On December 3rd 2007, I published an article titled “Say Yes to Santana.” Granted it wasn’t the best piece of journalism, however the message was clear and I hate to say I told you so, but… well… I told you so.
Of course you can jump on Hank Steinbrenner’s band wagon and blame the lost season on injuries, but that’s the easy way out. I’d rather blame the season on Brian Cashman, particularly his inability to pull the trigger on the Johan deal. Let’s take a look at some numbers:
Phil Hughes: In 6 starts, he’s 0-4, with a 9.00 ERA, a 2.14 WHIP, and .362 BAA.
Ian Kennedy: In 9 starts (10 appearances), he’s 0-4, with a 8.17 ERA, a 1.92 WHIP, and .309 BAA.
Melky Cabrera: In 401 at bats, he has a .242 BAA, 8 Hr’s, 39 Runs, 36 RBI’s, and a .296 OBP.
Alan Horne: Has started fewer games for the Yankees than Carl Pavano in 2008 and isn’t getting younger.
Johan Santana: In 27 starts, he’s 12-7 (which would probably be 20-7 with the Yankees bullpen behind him), a 2.64 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and .233 BAA.
The next Cashman blunder was not getting CC Sabathia mid-season. When the trade was made between Milwaukee and Cleveland (July 8th), the Yankees’ starting pitchers consisted of Joba Camberlain, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Sidney Ponson, and Darrell Rasner (who was getting his starts skipped if the Yankees had an off day). Chien-Ming Wang went down a month before that and Joba didn’t establish himself as an ace until later that month, when he beat Beckett at Fenway (July 25th). Boston was 4 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees, while Tampa Bay was 6 1/2.
Considering that the Yankees still had 71 games on the schedule to play, they had plenty of time to make a come-back, and it was clear that the they needed a big arm (no pun intended) to get them past Boston. Plus, if you combine CC with Ponson, the Yankees could’ve demolished any team in an eating contest. Milwaukee did give up a lot to get him, but he was the 2007 AL Cy Young, and went 3-0 in his last five starts with Cleveland, while dropping his ERA nearly a run in that stretch.
If you combine Johan or CC with the success of Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, and the bullpen, this would be an entirely different season. I hate to make judgments on Hughes, Kennedy, Cabrera, and Horne, because they are only 22,23,24, and 25 years old respectively, however this season holds historic weight. This was the first year under the Joe Girardi regime, while being the last season to be played in the current Yankee Stadium. I spent over $2000 on two tickets for All-Star weekend (Futures Game, Home-Run Derby, and the All-Star Game), however when I look back at this year, I will unfortunately couple that great weekend, with the disgraceful season of the 2008 Yankees.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but I’m not talking about one year wonders. Sabathia has 114 wins and a 3.73 ERA in his career (8 seasons) while Santana went 70-32 with two Cy Youngs from 2004-2007. Sure Santana and CC’s arm will probably fall off in the next few years from being over-worked, and Phil Hughes could be a Cy Young winner, however we don’t know any of that for sure. The only things we do know is the Yankees currently have a 7.3% chance of making the playoffs (according to coolstandings.com, as of 8/25) and are on pace to have the last game played at the current Yankee Stadium be a regular season game. Worst of all, the Yankees are now depending on Carl Pavano to lead a late playoff push.
