The first stage of grief is denial, and I certainly went through that. For almost a week after it happened I couldn't turn on the television or read the papers, knowing they would be talking about it - It being the Yankees' collapse to Jeffery Loria's Marlins. The loss was more traumatizing than sitting through Kazaam.
Second in the process is anger. My anger was certainly there. It was directed at Juan Pierre and his freestyling abilities, all Met and Red Sox fans who became Marlins fans overnight and anyone who proclaimed Josh Beckett the second coming of Christ after his game six performance.
Then I started thinking of ways the situation could be made better. Maybe George Steinbrenner could trade Jeff Weaver, Alfonso Soriano and $10 Billion for Beckett and the World Series Championship. This is a little shady but I'm pretty sure that was bargaining, the third stage.
After realizing my scapegoats and unworldly sum of money for the Trophy and the Messiah trade was unrealistic I sunk into a deep depression. For a day all I did was sleep, eat Ben and Jerry's and watch My So Called Life reruns while listening to the Cure.
Then as quickly as it came on, my depression was gone, and I realized I was in the final stage - acceptance. The truth of the matter is that we beat the Red Sox in extra innings of the ALCS. The season was a success just because of the Aaron Boone home run in the Bottom of the 11th.
But I'm not satisfied. These are the Yankees and they need to make moves now. Not only do they need to make moves, they have to be big ones. If Brian Cashman doesn't land every decent free agent on the market, I have a feeling that both Steinbrenner and I will be rather upset. So, if I were Cashman this is what I would do:
1) First of all, re-sign Andy Pettite. Give him whatever he wants, but get him back in pinstripes.
2) Rumor has it that A-Rod is on the market. So, trade Giambi and a few prospects for him. That should work. Then you'll have Nick Johnson as the every day first baseman and Jeter will be moved to third.
3) Trade Alfonso Soriano and Aaron Boone to the Mariners for Ichiro. This may sound far-fetched, but it should go through, at least it would in MVP Baseball 2003.
4) To round out the lineup Cashman needs to sign Miguel Tejada and Vlad Guerrero. Miguel can be moved to second base and Vlad will be the center fielder.
5) With the lineup set, the rotation needs some work. So obviously signing Bartolo Colon and Sidney Ponson should be a priority, and that leaves the Yankees with four starters. As a fifth starter they should probably get Curt Schilling, who is supposed to be moved. They could package some prospects, Karim Garcia and a few million dollars to get him.
6) The bullpen needed some work too, so why not pick up Keith Foulke and Kelvim Escobar as setup men? Jeff Nelson can act as a middle reliever, so that should be good.
Now, what we've got is a pretty decent team. Jorge Posada at catcher, Johnson at first, Tejada at second, Jeter at third and A-Rod at short. That's a pretty good infield, should be good enough to beat out the Sox, and those damned Marlins come October. The outfield of Vlad, Ichiro and Matsui is pretty good in it's own right.
As for the DH, I was thinking that Juan Gonzalez is available, but picking him up might be overkill. Then there was the thought that Don Mattingly and his moustache could come back, but he might be a bit over the hill. So, with Bernie Williams still floating around the clubhouse he can fill the role.
All of this worked when I tried it in MVP 2003, so if Cashman can't pull it off he should be stoned to death. That seems like a fair punishment, I think the dictator - er, I mean Steinbrenner, - would agree.
The starting rotation should hold up well and the bullpen is a little better than last year. I think that the Yankees might have a pretty good shot at winning it all.
Or they could just add a few more realistic options and make another run at the Series.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
