New York YankeesAfter falling to the Diamondbacks in the World Series, the Yanks retooled a good portion of their offense and added depth to their rotation and bullpen. In doing so, they pushed their team salary to close to the $150 million mark, almost $30 million more than last year's total. They've also dispelled the notion that this team could have been built solely on smarts and good scouting. Yes, the core of the team - SS Derek Jeter, CF Bernie Williams, closer Mariano Rivera, C Jorge Posada and LHSP Andy Pettitte - are the products of the Yankee farm system. But that same core will make over $50 million this year, more than what 12 teams spent on their entire payroll to begin last season. I give them credit: they've done a very good job of maximizing their organization's potential, in scouting, development and acquisition. It's just that no one else comes close to having that kind of potential. So once again, the Yanks will be the heavy favorite to represent the AL in the World Series.
Hitting
The Yanks dropped off in run scoring from 871 in 2000 to 802 in 2001. While runs scoring in general was down, more alarming is that they lost ground on the leaders. Part of the reason was that they drew more than 100 fewer walks in 2001. So they let 1B Tino Martinez go in favor of signing free agent 1B Jason Giambi. For the past 2 years, Giambi has been arguably the AL's best hitter. As a hitter, Giambi is superior to Martinez in every category, but especially in the number of walks he draws. By himself, he will make up almost all the drop-off in walks. However, he's not an extreme pull hitter, so the deeper Yankee Stadium power alleys may cut into his home run totals.
Also new to the Yanks are outfielders Rondell White and John Vanderwal. Both players, provided White can stay healthy, will be significant upgrades over Chuck Knoblauch and now-retired Paul O'Neill, both offensively and defensively.
Also new to the team is 3B Robin Ventura, who was acquired in trade to replace the retired Scott Brosius. Ventura, who's career OPS is 66 points higher than Brosius, is a huge upgrade.
The Yanks also tried to address the shortcomings off the bench, but fell far short of their success with the everyday players. Utilityman FP Santangelo, 1/3B Ron Coomer and OF Ruben Rivera are league average bench players, a far cry from the Yankees teams that had Tim Raines and Darryl Strawberry as replacements. Outfield prospects Juan Rivera and Marcus Thames are capable alternatives if injuries become an issue for White.
(Update: Ruben Rivera was released after he purportedly stole one of Derek Jeter's gloves and tried to sell it to a memorabilia dealer. He and Albert Connell should room together so they can steal each other's stuff! )
The DHing duties will change hands as well. Gone is veteran David Justice in favor of Nick Johnson, widely viewed as one of the best hitters in the minors. Both players get on base and have some pop. And both have had a history of nagging injuries. Justice has a little more power at this point in their careers, but the Johnson is the better bet to stay healthier. Overall, production from the Yankee DH should stay roughly the same.
Jeter, Williams, Posada and another farm product 2b Alfonso Soriano should be roughly as productive as they were last year. Questions still remain about Soriano's lack of discipline at the plate, but he made huge strides in the second half last year. Even so, he went from awful to merely below average when it comes to getting on base. Whether of not he fulfills his considerable promise depends heavily on his continuing improvement in discerning balls from strikes.
Given that the Yanks upgraded 4 positions on offense, health in the outfield is probably the only impediment preventing the Yanks from becoming one of, if not the top scoring teams in the AL this year.
Rating: 70
Pitching
Despite getting close to horrible numbers from the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation last year, the Yanks finished 3rd in the AL in team ERA. The fact that they weren't farther down was largely due to the work of 5 pitchers: Rivera, RHSP Mike Mussina, LHRP Mike Stanton, RHRP Ramiro Mendoza and the age-defying RHSP Roger Clemens.
Two years ago the talk was that Clemens was on the last legs of a Hall of Fame career. A record 6th Cy Young award later, his numbers still look pretty strong. Mussina had his second consecutive hard luck year, getting little run support when he started. One year soon, he's gonna get major league average run support and win 25 games. With all the upgrades to the offense this winter, maybe that year is 2002.
Not since 1997 had Pettitte had a year as strong as 2001. Still, he allows a high number of baserunners for someone with his reputation and wins total. In fact, his numbers aren't radically different from those of Steve Trachsel, yet you don't see many people boosting Trachsel as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
LHSP David Wells returned to the fold after 3 years away from the Bronx. Wells is coming off a season plagued by injuries and has never been the picture of fitness. That combined with his age make him a concern. However, he's always been a gutsy competitor and he's especially motivated now that he's back with his favorite team. So even if the injury bug does return, he may be one of the few players who can will himself into having a decent season.
LHSP Sterling Hitchcock and RHSP Orlando Hernandez will be the primary candidate for the 5th spot in the rotation, although there is talk that Hernandez will be dealt before the season begins. Hitchcock has never had much success in the AL; his best years came in San Diego. If last year's results are any barometer for the future, that statement may still hold true. Hernandez has battled injury for much of the last 2 years. When healthy, he's been a quality starter, but questions about his real age suggest that we may have already seen the best of "El Duque". LHSP Ted Lilly has an outside shot at the 5th spot and might be the best solution there, regardless.
The bullpen will once again be anchored by Rivera, Mendoza and Stanton. Added to the mix are hard-throwing RHRP Steve Karsay and swing man Mike Thurman. These additions should help spread the workload, although the Yanks still lack a second quality lefty in the pen to help Stanton.
Can Wells pitch a whole season? If not, can two of the three 5th starter candidates prevent a redux of 2001. Will Karsay and Thurman be enough to keep Stanton and Rivera fresh throughout the season. The Yanks have a number of question marks in the rotation that need to be answered in the affirmative, or else that record payroll will only get much higher.
Rating: 65
Defense
Bernie Williams is probably the only Yankee regular who is universally considered a very good defender. However, the rest of the squad is sound fundamentally and, as Jeter demonstrated in last year's playoffs, always plays heads up, taking advantage of any mistake the opponent makes. The Yanks may feel the loss of O'Neil in right as none of his potential replacements have particularly strong arms. However, what they lose in opponents taking extra bases will probably be made up by outs caught that last year fell in for hits.
Rating: 60
Management
With smart people like GM Brian Cashman in the front office and a practically unlimited budget, there's little that the Yankees have to worry about. If they make a bad signing, they can always take on salary in trade for a fix. If they find they need something during the season, they simply go to their supermarket of cellar dwellers and get it. One mistake that may come back to bite them one day is owner George Steinbrenner's reluctance to give long term contracts at below market value to his young players. The Yankees could have had their core of players signed long term for less than $30 million had Steinbrenner simply accepted the first offer on the table. In each case, he played hardball and ended up paying market value or more to retain the services of his stars. With Soriano and Johnson just a few years away from arbitration, one wonders just how deep the Yankee coffers can go. Then again, what's an extra $10-20 million dollars a year to the biggest market in sports? Manager Joe Torre has never been a great game strategist. He has two strength's as a manager. The first is his ability to manage people, meaning their personalities. He gets people to trust each other. The second is his ability to put his ego aside and simply let talent do what talent does. This may not seem like a big deal, but it may be the hardest thing for a manager to do. Most feel compelled to do something, to make something happen. More often than not, this kind of thinking/action just leads to extra outs. Torre has the good sense to know that he has the horses and he just needs to stay out of their way.
Rating: 75