Is there any specific reason you can attribute their recent follies to?
Do you feel it's all a result of George Steinbrenner's death? Was he that good?
I believe Steinbrenner was somewhat overrated. It was during his 3 year suspension, 1990-93, that the team's brain trust (Gene Michael and Bob Watson), acting without Steinbrenner's meddling, drafted and developed Bernie Williams, Leyritz, Rivera, Jeter, Pettitte and Posada....then in 1992 made a great trade in getting Paul O'Neill from the Reds...and made other good trades and free agent acquisitions. Steinbrenner wanted to trade Rivera and Williams when they were farmhands.
The demise of this team is due to the fact that the team hung its hat on long term salaries and players that either got old, or injured, or both.....and due to the instant gratification of having to have an All Star at each position and letting the farm system decline. They panicked when Cano went to Seattle and immediately signed Ellsbury, McCann and Beltran to ridiculous contracts. The signings of Teixiera, Sabathia and A.J. Burnett after the 2008 season netted a championship in 2009, but since 2012, Sabathia and Teixiera have been in decline and Burnett's only decent year was his first in 2009. And Jeter and Posada played at least one year too long.
Meanwhile, A-Rod's contract has also shackled the team and his time has long since past. I blame the Yankees for extending his contract after the 2007 season. With one year left on his contract (through 2017), I fully expect the team to release him after this season....maybe even by August. He can't run, can't play defense and his light hitting and an occasional home run do not justify a roster spot. The Yankees are probably wanting him to hit 700 homers as a Yankee. I say let him hit #700 somewhere else.
The Red Sox purged 260 million dollars of payroll in 2012 and won the championship in 2013. The Yankees need to try to do the same.
Chapman, Miller, Beltran, Headley, McCann, Gardner, Pineda, Eovaldi and even Sabathia are all being considered by other teams from the various sources I have read.
