Sports
Benedict Tagle
Sports Editor
Unfortunately for local baseball fans, the big lights in the Bronx will be shut down, as there will be no playoff baseball. Since the beginning of the Wild Card era in 1995, the New York Yankees missed the postseason for only the second time. Unlike the last time the club missed the playoffs in 2008, the future looks much bleaker for the current edition of the pinstriped team from the Bronx. The 2008 team finished the season with a record of 89-73, a record better than this year’s team, who finished the season at 85-77. In addition, the core of the team had younger versions of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez captaining the ship. Unfortunately, the 2013 versions of Rivera, Jeter, and Rodriguez do not have much more left in the tank. Rivera, perhaps the greatest closer to have ever played the game, has retired, with 2013 being his last season. Up to his last pitch, Rivera was brilliant—with an ERA of 2.11, 44 saves, and a WHIP of 1.05. The all-time leader in regular season saves with 652—over 50 more than his closest competitor—was even more impressive in the postseason. When the Yankees return to the playoffs, they will no longer have the presence of the calm and collected veteran, who had an ERA of 0.70, 42 saves, and a WHIP of 0.76 in the postseason. The certain Hall of Famer has left big shoes to fill, and the team will have a hard time finding a replacement. Jeter missed the majority of this past season with injury, playing in only 17 games before being bit by the injury bug once again. Like Rivera, Jeter is one of the greatest players to ever set foot on the diamond, and has set the standard for a generation of ballplayers. Unfortunately for Yankees fans, Jeter shares more in common with Rivera: advanced age. At 39 years old, the future at the shortstop position for the Yankees needs to be strongly considered for the first time in nearly two decades. Unlike Rivera, Jeter is an everyday player, and the wear-and-tear may have been accelerated. With another injury ending his season prematurely this year, the end of an era looms near. Alex Rodriguez has been the focus of criticism in recent seasons, and this previous season was no different. One of the biggest names in the Biogenesis scandal, the future of the third baseman looks bleak. As a result of his participation in the Biogenesis program and alleged receiving of performance-enhancing drugs from the Miami clinic, MLB suspended the Yankees player 211 games. Rodriguez has appealed the suspension, with the aid of a powerful legal team led by Joe Tacopina. If the appeal of the suspension is unsuccessful for Rodriguez, and is applied at the beginning of the 2014 season, he would be ineligible to play until the 49th game of the 2015 season. If Rodriguez stays injury free, his earliest return would be in late May or early June 18
October 14, 2013
2015. Even without considering the weight of the scandal on his soldiers, Rodriguez has not produced up to expectations. Like shortstop, the Yankees’ front office should seriously evaluate the future of third base. The 2013 edition of the Yankees was filled with veteran players. Both Lyle
Overbay and Vernon Wells are older players that should have been part-time contributors, not the everyday players they were this season. However, because of the lack of depth on the team, the team was forced to pencil in the two veterans in the lineup in the majority of games this season. To put it into perspective, take a look at the games played of each player from both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Thirty-six year-old Overbay played 142 games as a member of the Yankees this season, batting .240, with 14 home runs, 59 RBI, and an OBP of .295; in 2012, he played a combined 65 games as a member of both the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks. Thirty-four yearold Vernon Wells played 130 games this past season, batting .233, with 11 home runs, 50 RBI, and an OBP of .285; in 2012, he played in 77 games with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Notice something in common with the two players? Both players had their workload increased dramatically this past season. Combined with their advanced age, the increased workload may have caused a deterioration in their performances. Both players began the season with a bang, however as the season went on and the number of games increased, the quality of their performances lessened. For both players, in addition to the batting average and on-base percentage, the season statistics were lower than their career averages in numerous categories. For Overbay, some of the categories where production was lower than career average included balls and slugging percentage. For Wells, some of the categories included hits, home runs, and balls. Add in the higher than average strikeouts the players had this season, and you’ve got yourself a nasty little combination. The bleak outlook spreads all across the field—at other positions, the Yankees have not-so-promising futures. At catcher, the team primarily relied on the services of Chris Stewart. The good news? Stewart
had a career-best season. He had career high totals in runs, hits, home runs, and balls. The bad news? He’s not a long-term solution. It took him a career high number of at bats to produce those numbers, nearly doubling his previous all-time best. To sum it up, let’s look at one of the reasons Stewart ended up on the Yankees. A life-long backup at the major league level, his previous team before the Yankees, the San Francisco Giants, allowed him to walk away because he would have been the third-string catcher on the team. Now he’s the starter for the Yankees. Well, at least the Yankees have promising young players in the farm system, right? Among the team’s top prospects, only one managed to make a dent among league insiders. Gary Sanchez, luckily, also fills a need for the Yankees, playing catcher. Apart from Sanchez, the Yankees have a lot of work to do on their top prospects. Well, like always, at least the team will be able to spend big time dollars this winter to offset the numerous problems they had. Right? Following the last time the Yankees missed the playoffs, the team spent lots of money on the strong free agent class that winter. Unlike 2008, the caliber of the upcoming free agent class is not strong; the Yankees will not be able to spend $180 million on a player the caliber of Mark Teixeira, $82.5 million on a player the caliber of A.J. Burnett, or $161 on a player the caliber of C.C. Sabathia, while still filling the team’s greatest needs. Apart from the top two players at the class, Robinson Cano and Jacoby Ellsbury, the possible options via free
agency are not franchise-changing players. Speaking of Cano, the current Yankees second baseman, the most productive player this past season, he is looking for a big time contract. There have been numerous reports that Cano is seeking a 10-year contract, worth upwards of $300 million. With the Yankees recent long-term free agent signings not having productive seasons during the later years of their contracts, the front office should be cautious in negotiations with Cano, one of the best players at his position. Alex Rodriguez has certainly seen his play diminish, and add in his troubles with the Biogenesis scandal, and his $28 million salary this season—the highest in baseball—is not looking too good. Sabathia has experienced a similar trend in production. This past season, Sabathia had career highs in ERA, WHIP, home runs allowed, and losses. Teixeira
is also experiencing a downward trend in production. Teixeira, like Jeter, missed the majority of this past season, playing in only 15 games. He did not perform well in those games, batting .151 and having 19 strikeouts in only 53 at-bats. In 2012, Teixeira had career lows in home runs, batting average, and runs. The Yankees have even more issues to address. Andy Pettitte, one of the strongest Yankees in the past couple of decades, like Rivera, announced his retirement. The team struck gold while trading for Alfonso Soriano, who played extremely well for the team. Blasting home runs and RBIs throughout his comeback tenure for the team, he kept the team in playoff contention. However, the likelihood of him repeating the same type of production for an entire 162 game season is close to zero. The team relied heavily upon 39 year-old Ichiro Suzuki. The sure-tobe Hall of Famer produced well below his career averages. His time to join Pettitte and Rivera as retired greats may come soon in the upcoming years. Thirty-eight year old Hiroki Kuroda, one of the more consistent Yankees performers the past two seasons, has made statements in the past of retiring or heading back to Japan. Outfielder Curtis Granderson is no exception to criticism, having under produced recently, while still being paid handsomely for his services. The Yankees have a lot of work to do before becoming championship contenders once again. With all the shortcomings the team has, manager Joe Girardi did an incredible job with the team. The team was in contention for a playoff spot until the last week of the season. He was one of the few bright spots for the team. However, there is a question of whether he will return to the team. With his contract reaching its conclusion, he has a number of options for his future. He could certainly return to the Yankees, and it would be a wise decision for the franchise to retain his services. However, other opportunities may come knocking on the door of the manager, enticing him to leave the Bronx. The Chicago Cubs have been rumored to be considering courting Girardi for its managerial position. The prospect of leading the struggling big name club into the playoffs and hopefully breaking the century-long championship-less streak may sound attractive to him. The Washington Nationals, a team filled with young talent, had a disappointing season and may look to Girardi as a new voice in the clubhouse. Fox Baseball will be looking for a new broadcaster alongside Joe Buck, as Tim McCarver is retiring. Girardi may be intrigued with this job, allowing him more time with his family. The Yankees can decide to either rebuild the team quickly through trades and free agency or completely blow the team up, starting from scratch. Either way, Brian Cashman and the rest of the front office have a formidable task in front of them.