It is exactly the narcissistic nature of announcing your intentions to become a free agent during the middle of a World Series game that makes prospect of the Yankees moving on without Alex Rodriguez not so upsetting.
Yankee success in the 90's was built on selfless team play from stars like Paul O'neill, Tino Martinez, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Scott Brosius and Andy Pettite. Fast forward to the present. A few of those players have been replaced by the likes of Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, A-Rod, Raul Mondesi, and Carl Pavano. You want one difference between the winning Yankee teams of the 90's and the losing Yankee teams of the 2000's? It is the plethora of "me" guys in the Yankee clubhouse as opposed to the "team" guys that used to pervade it. Sure a guy can say all the right things but when he decided to opt out of contract which is already scheduled to pay him about 28 million dollars next year then I would have to use the old saying actions speak louder then words.
At the same time I applaud the Yankee front office (so far) for standing strong on the A-Rod issue. The only way you can win is by bringing in guys who want the team to win and don't have high expectations for themselves. That means raising kids from your farm system. It was how Derek Jeter, Andy Pettite, and Bernie Williams got their start, and it is how the Boston Red Sox have managed to win another World Series. Jobba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Chen Ming Wang, Robinson Cano and hopefully some selective smart free agent signings will lead the Yankees back to the land of prosperity. Losing Joe Torre will hurt, but I think Joe Girardi is a better manager then anyone is giving him credit for, and more has the professionalism to relate in the Yankee clubhouse.
The bottom line is pitching is going to win the World Series. Every year it is the team with the power arms or the guys who step up on the mound who end up piling on it near the end of October. 50 homeruns, 150 RBI's are great, but there is a reason A-Rod has never one anything. No one can be that good, for that long and still not have anything to show for it unless he hasn't played toward the team concept. Call me crazy, but so long A-Rod, I have a feeling you won't be missed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Oh, I have a feeling that Mr. Rodriguez WILL be missed quite a bit. I know that the Yankees have some aces coming up in their farm system. Thats also what my roommate and I were talking about two nights ago actually. How the Yankees seem to ship out all of thier talent that they now bring up in their farm system. One of the notables is Alfonso Soriano who is now a big name who keeps jumping around the league. If Steinbrenner would just be patient instead of demanding a win every year, he definitely would have had a World Championship in the last 6 years.
Post a Comment