Where Have You Gone, Scotty Brosius

Major policy decisions should not be rendered during the emotional backwash of a disaster (see 9/11 and Iraq), and the recent disgraceful collapse of the Yankees in their Divisional series, after a promising start, is no exception. Any team can have a bad couple of days, and their poor short-term performance reflects not an inferior line-up, just a total lack of concentration and of grace under pressure.

That being said, there will be some major consequences of what is becoming an annual (and predictable) disappointment in the Bronx. The Yanks, perennial divisional winners, have become what the Braves were for fourteen years--overconfident and underachieving. A seething George Steinbrenner is inclined now to fire Joe Torre and replace him with the sparkplug Louo Piniella, perhaps to generate some fire in the team's belly. This despite Torre's remarkable job this year holding a wounded squad together and winning the division by its largest margin since 1998.

Now Piniella does have some record of success, winning a championship in 1990 and helming the Mariners in 2001 to the best seasonal record ever. But history also shows that he lost the ALCS to the Yanks in a shocking five games. And for all the talk about how friendly he is with Arod, let's not forget that the 2001 Mariner team did not include Mr. Rodriguez. Or that Lou is notoriously clunky in handling pitchers. Perhaps, with Torre's team failing now in three consecutive post-season series, and looking especially listless in this last one, some kind of different motivational approach is needed--if not an entirely new motivator, like Joe Girardi.

One has to wonder why this powerhouse team floundered, when the dynasty of the late '90s prospered so well. Actually, it's simple. This current pitching staff of aging starters with storied pasts simply could not function as well as the group that included David Cone, Jimmy Key, Dvid Wells, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and El Duque. The only reliable current starter is the Yankees' youngest and cheapest, Chin-Mien Wang. The talented young Detroit staff (a bewildering Kenny Rogers notwithstanding) challenged the Yankee's vaunted line-up and totally befuddled them. The Yanks need to wean themselves of reliance on the aging Mussina and Randy Johnson and bank on younger talent. Assume that we'll see Philip Hughes earlier than we might have thought.

There is really nothing Brian Cashman can do to improve the offense. He will have to decide whether to keep Gary Sheffield and use him at first base, or utilize that money to purchase a more reliable and younger starting pitcher (and risk Sheffield going to Boston). He will need mucho moolah to outbid the Red Sox and the Mets for the likes of Barry Zito. More usefully he could trade Arod to a Chicago or Los Angeles team for a top-flight starter and young stud infielder (say Ervin Santana and Howie Kendrick from the Angels).

But whatever changes Cashman effects, how does one know when he picks up a player with the heart and soul needed to perform in the clutch? How is it that Scott Brosius, who hit .201 the year he was picked up by the Yankees in 1998, would provide so many memorable and necessary home runs in key moments? Or that second-string catcher Jim Leyritz would do the same? Arod has had instant after instant in his three-year stay in New York to contribute one major offensive blow that would cement his Yankee credentials. He has consistently, almost comically failed. The turning point in this year's divisional series came in the first inning of Game Two, with the bases loaded and the Yanks about the blow out the reeling Tigers with a big bang. Arod stood with the crowd rooting him on. Before one could blink--three pitches, and a strikeout. Arod did not get a hit the rest of the way, and now has played in twelve straight post-season games without a run or an RBI. I tend to be patient, but in a climate where post-season performance is all by which Yankee success is measured, he has now earned his acrimony. He deserves being a Cub.

As to the rest of the play-offs, I overestimated the Cardinals' collapse. They still have Edmonds and Pujols, though that may not be enough to overcome the Mets. The Mets, interestingly, have pitching problems as severe as the Yankees (and the Cards), and a line-up bolstered by free agents, yet they have managed to sweep their series over an energetic Dodger team. They are probably hungrier than either the Yanks or the Cardinals, which accounts for their fighting spirit. I still believe they will face the A's in the series, though by that point their paucity of pitching may cost them.