The Yankees season is finally, thankfully, over. It was a rough year between injuries, incompetence, early moves that looked brilliant, but then ended with a crashing thud, and just 85 wins and a third place finish (tied with Baltimore) in the AL East.
The last Yankees team to win 85 or less was the 1992 squad
that won 76, but that was when the Yankees were on the brink of refueling and
remaking the squad into a perennial contender. The 2013 squad finished 12 games
behind division-winner Boston and six games out of the wild card.
The current squad, which I predicted would finish third AND
get a wild card spot, is in complete disarray. That includes the managerial
position since Joe Girardi's contract is up.
It's remarkable to think that after all of the tumult caused
by George Steinbrenner in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, there have been only two
Yankees managers in the last 18 seasons. The Yankees used to average two managers
per season.
But now there could be a change and a lot of that will
depend on the Yankees approach to the future and the fact that the Chicago Cubs
fired manager Dale Sveum Monday morning.
Girardi said he would not take long to make his mind up about
what was best for "his crew" - his wife Kim, son Dante and daughters
Serena and Lena. The decision could be based on discussions with Cashman, who
is a big advocate of Girardi's, as to the team's direction in 2014.
Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera are gone. Derek Jeter will
be coming back again from a messed up ankle and other leg maladies. Alex
Rodriguez could miss the whole season due to a suspension. Hiroki Kuroda, the
ace for most of the season, may retire. Robinson Cano could leave via free
agency. There will be more players leaving than returning.
My hunch is that Girardi leaves; that no longer having Pettitte
and Rivera, two of his old teammates and most reliable players, will have a
major influence. The biggest influence in his decision, however, could be a
return to his native state. Girardi was
born and raised in Peoria, attended Northwestern University, and played for the Cubs on two occasions
(1989-1992, 2000-2002) after being drafted by them in the 5th round
in 1996. He would love to be the guy that brings the Cubs back to the World
Series for the first time since 1945 and to skipper them to their first World
Series championship since 1908.
Girardi needs to look carefully at the Cubs team and
organization as well. Chicago won five more games this year than they did in 2012 and
still only came away with 66 wins. The team does not have stars. First baseman
Anthony Rizzo put together a .742 OPS this season with 23 HR and 80 RBI and
could emerge as an upper echelon player. The second most productive player was
Nate Schierholtz, who hit 21 home runs and posted a .770 OPS, but will be 30
before next season.
Shortstop Starlin Castro came up in 2010 with a lot of hype,
but after three consistent years with an OPS around .750, he regressed to a
.631 OPS this year and stole just nine bases in 15 attempts.
No Cubs pitcher had double digit wins. The top three in the
rotation - Jeff Samardzija (8-13, 4.34 ERA, 1.348 WHIP), Travis Wood (9-12,
3.11 ERA, 1.145 WHIP), and veteran Edwin Jackson (8-18, 4.98 ERA, 1.460 WHIP)
are nothing special, though Wood's record would have been better had the team averaged
more than three runs in his starts. (Wood had a 4.4 WAR.)
The top Cubs prospect Javier Baez had a tremendous year
split between advanced 'A' ball and Double-A (37 HR 111 RBI 20 SB), but it's
not likely he'll join the big club to start the 2014 season. Four of the six
players (pitchers Justin Grimm, Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop, and first baseman
Mike Olt) acquired in deals for pitchers Matt Garza and Scott Feldman haven't
fully tapped their potential yet. To put it simply, the Cubs are very much a work
in progress.
Girardi, of course, could also take some time off and join
one of the networks as a part time announcer, a job he's held before.
So let's say Girardi does leave; who becomes the next
Yankees manager?
Tony Pena - Interviewed for the 2008 vacancy along with
Girardi and Don Mattingly. He's been Girardi's bench coach since 2009 after
three years as first base coach. Pena managed the KC Royals from 2002 until
May, 2005 when he resigned. During his tenure in KC, Pena won the AL Manager of
the Year award in 2003. At 56 years of age his thinking is more old school than
the number-crunching style that Cashman prefers.
Willie Randolph - Always a fan favorite, Willie played for
the Yankees from 1975-1988 and was a coach with them for 11 years after he
retired as a player in 1992. He managed the cross-town Mets for over 3 1/2
years before he was fired during the 2008 season. Randolph brought the Mets to within
inches of the 2006 World Series, but the team lost the 7th game of the NLCS to
the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished second in the NL Manager of the Year
voting to Girardi, who was at the helm of the Florida Marlins.
A year later the Mets had a seven game lead in the NL East
with 17 games to play, but went 5-12 to lose the division title to the
Philadelphia Phillies and missed the playoffs completely. After his dismissal
from the Mets, Randolph coached with the Milwaukee Brewers (2009-2010) and
Baltimore Orioles (2011).
Dave Miley - The former Cincinnati Reds (2003-2005) manager
just completed his 8th season as manager of the Yankees' Triple-A squads in
Columbus (OH) and Scranton, and has managed in the minors for 24 seasons. It
would be nice to see him get another shot in the bigs after all this time.
Miley won the International League Manager of the Year award in 2007 and 2012,
when Scranton had no home park due to renovations.
Dave Martinez - The Rays bench coach for the past six
seasons, Martinez has interviewed in the past for managerial jobs in Houston,
Toronto, and Cleveland. He is highly thought of and respected by his peers. His
tasks in Tampa include alignment of the Rays' defense, and baserunning and
bunting instruction.
Trey Hillman - Might have had a shot at the Yankees job in 2008
had he not already been hired as manager by the KC Royals. The 50-year old
managed in the Yankees minor league system from 1990 to 2002 and had three
years of managerial experience in Japan before taking the KC job. The Royals
fired him after a 12-23 start in his third year at the helm. The team had won
75 and 67 games the prior two years. Hillman is currently Don Mattingly's bench
coach in Los Angeles.
Brad Ausmus - The veteran of 18 big league seasons as a
catcher (and five years in the Yankees' minor league system), Ausmus is one of
the names brought up most when discussing MLB management opportunities. That
includes the now-vacant Cubs position. Ausmus, whose mother is Jewish, managed
the Israeli baseball team in the preliminary qualifying tournament for the 2013
World Baseball Classic. They were beaten by Spain in the finale. That has been the
extent of Ausmus’ managerial experience.
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