Don't Break up the Yankees

Since when did it become folley to put together the best team possible? Collecting the best possible talent should not be the goal of the general manager? I can kind of buy that for football. It makes more sense for basketball. Having guys willing to accept specific roles is a necessity. You'd like to have great all around players at every position. They still need to be able to work as a unit.

Baseball, though, is a series of individual battles. It behooves you to have the best possible players. You can certainly construct a roster with players picked to fill specific holes. If you can build a lineup of All Star calibar players, why not do it. The Yankees had the best lineup they could buy. It did what it was supposed to, won the American League East and got the Yankees in the playoffs. From there, it's in Fate's hands.

That's not good enough. After a 3 game losing streak, the Yankees are supposed to make drastic changes. 6 years and going without a World Series triumph means there must be something wrong with the franchise as a whole. Steinbrenner's out of control again. Joe Torre's lost his touch. Alex Rodriguez is too much for Captain Clutch to overcome.

Forget that they've won their division every year since 1998. Forget that they've made the playoffs every year of the wild card era. Two weeks ago, when everybody was calling this the best lineup ever, is ancient history. Somehow, they were stupid enough to put too much talent into their lineup.

I'll tell you what happened. They ran into bad luck. They faced a bunch of young Tigers pitchers who just happened to shut them down. If the Yankees had dropped 3 out of 4 games during the regular season, nobody would have thought anything of it. That's baseball, you have your ups and your downs through the course of the season. Do it in the playoffs, though, and they start questioning the heart of the players.

I am not a Yankees fan. I hate that the past two years I've reacted negatively to their elimination. Last year, I wanted to see them win it all for A-Rod and to annoy White Sox fans. This year, I just can't deal with the overreaction. Everyone wants to fix the Yankees.

I'll tell you how to fix the Yanks. Get some starting pitching. This time, stay away from the Jaret Wrights and Carl Pavanos. Fix the bullpen. It was such a strength at the turn of the century. It's been a struggle the last couple years. Leave the lineup alone. If they decide to let Sheffield walk, don't be afraid to bring back Soriano or sign Carlos Lee. For God's sake, don't trade A-Rod for anything less than Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard. Keep the All Star lineup. Win another division title. Get back into the playoffs. Hope the matchups and luck goes your way.