Brian Cashman will stay in the organization to fill out his pitching rotation. With Andy Pettitte likely not returning, the Yankees will likely promote two farmhands to start 2010.
I find this very interesting. The Yankees are being prudent. Instead of just throwing money at problems, New York is stepping back and saying, “It’s not worth it this season.” Isn’t this what the rest of baseball wanted for years, for the Yankees to reign in their spending? Going into the new collective bargaining agreement, it’s the Red Sox and Phillies who are driving up the price of players, not New York. In other words, the AL East may have become a little more competitive for the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles.
The other thing I found notable was this:
With Lee having signed with the Phillies, Pettitte mulling retirement and Zack Greinke being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, the pickings are slim among available starting pitchers — with the exception of Carl Pavano, a free agent whose disastrous first Yankees tenure rules out the possibility of a second.
Actually, I think Javier Vazquez‘s poor 2010 made the Pavano signing impossible. The Yankees brought back Vazquez after he performed poorly in his first New York stint, and he performed poorly once again. If Cashman does the same with Carl and Pavano ends up injured again, he will be the laughing stock of the New York newspapers. Carl should be on their radar but having been burned by Vazquez, it won’t happen.
The Yankees clubhouse hated Pavano by the time he left. For him to be back with some of that crew still around would be an admission of desperation.
@Adam, don’t forget the fans. We hate Pavano too. I’d much rather see a young guy come up and struggle rather than have Pavano — even if he’s healthy. Sure it’s unrational, but there are times when you have to go with your emotions.
I think Pettite is coming back, but even if he isn’t this is the way to go. We won 95 games last year with Pettite out for 2 months and Burnett and Vasquez sucking. Lets get those young arms in there and see what they can do. Montero, Martin and Posada are IMHO an upgrade at the catcher and DH slots compared to last year. other than Felix Hernandez, I cant, at this time, really think of any other pitcher, who I would package the youngsters for.
I agree with all of this, David, except I wonder why you think the AL East is becoming more competitive for the Orioles, Rays, Jays. The Yankees aren’t spending this year, but the Red Sox are spending like a drunken sailor. (I’m assuming they extend A-Gon by April.) And the Yankees’ thrift this year surely just means they’ll have even more to spend in the future.
@James: In the past, with George Steinbrenner in charge, the goal of the Yankees was to win a World Series every year. It could be that the children of the boss are more interested in turning an actual profit, and are willing just be competitive every year, going for the World Series when the opportunity presents itself. If the Yankees are content not to have an all-star at every position, that gives the other teams in the division a chance to catch up (like the Rays did in 2008 and 2010).
As for the Red Sox, they spent money, but that simply replaced lost value. At least for 2011, I don’t think the offense will be that much better than in 2010. The bullpen might be better, Lackey and Beckett might be better, but short term, Gonzalez and Crawford just replace Beltre and Martinez (they are better long term with those two players, but in 2011, the offense should be similar to 2010). So they’re a good team, but a team that can be beat.