 the Yankee management decided that All Stars at every position was the way to go. Well it got them to the post season but in a short series we all know good pitching stops good hitting.
With this year’s pool of free agent pitching talent the market for staring pitching is weak at best. Therefore trading will be the highlight of this off-season restructuring strategy for the Yankees.
This will prove to be quite difficult given the Yankee dearth of large contracts and older injury prone pitchers that will be hard to move.
Look for either a major overhaul through trades (highly unlikely) or the same looking Yankee team of the past six seasons (more than likely).
If the later is the case, then expect the same result as the last six years. Joe does not have the motivational skills to get all these all stars on the same page to play team situational baseball. To be fair, I don’t know of any manager who can pull that one off.
----------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------------------- This is an article I wrote last week concerning My opinions on retaining Joe Torre
The longer this debacle plays out the more secure Joe Torre’s job will be. If he is not let go now there will be more damage done next season when the Yankees go into their first management and media proclaimed slump and his head is on the block again.
I would hope, and hope is the only rational thought I have, that Joe decides to step down as manager and take on a lesser role with the organization or just hangs them up. Let him leave with dignity and as they say, his terms. He has brought class and dignity to this organization for eleven years. He gets an A+ and a paycheck to prove it.
Joe Torre is a true mentor in his ability to keep a level presence when the boiler room reaches scorching temperatures. His slow methodical demeanor has a calming effect on all who surround him. The problem here is, after so many years, the soldier becomes lulled into a false sense of comfort and the troops are not prepared for battle.
The failures in the past three years have been monumental and embarrassing to the Yankee organization and it’s fan base. A drastic change has to be made and Torre and A-Rod are the projected targets. One or the other or both have got to go.
My real choice is for both to leave, but the lesser of the two problems would be for Joe to stay and A-Rod to go. There is no telling how team chemistry would react to a roster that included a player, in A-Rod, who is so psychologically fragile that causes teammates to make statements like the one Gary Sheffield made, which states, ” Joe Torre’s decision to bat Alex Rodriguez eighth in Game 4 ended up dooming the Yankees. I think that affected the morale and psyche of the entire team, not just A-Rod. I’m not making any excuses, but everyone was wondering what was going on. It made it a real weird day. You would like to be treated with a little respect, I don’t care who you play for.” (this coming from a guy who shows no respect for anyone but himself throughout most of his career). By the way, no matter what, the Sheff has cooked his last meal in New York’s AL kitchen.
By firing Torre an hiring Piniella this means A-Rod stays and the above mentioned team chemistry is going to suffer.
By keeping Torre and trading A-Rod, the team is once again lulled back into a “Daddy will make it better” mentality and here we go again.
Is a crazed Lou Piniella making the back pages of the New York Sports pages on a weekly basis and a coddled Alex Rodriquez whining about being treated unfairly because of his Bi-racial good looks and equally good looking pay stub what Yankee management and fans want to hear and read about? If so, bring on Sweet Lou. Let the Three Ring Circus begin and put that long running Class of New York Broadway hit Joe Torre directed in his eleven years into the record books.
Both acts have played their last matinee in New York. It’s time for a change. Let us hope that it is a classy one.
go into their first management and media proclaimed slump and his head is on the block again. 
