TMS
Posts: 60684
Alba Posts: 617
Joined: 5/11/2004
Member: #674 USA
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this team is a complete & utter disappointment... after the way this team laid down & died in that gutless showing during the big BOS series that recently passed, they pretty much showed they don't have the heart to make a run at the postseason... finishing in 4th place would serve them right... maybe it'll wake some people up on this roster, including some of the so-called leaders... the injury factor has really impacted this team this year but in my mind they still had enough talent to at least be in WC contention... i'm highly disappointed in the way this team responded to the do or die situation... last year they made an epic run w/a rotation that wasn't much better than the one we have now & got into the playoffs... i was hoping the same would happen this year til that BOS series.
the team was playing so well after the AS break i dunno why they didn't go for pitching to shore up the rotation for a run... i guess they never figured on Joba getting injured & felt like Moose & Andy were both pitching well, but u can't overlook the bottom of the rotation & pin your postseason hopes on guys like Rasner, Ponson & whoever they call up from the minors to try & plug the hole... i know a trade for CC was not in the cards considering the pricetag but u'd figure they coulda gone after a tested veteran who will eat up innings & give ur team a fighting chance to win games everytime he takes the mound & not have to give up the farm to do it... the Red Sox picked up Paul Byrd & even though he's nothing to write home about, they at least addressed a need in their rotation instead of relying on untested kids like Buchholz to come in & do the job before they're ready... the Yankees clearly placed way too much faith in their kids to come in & contribute this season
then u got guys on the Sux who are stepping up when their team needs it most like Pedroia, Ellsbury & Youkilis & it basically shows u what the difference is between winning ballclubs & losing ones... the Yanks need to get back to targetting guys w/a gamer's mentality, guys like Paul O'Neil, Tino Martinez, Jim Leyritz, Joe Girardi, etc... these types of players the Red Sux have in Lowell, Youkilis, Pedroia, Varitek, etc... even tho they might not put up the best #'s in some cases, u still need guys like that to create an overall atmosphere in the clubhouse that failure is an unacceptable outcome.
i think some of the players on this team have become complacent & no longer possess the sense of urgency to perform that they once may have had... i don't think it's a coincidence either that we haven't won a WS championship since Paul O'Neill & Scott Brosius retired & we let Tino walk via free agency, & haven't made it back to the WS since Don Zimmer resigned as our bench coach in '03.
i sincerely hope some of these issues will be addressed in free agency this offseason... i think Hank's made it pretty clear he plans on breaking the bank to get CC Sabathia in pinstripes & most likely will go all out to bring Mark Texeiria to NY as well w/Giambi & his $20 million dollar salary likely on his way out... if both those things happen, i'm very confident going into next season w/a rotation of CC, Wang, Joba, Moose & either Pettitte or 1 of the kids, but since Joba will likely not see a full allotment of innings next year they better also have another starter as a contingency plan to fill up some innings & starts so we won't have to rely on guys like Rasner anymore... someone like a Jon Garland, Randy Wolf, Joe Blanton, etc. would be a good addition for the back end of the rotation while we give Hughes some time to fine hone his game & continue to build up his arm strength IMO.
After 7 years & 40K+ posts, banned by martin for calling Nalod a 'moron'. Awesome.
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