Since April 4th, I have been watching Yankee Games on TV and in particular watching the Yankees shortstop DiDi Gregorius play shortstop. Well, needless to say, the young shortstop’s first couple of weeks was less than memorable. With all the defensive and base running lapses he made in a few short weeks and the fans chanting Derek Jeter’s name, I felt really bad for this young kid.
To add fuel to the fire, the kid the Yankees gave up (Shane Greene) has 3 wins and no losses with the Detroit Tigers and has an ERA less than one. So far it looks like a bad trade for Brian Cashman, but it’s only 3 weeks into the season and we have a long way to go before we pass final judgement. What Yankee fans should be upset about is the fact that the Yankee lineup looks old and it looks like another year of not making the playoffs. When Alex Rodriguez (40 years old this year) is probably going to be their best hitter, this team is in big trouble. I know this team needs to get young, but the new owners are more financially conservative and it will take a heck of a lot more time to do this under this regime then when George Steinbrenner was alive and in control. George’s goal was to win championships every year and he didn’t care how much money was spent doing this. Now that George is gone, I think fans really appreciate what he meant to the team and to Yankee fans. In spite of all the media buzz about how bad George Steinbrenner was and all the negative press when he was alive, the truth is he was a great owner and good for baseball. The Yankees have not had a championship since 2009 and have missed the playoffs (this year will be 3 years in a row) again and again. They beat the Tigers 3 out of 4 , but this team is not a playoff team. George can’t be happy about what he is witnessing and how the team is being managed. I just wish Hal Steinbrenner had some of the fire his dad had.