Joe says no

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by pdrift1

you wait it out because no manager is going to change that pitching staff that stinks. so you come to a understanding you have to rebuild and wait. mr steinbrenner should know by now you cant buy a ws. they need to bring up thier talent and wait

Roger, you are correct. The Yankees are a flawed team regardless of the payroll. They are a 2001 All star team but this aint 2001. The starting rotation is a mess. They very well may have Hughes, Chamberlain, and Kennedy in the rotation to start the season with Wang and Petitte (if he returns). While those guys have great potential, having 3 guys under 25 in the rotation especially in NY and considering how they have protected them it is hard to see that happening. Which means they have to try Pavano or Igawa again which is scary. Of course this assuming Mussina and Clemens are gone which they almost have to be. The bullpen will revert to a total disaster if Rivera leaves and Chamberlain goes to the starting rotation. Even if Mo resigns, who else is there out there? Farnsworth? They really need bullpen help and some depth especially if they have young guys in the rotation who will be on short leash pitching counts. The problem is that good bullpen help is hard to find. The other problem that they have is the rapid aging of Damon, Giambi, Matsui all who have unmovable contracts. Catcher could also be a giant issue if Posada leaves, and even if he doesn't, he is getting to the age where catchers usually start to tail off. There is no good alternative for Posada. They have no legit 1st baseman, period. If Arod leaves there will be a huge hole that is obviously unfillable. I have heard the rumor of replacing him with Lowell but Yankee Stadium aint Fenway and Lowell will be a disappointment because the drop off will be too great. Jeter is a rock, Cano is a good hitting middle infielder and Caberera is ok in center. The word is that Abreu will be let go too. Though a couple of the pitchers did not play enough to qualify but the Yankees have no prospects in the IL top 20. Of course Free agency will play a big role and if some of the big guys leave there will be money to spend but on who? What they should do is clear out as many of the old guys as possible, hire a good manager (not Larry Bowa or Valentine) understand that they cant win next year without screwing things in the future or without a whole lot of luck and play for 2009 when they will have Santana and some of the D.Rays excess talent who they wont pay like Carl Crawford.