Is It 1996 Yet?

So this off-season is certainly off to a tumultuous start. All hope shouldn't fly out the window with Torre and A-Rod though. This team is still better than most and for once it's stocked with young talent.

Get off the ledge Yankee fans. Take a deep breath and relax.

There are many different plans of attack to fix the sudden gaping holes on the team.

Here's my plan to fix the 2008 New York Yankees

1) Hire Joe Girardi

Mattingly is a nice fit but, if we wanted Joe Torre wouldn't we have just kept Joe Torre? Girardi at least brings something different to the table. He has experience, he has the NY connection and he has the proven ability to work with young talent. Something that this team will need going forward.

2)Hire Tony Pena as bench coach and Dave Eiland as pitching coach.

Pena brings a fire to the dugout and staff. He's also experienced and respected by the players. How much of Jorge's resurgence can be attributed to Pena an ex-catcher? Eiland, while not a big name like Guidry or Mazzone, is exactly what the Yankees need. He has developed Joba, Kennedy, Hughes in the minors. Having the kids work with someone they are familiar with should only aide their development.

...Speaking of familiarity...

3) Re-sign Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.

This must happen, if the Yankees need to overpay so be it. These are both cornerstone players of this team. Posada is a must to work with the young pitching and also all of a sudden he's our cleanup hitter. Rivera, is still lights out even though he isn't what he once was. If Rivera goes we might be forced to keep Joba in the bullpen. Which brings me to my next point...

4) Move Joba Chamberlain into the starting rotation.

Starters are always more valuable than relievers. It's Moneyball 101. It's obvious how valuable closers are, look at what Mo has done for the Yanks and what Papelbon is doing now for the Sox. But, riddle me this. Who's more valuable to the Sox? Beckett or Papelbon? If Joba is as good as he looks than he can be an absolute ace. If he is he has much more value than he would closing games, especially in the post-season.

5) Trade for Johan Santana.

A few days ago I suggested the Yanks should trade Cano for Johan. Well, know that doesn't seem feasible now. Quite frankly the Yankees need Cano's bat and he's going to be batting higher in the order sooner rather than later. So can will still get Johan? I say definitely. Joba and Hughes have to be untouchable, but no one else should be. Wang could be the center piece of Santana trade...if it becomes a three way deal. Wang is a poor fit for the Twins but imagine him in Arizona? The team is all ready geared around one successful sinker ball pitcher (Webb) why not add another one? The Diamondbacks are rich with young talent that could be sent to the Twins. So my proposition is Wang to Arizona, Kennedy and Cabrera to the Twins. Santana to the Yanks. And prospects from Arizona to the Twins.

It seems like were giving up a lot but we really are not.

So under these circumstances we would still need a third baseman and now a center fielder.

7) Sign Aaron Rowand.

Rowand is gritty defender and above average offensively. In the long run he'd be a better value than Andruw Jones (overrated/Scott Boras. Pencil him as a Barry Zito-sized mistake for whatever team signs him) and Hunter who is older and will cost more money.

Rowand is certainly an upgrade over Melky. 4 Years and 40 Million should get it done.

8) Move Robinson Cano to 3rd Base.

Cano has the arm and body type suited to playing third base. Cano is now the key to this Yankee team. He must continue to develop for this team to succeed.

9) Trade for Mark Ellis.

Ellis has a reasonable contract, one year 8 million. He's an OBP geared second baseman with some pop. Beane seems to be slashing salary desperately and he could probably find someone off the scrap head to match Ellis's production. Around the deadline the A's were targeting Brett Gardener. So that sounds like a reasonable swap.

10) Trade dead weight.

A.K.A cut our losses. Since I am swapping out a bunch of prospects in this scenario we could certainly stand to bolster our farm system. Giambi, Farnsworth, Pavano and Igawa all need to go. Igawa would certainly bring the most in return. I still like the idea of a Cla Meredith trade with San Diego. In the case of the others the Yankees shouldn't hesitate to eat salary in order to get some talent in return.

So lets recap this is the team I have the Yankees fielding next year.

C: Jorge Posada 1: Andy Phillips 2: Mark Ellis SS: Derek Jeter 3: Robinson Cano LF: Johnny Damon CF: Aaron Rowand RF: Bobby Abreu DH: Hideki Matsui

1/OF: Shelly Duncan UTIL: Wilson Betimit 3/OF: Bronson Sarhdina

SP: Johan Santana SP: Andy Pettite SP: Philip Hughes SP: Joba Chamberlain SP: Mike Mussina

RP: Mariano Rivera RP: Cla Meredith RP: Jose Veras RP: Russ Ohlendorf RP: Luis Vizcaino?

Of course some work would still need to be done.

The bullpen is a rag tag group to put it nicely. Viz could be brought back but it'd have to be cheap and short. Fransisco Cordero is an option but he would be rather expensive and might not adjust well to the AL East. The bench would also have to be strengthened.

However with those few knocks I think this is a team that could win between 90-100 games and compete for a AL East Title.

It's alot different than the Bronx Bombers of the past few years but those teams have yet to win a World Series.

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