Breaking Down The Yankee Offseason

Less than 1 month until pitchers and catchers report. I'm getting more and more excited with each passing minute. As a die-hard Yankee fan, how can I not be excited about the upcoming year? In my opinion they've made some pretty good signings and the ballclub has greatly improved from where they were one year ago. My only fear is I said the same thing last year.
The best move the Yankees made this off-season was re-signing Brian Cashman as GM. The guy is a genius, there's no doubt about it. I would hate to think what would have happened had he not resigned. Maybe we would have then had 2 GMs that could help drop us from the top of the division to the middle of it. Thankfully, he signed and we don't have to worry about it for another few years.
The Yankees' number one priority was resigning Hideki Matsui. And why shouldn't it have been? The guy is consistent. You can count on him to play everyday, knock in 100 runs, hit close to .300, and hit 20 or so dingers. He worked through a few slumps in 2005 but ended up putting up another quality season. I would expect nothing less in 2006.
One of the biggest problem areas for the Yankees in 2005 was the bullpen. It was absolutely atrocious. If your name wasn't Mariano Rivera, then I was worried every time a reliever took the mound. Tom Gordon was a good set-up man, and he'll serve the Phillies well as their new closer. Every one you wanted to go is gone. Take the existing relief corps of Tanyon Sturte, Aaron Small, and possibly Shawn Chacon. Sprinkle in a little Kyle Farnsworth, Ron Villone, Mike Myers, and Octavio Dotel. Top it off with arguably the best closer in the game in Mariano Rivera and you have a recipe for possibly the best bullpen in baseball.
Kyle Farnsworth will undoubtedly be Rivera's primary set-up man. The guy throws some serious heat and isn't afraid to throw down if the situation arises. I like the guy. I have him on my Diamond Mind team. His strong suit is his ability to strike guys out, which comes in handy. Some will argue that he's inconsistent and I'd agree to an extent, but if he can duplicate 2005 (barring that meltdown in the NLDS) he'll do well as the Yankees 8th inning guy.
If Farnsworth falters in any way, Octavio Dotel could certainly step up and assume the role of the set-up man. Dotel isn't quite the pitcher he was when he was in Houston. His move to the AL in 2004 saw an increase in most major stat categories. How much of that is related to the arm troubles is hard to tell. His health is the major question. Can he bounce back from the TJ surgery he had last year? I think so. His best course of action would be to not rush his recovery to be ready for Opening Day. The Yankees should have him take his time and aim for a May return. Dotel is a gamble with the potential for some serious rewards.
The Yankees have had some issues with their LH relievers the last few seasons. Did anyone really think BoSox castoff Alan Embree would be the answer? No. Does anyone think that BoSox castoff Mike Myers will be any better? Keep him away from righties and he'll do okay. He's a LH specialist. I'd feel comfortable with him on the mound against the likes of David Ortiz in the late innings. He held lefties to a batting average of .158 in 2005. Not too shabby. Adding Ron Villone to the staff has several benefits. Villone's another guy I'm high on and he just so happens to be on the roster of my Diamond Mind team as well (if you don't know what Diamond Mind is click on the link). He can spot start if any of the 7 starters we have go down (wow, that's a good problem to have isn't it?). He's another one that shuts down lefties and is good to pitch every other game. His age is up there (yeah yeah, the Yankees are old, I know) but he's certainly a more viable option that bringing back Mike Stanton.
I'm glad to see Bernie Williams is going to be this year's Ruben Sierra. Every team needs the wise veteran who can quite bring it like he used to. You can still count on him for some quality production and his experience (especially come playoff time) is an asset. I was never high on Ruben Sierra. I never saw much of a benefit to having him there. I was at a game last year in Toronto where Sierra started for Sheffield in RF. At the time, the Yankees were trailing the Red Sox by a few games and the gap was closing. Sierra wasn't playing like the game mattered. He wasn't running for fly balls and was letting them drop with runners on base, had a few fielding/throwing errors. I can't see Bernie doing that. Bernie vs. Ruben?? I'd take Bernie Williams any day of the week. I'm glad he decided to come back.
An interesting pick-up was having Miguel Cairo cross the Triboro Bridge and make a return to the Bronx. I personally don't think they should have let Cairo go for 2005. But King George wanted Tony Womack and Cairo was a cast-off. We all know how Womack worked out (good luck in Cincy.) Cairo isn't exactly over-the-hill; he's 31 (just younger than I am). Can he fill the role of utility player? Absolutely! Will he? Let's hope his stats are more in line with his 2004 tour of duty and not his '05 numbers with the cross-town Mets.
Adding Kelly Stinnett and choosing to let John Flaherty go surprised me. I wouldn't have thought they would have let the Big Unit's personal catcher go. I wonder if they sought out Johnson's input on that move. I consider Stinnett to be an upgrade to Flaherty. He has a little better of an arm and is certainly better with the stick. If you're going to bat .165, you better be the best defensive catcher in the game with a cannon for an arm. Sorry Johnny, but you weren't. Kelly Stinnett gets stamped with a big UPGRADE, Best Week Ever style.
And that brings me to Johnny Damon. I would have rather seen the Yankees acquire the likes of Juan Pierre or Torri Hunter. Am I disappointed in the Damon signing? Absolutely not. It works on so many levels. He's a bonafide leadoff guy, which the Yankees needed so Jeter can go back to the 2-hole. He gets on base, can swipe a few bases, and can put the bat on the ball. A guy like that in the Yankee lineup makes the odds of winning another AL East Division pretty good. Sure, his power numbers were down from 2005 and his arm isn't really any better than Bernie Williams, but when you can have a guy like that setting the table, you do it. My one concern is going to be his ability to cover enough ground to run down some fly balls. Playing CF in Yankee Stadium isn't quite the same as playing CF in Fenway. And let's face it, Johnny just doesn't look like your stereotypical baseball player. Everything about him looks awkward. But, it works. Oh, I forgot the best reason. It was like ripping the heart and soul out of the Red Sox Nation. As a Yankee fan, you had to love that. I'll bet they didn't see that coming. Is it me or does it seem like players want to get out of Boston when there contracts are up? Some even before their contracts are up in the case of Manny and David Wells? Why do guys want to get out of Boston so bad? If any Red Sox fans happen to read through all of this, I'd really like to know. Pedro, Derek Lowe, Manny, Wells, Millar, Damon, Mueller, Cabrera? An organization in turmoil? Perhaps. I'll talk about that another day.
Well, if you made it this far, what do you think? I welcome all comments. Personally, I'd give the Yankees a B+ for their offseason efforts. A grade that I think is good enough to secure another division championship. We'll have to watch out for those pesky Blue Jays. As of now they're my odds on favorite to take second. I'm looking forward to seeing the Yanks/Jays hook up 9 times up in Toronto. I've already got my tickets. April can't get here soon enough.....
Peace.
J