Brian Cashman could not have worked 19 years as an employee of George Steinbrenner without growing several layers of hardened epidermis.
So when a critical appraisal of his New York Yankees was presented, Cashman did not respond with sensitivity and indignation, but comforting candidness. Since the Yankees’ last World Series title in 2000, they have been unable to endure a rough stretch without the baseball world wondering if their great dynasty has grown too old.
“We are old,” Cashman said.
The Yankees have 15 players on their 25-man roster who are at least 35. The Rockies have none. With an average age of 34 years, the Yanks are by far baseball’s oldest team. The Rockies’ average age is 26 years, 6 months.
None of this would have been brought up except entering May, the Rockies weren’t alone in their misery. The Yankees are 10-14 after suffering their first losing April in 14 years.
“Age does have an effect on our roster, without a doubt,” Cashman said, citing center fielder Bernie Williams and pitcher Kevin Brown as examples. “I mean, Bernie’s not the same player, Browny’s not the same pitcher. But I only have concern about age when the performance slips. We’ve had a number of guys who have performed here and will continue to perform here despite their age.”
If this is more than a slump, if this is truly the end of the most recent of Yankees dynasties, baseball would suffer. Now, hold on. Stop screaming at the newspaper.
Yes, this sentiment runs counter to the industry-wide outrage of the 1990s. When the Yankees were outspending every other team and trouncing all comers on their way to winning four World Series in a five-season span, they supposedly represented all that was wrong with baseball.
They were, as The Denver Post headline proclaimed well before Red Sox president Larry Lucchino stole the proclamation, the “Evil Empire.”
But while time eventually may erode a player’s skills, even those who wear pinstripes, it also brings acute perspective. Looking back to the critical juncture that was the late-1990s, the Yankees were to baseball what Tiger Woods has been to golf.
It is widely believed Cal Ripken Jr. surpassing Lou Gehrig’s consecutive- games record in 1995 and the great Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase in 1998 were the two events that helped save baseball.
The Yankees, however, may have played a more important role. The feats of Ripken, McGwire and Sosa were ventures into the unknown. The Yankees’ dominance brought baseball back to those romantic times of Mickey, Joltin’ Joe and the Babe.
If the Yanks were king, and baseball’s glorious history always had focused heavily on the Yankees, then all must have been right with baseball again.
“Working here when we were a doormat in the American League East and then seeing how we started to raise our level of play starting in 1993, it just appeared to me that, like anything else, having a contending team in a big market like New York is good for your entire industry,” Cashman said. “Whether it’s the NBA and the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers, whether it’s the NHL and the Rangers, or baseball and the Yankees, it’s important for those leagues to have the teams in the bigger markets be successful more times than not.”
Entering month two, the 2005 baseball season is beginning to resemble the NBA’s Missing Jordan Years of 1993-94. Barry Bonds has yet to begin his serious quest at Babe Ruth’s 714 and Hank Aaron’s 755. And now there are signs the Yankees also may be taking the year off.
For now, these signs remain largely ignored. The general perception is the season is young and the Yankees will be fine. The reality of the Yankees’ roster, however, is that too many players are old.
“We’ll get this figured out,” Cashman said.
Baseball can only hope.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
