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Yankees: Seeking a cure
Topic Started: Jun 8 2005, 10:15 AM (38 Views)
Mantlemurcer
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Yankees: Seeking a cure
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
BY DAN GRAZIANO
Star-Ledger Staff
What's gone wrong with the Yankees, as they hover in fourth place and around the .500 mark? Pretty much everything. To pinpoint one problem area would be an insufficient way to assess the situation, so we've broadened our scope and taken a more complete look at the team, starting with a position-by-position analysis of the problems on the roster.

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CATCHER

THE PROBLEM: Jorge Posada's on-base and slugging percentages are way below his career marks, and he's on pace for only 80 RBI.

THE FIX: More rest. Posada will be 34 in August and has spent too many nights squatting behind home plate. The Yankees should give John Flaherty more starts behind the plate, and on those nights, Posada should be the DH instead of Jason Giambi.


And get another catcher in here that will be major league ready next year. Check into getting Olivo from the M's.

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FIRST BASE

THE PROBLEM: Giambi can't play it, and Tino Martinez (in spite of his May hot streak) can't hit enough to play it every day. Neither one is making a contribution with the bat.

THE FIX: If Brewers' first baseman Lyle Overbay is available, the Yankees should be listening. He's fairly young (28), makes only $446,000 this year and is three years from free agency. Plus, he's a doubles machine, and the Yankees have become too dependent on home runs.



Pretty obvious. Overbay would be nice, but he won't come cheap. Find me a Jeff Conine type for a short term solution.


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SECOND BASE

THE PROBLEM: Youth and insecurity. Robinson Cano has given the Yankees more than they could have hoped, especially on defense. He still swings at too many bad pitches, but young hitters do that. Having come up in the Yankees' system, you know he is wondering if he's about to be traded.

THE FIX: Keep him. Tell him you're going to keep him and do it. Tell him he's going to play second base for the Yankees for years and see if he relaxes and gets even better.



Agreed

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SHORTSTOP

THE PROBLEM: Derek Jeter is the ultimate winner, but he's not an offensive superstar, and his unique skills are wasted on a sub-.500 team. He's also not used to losing, and probably has no idea what to do right now.

THE FIX: Jeter needs to take a more proactive approach to his role as team captain, getting in players' faces when they look lazy or make dumb mistakes the way Tino Martinez always did during his first stint with the team.



Hard to get into the face of self-absorbed multi-millionaires, but I get the point.

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THIRD BASE

THE PROBLEM: Me-first Alex Rodriguez is too happy with his improved production in the face of all the losing, and he still can't field a ground ball against the Red Sox.

THE FIX: Rodriguez needs to stop calling all the attention to himself and how well it's going for him personally and start working on helping make a difference on the field.



On the money!

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LEFT FIELD

THE PROBLEM: While Tony Womack has moved to left from second base without a peep, he's not that good out there, and his bat isn't strong enough for an AL left fielder.

THE FIX: The Yankees need a run producer in left field, to go with Gary Sheffield in right -- such as Cincinnati's Austin Kearns, Florida's Juan Encarnacion or even Pittsburgh's Matt Lawton (who may be the most available one right now).



Lawton is the guy I've mentioned. I don't see the Reds just forking over Kearns, and Encarnacion is too inconsistent. Womack should dealt. I really like the guy, but if they're committed to Cano, there's no point in keeping him.

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RIGHT FIELD

THE PROBLEM: Sheffield is the team's best hitter, but he beats them from time to time on defense, and he is 36 years old. Could break down as the season goes along.

THE FIX: Make sure Sheffield spends some time as a DH in the coming months, so he doesn't wear down. Again, it's not as if the guys they're using in that spot are giving them much.




"but he beats them from time to time on defense" :wtf:

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DESIGNATED HITTER

THE PROBLEM: They don't have one. Bernie Williams isn't going to be able to play every day, and Jason Giambi can't play any day.

THE FIX: Throw Ruben Sierra in there for a stretch and see if he gets hot. It can't be any worse than what they have right now.



Time to let Sierra play for 3 weeks straight.

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STARTING PITCHING

THE PROBLEM: No one is pitching up to his résumé, and Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown are past their primes.

THE FIX: The Yankees must package Chien-Ming Wang for a starting pitcher. Wang will get hit harder the second time through the league, and his trade value is as high as it's going to get right now.



That's just plain stupid. :fyou:

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BULLPEN

THE PROBLEM: Manager Joe Torre is relying too much on only a few guys. He trusts Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon and Tanyon Sturtze -- and nobody else. That means those three will be shredded if the Yankees make the postseason.

THE FIX: Talk the Pirates into trading Jose Mesa, or the Mariners into trading Eddie Guardado. And call up Scott Proctor or Colter Bean. Reliable veteran arms and fresh young ones must replace the worn-out arms of Mike Stanton, Paul Quantrill, and Buddy Groom.



I agree with bringing in fresh arms, but not a Jose Mesa (too shitty at times) or Eddie Guardado (too big of a contract and coming off arm problems). Creating more problems doesn't resolve anything.

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MANAGER

THE PROBLEM: Joe Torre has never had a Yankees team under .500 this late in the season. He may not know how to handle it, or how to recover from it.

THE FIX: The "players' manager" needs to get tougher and find ways to make his players feel like they have some pressure on them. Sitting Hideki Matsui and ending the fraudulent consecutive-games streak would be a good start.



:yes:
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Mattingly23
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Catcher--

I agree. I like Flaherty enough to play him a little more, a guy like Olivo is a good idea if he's available, and I have said I want Jorge to DH.

1B--

I like the Overbay idea. I wouldn't give up much for an old fart like Conine though.

2B--

Cano is definitely a keeper.

SS--

That's so dumb. Everyone on the Yankees looks to Jeter for leadership. He's fine as a leader and getting in their faces wouldn't change anything, plus we don't know what goes on behind closed doors.

3B--

A-Rod actually gets knocked too much. If he fields like he should and breaks out of this funk (the whole team is in a funk), he is fine.

LF--

I'm not sure what to do there, but I agree Womack is not the answer. Even if they don't deal him, maybe Womack could be kept as a utility guy/pinch runner. I'd be fine with dealing him though.

RF--

Did Mad Dog Russo write that article? He says Sheffield is an awful rightfielder just because he hasn't gotten to 1 or 2 balls, plus he knocked him for catching the ball on the side of himself last year. That only means he has no idea that he couldn't lift his shoulder high enough to catch it above his head!

DH--

I guess they could play Sierra for a couple of weeks, but I still like the idea of Bernie 4-5 times a week, Sierra 1-2 times a week, and Giambi never.

Starting pitcher--

Deal Wang? They could suck my wang if they do and Graziano can do the same for suggesting it.

Bullpen--

I've already mentioned this in other threads. Bring up some younger arms and give them a real shot, which means with dealing with some failures. It's the only way they will get a chance to succeed.

Manager--

Torre can get pissed at his players, and I think he has at times recently, but I agree the main thing is to end this silly supposed consecutive games streak. Who cares if millions of Japanese fans and media will be upset?
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