A Winning Recipe: Not Just $$
By Kevin Horn
The Yankees 1998 line-up and starting pitchers, as well as their 2005 line-up and starting pitchers are at the end of this article. When you compare these two, you see a few players are on each list (Jeter, Posada, Williams and Martinez). A few of these players are on their upswing and a couple are at the end of their careers. My point here is that their 1998 line-up, which was the first of their three straight championship teams, and also had the highest win total of any Yankees team ever, was made up of role players (without gaudy stats) who got their jobs done. Many of these players (O’Neill is a prime example) are remembered as "True Yankees," for the winning they did.
Their 2005 line-up is a patch work of all-stars and MVP candidates. They are guys that have high stats, but do not necessarily do the "little things" that will win a baseball game. Mind you, I saw A-Rod yesterday double, tag-up on a fly ball to left-centre field, and score the first run in the Blue Jays game. However, Sheffield couldn’t do that, Giambi can’t, nor can Posada.
Guys like Luis Sojo and Jim Leyritz are the reasons that the Yankees have been successful in the past. They are guys that have been bench players, and have been able to come in and make a great clutch performance in the playoffs. The Yankees don’t have guys like that anymore, unless you think Rey Sanchez and Bubba Crosby can get it done. But, who has those players? The Boston Red Sox! Dave Roberts and "The Steal" last year. A guy like Kevin Millar, who I believe has tons of parallels to a guy like Paul O’Neill or Scott Brosius. Kevin Youkillis is a solid pinch hitter coming off the Red Sox bench.
This is a lesson Steinbrenner should know, considering he taught it to the Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Marlins and every other team who has beaten him in the playoffs. Bench strength and bullpen depth are the two largest keys in the postseason. The Sox showed that this year, and the Yankees teams of the late-1990’s had those things. This is a reason why the Orioles are going to be a real threat in the AL east this year, and my beloved Blue Jays will not be. Your starting line-up will not win you a World Series. This is why the Yankees are suffering, their payroll is almost completely centered on starters and starting pitchers (with the exception of Mariano Rivara). The Yankees have a weak bullpen and not a lot of bench strength, which has continually proved their undoing over the last four years and will continually do so.
Looking at all the lineups in the league, who seems to have the strongest bullpen and bench? The Marlins have a decent bullpen, and a bench made up of reliable veteran players. The Twins are always strong in each of those departments. The Orioles as mentioned before are strong in these locations, as are the Angels and Dodgers. Add the Red Sox in there as well. Sound familiar? Most of these teams have been successful in the playoffs over the last few years, and there is a reason for that. The time where you can buy a world series is over, and you may see more teams adapting a New England Patriots type of management style. And of course, the infamous Moneyball way.
Yankees 2005 Line-Up:
1. Jeter SS
2. Rodriguez 3B
3. Sheffield RF
4. Posada C
5. Matsui LF
6. Williams CF
7. Giambi/Sierra DH
8. Martinez 1B
9. Womack 2B
2005 Rotation:
1. Johnson
2. Pavano
3. Brown
4. Wright
5. Mussina
Yankees 1998 Line-Up:
1. Knoblauch
2. Jeter SS
3. O’Neil RF
4. Martinez 1B
5. Williams CF
6. Spencer/Strawberry DH
7. Brosius 3B
8. Curtis LF
9. Girardi/Posada C
1998 Rotation:
1. Cone
2. El Duque
3. Irabu
4. Pettitte
5. Wells
