Andy Pettitte wants to come back to the Yankees next season. Of course he does. But, aside from a little nostalgia, why would the Yankees want him back? Off the HGH and who knows what else, Pettitte was a shell of his former self in ‘08. Again, who (besides the third base coach) is going to take the fall for 2008?
If, as Jon Heyman and others are reporting, Girardi has lost clubhouse veterans like Posada, Jeter, and Rivera, then then it is really just a matter of time until the Girardi Era falls apart. But it really depends on how the veterans decide to play. If the Yanks have a terrible 09 and they give up on the guy, this could happen as quickly as next year. If they show some pride and play hard in spite of the manager and all his bizarre quirks, then he could survive until 2010 or beyond.
One thing seems apparent: while it was certainly time for Torre to exit the Bronx, his new-found success in LA and the Yankees’ sudden onset of clubhouse issues indicates they really needed a Torre-like personality in the dugout. As Michael Kay likes to put it, they need a ‘manager of men’.
Do you mean to tell us that the Yankees are actually going to pass up on one more opportunity to cash in on the closing of The Stadium? If so, one of the most brilliant marketing schemes in baseball history is going out with a whimper. Think about it: the Yankees voluntarily chose to close down the Stadium and simultaneously convinced everyone that it was a tragedy - stirring up a media frenzy and driving up demand for tickets and merchandise. And now they are going to do it all over again in reverse next year for the new Yankee Stadium. Absolutely brilliant.
• Remember when the Yanks vs Red Sox was the best rivalry in baseball? The Bombers have officially been replaced by the Rays.
• Don’t assume that the Yankees can just wave a lot of money and attract all the top of the line free agents this off season. Part of the attraction was the fact that they were a perennial World Series favorite. Now they are the third best team in the AL East.
• Johnny Damon channeled his inner Idiot and foolishly claimed that if the Yanks had an extra month, they’d make the playoffs. That would assume then that they would have leaped over the Red Sox. It’s time for the Yanks to realize that they could have played another full season and never caught this team. The Sox are that much better.
• If Cashman really believed he was to blame for the Yankees’ woes (as he claimed a month ago), then he should have stepped down after the season ended. By signing on for three more years, he now joins Pettitte, Ponson, A-Rod and all the other Yankees who kept claiming their performances were ‘unacceptable’ - without any recourse. Until someone actually takes the fall for 2008, we have to assume that these performances are acceptable.
When did Cashman develop the chip on his shoulder?
“Well if I left I was not gonna like the story that was gonna be written because it wasn’t gonna be accurate. It wasn’t gonna be an accurate depiction of my time here.”
What is he talking about? Everyone already knows his legacy. If anything, he can only further taint it by staying with the Yanks. So watch for Cashman to do what he always does this off-season - following the Jones’. He’ll try to get younger, more athletic, etc. A couple of years ago it was all about compiling young arms. Before that it was collecting all-stars.
Our prediction: Cashman will be dumped well before this new contract expires.
In stark contrast to last year when it was the World Series or bust for Torre, the new message is clear: mediocrity is okay. Otherwise why would the Yanks bring back Brian Cashman? His questionable moves are well documented. His failures now outweigh his past successes. With a new manager and regime in place, isn’t the time for change now? Doesn’t someone have to be held accountable for the failures of 2008?
