Death, taxes and the New York Yankees at the top of the American League East standings – three certainties of life.
Okay, so we’ve slightly amended Benjamin Franklin’s saying, but it sure does seem at times as though the Yankees being in first place is a given. After all, you have to go back to 1997 to find a different AL East Champion. It’s been 13 years since the Pinstripers last missed the playoffs (and of course, that predates the days of the Wild Card).
To put in perspective the rich history of the club, consider at 1,000 wins and counting, Joe Torre (who has been at the helm for this entire run of excellence) only ranks as the fourth winningest manager in team history. And bear in mind he’s just the 31st manager in Yankee history.
As for 2006, with a lineup filled with MVP winners and all-stars, a rotation fronted by a future first ballot Hall of Famer and a possible Hall of Famer plus a bullpen that features the greatest closer in baseball history, the recipe is there for another World Series run in 2006.
Although they are often vilified for it, the fact that the Yankees are willing to open their wallets every season to bring in the talent needed to win is really an enviable trait, one which we all wish our teams followed.
Best of all for the Yankees is the farm system appears to be ready to contribute some talent soon that can supplement an extremely veteran-laden lineup, or at least act as trade fodder.
RECENT HISTORY
As mentioned above, the Yanks have known nothing but success in the last decade and a half. Despite this golden age, that includes a run of five consecutive 95-win seasons, New York has failed to win a World Series since beating the Mets in the 2000 Subway series. They’ve been back twice since then, losing both times.
But considering 2000 was the team’s third straight championship and fourth in five years, the current drought is actually concerning to a generation of fans used to winning it all.
Especially bitter are the pills the team has swallowed the last two seasons. First in 2004, when they became the first team ever to let a 3-0 lead slip away in a league championship series, losing to archrival Boston who rubbed salt in the wound by going on to break The Curse. And last season, the Yanks failed to get past the division series for only the second time since 1998, both times being victimized by the Angels and their unstoppable Rally Monkey.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The team got off to a sluggish start this season, winning just one of its first five games. But since then, the Yanks have been on a 15-7 tear, including winning their past three and five of six to move into a tie for first place in the AL East with – who else? – the Boston Red Sox.
Although a few Yankees have been struggling, this team is driven by its offensive might. The lineup is deep enough to hurt you one through nine, a claim only a few other teams can make.
Patience at the plate, always a Yankees trait, has again been their calling card. The team is tied with Boston atop the American League by drawing 3.95 pitches per at-bat, thanks to AL leader Jason Giambi (4.68), Derek Jeter (4.14) and newcomer Johnny Damon (4.06).
They currently rank third in runs and in BA, but just ninth in homers among American League teams.
Reigning MVP Alex Rodriguez has been scuffling so far, so much so that he was dropped to fifth in the order – the first time he didn’t hit cleanup all year, although Torre insists that lineup change was an error. Still, the move seemed to provide the tonic for A-Rod to shake his slump, so he may stay in that spot for a while. Rodriguez was just 1 for his last 17 and 2-for-22 heading into action Friday before recording his first multi-hit effort since April 25. After hitting .321 last season, he’s batting only .260 this year and he’s striking out almost once per game while he’s already been caught stealing half as many times as he was all last year. He’s traditionally a better second half player, so Rodriguez owners need not panic.
Gary Sheffield hurt his left wrist and hand last week and returned to the lineup Friday. However, it looks like this problem may land him on the DL and if this is something that will linger over the course of the year, it could prove problematic. Sheff has no plans to get cortisone shots as he did with a similar injury four years ago. He’s been relatively healthy since then, and was off to a nice start this year (batting almost .330), although his power numbers are down, and wrist woes won’t help him there.
Hideki Matsui had been slumping but recent adjustments have helped him start to break out. He’s gone 5-for-9 since snapping a 5-for-33 drought.
Damon is fitting in well as the team’s new lead-off hitter and centerfielder, and he came up big last week with his fifth career grand slam to help the team start righting the ship. He’s scoring a run per game and is batting .309 through 110 at-bats with 56 total bases, 10 doubles and four homers. Best of all, from a fantasy perspective, Damon is running again, closing in on double-digits in steals already after failing to reach 20 in either of his final two seasons with the Bosox.
Jeter is off to a phenomenal start, batting .365 through 104 at-bats with 60 total bases, nine doubles and a pair of triples. He’s struck out just 15 times compared to 22 walks. Overrated? According to a recent poll by a New York newspaper, 78.6 percent say no, but of course they may be biased. Still, how can a .365 hitter be overrated? He recently endured his first slump of the year (3-for-20), but broke out of that this weekend.
Giambi is having a true renaissance, batting .301 with a whopping .726 slugging percentage through 26 games. The AL’s Player of the Month for April has four doubles, nine homers, 29 RBI and a tremendous 32/15 BB/K ratio.
The Yankees are getting a solid performance from their rotation, with a collective ERA of 4.24, good for fourth in American League. No AL team has surrendered fewer homers than the 19 the Yanks have given up. And they rank second in runs allowed and third in opponents batting average.
Leading the charge is Mike Mussina. After two straight middling seasons, Moose is enjoying a tremendous rebound this year. He’s off to a 5-1, 2.35 (third best in AL) start, leading the team (and ranking second in the AL) with 42 Ks in 46 IP. He’s also third in the league in WHIP and, with Randy Johnson struggling, Mussina has emerged as the team ace so far. He’ll need to step up again this week against the Red Sox.
The Big Unit may not be a Cy Young lock anymore, but he’s still a winner, joining Mussina as the team’s two five-game winners so far in 2006. However, Johnson has struggled in three of his past four starts, and his ERA is uncharacteristically now over 5.00. In 23 IP over that stretch, he’s surrendered 19 runs, 25 hits and nine walks, with just 11 strikeouts. Torre, perhaps trying to relieve some of the pressure off Johnson, has suggested that “it’s unfair to think he’s going to go out and dominate every single time out.” Everyone involved is confident the real Randy Johnson will emerge sooner or later, but this must be concerning the team more than it’s letting on. As for his owners, patience is probably recommended at this juncture. But if he’s still not dominating in a month, keeper league teams that are not contending will need to think about dealing him.
On the plus side, in his last start Johnson became just the third pitcher in major league history to surpass 4,400 career strikeouts.
Jaret Wright has been a bust since arriving in New York last year. At 0-2, with an ERA over 5.50 through four games (one in relief), things don’t look much better this year, but at least he’s been healthy (so far). Wright has been shelled for 20 hits and 14 runs (10 earned) in 16 IP. His next turn in the rotation will be skipped, as with off days coming up, the Yanks don’t need a fifth starter again until later this week. He will not be available out of the bullpen unless there’s an emergency, Torre has said.
Chien-Ming Wang is not showing the same good control he displayed in his rookie year, and given how few he strikes out, that’s going to be a problem. With 14 walks and three wild pitches in just 35 IP, Wang will be hard pressed to duplicate his success from last season unless he improves his command.
Don’t forget about Carl Pavano. He’s been strong in his recent bullpen sessions and was scheduled to make his first minor league rehab start yesterday. He may only need three rehab starts before he’s ready to step in to the rotation, a move that should spell the end of Wright as a rotation member.
Mariano Rivera also got off to a poor start, having already lost a couple of ballgames, but was back to being the Mo of old, retiring 12 straight batters over four appearances before earning a shaky sixth save of the season Friday night. His ERA is down to 3.00 and he’s now fifth in the league in saves. And you know he’ll be at or above the 40 mark with his usual microscopic ERA by season’s end.
Mike Myers, the other player the Yanks stole from the dreaded Red Sox, has been lights out as the lefty specialist, recording an ERA just over 1.00 with only six hits allowed in 8.1 IP.
Kyle Farnsworth, another significant bullpen addition this off-season, has been far more hittable than usual in a set-up situation, although he can still rack up the Ks (14 in 11 IP).
Tanyon Sturtze hasn’t been nearly as effective in his set-up role as he was last season, and he’s been bumped down in the pecking order. He’s been burned for 10 hits and six runs in 8.2 IP, although he has managed six Ks.
The bullpen could soon get a boost when Octavio Dotel returns. Currently tossing bullpen sessions and soon to move on to pitching in games, Dotel expects to be back by the end of the month. Adding a pitcher with 71 big league saves who has averaged almost 11 strikeouts per nine innings over his career should offer a significant upgrade to the club’s pitching staff.
Current Lineup:
Johnny Damon, CF
Derek Jeter, SS
Gary Sheffield, RF (possibly headed to the DL; Bubba Crosby would likely take his place)
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jason Giambi, 1B
Hideki Matsui, LF
Jorge Posada, C
Robinson Cano, 2B
Bernie Williams, DH
The Rotation:
Randy Johnson
Mike Mussina
Chien-Ming Wang
Shawn Chacon
Jaret Wright
The Bullpen:
Mariano Rivera, closer
Kyle Farnsworth, setup
Mike Myers, setup
ON THE HORIZON
These are by no means the Yankees’ top 10 prospects, but perhaps the 10 most likely to make a contribution at some point this season or in 2007 (bear in mind, however, some of these players are not on the team’s 40-man roster).
Kevin Thompson, a 26-year-old outfielder, looks like he’s mastering the Triple-A level. A 31st round pick in 1999, the speedster has 20 runs in 26 games with nine RBI, a nice strike zone command (14 BB/20 K) and four steals (caught just once). He’s batting .286 with developing power (.439 SLG) and an OPS of 816. Thompson is a streaky player, but he should definitely make his big league debut this year, especially with fourth outfielder Crosby struggling in New York.
Veteran third baseman Russ Johnson, a non-roster player, is showing nice power at Columbus with four doubles, a triple and five homers through 29 games. He has 29 hits, 50 total bases and has struck out just nine times with a decent .364 OBP. The 33-year-old is a lifetime .264 hitter in 364 major league games.
Outfielder Mitch Jones is showing improvements in his second year at Columbus, with nine doubles, four homers, 15 RBI and .281/.384/.500 through 96 at-bats. But the team’s seventh round pick in 2000 is now 28 and strikes out too much (25 Ks this year, 174 last season). He’s also a non-roster player, but the Clippers’ clean-up hitter has been known to put on awe-inspiring batting practice displays and has a definite power bat that could help a major league team searching for more pop.
The Yanks, so successful in aggressively promoting Cano last year, hoped to have similar success with outfielder Melky Cabrera when they found themselves in need of a centerfielder in 2005. But, according to Torre, Cabrera was “professionally immature” during his six-game trial last season. So the 21-year-old is back at Columbus this year and he’s been on fire. Through 29 games and 114 at-bats, he has six doubles, 21 RBI, 61 total bases (.535 SLG), 10 walks (.421 OBP) and has been caught stealing just once in four tries. Cabrera, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2001 and moved quickly through the system, is ready for another shot with the team.
Strangely, one of the farmhands who could play a key role for the Yanks this year is anything but a stranger to big league baseball. Scott Erickson – yes, that Scott Erickson – has been the best reliever for Triple-A Columbus. He was solid in spring training and might have broken camp with the team had he not hurt his back near the end of the pre-season schedule. Through 15 IP, he has a sparkling 2.40 ERA with just seven hits and six walks allowed. Triple-A pitching coach Neil Allen said “he’s been dynamite,” showing great sink on his pitches. Erickson, a 14-year veteran, is now 38, but should the team need a righty for the pen, he’ll get a look.
Matt Smith, up with the parent club earlier this year, should get another look at some point. He chalked up three perfect appearances for the Yanks and continues to pitch well in the Columbus pen.
Shelley Duncan, a 26-year-old first baseman, is repeating Double-A, but he looks ready to move to the next level. The Yanks’ second round pick in 2001 has 16 runs, five homers, 55 totals bases (.550 SLG), 16 walks through 100 at-bats and is batting .280. His father is Dave Duncan, the Cardinals’ pitching coach.
Vince Faison went 20th overall to San Diego in 1999, but his career has been a colossal disappointment so far. Still, he’s just 25 and the outfielder is batting .290 through 21 games at Double-A Trenton with 11 RBI and 29 total bases. Last year he had to go to independent ball to get another shot, but he wound up hitting for the cycle in one game and drew enough attention that the Yankees brought him into their organization.
Lefty reliever Charlie Manning struggled in his Triple-A trial last year, but given his dominance at Double-A this season, the 27-year-old is ready to make the jump again. He’s 3-0, 1.31 through 10 games and 20.2 IP, with one save and just 11 hits allowed (no homers). Manning was the Yanks’ ninth round pick in 2001 and has been the steadiest reliever at Trenton this season.
Among starters, the Yanks could definitely have something on their hands in righty Steven White. The 24-year-old, taken in the fourth round in 2003, struggled at Double-A last year but has really figured it out this season. He’s 1-0, 1.78 (eighth in the Eastern League) through six starts and an EL-leading 35.1 IP. He’s given up just 26 hits, no homers and 15 walks, striking out 26 and compiling a 1.16 WHIP.
PROGNOSIS
It’s very early in the game – many don’t pay attention to much until Memorial Day – but the Yanks are off and running again this season. In fact, despite the slow start, at 13-10 through April, the Yanks were actually well ahead of last year’s pace when they got off to a 10-14 start before taking off with a 17-10 May. In fact, April was the best opening month to a season New York has enjoyed since it roared out of the blocks at 21-6 in 2003.
As always, great attention will be paid to the head-to-head matchups with the Red Sox, and so far New York has lost both games – one to the Red Sox and one to Mother Nature. And those who look forward to those classic battles don’t have long to wait. Starting tomorrow night, the Yanks play three against the Bosox in the House that Ruth built. Johnson, Mussina and Shawn Chacon are slated to pitch for the Yanks.
In two weeks the favor will be returned when Boston hosts New York for three. And by the time a four-game set at Yankee Stadium in early June is completed, we should have a pretty good idea how these two teams stack up against each other in 2006. Much later in the season, they have four in Boston in mid-August and the season series wraps up in the Big Apple with three in mid-September.
Regardless of the outcome of those Red Sox games, this team is built to last. Whether it is in fact an Evil Empire, as described by Red Sox ownership a few years back, is up for debate, but there’s no denying what owner George Steinbrenner has created is empirical in nature. And the support continues to be fabulous. Through a dozen home dates this year, the team is averaging over 47,000 fans, up over 1,000 per game from last year’s pace.
It’s clear that this Yankee machine is showing no signs of derailing for many years to come.
NEXT: Spikes Up returns next week, May 15. We’re thinking of doing a division report, as that’s something we haven’t looked at for a while. Basketball fans should check out Three in the Key, next appearing May 16.
Comments? Questions? Criticisms or witticisms? You can reach me at rob@creativesports.com if you’d like further information or have a question you’d like me to answer in an upcoming column. Have a suggestion for a column or want to hear analysis about a particular player? Feel free to write. I might even answer!
Rob Blackstien is a freelance writer and the principal of Pen-Ultimate (www.pen-ultimate.ca), a Toronto-based writing and editorial services firm. Position Battles, a column he writes for www.rotoworld.com, also appears on usatoday.com and foxsports.com.