Kobe's Flip Flopping Leads Us to the Next Topic in Sports

Since the non-story of Kobe's trade demand is over, it would be pointless to write a blog figuring out what team he might get traded to. He's not going anywhere, end of non-story. Instead, talking about the second biggest story in the sports world would be much more productive. No it's not about how the Spurs are going to the NBA Finals (where they are undefeated since Timmy joined the team), nor is about how the Finals are in serious jeopardy of having a lower television audience than the NHL Playoffs if Lebron and the Cavaliers fail to defeat the Pistons for the second year in a row. The second biggest story is about the New York Yankees and their unimaginable (except by Red Sox fans) lack of productivity causing them to be behind Boston 13½ games back in the end of May.

For the first time in over a decade, the Yankees are in serious jeopardy of failing to make an appearance in the playoffs. The questions then comes up, what is wrong with the Yankees and how can they fix themselves? For the first month of the season, their entire starting rotation besides Andy Pettitte managed to be placed on the DL (Wang, Mussina, Pavano) or not live up to their expectations (Igawa). The hitters were hitting and even though the Yankees were behind Boston, everything seemed fine. They had an excuse; if you take three starting pitchers from any team, put them on the DL, that team will not do even close to how the Yankees did in April. That fact that they led the league in runs scored in April proves this. Then came May when panic set in, in New York City. The pitchers returned from the DL and for the most part pitched very well; but then the hitters (besides Jeter and Posada) decided to put their talent and enthusiasm on the DL. To this day, it hasn’t returned.

To put out some facts and figures to show you how bad the hitting has been, in their past 20 games, the Yankees have scored an average of 4.2 runs per game. The Kansas City Royals, who are the worst team in the league (19-35) have also scored an averaged of 4.2 per game in their last 20 games. The Washington Nationals, who are believed by many finish their season in last place, have scored an average of 4.8 runs per game in their last 20 games. How does a team with an all-star at every position score less than the widely-accepted worst team in baseball? I see only two explanations; either the fire and team concept are lost among the players or the manager is not doing his job.

I remember watching the Yankees when I was younger, back during the dynasty. They were the only team in the league who did the high-pound when teammates returned to the dugout after hitting homeruns. This showed that they were unique and that they were part of one team while everyone else would do the high-five. In fact, as recent as last year when the Yankees won a league best 97 games, they showed signs of unity. Giambi and others started to grow moustaches, which looked pretty bad but hey, as long as they’re getting along, whatever. The cross-town Mets all shaved their heads as part of a team this season. Now, you look at the high-fiving Yankees, and they show no signs of club house unity trying to encourage each other to do well. They sit on the bench slouched over a la Homer Simpson when he was benched during the company softball game, looking completely out of it.

Some believe this problem is Jeter’s fault as part of his responsibility as team captain. Others believe its Joe Torre’s fault for not lighting a fire under Yankee players. I’m one of the people who have to look at Torre for this problem. It’s the manager’s job to talk to the team and get them ready for every game. He doesn’t necessarily have to pick up bases and throw them around or kick dirt at the umpires, but he has to figure out a way to motivate a team who is no doubt, underachieving. If he can’t get the job done, the only other solution is getting him fired which pains me to say because I see as one of the greatest Yankee managers of all time. But in New York, we are all about immediate results, if that means getting Torre fired, we have to accept that.

Lack of motivation is not the only reason why I think it’s time to replace Torre. His managing decisions have gotten worse as well. Starting with the hitting, his tactic of playing musical chairs with the lineup has not been very productive. He tried this last year in the playoffs and they ended up losing three straight games. Sticking Bobby Abreu in the leadoff position when Johnny Damon is resting or injured isn’t too smart. Prior to Damon’s signing with the Yankees, Jeter was the leadoff hitter and he did very well. Why is Torre refusing to move him to first in the batting order when Damon is out? It was also brought up to my attention that the hitting coach has changed since last year. Well, if the hitting is all of a sudden suffering, why wouldn’t you look to make a change there?

Moving onto the pitching, with all the injuries that forced the Yankees to look into their farm system for interim starters, Torre has not handled it in the best way. As soon as the pitcher gives up a few runs in an inning, Torre calls in the bullpen. An enormous amount of pressure is riding on these young guys because they know if they don’t pitch well they’ll be pulled out of the game. Granted a lot of pressure comes from Steinbrenner as well as the fans and media, Torre is the ultimate decision maker here. He should allow the pitcher to stay in there and if he gets beat up, let him. It will only send the message that his job is not based on one inning but his overall performance within a certain number of games. I’m confident that younger pitchers would do much better without the pressure of trying to not allow more than two runs a game.

The problem with getting rid of Torre is that Steinbrenner will no doubt promote Don Mattingly into the position which I believe won’t make much of a difference. I don’t see him being the solution. The Yankees need someone new, someone outside the organization who can motivate the team to achieve up to their potential. I do think Clemens will have an impact on the Yankees when he joins the team on Monday. With Clemens, it’s not only the talent you’re getting, but it’s also the expectations. Clemens’ display of fire was shown on television following the Triple A start press conference when he became upset with the reporter and banged his fist on the table as he left. I do still believe the Yankees will turn it around but for the first time in a long time, I’m getting very nervous as the season progresses.

Source: MLB.com

Sports Moment of the Week

Magglio Ordonez from the Detroit Tigers had a great week hitting three homeruns, scoring eight runs and eight RBI's, while he hit .435. He has taken control of the AL MVP race with his performance lately.