Then again, maybe he doesn't.
The best way for the New York Yankees to handle this... is to go about the business of getting ready for 2011. There are a lot of ballplayers out there looking for jobs who can help the Yankees, or any team. Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Cliff Lee... and maybe Derek Jeter. The Yanks have several needs that have to be addressed, unless they want to enter a stretch that resembles the 1981-1994 malaise they found themselves in. The Yanks won 5 World Titles, 7 AL pennants, and most of the available AL Eastern Division titles in the last 15 years... a historic run. Along the way they paid players handsomely for the purpose and privelege of hoisting numerous trophies, wearing lots of 'official' clubhouse T-shirts, and spraying gallons of champagne against plastic tarps during those tired made-for-TV but don't get my $15oo wardrobe-wet celebrations.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a lifelong Yankee fan. I sat through the Roger Maris for Charlie Smith years, when Red Barber was panned and canned for insisting the cameras panned the empty seats at the old decrepid Yankee Stadium, where 5000 people showed up to watch an old decrepid Yankee team. Old Timers'Day was a huge draw in those days... not just because of the nostalgia, but because you seriously thought those gimpy old greats could still outplay the guys actually on the payroll during the mid to late '60s.
When blustery G. Steinbrenner showed up, bought the team, and blasted everybody responsible for the mess he saw out of the room, I was glad. And when he backed his tall talk with even taller action, I was even gladder. And when I first saw some of the 'new' Yanks show up... kids like Randolph and Guidry... and Geo Steinbrenner open up his wallet for talent abroad, like Jackson, Chambliss, Nettles and the Goose, I was thrilled. Sure, he misfired a lot. But he reloaded, took counsel, and took aim again. And the Yanks got it right. You dont have to love the Yanks. But most of the seats, even in this 'down' economy, are still full most of the time. Somebody is still doing something right.
Until now. The Yanks are in danger of getting old. It's hard to wrap your brain around it. It's harder with people you brought up yourselves, in life and in baseball. The so-called 'core-four'... Andy Pettitte is contemplating retirement, not because his competitive fires are diminished, but because he sees his kids are damn near as mature and ready to take on life as, say, a young Derek Jeter, fresh of the Michican campus. Andy doesn't want to miss it, and probably wonders how it all happened so fast. Heck, Posada took over from his manager, who was smart enough and savvy enough to parlay one closing door into a newer, wide-open one.
All of the 'core-four' are way past baseball middle-age. They are all showing signs of mortality. The only questions about the decline are the angle of the slope and how slippery the slide will be. Will it be Rocky Colavito fast or Henry Aaron slow but more graceful? But there is sadly no question... it will be. And it will be soon.
Question: How much does the Yankee brass want to mortgage their future paying again for a fading past. And how much will the New York Yankee fandom pay to watch a great but aging group of stars lose their glow?
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