tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

State of the Yankees – 2011/12

As I have stated numerous times before on this blog, I am a life-time Yankee fan. I've been through the good times and the bad times over the last 50 years. I remember when the Yankees were on every Saturday afternoon in the early 60's to when I would never see them on TV because they were so bad during the late 60's and early 70's. This trip down memory lane is being written because there may be some who after they read today's blog may think that I am not a true Yankee fan.

Let me first start out by saying that it is painfully clear that this is not George Steinbrenner's team anymore. While Steinbrenner at times meddled to the detriment of the team, the one thing we knew as fans was that he cared about winning. When he said that a season is only successful if you win the World Series, you knew he meant it and he would do everything in his power to make it happened. Some times what he did worked, some times it didn't but at least you knew he cared.

When Randy Levine last Friday said that the season was not a success because the team did not accomplish its goal of winning the World Series, it rang as hollow as a three dollar bill. The fact of the matter is that the current ownership group really only cares about how much money they are going to rake in. Now don't get me wrong, George wanted to make money. But he had passion for the game and the team. Do you see passion out of Hal Steinbrenner?? Randy Levine??? Lonn Trost??? The only one of the group with what I would consider passion would be Hank Steinbrenner, however Hank can't match his Dad in saavy or in dealing with the media. It's interesting how quiet he has been throughout the season and how we have heard nothing from the Steinbrenner family after the Yankees were eliminated.

It's a forgone conclusion that Brian Cashman will be back as General Manager. To be fair, Cashman deserves credit for signing Russell Martin, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez. Chavez and Jones came up big during the last Boston series at Fenway and they filled in admirably. To be frank, I think Girardi didn't use them enough particularly Jones. I loved the Russell Martin signing. Martin was a NL All-Star before being injured when he was with the Dodgers. He has stabilized a position until one of these kids are ready to take over. Obviously, Garcia and Colon saved the season.

While these signings helped the Yankees win their division, they did nothing to ensure that they would advance in the playoffs. Of the non-pitchers in the group, the only one who played was Martin. Jones and Chavez were given limited opportunities to contribute which is amazing in and of itself when the offense struggled so badly. Colon didn't even make the playoff roster and Garcia pitched a good game in Game 2.

My problem with Cashman actually begins back in 2010. He was so fixated on Cliff Lee that he discounted any opportunity to get Dan Haren from the Diamondbacks. In free agency, he once again was zeroing in on Lee and in the end got whipsawed by the Phillies. He ended up taking flyers on two aging pitchers. In essence, he gambled and won. That's just great!!! But all he won was a playoff series and a guarantee that he will be back as Yankee GM. You see under the current ownership, Cashman accomplished a lot this year. His signings were more reminiscent of a low budget team and they got 3 home playoff dates. Spend less money and still get 3 extra games. Extra gate receipts, continued ratings for YES, the sale of playoff items and the continuance of the myth that its only a success if we win the World Series.

It's being reported that 2 people in the Yankee organization will be interviewing for the vacant Angel GM position. One is Damon Oppenheimer who is the Yankees' chief guru for drafting young players. Oppenheimer is being credited for rebuilding the Yankee farm system which 10 years ago was considered one of the worst and now is considered one of the best. My question is this: when are we going to see the fruits of this farm system?? Back in June I was begging for this team to bring up Jesus Montero and they waited until September. The kid showed that he can be exceptional hitter in the big leagues. But already we are hearing that he may be packaged to get an accomplished pitcher. In my opinion, that's a mistake. The Yankees track record for acquiring pitchers is spotty at best. For every CC Sabathia there are more AJ Burnetts. Montero could be a middle of the lineup guy for years. Besides, when are we going to see the many arms that the Yankees have in the farm system??? How come the Rays seem to always have a young arm every year come up and contribute?? Why not bring up one of these kids and see if they can't be the next Ivan Nova.

If the Yankees really were committed to winning the World Series they would level with all of their fans. They would tell us that they are not going to give up key pieces of their farm system. That they are going to go with their youngsters and there may be growing pains. That it may be actually a year or two before we are a legitimate contender to win the Series, not just once but for many years. That we will try to add pieces via free agency but not necessarily the biggest name but players who can contribute when needed. Players who can do the little things. But this will never happen. The reason it won't happen is that the current ownership would be concerned that the bottom line would be effected. Maybe less people will come to the games. The ratings will go down at YES. And heaven forbid if we don't get any playoff gate receipts.

That is why as we head toward a long winter, I am not hopeful. There's already talk that they are going to go after CJ Wilson. He has done nothing this year in the playoffs up to this point. I already mentioned the Montero rumors. And I'm sure they will take flyers on some others who they will gamble on in 2012. In the end they will be competitive again to make the playoffs and probably win the division. The Red Sox are in disarray and the Rays simply don't have enough firepower to match up with the Yanks. So we will be back here next year and Girardi will talk to us about not having luck, being a sac fly away from advancing and how revenue sharing has evened things out. And Randy Levine will once again tell us how the 2012 season was a failure because we didn't win the World Series. Boy to I miss The Boss!!