Recently I’ve been reading about Hank Steinbrenner’s current dissatisfaction with the play of the New York Yankees. I could somewhat understand his displeasure but his attacks on young pitchers Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy seemed low and his uber expectations unrealistic. But to get the final decision I had to turn to our Yankees expert Anthony to get his opinion on the whole situation. What follows are his thoughts.
Anthony - “Hank is trying to be like his dad. the difference however is that right now, (atleast for now) Hank does not have the say that his father does in team business. If you talk to Cashman, Girardi and the Yankees baseball people, they are all saying and doing the right things. Even with how these comments are being covered, I get the feeling that people aren’t taking these comments very seriously.
Everyone realises that this is a developing Yankees team that do not have the expectations of the late-90s team.
Most all the baseball people know that this team can not be fairly judged when A-Rod and Posada are not in the lineup.
I mean years ago, if George wanted Joba to start, he would have worked as a starter from day one. However, its clear that the baseball people have no intention of using him as a starter, at least not this season.
The biggest problem with the team is that the offense stinks currently. They will get a nice new 1b in the offseason and probably look to improve one of damon/abreu/matsui spot in the outfield. A-Rod is hurt and Posada may be done as a catcher. Its very possible that Posada is the Yankees 1b for the next 3-5 years and the Yanks spend money to get a solid catcher.
I don’t think heads will really roll until we are in august and this team is 15 games out. Lets not forget that the Yankees went into the last few memorial days well under 500.
See, I’d be way more upset if I felt as though these comments actually mattered.
I also feel like with the power play the ownership made in the offseason, firing Torre and resigning A-Rod, ownership is forced to stand by the decisions they’ve made.
I don’t think its unfair to send Kennedy back to the minors, he is pitching so badly that he needs to get his stuff righted. I also don’t think that the expectations are too high. The Yankees (when healthy) have a playoff caliber offense and atleast 3 starters (Moose, Wang and Pettite) capable of winning 15 games. The rookie starters both have the experience to at least give the Yankees a chance to win everyday.
I am not really worried about the team, because either we will get healthy, hit and compete, or we won’t. There is no magic elixir here. The rotation is good enough, the bullpen is has been very good. Either we hit or we don’t.
To be honest, I think the Yankees or the Red Sox should have made the move to get Santana in the offseason. Santana is not even 30 yet, and will likely be good for at least another 5 years. Hughes might never pitch a full season.
Especially with the lineup, its a win now team. Plus, both farms are full of talent. The Red Sox could have had him for just Ellsbury, and Ellsbury is only 4 years younger.
I dunno, Santana is an undeniable talent, I think Steinbrenner may not be wrong entirely in suggesting that the trade should have been made.
It would have been Melky and Hughes for Santana. Makes sense to me. The team should have just figured out the rest. Kennedy is still the 5th starter. And Santana is still plenty young to pencil him in as your ace for the forseeable future.
I’m not saying this is why we are struggling, but value wise, it makes sense to trade a centerfielder who will likely never develop into anything really good and a pitcher that is unproven for a regular Cy Young level pitcher thats not even 30 years old.”
Tony
Wallace
enice5555
kingstamper
Matt
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