The pillars of the Yankees' 2007 hopes? Or the triumvirate that has delivered pestilence and doom? There's a lot to look at, but maybe the answer is neither.
Depends on who you ask. There's a crowd calling for the heads of the latter two, and a group (including young Kyle Farnsworth) that think Clemens, or more specifically, his contract perks, is an acquisition that isn't the Yankee way and is selfish.
But there's also those who point out the bad luck/injuries this team has had, and the potential that still lay ahead with more than 100 contests left. They also can point to the pessimism shown even in the best of years.
Let's look at the general manager, Brian Cashman. For all his good moves (getting Andy Pettitte back, developing the plethora of minor-league pitchers, not trading Robinson Cano and, gulp, Melky Cabrera), signing Johnny Damon (despite his injuries), Cash is rightly ripped for the Carl Pavano and Randy Johnson debacles, the lumps of coal acquired for Gary Sheffield, and lots of other things not worth mentioning.
Of course, he inherited a lifeless, good-enough-to-lose-in-the-postseason group that includes Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, and possibly Hideki Matsui. And Alex Rodriguez, although I'll take that deal because at least he's in his prime. So there's only so much to pin on him.
I think Cashman, however, does deserve more of the blame than Torre. He was the boy wonder who put Stein's Tampa advisers out of business, after all, so he can't shy away now. From the lack of a starting rotation (penciling in Carl Pavano? Really?) to the interminable lack of a decent backup catcher or first baseman, he's handed Joe Torre an ill-conceived roster. To his credit, he has been saying, blame me, not Joe Torre. But fire Cashman? Unlikely. There is the option, of course, of keeping Cashman but canning Torre.
Of course, it soon might not matter if the Yanks slip further. Is Torre just a comforter of players who need a kick in the ass? Quite possibly. If you've got a motivator in the wings, then let's have him. Otherwise, you blew your chance in the offseason, as I've said before. Lou Pinella's not walking through that door, to paraphrase Rick Pitino. And no, Jeff Pearlman, I doubt Bobby Valentine is, either.
I'm against firing either, but especially against Cashman. He's goofed up plenty, but he's actually trying to rebuild while staying competitive, something the New York Knicks and Rangers have failed miserably at doing. As for Torre, I think putting in Mattingly wouldn't help. And as for Joe Girardi, he's too close to a lot of the players to be the authoritarian (successful and underrated) that he was with the Marlins last year.
Which brings us to Roger Clemens. Does he have a sweetheart, unfair deal? Yes. Is it his fault? Absolutely not. If players really have a problem with it, they should go to the team or the union. Of course, they'd be laughed out of the room. If fans really have a problem with it, they should direct their anger at management, which basically got desperate.
Now, the Yanks should not be afraid to make a move on Torre if they feel it necessary. But they shouldn't expect that to magically change things, and no one should expect the Rocket to singlehandly change things. It's, as I grow tired of saying, one day at a time. Clemens was the necessary move, although it was not a great or a smart move.
And tonight's loss wasn't a good sign. Was the two-game streak just a tease? If the Moose is truly cooked, it's a major, major problem.
Maybe this team, after so many years, was just bound to hit a wall collectively. If that's the case, there's only so much that can be done. Just like the Roman Empire, a sports dynasty falls quickly, but the signs are there long before. It's still too early to tell with the Bombers, but not too too early.
Labels: Yankees
I am not against Clemens being signed but how he was signed. Sure, you can't blame Clemens for signing him or the Yankees for pursuing him but I thought the Yankees this year were starting to rebuild the team image of last decade. Say what you want about the injuries and being ten games back but something you can't deny is that the Yankees started to have a team image once again. Bringing up young guys abd playing more role players has not equalled the success the Yankees have been used to but there have been bright spots (unfortunately its rarely on both sides of the ball on the same night).
The problem with the Yankees last year was there were like the New York Rangers of 2001-2003, they were full of allstars who tried to do too much on their own. Now, the Yankees can't do that anymore. They have to learn how to rely on each other to get throught any given game and thats not going to happen overnight. The contract Roger Clemens signed almost demands that the man himself reverse this seasons trend of losing, but how could one expect that of him? How could one expect that of any man who only makes an appearance once a week? The Clemens signing might help the Yankees but it also hurts them because they take a step back from playing like a true team once again.
I'm not so concerned about the team image thing, although I agree that no one should be talking about the Yankee way anymore.
Kevin Brown also came with many absurd contract clauses, albeit from a deal signed by the Dodgers. So there's some precedent. And given that Clemens had a similar arrangement with Houston, it's not far off from the Brown acquisition. Seeing how that went, on and off the field, however, I see the point and think it's legitimate.
Clemens does like those expectations, whether it be from confidence or delusions of grandeur, so putting the season on his shoulders is OK by my view.
The only thing that's separating the Yankees from NYR, and it's not a good thing, is that they've had no choice with many of these signings (Giambi, Mussina, Sheff, Clemens). They've had to grab the best available (with question marks) guy in a weak market each time.
So in that sense, the how they sign him is also dictated. To sign Clemens is to do it that way.
While it distances the Yankees from team ball, it's either that or tank the season. A rock and a hard place, obviously.