Yankees' Holes, Looking Forward To The Future

The New York Yankees seem to be cruising, playing like that team we all expected to jump to the lead of the AL East right from the start.  But as summer approaches, one must worry about several holes:

1) Piling up old veterans (a la Ortiz)

No fan likes to see an old guy try to hit, but fail miserably and end up with a low batting average and an embarassing home run total.  Hideki Matsui is fast approaching that status:

.256 BA/8HR/22RBI/.342 OBP

Jeter's average is almost higher than Matsui's OBP. 

Damon may be be having the best year of his contract, but he is too old...time to go at the end of this season.  I'm happy to let Pettite go too. Those back problems will only get worse. He won't last the whole season.

2) Too young in the bullpen

Cashman has been trying to "inject" (haha) some youth into the club, since the whole A-Roid thing didn't quite work out.

But some of these guys haven't put in enough time at AAA to be pitching in the bigs.  The Yanks should ask Theo how to develop their pen, he's done a great job with Masterson, Delcarmen and Papelbon.  (That trade for Ramon Ramirez certainly didn't hurt either.)

The Yanks need to get some young, experienced bullpen help.  I would suggest someone with a skill set like Ryan Madson of the Phillies, with a more manageable contract.  Matt Thornton of the White Sox is having a great year...Brad Ziegler put up impressive numbers with Oakland last year.

3) Smarter GM choices:

Brian Cashman's decision to hold onto Melky and Hughes looks smart but why could he have traded IPK, Ohlendorf, Jose Tabata and Jeff Marquez for Santana a year ago?  Imagine having had a rotation of Johan, Wang, Joba and Hughes going into this past offseason.  They wouldn't have gotten CC, but could've been a little more economical.

How do the Yankees manage to get Nady-DL and Marte-DL while our hated rival, the Red Sox manage to get another possible MVP candidate in Jason Bay whose first 6 weeks of the season were outstanding.

I must applaud Cash for stealing away Mark Teixeira from the Red Sux. 

Please don't waste money/prospects going after Matt Holliday in July. 

With Melky hitting the way he is, he stands to remain with the Yanks for a while.  Austin Jackson (AAA) sits waiting for his chance in 2010.  Swisher is signed through 2011, although he makes for nice trade bait.  Maybe sign one outfielder this offseason, but make sure they can contribute, and they won't be a total playoff bust like A-rod. Crawford(TB) and Bay are intriguing options. 

Get a solid youngster in a trade to fill in the back end of the rotation for the future.  Brian Bannister (KC) is a good option.  No way will Burnett make it through 5 years without a major trip to the DL.  CC may leave after just 3 years.  Wang becomes a free agent in 2011 I believe (Not sure?)  Joba and Hughes will surely be around for years to come

When the time comes, don't be afraid to pull the trigger on minimizing Jeter's role.  Ramiro Peña looks pretty good, although he needs much more development.

2010 NYY Line-up

CF-Austin Jackson

2B-Robinson Cano

1B- Mark Teixeira

3B-Alex Rodriguez

LF- Jason Bay/Matt Holliday/Carl Crawford/Other???

DH-Nick Swisher

C- Jorge Posada

SS- Derek Jeter

RF-Melky Cabrera