Baseball

World Series: Yanks may be facing overhaul after Series failure

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 26, 2003

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NEW YORK - The Yankees were having a hard time explaining what happened in losing the World Series to the Marlins.

And an even harder time trying to figure out what is going to happen as a result.

"Obviously everyone is very upset," centerfielder Bernie Williams said. "I think the front office, the people in charge designed this team not to play good in the postseason but to win. And that didn't happen. So a lot of people are going to be very upset."

The speculation is that there will be significant changes, but general manager Brian Cashman said he didn't know yet how significant. He said he expected to be talking about them with owner George Steinbrenner this morning.

"We had not focused at all on the 2004 team; unfortunately we'll start now, a day earlier than we hoped," Cashman said. "It's going to be a long winter. I guess we'll see how it goes."

Based on recent history and Steinbrenner's obsession with winning, it will be a busy one.

The Yankees will have several major issues to deal with, including possibly replacing almost the entire rotation.

Andy Pettitte is a free agent, Roger Clemens says he is retiring, David Wells' bad back makes it unlikely his option will be picked up and Jeff Weaver's struggles make it likely he'll be traded.

The coaching staff also could look significantly different. Bench coach Don Zimmer reiterated Saturday that he won't return, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre is considering retirement, hitting coach Rick Down is expected to be fired and first-base coach Lee Mazzilli is interviewing for the Baltimore manager's job.

Though Steinbrenner has said manager Joe Torre will be back, there has been speculation Cashman could be in trouble.

The Yankees also are expected to shake up the lineup, with the possibility they will pursue a top-notch rightfielder such as Vladimir Guerrero or Gary Sheffield.

"It's tough," catcher Jorge Posada said. "We thought we had a good team to be world champions. We go to the World Series and we expected to win. ... I have no idea what's going to happen."

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