By the Heckler
BASEBALL BIG MOUTH baseball blog

So, the big, bad Yankees have got their number three hitter back in Gary Sheffield, and all looks to getting back in line for the Bronx Bombers. Then why the heck can the Heckler still not tell ya the names of half the players on this team without a scorecard?

The Yankees are the paper tigers of the American League – there, I said it. And I mean it. You take away that mythical “NY” on their hats, and this is just another team somehow getting production out of a bunch of guys no one but their mothers have really have ever heard of.

Let’s look at that pitching staff for a moment, shall we?

Who in the world is Shawn Chacon, and how did he end up in the starting rotation of supposed World Series contender? Career stats -  35 wins, 49 losses and a bloated 4.92 ERA. Yikes. No wonder the name doesn’t ring a bell. Yet there he is, taking a regular turn, someone amassing a 4-1 record thus far despite a 5.21 ERA.

Now, a show of hands please: who would actually feel threatened if their team came up against Chien-Ming Wang in a deciding game? Hmmm . . . not too many, I suspect. Again, there he is though, sitting with a 4-2 record despite a high 4.43 ERA. One note in his defense, however: Wang pulls in a paltry $353,175 in pay, a mere court jester in the land of the overpaid giants.

Working up the rotation, remember when teams would shake in their spikes simply at the mere thought of having to dig in against the likes of Randy Johnson? Those days are gone, gang – and they ain’t coming back. The Big Unit is worn and tired, and really should have been replaced by a younger, inevitably-smaller unit as part of the Yankees rotation. Only problem? The dinero, yo. You try peddling a 43-year-old fading hurler with a massive $16 million salary. And what have they received this year for that whopping sum? An ERA almost a large as Johnson’s shoes (5.64 thus far) along with a completely ordinary-looking 5-4 record. Let’s continue . . .

Jaret Wright. Talk about a lot of talk and a badge – all hype, almost $8 million a year, and little to show for it. So far, seven measly wins for Wright in pinstripes during his two years. Kenny Rogers of Detroit already has that in less than two months for his new squad. Put that in your crack pipes, New Yorkers.

Finally, Mike Mussina, perhaps the one pitcher New York can throw out there who actually belongs in the top half of a good rotation. Then again, does anyone realize Mussina only won 12 and 13 games the last two seasons? Again, not very productive considering his astronomical $19 million salary. Then again, we are talking New York, right?

As for the rest of the staff - where for art thou, Carl Pavanno? Out again. What a complete bust. And that bullpen? Sure, they still have all-world closer Mariano Rivera. That’s a given. But remember the days when the Yankees actually had guys with an ability to be able to get to Rivera? They’re long gone, as well. Nowadays, they throw out guys like Tanyon Sturtze, Ron Villone, Scott Proctor and Aaron Small and expect them to strike fear into opposing hitters. Hardly. Not to mention newcomer Kyle Farnsworth is an accident waiting to happen (ask fans of the Atlanta Braves or the Chicago Cubs). Oh, the Heckler almost forgot to mention they also have Scott Erickson hanging around as well – did anyone else realize this guy was still pulling down a Major League salary? Is he afraid wife Lisa Guerrero would dump him if he retired? ‘Cause he should.

Not that their lineup is any better, really . . .

Stay tuned, we’ll soon go onto the field to reveal the Yankees for they shams they really are, especially without Hikedi Matsui – only on BASEBALL BIG MOUTH with The Heckler!

sources: Yankees’ salaries  &  Yankees’ 2006 stats

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Baseball News and Views, Heckles All Around. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.