How I'd Fix The Yankees

Well, the 2007 baseball season has been over for more than a week now (by the way, congratulations to the 2007 World Champion Boston Red Sox; as for you, Boston sports fans, the moratorium on “woe are we” talk begins now and, should you remain championship-less for the indefinite future, ends somewhere around 2025). I already miss baseball.

That being said, I’ve always loved the machinations of the baseball offseason. As much as I love baseball and watching the games, I’d almost want to be a fly on the wall of the Annual Meetings as a viewer at a postseason game. When I was a kid, I used to play “general manager” by myself and try to fix the wrongs of the late 1980s-early 1990s New York Yankees.

Now, I’m old. Some of my interest in being a general manager has been quelled through playing fantasy baseball, which I’ve done on and off since my junior year of high school. That being said, I love this time of the year – the so-called “Hot Stove League,” where baseball executives whittle through the winter months in an attempt to better their teams.

As a Yankees fan, this offseason’s already been a hectic one. There’s been a switch at the helm; exit Joe Torre, enter Joe Girardi. The coaching staff has also been overhauled [Ron Guidry and Joe Kerrigan are out, Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa are California-bound; meanwhile, Mike Harkey, Dave Eiland, Rob Thomson, and Bobby Meacham assume coaching duties]. Alex Rodriguez seems definitively gone from third base, and Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettite’s futures all hover with uncertainty.

So, I’m going to do what I used to do so often in my childhood. I’m going to reshape the Yankees. Here now is what I would try to do if I were the general manager of the Yankees. I’ve tried to make all trades relatively reasonable (that is, to say, somewhat feasible and reasonable – there will be no trades of all-stars for single minor league players, and no salary dumps without rational decision-making behind it).

First trade: I would offer the San Francisco Giants a package of OF Hideki Matsui and SP Chase Wright for Noah Lowry. San Francisco would benefit from having someone as unflappable as Matsui take over Barry Bonds’s left field position, and Wright is a decent lefty who could start or relieve in the big leagues. The Yankees were a better team last year with Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon in the outfield. Lowry is a good lefty starter, and would capably fill a #3 or #4 spot in a Yankees rotation, striking that balance of youth with experience.

Second trade: I would offer the Florida Marlins the following package for 3B Miguel Cabrera: SP Darrell Rasner, SP Matt DeSalvo, SS Alberto Gonzalez, and 3B Eric Duncan. The Marlins would get DeSalvo, who will be a starter, and Rasner, who could swing between the rotation and the bullpen, as well as AAA starters Duncan and Gonzalez. This deal would need to be contingent upon a contract extension for Cabrera.

Third trade: I would offer the Texas Rangers RP Kyle Farnsworth for OF Marlon Byrd. The Yankees would need to pick up some of Farnsworth’s salary, and Byrd would be a far better fourth outfielder than the other options.

Fourth: I would absolutely, completely resign Posada, Rivera, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, P Luis Vizcaino and C Jose Molina. In free agency, I would also attempt to sign RP Francisco Cordero.

My 2008 Yankees team would look thusly:

Starting Lineup:
LF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
RF Bobby Abreu
3B Miguel Cabrera
C Jorge Posada
2B Robinson Cano
DH Jason Giambi
1B Doug Mientkiewicz
CF Melky Cabrera

Bench:
C Jose Molina
IF Andy Phillips
IF Wilson Betemit
OF Marlon Byrd

Rotation:
Chien Ming Wang
Noah Lowry
Joba Chamberlain
Phil Hughes
Mike Mussina

Bullpen:
Mariano Rivera
Francisco Cordero
Ross Ohlendorf
Jose Veras
Ron Villone
Jose Vizcaino

I would have Ian Kennedy and Humberto Sanchez begin the season in AAA, but they’d be the first pitchers up to fill spots. I’m just going to assume that Carl Pavano would spend the entire season on the disabled list. As much as I love Shelley Duncan, I think he’d start the year in the minors as well.