Like, duh. Did he really believe that shelling out all that cash was going to result in a super-duper offense? On June 11 I wrote a blog stating that the "Yankees' bats aren't coming alive anytime soon" and more than two months later, it seems that I was right.
The naive Steinbrenner crew and dopey GM Brian Cashman had unrealistic expectations this past offseason.
Carlos Beltran was aging and often injured, so could he really be expected to produce at a high level? Same with recently released second baseman Brian Roberts. Outstanding hitters in their prime, yes, but they were both way past those days when they were signed as free agents. Same thing with Ichiro Suzuki and the departed Alfonso Soriano.
Comparing Brian McCann to Thurman Munson was a bit silly, and unfair to McCann - in three consecutive years Munson had averages of .318, .302, and .308, with RBI totals of 102, 105, and 100, and hit over .300 in two other seasons as well. In his career McCann has hit .300 twice and has never driven in 100 runs.
Believing Mark Teixeira would drive in 110 runs a year after coming off a serious wrist injury at age 34 wasn't very bright.
If Derek Jeter hadn't announced his retirement before the season it would be clear that his career is over at this point, with his .271 batting average 40 points below his career average of .311.
Several months ago Girardi was quoted as saying, "I don't believe people forget how to hit overnight" and while that is true, this Yankee team was more of a case of a group of players whose skills have eroded significantly and just can't cut the mustard anymore.
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