The Problem with the New York Yankees

Okay.

So it's May 30th, and the boys from the Bronx are 14.5 back—and sharing the AL East basement with the mighty Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Yikes! What went wrong here? I can't remember such a group of underachievers in pinstripes since the 80s. Is that Duran Duran I hear? Is it 1986 again?

Mookie—is that you?

There's no doubt the problem starts with Brian Cashman and Joe Torre. Something has to give if the season's going to be salvaged. Is it as simple as canning the guys in charge?

This Yankees fan who lives in the shadow of Fenway Park doesn't think so.

Where is Derek Jeter in the equation? DJ is a future Hall-of-Famer, one of the best Yankees I've ever had the privilege to watch. He brings it every night—has since the first day he walked into Yankee Stadium.

Now he needs to get his teammates to do the same. 

Take what happened in Toronto last night. The Yanks lost because no one was paying attention. Jeter has to realize that not everyone approaches the daily grind with the same fire he does—and he has to find a way to bring the players around him up to his level.

Torre, on the other hand, needs to realize he's not managing the teams he had in the late 90s. You won't find a Paul O'Neill busting up the water cooler in this bunch—these Yankees are in it for the money.

Oh I just went 0-4? Let me tell you about my latest tax shelter...

Tough to stomach, even for a diehard fan.

And Cashman? He needs to realize that stats can't generate chemistry in the clubhouse. The Yanks have a payroll as high as the GDP of some African countries—and what do they have to show for it? Not much...besides a team that falls asleep at the switch.

As for the players—I'm really at a loss here. Carl Pavano, in the immortal words of Henry Ford: "Ninety percent of life is showing up." You can't even do that. What does $40 million buy you these days? Try five career wins.

And is it just me, or does Carl look like an extra from Zoolander?

(And while we're at it, isn't Bobby Abreu swinging the bat like he's been hanging out with Lindsay Lohan?)

Anyway, it seems the Metropolitans and the Blow Sox are on a collision course for the 2007 World Series. Ugh—talk about an October nightmare. At least this summer won't be a total loss...I do need to catch up on my reading.

Anyone know when the Pats start training camp?