Is This the End of the Yankee Dynasty?
Could it actually be?
I never thought they day would come. With their superior resources, mystique, aura and that damn "Yankee Way" that everyone seemed to hold so high, it seemed like the Yankees would be on top forever.
But 7 failed post seasons and over $1 billion dollars in salary later, there is actually a chance that the end might be in site.
And everything falls on fate of two men: Alex Rodriguez and Joe Torre.
A-Rod
If A-Rod walks the obvious will take place. The Yankees will lose the best player in baseball, fresh off a spectacular season.
But replacing A-Rod's production would not be as easy as it might be in years past. The Yankees would have the money to overpay but only have openings at 1b or 3b.
They are set in the outfield (Matsui, Damon, Cabrera). If they choose to let Abreu go they won't find a better bat on the market.
They are set at SS and 2b (Jeter and Cano).
They have a DH, Jason Giambi, unless they are willing to pay him $20 mill to sit on the bench (hasn't stopped them in the past).
So replacing A-Rod with a bat in the middle of the lineup would mean bringing in a 1b or 3b from free agency. And unfortunately for those Yankee die hards out there, the list is very thin:
First basemen
Sean Casey (34)
Tony Clark (36)
Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for '08
Darin Erstad (34) - $3.5MM club option for '08
Scott Hatteberg (38) - $1.85MM club option for '08
Ryan Klesko (37)
Mike Lamb (33)
Doug Mientkiewicz (34)
Third basemen
Pedro Feliz (33)
Mike Lamb (32)
Mike Lowell (34)
Assuming Dunn's option is picked up, the Yankees are looking at Tony Clark or Mike Lowell. You have to imagine that if A-Rod leaves and doesn't go to Boston, that the Sox will not Lowell go to the Yankees. Not after the season he's had.
Which means that there is really not a lot out there. Tony Clark has been surprisingly dependable this season. But he likes it in the dessert. And why wouldn't he, Sip's here. Plus he has a pretty sweet car shop to look after.
Scott Hatteberg or Darren Erstad? Yikes! Can't see those guys earning their pinstripes.
Which means if A-Rod leaves, the Yankees lineup really gets crushed.
That would be nice.
Joe Torre
Here's my take on the Torre situation.
The Yankees will not make a decision on Torre until after A-Rod decides what to do. If they fire Torre, then A-Rod will have his excuse for leaving. He would leave because he loved playing for Torre so much that donning the pinstripes would never feel right again.
And the only thing worse for the Yankees than losing A-Rod's bat, would be losing it without being able to completely vilify him in the process.
They couldn't call him greedy or a loser. The media could spin this all back to Steinbrenner's unfair playoff declaration.
So the Yankees will wait on Torre.
If A-Rod resigns then the Yankees can afford to let Torre go. Players like Rivera and Pettite, who claim that they might leave if Torre isn't back, will see A-Rod back on the team and know that staying in Pinstripes means another guaranteed trip to October. And of course a giant wod of cash.
But if A-Rod leaves.
Then other Yankees will feel like it is ok to leave, too. Why not, right? A-Rod did it. Players would fear the shame of losing with the Yankees.
And this would be the ultimate in Yankees irony.
For years the Yankee organization has portrayed itself as the definition of class. That they do things the right way and are better than the rest of us common teams.
And every person with a brain thought that this was crap. The Yankees didn't do it the right way, they did it the green way. Money bought them the playoffs every season, not the class of the franchise.
Which makes it great that the Yankees dynasty might blow up because they were proven to handle things the "wrong way." Calling out the manager, who they have built up to be the Messiah, in the middle of a post season series that they trailed 2-0. The pressure was wrong and now the Yankees could pay for it.
The smartest thing that the Yankees could do is to re-sign Joe Torre today. A-Rod will feel too much pressure to stay if Joe did and then the rest of the pieces would stay in tact.
The big question is whether Steinbrenner's ego will let this happen. He vowed to fire Torre if the Yankees didn't beat the Tribe. Can he actually go back on his words?
God knows Brian Cashman is begging him too. That little fella has been hiding behind the Yankees lofty payroll for too long and he knows that a Yankees demise would mean that he was the obvious next choice to be thrown to the wolves.
This will come down to the "actual right way" vs the "wrong way," also known as "the Steinbrenner way."
This whole situation will be very interesting to monitor.
So if you are looking for a slightly biased opinion, stick with the Sip all off season long.
Go Dbacks!
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of Allposters.com, art.com, newsday.com)
I never thought they day would come. With their superior resources, mystique, aura and that damn "Yankee Way" that everyone seemed to hold so high, it seemed like the Yankees would be on top forever.
But 7 failed post seasons and over $1 billion dollars in salary later, there is actually a chance that the end might be in site.
And everything falls on fate of two men: Alex Rodriguez and Joe Torre.
A-Rod
If A-Rod walks the obvious will take place. The Yankees will lose the best player in baseball, fresh off a spectacular season.
But replacing A-Rod's production would not be as easy as it might be in years past. The Yankees would have the money to overpay but only have openings at 1b or 3b.
They are set in the outfield (Matsui, Damon, Cabrera). If they choose to let Abreu go they won't find a better bat on the market.
They are set at SS and 2b (Jeter and Cano).
They have a DH, Jason Giambi, unless they are willing to pay him $20 mill to sit on the bench (hasn't stopped them in the past).
So replacing A-Rod with a bat in the middle of the lineup would mean bringing in a 1b or 3b from free agency. And unfortunately for those Yankee die hards out there, the list is very thin:
First basemen
Sean Casey (34)
Tony Clark (36)
Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for '08
Darin Erstad (34) - $3.5MM club option for '08
Scott Hatteberg (38) - $1.85MM club option for '08
Ryan Klesko (37)
Mike Lamb (33)
Doug Mientkiewicz (34)
Third basemen
Pedro Feliz (33)
Mike Lamb (32)
Mike Lowell (34)
Assuming Dunn's option is picked up, the Yankees are looking at Tony Clark or Mike Lowell. You have to imagine that if A-Rod leaves and doesn't go to Boston, that the Sox will not Lowell go to the Yankees. Not after the season he's had.
Which means that there is really not a lot out there. Tony Clark has been surprisingly dependable this season. But he likes it in the dessert. And why wouldn't he, Sip's here. Plus he has a pretty sweet car shop to look after.
Scott Hatteberg or Darren Erstad? Yikes! Can't see those guys earning their pinstripes.
Which means if A-Rod leaves, the Yankees lineup really gets crushed.
That would be nice.
Joe Torre
Here's my take on the Torre situation.
The Yankees will not make a decision on Torre until after A-Rod decides what to do. If they fire Torre, then A-Rod will have his excuse for leaving. He would leave because he loved playing for Torre so much that donning the pinstripes would never feel right again.
And the only thing worse for the Yankees than losing A-Rod's bat, would be losing it without being able to completely vilify him in the process.
They couldn't call him greedy or a loser. The media could spin this all back to Steinbrenner's unfair playoff declaration.
So the Yankees will wait on Torre.
If A-Rod resigns then the Yankees can afford to let Torre go. Players like Rivera and Pettite, who claim that they might leave if Torre isn't back, will see A-Rod back on the team and know that staying in Pinstripes means another guaranteed trip to October. And of course a giant wod of cash.
But if A-Rod leaves.
Then other Yankees will feel like it is ok to leave, too. Why not, right? A-Rod did it. Players would fear the shame of losing with the Yankees.
And this would be the ultimate in Yankees irony.
For years the Yankee organization has portrayed itself as the definition of class. That they do things the right way and are better than the rest of us common teams.
And every person with a brain thought that this was crap. The Yankees didn't do it the right way, they did it the green way. Money bought them the playoffs every season, not the class of the franchise.
Which makes it great that the Yankees dynasty might blow up because they were proven to handle things the "wrong way." Calling out the manager, who they have built up to be the Messiah, in the middle of a post season series that they trailed 2-0. The pressure was wrong and now the Yankees could pay for it.
The smartest thing that the Yankees could do is to re-sign Joe Torre today. A-Rod will feel too much pressure to stay if Joe did and then the rest of the pieces would stay in tact.
The big question is whether Steinbrenner's ego will let this happen. He vowed to fire Torre if the Yankees didn't beat the Tribe. Can he actually go back on his words?
God knows Brian Cashman is begging him too. That little fella has been hiding behind the Yankees lofty payroll for too long and he knows that a Yankees demise would mean that he was the obvious next choice to be thrown to the wolves.
This will come down to the "actual right way" vs the "wrong way," also known as "the Steinbrenner way."
This whole situation will be very interesting to monitor.
So if you are looking for a slightly biased opinion, stick with the Sip all off season long.
Go Dbacks!
Vaya,
Sip
(Pics courtesy of Allposters.com, art.com, newsday.com)
posted by Sippy Momo at 11:37 AM
2 Comments:
I'm suspecting Torre will be back, but there is no way they wait. (A-Rod has at least two weeks to decide)
I think they all will still want to stay, but there are other nice situations out there, and Torre leaving will help them see and maybe pursue those situations. Nothing would make me happier, and I do think it'll be tough on them next year if Torre leaves.
None of this paycut stuff. The Yankees don't care about 4,5, or 7 million. If they want Torre, they'll pay for him.
Hopefully the Red Sox don't pull a collapse stunt though, allowing the Yankees (like in 2000) to squeak in with a paltry amount of wins.
Yeah, I disagree with your assessment that the Yankees will wait until A-Rod decides what to do before determining the fate of Torre. Teams make decisions about managers very quickly for several, obvious reasons. Even if A-Rod does opt out, I think it is likely that he will re-sign with the Yankees, but that process may well not be resolved until late December, by which point they will have had to have made a decision on Torre.
As a Red Sox fan, I hope they both leave (for the National League, at that).
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