Former Yankee and 2006 NL manager of the year, Joe Girardi has agreed to manage the Yankees for the next 3 years. I always thought Girardi was the favorite for the job because Don Mattingly was too much like Joe Torre, in that he was laid back and considered a player's manager. After Torre rejected the Yankees, one year incentive contract, new team spokesman, Darth Jr. (Hank Steinbrenner) made it quite clear that the Yanks wanted to go in a new direction with the new manager. Girardi had more experience then Donnie Baseball, and in his year with the Marlins he showed he could take a bunch of kids and get them to win. He also showed that he could ruin the arms of a young pitching staff. In 2006, The Marlins rotation featured young starters Dontrelle Willis, Josh Johnson, Scott Olsen, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez. In 2007 Johnson, Nolasco and Sanchez all missed significant time due to arm injuries. Willis and Olsen both saw their ERAs rise over 5.00, possibly due to the heavy workload from the year before. The 2008 Yankees rotation, could feature young starters Phil Hughes (21), Joba Chamberlain (22) and Ian Kennedy (22), hopefully the organization will be monitoring the innings their young future aces will be throwing.
It is also being reported by various media outlets that the Los Angeles Dodgers will be hiring Joe Torre and that Don Mattingly will be following Torre to La La to be his bench coach. Also, Mattingly's son was drafted by the Dodgers in 2006.
What impact do these moves have on the future of the Yankees 5 major Free Agents? C Jorge Posada, RP Mariano Rivera, P Andy Pettite, P Roger Clemens, and 3b Alex Rodriguez. All of these players have stated publicly their support for former manager Joe Torre, and that whether or not he returned to the Yankees would impact their decisions. Will some of these players follow Torre at to LA? Lets take a look:
C Jorge Posada-Chances of following Torre seem unlikely, due to LA having a future star at C, Russell Martin, and James Loney at 1b, It doesn't seem like Posada would be a good fit in LA. I have read that Posada would be interested in staying in NY and possibly playing for the Mets. If Posada leaves the Yankees do not have much behind him and would be looking to sign a Free Agent possibly Paul LoDuca , or Michael Barrett.
RP Mariano Rivera-I think their is a good chance Rivera would follow Torre, especially to the weaker NL, where he could face weaker lineups. The Dodgers used Takashi Saito as the closer last year, but he was signed to a 1 year deal and will likely be resigned, but could slide into a set-up role with flame thrower Jonathan Broxton, givng the Dodgers a nice back end to their bullpen. There has also been talk of the Phillies pursuing Rivera to close and the Red Sox would entertain the thought of bringing in Rivera to set up for Papelbon and further weaken the Yankees. Could you imagine the WWE like atmosphere, if next year when the Yankees are playing the Red Sox at Fenway and "Enter Sandman" hits and the announcers are like Oh my God that's Rivera's music!
SP Andy Pettite- I think there is a good chance Pettite retires, but if he has learned anything from his buddy the Rocket, he will take as much time as possible to decide his future. Pettite has spoken highly of his relationship with Torre, but he did leave for Houston in 2004. Also Joe Girardi was his personal catcher when Girardi was playing for the Yankees.
SP Roger Clemens-I really hope Clemens finally retires, If he doesn't I don't see the Yankees giving him another 28 million.
3b Alex Rodriguez- A-rod chose to opt out of his contract making him a free agent, his agent Scott Boras took full advantage of the opportunity to upstage game 4 of the World Series by declaring A-rod would be opting out of his contract. Boras denied that intent, stating that he had submitted paperwork to the Yankees and MLB and was under the impression it would be announced on Monday, however when Fox put on Ken Rosenthal to make the announcement, Rosenthal said, I just got off the phone with Scott Boras and he told me.... So you be the judge whether Boras was promoting for A-rod and himself. The Yankees front office has been pretty up front that if A-rod opted out that they would not negotiate with him. Darth Jr. said A-rod must not have wanted to be a Yankee, I only want players who want to be Yankees. It was speculated that the Yankees were preparing to offer A-rod an extension that would have tacked on another 5 years at 3o million per year to the remaining 3 years on his previous contract. Boras stated that A-rod opted out, because of the uncertainty surrounding the Yankees manager (as of Sunday) the status of key free agents (discussed above) and the general direction of the team. Boras is said to be looking for a 12 year 360 million dollar deal that would lock A-rod up until he is 45. I'm not sure any team can afford this. The favorites appear to be the Angels who have been looking for a bat to put with Vladamir Guerrero for some time. The Giants will have some space with Barry Bonds not coming back, but San Fran appears to be entering a rebuilding process and unlikely to sign another long term Free Agent deal after last year's disappointing Barry Zito (also a Boras client) deal. Also unlikely A-rod is looking to be part of a rebuilding process. A possibility the Dodgers could get involved, although they are looking to promote Andy LaRoche to full time duty at Third, A-rod could go back to ss, shifting Furcal to 2b or the of, depending on whether the Dodgers pick up Jeff Kent's option. Another factor is the Dodger's dislike for dealing with Scott Boras, after client JD Drew opted out of his contract last offseason. The Cubs are another team mentioned but they spent so much money last offseason and committed to Carlos Zambrano during the season coupled with the fact that Aramis Ramirez is locked up. A-rod would play SS, but unlikely he goes to the Cubs. The Red Sox seem content to resign World Series Mike Lowell, and its unlikely A-rod would be accepted in the Red Sox clubhouse after playing for the Yankees. That leaves the Yankees with utility guy Wilson Betemit, the 3b Free Agent market is fairly weak especially if Lowell Resigns with Boston.
There is a lot of uncertainty following the Yankees and their Free Agents heading into the offseason. The Yankees also will feel the pressure of moving into the New Yankee Stadium in 2009 without some of its core players. Yankees fans need to prepare themselves, for the possibility that next year's Yankees could have a much different and perhaps younger look. The Yankees will not necessarily be rebuilding, but it will be hard to replace the Hall of Fame talent they will potentially be losing.
