How To Fix The Yankees

The New York Yankees 2008 season seemed to pose the same questions as a jilted lover who tries desperately to get back an ex-girlfriend, "What did I do wrong?" "What do I need to change?"  She's heard all the same excuses and is completely fed-up with the repetitious end result.  That girlfriend feels a lot like baseball in the Bronx. 

Here are a few suggestions on how the Yankees can reclaim the love of the Bronx.

The Yankees need to play more small ball

Take notes from the 2003 Florida Marlins and the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies. Championship teams manufacture runs whenever they can.  The Yankees cannot afford to let scoring opportunities be washed away by overpriced players who fold in the clutch. 

The 2008 season resembled an island of stranded runners the size of Manhattan, so changes need to be made.  For this reason I say try to move Robinson Cano.  His inability to bunt has become detrimental to the team and he is still young enough to get good value (possibly a starting pitcher) in a swap.

Invest in Good Pitching

The Yankees need to invest in young hard throwers with great control who can take over a game once a week.  Sounds simple right?  Granted this is never an exact science but I think we can all agree that if the Yankees made a play for Johan Santana things could have been different.  I think C.C. Sabathia is the closest to a sure thing that's available and with about $75 million to spend in 2009 he could be a Yankee stopper for quite some time. 

Last season was a good example of having bad pitching with the Yankees pinning their hopes to two rookies in Phillip Hughes and Ian Kennedy who did not record a win all year.  Sidney Ponson, Darrell Rasner, and Carl Pavano are certainly not the answer and if Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina don't come back the Yankees will need a major overhaul as opposed to adding a few pieces.  Either way the Yankees need to address pitching this off-season.

Free Agents

Besides the obvious need for starting pitching another move that could point the Yankees in the right direction is signing first basemen Mark Teixiera.  After years of paying 20M a year for Jason Giambi I don't think they can afford to let a .300/30/120 player who switch-hits and plays great defense get away, even if it means paying a little more. 

Incidentally, Teixiera made $12.5M in 2008.  Another area of concern for the Yankees is centerfield.  Sticking with Melky Cabrera doesn't seem to be an option and with few quality centerfielders on the market this may need to be a rental. 

I like Mark Kotsay, he's above average defensively and his bunting ability and speed could prove beneficial in a lineup of power hitters.  This quick fix buys the Yanks a year to better develop Brett Gardner or possibly sign 2010 free agent Carl Crawford. 

If one thing remains constant it's that the Yankees will spend money this off-season, the question is whether it will be spent wisely.  The need to invest in young players is crucial, with nearly $75M coming off the payroll this year I believe the Yankees are in a unique position to win now while planning for the future.  Hopefully the love will not be lost in the Big Apple.