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WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By Bull Allen. May 6, 2007: It was 42 years ago, and the New York Yankees had fallen into last place about this time of year. Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris got injured and just weren’t hitting. Johnny Keane the Yankee manager, could not do anything right. CBS had just bought the Yankees. The Bombers failed to win the pennant for the first time since 1959. The pitching staff was adequate with Mel Stottlemyre, Whitey Ford and Al Downing and Jim Bouton. The Yankees had even fired Mel Allen, their longtime voice. (For which they were cursed for eleven years before they won again. They finished sixth. Stood pat, and finished last in 1966. But they still had pitching. This year all they have is boppers, and rag arms, and lead gloves.
2003 World Series: Those Were the Days. Photo, WPCNR Sports Archive
2007 is looking really ugly in The Bronx. The madness reached a new high in yesterday’s announcement in grandstand fashion done over the public address system that the Yankees are bringing Roger Clemens in to save them is the most bush league thing the Yankees have done in some time.
That pathetic Yankee pitching staff was hiring Roger Clemens as a starter shows you just how low the Yankee farm system has sunk. They have nobody. Mount Vernon’s young pitcher could go down to Yankee Stadium and he would do better.
And, now Roger is going to take two weeks to get ready? This is a grand stand stunt. Maybe, just maybe, Roger can gives 4 good innings a game. I can hear John Sterling now: “Roger gave us a quality 4 innings, today, Suzyn” then look out!
Signing Clemens is like throwing in the towel. Heck, I’d sign Whitey Ford right now even though Whitey is 79 years old. Whitey had heart. And he is still in shape. Heck, I’d hire Whitey as my pitching coach and help these young hurlers and journeymen who have never been coached by anyone who ever got anybody out in a big spot.
Clemens has never won a big game in his life and is the most overrated 348-game winner ever in my opinion.
$187,500 a inning!
The Yankees signed him to a $28 Million contract — this for a pitcher who was 7-6 last year with Houston. They plan to start him June 1 against Boston. That should be fun
Prorated Clemens should make $18 Million for this “star turn.” He will, pitching once a week (every 5 days), start about 16 games. He will pitch 5 to 6 innings once a week. This works out to $1,125,000 a start — and $187,500 an inning– presuming Clemens lasts 6 innings a start.
The Yankees signed him to a $28 Million contract — this for a pitcher who was 7-6 last year with Houston. They plan to start him June 1 against Boston. That should be fun. And what if Roger gets injured? The Yanks may as well be taking $18 Million and burning it.
The trouble is the Yankees play 7 games a week. They need 4 other reliable starters. Emphasis on the word reliable.
Clueless Pitching Management
Ever since Mel Stottlemyre left as Pitching Coach, the Yankee pitching has gone in the dumpster. The persons who are making pitching decisions and managing them have not helped and the pitching is the worst I as a longtime Yankee fan have ever seen it. They overevaluate talent, and they do not coach it and develop it.
The Yankees have incredibly misjudged the depth and talent of their pitching staff, especially the flamethrowers in the middle relief corps. (Flamethrowers meaning they throw napalm on the fire. Or start one with the bases empty.)The Bombers are losing games because they have no one who can get anybody out consistently after the inconsistent starting pitchers have left the game. This was the problem last year that showcased itself quite clearly in the Detroit series.
The other weakness on the club is defense. The outfield in right with Abreu out there is weak. I never thought I’d miss Dave Sheffield, who was adequate. Abreu misjudges flyballs and Damien so far is undistinguished. Matsui cannot play all three positions. (Beware centerfielders used to short centerfields like Fenway Park). The defense on the right side of the infield is a pair of statues, and no one makes scoops at first base on bad throws. But can the pitchers make some good pitches in the clutch once in awhile? And stop with the walks?
The Yankees score runs and give up a lot of runs. They may wind up a lot like the 1930 Phillies who hit .315 as a team and finished dead last because their staff ERA was 6.71.
But, this Clemens signing is the last straw. Number one, you do not bring Pettite back. He’s not as good as he once was.
Number two, you do not bring back a guy (Clemens) who was giving you 5 to 6 innings a game, one good outing every other start, two years ago –and has no interests at heart except his own. He always has. This is stopgap fodder for the inane New York media – the most gullible press corps in the major leagues. Clemens has never been a real Yankee, nor was a real Red Sauk for that matter. He has always been about himself.
Over the next four months the Yankees have to reconstitute their youthful prospects and throw them and decide whether they can build a rotation around them next year. But who is going to do that?
They apparently have no prospects other clubs want to trade for in return for name pitchers. They are in bad shape. They could perhaps throw in the towel early and package some high priced talent like A-Rod for some good up and coming young starting pitchers in walk years and one solid middle reliever – just one. And Mr. Riviera needs a new pitch.
The Yanks the last three years have lost pennants and not gotten to the World Series because of their defense, because in the crap shoot of the short series, pitching dominates and defense has to be tight, and if you do not have a pitching staff that can shut down a potent lineup (Detroit comes to mind), you may not be able to score enough runs to overcome the defensive lapses.
Now we are seeing this play out in the regular season. Please, let’s not blame the strength and conditioning coach. This is lousy pitching and lousy defense that’s losing the games. This was particularly evident against Boston.
