The Yankees did have chemistry this year. Unfortunately it was stripped from the lineup in the last three weeks of the regular season with the return of Hedeiki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. Joe Torre’s hands were tied when it came time to play these two. He had to. This, as it turned out, was the wrong time to screw with team chemistry.
In the beginning of the year the Yankee team that played everyday lacked that chemistry also. Matsui and Sheffield were part of that starting lineup. I remember writing an article on how boring this Yankee team was in the first month to six weeks of the season. No clutch hitting, poor starting pitching and an already over worked bullpen.
There was this familiar feeling surrounding this team that things would eventually work there way to a head to head battle with the Red Sox. Then the injuries unfolded. This perhaps was the highlight of the season for the New York Yankees.
Brian Cashman and Joe Torre had their work cut out for them and the two seemed to be on the same page and that is when the chemistry started to develop. This, in part, was due to the understanding and confidence that Brian Cashman was now the true General Manager of this franchise. Now he and Joe Torre did not have to constantly look over their shoulder for every decision that they collectively agreed upon and eventually made. They would be held totally responsible for their moves and that would be fine as far as Brian and Joe were concerned.
The infusion of younger and hungrier players into the everyday lineup had an immediate impact on the field and the results were equally positive. There was a life to this team that was not present in the past three plus years.
You need a blend of confidence, energy, swagger and yes, even fire. You are not going to win without that mix for the most part. To say that you need a team of Rivera’s, Jetter’s and Williams who just go out there everyday and do their jobs sounds wonderful. It won’t happen because you could never find nine guys with that approach who play everyday. It’s a blend.
The Yankees, in their championship seasons, always had a blend. Knobloch, O’neill, Clemens, Nelson, El Duque, Tino. These guys showed emotion and brought the energy level up to a point where it needed to be, to be a champion. The Yankees had it for a good part of the season but they lost that energy this year in the final three weeks of the season. Too many All Stars and an all too familiar look that lulled them back to a false sense of “We are the best lineup in all of baseball.”
Blame it on pitching, but the pitching was not horrible, the offense was.
Lou Piniella has made a difference every place that he has managed with the exception of Tampa Bay. He can motivate talent. Tampa Bay had a class AA team for the time he managed there and a payroll to match. So it is unfair to judge him on that level. No one could win being dealt with that hand. I am glad he was not hired to manage the Yankees but if he was I’ll bet the ranch he would have been successful.
I like Cashman and I like where he is going with his approach. I’m pretty sure he has learned from his frustrating years as a three-headed GM. I am guessing that this will be the last year of a top to bottom All Star lineup for the Yankees under Cashman’s present day’s watch. He has a lot more rope as far as I’m concerned.
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.
When you look at this series it is the Tigers who are playing the type of ball that got them going this year and propelled them to the top of their division for 99.9% of the year. Quality starting pitching, timely hitting and a pretty good bullpen. They have recaptured the chemistry they displayed for the first half of the year and at a very opportune time.
Every team goes through slumps and the Tigers were showing the strains of a young talented ball club going through a 162 game grueling season. This is where a young, energetic, talented, well-managed ball club becomes extremely dangerous.
The National press and sports writers gave the Detroit Tigers absolutely no chance to win more than one, if any games from the powerful New York Yankees who's lineup has been assessed to be the best ever assembled in the history of post season baseball.
Chemistry is a very large part of team sports and their success. As it stands right now, the Tigers have it and the Yankees do not.
The Yankees have gone through several changes through out the year and were able to put together a scrappy and energetic squad for two thirds' of that season. Now they have put together THE TEAM that was supposed to project them to their 27th world title and it has been only a three-week experiment. This is not enough time to build chemistry through war-hardened camaraderie, among teammates, no matter how experienced and talented these individuals are.
This current Yankee team (this post season one) is just a slightly different looking package from the past three seasons. Just enough big name players who have been "THE GUY" for other teams but do not know the feeling of how to be part of a team player mindset.
The Yankees starting pitching, with the exception of Chien-Ming Wang, has been inconsistent and spotty all year. The bullpen is their Achilles heel. Not a good combination for playoff success.
Johnny Damon has been in a slump and looks as if he is a notch or two below his usual playoff twitchy edge.
Derek Jeter is playing his usual game with an average amount of throwing problems. Nonetheless, he still rises to the occasion.
Bobby Abreau has been steady and below average at the plate so far.
Jason Giambi is awful in the field and overmatched at the plate at times.
Gary Sheffield is not a first baseman and continues to struggle in the post season with New York.
A-Rod, I refuse to state my views, no sense in beating a dead horse although his play in the field has been steady.
Hideki Matsui has played better than I expected. He makes contact.
Jorge Posada has continued to hit the ball hard and his play behind the plate has been as good as ever.
Robinson Cano, has not shown up offensively in this series and has shown his impatience at the plate. His fielding has been as expected.
The Bullpen has done a fair job.
Joe Torre has been a non-factor. He continues to be unable to motivate his team at the most crucial of times. Joe is just a good handler of men, not a motivator.
There is one game left for the Yankees to start putting a stamp on their team chemistry portfolio. That is a huge task for a team who looks more tight and frustrated and has not been able to focus on their ability to play to their strengths. Even if they somehow manage to win the next two games, the Oakland A’s look like The Detroit Tigers West. The problems will continue.
Team chemistry and good pitching. Developing one and facing another. Too much, too soon.
The Detroit Tigers have shown, for the last three games, that they pitch better, hit better and are managed better than the “best team penciled into a post season lineup in major league history.”
go into their first management and media proclaimed slump and his head is on the block again. 
