With Spring training only about a week away now, there is some buzz starting to spread around Tampa as players start reporting to camp. Undoubtedly, throughout this entire 2010 campaign there are going to be three questions that are sure to come up on a regular basis. What should the Yankees do about Mo, Jeter, and Girardi. All three are entering the final year on their contracts and so the debates will begin on what to do come season's end. There is the possibility of the players asking for an extension of their existing contracts but it's unlikely that any of the three would suggest or hint at that this early. There's no question, Mo and Jeter are definitely getting older but after the season's they just had, you ask yourself can you really see either of them wearing anything but pinstripes?
Jeter is the captain. I can't see any chance in the universe that he will ever play for another team. He is currently 35 and will be turning 36 in June. Yes, that is getting up there for a professional athlete but after looking at his 2009 resume can you really say he is declining in performance:
2009 GOLD GLOVE AWARD...
2009 SILVER SLUGGER AWARD...
2009 ROBERTO CLEMENTE AWARD...
2009 HANK AARON AWARD...
2009 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR...
2009 NY DAILY NEWS NEW YORKER OF THE YEAR...
2009 TWIB PLAY OF THE YEAR...
2009 TOPS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE WITH OVER 3.5 MILLION ALL STAR VOTES...
2009 PASSES LOU GHERIG TO BECOME THE YANKEES ALL TIME HITS LEADER...
2009 BECOMES THE ALL TIME MLB HITS LEADER FOR THE SS POSITION ...
2009 .334 BA, 212 H, 107 R, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 30 SB, .406 OBP...
2009 MOVES INTO 18 PLACE ON THE AMERICAN LEAGUE'S ALL TIME HITS LIST...
2009 MOVES INTO 49 PLACE ON MLB'S ALL TIME HITS LIST...
2009 PLAYOFFS .344 BA, .432 OBP...
2009 WORLD SERIES .407 BA, .429 OBP,
There's no question, he just had one of the most productive seasons of his career if not the most productive. Only problem that comes up when talking about Jeter and a new contract, It is very unlikely he is going to take a pay cut. He is going to definitely want a multi-year deal and he will probably be asking for more than the almost 19 million he currently makes a year. If I'm the Yankees, I don't care what he is asking for, you give it to him. He is even more valuable than the 189 million dollar contract you gave him 9 years ago. He has been an integral part of 5 world series teams and he is the poster boy for the word consistency. Some feel he should be making in the ball park of A-rod money. I think the Yankees just need to lock him up basically for the rest of his career. Give him what he wants because without him, the last 15 would have been completely different.
Mariano in some ways is a different case, but again when it comes to performance, you would never be able to tell you were looking at a 40 year old's stats. He is the greatest regular season and post season closer of all time. This season was no different from the rest of his career, he recorded 44 saves in 46 opportunities with a 1.76 era. His post season stats are even more impressive but thats not what's in question. He has proved at 40 that he can still perform, but for how much longer? I don't know if a multi year deal is in the cards with MO. He will be 41 at the start of next season and despite all he has done for the Yankees over the years, I can't see them going with a multi year deal. Like Jeter, Mo isn't going to want to take a pay cut but that could all depend on his performance this season. If he has a good year, I can maybe see a slim chance of a 2 year deal. Mo is a class act and I don't see him making too big of a fuss over a one year deal after this season.
When it comes to Girardi, I'm still up in the air. Obviously they will structure some type of deal to keep him around, the length is what I believe will be the debate on hand. I'm still not sold on Girardi as manager. Yes I do like him personally and I think he was a great Yankee player. I know he just won a World Series this season but no offense to Joe, I might have been able to win a World Series with that much talent. I think that no matter what happens this season Girardi still deserves more time at the controls. If the Yanks don't make the playoffs this year though, last years World Series will be the last thing Yanks fans are going to be thinking about. They are going to be calling for Girardi's head which is going to put Cashman in quite the situation. So as I stated with Mariano, it is going to have a lot to do with the teams performance this season for the Skip. I think they are going to have to win the East too. There are a handful of teams out West that have greatly improved this off season and I think the Wild Card could come out of that division this year.
It's all just going to be talk right now but like I said, its going to be at the front of everyone's minds throughout this entire season. I think extending Mo's contract would be ideal. Girardi is going to want a pay increase but he better focus on getting us to October baseball if he wants to be able to walk the streets of New York after this season. Jeter gets what he wants. If he asks for another 10 contract give it to him. His value to the organization is priceless and you know he's got a solid 5 years still left in him. For now I'm going to bask in the 09 glory for a couple more weeks but as soon as that first pitch of the season is thrown, it's all about defending the title.
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