Derek Jeter Announces Retirement

Derek Jeter breaking the hits record at the old stadium, by chris.ptacek (I was at this game).

Well, this is an announcement that every Yankee fan dreaded. We knew it was coming relatively sooner rather than later, but we didn't expect that it would come quite this soon. Yesterday, February 12th, 2014, the beloved Yankee Captain Derek Jeter announced on his Facebook page that he was going to be retiring after the 2014 season.

I always thought that Derek Jeter would continue to play for as long as he could, that he would only ride off into the sunset when his presence was becoming a burden rather than a boon to the team. Perhaps he thinks that that point has been reached.

Let's face it, that ankle injury from the 2012 ALCS was a pretty serious one, and unfortunately Derek Jeter isn't in his 20's anymore. You can't shrug off these kinds of injuries so quickly when you're nearing forty, and some of them just stay with you. Perhaps Derek just doesn't see himself being the player he once was.

This is only my speculation, as he hasn't made mention of it, but I think it is a reasonable one.

And so like last year, we will have a circus. Hopefully the team will be in better condition than it was previously. Hopefully the Captain's farewell tour won't completely overshadow the rest of the team like Mo's did last year. Hopefully the team will make a run into October.

But these are only hopes at this point. The only certainty is that the circus will happen, and it will be a melancholy one. Currently I've got Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr's reunion performance of Hey Jude stuck in my head and it's appropriate for this occasion. It will be a sad song, but Jeter and the Yankees will hopefully make it better, combined with all the other happy memories we already have.

It's the end of an era. With Jeter's retirement, the last active link to the 90's Dynasty will end. But beyond that, Derek Jeter was the symbol of the Yankees for the past twenty years, even more so than Mariano Rivera was. He was also the symbol for Major League Baseball, not just in his popularity, but in a more profound way- the fact that in the steroids era, you didn't need to cheat to win.

It's also the end of an era in my life. The Captain was a link to my childhood. For as long as I can remember, Derek Jeter was the Yankees' shortstop, or hell, even further, he was the Yankees. It is going to be truly strange without him being there. Derek Jeter's retirement is a symbol of the definitive close of a chapter on my life's journey.

It's sad, but we were all truly privileged to see this man play for two decades and lead the team to a World Championship for a quarter of that time. We wouldn't be feeling this way if it was not.

In the meantime, Derek has one more year left, and we as Yankee fans need to enjoy it for all it's worth.

Carlos Beltran Joins the Yankees

Carlos Beltran, donning the number 36, was officially unveiled as a New York Yankee yesterday, and he signified his excitement for the coming year. The contract is worth three years and $45 million, a move some have questioned. Was it wise for the club to spend that much when, all things together, Cano would have been a wiser investment? Undoubtedly it seems to some to signal the same old formula that has usually not panned out for the New York Yankees: the signing of a veteran player in the sunset or twilight of his career for an amount of money that would be better used to pursuing younger players.

Nonetheless, Carlos Beltran is coming off of two solid years, with a combined average of .2825, 56 home runs, 181 RBIs, and an on-base percentage of .3425. These aren't stellar stats, but they are solid ones, and will certainly help a team which struggled to put runs on the board last year.

That seems to be the main focus of the Yankee office this off-season. The team that's known as the Bronx Bombers, after all, wasn't exactly bombing last year. Perhaps this drove a psychological defense mechanism deep into the heart of the office, creating a reaction originating from a strong need to correct this defect.

Still, with the acquisition of these new bats, and the return of at least Jeter and Teixeira, the offense will be (mostly) fine. What's really needed right now is additional arms to the pitching staff.

We will watch with interest as the off-season continues.

Jacoby Ellsbury is Now a Yankee

Today the newest Yankee was revealed, Jacoby Ellsbury, who is to don the number 22 next season. It was a rapid move for the Yankees and the deal fell through quickly. Ellsbury again and again mentioned how excited he was to be joining the Yankees (he doesn't seem to have a flair for these press conferences, I must say), and that he was committed to being part of the core of the future team.

Some have been rubbing their heads at this quick acquisition by the Yankees, especially when the pitching staff has been so lacking (in an era where pitching is dominant again, no less). These people have generally questioned why Ellsbury was so quick to get a seven-year deal while Robbie Cano was let go so comparatively easily.

Whatever the case, Ellsbury brings a lot to the lineup- speed and a healthy dose of power. If indeed he and Bret Gardner are on the same team next year (Michael Kay and others have remarked that the acquisition of Ellsbury fills Bret Gardner's role, making a trade of him for a decent pitcher a more likely possibility), they will be able to make a lot of things happen to move runners across the field and into scoring position. It will healthily compliment the other new bats that were brought in to plug the gaps in the Yankee offensive line that was so uncharacteristically weak last year.

Only time will tell whether this investment was worth a possible go for more pitching, especially in the bullpen. We will await the next few adventures for the start of a verdict.

"One of the Best Days of My Life"

So said Brian McCann at his press conference yesterday, wherein he was officially revealed as the newest New York Yankee, donning the number 34. Signing a five-year, $85 million contract with the club, it seems to me like a good deal for a catcher approaching thirty.

One of the biggest weaknesses in the Yankees' lineup throughout the 2013 campaign was the absence of a reliable bat behind the plate. While you don't expect a catcher to be a .300+ hitter (this is what makes the Joe Mauers of the world so exceptional), the combined batting stats of the various Yankee catchers last season, led by Chris Stewart due to the omnipresent injury bug, were dismal. A combined average of .242, a total of 8 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a combined on-base percentage of .312. McCann by himself beats all of those.

I take the fact that he's a seven-time All Star with a grain of salt, because as we know, position players in that game are decided by fan voting. Not the most reliable method. Still, it is a nice accolade to have on any player's resumes.

Not least of his line items, McCann has a reputation of working well with pitchers and improving pitching staffs. His presence tends to decrease a pitcher's ERA. This can only be good news, especially with a team that struggled to score runs last year. In that situation, it is imperative to prevent the opposing team from scoring, and this is a role Brian McCann seems to fit.

Overall, I'm please with this move. The Yankees signed a desirable free agent to fill a much-needed gap in the team's line, all without breaking the bank. But these pats on the back are easy, the real test will come next year. Many free agent deals have fell well short of expectations in the past, and this is something to keep in mind.

But for now, congratulations to the Yankees and Brian McCann. Let's play ball!

Is the Era of Yankee Ascendancy Over?

Yesterday was the last game of a disappointing 2013 season. It was a 5-1 victory over the worst team in baseball, the hapless Houston Astros, coming after a long 14 innings.

I say the word disappointing because, in a word, that's what it was. We Yankee fans that have been around since the end of the Yankees' Lost Decade of the 1980's have been pretty spoiled. 16 playoff appearances, 14 division titles, 7 pennants and 5 World Series championships from 1995-2012 will do that to a club's fanbase. The lone year in that time span which the Yankees did not make the playoffs, 2008, was a rather glaring outlier, a freakish fluke that seemed to be the result of a cosmic catastrophe that broke the natural orbit of the MLB solar system. We expect the Yankees to win- if not a World Series every year (because that's too high an expectation for anyone, even The Boss), we at least expect the Yankees to make the playoffs- to give us some baseball in the cool airs of Autumn. It's easy to miss how fortunate we as fans are to have such an expectation. Consider the Kansas City Royals, who have not made the playoffs for 27 years.

The Kansas City Royals have not been to the playoffs since 1985.

Nonetheless, 2013 was not without drama for the Yankees. Our beloved Closer, a living legend, Mariano Rivera, decided to call it quits. He received quite the sendoff by everyone all year. The drama was ratcheted up when Andy Pettite, another beloved cornerstone of the latest era of Yankee dominance, announced toward the end of the season that he'd be retiring for good once 2013 ended. In many ways, this year was more about the legacy of Mariano Rivera (and toward the very end, Andy Pettite), than about the team itself- plagued by injuries and free agency losses as it was. It was a depressing ensemble- an unimpressive assortment of no-name rookies and over-the-hill veterans without legacies of their own- the backups for the backups, as we all waited with baited breath for the mainstays to return.

Mariano Rivera overshadowed the rest of the team, unsurprisingly.

With all the dismal, aging stars pumping out their faint red light, and the rookies that had not quite left their stellar nurseries yet, it was obviously a no-brainer that Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettite would receive the most attention- and both went out in the best possible way, with Rivera being relieved by his fellow remaining Core Four members and Pettite pitching a complete game for the first time since 2006 in his final start against his old team, the Houston Astros. In doing so he is the only pitcher to never have a sub .500 season after 15 years in the big leagues, a big accomplishment that under normal circumstances would at least merit serious Hall of Fame discussion (we all know the reason why Pettite doesn't fall under normal circumstances).

But the season is over now. Pettite and Rivera are officially in the history books. There will be no more gifts on the road and momentous ceremonies. Two of the biggest stars in the Yankee galaxy exploded as supernovae in their final year, and their light outshined the rest of their galaxy. But now that the fleeting glow has passed, what is left of the team?

Andy Pettite pitched a complete game in his final start. (Bleacher Report)

When the mainstays of the team did finally return, they didn't seem to lift our spirits. Curtis Granderson was injured again, and when he did finally come back in the second half, his numbers were not what we would have liked. Mark Teixeira was injured, came back for a week or two, and was then injured again, for the rest of the season. Derek Jeter's year has been an odyssey of DL stints. Alex Rodriguez came back (mostly) fine, but no one cared because of the Biogenesis scandal. He was not the light of hope for this team. Ultimately it was Alfonso Soriano's re-entrance into Yankeeland that was the turning point of the second-half slump, but it was not a big enough turning point to prevent the Fates from keeping the Yankees out of the playoffs for only the second time since 1995.

Upon a survey of Yankeeland at this point, there seems to be a lot of uneven ground. The farm system is not regarded as amongst the best in the Majors. No breathtaking prospects seem to await us. In addition to that, there are plenty of free agents, among them some of the mainstays of the team. Robinson Cano is the biggest albatross of them all. He is perhaps the only reason why the Yankees' lineup managed to claw on as much as it did before the reinforcement of Alfonso Soriano. Rumors have been swirling that he wants a 10-year, $300+ million deal. Personally, I think the Yankees and other teams should have learned the lesson of these massive 10-year deals by now. They have tended to be disasters in the long run. Cano may have had something going for him if he was five years younger. But he isn't. As good as he is, Cano isn't worth that price. The specter of uncertainty will certainly loom large as the off-season progresses.

Granderson is also up for free agency, whose bat has been so productive except for this injury-plagued year. Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain are also up for free agency, both of whom have been extremely disappointing (my dad calls Hughes 'Pughs' and my nickname for Joba recently has become 'Jobber'- a wrestling term that means someone that generally loses to make another wrestler look good). It is blissfully unlikely that they will return. Adding to the uncertainty in the rotation, Hiroki Kuroda, who has for the most part been the Yankees' best starting pitcher, is also up for free agency. Nova, who has been the Yankees' best pitcher in the stretch, is a free agent too. Only CC Sabathia, who is coming off the worst season in his career, and thus does not bring much in the way of optimism, is dead set to return to the starting rotation.

 

Mainstays like Granderson and Sabathia were ultimately disappointing.

The skipper himself, Joe Girardi, who truly showed his mettle as a manager in this challenging year, and brought home a world championship in 2009, is also up. Though his decision will more likely be based on family than on money, the specter of uncertainty still looms.

Those are the big ones. Many others are also free agents.

Faint times seem to be written on the wall for the Yankees, which leads back to the original question. Are Rivera and Pettite's exits a sign of the times? Are the Fates turning the pendulum back? Is the era of Yankee ascendancy that began in 1995 over? Or will 2013 become another 2008- a glaring outlier that ultimately becomes erased by further years of continued success?

How the Yankees management handles itself this off-season will go some way to answering those questions. This is the biggest shakeup of the team that I can remember, and it will be up to them to make sure that a winning concoction is brewed. Both the lineup and the pitching needs some serious work, perhaps too serious to be surmounted in a single season.

The next adventures in Yankeeland promise to be at the least suspenseful. Whether they can be as glorious as the Core Four years remains to be seen. It will be a tall order, but such is how champions are made.

We can at this point, only hope for the right decisions. The shadows of playoff-less teams like the Royals however, are always present. Until 1995 (probably '94 if the season hadn't ended early), the Yankees were firmly in it. The right decisions need to be made- and decisively, lest the shadows embrace the Yankees with a warm whisper:

"Welcome back."

Robinson Cano, the off-season albatross. (Image by Keith Allison)