Klapisch: Yanks A Mess & Lack Guts
From Bob Klapisch -
The Yankees are rich, but soft. They can hit, but not when it counts. They talk about pinstripe tradition, but the roster is plagued by petty rivalries and jealousies that act as a cancer in the postseason.
Derek Jeter can’t stand Alex Rodriguez and refuses to come to his defense. Mike Mussina doesn’t like A-Rod, either, although, come to think of it, the Stanford grad hasn’t much use for any of his teammates. No one talks to Johnson. Everyone thinks Carl Pavano is a joke. The Yankees’ best pitcher, Chien-Ming Wang, is isolated by his limited knowledge of English.
On and on, the list of dysfunctions keeps going. Instead of a dynasty, the Yankees have become a newer version of the Braves — consistently outplayed by younger, hungrier teams such as the Diamondbacks (2001), the Angels (2002 and 2005), the Marlins (2003) and now the Tigers.
Torre spent most of 11 seasons turning the Yankees into a class, mature organization that was once the envy of the industry. But little by little, his magic has dissolved. The Yankees have become addicted to the All-Star-at-every-position philosophy, and the bloating that’s followed is found in more than just the payroll. The Yankees’ egos are such that they no longer hustle their way to victories. Instead, they’ve been relying on nuclear superiority.
Most of the time, it worked. That lineup was indeed the best the American League has seen in decades, maybe ever. But there’s still no substitute for hard work and old school enthusiasm. When the Yankees ran into a young team that refused to be intimidated, such as the Tigers, “They just curled up and died” said one major league executive.
But if Sweet Lou replaces Torre, the first order of business will be to instill the old code of Yankee toughness that was the signature of the Billy Martin era. One scout who’s watched the Yankees this year said, “It used to be that teams were afraid of the Yankees, but not anymore.”
The Yankees never looked as tight as they did in Game 4 against the Tigers, which is exactly how they played Game 7 of the 2004 League Championship Series against the Red Sox, which was a clone of Game 4 against the Angels in last year’s ALDS. Coincidence? Not anymore. It’s become a pattern of failure.
Each time, Torre took the high road, refusing to blame anyone in the clubhouse. He’s a good man who deserved greater effort from his millionaires. But it’s also true that a team assumes the personality of its manager; the Yankees took Torre’s calm and used it as an excuse to become docile.
The result? Everyone on the block knows the Yankees will crumble if you stand up to them.
This is why I said this team needs an enema.
If there’s a silver-lining to the last five years, maybe it’s that “this” is all in the open now and it’s time to put an end to it. Flush it all out and get back to what works.
The only concern is whether or not Cashman can be the architect that Gene Michael was in the early 1990′s.
The keys are building young talent, rather than trading it away, and making smart trades. So far, Cashman is doing the former. Now it’s time for him to do the latter. More O’Neill’s and Tino’s and less A-Rod’s and Kevin Brown’s. I hope Cashman can do it.
More O’Neill’s and Tino’s and less A-Rod’s and Kevin Brown’s. I hope Cashman can do it.
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Both of these were salary dump moves.
It’s a hack article, anyway. Seems that Bobby has conveniently forgotten that the Tiggers led the loop in ERA? That they had 95 wins to the Yanks’ 97?
But, let’s not let facts get in the way of things…
“which was a clone of Game 4 against the Angels in last year’s ALDS”
I could’ve sworn the Yanks won Game 4 last year when Chacon pitched a very solid game. I know it’s nitpicking but I won’t ever take a column seriously if it can’t a) remember salient details that occured less than a generation ago, and b) bother to fact-check or even consult baseball-reference.com to get the facts right.
Klapisch can go suck it.
It’s funny how a month ago, after the 5 game sweep against the cards, the papers were writing about how close this team was and how loose the atmosphere was and even with ARod in the clubhouse they were not acting like superstars in the clubhouse.
Sorry, I meant to say the Red Sox not the Cards. I was listenint to the WFAN and they were talking about the Mets against the Cards. My bad.
All of this finger pointing and blame assignment is ridiculous.
Despite a horrible manager, a worthless third baseman, a captain without leadership skills, a hated Mussina and Johnson, and a clubhouse full of selfish players, we some how managed to have the best record in the majors, secure home field advantage, and dominate Game 1 of the ALDS. Then sometime around the 5th inning of Game 2, the Yankees remembered that they were a soft, gutless team? Is that the story that everyone is going with?
I’m choosing to believe that we lost the ALDS because the Tigers had better starting pitchers in Game 3 and 4. That’s what it comes down to for me. Firing Torre, trading A-Rod, and taking away the Captain status from Jeter does not turn Randy into a 25 year old pitcher and turn Jaret Wright into a Cy Young award winner. Rogers and Bonderman pitched incredible games. Johnson and Wright did not. If Casey Stengel was manager and Graig Nettles was at third base, Rogers and Bonderman still would have pitched great games.
Very true, Christopher. We need a scapegoat though and they already got rid of Scott Erickson, Terrence Long and Sidney Ponson.
It’s not nitpicking MJ. That point stuck out with me also.
Glad I’m not the only one Jen. I guess Klapisch was in such a rush to join the feeding frenzy that he tripped over facts that stood in his way.
I think I’m going on a media blackout for a while. Unless it’s about the Rangers or Giants, I ain’t readin’ it.
I think I’m going on a media blackout for a while.
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join the club. i stopped listening to WFAN or ESPN radio about 2 years ago. And I’m much happier for it. So much less aggravation. And what did I ever get from it, nothing!, just aggravation.
I’ll occasionally read a newsppaer article (once a month) about the Yanks. But basically, they’re all blowhards. I like blogs though because it’s the average fan.
Christopher, i agree that Rogers pitched a great game, while Randy & Wright were average at best. However, i dont think Bonderman pitched an amazing game, the Yanks were just in a funk. They forgot to be their normal patient selves, and were swinging at a lot of pitches (especially first pitches out of the zone). At least 4 guys made outs on the first pitch (that i remember): Jeter, Cano, Arod, Matsui. And his stuff doesn’t seem that great: a FB that barely hits 91, a good slider, and an ok change. Verlander has much better stuff.
Maybe Bonderman wasn’t that great, but he certainly was better than Wright. If you play that game 100 times, I’d bet Wright doesn’t win more than 20 of them.