Damaged Goods: The Demise of the Yankees

The demise of the New York Yankee dynasty begins in 2011. The Yankees have been to the playoffs 15 of the last 16 years, winning 5 World Series Championships during that span. Regardless of their playoff results over the last decade, the 1995 Yankees through present have been undoubtedly the greatest sports dynasty since the NBA’s Boston Celtics championship teams 1957 – 1974. There are several factors that lead to the beginning of the end of this great dynasty. The immediate concern for the 2011 Yankees is starting pitching. Andy Petite retired. CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes are quality top end of the rotation guys, however; after those two the Yankees rotation poses major questions. Can AJ Burnett bounce back from a horrendous last four months (4-13) of the 2010 season? The fourth and fifth spots in the New York rotation will come from the group of Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. Nova and Mitre combined for 1 win last year for the Yankees. Meanwhile, Garcia and Colon are well past their prime. Garcia, a 12 game winner last year for the Chicago White Sox after winning 5 games the previous 3 seasons, appears to the leading candidate of the four. Colon did not pitch in MLB last year. Another concern is father time. Derek Jeter is coming off the worst season of his career. The Yankee Captain hit .270 last year, and will be 37 this summer. Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in the history of MLB, continues to be one of the top relievers in the game. Rivera is 41, and one would think he will slow down sooner than later. While it is difficult to argue that a player that drove in 125 runs last year is on the decline; however, Alex Rodriguez is declining in power and average. A-Rod turns 36 this summer and had his lowest offensive numbers since 1997 in several categories including Home Runs (30), stolen bases (4), and batting average (.270). The Yankees farm system has made some improvements in the last few years. The Yankees have a collection of young, talented pitchers led by Andrew Brackman. Additionally, they have top catching prospect Jesus Montero. The problem with this is the lack of patience continually shown with Yankee prospects. As the Yankees start their eminent decline, there will be pressure by Hank Steinbrenner on Brian Cashman to win at any cost. That cost will be depleting a farm system that is finally showing some depth for the first time in years. It has been a dominant run for the New York Yankees. Like them or hate them, they have won over the last 16 years. They have won a lot. The end of a great Yankee era has come to an end. The demise of the Yankee dynasty is upon us. Until Next Time, C R Turley Twitter & Facebook