Joe Torre Runs The New York Yankees & A-Rod Under The Bus...

Things are quiet in Birdland; however, in the Bronx and Los Angeles, there's a saga taking place right now and it has nothing to do with what's going on with the Hot Stove. Just today, various media outlets have reported the former Yankee and current Dodgers manager, Joe Torre has a tell-all book about his tenure in New York titled, "The Yankee Years," and it isn't good.

Joe Torre -- who has been classified as a manager who was nothing short of dignified through the toughest all challenges -- lashes out against his former employers and Alex Rodriguez.

In an explosive new book called "The Yankee Years," Torre gets most personal in his attacks against Alex Rodriguez, who he says was called "A-Fraud" by his teammates after he developed a "Single White Female"-like obsession with team captain Derek Jeter and asked for a personal clubhouse assistant to run errands for him.

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Joe Torre: Not the Dodgers' Manager Yet?

Well, after all the drama with Grady Little and the report of Joe Torre signing a three year deal with the Dodgers, he may not be on board quite yet.

According to Yahoo sports, a deal is not done.

From Yahoo Sports: "I don't categorize anything as close, far," Colletti said when asked if the parties were nearing an agreement. "It's either done or it's not done. We're still trying to learn about each other. There's been some light discussions to try and get a feel. I'm not going to get into where the negotiations are. It's still early in the process in some ways."

Colletti said he first spoke with Torre in the past few days.

"We've had some conversations with him very recently," Colletti said. "We've got other people we've got under consideration. We're in the process of compiling a list. Once we get a list, we'll go from there. We're taking it day by day."

Teams are generally directed to interview at least one minority candidate for open managerial jobs, but the Dodgers were granted an exemption in this case by commissioner Bud Selig.

"The Dodgers have a great record on minority hiring throughout the organization," baseball spokesman Rich Levin said.

Soon after Little resigned Tuesday, published reports said Torre and the Dodgers had already reached a deal, some claiming he had agreed in principle to a three-year contract worth $14.5 million.

"I've watched stuff in the last 72 hours that I can't believe I'm watching," Colletti said. "I can tell you we do not have an agreement. I've seen more inaccuracy than I can ever remember."

I would not surprised if a deal has not been done yet; however, there is a process that MLB must adhere to when a managerial opening comes along, and it looks that they will abide by it.

When I hear news like this, it is sort like in mind, "where there's smoke; there's fire".

There is a lot of truth to the rumors, so I'd stay tuned and do not be surprised if Torre is named manager of the Dodgers sooner rather than later (like next week).

Hank Steinbrenner: The Apple Does Not Fall Far from the Tree...

Well, Hank Steinbrenner has the family DNA and it's not too hard to see that apple does not fall far from the tree.

He's opened his mouth again, as he felt a tad disrespected by the words of Joe Torre last week as to why he felt the Yankees.

You don't think Hank has ego, you have to see what he says beloe.

From ESPN: Hank Steinbrenner, who has begun to take control over the New York Yankees with brother Hal from their fiery father George, shot back at former manager Joe Torre's comment about the team's contract offer being an "insult."

"Where was Joe's career in '95 when my dad hired him?" Hank Steinbrenner told The New York Post. "My dad was crucified for hiring him.

"Let's not forget what my dad did in giving him that opportunity -- and the great team he was handed," Steinbrenner told the paper.

I'm not going to argue with him there; however, the numbers don't lie, Joe was a winner and that helped him become an icon in New York. In the end, whether he might have got the credit because of his skill as a manager, or he had a world of talent on his teams, he walked out a winner.

Hank Steinbrenner believed the Yankees' offer was fair and that Torre needed to accept some of the blame for the team's zero championships since 2000.

"You can't take credit for success when you're going good, and then not take at least some of the blame when things change," Steinbrenner told the paper. "I'm sorry he feels insulted, but that was not the intent."

Hank Steinbrenner said he was hoping Torre would agree to manage the Yankees for a 13th season.

"I sincerely wanted Joe to accept that offer," said Steinbrenner. "We all wanted him to accept it, probably me more than anybody else."

"You don't make an offer bluffing. What if he says yes?" he added. "I was hoping he'd say yes."

Hank, no; you and the Yankee brass lowballed him in the negotiations. Honestly, the man has led the team to 12 playoffs and the "Yankee mission" statement is a tad unrealistic. Your Yankee teams in did not lose in spite of Joe Torre, you all lost because you had aging players, a lack of pitching, poor chemistry, and most of the teams who squared off against the organization at the point of time were better.

The Yankees became likable because of Torre, and now, the antics of the Yankee brass are making a proud and storied organization to into a joke.

Joe Torre; Fun Stuff and Commericals from Youtube...

I did something unusual today -- I took off blogging for much of Saturday. I went out and enjoyed the day, ran some errands, and spent a lot of the day talking to family and special people in my life.

Well, there was not any baseball last night; however, the huge talk of sporting world was Joe Torre turning down a one year contract from the New York Yankees to manage. As we all know, the role of the Yankees in the whole situation has been almost universally condemned in the media, blogs and on television.

People may argue that Torre definitely had a dearth of talent with his World Series winning teams and his 12 straight playoff appearances; however, he became extremely adept at handling the New York media and importantly, George Steinbrenner.

In the end, managers are hired to be fired; alas, Joe Torre because of he want through has joined a special pantheon of sports icons whose success, but more telling, their influence on the game and the respect of their peers is unparalleled.

***



I may not be a Minnesota Twins' fan; however, they make some of the more ingenious commercials out there promoting their team. The spot above features Johan Santana being split in half, and Michael Cuddyer and Juan Rincon as magicians who seemingly have no clue as to what to do.



The "Mouth of the North", Curt Schilling appears in a nice little Dunkin Donuts commercial and tries to speak like a Bostonian, but does not do too well.



A spot from the Seattle Mariners featuring Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki.



A spot from the Phillies, you'll have to watch - I'm not going to describe it. If you're a man over 35 or so, you'll know what I'm talking about.



Well, some stuff in the past need to stay there -- like this spot. This spot features guys from the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Orioles singing and dancing to an original song about McDonald's breakfast sandwiches. Yikes.



Finally, we all have probably seen this, but here's a spot from Pepsi that features Joe Mauer and Johnny Damon. Good stuff.

Excerpt of the Joe Torre Press Conference: What I Think Of His Body Language...

Not to say that I am the best at analyzing body language or anything, but Joe Torre despite trying to stay on the high road and say the right things is absolutely bitter. I would say he's very steamed at what went on and the disrespect that was shown.

I wonder if he will forgive and forget; however, I do not think it will be that simple considering the way he was treated. He more less said what he felt about the situation, but this is a hurt deeper than we can imagine. It is nice he took the job and said no thanks to the Yankee brass, but seeing him, it was really something would he be reluctant to give up unless it was not on his terms.

Joe Torre; Anger Rising About What the Yankees Did...

There are a lot of people not happy with Joe Torre more or less being shafted in the contract talks yesterday in Florida in returning to the Yankees.

Although the Red Sox and Indians are still battling in the ALCS, and the success of the Rockies in Denver is taking that area by storm, almost all the baseball related chatter yesterday was about the Yankees.

Boy, the timing of their announcements are impeccable.

My bud, Jason, who also runs a baseball blog, My Baseball Bias, says what I feel better than I could put into words. It also helps, he's a huge Yankee fan...

12 Years as the Manager of the New York Yankees - 12 Playoff Berths

4 World Series Championships

6 American League Pennants

10 AL East Division Pennants

The Yankees organization shot themselves in the foot today. Sure, they’ll be just fine in the long-run because of their rather rich economic situation, but upper management went out and embarrassed the franchise today.

Why is this a sad day to be a Yankee fan? To put it bluntly, they treated one of their own like he s**t .

How do you suddenly ask a man who has led you to the playoffs in every year of his tenure to: 1. take a pay cut and 2. agree to an “incentives based contract”? That decision by all who were involved, Yankee President Randy Levine, GM Brian Cashman, Owners Hal, Hank and George Steinbrenner, COO Lonn Trost and the rest of the organization is a total slap in the face to Joe Torre.

The Yankees always talk about how classy of an organization they are, how they always try to do the right thing. Well, today they failed miserably. Egg is on all of your faces. You can’t in your right mind think that Joe Torre needs a financial motivation to manage the New York Yankees into the playoffs. And you can’t tell me that by offering him only a one year contract is nothing less than being disrespectful.

And if you really wanted him back, why not negotiate? Why have him fly all the way down to Florida with only one option on the table?

Because you never wanted him back in the first place. If you knew this, you should have fired him right after the ALDS loss to the Cleveland Indians. As an organization, you “suits” couldn’t have played this any worse. You all needed three days of meetings to decide that you were going to totally humiliate a person by offering him a contract that you knew he would reject?

Gimme a break.

and....

Let me just end with this:

just end with this:

A man who leads a team to the playoffs after a 21-29 start to the season is a man that deserves respect.

Good luck to the next manager of my beloved Yankees, I hope management doesn’t kick you in the ass when you take the job.

Could not have said it any better myself.

From the Mouth of Joe Torre; The Press Conference

Simply, from mouth of Joe Torre, stated why he did not return. The press conference was just held a few minutes ago...

His words and thoughts:

Joe Torre told his side of the story Friday, saying the incentives in the New York Yankees' contract offer were an "insult."

"I just felt the contract offer, the terms of the contract, were probably the thing I had the toughest time with -- the one year for one thing, the incentives for another thing," Torre said of his reasons for declining the offer. "I've been there 12 years and I didn't think motivation was needed."

"We knew exactly what was expected here," he said, "So, I just didn't think it was the right thing for me, I just didn't think it was the right thing for my players."

and...

Asked if he would return if the team reconsidered, Torre said he wasn't expecting that to happen. He said committment, not money, was the biggest factor.

"I like to work with people -- there's a certain trust that has to be earned and forged in order to have the commitment to follow," Torre said. "I can't answer that question because I don't anticipate it happening. If someone wanted me to manage here, I'd be managing here."

"Yes it was a very generous offer," he added, "but it wasn't the type of commitment that 'we're trying to do something together,' as opposed to 'let me see what you can do for me.'"

I agree with Torre on this one, sorry.

You tell the guy he's going to be fired if he loses, and yet offer him a contract more than two weeks later getting paid substantially less than he was previously for the same job.

After all he's done for the Yankee organization, I'd give him no choice but to leave.

Joe Torre No Longer Manager of the Yankees...

Wow. I just got home and was busy in the afternoon; I just learned that Joe Torre rejected a one year contract from the Yankees. Why the hell the Yankee brass would wait ten days to decide on the fate of manager who helped the organization to 12 straight division championships, behooves me.

You tell the guy he's going to be fired if he loses, and yet offer him a contract more than two weeks later getting paid substantially less than he was previously for the same job.

We have no idea what was said, but if I were in Mr. Torre's shoes, I'd be disrespected.

I'm not even a Yankee fan and I'm disgusted.

If this decision leads to the days of the "Bronx Zoo" of the 70's and 80's, the club deserves it.

Joe Torre & The Bronx Zoo: Still A Candle Twisting Away in The Wind…

Not to go too deep back into revisionist history; let us hark back to what was said 2 weeks ago when the Yankees were on the verge of their season ending...

"His job is on the line," the owner was quoted in Sunday's editions of The Record of New Jersey. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series." -- the words of the "Boss", George Steinbrenner...

Well, the Yankees won that Sunday, but got jettisoned out of the pennant chase the following Monday thanks to a loss to the Indians.

And a few days later from Brian Cashman....


Nearly everyone in New York wanted to know Tuesday whether owner George Steinbrenner will keep his longtime manager or let him go after 12 straight playoff appearances.

No answers yet.

"Have some patience. Things take time. There will be a process and we'll work through that, and it will lead us where it leads us," general manager Brian Cashman said. "My speculation is I'm not going to have anything to report in the next couple of days."

Lord have mercy...

And from ESPN...

Joe Torre's future with the New York Yankees remained unclear Tuesday after team officials gathered at the home of owner George Steinbrenner to debate whether the manager should return for a 13th season.

"The meetings are adjourned for tonight," spokesman Howard Rubenstein said shortly after the session ended about 4 p.m. "There have been no decisions made, nor will there be any comment today. The meetings will resume tomorrow."

Can someone please make up their mind? I sometimes wonder where the news comes from with this team and if they are purposely trying to keep themselves in the news.

The more this process goes along, it looks like Torre may stay on the job until Don Mattingly is ready to take over.

Then again, the other day a 'confidant' of Mattingly says to ESPN, "The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., citing a friend of the Yankees bench coach, reported that Mattingly had informed the Yankees that he's not ready to manage and is uncomfortable with replacing Torre as manager; however, then his agent harked...

"He considers Joe a mentor and would love to have him continue, but if the Yankees felt it was the best situation [Mattingly would be interested in managing the team]." Schulte said.

It's always a soap opera in the Big Apple...

Big Papi Goes to Bat For Joe Torre...

Like many fans out there in baseball, whether they root for the Yankees or not, are very much irked and angry that Joe Torre, the manager of the Yankees who has won four World series along with appeared in the playoffs for 12 straight years may be out of a job.

Well, a member from the enemy side now has put in his two cents - David Ortiz.

"Big Papi" Ortiz who has tormented the Yankees and just about every other team in baseball for years has a soft spot Torre and believes the Yankees would be damaged by his departure in an article from the New York Times.

He says:

“This is the way I see it,” Ortiz said. “Every organization is like the human body. You have a head that, if you mess around with it, everything just goes down at the same time. I think Joe Torre is the head of that organization right there.”

also...

“There’s no doubt about it, he’s one of the best managers in baseball,” Ortiz said. “It’s because the way they played the first two months, and going through injuries, and going through everybody apart, and end up being in the playoffs, you got to give him a lot of credit. You need to have a good head to keep the body together that way. And I think he did.”

Ortiz is irked that the Yankees are not expected to make a decision on Torre until they hold organizational meetings in Tampa, Fla. He said that the Yankees “need to give the man respect” in how they dealt with Torre’s future.

To top it off...

Ortiz said that Torre, who has helped lead the Yankees into the playoffs for 12 consecutive years, might have done his best job this season because he prevented the Yankees from “falling apart.” With or without Torre, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry will continue. But if Torre is gone, Ortiz said, that will favor Boston.

“I tell you what, if he doesn’t come back to the Yankees, they’re going to feel that next year somewhere,” Ortiz said. “I’m telling you that right now. The guy, he knows what he’s doing. To tell you the truth, he plays to win.”

Thanks David. Though some in Boston may not be happy to hear what he had to say, it's a classy thing to say about someone on the enemy side. It shows that ballplayers are not robots, or care solely about the money; they have heart.

Twisting In the Wind... Joe Torre

Joe Torre status as Yankee manager is in limbo, although it is universally assumed among fans and observers of the sport that he'll be fired.

This is what George Steinbrenner said on Sunday:

"His job is on the line," the owner was quoted in Sunday's editions of The Record of New Jersey. "I think we're paying him a lot of money. He's the highest-paid manager in baseball, so I don't think we'd take him back if we don't win this series."

Well, the Yankees won on Sunday, but got jettisoned out of the pennant chase on Monday thanks to a loss to the Indians.

With the talk around baseball of Torre being canned and Steinbrenner's proclamation, why has he not been fired?

This is what Brian Cashman said on Tuesday:

Nearly everyone in New York wanted to know Tuesday whether owner George Steinbrenner will keep his longtime manager or let him go after 12 straight playoff appearances.

No answers yet.

"Have some patience. Things take time. There will be a process and we'll work through that, and it will lead us where it leads us," general manager Brian Cashman said. "My speculation is I'm not going to have anything to report in the next couple of days."

It's a process? Just fire the man and let him go with dignity rather than have him twisting in the wind. Are they trying to make him suffer or something? If you just want to get rid of him, just do it already...

Silly and stupid, isn't it?

Employed for Now – Joe Torre

It looks like Joe Torre is the Yankees manager --- for now.

Unless you have been under a rock, or just not aware, the Yankees are off to a 9-14 start and in last place in the American League East. The Boston Red Sox have taken 5 out of 6 games from the Yankees (and living in the Northeast, it means that world is off kilter in the Big Apple).

If you add the fact the Yankees have a $195 million payroll, All Stars and Future Hall-of-Famers up and down their lineup, one would expect the team to be better. Even with Alex Rodriguez’s hot start (they in fact would be even worse), the Yankees are in a big hole.

For a city and region that believes a World Series title is part of their divine right, the lackluster start is cause for concern & outright panic.

Here’s the problem: It’s obvious to me and everyone else who follows baseball – the Yankees have no pitching. From spring training on, it’s been the concern, and now on the first day of May, it’s a concern.

Pavano is out, as is Mussina. Chien-Ming Wang, a contender for the Cy Young award in 2006 came back this weekend, pitched a sub-par game and opened on a nail on this throwing hand.

Here are the stats of the starting pitching; it’s not pretty:

The Yankees have a 5.02 ERA, 27th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Florida (5.13), Texas (5.37) and Tampa Bay (6.01) - (ESPN)

Yikes.

But in the New York Media and amongst fans, Joe is getting the brunt of the criticism.

Why? Simply, New York City is a demanding place for anyone – especially, the man at the helm of the Yankees.

The poor Mets, even with their start and the classy Willie Randolph as manager, they are on the back page of the news.

For much of the baseball world, and edict from “the Boss”, George Steinbrenner was going to be placed sometime between the weekend and Monday about the fate of Joe Torre, and if he’d be the manager, or canned.

Monday he spoke.

"The season is still very young, but up to now the results are clearly not acceptable to me or to Yankee fans," … "However, Brian Cashman, our general manager, Joe Torre, our manager, and our players all believe that they will turn this around quickly.

"I believe in them. I am here to support them in any way to help them accomplish this turnaround. It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of.”

"Let's get going. Let's go out and win and bring a world championship back to New York. That's what I want."

To be quite honest, the team is in a funk and I’m sure they’ll come back and turn it around, as they have too much talent not to do so. However, the pitching is the big concern and they need to get that in order.

However, to blame Joe Torre for the madness is asinine. We have seen the success he’s had with the Yankees, and although they have not won the title in a number of years, he has taken them to nine consecutive AL East titles.

Joe does not play on the field, and he does not swing a bat. He’s made some questionable decisions this season, but does he deserve to get fired?

Even, if he was fired, who could possibly step in and do the job? Maybe Don Mattingly, who I like, but is he ready?

Joe Girardi? A great manager and motivator, but would he be right for this team?

Granted, Joe has had great talent with his Yankee teams, a lot of credit needs to be given to him for managing the various egos in the organization and getting them to play for a common cause – a championship.

For everyone who is a Yankee fan, let’s take a deep breath and calm down. Things may right itself, but it may be a battle for the team to return to supremacy this season. Keep in mind the Yankees were in the same predicament 2 years ago and came back and won the division, though it took Aaron Small and Shawn Chacon to contribute in a big way (though both pitchers are not longer with the team at all).

I say things will be fine for the next week or two.

However, history has shown that George Steinbrenner can be an impatient and unpredictable man.

It remains to be seen what the fallout may be if the Yankees continue to struggle.

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.