Dead last in the AL East after April. A pitching staff that resembles a nursing home or a legion ball team (depending on who’s on the DL). And one of the greatest offensive months in baseball history wasted. Why?
It’s easy to blame pitching. But there is something else going on with this team. Baseball, like the stock market, has cycles. And the Yankee cycle continues despite their archrivals destroying them in 2004, an organ-eye-zation that seems to have put it together, and one that is ready to climb into respectability. (Sorry Orioles, there’s nothing compelling about you. Except your mustaches.)
The infusion of young talent that has kept the Braves afloat has not occurred with the Yanks. Robinson Cano is homegrown, as is Phil Hughes, but the Braves had a whole fleet ready in Richmond (Francoeur, Langerhans, Chuck Jones). The Yanks don’t have that (they even moved their long time triple-A affiliate from Columbus to Scranton). And when your payroll is $190+ million, you can’t rebuild. Hell, you can’t even reload because no one wants your overpriced starters.
Of course, all of this comes down on Joe Torre. And that’s where this is leading. Brian Cashman is not expendable because he is rebuilding the minor league system after years of it being controlled by baseball ops in Tampa. Jeter will remain captain, A-Rod is staying, and you can’t blow up the rotation in May. Of course, Torre has other things to worry about. And in a sign of solidarity, Cashman, Jeter, and A-Rod all defended Torre this weekend.
It’s too early to say how bad the Yanks will finish (they sucked in April and May of 2005 and still won the division). But I keep thinking of that graph Dr. Denslow showed us in Macro during sophomore year. The market will always rise. But there will be dips in the line, too.
Posted by thesportingorange 
