Yankee haters rejoice. You appear to be set to have a great year. The 2011 Yankees are aging right before your eyes and they are not doing it gracefully. To predict that the Yankees will not be in the playoffs is not just going out on a limb; history would tell you it’s not all that bright. But even the biggest diehard fan of pinstripes can’t look at the current makeup of this team and think about magic in October.
The Yankees lineup is anemic at the moment. They do not have a regular batting over .300. In fact, they are not even close. Where would they be without Curtis Granderson? He leads them in home runs but his .280 average leads the team. Robbie Cano is a little better than average right now, but this is a guy people were calling an MVP candidate. Beyond that, it’s brutal. Derek Jeter is hitting .260 and looks every bit like a .260 hitter. He is going to have a great moment this summer when he gets to 3,000 career hits, but it’s the only thing saving him from being booed in the Bronx. Lost in the uproar over Derek’s Descent is the how poorly ARod has been hitting. He’s batting .250 with 22 runs batted in. The Yanks have gotten the same exact production from Russell Martin for about 1/20th of the money. Nick Swisher at .217? I expect Mark Teixeira to pick it up as he always does and I think Rodriguez will eventually get hot. But I don’t see Jeter ever getting back to being an elite player. You think Joe Girardi had a tough time benching/demoting Jorge Posada? Wait until he has to deal with the Captain.
You could see the Posada drama coming right down Broadway. Here is a guy who had an outstanding career with the Yanks but got way too much money for way too long in his last deal. That seemed to be a Steinbrenner driven contract that Brian Cashman resents and Joe Girardi is stuck with. Add into the fact that Girardi once lost playing time to a young and upcoming Jorge and you can feel the tension. Posada helped push it along by batting with less production that a National League pitcher. The “I apologize” moment on Sunday put it on the backburner for a few minutes. In many franchises he’d be the best ever at his position. Posada has a slew of big hits and big moments and 4 championship rings to show for it. But his days are numbered and if he doesn’t come up with some production, he could end up ending his Yankees career by getting released before September.
The sweep at the hands of the Red Sox was brutal for the Yankees, but it’s the least of their problems at the moment. While I applaud Jeter as the proud Yankee sticking up for Posada, saying Jorge did nothing wrong by getting out of the lineup on Saturday is a huge mistake. What Jeter should have said was that Posada had a bad day and after 15 years as a Yankee he should be cut a break for it. I think most fans (and even Yankee management) would agree. But to give him a pass for sitting out because he gets dropped to batting 9th (the only more appropriate place for a .165 hitter is the bench) had to infuriate the front office. Maybe Jeter is just preparing everyone for his own fall from grace.
Forget the pitching staff for the moment. They actually have been about what was expected this year. Forget the fact that Joe Girardi always tries to act like the smartest guy in the room (even when his moves say otherwise) Forget the fact that there is a new Mt. Steinbrenner ready to erupt in the owner’s box any moment. This proud but aging Yankees lineup looks much closer to ending the year with gold watches than Championship parades. The Red Sox are just better than them. The Rays are getting way more out of their level of talent. The Blue Jays can crush it. And that is just the AL East.
There are two main groups of baseball fans in Rochester. There are Yankees fans and there are Yankee haters. The first group has had many great moments and great years and can point to 27 Championships. The other group has had to spend many a summer and fall watching all that success. But this likes they are going to have a year to rejoice. This Yankees team is going nowhere fast.
