So, like any other fan who thinks he knows more than his favorite team's management, he goes into trade mode: "We trade Jim Leyritz and Bernie Williams for Barry Bonds, huh? Whaddaya think? That way, you have Griffey and Bonds in the same outfield! Now, you got a team!"
In all seriousness, at that time, that trade probably could have been made. The San Francisco Giants were going nowhere, and they would have gotten a switch-hitting, fine-fielding All-Star just entering his prime (Bernie) and a role player (catcher, 1st base and outfield) with righthanded power (Leyritz), in exchange for an expensive, narcissistic superstar who, in 3 seasons, hadn't yet helped them win so much as a Wild Card berth.
But Ken Griffey Jr.? The Seattle Mariners were supposed to give up the best player they'd ever had, who had essentially just saved the franchise (if not for his heroics, the ballot measure to build Safeco Field would have been voted down, and the M's probably would have moved to Tampa Bay), when he's only 27? And the best all-around player in the American League, as Bonds then was in the National League?
It should also be noted that this episode was taped before, but aired after, December 7, 1995, when the Yankees traded Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock to those same Mariners for Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson and Jim Mecir. In other words, the M's had already just made a big deal with the Yankees, and were not about to make another. But the Seinfeld writers didn't know that would happen.
But let's suppose that the Mariners wanted big prospects. The Yankees did go on to trade their top outfield prospect, Ruben Rivera. And maybe they'd also have to give up, say, another outfielder, maybe Ricky Ledee, and a pitching prospect. So, let's suppose that these trades had actually happened.
Not having Leyritz means the Yankees lose Game 4 of the 1996 World Series, and probably the Series itself the next night. Bonds and Griffey can't peacefully coexist, and the team doesn't win another Pennant. The Red Sox "dynasty" of 2004-18 probably starts sooner.
Bill Veeck once said, "The best trades are the ones you don't make." Sometimes, the best guy isn't the best guy for your team.
Put it this way. Was Keith Moon of The Who a better drummer than Ringo Starr of The Beatles? Most people familiar with the music of both bands would say yes. Would dumping Ringo for Keith have made The Beatles better? Oh, hell, no.
Cream worked as a "supergroup," but when it broke up, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker thought it could work again. So they got guitar and keyboard wizard Steve Winwood from Traffic and bass guitarist Ric Grech from Family, and formed Blind Faith. The resulting album wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly super, either. And they split up after the one album.
It worked when the Golden State Warriors brought Kevin Durant in with Steph Curry. It worked when the Miami Heat brought LeBron James and Chris Bosh in with Dwyane Wade. It worked when the Boston Celtics brought Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in with Paul Pierce. It did not work when the Los Angeles Lakers brought Karl Malone and Gary Payton in with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
On TV, George didn't get the job. In real life, Yankee general manager Bob Watson and "superscout" Gene Michael did not trade anyone for Griffey, and did not trade Bernie or anybody else for Bonds.
However, the position of assistant general manager was given to someone at that time. It was Brian Cashman.
*
Cashman would succeed Watson as general manager going into the 1998 season. But everything the Yankees won in that generation -- 13 AL Eastern Division titles, 7 AL Pennants and 5 World Series from 1996 to 2012 -- was done with players brought in with Michael overseeing.
Once that team was broken up, from 2013 onward, what have the Yankees done? 3 Wild Card berths, no Division titles, no Pennants, no World Championships.
And even halfway through the "Stick" Michael generation, Cashman began making the kind of deals that Costanza would have, bringing in superstars like Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens a 2nd time, a washed-up Ivan Rodriguez, trading Alfonso Soriano away before he could have his best years and bringing him back after they were done.
You can see the difference between the players that Michael and Watson brought in, and those that Cashman decided upon:
* 1996 to 2003: 8 seasons, 8 Playoff berths, 6 Division titles, 5 Pennants, 4 World Championships.
* 2004 to 2012: 9 seasons, 8 Playoff berths, 6 Division titles, 1 Pennant, 1 World Championship.
In other words, Cashman didn't build much on the earlier success, and hasn't gotten it done without Stick's guys.
Bringing in the last 2 NL home run leaders hasn't worked, either: Chris Carter proved a disaster, and Giancarlo Stanton turned into A-Rod Mark II: Hitting home runs when the result was no longer in doubt (either way), but not getting hits when we really needed them. And to get him, he traded away an All-Star 2nd baseman, Starlin Castro, to the Miami Marlins.
Cashman's apologists kept telling me that Gleyber Torres would turn into the real deal. Well, as far as the regular season goes, he has, at least in this 1st season. It remains to be seen if he will ever get it done in the postseason. Certainly, the Yankees' flop in this year's AL Division Series was considerably less his fault than it was Stanton's, and it was far from Stanton's fault alone.
But now, Didi Gregorius is injured, and will probably be unavailable for the 1st half of the 2019 season, the season Cashman threw 2016, 2017 and 2018 away for, so he could get the Yankees under the luxury tax threshold for the foreseeable future.
No problem, right? Just move Torres to shortstop, which is his natural position.
Except now, we don't have a 2nd baseman. Again. Neil Walker? His contract ran out, and Cashman didn't re-sign him. Ronald Torreyes? Cashman designated him for assignment yesterday. (UPDATE: He was signed by the Minnesota Twins.)
Cashman has now achieved Costanza Level. We didn't need Stanton, we needed a 2nd baseman. Now, we need one again while Torres subs for the injured Gregorius, but he DFAs Torreyes and refuses to re-sign Walker. Seriously!
Cashman really puts the "anal" in "analytics."
I wish the Yankees were.
*
Days until Arsenal play again: 2, Thursday afternoon, 1:00 PM New York time, away to Vorskla Poltava, in Vorskla, Ukraine, in the Group Stage of the UEFA Europa League. The Arsenal are sitting on a 17-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, which had included an 11-game winning streak. Having secured advancement to the Knockout Stage, and with a home game against Qarabag of Azerbaijan to come, the team's big names will almost certainly be rested in anticipation of the North London Derby 3 days thereafter.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 2, Thursday night at 7:00 PM, in the 2nd leg of the MLS Eastern Conference Final, home to Atlanta United. Atlanta won the 1st leg 2-0, so Metro have their work cut out for them if they want to get to their 2nd MLS Cup Final, and finally win that elusive 1st MLS Cup, in their 23rd season of play.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown. The 2019 MLS schedule hasn't been released yet, so we don't know when they will next play New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution.
Days until the next North London Derby: 5, this Sunday morning, 9:00 AM New York Time, at the Emirates Stadium. Beat The Scum!
Days until the Democratic-controlled Congress will convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 37, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little over 5 weeks.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 46, on Saturday afternoon, January 12, 2019, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Prudential Center. The next game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday night, January 17, 2019, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The next game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 57, on January 23, 2019. A little over 8 weeks.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 67, on February 2, 2019, a friendly against Costa Rica at Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Days until the Yankees' 2019 Opening Day: 121, on Thursday, March 28, home to the Baltimore Orioles. A little over 4 months. Four long months.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 140, on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, at Yankee Stadium II. Under 5 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 192, on June 7, 2019, in France. Under 7 months. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions.
Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 214, on June 29, 2019. A little over 7 months.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 277, on August 31, 2019, home to the University of Massachusetts. Their 4th quarter choke job at Michigan State last Saturday means they finished 1-11, with the only win being their opener against FCS (I-AA) team Texas State. They lost to Indiana, Northwestern and Michigan State by a combined 14 points. And they did manage to hold Ohio State to 10 fewer points than Michigan did! But except for that opening 35-7 win, they didn't score more than 17 points in a single game. Pathetic.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, 2019, which would be 283 days. The morning of the 10-0 loss to Old Bridge, it was announced that East Brunswick and Old Bridge would no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. The game will now be played earlier in the season.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 368, on Saturday, November 30, 2019, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 386, on December 18, 2019. A little over a year, or a little under 13 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 421, on January 22, 2020. A little over a year, or a little under 14 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 605, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or a little under 20 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 707, on November 3, 2020. Now under 2 years, or a little over 23 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 785, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 2 years, or a little under 26 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,165, on February 4, 2022. A little over 3 years, or a little over 38 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,455, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Just under 4 years, or just under 48 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
No comments:
Post a Comment