Steinbrenner: It ranks with Reggie signing
If you look hard enough, there are flaws
Cashman denies the talk about Greg Maddux
All right, y'all. Before we all go off the deep end and hand the Yankees their World Series rings right here and now, let's step back and take a deep breath, shall we?
The question du jour seems to be: "Can a $185 million payroll guarantee a World Championship?" The answer is no- not if you don't have any pitching. May I be permitted to remind my Gentle Readers that 3/5 of last year's starting rotation are now pitching in the National League? Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte are here in Houston, and David Wells is in San Diego. The Yankees are left with Mike Mussina and...well, what exactly?? THAT is the $185 million question.
The way it looks now, the Yankees may have the most formidable offense in baseball (on paper, anyway), but their pitching is suspect at best. To win, they may well have to outscore opponents a la church league softball games. Look for a lot of 12-11, 4 1/2-hour marathons.
Yes, the Yankees may win, but it may well more closely resemble a war of attrition than Major League Baseball. I'm not saying the Yankees CAN'T win a World Series, but I am saying that it's not going to be the 162-game formality that many Yankees fans seem to be anticipating. Greg Maddux would certainly help, but he is hardly the solution to New York's pitching woes.
Is anyone else thinking that an Astros-Yankees World Series might be in the cards? It is a delicious prospect, and one laden with irony. Let's hold that thought for now, though. Come back at the beginning of September, and we'll see what things look like then.
