Wild Thought: ’09 Yanks Need To Fly Out Of The Chute
At this moment, I find myself thinking about the N.L. West in 2002 and the A.L. Central in 2006. (And, thanks to WasWatching.com reader “Raf” for giving me this thought.)
In the N.L. West, back in 2002, the Diamondbacks, Giants and Dodgers all had very good seasons – winning 90+ games each. And, in the A.L. Central, back in 2006, the Twins, Tigers and White Sox all had very good seasons – winning 90+ games each. Yet, the Dodgers did not make the post-season in 2002 and the White Sox did not make the post-season in 2006.
Could we see something like this in the A.L. East in 2009 – where the Yanks, Rays and Bosox each win 90+ games and one team does not make the post-season? It’s very possible. Heck, the Yankees almost won 90 games in 2008 – and they did not make the post-season last year while Boston and Tampa did reach them.
So, what would the Yankees have to do to ensure they are not the A.L. East team left out of the dance at season-end this year? If you ask me, it means they have to win every game possible.
Yeah, I know, that sounds silly – after all, that should be every team’s goal, right? But, by this, I mean that they have to win games in April and May – and not coast through the first part of the season and then try and catch up to the other teams with a surge later in the season. In fact, getting off to a strong start in 2009 just may be the biggest key to the Yankees making the post-season in 2009.
Anyway, that’s today’s wild thought….
In fact, getting off to a strong start in 2009 just may be the biggest key to the Yankees making the post-season in 2009.
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And to do that, they have to avoid the injuries that waylaid them the past few years.
I think what separated the Yanks from the other teams last season is that they didn’t beat up on the weak sisters of the league.
~~I think what separated the Yanks from the other teams last season is that they didn’t beat up on the weak sisters of the league.~~
True. I wrote about that last year.
More on that:
http://waswatching.com/2008/08/23/why-the-yankees-are-where-they-are/
“I think what separated the Yanks from the other teams last season is that they didn’t beat up on the weak sisters of the league.”
Agreed, amongst the other reasons that included terrible injuries, bad luck, down years from key players, poor roster management and poor roster construction. You know, that silly stuff.
Could we see something like this in the A.L. East in 2009 – where the Yanks, Rays and Bosox each win 90+ games and one team does not make the post-season? It’s very possible.
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It’s also possible that Tampa takes a step back in 2009. I’m not completely convinced that they’re here to stay just yet.
poor roster management and poor roster construction.
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Examples?
poor roster management and poor roster construction.
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Examples?
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Girardi’s constant platooning and matchups that pissed players off is an example of roster management. i remember Damon being on one of his hot streaks heading into a crucial game in Minnesota when he was sat for the day, and he and the other players weren’t too fond of it. I can’t remember any others off the top of my head but I remember that being a frequent topic during the 2008 season.
As for roster construction, allowing Posada to stay on the roster while we carried two other catchers killed our flexibility, having to rely on guys like Justin Christian and Alberto Gonzalez didn’t help soften the blows of A-Rod or Matsui in any way (I understand no replacement can equal their value, but you want something, anything from your replacement). Having no backup plan for if Hughes and Kennedy failed and having to rely on Ponsons, Igawas and Geises wasn’t ideal.
None of these are the biggest reasons for failure, we all know it was a rough season where just about everything seemed to go wrong. But the way the roster was handled was some part of the disappointing outcome.
Having no backup plan for if Hughes and Kennedy failed and having to rely on Ponsons, Igawas and Geises wasn’t ideal.
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Actually, Ponson, Igawa and Giese WERE the backup plan. I’ve never understood this point. Who would’ve qualified as a satisfactory “backup plan” in case the young pitchers flopped?
Actually, Ponson, Igawa and Giese WERE the backup plan. I’ve never understood this point. Who would’ve qualified as a satisfactory “backup plan” in case the young pitchers flopped?
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Brandon Webb? Roy Halladay? The reanimated corpse of Old Hoss Radburn? Come on. This isn’t that difficult. Any one of those guys would have done.
Actually, Ponson, Igawa and Giese WERE the backup plan. I’ve never understood this point. Who would’ve qualified as a satisfactory “backup plan” in case the young pitchers flopped? Quote from MJ
I disagree with your assessment of what constitutes a backup. Ponson was released from Texas, so he wasn’t part of the original plan to back up anyone on New York because he was on the Rangers. Igawa? who was he supposed to back up? Chase Wright in AAA? The guy was terrible in 2007, he was gonna back up two kids? Then Giese, Giese was never a starter, was he? How can someone back up 2 kids when their forte/job has been relief? Now if you want to say that Colon was brought in on a minor league contract fine, he would be a reasonable backup because of his status as a known quantity as a starter.
Now getting out the gate…… This is the year that Tampa was supposed to be good, not last. They wisely added Pat Burrell to give them some versatility and I applaud Friedman for that. Being the pessimist I am, I can only see them getting better at the Yankees’ expense. Boston? All those great/inexpensive moves have made them a better team. They strengthened their weakness(if that could be called one) AND added a decent role player when healthy, Baldelli. I think that the Red Sox will win the division. Toronto will not be anywhere as good as last year BUT kids like Lind and Snider will be better and they will play the Yanks and the Red Sox competitively. The Os will be better with their rebuilding program so that is another thing to consider. The Yanks cannot fall asleep at the wheel because the other teams are not exactly cheap change. I am still afraid that that something is missing from the Yankees like last year. There are too many questions. How much will Jeter, Damon and Matsui diminish? Can Cano rebound? will CC and Burnit pitch effectively in the Bronx? Will Teix have a slow start? My point is that every game counts and when you have two other teams vying for the division now, all these questions plus last year’s injuries make me worry a bit………
absolutely right on point with everything here steve, except, this isn’t a wild thought! this should be absolutely obvious to this team and it’s managment. since it obviously hasn’t been (you can’t just blame in on injuries, this team has been a slow starter for 4-5 years now), it should be what joe girardi is drilling into their heads every day from day 1: start fast! it isn’t illegal to jump out of the gates 12-5!
You can mark down Teix for a slow start. I mean, just look at his splits – his worst months are April and May. Maybe his numbers are better since he’ll bat lefty more often than righty and you’ve got the short porch to aim at, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if as the calendar changes from May to June, a lot of Yankee fans are saying “this is a 23 million dollar a year hitter?”
As for the Rays, I expect that their bullpen will backslide this year. All those key setup guys had career years all at once. With the usual variation in reliever performance, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a significant fall off. Whether that’s enough to put a real dent in the improvement offered by David Price in the rotation and Burrell’s bat instead of Floyd’s in the lineup remains to be seen.
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