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What George doesn't seem to understand is that Baseball is a flukey game, and as such, damn near anything can happen in a 5 or 7 game series. Further, the more money you spend, the more you tend to run into diminishing returns.
The Yankee core has aged. Their salaries have gone up, and their performance has not. In some cases it has slipped. Giambi is clearly injured, and it killed his production this season and in the playoffs. Bernie appear to be just finding his stroke again after his injuries this year, but his defense has completely gone. Jeter is held together by ace bandages & duct tape. Posada is the only "core" Yankee who has continued to improve since the championship run of 1996, 1998-2000. Jeter's best year was '99. So was Bernie's, IIRC.
Boone is garbage. George just *had* to go get him, but the reality is that his numbers were inflated by playing at Cincy. He can't be as bad as he played in the playoffs, but he isn't particularly good. Matsui was fine. Contreras hasn't been nearly as good as was hoped - his salary is the result of a Red Sox vs. Yankees bidding war. The rest of the teams must have had a ball watching that.
The starting rotation for next year looks shaky. They've put themselves in a position where they MUST sign Pettite, which of course gives him serious bargaining power. Big contract coming. Good pitcher? Yes. Second coming of Whitey Ford? Not quite.
The bullpen sucks (aside from Mariano, of course!), and no doubt George will order his minions to seek replacements. They will spend millions on relief pitchers and likely will do about as well as other teams that hunt through the bargain bin.
The Yanks are old, and bad defensively. Their strengths are power + patience & good pitching. If the pitching slips, the wheels will fall off entirely.
The reality is that normal baseball teams ride a good team for a while and then must rebuild. The Yankees are told by their owner that they must win every year. Thus, no rebuilding. This is dangerous. The reason they started winning in the mid/late 90s after a long period of suckiness is because they finally remembered to pay attention to the farm system (currently stripped bare).
-Arrian
The Yankee core has aged. Their salaries have gone up, and their performance has not. In some cases it has slipped. Giambi is clearly injured, and it killed his production this season and in the playoffs. Bernie appear to be just finding his stroke again after his injuries this year, but his defense has completely gone. Jeter is held together by ace bandages & duct tape. Posada is the only "core" Yankee who has continued to improve since the championship run of 1996, 1998-2000. Jeter's best year was '99. So was Bernie's, IIRC.
Boone is garbage. George just *had* to go get him, but the reality is that his numbers were inflated by playing at Cincy. He can't be as bad as he played in the playoffs, but he isn't particularly good. Matsui was fine. Contreras hasn't been nearly as good as was hoped - his salary is the result of a Red Sox vs. Yankees bidding war. The rest of the teams must have had a ball watching that.
The starting rotation for next year looks shaky. They've put themselves in a position where they MUST sign Pettite, which of course gives him serious bargaining power. Big contract coming. Good pitcher? Yes. Second coming of Whitey Ford? Not quite.
The bullpen sucks (aside from Mariano, of course!), and no doubt George will order his minions to seek replacements. They will spend millions on relief pitchers and likely will do about as well as other teams that hunt through the bargain bin.
The Yanks are old, and bad defensively. Their strengths are power + patience & good pitching. If the pitching slips, the wheels will fall off entirely.
The reality is that normal baseball teams ride a good team for a while and then must rebuild. The Yankees are told by their owner that they must win every year. Thus, no rebuilding. This is dangerous. The reason they started winning in the mid/late 90s after a long period of suckiness is because they finally remembered to pay attention to the farm system (currently stripped bare).
-Arrian
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