Big bad Hank is suffering from diarrhea of the mouth again, you can read the AP article here. In the interview, he mentions that injuries are the biggest reason the Bombers are out of it this season but feels that the Yankees will be on top of the AL East again next year. Well, Mr. Steinbrenner, today is your lucky day. I'm going to tell you what you need to do to fix your baseball team AND I'm way cheaper than Brian Cashman (although, I'd be a really bad GM - I'm last in my fantasy league.)
Fix your freakin' rotation: So what if you missed out on getting one of the best pitchers in the majors today because you over-valued your young prospects that turned out to suck. There is always next year with another ace to be acquired and another chance to ship out your prospects (although they are worth a little less now.) Ben Sheets or CC Sabathia must be signed to make the fans happy. Also, it'd be nice to see Andy and Moose back to have some continuity. Finish the rotation off with Joba and Hughes and it's a pretty solid rotation. Let's get rid of Ian Kennedy (he's really not good and you should have traded him when people thought he was) and let's stop trying to justify the wasted money on Igawa (just let him go home, he's not really helping.) Oh, and no more Sidney Ponson. Twice in pinstripes was more than enough.
First Base: Obviously Richie "I'm not good at my job" Sexson isn't the answer to my prayers, but again - looking ahead to next year (if you resign him, I swear I'm going to buy a Nationals jersey or something). Pick up Giambi's option or find a way to bring him back for 2 or 3 years for a little cheaper. Yeah, he cheated when he took "that stuff," but he's in better shape, playing more solid defense than in the past, and has some good pop left in the bat. Platoon him with, dare I say it, Jorge Posada at first. Let's face it, these problems he's had this season are bad signs for his future behind the dish. Putting him at first keeps his productive bat in the lineup, puts him somewhere he doesn't have to throw often, and gives Girardi the option of an extra backup catcher (unless Girardi wants to play, then he has 4 catchers.)
The rest of the infield: Leave it alone. Arod is Arod, Cano will swing better in the first half last year, and Jeter will be his regular offensive self again.
Catching: Let's find a way to keep Ivan Rodriguez in pinstripes for at least next year. Yeah, he's a little on the old side, but the Yankees showed their willingness to give contracts to old catchers last year with Jorge. Molina has shown some pretty good defense this year and would be a more than sufficient back up for Pudge.
Outfield: So yeah, there are way to many people playing out there. It's ridiculous. Let's start out by trading Hideki Matsui, it needs to be done and he should have been moved sooner. He's got one year left on his contract and is set to become a free agent after that. Let's keep Nady and Damon will be back as well. I'd like to see an outfield consisting of Abreu, Damon, and Nady playing just about everyday, this means Abreu needs to be resigned and he's said he's interested in that. I think Melky's bat doesn't justify him being in the lineup every day, regardless of how much better he plays center than Damon. Would it be possible to put Nady or Abreu in center? Nady has played 45 career games there and has a slightly better fielding percentage in Center than in his 66 career games in left. Abreu has played 21 games in center over his career without making an error, but I really don't think he could handle center. Give Damon's body won't hold up over the entire season if he plays center every day (or even on a semi-regular basis.) I say we start with Damon in left, Nady in center, Abreu in right and if the defense suffers from Nady's lack of experience or defensive ability to play that position, we've still got he MelkMan and his canon to fill in along with Damon to play the occasional game. Even if you end up with 1 extra outfielder, its better than the traffic jam out there now.
Bullpen: I think all of the pieces are there to make this work, but it wouldn't hurt to pick up a solid late-innings guy, maybe they should trade Kennedy for this (and Ponson for a washing machine like in Semi-Pro.)
So there it is, I have single handedly fixed the Yankees for next year. Is it possible to do all of that? Probably not. Am I right about all or any of it? Maybe, maybe not. Just my opinions, share yours in the comments.
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