2006 MLB Thread

[GregK]

I think Joe Morgan was about to cry last night. He couldn't hide his disappointment that the Yankees were being shut down like that. Even on Baseball Tonight this morning, he was still upset they lost. No bias Joe!!

[ghost of miles]

Can you imagine the riot in Detroit right now had another team made the wild card? What a colossal choke to end the season: getting swept by the lowly Royals! And then, to top it off, coming in second after leading the division all season!

Hard to call a playoff team a disappointment, but man, what a way to end the season!

Can't recall which edition of the Yanks it was--probably the 2000 team--which just sucked & sucked throughout September & continued to suck after several "let's-get-it-together" pep talks from Torre. (I remember Jeter or somebody else saying something to the effect that it's really demoralizing to get yourself all revved up, say, "Yeah, let's turn this around!" and then still get clobbered 15-1, 11-2, etc., by mediocre teams.) I think they finished with 87 wins, or some rather anemic figure by late-1990s NYY standards. When the playoffs began, they suddenly seemed to find their groove again, and went on to win the WS.

Unfortunately, looks like my earlier post was prophetic--the Tigers found their groove again just as the Yanks lost theirs. NY peaked too early in the autumn.

[Chalupa]

So how many Yankee fans think they still got the better end of the Abreu deal???

[Dan Gould]

... secure in the knowledge that the MFY will not win a championship, and that is as fine an outcome as any short of a Cubs or Red Sox world championship.

You can call me Nostradamus.

Here are a few random observations heading into the off-season that snuck up on NY so suddenly. As the shock wears off, Yankee fans are welcome to tell me what they think.

Will Yankee fans start to boo A-Rod at the mere sight of him?

Yankee fans can be merciless with those who don't produce when it counts, and that's on top of all of the other reasons to boo A-Rod, not the least of which is that it obviously bothers him. After 2 1/2 post-seasons of complete invisibility, I really have to wonder if Yankee fans will not even wait for him to strikeout or make an error and just start booing whenever he leaves the dugout. Whether that will necessitate a trade would be the next question. If anyone could pry away some of the prize Angel arms, it would be A-Rod.

Did Barry Zito's price just go to 20 million a year?

Between the Met injuries and age issues and the Yankee pitching failures, I don't think there's any doubt that they will bid up Zito's price til the spawn of Satan's calculator breaks when it tries to calculate his commission.

George has had a stiffy for Piniella since forever; will he finally decide its safe to fire Joe?

Certainly this is the last chance to get Sweet Lou in pinstripes again, since he's back on the market and has said this will be his last gig. I wonder if George has it in his mind that Piniella would have fired up the team better than Joe did. I think there are nearly even odds that George is going to start a press conference with "I gave Joe and Cash everything they asked for and they still couldn't deliver a championship ..."

Do Yankee fans secretly hope that Unit will need back surgery and may miss most or all of next year?

If that's the case - and who knows - it would certainly impact the bidding for Zito; on the plus side it would accelerate the process of finally getting younger on the pitching staff. I can't imagine any Yankee fan thinks that 43 year old Unit can do any better than the 5.00 ERA he posted this year.

Whither Moose?

Big dollars on the option year, which reportedly the Yanks want to decline and then sign him for less money but for more than one year. But in this pitching market, Mussina could get a big offer if the Yanks let him become a free agent (did I just hear Jon Leiber's name?). At the same time, even as Moose seemed to pitch better this year than in the previous two, he still got hurt, still didn't come close to 20 wins, and is now a year older. If Unit is seriously injured, they probably have to re-sign Moose ... but the odds are good that by the time he reaches the end of the next contract, he'll be a very mediocre pitcher.

Well I guess that's it for now ... I feel for you, Yankee fans. I really do.

1.2 Billion dollars just doesn't buy what it used to.

[alocispepraluger102]

Can you imagine the riot in Detroit right now had another team made the wild card? What a colossal choke to end the season: getting swept by the lowly Royals! And then, to top it off, coming in second after leading the division all season!

Hard to call a playoff team a disappointment, but man, what a way to end the season!

Can't recall which edition of the Yanks it was--probably the 2000 team--which just sucked & sucked throughout September & continued to suck after several "let's-get-it-together" pep talks from Torre. (I remember Jeter or somebody else saying something to the effect that it's really demoralizing to get yourself all revved up, say, "Yeah, let's turn this around!" and then still get clobbered 15-1, 11-2, etc., by mediocre teams.) I think they finished with 87 wins, or some rather anemic figure by late-1990s NYY standards. When the playoffs began, they suddenly seemed to find their groove again, and went on to win the WS.

Unfortunately, looks like my earlier post was prophetic--the Tigers found their groove again just as the Yanks lost theirs. NY peaked too early in the autumn.

watching the fans and players after the game was one of the happiest sports moments i can remember.

maybe the red wings cup victory would equal..............

i hope somebody remembers trammel and his crew. they had something to do with it, too. dontcha think?

Edited October 8, 2006 by alocispepraluger102

[GregK]

One down.....now if only someone could eliminate the Mets!!

[Dan Gould]

One down.....now if only someone could eliminate the Mets!!

I'm afraid the Dodgers aren't going to do it ...

But isn't baseball a funny game?

The Twins cap off an amazing year by clinching the division on the last day, and then they get swept out of the playoffs.

The Tigers lose 31 of 50 and the division on the last day, then whip the overwhelming favorite Yanks in 4.

The Cards look the worst of all the playoff teams and are a game away from the LCS.

The Mets looked to have big time pitching problems due to injury but are about to sweep their way through the first round.

[Neal Pomea]

We mustn't mock NY, Boston, Chicago, LA, or any of those cities that proclaim themselves the center of the world, the only teams worth watching in the World Series. Bad baseball fans.

Just kidding. Or am I? (That didn't look like Buck O'Neil, did it?)

[alocispepraluger102]

We mustn't mock NY, Boston, Chicago, LA, or any of those cities that proclaim themselves the center of the world, the only teams worth watching in the World Series. Bad baseball fans.

Just kidding. Or am I? (That didn't look like Buck O'Neil, did it?)

what's grady of little doing, using his setup man in inning 6? expecting rain?

[Soulstation1]

WTF

The Tigers acted like they won the MF World Series....

is it necessary to carry leyland off the field on their shoulders after a 1st round win

[GregK]

WTF

The Tigers acted like they won the MF World Series....

is it necessary to carry leyland off the field on their shoulders after a 1st round win

it is when you beat the Yankees. starting with a come from behind win in NY, after being swept by the Royals and being declared the underdog when they won only two less games than the Yankees in the regular season. Oh, and when it's your first playoff win in 19 years!

[MartyJazz]

WTF

The Tigers acted like they won the MF World Series....

is it necessary to carry leyland off the field on their shoulders after a 1st round win

it is when you beat the Yankees. starting with a come from behind win in NY, after being swept by the Royals and being declared the underdog when they won only two less games than the Yankees in the regular season. Oh, and when it's your first playoff win in 19 years!

Totally agree. The Yanks were viewed by all the playoff teams in both leagues as the monster each team would least like to face. Combine the Yanks' formidable lineup with their storied history, and the Tigers have every right to celebrate their justly deserved victory to the max. But as a Yankee fan, I am genuinely shocked because while I know that good pitching will invariably defeat good hitting, the Yanks' performance at the plate was so woeful - three runs in their last 24 innings, all of which occurred after the last game was totally decided - that it appears it would not have mattered who pitched for the Yanks. No team can win with that kind of batting performance. Of course, Rodriguez epitomized their overall futility. And I for one, would be quite happy to see him go, hopefully for a couple of good young arms assuming any team is foolish enough to give up its future for a tremendously overpaid and clutchless (if that's a word) superstar.

[Dan Gould]

WTF

The Tigers acted like they won the MF World Series....

is it necessary to carry leyland off the field on their shoulders after a 1st round win

I thought it was a little overdone but for the reasons Greg and Marty mention, I think they deserved it.

Watching the fans getting doused in champagne really made me think how great it would have been if the Sox had won either the LCS or the Series at home. I think they would have had the entire party on the field, and needed ten times as much champagne to spray as many fans as they could.

[ghost of miles]

George has had a stiffy for Piniella since forever; will he finally decide its safe to fire Joe?

Certainly this is the last chance to get Sweet Lou in pinstripes again, since he's back on the market and has said this will be his last gig. I wonder if George has it in his mind that Piniella would have fired up the team better than Joe did. I think there are nearly even odds that George is going to start a press conference with "I gave Joe and Cash everything they asked for and they still couldn't deliver a championship ..."

Report out today:

Report: Torre expected to be fired

October 8, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- Yankees manager Joe Torre likely will be fired and replaced by Lou Piniella following another early exit from the playoffs, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.

According to sources the Daily News did not identify, Torre is expected to be fired unless he resigns first -- or team officials can talk owner George Steinbrenner out of making the move.

On Saturday, the Yankees were eliminated from the first round of the AL playoffs, losing to Detroit 8-3 in Game 4. It was the second straight year New York lost in the opening round.

The Yankees have won the World Series four times under Torre, most recently in 2000. They had a record $200 million payroll this year and matched the New York Mets for the best record in the regular season.

The Yankees have made the playoffs in all 11 years that Torre has been their manager. They have won nine straight AL East titles.

The 66-year-old Torre has one year and $7 million left on his contract.

Piniella is a former Yankees star and managed them in 1986-87 and for most of 1988. He guided Cincinnati to the 1990 World Series title and later managed Seattle and Tampa Bay.

The 63-year-old Piniella took a year off from managing last season.

Much as I like Torre--and as much as I hate Georgie's expectation that the same team should be able to win every year--three successive collapses in the AL postseason is a bit much, given the talent on this team. Frankly, the Yanks should give up on winning the AL East every year and restock the farm system. The late-1990s team had a special chemistry that you can't just create automatically, and the nucleus of that team came out of the farm system (Williams, Rivera, Pettite, Jeter, Posada--other key players, such as O'Neill & Brosius, came from shrewd trades). Ever since 2002 NY has reverted to the Steinbrenner days of yore, trying to fill in gaps and "build" the team with high-priced players past their prime.

I will say in Torre's defense that at least NY has made the playoffs every single year that he's managed (as pointed out in the article above). Wonder if Georgie remembers the vast wasteland known as 1982-1994? (Granted, no wild card in those years, and NY would've almost certainly made the playoffs in '94 if it hadn't been for the lockout). Again, though, much of that success built on the mid-1990s nucleus, which neither Torre nor Steinbrenner had anything to do with.

Ah well, time for me to start heating up the ol' hot stove... I'll be rooting for Detroit from here on out, and I'd be happy to see the Mets take the NL.

[ghost of miles]

More on NY:

Bronx bombshell

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports

October 7, 2006

DETROIT – Alex Rodriguez cannot come back to the New York Yankees next season. Neither can Joe Torre. Not after the Yankees doddered their way to another paper championship and real-life choke.

It is time for a change in New York, and though the scapegoating will start with Rodriguez, the Yankees must realize it does not end there. Disposing of Rodriguez – whose vacation to the Bermuda Triangle during the postseason now is officially a trend – is a necessary fix. Jettisoning Torre – manager for the four Yankees championships between 1996 and 2000, and now the manager for a pair of $200 million teams that couldn’t even crack the American League – is an emotionally trying, yet ultimately prudent, business decision.

No longer is talent enough to save Rodriguez’s career in New York. Torre regarded him enough to drop him and his $252 million contract to the No. 8 spot in the Yankees’ lineup for their 8-3 loss Saturday against wild-card Detroit, which after a 3-1 series victory surges into the AL Championship Series against Oakland.

At the same time, Torre’s tinkering with a lineup that scored the most runs in baseball this year was a microcosm of the neuroses he showed throughout the series and an indication that, perhaps, he no longer is the best-suited person to manage the Yankees. He hit Rodriguez sixth, fourth and eighth in the series’ final three games and benched Gary Sheffield in Game 3 and Jason Giambi in Game 4. Meanwhile, Detroit manager Jim Leyland stuck with what had worked all season and saw his every move go to script as Torre’s team, undone by its bats, flopped like a fish gone ashore.

“Plain and simple, they dominated us,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not like we lost by one run or two runs. They absolutely kicked our ass.”

An apropos culmination, certainly, for a year in which Rodriguez struggled to handle the rigors of New York and didn’t acquit himself in the playoffs, either. He finished this series 1 for 14, his mark a lonely single, and threw away a routine ground ball for good measure. After the season-long skirmish with himself, Rodriguez said he felt relaxed in the postseason. If by relaxed he meant carrying himself like somebody was trying to extricate his spleen with a butter knife, yes, sir, did he ever.

However happy a face Rodriguez tried to wear following Saturday’s loss, the blue-hued circles under his eyes gave him the expression of a tired fighter. Rodriguez tried to say the right things. The Yankees fought and he was proud, and he wanted to come back to New York next season.

Whether he does is almost completely up to Rodriguez. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, which runs for another four seasons. Why he wants to stay with a team that clearly doesn’t want him – batting Rodriguez eighth was no accident, nor were the cluster bombs thrown at Rodriguez by Torre and Jason Giambi in the Sports Illustrated piece that illuminated the divide in the Yankees’ clubhouse – is as much a testament to Rodriguez’s fear of the failure label forever chasing him as it is proof that he really does believe he’ll right himself.

“My commitment is 100 percent unconditional,” Rodriguez said. “I want to be a Yankee. I don’t want to go anywhere. And I can’t be more clear. I hope they don’t want to trade me because I don’t want to go anywhere.

“If they’re dying to get me out of here … I hope not.”

The official word, from general manager Brian Cashman, on whether the Yankees support Rodriguez.

“Yes,” Cashman said.

And in the future?

“Yep.”

Cashman did not expound. He was headed off to assess the damage, though he already had done it with a firm mandate: “This is going to be a long winter.”

It could, in fact, rival the winter of 2004, when Cashman dealt with the fallout of the Yankees’ collapse in the ALCS against Boston. Amid thoughts Torre might bolt New York, Cashman, in April 2004, had rewarded Torre with a three-year contract extension for $19.2 million that ends after the 2007 season – and no sooner, if Cashman has his say.

“No,” Cashman said. “Obviously, I have people above me. But the question’s coming to me so I’m answering it how I see it.”

In this case, it might not matter. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner could sharpen his ax one final time before handing off the franchise to his son-in-law, Steve Swindal. Though his health has deteriorated and Steinbrenner’s public proclamations are now limited to one-sentence responses with little context or substance, he knows the difference between winning and losing, and he knows the Yankees have done plenty more of the latter recently.

The attitude is pervasive. Torre has had six years to change it and hasn’t, and for all the emotion tied to his history, Torre’s present is substandard.

New York’s brass made a conscientious decision to buy a team of superstars, chemistry be damned, and handed them over to Torre expecting him to shift his formula and make it work. It was a reasonable expectation that turns out to have a flaw: Torre succeeds with the right players – the types that populated his championship teams – and while he can handle a pack of alpha dogs, he does not thrive with it.

He knew Sheffield, returning from injury, would turn into a nuisance if he sat during the playoffs, and Torre shifted him to first base, a position he mangled during the Detroit series. Instead of considering using starter Chien-Ming Wang on three days’ rest for Game 4, Torre stuck with Jaret Wright, whose best effort would have been mediocre and actual effort was dreadful.

When Torre went to fetch Wright after 2 2/3 innings, he walked back to the dugout with his head hanging. The crowd of 43,126 waved orange towels at Torre, though white flags might have been more fitting.

“What can you do?” Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said. “I don’t worry at all. He did tremendous this year. He did real good. The money cannot do the job that we have to do. We’ve got to do our job and, simply, we didn’t do it.”

Nor does the fact that Torre led the Yankees to a 97-win season and the best record in baseball mean he did his job, which is to win championships. And therein lies the problem: The Yankees, so saddled with terrible contracts such as Giambi’s and Randy Johnson’s and Carl Pavano’s and Wright’s, and so bereft of young pitching aside from Wang and the soon-arriving Phil Hughes, can’t blow up the team. (Emphasis mine--GoM) By proxy, they must change who’s in charge.

It’s not you, the Yankees mean to say. It’s me.

There are good options to replace Torre. Joe Girardi won three rings with the Yankees as a player and coached under Torre before leading Florida to its surprising 2006 season, though he may be too much like Torre for his own good – and that is a first, because Torre, for all of his inadequacies with these Yankees, has proven himself among the game’s best.

Lou Piniella is another choice, once a Yankees player, twice a Yankees manager and a success everywhere but Tampa Bay, and that’s no sin.

Around the clubhouse, players were mum on what the offseason will hold, with Derek Jeter, the captain, speaking for all: “Not worried about changes right now.”

And still, it would be naïve to deny the Yankees do need changes, for the short and long term. There is no worse feeling than helplessness, and it was on display with two outs in the ninth inning. With Robinson Cano at the plate and the season on the line, Alex Rodriguez stood in the on-deck circle, looking helpless, and Joe Torre sat in the dugout, feeling helpless, emotions woven together in what might have been their last moments spent in a New York Yankees uniform.

Jeff Passan is Yahoo! Sports' national baseball writer. Send Jeff a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

[Dan Gould]

I don't think its fair to criticize Torre's lineup moves in the last three games. He's always shown a preference for vets, so playing Sheffield - who can blame him, even if he was out of position and terribly rusty? Giambi hasn't hit in about two months and is an atrocious fielder anyway, so switching them around is just a matter of "pick your poison". I know full well that Francona would have done the same thing, hoping that when the light goes on, Sheffield responds. He didn't - but its not Joe's fault.

Dropping A-Rod was just a natural response to an October slump everyone saw a mile away.

Here's the bottom line, in two parts:

1) Posada and Jeter both hit .500 in this series. The rest of the team hit .170 something. So its Torre's fault that Damon, Abreu, Giambi, A-Rod, Cano, Matsui and Melky all stunk it up?

2) Steinbrenner has always loved football and the rah rah, knock his lights out style of coaching. He's going to figure that Joe couldn't get this team motivated and "up" and that is what he thinks Piniella can do.

The Torre death watch is officially on.

And I'll predict that if the Yankees get the right package of young pitchers and prospects, A-Rod is gone, too.

[Dan Gould]

One other thing. That Yahoo writer is foolish to lump Wright's contract in with all of the other monstrosities. Wright has one more year left, at 7 million, or a 4 million dollar buy out. Given what other mediocrities will make in free agency this year, there is no reason not to keep Wright around as the 5th starter at that price. He's fine in that slot, he just shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a playoff start, let alone an elimination game.

[MartyJazz]

(snip)

And I'll predict that if the Yankees get the right package of young pitchers and prospects, A-Rod is gone, too.

Yankee fans can only hope and pray. If traded to an American League team, A-Rod may come back to haunt them, but there's no doubt anymore that he is not capable of handling the pressure that comes with playing for the Yanks. I laugh every time an announcer points out how any team would love to have him considering his 35 homers and 120 ribbys this year. I'd like to know how many of those stats came in the late innings of tight ball games. With the exception of one walkoff homer he hit against the Braves this year, whenever I saw him in so many of those situations he tanked.

[Dan Gould]

So Marty, do you think that Torre will survive? I know you're a huge fan and I'm sure you don't want him to get the axe.

[ghost of miles]

Don't know what Marty thinks, but I like Torre a great deal as well--still, I'd say his odds are less than 50-50. Given that he has only one year left on his contract, maybe the Boss can be talked into keeping him on on for one last go-around... but the Yanks' record in the last three playoffs is abysmal, from the end of Game 4 against the Bosox in 2004 onward. Plus what if some other team snaps up Piniella in the meantime? I would not bet on Torre's staying at this point.

[Dan Gould]

Plus what if some other team snaps up Piniella in the meantime? I would not bet on Torre's staying at this point.

that's exactly it. If Steinbrenner wants Lou, and truly believes that his worst mistake was firing him the last time, then its now or never. Lou will surely be managing somewhere next year, and while the obvious choice is the Yanks, Chicago and Seattle are supposed to be very interested. Might even be a bidding war.

Lou says he wants to win a World Series, so who knows? Maybe he'll say "OK, but you gotta promise me A-Rod will be gone before spring training. That guy's the ultimate jinx!"

[Neal Pomea]

Yankees? "They're yesterday's news, kid." -- Gus Sands in The Natural

Edited October 9, 2006 by It Should be You

[MartyJazz]

Plus what if some other team snaps up Piniella in the meantime? I would not bet on Torre's staying at this point.

that's exactly it. If Steinbrenner wants Lou, and truly believes that his worst mistake was firing him the last time, then its now or never. Lou will surely be managing somewhere next year, and while the obvious choice is the Yanks, Chicago and Seattle are supposed to be very interested. Might even be a bidding war.

Lou says he wants to win a World Series, so who knows? Maybe he'll say "OK, but you gotta promise me A-Rod will be gone before spring training. That guy's the ultimate jinx!"

Yeah, I do like Torre and think he should be credited with a terrific job during the regular season when the team lost two major players for most of the season and the pitching rotation was often in a state of shambles. Not to rub it in Dan, but the 5 game sweep at Fenway that catapulted the Yanks to the division win is the one highlight that will always be remembered when recalling this otherwise disappointing season. What could any manager do when celebrated hitters and all stars in the Yankee batting order go into the tank the way they did in Detroit? Second, Yankee pitching was always suspect during the year, the individual ERAs being high enough to warrant concern, especially 17 game winner Randy J's ERA of 5.00! Come the playoffs, that was sufficient for me to have cause for alarm knowing that the Tigers' pitching staff led the majors in team ERA.

But George is only interested in the bottom line. Yet should Pinella replace Torre, I must disagree with Ghost of Miles' belief that Lou would want A-Rod gone. They were a good combo in Seattle so I believe Lou would want A-Rod on his team. Torre himself is so disappointed in this team's early demise, he just might welcome an unexpected early retirement.

[Dave James]

A couple of more comments and then I'm outta here.

Piniella replaces Torre.

A-Rod gets traded. I've heard the Angels have offered a package of players that would be hard to turn down, although I'd prefer to see Rodriguez in the National League.

Re-sign Sheffield and then trade him for some prime pitching prospects.

That's it. See ya.

Up over and out.

[Dan Gould]

A couple of more comments and then I'm outta here.

Piniella replaces Torre.

A-Rod gets traded. I've heard the Angels have offered a package of players that would be hard to turn down, although I'd prefer to see Rodriguez in the National League.

Re-sign Sheffield and then trade him for some prime pitching prospects.

That's it. See ya.

Up over and out.

Dave,

I presume you mean exercise Sheffield's option year, not actually sign him to something longer. But regardless, there is no way that 38 year old, 13 million dollar Sheffield gets more than a mediocre pitching prospect, let alone "prime pitching prospects". He's old, he's coming off a lost season, and 13 million dollars is at least 4 million more than anyone else would pay him. They'd be able to control where he goes but they'd probably have to pay a portion of salary and get mediocrity in return.

My best guess is that Sheffield's option is declined, and I am still very much on the fence about him at Fenway. The idea of him hitting before or after Papi and Manny is exciting, but he didn't exactly look like a natural first baseman and there's no way he'd handle RF very well at Fenway. But if he takes personal afronts personally, he'd probably murder Yankee pitching for us and maybe make up for a lot of fielding miscues.