The most controversial off-season in New York Yankees’ history is almost at a close, yet George Steinbrenner remains nowhere to be found. With his health failing, the famously combustible owner handed over the reins to his sons, Hank and Hal, who were immediately faced with a great deal of conflict in the family business. While at first it seems hard to believe
that the battle-tested owner is stepping aside, a change in ownership was just the first of a series of adjustments that the Yankees hope will restore them to glory.
After a devastating loss to the Cleveland Indians in last year’s ALDS, the Steinbrenners offered Yankees manager Joe Torre a contract extension with a pay cut—a deal that the four-time World Series winner said they knew he would refuse. To the surprise of many, Torre resurfaced two weeks later as the incoming manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, taking coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa with him.
The team’s most fundamental change could come from newly hired manager Joe Girardi, whose short but successful managerial career makes him an ideal candi- date to light a fire under the team’s veterans and propel them to great success.
Yet despite the fresh perspective that Girardi hopes to offer, it must be noted that he is a longtime member of the Yankee family, having played for the team during their late ‘90s championship seasons, serving as Torre’s bench coach in 2005. The drama surrounding Torre’s departure proved to be the first wave of controversy, as the Mitchell Report on steroid use named 18 former Yankees and two current players, Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte, both of whom have admitted to their use of human growth hormone.
Even shortstop and media darling Derek Jeter landed in the headlines,with New York tax officials claiming he owed millions of dollars in state income taxes. The surprising charge was a blow to his normally squeaky-clean image, and Jeter quickly settled the case.
Perhaps the most startling aspect of this off-season was the lack of new player signings by the Yankees, fielding a nearly identical team to the one that imploded last October and sparked Torre’s dismissal. However, a closer look reveals that while the team didn’t bring in a new set of hired guns, they spent more recklessly than ever before to keep the team together. $113 million was spent to retain Pettitte, closer Mariano Rivera, and catcher Jorge Posada, who along with Jeter represent the team’s original core players—the last remnants of the ‘90s dynasty.
While this total may seem high for three players over the age of 35, it pales in comparison to the re-signing of third baseman and perennial whipping boy Alex Rodriguez.
Just as it appeared that Torre might lure the 2007 AL MVP to Los Angeles, A-Rod personally negotiated his own record-breaking $275 million contract (with $30 million in incentives), keeping him with the team for the next decade and giving him ten more chances to either win a title or be vilified every October.
The big question in the 2008 season concerns the impact that management will have on the team’s performance in their unrelenting quest for a World Series title. With last season’s lineup completely unchanged, the Yankees will depend on the development of their top three pitching prospects, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, contenders in the rotation alongside the beleaguered Pettitte and staff ace Chien-Ming Wang.
The three young pitchers who represent the Yankees’ only new blood will come under much scrutiny in New York, where a true youth movement is never an option. Ultimately, it can be said that times haven’t changed within the confines of the Evil Empire, what with two Steinbrenners in charge, a manager who lived through the glory days, and an all-too familiar lineup that hasn’t delivered a championship for nearly a decade.
Yet it stands to reason that a team steeped in such rich history would fail to embrace re-invention- For the New York Yankees, widescale change must be preceded by a truly catastrophic event, say, missing the playoffs or finishing behind the Blue Jays. That would be downright terrifying.
