That's right and they have not missed the playoffs since 1994 the strike season and they were in 1st place when that happened, this is not a rebuilding season for the Yanks there is no such thing for them. They have a talented roster and truck load of resources so other than Boston the Yanks are A-Rods best best at winning a WS every year, PERIOD.
I didn't say they would be down forever. But I honestly think there is too much influx for them to make the playoffs next year. And even if they do, it will be like this year... wildcard, then one and done. I don't buy into the hype. They are finally seeing the end result of buying every mercenary on the market. Their pitching will be mediocre at best and that just won't be enough in the AL next year. Just my own bold prediction.
they're certainly not a lock.
they'll have a huge hole at 3b, and no huge free agents are out there to fill it.
Jeter, Giambi, Damon, Posada (assuming he re-signs), and Abreu are old enough that their best seasons are likely behind them - not to say any of the group (maybe Damon and Giambi) will fall off the end of the world just yet.
Cabrera and Cano are nice young players who can still improve, but both continue to show awful plate discipline which may never come around.
Moose's best days are long behind him. Pet e may retire. Rivera's (assuming he re-signs) still good, but no longer the dominant force that he was. Wang's a reliable starter, but his peripheral stats still point to him being very lucky to put up the overall numbers that he does.
Banking on multiple young pitcher's with a lot of hype and a lot of upside usually doesn't work out immediately (look at the Orioles' starting rotation - a couple of years ago, they were running out Bedard, Cabrera, and Loewen; 3 of the best arms in all of baseball. It's 2007 now and only Bedard has come around).
They don't need a ton of top prospects that are position players they are loaded with them with pitching and you can never have enough good starting pitching. Look at this likely rotation next year.
Wang
Pet te
Chamberlain
Hughes
Mussina/Kennedy
That is very formidable and while Jabba and Hughes may not be locks to have good years they will be fielding basically the same position players minus A-Rod that helped them win 94 games last year. Yanks will find someone to help fill the void that A-Rod leaves and before you tell me that is impossible, remember Yanks won WS les with Scott Brosius at 3rd base.
More like probabilities that are in my favor.
Yanks are about as big a lock as you can find in pro-sports these days to be in the playoffs every year. 13 for 13 in the last 13 years says it all on that one my man. They are talented, rich and motivated, that is all you need.
They're all gonna be a year older though, and statistically could be dropping out of their primes at any point (it may have already happened with Giambi and Damon).
As for 3B, look at the free agent list and tell me who is even as good as Brosius was?
Giambi is a BUM we all know this and accept this but Damon while not in his prime is still a good hitter and has turned into a decent left fielder as well, yielding to Melky in Center.
As far as 3b goes, well Brosius by the numbers was pretty bad so lets not go nuts on him but it is possible they will go into next year with just Wilson Betemit at 3rd. While i am not in love with that idea it is not the end of the world either. He is a decent hitter and i am not convinced they are out of the A-Rod sweepstakes anyway because you are right the FA market does suck this year.
Yankee homerism at its finest. You keep dreaming. The Yankees will not make the World Series next year. They will be lucky to make the playoffs.
I never said they would make the World Series i said by the numbers they are in great shape to make the playoffs, 13 for their last 13 does not lie pal. Other than the Red Sox the Yanks are A-Rods best chance at winning a WS, that is a fact backed up by numbers you can't make go away.
Damon was actually below average this year at the plate (94 OPS+). And it was the third straight year his OBP (his main strength as a hitter) dropped. He's also an adequate LF with a well below adequate arm. Matsui - when healthy - plays a better LF. But then you have to DH Damon, where he goes from a slightly below average bat in the OF to one of the worst hitting DHs in baseball.
Melky plays an excellent CF, but he was also one of the worst offensive CFs in the league this past year. He's still got time to improve, but his plate discipline is rotten - and that's something that players often either have or they don't.
Brosius was in NY for 4 years, and was actually pretty good in the 1st and 4th year. Pretty terrible in years 2 & 3. However, in each of the first 3 years, his postseason stats were amongst the best on the team. Year 4 they were awful, but he did have the big HR against the Dbacks.
And A-Rod wants a team that can do more than just go to the playoffs. Even other than the Sox (which is a disctinct possiblity), there are still better possibilities than the Yanks, particularly in the NL. You seem to only be thinking of the AL, but think of a powerhouse like A-Rod in the NL. That's why I think he ends up with the Cubs or another big-city NL team.
I still disagree with this premise. Anybody who goes to the playoffs can win the series. Before 2007, you'd have to go back all the way to 1999 to find a year in which the favorites heading into the playoffs, the best all around team, won the world series. We've had mild to drastic surprises every year in between.
Man, A-ROD wants a team that is going to give him 300 mil or more i mean who are you trying to kid here, seriously. You think A-Rod is all about winning please, Jeter is about winning, Duncan is about winning, A-Rod is about stats and money. Yanks pulled out because they were giving up 31 mil by him opting out. His Agent wants to break the bank so much that great organizations like the Dodgers and Giants are on record as saying they don't know if they can get seriously involved, in other words afford him.
Who has been the dominant team in the NL that is going to give him that shot? None that has been as consistant as the Yanks and since the NL as a whole is so inferior to the AL, he may make it to the WS but he is not likely to win it.
Anyone who can get to the playoffs can win the series ... i agree with you on that. You never know what can happen. HOWEVER ... anyone who looked at the Yankees' pitching staff and thought they could get beyond the first round was kidding themselves. Next year isn't primed to be any different. It's all about pitching and the Yanks just don't have it. And all the way back to 1999, tell me a year the Yanks won when they were the underdog with a ty pitching staff.
As a lifelong Rangers fan, I know a thing or two about pitching. The Rangers got to the playoffs three times in the 90s based soley off their bats. They won a total of one game, no series. The value of pitching in the playoffs has not changed since then.
OH MY GOD, they were favored to win the series and their top 2 pitchers were Wang a 19 game winner each of the last 2 years and Pet e who has been a big game pitcher forever. Going in most thought they were the better team.
Favored by WHO? ESPN?
Sorry, I should have been more specific. Any baseball fan that IS NOT a Yankees homer could have seen that they did not have post-season pitching.
And the Indians DID have postseason pitching.Favored by WHO? ESPN?
Sorry, I should have been more specific. Any baseball fan that IS NOT a Yankees homer could have seen that they did not have post-season pitching.You don't watch much baseball do you buddy?? Are you aware of Pet te and his 4 WS rings and his big starts in the WS and playoffs, ringing any bells for ya.
I would take Sabathia over anyone in the Yanks' rotation. Besides Rivera, thier bullpen was better, as well.And the Indians DID have postseason pitching.
I watch plenty of baseball, BUDDY. I know all about Pet te and his WS rings ... last decade! What does ANY of that have to do with NOW?!?
Pet te has never been the same since he came back from injury with the Astros. Clemens...Wang? Good luck getting him to finally live up to his potential. Moose? You might as well bank on Carl Pavano.
If the Yankees played in the AL Central, they would have had the third or fourth best staff in that division in 2007. In 2006, they might have been the fifth best. Mussina, Pet e, Clemens, and Rivera are all in their decline phases, and they will all be one year older. The Yankees may have the offense to make the playoffs, but they do not have an elite staff by any stretch of the imagination.I would take Sabathia over anyone in the Yanks' rotation. Besides Rivera, thier bullpen was better, as well.
I watch plenty of baseball, BUDDY. I know all about Pet te and his WS rings ... last decade! What does ANY of that have to do with NOW?!?
Pet te has never been the same since he came back from injury with the Astros. Clemens...
It's all offense for the Yankees. But if you stop to think about it, they struggled for a significant portion of this past regular season and were kept afloat, basically, by ARod's regular season magnificence -- at least until some of the other bats awoke a bit. On June 4, they were 7 games under .500 and tied with the Devil Rays for last place in the AL East. They were under .500 as late as July 13 and were saved by the fact that most of the AL East is absolute crap. It makes me wonder where they might have been if ARod hadn't been extremely good in April and June (ARod had an OPS of 1.297 in April and 1.269 in June, hitting 23 home runs and driving in 68 runs in those two months -- the Yankees as a team hit a total of 54 home runs during those months, so ARod had almost half of the team total).
I'm not sure that the Yankee mystique is going to carry them much longer unless they get appreciably younger and better in their rotation and find some arms that can reliably get the game to Rivera late.
Sabathia had a good year but was not good against the Yanks or the Sox in the playoffs. I take Pet te over him in one start any day of the week. Yanks lost game 2 not because of Pet te he was brilliant in that game.
He is still a top caliber pitcher, and threw a great game 2 so it has plenty to do with now.
Wang has won 38 games the last 2 years, so what 2 bad starts in the playoffs make him a bum? Mussina is on his last legs but the Yanks heading into next year with all their young arms are not likely to need him for much more than a 5th starter.
Which is why nobody is offering you their GM position. Pet e had a better start than Sabathia had in these playoffs, but you ignore that - despite his rings - Pet e has had some pretty shaky postseasons in the past as well. You are showing a severe case of selective memory.
I can't imagine that there are too many knowledgable baseball fans who would take Pet te over Sabathia (for a career, for a season, or even for one start) at this point. Sabathia might have been a bit shaky this postseason, but he was close-to-dominant during the regular season, which is more than can be said for Pet te any more.
Not at all i said one start not an entire season. For the year i take Sabathia, for one start i take Pet te, sure he has had some bad starts in the playoffs, more good than bad but Sabathia has virtually no postseason experience at all and he was BAD in these playoffs. He is 2 -2 with a 7.17 ERA in the playoffs, Andy is 14-9 with a 3.96 and was great in his one start this year, so yeah i take him in ONE start over CC and with those numbers how is that a ridiculous statement???
This is going nowhere, i am surrounded by nothing but Yankee haters.
While I agree he was great in that game, it doesn't matter if the rest of your team throws like crap.
Again, hanging your hat on last decade. Pet te is a decent pitcher still, but top caliber? Take off your pinstripe-colored glasses for just one sec, will ya?He is still a top caliber pitcher, and threw a great game 2 so it has plenty to do with now.
Well, according to you one good start in the playoffs for Pet te negates his shaky regular season. You can't have it both ways, but you sure seem intent on trying.Wang has won 38 games the last 2 years, so what 2 bad starts in the playoffs make him a bum? Mussina is on his last legs but the Yanks heading into next year with all their young arms are not likely to need him for much more than a 5th starter.
You don't even know what you are arguing anymore. First Yanks will have a hard time making the playoffs, now you are arguing what they did in the playoffs, A-Rod wants a real winner (Bull he wants money) but you can't name me one better than the Yanks other than the Sox, you are all over the map.
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