Yankees

I'm going to steal my own thunder from my Knicks column to report/rant on a proposed trade I saw in today's papers. The rumor is that the Yanks, in a desperate attempt to improve their outfield defense, will trade Gary Sheffield to the Mets for Mike Cameron.

If someone told me that there is a dumber man than Brian Cashman, I wouldn't beleive them. Gary Sheffield is a core part of the Yankee lineup. He's a great hitter and an adequate fielder. He's a good clubhouse guy, not afraid to get in someone's grill if they need a talking to and a good motivator for the other, more passive Yankees. I won't rattle off stats because I think everyone knows how good Sheff is.

Mike Cameron is a good defensive player, no question about it. But it's just not even close to equal value for the Yanks. The misconception about the 2005 Yanks is that it's just their pitching and defense that has been stalling and that their offense is peachy-keen. That's simply not true. Sheff is a huge part of the Yanks' lineup and Cameron could never replace him. The Yanks would be very sorry with Cameron's streaky, K or homer type of at-bats.

Of course, all of this could've been avoided if the Yanks had signed Cameron last year instead of Kenny Lofton. At the time, I remember emailing some friends about this. I remember saying that since it was a foregone conclusion that the Mets would go hard after Beltran for 2005, it would be foolish to sign Cameron and have 2 CF's on the roster. Likewise, I remember saying that it was foolish for the Yanks to sign Lofton, an old player with the same skill set as Bernie. Had the Mets signed Lofton to a 1-year deal for $8M (slightly over what the Yanks paid him last year for a 2-year deal), they would've been able to jettison him in favor of Beltran. Similarly, had the Yanks signed Cameron to the same 3-year deal that he received with the Mets, the Yanks would have their everyday CF with the glove they crave and the speed they've lacked. He would've been installed as the #8 or #9 hitter and wouldn't have precluded the Yanks from adding Sheff to RF. Bernie could've been phased out a year earlier as a part-time DH. Think about it -- Giambi was out all of last year anyway. With Sierra and Bernie as our DH platoon and Cammy in CF, that would've been a better team than with Bernie and Lofton platooning in the field. Cashman's a damn idiot.

Another quick point. The Yanks are also talking about getting Mark Kotsay for CF. For pete's sake, what for? Kotsay is a complete non-batsman and will cost us an arm and a leg (either minor leaguers or Chien-Ming Wang). Kotsay just isn't worth that kind of price.

The Yanks should live with their mistakes for 2005 and go into 2006 with an agenda of needs. Bernie's contract expires so clearly a capable defensive player with some speed will be a priority. Kevin Brown's contract expires so a 4th starter will be on the list. Bullpen help would be nice too. With any luck Cashman will be long gone and Steinbrenner will return full trust, power and authority to Gene Michael. The last time I checked, it was Michael who built a World Series champion, not Cashman.

I don't advocate the Yankees throwing in the towel on the season but if they decide that they'd rather be sellers instead of buyers, I'd advise them not to sell usable parts just to say they're making moves. I'd much rather not make the playoffs than further damage the long-term viability of the team.