Yanks' quick exit brings questions
Time waits for no man, and it has once again caught up with the New York Yankees. Apparently, all a $135 Million payroll can definitely buy is a planeload of Geritol.
In the weeks following the loss to Arizona in Game 7 of last year's World Series, when Mariano Rivera couldn't hold a ninth-inning lead, New York rebuilt as Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius retired, Tino Martinez was let go, Jason Giambi and Rondell White were signed, and Robin Ventura was acquired in a trade.
The sputtering offense of 2001, exposed by Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in the World Series, was cured with the changes, which increased owner George Steinbrenner's major-league-leading payroll to more than $135 million. The Yankees were a far better regular-season team, but they lacked that special character in the playoffs.
"It's a different group," Derek Jeter said last week.
Pitching, the strength of the Yankees, has become less consistent. Aging is far better for wines than arms, and at times "New York's rotation" meant whose turn it was to see a doctor rather than to take the mound.
The primary starters included Roger Clemens (40), David Wells (39), Orlando Hernandez (37 this week), Mike Mussina (33) and Pettitte (30). Pettitte (strained elbow) spent 59 days on the disabled list, Hernandez (strained back) 42 and Clemens (strained groin) 25.
"I think George will figure something out. He always does," Wells said.
Mussina (18-10, 4.05) is back, but Clemens (13-6, 4.35), seven wins shy of 300, is eligible for free agency. New York has an $11.5 million option on Pettitte (13-5, 3.27) and must decide whether to offer a contract to Hernandez (8-5, 3.64), eligible for salary arbitration.
Giambi (.314, 41 homers, 122 RBIs, .435 OBA) provided the promised offensive lift at first, Alfonso Soriano (.300, 39, 102, 41 SB) had a breakout year at second, Jeter (.297, 18, 75) had another solid season at shortstop, and Ventura (.247, 27, 93) hit better than expected at third.
New York, coping with increased costs created by baseball's new luxury tax, must decide whether to re-sign Ventura, eligible for free agency, or go with Drew Henson, who struggled at Columbus (.240, 18, 65).
Center fielder Bernie Williams, after yet another slow start, got hot with the weather (.333, 19, 102) and catcher Jorge Posada (.268, 20, 99) also produced, but the corner outfield spots were problems.
White (.240, 14, 62) and Shane Spencer (.247, 6, 34) fell short, and Raul Mondesi (.232, 26, 88), acquired on July 1, failed in clutch situations. The Yankees played rookie Juan Rivera in the playoffs, and they spent time scouting Japanese star Hideki Matsui.
Come February when the unusually long offseason ends, the roster could be far different when spring training starts in Tampa, Fla. Making the final eight isn't good enough for Steinbrenner.
There IS always next year. Steinbrenner will moan and whine, and in the end wind up likely spending even more money than he did this year. Many will ruminate on whether or not Steinbrenner's open wallet policy is ruining the game, but that presupposes that he cares about anything beyond his own self-interest. The Yankees will be back next year, with a different roster but the same goal: winning the World Series. You may argue with their methods (and I'm not a fan of them myself), but it is tough to argue with results.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dance on their grave....
