Yankees Pay for Decisions

September is here, the pennant race is gone. For the first time in 14 years, the New York Yankees play out the string and assume the position of spoiler. Why? Follow the trail of dubious decisions, they tell a story.

• "It is no great mystery where things went wrong this season. General manager Brian Cashman decided he wanted to be Billy Beane..." "Cashman, however, decided to change all that because he and the Tampa cabal experienced a troubled history recently while chasing outside talent pools. In direct competition with Theo Epstein of the Red Sox, Cashman signed the wrong former Marlin (Carl Pavano vs. Josh Beckett), the wrong former Japanese star (Kei Igawa vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka) and the wrong former Arizona Diamondback (Randy Johnson vs. Curt Schilling).
  Having been burned so many times before, Cashman went the youth route. He turned his back on Johan Santana, refusing in a proposed deal to give up the quintessential mediocre prospect, outfielder Melky Cabrera. Instead he dived headlong into the 2008 season with a projected starting rotation that included young arms Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and swingman Joba Chamberlain.
  What followed was an unmitigated disaster"
• Phil Hughes was somehow dubbed "The Franchise." The moniker should be worn by Joba Chamberlain, the only phenom to survive the farm express route and dominate in the show. Joba closed out 2007 as the bullpen savior, his optimum long-term value is at the top of the rotation. Let the transition begin. Spring training starts, Joba is in the rotation, so far so good, a couple of weeks prior to opening day, he is shifted to the bullpen, Huh? There are rules for developing and nurturing, concern for innings pitched influences the thinking. It is announced he will go the minors mid-season to stretch out the arm and move to the rotation mid-season. Send your best arm to the minors during the season? Scratch that, the conversion starts in real games and Joba fires his way to impressive production. Finally, a plan that worked, not so fast. Chamberlain pulls up lame and the Yankees hold their collective breath, a flashback to Phil Hughes and a never ending list of rehabbing bonus babys sends chills. Now the end is near, the games are meaningless and the Yanks announce they're bring Joba back to pitch, in the bullpen. Oh well there's always next year: "Chamberlain has thrown only 89 innings this season. If he is a starter all of next season, the Yankees would be asking him to roughly double that total. Curiously, Cashman did not commit to making Chamberlain a starter next spring training."
• The roster expanded yesterday, where was "The Franchise?" "Phil Hughes has recovered from his rib cage injury, but he will build up his innings in the Arizona Fall League, probably not with the Yankees.
  “If there’s a spot to pitch him, I’ll do it,” Cashman said. “But I’m not going to bring him to sit, just for the chance to be around it. He’s been around it. Now he just needs to pitch.” Apparently, a healthy Hughes isn't capable of replacing Bomber busts-Ponson, Rasner or the soon to be departed Pavano. What does that say about the organization's current confidence in "The Franchise." Hughes had an ERA of nine when he got hurt, after watching Kennedy transition from the next Moose to the next Whitson perhaps they're in protect and nurture mode. How's that working out?

The 2008 season started with the promise of a bright future. (Can you remember "Generation Trey?") The light at the end of the tunnel, turned out to be a train as the once proud Yankees have been reduced to spoilers. The price for poor decision making is high. How much more of this can the richest franchise in history afford?

Photo/Newsday