With Brian Cashman and the Yankees being hailed for looking to the future and not just eyeing a quick fix, there is an arguement to be made that this is not totally the case. Nowadays the Yankees can never have any other goal than winning the World Series and for that reason they cannot completely submit to a re-building process. However, there were many moves made in the offseason that should, to an extent, worry Yankee fans across the globe.
Firstly, and i’m prepared to be slaughtered for this one, comes Mariano Rivera. A legend, a genius, a hall of famer, a man who has essentially dominated the worlds best hitters with basically one pitch. Every Bombers fan knows how valuable this man has been to the organisation for over a decade. I’m not saying that i didn’t want Rivera re-signed, far from it in fact, but everyone knows that his skills have already begun to decline and three years from now the Yankees are going to be paying $15 million for 42 year old whose best years are long gone. Obviously, the Yankees hands were somewhat tied as there was no immediate answer to Rivera at the back end of the bullpen (unless you’re ill-equipped mentally and count Kyle Farnsworth as a closer in waiting). If ties had been severed with Rivera it would be to the immediate detrement of the team, there would have been a fans backlash and possibly a players one but can anyone honestly say that in 2009 they would rather pay Rivera $15 million over probable free agent Francisco Rodriguez?
Turning our attention to the bullpen, or lack thereof, is a daunting task. Knowing where to begin on the entire mess of the pen is a trial in itself. Brian Cashman has been almost entirely inactive in this area and his inabilty to improve the weakest part of the team could prove costly in the coming year. Gone are the days of Stanton and Nelson getting the ball to Rivera, now we have Kyle Farnsworth(a waste of a good pair of cleats) and Latroy Hawkins – a man whose last year in the AL ended with a 4.48 ERA. Sadly, these are supposedly our two most dependable middle relievers. While i wholeheartadly agree with the philosophy of nurturing the younger pitchers and turning them into solid major leaguers, i can’t help but think we may be putting too much weight in kids with little or no major league playing time. Hell, some of the younger pitchers being touted in the Yankee camp as possible impact players in the coming year are returning from serious injuries. Surely a $200 million+ payroll should see a better equipped bullpen, and don’t even get me started on the first base situation – i’ll save that one for a whole other rant.
