11/05/24
May 05, 2005
Injuries, age finally catching up to Yankees: How did the Yankees go from being the greatest on-paper team of the Joe Torre era to the division's cesspool? It's been a perfect storm of injuries and age, which is precisely how the '65 Yankees ushered in an 11-year dark age in the Bronx.
Of course, we've heard all this before, but just in case, maybe we can help Steinbrenner with a few suggestions.
I'd love to see the Yankees suffer the sins of excess for a while, but I think it's too soon for them to panic.
posted by rcade at 05:07 AM on May 05, 2005
Neat worksheet though! I am going to print it out I see if I can "fix" the Yanks! :-) I think the joke is that it's intended to be a straight-across match...but I think that trading's too good for Brown. I mean, I'd love to find a sucker, er, team willing to take him, but emotionally, I'd be more satisfied with sending his sorry butt to the glue factory. And Tom Gordon can go with him. The article's pretty much on the money, sadly. The money sunk into the Big Unit made the Yankees vulnerable. I don't think, though, that it's necessarily the beginning of the end, except if the captain insists on continuing to drive the boat into icebergs.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:19 AM on May 05, 2005
Well, I have to admit I'm enjoying the decline as much as the next Yankee-hater, but it's probably a little early to write these guys off. I know what history would indicate for slow-starting teams, but this is exactly the kind of team that defies history. That bullpen is in big trouble though. Huge.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:42 AM on May 05, 2005
i'd never thought that i would have to utter the words "thank god tanyon sturtze is coming back this weekend." but, well, thank god he is.
posted by goddam at 08:09 AM on May 05, 2005
The worst team money can buy and I can't think of an owner who deserves it more. I've lived just north of NYC for about a year now and while Joe Torre and most of his players seem to be class acts, Steinbrenner is the devil incarnated along with Al Davis, Jerry Jones (of my beloved Cowboys), Jerry Buss and Malcolm Glazer, who's trying to buy Manchester United for $1.5 billion. Sometimes, even expensive toys break down just as the warranty runs out.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 08:29 AM on May 05, 2005
I just can't believe the yankees still have Brown. I'm sure there are major road blocks, since I'm sure they've tried, but jesus, he actually makes me feel sorry for ny.
posted by justgary at 08:38 AM on May 05, 2005
i was really hoping that brown would've punched another wall after his performance on tuesday.
posted by goddam at 08:59 AM on May 05, 2005
As a Brewers fan, I, too, would like to see the demise of the Yankees. However it's WAAAAY too early to push the panic button. Just look at the Brewers. One week ago they were dead last in the NL Central at 7-13 after a brutal 7 game losing streak to STL and LA. Now a visit from CIN and CHI has jumped them back to .500 and in second place. Things change real fast in April and May. Yankees fans need to settle down......but justgary, there's no way in HELL I'm gonna feel sorry for a team that gives huge contracts to aging pitchers and is surprised when they stink.
posted by brewdudepa at 09:00 AM on May 05, 2005
I just can't believe the yankees still have Brown. But who would want him? I'd rather have an empty roster spot.
posted by yerfatma at 09:16 AM on May 05, 2005
Wow--doesnt anybody think that the Yankees can turn things around and still have a decent season? I think it's too soon for them to panic. I don't think, though, that it's necessarily the beginning of the end. It's probably a little early to write these guys off. I just had a conversation with co-worker who happens to be a Yankee fan. He views everything in pinstripes through the rose-colored glasses, even pointing out that, "The kid looked pretty good last night." This guy, the ultimate They-Can-Do-No-Wrong Yankees Fan concedes that this team stinks. He's not just scared that this is the real Yankee team we'll see all year, he's convinced of it. And frankly, even with their talent-ladened line-up, I can find no reason to doubt that. They've been brutal. We're 17% of the way through the season. When is it no longer too soon to panic?
posted by 86 at 09:31 AM on May 05, 2005
Well, at least Yankee fans can take solace in the fact that Baltimore, not Boston, looks like the favorite to take the AL East.... At least so far...
posted by crank at 10:34 AM on May 05, 2005
yerfatma spoke thus of Kevin "Bam-Bam" Brown: But who would want him? I'd rather have an empty roster spot. What you said. In a big way. I bleed pinstripes, and they do, in fact, stink on ice. That's not to say that I don't still love 'em, and that's not to say that they might not play well, but the roster is loaded with accidents waiting to happen.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:56 AM on May 05, 2005
Maybe Georgey-boy should think twice before paying his 2nd-baseman more money per game than he paid for the Kentucky Derby favorite.
posted by the red terror at 10:57 AM on May 05, 2005
I love em too, but years of win-now excesses and Steinbrenner's unwillingness to listen to his people (why take a 27-year old Vlad when you can have Sheff?) is finally coming home to roost. Punting Vasquez after one so-so season after he'd been dominant in the NL for years is inexcusable. Punting Weaver and Brazoban for frickin' Kevin Brown is criminal. This team -needs- to lose this year, to hopefully clear people out. I would direly love to see Sheffield get dealt in July for some youngsters, same with RJ. It's time for the down years.
posted by sashae at 11:37 AM on May 05, 2005
I mean, I'd love to find a sucker, er, team willing to take him, but emotionally, I'd be more satisfied with sending his sorry butt to the glue factory. The more things change the more they stay the same. Trade one dope/bum/horse's ass for another. I'm sure someone will be willing to help.
posted by YukonGold at 11:44 AM on May 05, 2005
Red terror: Make that light hitting LF'er (for now).
posted by YukonGold at 11:46 AM on May 05, 2005
Red terror: Make that light hitting LF'er (for now). i think red meant to say 3rd baseman.
posted by goddam at 12:17 PM on May 05, 2005
I guess that makes a little more sense. The link about the horse alone threw me off. That would have been one cheap horse, the kind you might buy FROM a glue factory.
posted by YukonGold at 12:27 PM on May 05, 2005
Of course, my mistake.
posted by the red terror at 12:57 PM on May 05, 2005
$87,000 is not a cheap horse. It's certainly true that it's cheap for a Grade 1 winner -- to say nothing of a Derby fave -- but there have been plenty of low-priced "nags" who shocked the world. My handle honors perhaps the greatest of the lot. He cost peanuts and before he raced people laughed at him. And of course the greatest stud in history, Northern Dancer, at the advanced age of 21 years, was offered $40-million dollars -- this after being passed over as a two-year-old for $25,000, because everybody thought he was too small. (Smaller quibble -- horses don't get purchased from glue factories, that's where the stiffs used to "retire." But even that's now a thing of the past. Many now go to slaughterhouses and are shipped to Saudi Arabia, where their meat is a delicacy.)
posted by the red terror at 01:05 PM on May 05, 2005
ok. long time yankee fan. but i agree with almost everything that has been said about this sorry excuse for a trophy team. everything that is except for the comment made about sheffield. sure guerrero is younger and won the MVP last year, but sheff has been nothing short of amazing, not to mention clutch. he seemingly wills big hits in big situations. and now that his shoulder is healthy he's going to right field more, a scary sight for opposing pitchers. crucify cashman and steinbrenner for all their moves, but not for signing sheffield. though guerreros stats were better last year (by a little), sheff deserved the MVP. now if only he could pitch.
posted by johnhwhitney at 04:32 PM on May 05, 2005
I think the appropriate questions is: how will Sheff and Vlady-Dady compare over the period, say, 2004-2009, inclusive?
posted by yerfatma at 05:33 PM on May 05, 2005
i think sheff is only signed through next year though. so wouldn't comparing 2004-06 be more appropriate?
posted by goddam at 06:48 PM on May 05, 2005
...and they lose again. wow. Just wow.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:46 PM on May 05, 2005
dammit. maybe i jinxed them by getting season tickets this year. anyone care to wager on whether the team gets booed during intros at the stadium tomorrow night?
posted by goddam at 08:55 PM on May 05, 2005
wouldn't comparing 2004-06 be more appropriate? I guess. But Vlady would have filled right field for years. So it's fair to compare him to Sheff and Sheff's replacement once he's on a walker full time.
posted by yerfatma at 09:18 PM on May 05, 2005
fair enough i guess. whatever the final stats turn out to be, i can't say i'm disappointed in sheff's signing. his at-bats have been one of the few fun things to watch as of late. and he has that look about him, like someone taught a pitbull to stand upright.
posted by goddam at 08:17 AM on May 06, 2005
The SJ Mercury News had a similarly-themed article about the Giants and the salaries of their injuried players so far this year. Not pretty.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:25 PM on May 06, 2005
Wow--doesnt anybody think that the Yankees can turn things around and still have a decent season? Maybe make the playoffs? or go even farther? Its still quite early if you ask me. I am no yankee fan but I still wouldnt give up on them just yet. There is still a lot of talent on that team.... Neat worksheet though! I am going to print it out I see if I can "fix" the Yanks! :-)