The Professional

Background music: an acoustic guitar.

Situation: the New York Yankees have tumbled from the elite in baseball to an embarrassing collection of overpaid, underperforming stiffs. Currently they are 10 1/2 games behind the division-leading Red Sox, and that's after beating the Sox 4 of the last 6 games. I expected a decline in performance, but nothing of this magnitude, which is cruelly reminiscent of the years 1965 and 1982, when the mini-dynasties unexpectedly crumbled. What is behind this grotesquerie?

It is easy to blame the panoply of injuries which have plagued the team since the tragic death of their pitcher-pilot Cody Lidle last year. Since then every one of their starters has endured some injury, major or minor. Wang and Mussina had leg problems, Pettitte a sore back, the woebegone Carl Pavano's elbow gave out, Jeff Karstens got hit by the first pitch of a game and broke his leg, and Darrell Rasner broke his hand on another early pitch a week later. Super-rookie Phil Hughes was hurling a no-hitter in the seventh inning when his hammie failed him, and now he is out for two months. The Savior Roger Clemens is trying to reenter the fray but every time he is about to start something comes up or goes out, like his groin. At 24-million dollars, that's an expensive groin. On the field, they have lost Jason Giambi to plantar fascitis, and his substitute, Doug Mientkevich, to a broken hand. Johnny Damon has been damaged all year and is playing like it.

Beyond these problems, the musclebound line-up has been performing more like 98-pound weaklings. Last years young studs, Cano and Cabrera, have been slumping, and the brilliant Bobby Abreu, who hit .331 in two months last year as a Yankee, has all of three homers and has broken up countless rallies. This was a line-up (granted, including Gary Sheffield last year), who entered the 2006 play-offs as perhaps the most potent in history. Today, their record is 26-31. At this pace they would lose 90 games.

Ironically, one cannot blame Arod, who has, frankly, been terrific in the clutch this year, with numerous late-winning clouts in tense situations. Jeter has performed to normal expectations, and the heretofore underrated Jorge Posada is leading the league in hitting. The re-upped Pettitte has been brilliant too. But nothing can overcome the dreadful relief pitching of Vizcaino and Mike Myers and, scarily, Mariano Rivera, who has but four saves.

These are the concrete facts. But what the Yankees are really missing is the human element provided by Bernie Williams, who was discarded this year as an extra outfielder when Torre decided to keep an extra reliever in the pen, assuming his starters would all need help after the sixth inning. That extra line-up spot could have gone to Bernie, who would have filled in admirably as he did last year when the outfielders were limping. Now they have Kevin Thompson, of the who?

Bernie would not have only ably performed, but his stoical professionalism could well have uplifted the team's morale during some the game crises that they have not survived. His reassuring dugout presence cannot be overvalued. If you look at the recent history of the Yankees, from their rise in 1993 to contender status, through their championship run of 1996-2000, and their division title streak since then, the only common element of all those teams was Bernie Williams. Of the current Yankees who own World Series rings, all of them--Jeter, Posada and Pettitte-are performing admirably. The rest, Arod aside, are sucking eggs. Goose eggs.

It's time to re-evaluate Bernie, who is living in pleasant retirement now, strumming his acoustical guitar and waiting for the best gigs, while inwardly laughing at the shortsightedness of the Yankee brass who chose Mike Myers over him. Bernie will not make the Hall of Fame; his numbers simply don't qualify him. He did win the batting title once. Once is not enough. He has hit more post-season homers than anyone, but except for a few divisional play-off games, they did not come in memorable moments, like Aaron Boone's or Scott Brosius'. But he was always there, always contributing, even in subtle ways. In the 1996 Series against the Braves, his homer was instrumental in winning Game 3 after the Yanks were blown out in the first two contests. Then, in the pivotal Game 4, after Jim Leyritz homered to put the game into extra innings, Bernie's imposing presence convinced Braves' manager Bobby Cox to walk him and load the bases in a two-out situation, after which Wade Boggs walked in the winning run.

It is too late to bring Bernie back, at least for this year. Instead the Yankee brain trust is hoping that the bats will return (likely, to some extent), and that Clemens' reappearance can do something to elevate the team's morale (not to mention keep the overworked bullpen from having to take over more games in the fourth inning). There is still a chance that they can surge into a Wild Card situation, as Houston did the past couple of years with Pettitte and Clemens working for them. But the ghost of Bernie will linger, and the karma will probably keep them
out of October consideration.