Is Steinbrenner Sharpening His Axe?
Aggravating April can’t be sitting well with the Boss




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
May 2, 2005

The calendar has turned another month and George Steinbrenner’s stomach may be turning as well. After watching one of the worst April’s in New York Yankees’ history the owner of the most storied and expensive team in sports may be on the verge of making some moves of his own. The question is who is going to be the first recipient handed a pink slip and more importantly when is it going to happen?

The Yankees have only won two series since Opening Day, taking two of three against Boston and sweeping Toronto in an abbreviated two-game series in Canada. They finished the month 11-14. Not exactly the kind of record teams sporting $200M budgets should be accumulating. The Month of May didn’t start out any better either as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays overcame an ineffectual Yankee bullpen and 6-3 deficit to take the rubber game of the weekend series with an 8-6 victory. The loss dropped the Yankees further back in the race for the East Division as they fell 7.5 games behind the division leading Baltimore Orioles. There’s no denying the obvious any more. This team is in complete disarray.

Something’s got to give. But, when you start analyzing this team where do you start? Hitting appears to be the least of the Yankees problems. As of today the Yankees rank fourth in the American League with a .273 team batting average. They are fourth in runs scored, SLG% and tied for second in OBP. The Yankees are third in home run production and fourth in RBI. Offensively, the Yankees are hanging in with the league leaders.

This brings us to the pitching, which has been horrendous. The Yankees pitching staff, which is usually among the league leaders has fallen way off this year. In what was supposed to be a new and improved version of last year’s staff has begun the season well below expectations. The Yankees' pitching staff ranks 11th (out of 14 teams) in overall effectiveness. Opposing team batting is averaging .303 and an OPS of .810 against them. Carl Pavano is the most impressive starter to date, as he has amassed an ERA of 3.10 with two wins and two losses. Randy Johnson, who is the centerpiece of the staff, has struggled since his Opening Day start against Boston. So far Johnson has accrued a 2-2 record with an ERA of 3.74. For mere mortals that’s not too bad a start, but for a pitcher of Randy Johnson’s stature it is below par. Johnson’s ERA average over the past five seasons is 2.86. Mike Mussina has been a Yankee for the past five seasons. Last year, Mussina struggled to a 12-7 record with an ERA of 4.59. So far this season the Moose has blown up with an ERA of 4.97 in five starts.

Rounding out the pitching staff is Jaret Wright (9.15 ERA in 4 games started) and Kevin Brown (6.63 in 3 games started). Wright was signed based upon the strength of his record with the Atlanta Braves in 2004. Wright compiled a 15-8 record in 32 starts and had an ERA of 3.28. Steinbrenner signed the right-hander to a 3-year deal at $7M per year. Wright is currently on the DL with a right shoulder problem.

Kevin Brown has been a huge disappointment since coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year for Jeff Weaver. Brown at one time was one of the most intimidating pitchers in baseball. In 1996-97 Brown totaled a mark of 33-19. He led the Marlins to a World Series championship over the Cleveland Indians. In the off-season Brown signed a-then astronomical 7-year contract with the Dodgers for $105M. The Yankees in wanting to get rid of Jeff Weaver as quickly as possible took on the remaining two years of Brown’s contract, plus all the amenities (such as private jets to fly his family to New York). Brown spent the entire 2004 season mired in controversy. First, he pitched poorly against every team not named the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and he spent two tours on the disabled list. The second stay was due to a self-inflicted injury. Brown took his frustrations on a sub-par season by punching out a clubhouse wall, breaking his left hand in the process. Because of this act of stupidity and selfishness Brown missed most of September, and angered his owner, manager and teammates.

Brown needed to start quickly this season to overcome some of the ill will he developed. However, in his first two starts Brown looked nothing like a pitcher who used to have some of the filthiest stuff on earth. Brown gave up 11 runs in 12 innings pitched on 19 hits. In his third start KB deserved a shot at the win, but a lack of offensive support sent Brown to his third straight loss.

The relief corps has not been an innocent partner in this debacle. From top to bottom the middle relief and closer has had their share of problems. Without going into all the examples available the bullpen has not performed as expected. The one bright spot has been 39-year old Buddy Groom who has yet to surrender a run. Without Groom’s numbers in the picture the relief corps has an ERA of 4.53. Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera have combined for four blown saves and it appears the middle relief cannot be relied upon to keep a lead.

It may be time for a change in pitching coaches. Mel Stottlemyre no longer appears to be able to fix problems. Last year his pitching staff had an ERA of 4.69. Pitchers such as Jeff Weaver, Jose Contreras and Javier Vasquez who never seemed comfortable in New York were unable to get out of their funks. Stottlemyre never seemed to be able to correct what was wrong in their heads. Javier Vazquez, especially, stated he had no idea what he was doing out on the mound when he had his second half problems. Apparently, neither did Mel Stottlemyre. Vazquez was another in a growing line of pitchers who were unable to thrive at Yankee Stadium.

Maybe it’s time for a new manager. Joe Torre has been at the helm since 1996. Success came early and often for Torre, who won four World Series rings in five years. However, since the Subway Series of 2000 the Yankees have been to the Fall Classic twice (2001 & 2003) as overwhelming favorites only to walk away empty-handed. It has now been four years since the Yankees tasted champagne and the Boss is getting thirsty. Although, Torre just signed a new 3-year extension job security isn’t guaranteed as Steinbrenner won’t hesitate to jettison his popular manager if he thinks it will shake up the club in a positive way.

One thing is for certain. This team is running on six cylinders instead of eight. It seems the more money Steinbrenner pays out the less he gets in return. He has bankrupt the farm system over the past several years in pursuit of the World Series championship he feels belongs exclusively in New York. Twenty-six of those babbles already line his trophy case so who can blame him? What one can blame him for is continually depleting his minor league system of potentially star players in pursuit of veteran players whose best years are behind them. The Yankees get older by the year and more and more starters do time on the disabled list. The average age of the Yankees is 34.1 years. These guys aren’t getting any younger. Who do the Yankees replace these aging players with down the line? The Yankees have painted themselves into a corner. They need to develop players like they did when Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada came up from the minors. Spot trade for veterans like Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez or Scott Brosius. That seemed to be the formula for winning championships. No superstars, just hardnosed, professional players who knew what it took to win.

As has been said many times, a baseball season is a marathon and not a sprint. The Yankees still have time to turn this campaign around. However, they need to quit limping and start running if they want to have any chance of playing in the post-season. Another month like April and Yankees’ fans can start making other plans for October.

PLAY BALL!


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