It seems weird that the Yankees season is over with
the World Series set to begin tonight. 
When I was a kid growing up in Iowa, there was a cartoonist who worked
for The Des Moines Register that used to say it wasn’t an official World Series
unless the Yankees were in it.  I have
always believed those words!  😉 

 

Seriously, it is interesting that we finally have a
World Series with two teams that do not have a history of World Series success.  For the Texas Rangers, they’ve never been to
the World Series, and for the Giants, they’ve never won a World Series since
they moved to San Francisco although they have made a couple of trips.  Given that I live in the Bay Area and the
Giants have generally been my preferred NL team over the years, I’ll be pulling
for them tonight as they embark on Game 1 against the Rangers. 

 

There are no active Giants players with ties to the Yankees
organization, however, the Yankees do have a presence through the coaching
staff and back office.  The two most
notable individuals are GM Brian Sabean who started in the
Yankees front office working for George Steinbrenner and pitching coach Dave Righetti.  I always chuckle when I think of Rags as a
pitching coach.  Please don’t get me
wrong.  I think he’s a terrific coach and
he was a great player, however, when he was young…before he “made it” to the
big leagues for good, he used to struggle with his control.  So, he was the guy who needed such intensive
coaching and now he is the master.  I
lived in Dallas for 14 years and during many of those years, Rags was the
Yankees closer.  So, I have so many
memories of Rags closing out games in Arlington, Texas.  So, in many ways, he’ll be returning to an
area that he is well familiar with and has enjoyed success.  Hopefully, he’ll be able to pass on that
success to Tim Lincecum and company. 

Some of the other names in the Giants organization
who have past connections to the Yankees:

 

Roberto Kelly, First Base
Coach

I remember being upset when the Yankees traded
Kelly to the Cincinnati Reds for Paul O’Neill. 
Ha!  I think that trade worked out
well for the Yanks.  Sorry Roberto…

 

Hensley Meulens, Batting Coach

I remember when “Bam Bam” was a much-hyped
youngster with so much promise.  He never
achieved success with the Yanks and was eventually sold to a team in Japan.

 

Henry Cotto, Coordinator,
Baserunning

Cotto was a bench player for the Yankees during the
lean years (1985 to 1987).  I think of
him more as a Chicago Cub although he only played one year for them
(1984).  He had an undistinguished career
but he definitely could run.

 

Lee Smith, Coordinator,
Pitching

Lee is obviously better known for his great years
with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, but he was with the Yankees in
1993 toward the end of his career.  He
was a late season pickup and did well during his short stint even though the
Yankees did not that year.

 

J.T. Snow, Special Assistant

Snow, the son of former Los Angeles Rams great Jack
Snow, was originally drafted by the Yankees. 
But he was traded in the deal that brought Jim Abbott to New York.  He had some productive years for the Angels
but he achieved his greatest success with the Giants.

 

Dick Tidrow, Vice President,
Player Personnel

Tidrow is definitely one of the more notable
Yankees as he played a very prominent role in the Yankees bullpen during their
two championships in the late 70’s.  As a
kid growing up, he and Sparky Lyle were the faces of the bullpen. 

 

Fred Stanley, Director, Player
Development

Another player from those World Championship clubs
of 1977 and 1978, “Chicken” backed up shortstop Bucky Dent and was a valued
reserve during those years.

 

Joe Lefebvre, Senior Adviser,
Player Personnel

Drafted by the Yankees, he only played for the team
one year (1980) before moving on to the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia
Phillies.  However, he did play a part in
helping the Yankees win the AL East Division that year.  I remember 1980 as the year the Yankees won
103 games but lost to the Kansas City Royals in the play-offs resulting in the
firing of late manager Dick Howser (back when George had a very itchy trigger
finger when it came to managers).

 

This “prayer” was making its rounds on email
yesterday.  I do not know who the author
is:

 

Our Father who art in San Francisco, baseball be thy
game.  

Thy will be done when the World Series is won on the field,

as well as in the bullpen. Give us this day our
bat and glove,

and forgive us our errors, as we forgive those who home run against us.  Lead us not into defeat, but help us beat the
Rangers…with the help of the Beard, the Buster and
the Dirty Dozen.

Amen.

 

Here’s hoping the former Yankees enjoy a World
Series championship in 2010!

 

As for the Yankees, they are apparently negotiating
a new 3-year deal with manager Joe Girardi. 
I am glad to see that they are working to resolve Girardi’s situation
quickly so they can focus on the critical needs of the team.  GM Brian Cashman acted very swiftly in
announcing that pitching coach Dave Eiland would not return.  I have no issues with the decision.  The Yankees starting pitching underperformed
this year, and A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez were the biggest reasons
why.  I also think that Phil Hughes was
capable of more than he showed down the stretch.  I am not sure who’d be the best candidate to
replace Eiland.  Hey, I’d love to see
Dave Righetti back in New York but unfortunately he’s not going anywhere.  Hopefully, Cashman and Girardi will be very
selective about who they chose for the very important role.

 

I saw this morning that CC Sabathia will be having
minor knee surgery.  While this procedure
does not sound serious, I hope it is not indicative of the start of future
problems associated with CC’s weight. 
This does show how critical it is for the Yankees to secure another ace
for the staff.  Like everyone else, I am
strongly in favor of signing free agent to be Cliff Lee, however, I am very
dismayed at the reports of the poor treatment his wife received from the
Yankees fans during the ALCS at Yankee Stadium. 
That type of abuse is completely unacceptable and it is an embarrassment
to be associated with those types of Yankee “fans”.  I use the term “fans” very loosely because
those idiots are very poor representation of “fans”. 

 

Hopefully, this does not keep the Lee’s from
considering an offer to join the Yankees. 
I know it will be a tough, uphill battle to sign Lee as it is, and they
certainly did not need ill-treatment by the fans to give Mrs. Lee a strong
reason for not wanting to come to New York. 

 

I want the core Yankees to return (Derek Jeter,
Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte). 
However, I do not feel that the Yankees should overpay to convince them
to stay.  So, if it is time to sever
ties, I am prepared as I feel the money would be better served to help bring
younger, more talented (at this stage of their careers) to New York to help
pursue a championship in 2011.  Of the
core, I think re-signing Mariano Rivera is the most vital.  He is still performing at a top level,
although the Yankees would be well served to re-sign Kerry Wood if
possible.  I don’t want Derek Jeter to
leave but at some point, he is going to start becoming a liability at
short.  I’d rather see the team cut ties
before rather than after that happens.  I
want Andy Pettitte to return, but I would not want to see high expectations
placed on him.  Put him in the #4 or #5
spot in the rotation and be satisfied with the results if he decides to
return.  I didn’t mention the last core
member, Jorge Posada, since he is still under contract.  However, I am ready for a change at
catcher.  Just like the Boston Red Sox
moved Jason Varitek to a reserve role, the Yankees should do the same with
Jorge.  At 39, he is past his prime at
the catching position and now is the time for the highly heralded Jesus Montero
if he can show in spring training that he is ready for the job.  If the Yankees do sign Cliff Lee, it would be
great to see Lee pitching to Montero since Montero would have been the cost of
a trade with Seattle to get Lee before they reneged and moved him to Texas.

 

As for the Hot Stove League rumors, I have to admit
that I am somewhat intrigued by the potential of bringing Jayson Werth to New
York to play right field.  As much as I
like Nick Swisher, he is a streaky hitter and hasn’t shown the clutch bat in
October like Werth has.  Of course, I
would love to have Carl Crawford in left, but I think right is a greater
need.  I fully expect Brett Gardner to
continue to improve.  Granted, he is no
Carl Crawford, but his speed is very disruptive on the bases and he showed a
much better ability to get on base this year.

 

Brian Cashman definitely has his work cut out for
him this off-season.  It should be
interesting…

–Scott