The Futility Infielder

Less than 72 hours after the team's untimely demise at the hands of the Florida Marlins, the brass of the New York Yankees will begin offseason organizational meetings in Tampa. Newsday's Ken Davidoff speculates that the early meeting is a sign of just how angry Boss Steinbrenner is, given that last year the Yankee bigwigs didn't gather until about a week after their season ended. Of course, that defeat by the Anaheim Angels in the ALDS was a much earlier exit, calendar-wise.

Unless Steinbrenner is going to do his Capone-with-a-bat act, it's probably a good sign for GM Brian Cashman that he's being summoned so early. He has one more year on his deal, and as New York Daily News's Anthony McCarren puts it, "What better way to make Cashman suffer than to bring him back for the final season of his contract? He's not getting a $1.15-million vacation, that's for sure." Less clear is the fate of Senior VP Gordon Blakely, who has been in Steinbrenner's doghouse after some disagreements over the team's AAA affiliate in Columbus.

Big Stein has given manager Joe Torre numerous votes of confidence over the past several weeks, but in the tradition of the Boss's manipulative meddling, Torre's coaching staff will be gutted. Without waiting for the other shoe to drop, bench coach Don Zimmer has already quit in spectacular fashion. Hitting coach Rick Down will take the fall for the Yanks' offensive shortcomings in the World Series, and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and first base coach Lee Mazzilli may depart as well, either by being fired or by taking other jobs. Mazzilli will interview for the job as manager of the Baltimore Orioles later this week. Perennial managerial candidate Willie Randolph, the Yanks' third base coach, has been mentioned in connection with vacancies for the White Sox and the Red Sox; no word on any offer from the Utica Blue Sox, however.

On the field, the two most crucial decisions the Yanks face are whether to resign Andy Pettitte (a strong likelihood after his 3-1, 2.10 ERA postseason run), and what to do about Alfonso Soriano -- keep him at second base, shift him to the outfield, or use him as their best chip in a trade. "That decision will serve as the lead domino to many other actions," writes Davidoff. Whether they keep Soriano or not, the team's defense up the middle is in dire need of an overhaul, but the question of how to avoid ruffling the feathers of pillars like Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams is a tricky one. Williams may be bound for leftfield, with Hideki Matsui shifting either to center (where he was adequate for a long stint while Bernie rehabbed from in-season knee surgery) or right (where his throwing arm would be a liabiltiy). The rightfield opening is a prime one for upgrade, with superstar names such as Gary Sheffield, Sammy Sosa and Vladimir Guerrero being tossed around by every armchair GM with a keyboard. Other names bandied about are K.C. centerfielder Carlos Beltran, Montreal second baseman Jose Vidro and pitcher Javier Vasquez, Texas shortstop Alex Rodriguez, Oakland shortstop Miguel Tejada, and Florida third baseman Mike Lowell. Many of these amount to crackpipe dreams conceived by crackpot columnists convinced that the likes of Jeff Weaver and Juan Rivera could net big game in a trade. Uh-huh.

I'll be taking a more realistic in-depth look at the Yankees' needs in the coming weeks.

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The Yankees made it to the World Series in no small part due to Boston Red Sox manager Grady Little's decision to keep flagging starter Pedro Martinez out on the mound during Game Seven of the ALCS. After gracelessly lettling Little dangle in the breeze for about ten days, the Sox put him out of his misery on Monday by failing to pick up his 2004 option. Never mind the fact that Little guided the Sox to 188 wins in his two years, or their first postseason appearance since 1999. Forget the job he did coaxing career years out of the likes of David Ortiz, Todd Walker and Bill Mueller while keeping harmony in a clubhouse populated by one-named diva superstars. Little's reputation as a poor in-game tactician and his status as a holdover from the pre Henry/Luccino/Epstien era did him in. It's not surprising to see the Red Sox eat their own, especially after such a gut-wrenching loss -- Red Sox Nation demands answers, dammit!

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski feels that the Sox made a bad move. He writes:

Beyond the benefits of a relentlessly popular short-term public relations move in New England, there is no way Grady Little gets sacrificed unless you have an absolute tested, championship manager waiting in the wings.

Joe Torre.

Jim Leyland.

John McGraw.

...Grady's touch in the clubhouse, his ability to get the most of the Sox's over-achieving personalities, isn't so easily available and identifiable on the managerial market. The bottom line: The Sox are taking a far greater risk firing Little, than they ever could've by keeping him.

There was something right about the chemistry of these Red Sox, something someone else will have an impossible time duplicating. Ownership could've worked to re-program Little's late-game decision-making process, stocked his bench with stronger coaching presences and counted upon the fact that one more year of living and learning on the job would've made him a better bench manager.

Wojnarowski goes on to dismiss various candidates to replace Little -- Charlie Manuel, Jerry Remy, Terry Francona, and Glenn Hoffman, while another ESPN piece by Sean McAdam handicaps a larger field of candidates, including Bud Black, Joel Skinner, Jim Tracy and Bobby Valentine. "Handicaps" is an apt word, because as Wojnarowski writes, "This job has never been harder. Never."

I'm certainly biased by my hatred of the Sox and support of their chief rivals, but I think the move to fire Little borders on the absurd, done with all the consideration and tact of a lynch mob. This year's Sox team put the Fear into the Yanks, with Little melding an unlikely, diverse group into one that battled their New York rivals harder than any opponent during the Torre era. Yes, it's easy to point a finger at Little's failure to pull Martinez in Game Seven. But a great deal of responsibility should rest with the players as well. Had Martinez not pitched poorly and melted down in Game Three, or had the big bat of Nomar Garciaparra been a bit louder in the ALCS, would anybody be coiling rope for Little? This move simply smacks of a team driven by public pressure to pull the trigger instead of counting its blessings for a great season that came up a bit short. Once again, th Sox find a way to preserve their fragile equilibrium of unhappiness.

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Rich Lederer of Rich's Weekend Baseball BEAT has an interesting piece on World Series MVP Josh Beckett comparing the Marlins' budding ace with the man he sent into retirement, Roger Clemens:

Beckett and Clemens have a lot of similarities. Both are Texans. Both are approximately the same height (Beckett, 6'5", and Clemens, 6'4"). Both are power pitchers, throwing fastballs in the mid- to high-90s. Both were highly touted as amateurs (Beckett, 1999 All-USA High School Baseball Player of the Year; Clemens, two-time All-America honors at the University of Texas and the winning pitcher of the 1983 College World Series). Both were drafted in the first round (Beckett, #2 in 1999, and Clemens, #19 in 1983). Both had outstanding minor league records. And both showed glimpses of stardom in their first couple of injury-plagued years in the big leagues.

Lederer goes on to examine the two pitchers' minor-league records as well as their early major-league experience. Like many, he believes Beckett is poised for a Clemens-in-'86-style breakout in 2004. Check it out.

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Keeping a close eye on the hometown Salt Lake City beat, my mom sent me this piece from the Salt Lake Tribune about the Zinger Professional Bat Company. Based in Lindon, Utah, Zinger makes the bats which provided two of the biggest hits in Game Four of the World Series: Alex Gonzalez's game-winning homer off of Jeff Weaver and Miguel Cabrera's first-inning bomb off of Roger Clemens. According to the piece, "At last count, more than 200 professionals -- about 60 major leaguers -- are using the bats to put the hurt on hurlers," including Vlad Guerrero and San Diego's Kahlil Greene, as well as the two World Series heroes. The article goes on to offer an enlightening glimpse into the process of bat-making, a side of the game which most people never consider. Neat.