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Updated: February 26, 12:20 PM ET Yankees to face numerous hurdles in 2001 By Bob Klapisch Special to ESPN.com | |||||||||||||||||
Paul O'Neill didn't realize it, but when he arrived at Yankee camp the other day, his first assessment of the world champs was as dead-on accurate
as anyone's in baseball. When asked how much longer the Yankee dynasty could
keep breathing, O'Neill flatly said, "We've probably got this one more year
left with everybody ... the faces are going to change."
Club officials admit this is a team in transition -- nowhere close to as
intimidating as the history-making 1998 edition, and without any guarantees
there'll be another October resurgence. Despite winning their third straight
World Series in 2000, the Yankees are painfully aware of their very-ordinary,
87-win season, and how narrowly they escaped an upset by the A's in the
Division Series.
Given the gradual decline of certain core players -- like O'Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius -- can the Yankees possibly make it four in a row?
They say yes, but the rest of the American League, the Red Sox in particular,
see the oldest, slowest Yankee team in years.
Here are the five questions that could determine the Yankees' path for
the coming season:
Will the new head-hunting edicts affect the way Roger Clemens pitches inside?
It's the same question asked of every big-name, big-money out-of-towner, and the results have been mixed. At Shea, for instance, Mike Piazza assimilated, but Mike Hampton never did. In the Bronx, Tino Martinez fell in love with the city, but Denny Neagle pitched so poorly after being acquired from the Reds last summer that the Yankees never lifted a finger to keep him as a free agent. The Yankees are obviously watching Mussina closely, but there are plenty of reasons why he should make the transition. He's intelligent, socially mature and willing to accept whatever role Torre has planned for him. That proclamation from Mussina seems genuine. And, most importantly, Mussina is enormously talented, thanks to that knuckle-curve. Can Chuck Knoblauch throw or not? Torre put the second baseman on notice recently, calling him the camp's "first curiosity." There'll be no hiding from his throwing problems this year. No hiding behind the DH spot, no plans for regular use of a late-inning defensive replacement like Luis Sojo. The Yankees -- and Knoblauch himself -- have every intention of defeating this syndrome at its roots. Can he? Knoblauch arrived in camp weeks before his teammates to begin infield drills, and has been counseled by a sports psychologist. So far, the results have been positive, but then again, Knoblauch has never had a problem in practice or in theory. It's the in-game application that sabotages him. When the pressure's on -- when an entire crowd is watching, anticipating the worst -- something happens in Knoblauch's thought-process. His arm freezes, his body panics, the ball goes sailing to the planets. So far, no one's been able to solve that mystery. Is Tino Martinez ready to reverse a three-year slide? He sure looked good in camp this week, some 10 pounds thinner thanks to a new offseason exercise regimen. Martinez has abandoned weight-lifting and power-conditioning in favor of greater flexibility, leaner muscle-mass and, he hopes, a quicker bat. Martinez hasn't been the same hitter since 1997, when he batted .296 with 44 home runs and 141 RBI. He's receded in virtually every category since then, and last year's numbers -- .258, 16 home runs and 91 RBI -- were less than the major league average for a first baseman in 2000, which was .290, 26, and 97. Martinez is beginning his sixth, and perhaps final year with the Yankees. He's eligible for free agency in 2002, and he's convinced the Yankees are ready to turn their gaze to Triple-A prospect Nick Johnson. But until then, the Bombers are leaning heavily on Martinez. Can David Justice hit another 40 home runs? Not only is it a fair question, it's perhaps the single greatest issue surrounding the Bomber offense. Justice almost single-handedly resurrected the lineup in the second half, hitting 20 homers and driving in 60 runs in just 78 games. Justice was everything that Ricky Ledee was not, and it's not a stretch to say the Yankees might've expired quietly in September without him. Yet, Justice is approaching his 35th birthday, not to mention recovering from offseason hernia surgery. One more thing: Justice is insisting on playing left field, not DH'ing. Will he? Can he? The Yankees, as well as the rest of the AL East, breathlessly await an answer. Bob Klapisch of the Bergen (N.J.) Record covers baseball for ESPN.com. |
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