As the saying goes, no story in New York is small. Neither was the Yankees’ collapse. And definitely the offseason soap opera that will inevitably ensue.
And as the world turns, so too do heads in the Bronx with anxiety and uncertainty.
Will the captain be ready for opening day?
How bad is CC’s elbow?
Will “The Sandman” ever pitch again?
But most chief among them and undoubtedly the most asked query of them all: what went so wrong?
Following an American League Championship Series sweep at the hands of Detroit in which they were outscored 19-6, the Yankees will face an uphill battle just to erase the tread marks the Tigers left covering their pinstripes. The Bronx Bombers left Comerica Park Friday night with their tails between their legs, looking far different from a team that led the American League with 95 regular-season wins.
For just about every team in the Big Leagues, just making it to the league championship series is cause for celebration and validation of a successful season. Not in New York.
Heck, if Old Man Steinbrenner were still around, general manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi would’ve probably gotten the heave-ho by now
Even without him, the Yankees are a team still relying on the elderly.
This season, the average age of the Yankee pitchers was 30.3, while Yankee hitters were 32.7 on average. This made them the oldest team in baseball by an average of more than a year over every other team.
A problem? Not necessarily. Not as long as they’re producing, according to Cashman.
“I don’t care if it’s old; I care if it’s good,” he told reporters following the ALCS.
Fair enough, but are they really getting better?
Of New York’s six starting hitters over 30, only Jeter and Nick Swisher didn’t see a steep decline in production or miss significantly more time due to injury when compared to previous years. And Swisher will likely leave in free agency.
Even more alarming may be the ages of New York’s starting pitchers
At the conclusion of the season, the Yankees’ top three starters were all 32 or older: CC Sabathia (32), Hiroki Kuroda (38) and Andy Pettitte (41).
While the Yankees do possess a few young talented arms in Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova, their recent performances shouldn’t exactly inspired confidence. Pineda isn’t expected to return from arthroscopic labrum surgery until 2013’s second half, while Nova was dropped from the rotation late last season after several poor outings following injury late in the season.
All this, never mind Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod underperformed and missed extensive time for the second straight season due to injury.
To cap it off, Girardi pinch hit Raul Ibanez for him on multiple occasions in the postseason, further fueling rumors of the lightning rod’s dealing.
While he has said he would listen to trade offers for Rodriguez, Cashman has all but defused any rumor of the Yankees trading A-Rod, saying he doesn’t expect him to produce like a superstar anymore.
But the general manager better not stop with A-Rod because it won’t be long before fans become restless with a team that isn’t getting any younger.
