The New York Yankees: A Franchise At A Crossroads

My friend Ben compared this year’s Yankees to the ‘03/’04 Los Angeles Lakers that didn’t win a title and blew everything up. The next season, everything was different. Legendary coach Phil Jackson was gone, megastar Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t back, and neither were several high priced former All Stars. That looks like a carbon copy of what could possibly happen this offseason for the Yanks; a disappointing season followed by complete turnover and utter disarray.
Joe Torre may not be back with the team he took to the postseason every year he was manager, and was well liked among players and fans alike. Although Lakers players may not have been very fond of Phil Jackson, they realized that he was one of the all time great coaches in NBA history. Shaquille O’Neal was traded that offseason, which rocked the league to its core. The same scenario could occur with baseball’s best player, Alex Rodriguez. He’s able to opt out of his contract and leave New York for the team that pays him the most money. And if superagent Scott Boras has his way (which he usually does), A-Rod could get a contract in the neighborhood of 12 years and 360 million dollars, which would balance the budgets of several African nations. The departure of Rodriguez, possibly to the rival Red Sox would have a titanic effect on the team’s lineup. There is clearly no player more valuable to this team than Rodriguez, even Derek Jeter. And if Rodriguez is the most valuable, the players that could potentially leave The Bronx are as precious as can be.
In addition to Torre and Rodriguez, the Yankees could lose both supreme closer Mariano Rivera and Catcher Jorge Posada via free agency. New York had the chance to lock Rivera up before the season began, but “Mo” will now give capitalism a whirl and explore the market. Rivera’s value has definitely decreased over the last year, but he still measures among the top relief pitchers in the American League, and other closing options out there include Todd Jones and Francisco Cordero. And to top that, Posada was only the best offensive Catcher in baseball this year, batting .338 with 20 home runs and 90 driven in. The potential loss of that battery would be devastating.
If that wasn’t enough, the list of players that could possibly be gone by Spring Training in February is staggering. Roger Clemens will not likely be back next year, Andy Pettitte could opt to play elsewhere, and the Yankees will be looking to deal Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and perhaps even Hideki Matsui. So the Yankees stars you’ve grown to know and love could be gone faster than you could say “Lake Erie Midges”. The team will need some bullpen help and a new first baseman for sure, but the entire team could be younger and far different than what was the norm for the better part of a decade. The new age of the Yankees could very well be upon us in 2008, or New York could resign their players and make one last run for the glory. Either way, the next few months will bring decisions that will shape the franchise for the foreseeable future. There will be millions of opinions, dozens of difficult choices, and only one thing for certain: the New York Yankees is a franchise at a crossroads, and only time will tell which path they choose.