Rotting from the "Core"?

"The Core"

The Bronx Bombers were cruising along entering May, to the tune of a 17-9 start. The team was progressing as normal Yankee teams do, jumping out to a division lead while the Red Sox and Rays floundered out of the gate. The Yanks were getting All-Star production from Robinson Cano & Curtis Granderson. Mark Teixeira had one of the best Aprils of his career (albeit not a spectacular stat line). Even more notably, the team was able to weather an untimely injury to Phil Hughes via solid pitching by Ivan Nova, and by finding the fountain of youth with Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia.

Curtis Granderson has circled the bases on his own accord 14 times this season. The Vibe's preseason pick of 35 for the Grandyman is looking good!

Winning often makes people overlook or minimize things. I mean, look at Charlie Sheen.  As the Yankees were winning, some of their key players were struggling. Nick Swisher & Brett Gardner, fan favorites for their hustle and energy, slumped horribly. Fan favorites, perhaps, but not entrenched in Yankee history.

Winning can mask a lot of blemishes and chinks in the armor (see above). Why is it so hard to say the word "winning" nowadays without referencing Charlie Sheen?

Despite Rivera-like pitching from Mariano Rivera, the other 2/3 of the remaining “core” from the 1996-2000 4x World Champions was sputtering. Derek Jeter entered May with a .242 average as the Yankee leadoff hitter, with a .308OBP. He was on pace to score only 66 runs for the season. Meanwhile, Jorge Posada was making Jeter look like Ted Williams. Posada, while making no defensive contributions as the team’s DH, entered May with a .125 average and .232 OBP. He had smacked 6 home runs in April with 12 RBI, but had not done much with any of his other at-bats. Perhaps most embarrassing was that Jorge did not get a hit off of left-handed pitching in April.

And then….the wheels started to come off

I mean...do you think of anyone else when you see the expression "wheels coming off"?

The Yanks went 3-10 over their next 13 games to drop to 20-19. Three games behind the aforementioned Tampa Bay Rays. Tied with the aforementioned Boston Red Sox. Panic has set in. The Yankee party boat that had set sail towards a runaway AL East title has started to take on some major water. Of course, losses to Boston always compound things. This past weekend’s sweep served that purpose, and the panic was magnified by the childish behavior of Jorge Posada.

Now it’s a big deal that Swisher, Gardner, Jeter, and Posada have not produced. People are calling for the Yankees to trade for corner OF help – unwilling to wait for Swisher & Gardner. Jeter and Posada’s age have been called into question. A move to the OF soon for Jeter? A move to the bench soon for Posada?

It might not be too long before Jorge starts having to make himself comfortable here....during the Yanks offensive half-innings as well. A $13 million pinch hitter...who's disgruntled with his role....Yes please!

The ballclub’s reaction to everything that happened with Posada raised another issue for me. Obviously, Posada is now on notice due to what happened. However, the club’s reaction to Derek Jeter’s seemingly harmless comments on the whole issue seemed to bring Jeter on notice. It also makes me think that the team was IRATE with Posada behind closed doors. Why else would they be aggravated with Jeter for minimizing the incident? So what issue has all this brought to the surface?

The organization was unhappy with its shortstop after he weighed in on the Jorge situation. Why is it SO easy to find pictures of Brian Cashman making this face? 

Are the legacies of Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada more important than winning in the present?

No. But there should be a measure of delicacy in handling them. Posada has thrown some gasoline on his legacy by acting like a 5 year old and stinking the joint up, but Jeter’s is as important as any Yankee in our lifetime.

I have to take these as 2 separate cases. For a few reasons….1) Derek Jeter was more important to Yankee success since 1996 (not a knock on Posada, just a statement of fact), 2) Jorge’s struggles are far worse than Jeter’s, and 3) Jeter plays the field, while Jorge is strictly a DH.

Captain Clutch

It’s too early to panic on Derek Jeter. I will state the obvious, which is that he can do everything short of standing on his head and he won’t be worth (objectively) what he is making this year. No Yankee fan should ever complain about what they are paying Jeter. He deserves it. Think of it as payment for those MVP-caliber years he put up early in his career where he made $3 million a year or less. Truth be told, you could do a lot worse than Derek Jeter as your SS, both offensively and defensively. I expect Jeter to be the SS at least through the end of next season. I can foresee, however, them dropping him to the bottom third of the order if he continues along at a .250 clip through the end of the year. I wonder if he’d handle that the Posada way? I betcha he doesn’t.



Just in case you need a reminder as to why the Bombers are paying these two what they are...

Hip Hip

I spoke much about Posada in my last blog, so I’m not going to belabor the point too much. He’s got another month of leash before he should be considered a full-time pinch hitter off the bench (and not against lefties….as he is still 0-for-THE SEASON against southpaws). To look at it in a purely objective light, he is a 39 year old DH making $13 million and hitting .165. He makes no defensive contribution (even if not by his choice). Moreover, he stirred the pot big time by pouting out of the lineup last weekend. I honestly hope that he turns it around, but I’m not confident at all. For the record, I think he deserved the contract he got as well. I also think, thought, that he should know his placeThis could be his last season in NY – one way or the other.