The pieces of the '09 Yankees puzzle fall into place. A power-laden lineup routinely puts crooked numbers on the board. A star-studded rotation flashes imposing form. Competent glove work becomes fashionable. The over the hill gang produces, while the clock ticks. Center field transforms from quagmire to field of dreams. Girardi has groomed a team from a collection of diverse parts. First place is not a fluke.
There is one familiar unanswered question, who will form the vital bridge to The Great Rivera? The front office's annual plan failed--again. Marte took his $12 million to rehab mountain. Bruney's perpetual injuries don't stop his unfounded legend from growing. Ramirez and Veras are infamous history. Now What?
Joe Girardi doesn't have the luxury of waiting for the Bombers' brain trust to hatch and hype another skewed plan. The only thing that matters is the win column. Rather than go with the never ending conga line of one inning suspects, Girardi switches gears to second line starters. Coke and Aceves provide flexibility and length. Monday night at the Stadium Girardi took the next step, Phil Hughes produced from the pen. The Golden Child provided relief. An overpowering seventh inning drew attention, "You can use him to help the team right now."--(Cone/YES)
The future is now for the '09 Yankees. The folly of the front office's track record is a matter of fact. There is no miracle trade in the works or groomed phenom ready to provide rescue. Quality relief is required. Girardi reaches for results today. Tomorrow can wait.
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2 comments:
Your worry about the bullpen is misplaced. Look at Cleveland. No one could touch their pen in 2007. In 2008, with the same pitchers, they fell apart. Did Shapiro do a great job one year and a lousy one the next?
No. Pitching is a crap shoot, and relief pitchers are the ultimate small sample size, making them the ultimate crap shoot. If you judge a GM on relief pitching, you're going to fire every one of them every other year.
Thanks for the feedback David. As you know, the line of failed bullpen candidates since the days of Stanton, Nelson, Mendoza stretches over several seasons. It's hard for me to believe that it's a coincidence. Fair to say we have different perspectives on the abilities of the Yanks' front office. One of these days, I hope thy proove me wrong.
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