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It's never too soon to forecast Yanks and D-Backs will be very busy this offseason
With a memorable World Series in the books, it's time to look ahead and see what the future holds for the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks. CNNSI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman to get his thoughts on how 2002 will shape up for the clubs. CNNSI.com: What stood out for you more than anything from this World Series? Jeff Pearlman: One thing that will be overshadowed by Arizona winning the series is how poor a job Bob Brenly did. He'll get a lot of accolades, and I guess in the end you can say starting Curt Schilling on short rest paid off, but I think he distinguished himself as a manager who is a step behind in his strategy. You have to scratch your head at Brenly letting Randy Johnson throw over 100 pitches in Game 6 when Arizona had a 15-0 lead and allowing Schilling to hit for himself late in Game 7. Brenly kind of let Johnson and Schilling call the shots and he did not come off as a great playoff manager. Players will now smile and say great things because they won, but these guys know what's going on and they have to be scratching their heads over some of these moves. CNNSI.com: The Yankees will have a very different look next season. What do you think their main move will be? Pearlman: Everyone knows for a fact that the Yankees are going to go hard after Jason Giambi. I think GM Brian Cashman is clearly going to determine whether he can get the slugger signed, and if not he will immediately try to re-sign Tino Martinez. There are two prime first baseman out there. Jason Giambi is A and Tino Martinez is B. The Yankees will have one of them. CNNSI.com: What are some other changes the Yankees will undergo? Pearlman: I think it's a lock that Chuck Knoblauch won't be back so New York will be looking for a new outfielder. Juan Gonzalez is on the market and there are only a couple of teams that can afford him, and the Yankees are one of them. Moises Alou will be available, too. Even though Alou vetoed a trade to the Yankees last year, he's definitely open to coming to the Bronx. When I talked to him for a story earlier this year he kind of hinted that he'd have no problem playing in New York. So I think those are the main names you can see the Yankees going after. CNNSI.com: What about highly-touted rookies Drew Henson and Nick Johnson? Any chance they will be starting on the big club in 2002? Pearlman: Henson showed this year at Class AAA that he's not ready for the major leagues. Even if he had a bang-up spring training, it's very likely that he'll start the year at Columbus. Nick Johnson is the last candidate for first base. The Yankees aren't in the rebuilding mode and they already have a couple of young players that will be key elements like Alfonso Soriano, so I can't imagine that Johnson will be their first baseman in 2002. It's just too early for him.
CNNSI.com: Being such a veteran team, Arizona should have an altered roster as well. What will the Diamondbacks do this offseason? Pearlman: The D'backs have a lot of tough decisions to make because they have a lot of older players who can stay or go. Tony Womack, Reggie Sanders, Steve Finley, Albie Lopez -- a lot of those guys won't be back next year. And the team does have some financial problems. Owner Jerry Colangelo has already promised that the Diamondbacks won't be the next Florida Marlins, and they probably won't be, but you might not even consider them one of the two or three favorites in the National League. They're going to be a pared-down team with a guy like Danny Bautista as their center fielder. CNNSI.com: One player who is young and inexpensive with loads of potential is Erubiel Durazo. Will he finally get to crack the Arizona lineup next season? Pearlman: Durazo is great. However, there's a very good chance he's going to be trade bait for young pitching because a ton of teams would love to have him. I spoke to a scout last week who swore Durazo was a 40-home run guy waiting to happen. He's a very mature hitter and he hates pinch hitting (he isn't good at it, either) so Arizona can't keep a guy like that coming off the bench. Mark Grace will be the Diamondbacks' first baseman next year, but it's possible that if they don't bring Sanders back, Durazo can be in their outfield. I don't think he's a good outfielder, but maybe Bob Brenly thinks he's better than I do. I just think it's a matter of whether Arizona is willing to put up with a little less defense for a guy who could really anchor its lineup. CNNSI.com: Arizona's rotation looked a little thin in the World Series. What do you see the D'backs doing in the pitching department? Pearlman: I don't think their rotation is that terrible. Obviously when you get into the playoffs things are different and you do anything you can to win, whether it means throwing a guy two days in a row like the D'backs did with Johnson or pitching a guy on three days rest twice like they did with Schilling. Brian Anderson is not a bad No. 4 starter. Miguel Batista had a breakout season; Arizona thinks he can be a 13-14 game winner. The Diamondbacks don't have the money to go after a big-time pitcher like Chan Ho Park and there isn't much else out there, so I think the rotation will basically be the same. The main concern is the bullpen because it's terrible. Even if Matt Mantei and Brett Prinz come back from injuries, the Arizona bullpen is still not that good. And Mantei is a big if because he's coming off Tommy John surgery. CNNSI.com: You mentioned earlier that you don't expect the Diamondbacks to be the front-runner in the NL. What about the Yankees in the AL? Pearlman: It's hard to say the Yankees should be the American League favorite because teams like Oakland and Seattle should be very strong again. It's not like the Yankees will be the clear-cut favorites in 2002, but they weren't the clear-cut favorites this season, either. New York is still the class of the AL East, and it would be a shocker if they lost the division next year. They have questions: Will they bring El Duque back? Is Shane Spencer ready to be an everyday player? How will they replace Knoblauch in the leadoff spot? But they are still the favorites in the AL East. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jeff Pearlman covers the baseball beat for
the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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