Upon the 2006 Yankee Preview- The Coaches

Ladies and Gentleman, Welcome to the 2006 season Team Preview for the New York Yankees. The 2005 season was ended at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim via a 3 games to 2 first round exit. The team avoided the dramatic overhaul that many expected, as Torre, Cashman, and the rest of the front office stayed put. We are back this year with some new faces, some old faces, and the same goal, as iterated by The Boss. It’s a ring or nothing this year, and I am down for the ride. I will periodically update this preview (and hopefully improve upon last year’s effort), so as to give my readers an introduction to the subject that I post most frequently about. Let’s begin.

The coaching staff for the Yankees is listed below:

COACHES

Joe Torre- Manager- Torre is back for his 10th season, and the record speaks for itself, loudly. 9 straight playoff appearances, 6 World Series appearances with 4 titles. Speculation surrounded Torre’s potential retirement, but he is back with a 2-year deal, and will do what he does best; coach a winning team. To the casual observer Joe Torre may look disinterested or even asleep during games, but this could not be further from the truth. One of baseball’s best skippers, Torre takes some of the finest talent that has been collected, and guides it in a progressive direction.

Lee Mazzilli- Bench Coach- Lee comes off two seasons as the manager of the tumultuous Baltimore Orioles, and returns as consigliere to Joe Torre. It seemed a bit early for Lee to get a manager’s spot, and I think he would do better to try and grab the helm from Joe when he hangs it up. Good presence here will keep Torre’s spirits up if the season gets long

Tony Pena/Larry Bowa- First/Third Base Coach- Two new additions to the staff, these former big-league managers are highly experienced baseball men who have seen just about every game situation you can imagine. Pena will be valuable for his relationship and communication with the Latin players, and Bowa is a definite upgrade over send-em-home Sojo. I think that Torre will gain a great deal of help from these two, patricularly against NL teams, as Bowa helmed the Phillies for many years (and more recently than Joe’s NL stints). Colorful personalities, I like the addition of these two

Don Mattingly- Hitting Coach- Donnie Baseball did a great job getting Giambi back into the swing of things (no pun intended), and Cano and Bubba Crosby had productive runs as well. The lack of playoff production had people questioning Don, but that blame falls on A-Rod and Sheff as much as their coach. I like a great Stadium-hitting lefty to help Damon make the transition

Ron Guidry- Pitching Coach- Gator fills the shoes of Mel Stottlemyre, and inherits a staff with more external than internal question marks. With Unit 1 year older and coming off an average season, uncertainty about Pavano’s health and Mussina’s durability, and a new set-up corps, Ron will have plenty of challenges. However, he also has a chance to have the talent assembled make his job real easy for him. An intetesting hire with Yankee roots.

Joe Kerrigan- Bullpen Coach- Another former big league manager, Kerrigan brings even more veteran experience and knowledge to the Yankee coaching staff.

The above are all names I will make reference to throughout the year. I tried to include nicknames which I will frequently use as shorthand. Now that the staff is identified, I will move to the position players, starting with the infield.