Will They Win it All? New York Yankees 2007 Season in Review - From the Desk of the Oriole Post

For the boys in pinstripe blue, every year brings high expectations from fans, the press and more importantly, George Steinbrenner. The Yankees have won the American League East division nine years in a row, but to most in Yankee nation, the season starts in October. In 2006, the Yankees lost in decisive fashion to the Detroit Tigers and disappoint reigned with all their fans. As a result of the loss, much of the offseason was spent wondering how it happened and to fix the team which seemed to lack chemistry and heart.

Since the New York Yankees missed their goal of winning the World Series, changes were abound and came swiftly. First, Randy Johnson, Jaret Wright and Gary Sheffield were traded and bench Lee Mazzilli was fired and replaced by Yankee legend Don Mattingly. Second, 2005 saviors Aaron Small was released and Shawn Chacon was traded during the 2006 season along with a litany of other pitchers. However, the Yankee method of operation has been altered & instead of spending big bucks to entice superstars to play in the bright lights of New York, the Yankees have now started to cultivate and trade for young talent, while being fiscally more conservative.

Like with every winter as of late with the New York Yankees, this one was particularly newsworthy. The trades of Johnson, Wright and Sheffield netted a lot of young talent and also dumped salary. Meanwhile, it seemed that the Yankees were covered 24 hours a day with news of deals, trades, rumors and drama. Longtime Yankees manager Joe Torre was rumored to be on the chopping block right after the team was disposed in the playoffs, but George Steinbrenner gave Torre one more year. On the field, enigmatic third baseman Alex Rodriguez was rumored to also be traded after a turbulent year in New York.

Much of the attention in the offseason for the Yankees was focused on the starting pitching. Although the Yankees coasted to the AL East title, the rotation was a big concern as it dealt with injuries and ineffectiveness. Randy Johnson had an oft-ailing back, Jaret Wright also struggled with few ailments, and Carl Pavano sat out pretty much all of 2006 recovering with shoulder problems and injuries from an accident.

Randy Johnson, as well know by now was traded back to Arizona after 2 lackluster years with the Yankees. While in pinstripes, he won 34 games in 2 years, but he dealt with a bad back, bouts of ineffectiveness and bad outings. He also never did fit in with Yankee culture, and in he looked uncomfortable while a member of the team. More importantly, he did not do the job in playoffs, and that got him jettisoned from the Yankees.

The Yankees biggest addition to the rotation is lefty Andy Pettitte, no stranger to the pressure and expectations of New York. While he was in the Big Apple, he won 4 World Series, and became identified with success. With the Houston Astros, he continued his winning ways, and ended up in the World Series in 2005.

The other new addition to the starting rotation is Kei Igawa from Japan. Igawa is a left-hander who had great success in the Japanese League, with good, but not over-powering stuff. The Yankees are hoping that Igawa can translate his success in Japan across the Pacific and contribute to the Yankees. He’s slotted to be the 4^th or 5^th starter.

In light of the injuries, the rotation had some stability with both Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang. Mike Mussina will be 39 in 2007, but he relies on guile, pitch location and mixing his arsenal up as he no longer can throw as hard as he used to. He was given a 2 year extension and based on his track record should provide the team wins and quality outings. Chien Ming-Wang was a dark-house candidate for the Cy Young Award in the American League and won 19 games. He strikes out very few guys, but he gets by with a decent fastball, a great sinker and getting groundball outs with a great defense behind him. He’ll need to continue his 2006 success into 2007 in order for the Yankees to have a chance to compete.

There are two wild cards in the Yankee rotation – Carl Pavano and the young pitching.

Carl Pavano is a huge factor on how Yankee pitching will shape up after being on the DL for the better part of 2 years. In addition to not pitching much from a mound, he had irked fans, the media and even his own teammates with not disclosing his injuries from a car accident. Pavano has not been a very good pitcher with the Yankees, and it is yet to be seen if he can be the same pitcher he was with the Marlins. As it is, he needs to have a breakthrough year in pinstripes to justify his contract, or he’s a strong candidate to be moved.

The second wild card for the Yankee rotation is the young prospects in the organization. Much has been made of super prospect Phillip Hughes who has dominated the minor leagues until this point. He did very well in Double A, and will start off the year in Triple A. He repeats his success at the highest level of the minor leagues, he’ll be in pinstripes midseason, or perhaps sooner if the team struggles. Also, the Yankees acquired Humberto Sanchez and Luis Visciano from the Tigers and Diamondbacks organization, respectively. If the two pitchers stay healthy and progress, the Yankees have some good pitching up the pipeline.

The bullpen which was a source of strength during the 2006 season will be counted on again in 2007 to keep the Yankees in the game during tight situations. Led by future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera & workhorse Scott Proctor, Joe Torre had to rely on his relief corps more than he wanted to. Mariano was once again his old self in 2006, though concerns arose from his workload. Even though he may be reaching the twilight of his career, Rivera should be counted on another productive year in 2007. Scott Proctor worked a ton of innings out of the bullpen and showed was extremely durable, but showed wear and tear. The Yankees need to exercise caution against having him pitch too much many innings. Rounding up the bullpen will be Chris Britton, Kyle Farnsworth, & Brian Bruney. Pitchers T.J. Beam, Jeff Karstens & Darrell Rasner may also earn a bullpen shot as well.

The starting lineup remains pretty much the same one from summer of 2006 and it will be expected to produce plenty of firepower and score tons of runs. Loaded with plenty of talent, perennial All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, the batting order of the Yankees should be able to rival anyone from any era.

The top of the lineup starts off with the dangerous Johnny Damon and the Yankee captain, Derek Jeter. Damon is coming off a great year with the Yankees after leaving the Red Sox, with a combination of power, a good average and on-base percentage. Even though he is getting older, he should have a few years left to produce. Although his throwing arm is suspect, he is the perfect guy to have at the top of the order.

Derek Jeter lost out on the MVP in the American League last year, but he was not doubt the cog in the offense for the Yankees. He finished second to Joe Mauer in the batting race, but he had over 90 RBI’s in the number two spot, and was key in clutch situations throughout the season. Even though he is getting older and some pundits find his defense suspect, he’s still very athletic, clutch at the plate and embodies the game and spirit of baseball.

The wild card in the batting order is Alex Rodriguez, the lightning rod of all of those in Yankee Nation. Blessed with all five tools, and year that was considered to be subpar, although he belted 35 home runs with 121 RBI. He struggled mightily in the regular season, and even more alarming in the playoffs, where he faced the indignity of batting 8^th in the deciding game of the ALCS. Also he had a horrendous June, and faced a barrage of criticism from the fans, press and his own team. There were rumors of he being traded, but in the end, the Yankee brass decided to keep him. Rodriguez asserted he wanted to stay a Yankee and help them to the holy grail – a World Series title.

Sad as it to say, the greatest all-around player of our generation has to produce in the playoffs and win in the World Series before he can get the 800 pound gorilla known as public perception off his back.

Rounding up the batting order will Jorge Posada, a still productive and dangerous hitter who is on the downside of his career; Jason Giambi, a deadly hitter who can hit for power, but not for average like he did in Oakland and his season as a Yankee; Hideki Matsui, the Japanese slugger who will be trying to battle back from an injured wrist, on-base machine Bobby Abreu and uber-player, Robinson Cano who battled Jeter and Mauer in the batting title race in only his second season.

The bench will have Melky Cabrera, the subject of trade rumors during the winter who impressed the Yankees while subbing for Matsui while he was out, as well as longtime Yankee Miguel Cairo, defensive whiz Doug Mientkiewicz who’ll platoon with Giambi at first & Andy Phillips. Both Melky and Mientkiewicz should see significant playing time as Melky should get plenty of time in field, as Matsui can sit or bat as the designated hitter, and Mientkiewicz will cover for Giambi at first.

The Yankee brass and their fans expect big things from their players in 2007. With the highest payroll in the game comes huge and perhaps sometimes insane expectations, but the players in Bronx know now it’s the only way it can be. Cashman now it seems has the power wants and has learned to not mortgage the future for the present. The Yankees should be the favorites once again to the win the East, but getting to the World Series is much easier said than done.