Before one starts clamoring for Johan Santana, I would just ask you to take a moment and look at your starting centerfielder.  Now granted Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy could use some extra seasoning in the minors but, dealing them would've also meant dealing Melky Cabrera and that would've been an even bigger mistake.

Now my opinion on the pitchers is that by sending them down they have the opportunity to fine tune their stuff and perhaps by beating up on some minor league competition, build up some confidence along the way.  I'm a big believer that Darrell Rasner, just named International League pitcher of the week, can be an adequate 4th or 5th starter and as much as it pains me to say it they are paying Kei Igawa $ 46 million so at least try to get something out of the guy.  There's nothing to say these guys can't be brought back up in early June and perhaps if they weren't limited to a certain amount of innings and were allowed to be stretched out, maybe they'd go six or seven innings instead of three or four like a reliever.

But onto our beloved centerfielder "Leche."  Ok so you want to tell me the Yankees could've signed Torii Hunter or someone like him to replace Melky?  Fine, but he may be the next Bernie Williams and may already be the best centerfielder in New York.

 Thus far in 2008 Melky vs. Carlos Beltran has two less runs scored (17-15), five more hits (24-19), three more homers (5-2), two less RBI (13-11), one more stolen base (3-2), better batting average (.289-.224), lower OBP by one percentage point (.359-.358) and a higher slugging percentage (.494-.412).  Mind you the calendar can flip to May and all of this could just as easily go out the window, however people are taking notice.

As for the "Bernie Baseball" comparison, adding up the first three years for Bernie (1993-1995) and Melky (2006-2008): Bernie leads in hits (443-302), runs (240-156), doubles (89-52), triples (14-10), homers (42-20), RBI (207-134), stolen bases (33-28), Melky has struck out less (140-258), Bernie walked more (189-109), both batting averages are fairly even.

Though Bernie did seemingly take off with his power numbers in his "third year" of 1995, he was 26, Melky is still only 23.  In any event the one player the Yankees may be estatic they didn't trade for Johan Santana is wearing number 28. 

Enough is enough and it's time for the New York Yankees to start making some moves pronto.  No more general statements, idle threats or cliches about how it's a long season.  This team is dead and listless and is in need of some serious wholesale changes.

Starting at the top the Yankees must go back to the future and install Gene "Stick" Michael as General Manager and Buck Showalter as manager.  Those two are excellent talent evaluators who essentially put the Yankees back on the map in the early 1990's.  These two know how to evaluate talent, cultivate a farm system, make shrewd deals and have won in New York before.

While I applaud Brian Cashman's philosophy on trying to re-structure the team to reload the farm system, re-stock the pitching depth and lower the payroll, he's not the evaluator they need to pick the right pieces.  Just look at some of the moves he's made recently: Damon over Beltran in centerfield, not re-signing fan favorite Bernie Williams and leaving the bench weak, trading away Gary Sheffield one of their only righty power bats for one pitching prospect who has been injury plagued and is on the DL with Tommy John surgery, trading Randy Johnson while being naive enough to believe that Carl Pavano and or Kei Igawa would be suitable replacements for a pitcher who won 17 games, those two combined won't make 17 starts.  Cashman neglected to sign proven younger pitchers in Ted Lilly and Gil Meche, citing payroll.  Then he turns around not three months later and gives a 45 year old pitcher in Roger Clemens $28 million to pitch for four months!  Don't even get me started with Kyle Farnsworth.

On the field as far as the manager goes, I love Joe Torre but even beloved and successful guys like Casey Stengel and Billy Martin had to go eventually.  Torre seems to have lost a little zip and confidence in his coaches since Zim and Stott left.  A lot of guys have seemed to tune him out for whatever reason and while he has acted as a great buffer between the owner, media and the players, it seems that now they may have taken advantage of that quality and now walk all over him.  Torre doesn't have this team playing aggressively at the plate nor does he have a grip on how to handle the pitching staff as to when to take guys out or leave them in or when to rest guys or not in the bullpen.

Stick and Buck would clean house with this team.  Bring the clubhouse back to "The Yankee-way."  They wouldn't tolerate slackers or headcases who either don't care, have poor attitudes or don't hustle.  They'd be sure to bring in guys who'd give their all, guys who are proven winners and guys who are hungry to win.  They'd bring in guys like Mike Gallego, Jimmy Key, Spike Owen, Mike Stanley and Wade Boggs who are blue collar ballplayers to turn this thing around.  They'd also give the kids a shot to grow and develop in order to build a new core from the farm system like they did with Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada.

  When it comes to this roster the Yankees need to get younger, more pitching and better defense.  Getting guys such as Mark Teixeria, Torii Hunter, Ichiro and Mike Lowell who could all potentially become available either at the trade deadline or as free agents after the season would all make great fits on this club.

If I were the Yankees, right now I would dump all the dead weight, old, overpaid, listless players.  I'd try to dump as much payroll as possible and try to gain as many prospects as possible.  Johnny Damon would be gone, the guy can't even barely run anymore and I'd let Melky Cabrera play and develop to find out what they've actually got in him.  I'd deal Bobby Abreu who has become a bad influence on Robinson Cano, much in the way that Raul Mondesi was a horrible influence on Alfonso Soriano.  Deal Jason Giambi and get his always injured steroid controversy ridden butt back out to the west coast to either the Angels or A's.  Trade Mike Mussina, who isn't going to get any better next year at age 39 and if at all possible deal Igawa as well and allow some of the younger starters such as Phil Hughes and Tyler Clippard to get a shot at developing and being ready for the 2008 campaign.  I'd also like to see them dump Kyle Farnsworth and Luis Vizciano and let some of the young arms pitch in order to see if they can't groom the next guy to replace Mariano Rivera within the coming few years.  

In addition, seeing as how they're free agents, though I'd like to see them play for no other team than the Yankees, the Yankees could potentially deal pending free agents in Rivera and Posada for some prospects with the understanding that they will re-sign them after the season is over and that the trades are for the good of the future of the team.  Finally, if they know he is going to leave and or if they know he wants out for sure, they should try to deal A-Rod for as many prospects as possible because his stock has never been higher and he is by far the most tradable commodity on this team at the moment who could garner the Yanks a boatload of prospects in return.  Of course A-Rod could too be dealt and opt out of his deal with the understanding that the Yankees will re-sign him in the offseason. 

This is what the Yankees must to to get back on top by the time their new stadium opens in 2009.  They need to cut the deadweight of overpaid headcases, get younger with more depth in the farm system and at the major league level and also they need to create more payroll flexibility in regard to the luxury tax.  It may be hard to do that with so much invested in this team, but obviously it has become apparent that the players don't have anything invested in this team any longer for the most part.  Thus if the Yankees want a quick turnaround in re-building the ballclub, they must act on this fast if not at the trade deadline.  The Yankees have bottomed out with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, thus the string of playoffs will have been broken which is the perfect opportunity to start the foundation of a new dynasty. 

Lately there's been this notion of how Roger Clemens' package deal somehow disgraces the mystique of the New York Yankees.  To detractors such as David Wells and Phil Garner, I say go out and get your own contract negotiated in that fashion.  I don't even necessarily bash the Yankees for doing this because imagine if they hadn't accomodated him and then lost Clemens to Boston or Houston?

There's no mistake the mystique left the Yankees when the ball left the bat of Luis Gonzalez in November of 2001.  They started going after guys who were bigger than the team.  The Yankees replaced two of their classier guys in Tino Martinez and Paul O'Neill with Jason Giambi and his steroid problems and Raul Mondesi and his attitude problems.  They made a foolish trade of Ted Lilly for Jeff Weaver and gave a boatload of money to Jose Contreras solely so that Boston couldn't get him.

In 2004 they essentailly sold their heart and soul, allowing character guys in Andy Pettitte and Clemens to go, while dealing for overpaid, oft-injured, headcase, mal-content Kevin Brown.  Sure A-Rod might be the best player in baseball, but the trading for him went against the grain of the 90's Yankees who weren't about the super-star.  That season the Giambi signing, Brown trade, not signing Pettitte and Clemens and trading for Javier Vazquez instead of Curt Schilling came back to bite them in the end. 

Before 2005 they again let a clutch pitcher in El Duque walk away, the same El Duque who dominated the Red Sox in a relief apperance in the playoffs that year allowing the White Sox to sweep.  They signed Jaret Wright who had red flags all over the place and was another oft-injured headcase.  Signed and overpaid for Carl Pavano, again another oft-injured headcase, just so Boston wouldn't get him.  And traded for and overpaid the moody Randy Johnson, one year too late.  Perhaps the biggest move they didn't make was signing Carlos Beltran to be their centerfielder for the next decade.

When one looks at this season and the Clemens deal, ask yourself this: If the Yankee mystique was so important, why then did they sign Kei Igawa to $46 million?  Igawa's main problem is gripping the ball and getting a feel for the mound!  Really, don't you think that your genious scouting department would've picked up on those two things before anything else?  Anyone who doesn't believe that deal was done solely for marketing purposes to Japan and to compete with Boston's signing of their own Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, you're fooling yourself.  That move right there, which was obviously not a baseball move, spits in the face of Yankee mystique and tradition! 

This shift from the 1990's Yankees to now reeks of sheer sellout.