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Retro night at Yankee Stadium

In that we're bringing back the 80s! Yes, when Brian Cashman smashed the panic button into 125 pieces, he reacted pretty much like those classic Yankee teams in the 80s did in the midst of a pennant race when they'd dump off... oh, I don't know, perhaps an extremely promising outfield prospect for a non-fielding left handed DH. Only this is a little different - the blood isn't on the ground yet (well, a little), but the knife is out, and the background music has stopped, leading to that eerie quiet.

Let's take a look at the changes, shall we?

1) AAA 2B Robinson Cano becomes Yankees full time 2B - Well, that's kind of something that we were expecting, although not so soon. Cano was the systems top 2B prospect, and figured to either be playing second for the Yankees eventually, or be shipped off for someone else's veteran second baseman. However, Cano wasn't overly impressive last season, so that time was expected to be in 2006 at the earliest. Cano has impressed in AAA, however, and from that early look, seems to be ready. Is he? Well, that's what option years are for. The move would seem to eliminate the need for Tony Womack, however...

2) Yankees current 2B Tony Womack becomes full time LF - Back when Tony Womack was a young speedy player (back in the mid 90s), the Pirates played him at second base, where he didn't play badly, but made a few more errors than everyone liked. Due arbitration and seeing the errors, the Pirates dumped him off to Arizona for magic beans and Jason Boyd. Arizona, not willing to put Womack anywhere near shortstop and already having Jay Bell at second and gold glover Steve Finley in center, dropped Womack in right field, where he played a respectful right field (no doubt helped a bit by Finley). While Womack wasn't a horrible defensive right fielder, he was still what he was - a corner outfielder with a .370 slugging percentage. Corner outfielders are some of the most common position players to find in the minor leagues. Most players who set home run records in the minors are corner outfielders due to their number - the best player on your AAA team is most likely a left fielder, right fielder, or first baseman, mainly because these are the three positions christened by managers as the positions that "anyone" can play. That being said, it's laughable that the Yankees don't have someone in their minor league system that can come up and play a corner outfield position. Hell, even on their bench they don't, which leads to Womack playing left. Womack is playing left because...

3) Yankees current LF Hideki Matsui becomes full time CF - I called this one 18 months ago. While I (and pretty much any Yankee fan) loves Bernie Williams, between injuries and age, he's shown that he shouldn't be playing the outfield anymore, at least not center. This was made embarrassingly obvious a few days ago when on a shallow sacrifice fly to center field, Bernie couldn't reach the pitcher's mound. Bernie's never been a "highlight reel" center fielder, which has kept him in center for this long - his knowledge of the field allows him to make up for a lack of speed by knowing how to read the balls and position himself correctly. There's no need to dive for a ball when you're already under it. Matsui played center the last time Bernie missed a chunk of time, and played quite well there. While I don't think Matsui will win a gold glove any time soon in center, I think he's a decent replacement. But what of Bernie?

4) Yankees current CF Bernie Williams becomes a fourth outfielder/DH/pinch hitter - The (necessary) spin on this is that the move is only temporary, that Bernie just needs time to "rest" and heal up. Bernie on the bench is nice, but that bench becomes incredibly crowded with what seems to be the same player. On that bench are Bernie Williams (whom they won't let play the field now), Jason Giambi (ditto), and Ruben Sierra (when he comes back from the DL, oh, and ditto) to go along with the regular cast of bench characters in John Flaherty (necessary backup catcher), Andy Phillips (experiment), and Rey Sanchez (Tony Womack with less speed and better fielding). What happened to current bench jockey/fourth outfielder Bubba Crosby?

5) Yankees current bench jockey/fourth outfielder Bubba Crosby becomes a Columbus Clipper, AA starting pitcher Sean Henn enters Yankees rotation - Henn isn't expected to stick around - he's just taking Randy Johnson's rotation turn to rest Johnson, who is nursing an injury.

So what does this mean for the Yankees? Well, right now the Yankees get to see three players (one on a more limited basis) who they hope they can use in Chien-Ming Wang (already with one start under his belt), Cano, and Henn. Henn is 24, so his jump from AA isn't exactly groundbreaking, although he has limited minor league experience. He's been lights out for Trenton, and considering the AAA starting pitcher options, Henn's not a bad crapshoot. I bet the Yanks would kill for Brad Halsey right now.

I personally think the Bernie move is temporary. He's been having shoulder problems for a while now, with the belief last season that Kenny Lofton would take the stress off of Bernie playing every day. With the disgruntled Lofton being shipped off to Philadelphia, that put Bernie back in center field regularly. Allowing his shoulder to heal and putting him in left when he's healed (where he wouldn't have to cover as much ground and his throwing troubles could be covered up a little better) allows him back into the lineup, where he's still a better offensive fit for the team than Womack is.

As it stands though, the 25 man roster is a little crowded. Tanyon Sturtze is set to return soon, and eventually Jaret Wright and Ruben Sierra will return. Assuming that Henn returns to the minors after his start and Johnson is healthy, you're left with the following players fighting for spots:

Bernie Williams
Jason Giambi
Andy Phillips
Bubba Crosby
Rey Sanchez
Ruben Sierra

Now, there's no way that Williams gets released. It's doubtful that Giambi gets released either. Phillips and Crosby have options remaining, and both could be considered expendable with Womack going into super-utility mode. Also thought to be expendable would be Sanchez, who would probably refuse assignment if demoted and become a free agent. In reality, if the Yankees are dedicated to having Cano on the roster, the need to keep Sanchez, a light hitting middle infielder who is in his mid 30s, is minimal. It's nice to have a good fielding infielder on the roster, but not necessary - a veteran middle infielder could be signed in a pinch. There's enough of an argument to boot Sierra off the roster, but Torre seems to be in love with him, and he's at least a decent bat off the bench, seemingly better than any other the options right now.

The pitchers are the ones to look at right now, because there's the most volatility there. Cashman has stated that he only wants to carry 11 pitchers on the 25 man roster. Here are the candidates:

Kevin Brown
Tom Gordon
Buddy Groom
Sean Henn
Randy Johnson
Mike Mussina
Carl Pavano
Paul Quantrill
Mariano Rivera
Felix Rodriguez
Mike Stanton
Chien-Ming Wang
Tanyon Sturtze
Jaret Wright

That's 14. We're assuming that Henn gets sent down, so that takes it down to 13. So, which two to get rid of? Johnson, Mussina, and Pavano are set in the rotation. Rivera is the closer, and not going anywhere. Gordon, despite his recent troubles, is still set. Wright isn't getting released, but then again, he may never come off the DL. Stanton and Groom are actually pretty secure, being lefthanders, and the team wants to have two lefthanded pitchers in the bullpen. Torre is in love with Sturtze. Quantrill isn't likely to be released.

Seemingly, the pitchers in danger seem to be Kevin Brown (who got hammered again), Felix Rodriguez, and Wang. Wang is set in the rotation until Wright comes back, so their roster spots are seemingly interchangeable. However, if Wang impresses and Brown continues to falter, the Yanks could bite the bullet and cut Brown. It's not on the same level of cutting a Bernie Williams - there will be no fan outcry (or likely team outcry) if Brown is jettisoned from the roster. If Brown somehow returns to form before Wright returns and Wang pitches well, then the Yankees are left with an even tougher decision. They can either keep Wang in the rotation and move Wright into a long relief role, or put Wright into the rotation and send down Wang. While the obvious answer might be to keep Wang in the rotation if he does well, there is the pressure of keeping Wright in the rotation to justify his salary - something not unthinkable.

Rodriguez seems to be in trouble when Sturtze returns. Having already voiced his displeasure about his use this season, Rodriguez has a small enough contract (and enough of a positive past history) to be shipped off, if the team is willing to pay most of the bill.

Any way you slice it, it's a mess. I'll probably explore this further in the future.