New York, NY (WFAN) -- Random Thoughts the week after World Series win #27:
*Did any of us really see this coming two years ago? Remember when Hank Steinbrenner was running amok, Joe Girardi was replacing Joe Torre,
A-Rod was opting out and back in, and Johan Santana was on his way to Flushing instead of the Bronx?
Brian Cashman sat in front of the media last October and had what I called his "You can't handle the truth" moment, telling us all that he was going to re-write the story. None of us knew that he would be proven right only a year later.
While all the chaos was going on, Cashman was the constant. Even ownership was in turmoil, from the admission that George really wasn't in charge anymore to Hank creating headlines to Hal pushing Hank into the background and creating a more stable environment.
Cashman went on a mission last winter and hauled in the biggest and most influential free agent crop in team history.
CC Sabathia,
AJ Burnett, and
Mark Teixeira all could have been very rich men elsewhere. But they all came to the new Yankee Stadium, and Cashman made good on his promise.
Gene Michael and even Bob Watson got the credit for the great Yankee teams of the last dynasty. If the Yankees build a new one (and remember, Yankee championships usually come in bunches), then Cashman will be the one who gets the credit. And he will deserve it.
*Here's somebody else that deserves some credit: Bill Livesey, the 69-year old lifelong baseball man who just won his first World Series ring. Livesey, the man who oversaw the drafting and development of core Yankees like Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, and Rivera among others, was fired after the 1995 season. Livesey's fingerprints were all over the dynasty Yankees of the late 90's, but he never got a ring. He was brought back last year as a special assistant in the scouting department. Livesey should savor this World Series win because the core Yankees that he nurtured were still a big reason why they won.
*Is
Jorge Posada a Hall-of-Famer? It will be worth discussing when he finally hangs it up. He's still far behind the all-time catching leaders in home runs and runs batted in. But here's something else to consider-since Yogi Berra's election in 1972, only three catchers have been elected by the writers' ballot (Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, and Gary Carter) and Posada owns more World Series rings than all three combined.
*For all the years we spent wondering if Alex Rodriguez was a winning player, the argument ends here. No matter what happens from here on out, he was an integral part of World Series championship number 27. He wasn't just along for the ride. A-Rod=World Series champ. Live with it.
*Joe Girardi entered the 2009 season knowing he would be fired if he failed to make the playoffs again. Now that he's won the World Series, he deserves a contract extension. Girardi's original three-year deal expires after next season. I would fully expect the Steinbrenners to reward Girardi with an extension this off-season.
*For all the talk of
Derek Jeter being too old to play shortstop for a winning team, he keeps finding ways to quiet us all, doesn't he? He became the first 35-year old regular shortstop on a World Series champion since Pee Wee Reese on the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers. Jeter saved his best for last-his 11 hits in the World Series were his most in any of the 28 postseason series of his career.
*Instant replay
will not be advanced in any greater form than it is now. Right now it's too hard to set the parameters and have everybody agree on it. The only thing I'm curious about is why they can't use the same computerized technology used in tennis for line calls to get the fair/foul calls right.
*Lots of time for hot stove discussion. Back with more of that another time.
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