Despite Changes, Yankees Are Still Optimistic

The manager and coaches are new. The second baseman has been changed. The identity of the center fielder has yet to be determined. The pitching staff is an unknown in more ways than one. The job security of the shortstop is in doubt. And the catching responsibilities have not been defined. All of which indicates one thing: same old Yankees.

Still, an air of optimism exists among the New York Yankees because of the changes and the arrival of a manager who has experienced success in other surroundings.

At the same time, though, an air of doubt persists. Why will this combination of ingredients mixed by the mad chemist-owner produce the desired result? His varied concoctions have produced no success in the last seven seasons. Why will this edition of the new Yankees fare any better?

At this point, as pitchers and catchers are to report to the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., complex, the most encouraging news for the Yankees is that the remainder of the American League East is diminished.

The division hardly is the powerhouse it was 10, or even five, years ago. The departure of Bruce Hurst from the Boston Red Sox and the back surgery that will incapacitate Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Teddy Higuera for the first month of the season have improved the Yankees’ chances perhaps even more than the many moves the club has made since last season’s unsightly fifth-place finish, 3 1/2 games out of first place. Certainly, the division has no dominant team.

What George Steinbrenner hopes is that Dallas Green’s growling, go-get-’em approach will elicit six months of motivated play, so that even if the Yankees don’t have the most talent, they may have the most victories by Oct. 1. It won’t take too many. The Yankees’ victory total has decreased--from 97 to 90 to 89 to 85--in the last four years. In ‘89, 90 might be enough. It would have been last season.

Right or wrong, the owner regularly has characterized his teams as underachievers. This time, over-achievement may be a necessity. The success of the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Dodgers the last two years has made the role of underdog appealing even to overdog Steinbrenner. Right now, he’s in a “we’ll show you” state of mind.

All of which is not to say the Yankees are devoid of talent. Rickey Henderson, Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield are superlative players, and with Steve Sax batting after Henderson and before Mattingly and Winfield, the Yankees’ “front four” is as impressive as anything the NFL could present.

But the talent drops off after that, no matter who the center fielder, shortstop and catcher end up being. Trading Jack Clark and the failure to re-sign Claudell Washington have reduced an exceptional batting order (third in the American League in runs scored last season) to a top-heavy unit that may not produce enough runs to support a leaderless pitching staff or provide enough of a margin for a marginal defense.

A return to 1987 form by Mike Pagliarulo and a productive season from designated hitter Ken Phelps still would leave three light hitters bunched at the bottom of the order.

The defense, second worst in the league only to the pitiful Chicago White Sox last season, assumes greater importance because the pitching staff that Green, Steinbrenner and General Manager Bob Quinn have assembled is not likely to produce many strikeouts.

But now, second base no longer is manned by Willie Randolph and his smooth pivot. Sax is at second, and his most obvious flaw is his double-play work. Mattingly is the best defensive first baseman in the league, but Green is dissatisfied with Pagliarulo’s quickness at third base and concerned with the durability of Rafael Santana at shortstop.

The left side of the infield is lacking defensively, particularly for a team that probably will use three left-handed starting pitchers.

Catching hardly is a strength. Don Slaught, who produced more than expected last season, isn’t a polished defensive player. And as one cruel critic said, people assume Joel Skinner is a great defensive catcher because he’s such an inept hitter.

The weakness through the middle reaches center field, too. Roberto Kelly is regarded as the best defensive player among Washington’s three would-be successors, but neither he, Stanley Jefferson nor Bob Brower is likely to provide the kind of all-around production Washington did.

Winfield still is better than most right fielders, and Henderson, in the last year of his contract, can be expected to provide at least adequate defense.

Still, the critical elements are--as they have been in each of the last seven, pennant-less seasons--pitching and the Steinbrenner factor.

Is a rotation that features John Candelaria, Andy Hawkins, Dave LaPoint and, pick two more from Al Leiter, Jimmy Jones, Richard Dotson, Ron Guidry and Tommy John, enough to win even in the American League Least? Not one appears ready to be the ace of the staff. And how many appear capable of winning 15 games? The potential rotation is noticeably younger than it was a year ago. Whether it’s better remains to be seen.

And does a bullpen of Dave Righetti, Lance McCullers, Charles Hudson, Dale Mohorcic and Hipolito Pena have enough to be the rotation’s saving grace? Will McCullers’ presence reduce Righetti’s workload sufficiently to allow Righetti to once again become the reliable, late-inning force he was in 1986? The Yankees can’t afford another season of 11th-hour defeats.

The Steinbrenner factor, always a clear and present danger, is more difficult to judge. How the owner interacts with Green will be an intriguing subplot, and how the many new players react to life under The Boss may be interesting theater, too. What did Ed Whitson tell the San Diego contingent of Hawkins, McCullers and Jones? Nonetheless, even with all the changes, one element remains the same. So long as Steinbrenner runs the operation, these are the same old Yankees.