by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (3-1-13)
[Part One]
DAN:
As a diehard Yankees fan I coped with the fact that after the 2011 season we would be stuck with an old team for another year, but I did not intend to sign up for this for two or three more. One more year is fine, you can get buy and hope people over achieve and in 2012 that's exactly what happened. I don't see this going nearly as well in 2013 or 2014 or 2015. Is it possible to transition a player into a hitting coach or third base coach under the terms of his current player's contract? If so then A-rod waving Robbie Cano home from the third base line while Derek Jeter pep talks the next batter up is fine by me! Since our old guys will most likely continue to be old players, the Yankees will have a SUPER deep bench to go along with a lineup full of holes. I don't get it, what made you happy about this development? And isn't unsatisfied a bit underwhelming of an adjective here?
TODD:
I agree that the penny pinching plan, or P3, is stupid. (Caveat: If all these reports are true...) It seems admirable, even smart, on the surface to dip below the pending tax increase, but not if they are going to simply disregard it a year later. Smart and admirable suddenly becomes greedy and self-centered. The Steinbrenners would be pocketing the difference and making the team no better. P3 is not what I was hoping for. Originally, I was happy for all the reasons you mentioned: because I thought this might be a sign of the Yankees becoming smarter, younger and savvier on the field. They would invest in young talent and surround veterans with players getting better. The team would have some energy to mix with the experience, all the while spending less on contracts and taking less flak from opponents about their payroll. P3 might mean missing the playoffs for a year, but it was a sign of a complete turnaround of the franchise's way of working; that's why I was excited. The part about taking less flak was especially promising. Just imagine if the Yankees won the World Series with an average payroll! People would FREAK! A man can dream can't he.
It still is too soon to bury Pinstripes brass for avoiding this plan. Who knows what the roster will look like in 2015. However, this off-season has not been encouraging. The Yankees managed to get older somehow. They have some young catchers and pitchers, none of whom seem to be ready for the majors yet. And the rest of the farm system is pretty weak. At this point, Brett Gardner is the closest thing we have to watching a young prospect develop in the big time, and he's nearly 30 years old with not much upside left in this game.
I am still behind Brian Cashman until we know he has no plan. Don't forget that this year's crop of available free agents did not really fit what the team needed either. That cannot be ignored. And maybe P3 somehow turns Curtis Granderson's .320 on-base percentage and $40 million owed into the Kansas City Royals' hot, young third baseman Mike Moustakas. Kansas City is going for it this year after all.
DAN:
I think the month of April will be telling this season. Most years it says little more than who worked harder in the off season, but a strong April rarely leads to a crappy year. At worst it leads to an average season. For our Yankees a dominant April is a necessity. Granderson is untradeable if the team can't win without him over the first month while he sits out with injury. And with Phil Hughes battling a bad back, Joba wanting to be a starter (I spit up my coffee when I read this. Is he serious?) and our prized young pitching arm yet to play a game in pinstripes, the team needs a strong start. If we can't survive April two games or more over .500 then I fear for the season.A strong start allows Granderson to be moved at the All-star break. The Yankees need this to happen, to help clear the books and make room for their wealth of youth in the outfield. I'm psyched for this year because we haven't had a pitching team in years. Its always the hitters, always the lineup, with pitching needing to keep pace and not hold the team back.
Maybe a Yankee game won't average four hours this season. Maybe our pitching will dominate and the Yankees will be king of one and two run games. The NEW New York Yankees of 2013. Yeah, who am I kidding. Bring on the Bronx Bombers baby!
No comments:
Post a Comment