Opinions on state of the New York Yankees?

Question

I think that there is no excuses for the Yanks. I've been a die hard Yankee fan since 1976. The fact that we haven't won a World Series in 7 years is starting to piss me off now. Especially when we have a 200,000,000 dollar pay roll. As we proved in the past it's not having a team full of high priced players. It's about having the right players, and team chemistry. When we won 1996-2000, they were all with mostly home grown guys (Rivera, Jeter, Posada, Petite) and a few added stars along the way (Justice, Clemens, Boggs, Canseco, Gooden, Starwberry, Fielder) Remember Luis Sojo, Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Scott Brosius, Jim Leyrintz. Little guys who did big things when it mattered. Not a team full of over paid guys. So lets start unloading, and maybe suffer a few years, and get rid of some of these high priced guys, and old players, and start getting some youngsters.

Answer 1

I couldnt agree more with you. I was watching the 50 greatest baseball hits and plays last night on FSN, and saw that Brosius homerun, Jeters many homeruns to win or tie it, and Posadas homerun to win a game. The problem is that there is no team chemistry, nothing but overpaid individuals playing out their careers. Clemens must feel that he is back on the Astros with the lack of run support he is getting. I just think that they need to bring those young players up, I mean look at Cano, I think he will be a great hitter, look at Melky, very good outfielder, who if he its for a decent average will be a great lead-off hitter. I mean we have Hughes, Wang, Jeter, Posada, Arod. Granted Arod is getting paid a lot of money, he is playing a great 3rd base, only player with double digit homers on the Yankees, the talk of trading him is outlandish. Lets build a team around Arod, Posada, Jeter, Cano, Wang, Hughes and Melky.

Answer 2

The state of the Yankees . . . just what a total waste of money and talent. What a bunch of mercenaries with no cohesion, no competitive fire, no selflessness anywhere outside of Jeter and Posada. If the individual players weren't so darn talented, this would be a team destined for a 100-loss year. But these are the Yankees we're talking about, so they'll likely finish around 86-76 and fall a few games short of snatching that AL Wild Card spot.

I think they should get rid of Brian Cashman, and bring in someone a bit more frugal and sensible, with some patience and an eye on the horizon. Get those GOOD youngsters. Send Clemens back to Houston and let him retire already. Save some money in the process. Excite the fans, and try to lure Peavy and Young from the Padres (as they are both quite young and their talents huge). With awesome, reliable pitching, the bats will take care of themselves.

The Yankees should consider what happened with the 2006 Florida Marlins, where a team with a ridiculously small payroll managed to very nearly get a playoff spot, when conventional wisdom and basic logic pointed to a 52-110 record (or worse)that never happened. Instead, Joe Girardi made things exciting for them, simply by stressing theres no "I" in the word "team", and acting accordingly. Defying conventional wisdom and basic logic even more, Girardi was fired by the idiot owner even as Girardi won NL Manager of the Year.

As soon as possible, make an effort to make Joe Girardi one of the coaches, to be groomed as Joe Torre's successor as Manager. If Girardi can be convinced to coach in NYC, he'll learn things he'd never been exposed to with the Marlins, the sort of intangibles that come with playing in The Big Apple. After all, he was the Yankees' starting catcher before Posada, and certainly has plenty of big-game experience. Sadly, Joe Torre (and I have all the respect in the world for this guy) looks very, very tired and worn out. Who could blame him? The 2007 Yankees must make both his heart and his stomach sick. For the most part, he is a victim of circumstance. Let him go with grace and dignity. Don't renew his contract, but don't burn bridges, either. Give Torre a gigantic, public Yankee Stadium send-off which he so fervently deserves. With fresh-faced Girardi managing (hypothetically) there may be a lot more than just a fresh new start happening.

Anyway, these Yankees, who really should be eleven games AHEAD of the Red Sox given their immense talent and potential, are a train wreck.

Answer 3

Ok, the yankees are still a great team, they will make a run for the playoffs probably even make the playoffs. Never count the yankees out. You said that your pissed off because they havent won in 7 years do you know how silly that is. look at the cubs, 7 years you should be happy, you should be happy they are one of the best teams every year. you should be happy you have an owner like George who puts money back into the team to make them the best they can, look at the Royals, their owner is making a killing with the new luxary tax and not putting any money back into the team. They shouldnt unload thier high money player they should build around them, they have made some bad free agent deals taking guys who are out of their prime. I like the yankees, i dont have a favorite team but fans like you make me sick, enjoy the game and enjoy the fact that you have a owner that is committed to winning.

Answer 4

Just two words really sum up the Yankees' state. 1.) Pitching -- all that $200,000,000 and no effort to get quality starting pitching. Last year the Tigers became the umpteenth team to take them out of the playoffs with better pitching. 2.) Steinbrenner -- he'd be a good NFL owner. He's a dumb baseball man. He's help taint baseball with his money plan and he still hasn't learned the two most valuable aspects of the game: pitching and chemistry.
Still, it's only one year out of the playoffs. All the other teams have had to wait for next year. Yankee fans can, too.

Answer 5

It's the lack of teamwork. Seems that the athletes are more interested in collecting paychecks than they are winning games. Clemens has REALLY quieted down (last two starts - 16 innings, 2 earned runs), but Pettite's blowing up, Damon's not what he was last year at the leadoff position, Abreu flat out SUCKS in clutch situations and is too inconsistent, Mo isn't getting very many save opportunites (because when the Yankees win games, they POUR it on) and he's subject to rust, and Scott Proctor ... good god, don't get me started with HIM. Cashman also presents a problem. His slogan = "win, and win now" just isn't cutting it. WE NEED AN ENHANCED FARM SYSTEM. STOP TRYING TO SIGN BIG NAME PLAYERS! ALFONSO SORIANO DID NOTHING, ALEX RODRIGUEZ AND JASON GIAMBI DID NOTHING, CARL PAVANO DID NOTHING!

Answer 6

1. Paul O neil and Tino are not small players lol they are the best!!! But as a Yanks fan all you can do is cheer for them and root for your team so they can feed off your encouragment. Its been a rough road for them because New york you have to prove something to the fans all the time. Its about halfway now through the season and now they have to play real hardball. I forgot what yr it was but the yanks were down 14 games outta first in august and came back and won the ship. Believe my friend and dont give up.1 luv. Or else im gonna have to get drafted next yr and pitch for them ;)

Answer 7

Gene H- You have to think about what your saying. Steinbrenner is a dumb baseball man? Hes changed the shape of baseball. He bought the yankees for $25 million and they are now worth a billion dollars. An owner that was always willing to reinvest his profit back in to his team. The first club to have their own network, marketing agreements with Japan and now China. Steinbrenner is paying luxary tax which is funding many of the teams which refuse the spend any money. He has won 6 championships. The yankees have made mistakes in recent years, most of which I attribute to Cashman. Signing guys like Jared Wright, Kyle Farnswerth, Kai Igawa, Carl Pavano. Bad contracts to Damon and Giambi. The list goes on and on. I dont think the Yankees will be down for long and may be back in the wild card race this year.

Answer 8

Ok the "Today" Yankees are in a state of dissarray. Just because they have invested 200+ Millions of dollars doesn't mean they have a great team. On paper they're supposed to be a lot better but they have to play the games. Ok enough on the salary because Boston isn't too far behind. Last I checked they were around 175 Million. Unfortunately I really believe that a change in manager and GM is what's going to snap the Yankees out of their funk. Lets face it Torre's day is past and he's made some really questionable calls this year. Probably out of loyalty to his players but not to his team. Cashman has made some real boners like Igawa and Farnsworth. I can't totally blame him for Pavano but he signed him. The "Future" of the Yankees looks terrific. The youthful pitchers we have in the minors is really really good. Lets hope that Hughes isn't injury prone. We have to jettison players like Abreu, like A-rod(who will opt out this year) and concentrate on our farm system.

Answer 9

The Yankee payroll is the highest in baseball at about $175 million. It just goes to show you that money does not always equate to championships. I have always believed that the answer to future success is a strong farm system where you bring young players along in your own system. Steinbrenner is , obviously, big in the free agent market and has overpaid for high priced players beyond their prime. Maybe this year will be a wake up call for the Yankees and they will start to re-visit their farm system possibilities and take a closer look at their good young talent.

Answer 10

Critical Condition