YANKEES NEED TO DO SOMETHING – JUST NOT “ANYTHING”

The Yankees are clearly in a tailspin and the fan base is looking for some fast, immediate fixes. The pitching especially looks completely unreliable. Even guys like Michael Pineda, who were rock solid until the recent skid, have come apart. It does not help when Masahiro Tanaka and Jacoby Ellsbury, arguably our best pitcher and best hitter when healthy, are on the mend. Never mind all the fielding errors. I could sit here and crank out a bunch of moves the Yankees could make to bring up kids from AAA or some trades they could make. Instead, I want to focus on what is going through the minds of the leaders. Recent events around baseball have reminded me of how much this is gut-check time for the front office as well. Many have criticized them when they sat idle and not made moves. Many others criticize the moves they do make. Everybody has an opinion. While it is not clear what they will do to get this team back on the rails, pressure is mounting to do something. “Do something – ANYTHING!” the saying goes. That “something” has the potential for huge success as well as a complete disaster.

Look at what is going on in Miami with Jeffrey Loria and the Marlins. There is a reactionary leader if ever there was one. At the end of April, he publicly supported then-manager Mike Redmond after he was riding a 5-game winning streak, then proceeding to win four of the next five after Loria’s comments. Almost two weeks later, Loria fired Redmond and replaced with the now demoted former General Manager Dan Jennings. I do not know Jennings, but what I have read says that he is a good guy. Still, you have to question the leader’s judgment when they place a manager who has no experience in the job. He never held a job at the major league level of manager, coach, player, or anything at all that would require him to put on a uniform and step into a major league dugout or ballpark. If you follow the thinking that doing something is better than nothing is, then take a picture because this is what it looks like. The Marlins had lost 8 of the last 11 games Redmond managed before being fired. That should sound somewhat familiar to Yankee fans. For the record, Jennings has lost his first five games as manager. I feel bad.

Now look at what the Oakland Athletics have been doing. This year has been terrible for them. As of now, their record is 14-30 and they are in last place. The team has many issues to deal with, but they identified defense as being a top priority – they are worst in the league in fielding percentage (.972) and errors (46). In fact, the second worst team in errors is the Milwaukee Brewers with 37 – almost 20% fewer. That is how far off the mark the Athletics are. So who do they look at for help? Well, Ron Washington helped the 2006 team come in second in the league in fewest errors and highest fielding percentage. Many players responded very well to his coaching in those years. Eric Chavez credits him for making him the fielder he was. Remember that he had a run of six consecutive Gold Gloves that ended when Washington left (he never won another). This team knew they would benefit from a veteran presence with a successful track record in the exact areas where they need help. So, they went out and hired a person who wasn’t even looking for the position - because they knew he was the person for the job. It is too soon to tell how much of an impact it is going to have, but I expect things to improve significantly. That kind of dynamic thinking and strategizing gets me excited. Besides, Ron Washington is a nice guy and he deserves another run on a major league baseball team.

The Yankees are in a bad place right now. Something needs to change to get the team playing to where they should be with the players they have. I have read a lot of stuff about how George Steinbrenner would have never stood for this, and that he would have dealt with this by now. Not to take anything away from his legacy, but remember that George Steinbrenner dealt with the problem when he traded the unproven Jay Buhner for the solid Ken Phelps. This was not the only example, but you get the point. They say that you make the worst decisions when you are under pressure and not thinking rationally. I do not know what Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi are thinking, but I know they are under pressure. I fully expect that change is coming, and soon. So it falls to them.

Do something. Just not “anything”.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row







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