this is the year the yankees crumble

by zknower on Apr 8, 2008 10:18 PM EDT Comment 38 comments

in the offseason, it was not lost on the non-espn crowd that the yankees were old in 2007 and will continue to be old in 2008. their young hurlers notwithstanding, the yankees still chose to give posada a ridiculous $52m contact for him to celebrate the end of his 30s. they resigned rivera as well, mussina and pettitte are starting for them, giambi, damon.... this team is positively geriatric.

so are we surprised when, oh, they get injured?

Posada has tried to play through his shoulder stiffness, but he realizes now he cannot. After allowing four stolen bases in the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals, Posada said he would have a magnetic resonance imaging test here Wednesday. Manager Joe Girardi has ruled him out for at least another game.

... With Jeter out for at least this series and Jason Giambi, who is hitting .071, missing almost three games of the last series with a groin injury, the Yankees suddenly seem depleted.

“It is very frustrating, because we’re definitely injured right now,” Rodriguez said. “Having such a great spring — and so healthy — it is the most ironic thing to have two, three or four guys banged up.”

And did I mention that Pettitte had to skip his first start because of back spasms?

But don't worry: since they play in pinstripes, they are IMMUNE to injuries!

Damon added: "We’ve got a few injured guys going through a few things, but we’re the Yankees. We have great guys who can step in."

Whew! For a minute there, I thought they were mortal.

I am going to be surprised if this team makes a wild card. They have a world of hurt coming their way, and I think 2008 it just the beginning.

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This is said every year

and every year, the Yankees somehow find a way to make it to October.

I'd love to see the Yanks miss the playoffs this year, but I'll believe it when I see it.

by PhilR8 on Apr 8, 2008 11:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

they usually had joe torre though.

I think people will find that they underestimated his calming influence on a ballclub under intense scrutiny.

by Y Not on Apr 9, 2008 9:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

here's the problem

The AL favorites are Boston, New York, the Angels, Cleveland, and Detroit. All of these teams are looking a little less than hot right now. The Yankees fart around every year, it seems, same as Phil said. They suck it up and fill the gaps and make the playoffs.

Are the Orioles and White Sox going to get in their way? Seriously?

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 8, 2008 11:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the Indians looked good last night

and out of those teams, they've looked the least bad

"If you're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job." -Brooks Robinson

by exitfare on Apr 9, 2008 8:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm glad someone mentioned the Indians

It seems everyone else has forgotten they existed, so obsessed are they with Chicago and Detroit. The Indians are a good team that very nearly made the ALCS last year. Why does no one remember that?

"Yeah, I mean - Cal was much more important to me growing up than Jesus. And frankly, set just as good an example. Loyalty, discipline, hard work, humility, generosity, charity, AND 3,184 career hits. Is JESUS in the 3,000 hit club? I don't think so." - 2632

by Kristen on Apr 9, 2008 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And by "ALCS," I mean "World Series."

Duh.

by Kristen on Apr 9, 2008 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Welp, that does it: Kris-ten, I know you mo-o-o-ove me.

Rah Rah Rasputin / Lover of the Russian queen
There was a cat that / Really loved Birds. -- Boney M

by Titov on Apr 9, 2008 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

because they don't have a single superstar player

The closest they come is all 380 pounds of CC Sabathia. I'm not saying they don't have several good players, but the average cat couldn't tell you Grady Sizemore from Adam.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's a clue: Sizemore is hotter than Adam.

And a much better outfielder.

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."

by 2632 on Apr 9, 2008 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with Grady Sizemore.

Also, how you gonna not mention Azdrubal Cabrera? AZDRUBAL!

by Kristen on Apr 9, 2008 9:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

no, not the orioles,

but toronto might. and certainly someone from another division will challenge them for the WC

by zknower on Apr 9, 2008 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Toronto

They have way too many super fragile key players for my liking. Their offense (to really contend for a playoff spot) relies on Frank Thomas and Scott Rolen, and they'll need a healthy A.J. Burnett, too. A healthy A.J. Burnett is about as common as the dodo bird.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

not to mention...

people keep talking about vernon wells, but it increasingly seems that that great season he had a couple years back was his great season and he's merely a nice player.

by j.q. higgins on Apr 9, 2008 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wells and Beltran

They got similarly ginormous contracts and will similarly not live up to them. Of course, that's not their fault -- both are still good to really good to sometimes great players, but those contracts are hard to live up to.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

maybe...

it's the several degress of awesomeness (let's call it "jeter") that a player acquires by virtue of playing in new york, but i feel like beltran has been a better player and shall continue to be so. if you're strictly talking on a cost-benefit level, they may be about equal.

by j.q. higgins on Apr 9, 2008 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Beltran is a better player

He's also about the only guy who was showing up during their collapse last year. 14 of his 33 homers were hit in the last two months of the season.

Of course he also hit .228/.314/.415 May through July.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Think farther south.

It would not surprise me at all to see Tampa Bay sitting behind Boston come September. Toronto's got a lot of question marks, New York's old as the hills, we are obviously not contenders. Tampa Bay is chock full of blue chippers.

From the Land of Pleasant Living...

by OEutaw on Apr 9, 2008 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Orioles and White Sox won't

but the Blue Jays will.

Maybe in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself: "Mankind". Basically, it's made up of two separate words—"mank" and "ind". What do these words mean? It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind.
-Jack Handey

by jobe on Apr 9, 2008 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is the year Danny C

Oh, never mind.

by drj on Apr 9, 2008 12:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ouch. :)

by zknower on Apr 9, 2008 8:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

busting your chops

I hope the Yankees crumble. But they always pound the tar out of the ball and at least have some pitching that could come through. I never count them out.

by drj on Apr 9, 2008 9:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, sure...just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that

When are people going to get over this wishful thinking about the Yankees collapsing? We hear this every single year. They're going to score an obscene amount of runs and get to the playoffs. Injuries in early April aren't going to stop that. It's even more of a pipe dream to think that "2008 is just the beginning" of a long period of Yankee suckage.

by oriolez on Apr 9, 2008 8:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the point is not injuries in april

the point is, they're going to be hurting all year long

by zknower on Apr 9, 2008 8:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe, maybe not. That team can survive some injuries, I don't really think they have too much to worry about. I expect to see them playing in October. Playing baseball, that is, not golf.

by oriolez on Apr 9, 2008 9:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

maybe, maybe not

CAN THEY survive injuries? Jeter's gimpy and started showing wear and tear last season. He's 34. Posada's headed to the DL, is 36 years old, and wasn't going to have another year like 2007 anyway. But even if Posada had regressed to the mean, Jose Molina is not an acceptable replacement in the lineup.

Giambi (37) is an injury waiting to happen at all times. Matsui (34) and Damon (34) have their issues. Abreu (34) is always healthy, but he's not even close to the player he used to be, and looking for him to help anchor the lineup would be a bit of a gamble.

A-Rod is A-Rod. But all of this is why them letting A-Rod walk would have been disastrous. Who the hell did they think was going to hit home runs without Rodriguez?

Let's talk about their depth for surviving injuries. Morgan Ensberg, Jose Molina, Shelley Duncan, Wilson Betemit. I'm not saying that's not a fine bench, because it is. Ensberg and Duncan have pop, Betemit has his uses, and Molina is a fine backup catcher because his defensive rep is deserved.

And ignoring Yankee hatred, I love how they're easing into a changing of the guard in the rotation, but Mussina (39) finally sucks and Pettitte (36) has been showing chinks in his armor the last two seasons -- I wonder why?? Even Mo Rivera started slowing down last season

They could go out and get guys, I suppose, but I don't know that I would trust in Hank Steinbrenner if I were a Yankee fan. And make no mistake about who's running the show over there. It ain't Brian Cashman.

I know they keep bullrushing their way into the playoffs, but once there, they're getting smoked by better, more well-built teams.

As for Yankee history, there's the '59 Yankees and the '65 Yankees. The '59 team fell in the middle of a bunch of Series runs, of course, and the '65 team represented the end of the dynasty. The Yankees didn't see the postseason again until 1976.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I say this every year.

I hear this every year.

This year I'm not going to say it and just quietly hope it happens.

by Jonny Pops on Apr 9, 2008 1:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

word

by jobe on Apr 9, 2008 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Injured Yankees is Birdland

"Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day."

by spike2131 on Apr 9, 2008 2:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Retarded Yerkee ownership is Birdland

'Course, so is ours.

Rah Rah Rasputin / Lover of the Russian queen
There was a cat that / Really loved Birds. -- Boney M

by Titov on Apr 9, 2008 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

"I am going to be surprised if this team makes a wild card. They have a world of hurt coming their way, and I think 2008 it just the beginning."

Don't jinx it by saying that shit out loud!

by 2632 on Apr 9, 2008 3:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Surely you've seen a horror movie.

THEY NEVER DIE.

by Kristen on Apr 9, 2008 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

jinxes are for pussies

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I had been hoping Detroit would knock them out of the wild card

Needless to say, my expectation has waned...

"Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day."

by spike2131 on Apr 9, 2008 3:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You'd think a $200+ million payroll could field a great team...

or their soon to be $1.3 billion dollar stadium...

Or maybe, deep down inside, we envy their immense wealth.

by alizarian on Apr 9, 2008 5:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

who wouldn't?

I'll never say a bad word about Yankee marketing. Those guys wrote the book.

Camden Chat
Bad Left Hook

by SC on Apr 9, 2008 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yankees

I too think this is the year they miss the playoffs. I would be afraid of jinxing it, but I've said that now for 3 years in a row now. But this time, I mean it!

Seriously, their rotation is suspect, their offense is old and I can easily see the following players decline:
AROD (perhaps a mortal this year?), Posada (outside of Fisk, catchers fall fast), Jetes (34 middle infielder?), Giambi, Damon, Abreu, Hideki, Pettitte, Mussina and even Rivera.

Conversely, Robbie Cano should improve (BABIP be damned!) and Melky too. Young pitching, well, we know that all too well.

Librarians are hiding something

by dfa on Apr 9, 2008 8:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs