Yankees Renewal

Eight days until New York Yankees pitchers and catchers toil in Tampa. It can't come soon enough. The sounds of Summer wash away the tedious tenor of Winter. What a relief.

The magic of '09 won't be replicated. It's never that easy. Matsui, Damon, Molina and Melky fade to black. A list of fresh faces assume the position. Granderson brings speed, power, defense and strikeouts to a dubious outfield mix. Swisher, Gardner and Winn will bob in and out of Girardi's lineup. An All Star-laden infield forms a formidable foundation. A quality bench is required for a long-in-the-tooth lineup. Can Cervelli and crew cut it?

Someone once said that baseball is 90% pitching. The 2010 New York Yankees have the deep depth that a vast payroll provides. The big man sets the tone. CC should stand for consistently consistent. Burnett, Pettitte and Vazquez will take their turns. A remnant of the departed youth movement rounds out an intriguing rotation. Should Joba ever make the heralded transition from fireballing reliever to savant starter, the Yanks will be locked and loaded.

In the pen, the Great Rivera continues to baffle Father time. Sooner or later the epic, sweet game closing ride will end. Until then Mo continues to spoil us. Hughes, Robertson and Aceves will set the table for the maestro. Girardi will mix and match. Success is on deck. Spring training starts in eight days. It can't come soon enough.

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Yankees Turbulence

The smooth ride of the New York Yankees offseason encounters some turbulence as a hot air mass arrives. The acquisition of veteran outfielder Randy Winn officially severs ties with the people's champion Johnny Damon. Damon's potent production and popularity expire. Johnny's unwillingness to take a 45% pay cut after a stellar season turns out the lights on a pleasant pinstriped tenure. When you enlist the services of uber agent Scott Boras, you know the drill. Damon's perpetual smile doesn't mean he is a cupcake at the bargaining table--just ask the Red Sox. Playing hardball in a soft market is the express lane from the penthouse to the outhouse. Misreading baseball's shrinking market for 36 year-old defensive liabilities will cost a good guy a place at the champions table.



The Yankees played hardball with Damon because someone has to pay for last year's big tickets. Hal Steinbrenner's stimulus plan to rebound from Cashman's folly (aka youth movement) bolstered short term returns but long-term implications never sleep. Bills are coming due, austerity makes a rare appearance in the Bronx. Matsui and Damon pay a price. Winn and Johnson are snatched from the bargain basement. Somewhere there is a plan.



The latest Yankees drama has a familiar cast. Scott Boras and Brian Cashman provide tabloid fodder: "The Yankees never could make an offer because they knew Johnny's performance value far exceeded what their budget was."--(Boras/NY Daily News) "I get it. I understand what's going on," Cashman said. "It's spin doctoring, damage control..." (No one can doubt Brian's expertise in this area.) "I love Johnny...I wish he was on the Yankees.." Cash goes into overdrive while Johnny tells the NY Times, "I love New York." Hot air blankets Gotham.

Self-serving rhetoric diverts attention from the prime point. Logic dictates that shedding long-in-the-tooth veterans from a bloated, rickety roster was appropriate. Clearly, it was time for the rebuilt farm system to step up. Four years have past since Cash took over the farm. Let the rejuvenation begin, Brett Gardner plays the role of Bubba Crosby. Apparently, that's it as 35 year-old Randy Winn and perpetually hobbled. Nick Johnson are plucked from the discount rack. Somewhere, there is a plan.

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Writing About Nothing

Recently, I received an E-mail from the author of a venerable Yankees blog looking to confirm that Baseball Hot Corner was "shutdown." I was almost flattered that someone Was Watching. My response was that this blog is still alive, despite appearances. I have chosen to wait until there is something to write about. This attitude breaks the bloggers code. Churning out redundant prattle is part of the deal. Keep those pings alive, if you write it Google gets it and traffic marches on. Ho Hum.

The E-mail sort of sparked me from January's lackadaisical lull. I dusted off the Google Alerts and delved into the all and powerful Yankees Universe. Let's see, the defending World Champions' payroll hovers at a measly $200 million while featuring an outfield of Granderson, Swisher and Gardner. Shrewd or skewed? Where is Bubba Crosby when you need him? Damon stumbles from the penthouse to the outhouse. Occasionally, greed isn't good. Perhaps, the Bombers could use another part-time, discounted, rickety, DH. Be still my heart. Long-in-the-tooth Yankees fans are aware of the calendar. Time and money are always on our side.

Larry David once wrote epic scripts about nothing. I'm not that talented. The clock ticks, pitchers and catchers dawdle, I'll wait until there is something to write about. Until then, rumors of Baseball Hot Corner's death are exaggerated.

New York Yankee Links

Snow blankets the Big Apple. Yankees baseball crawls to Tampa's rejuvenating warmth. The clock ticks while pitchers and catchers wait. Let's hit the links to pass time:

• Yeah, but we got Mitre.
• Sentimental journey.
• Don't remind us.
• Rust never sleeps.

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New York Yankee Archives

2009 joins a long list of special years in New York Yankees history. Neophyte ownership dug deep. An under-the-gun manager blossomed while building a team from big tickets. Camaraderie counted. Walk off wins brought magic to gaudy new digs. The champion's crown returns home to the Bronx.



A journey through the archives rekindles warm memories:

• Girardi's Progress


• Taking Yankee Fans for Granted


• Yankees Search for Consistency


• Secrets of Yankees' Success


• Yankees Solve Puzzle


• Yankee Decisions On Deck


• Yankees Get Creative


• Girardi's Wishful Thinking

The Yankees Are Back.

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Yankees Latest Trade

No one can accuse the New York Yankees of resting on their championship laurels. Melky Cabrera packs his mojo and moves to Atlanta with two more pieces of the dwindling youth movement, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, as always money matters so the Bombers throw in a piddly $500k. In return, the Yanks land a durable starting pitcher who posted an impressive 15-10 record featuring a 2.87 ERA and 238 strikeouts in '09. Who is this guy? Javy Vazquez. Gulp.

Five years ago a hyped Vazquez collapsed under pintriped pressure. A promising half-a-season transitioned to a 6.92 ERA train wreck. A rotation building block crumbled in the rarefied Bronx air. Now we read that Javy had a sore shoulder. Then we witnessed unexcused carnage. Vazquez's stat sheet suggests that '04 was an aberration. Javy's resume features some pretty digits. One wonders why, in an era of precious pitching, a durable hurler is peddled five times.

There are more Yankee questions on deck: 1) How can a $200+ million roster not have a viable outfield? 2) What happened to last week's, "Hard payroll number."--(Cashman/paraphrased.) 3) Which heralded top-of-the-rotation, shrewdly drafted linchpin will be sequestered to the bullpen? (Hughes and Chamberlain have to be confused--again.) 4) Did recent transactions by primary ring rivals Boston and Philly induce a plan derailing knee jerk to the bad-old-days, when veteran players with big contracts ruled? 5) Can anyone remember the youth movement?

The Yankees' bountiful assets allow them a never ending conga line of plans. Pretzel logic strategies never sleep. In the end, the player with the most chips wins. Cogent logic isn't in the mix but it doesn't matter.

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Damon Departs

The New York Yankees shed another long-in-the-tooth winner when Johnny Damon's roster spot was snatched by Nick Johnson. Damon's smile and resume fade to black as the Bombers get younger and more economical. "The reason they did it was they said they did not have the budget for that type of proposal and they were going in a different direction. That was the end of it."--(Scott Boras/NY Times)

In the end, Johnny Damon prioritized the quest for money over pinstripes. Damon's avaricious agent bargained his client out the door. Good luck with that. The grass is always greener in the Bronx. Damon produced a notable pinstriped legacy. He leaves with championship bling. Nice guys can finish first. Scott Boras took his client on a delusional journey down the yellow brick road and ended up on the road to nowhere. Good luck with that.

PHOTO/MANGIN PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE