At the dawn of the 21st century, the New York Yankees stood atop the baseball world. Sporting an 87-74 record, the team bested the crosstown Mets in a four-games-to-one World Series rout.
The roster was liberally sprinkled with names such as Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jose Canseco, David Cone, Orlando Hernandez, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettite. Yeah, let that sink in. Doc Gooden, Alfonso Soriano, and David Justice performed as "role players." The team had eliminated a talent-laden Seattle club in the playoffs. Times weren't just good, they were golden (the 1998 club went 114-48, after finishing in a late-season tailspin).
But what has gone wrong since?
Strong Yankee role players have come and gone, from Ruben Sierra to Chad Curtis to John Olerud. The Jeter/Posada/Bernie nucleus remained intact. Jason Giambi is back to form. Nevertheless, the Bronx Bombers made a fatal mistake letting Andy Petttite and Roger Clemens slip away the same season. Losing two 20-game winners was something the Pinstripers could ill afford after parting with the pair of setup men who made Mariano Rivera's job easier — Jeff Nelson and Ramiro Mendoza. Remember them? With that great Yankee defense, these late relievers put out potential fires so that Rivera could bask in his "lights-out" prime.
No one has fulfilled that role since. In recent years, when a Mike Mussina, "El Duque," David Wells, Jared Wright, or Randy Johnson has hit a bad spell, there was no short reliever to get the team to Mariano-land. Thus, the back-to-back World Series failures and the 2004 collapse at the hands of the cursed Red Sox.
Hall of Fame hitters are great to have, and Alex Rodriguez, Gary Shefffield, and the juiced-down Giambi were fine pickups. Unfortunately, none of them can come in and pitch the seventh inning of a close game. Add to this the fact the club soured on both "El Duque" and his compatriot, Jose Contreras. Bad moves. When you've just lost a Clemens and a Pettite, you need the Cuban bookends to see you through, no matter, their flaws. Both may face each other as 2006 World Series hurlers. Ouch!
George Steinbrenner is to be admired for giving Raul Mondesi, Ruben Sierra, Tim Raines, Gooden, Wade Boggs, and several others the opportunity to exit the game they loved with dignity and a ring. He gave Darryl Strawberry and Chuck Knoblauch chances when few would. No baseball owner, past or current, can say the same. Only Al Davis of Raider fame has reclaimed more distresses athletic "properties." "The Boss" has also stood by skipper Joe Torre and his staff.
But the inability to foresee the disastrous results of the losses of Mendoza/Nelson and then Clemens/Pettite call all else into question. The dismantling of said talented arms, and of the aforementioned Cubans, rivals the breakup of the late 1990s Chicago Bulls in the annals of sports management ineptitude. It has cost the club three World Series titles, minimum.
I know, I know — many reading this shed no tears for King George and his merrily-paid men. Do not miss the point. It is the baseball observer who has been robbed of the opportunity to see (much as in the case of the Michael Jordan Bulls) what level of sustained excellence the Jeter/Jorge Posada/Bernie triumvirate may have achieved with full arm strength. How many flags? Whither Jeter's place alongside Joe Montana, Joe DiMaggio, and Shaq? The legacy of Joe Torre? The BoSox' supposed jinx? It is one thing to go down fighting, ravaged by age or competition, quite another to mismanage one's way to third-best. I would be similarly miffed should the Mets squander Jose Reyes and David Wright, or Jennifer Lopez bow to anorexia.
Things could have been so different, so much more interesting. For one, we'd be headed toward a Subway Series this year. Worst of all, what has become of the trend of signing players such as Paul O'Neill, Tino, Scott Brosius, and Aaron Boone, who were class, all class? Not long ago, A-Rod predicted that the American League wildcard winner would not emerge from the American League Eastern Division. Why, who ever heard of such a thing? Damned Yankees!
August 9, 2006
Mike Round:
Bijan
1. Players get old or retire and need replacing - if you stand still you get overtaken and Steinbrenner knows that.
2. The “failure” to resign Clemens had nothing to do with the Yankees. He retired - then unretired to play near his home. He didn’t want to play for the team any longer.
3. Finding somebody to get to Rivera is a relatively easy task. The problem is the teams starters haven’t been lasting 7 innings so the pen is constantly overworked. Ramiro Mendoza was always on the DL anyway and by the time Nelson left he was finished as a force.
4. O’Neill Martinez Brosius and Williams were all fine players in 1998. It’s 2006. Sheffield, Rodriguez Giambi and Damon are better. The reason the Yankees can’t dominate anymore is the starting pitching is poor - period. Keeping Contreras and Hernandez wouldn’t have solved that.