Who's on first? Why not Bernie?

It appears that the Bernie Williams/New York Yankees marriage has gone the way of Larry King and his first seven wives. Bernie appears to have rejected the Yankees offer of a minor-league contract and an invite to spring training. While it's not official, consider the following quotes:

"I think if they wanted me, they probably would have signed me already." - Bernie

"Obviously, if we start camp and he's not with us, that's it." - Brian Cashman

So, it's pretty much over. The general feeling that I get from the media is that the Yankees are right to cut the cord with Mr. Williams. Let's face it, Bernie is 38 and in decline. He can't play center field anymore, his speed is gone, and he's probably better with a guitar than with a bat at this stage of his life. Because the Yankees plan on carrying 12 pitchers, they can keep only four outfielders and young Melky "My First Name Got Me Beat Up Regularly as a Child" Cabrera is worthy of that position. Also, the Yankees have finally realized that Jason Giambi's best defensive position is admiring his tattoos while his butt is attached to the pine, and thus the Yanks don't need a DH. So, this should be it for Bernie, right? He can go gracefully into the night and come back to raucous and loving crowds on old-timers day at Yankee Stadium. This is the way it is meant to be, right?

Well, maybe it doesn't have to be. Playing for one team your entire career is an increasingly rare thing these days, and it's even more rare to have a player with four rings leave his team on a sour note. As a die-hard Red Sox fan who has seen many of his favorite players shipped away since the 2004 World Series (Trot, my shrine to you is coming along), my feeling is that you should make an extra effort to keep the team's glue players together, especially if the alternative to the player isn't markedly better. Bernie Williams is a glue guy. The Yanks should try to keep him, but they don't have room for him, right?

Wrong. With Giambi moving to DH-on-HGH full-time, the Yanks plan on platooning Doug Mientkiewicz and either Andy Phillips or Josh Phelps at first base. Mientkiewicz will play against righties, where he won't hit much but will save A-Rod 8-10 errors per year (correlating to about 5-7 fewer A-Rod emotional meltdowns and "true Yankee" questions). Phelps or Phillips will play against lefties. Last I checked, neither Phelps nor Phillips were the second coming of Lou Gehrig. Phelps missed all of 2006 and has bounced around to four teams in the last four years, and is known as DH-type who is a poor defensive first baseman. As for Phillips, he's a 29-year old "prospect" who has absolutely no history of hitting lefties, despite the fact that he's right-handed. So is there an alternative to these two underwhelming alternatives? Yep, Mr. Cashman, he's the guy that you're kicking to the curb.

Here's the thing - Bernie is pretty limited these days, but can still hit lefties. Here are the batting averages and OPS's last year of the three guys in question versus lefties.

Williams - .323/.926
Phillips - .195/.476
Phelps - .217/.620 (2005)

That's pretty striking Are you telling me that Bernie couldn't strap on a first baseman's mitt and at least be reasonably competent by Opening Day (certainly as good as the Giambino)? He's always been sure-handed, and has made more than 5 errors in a season only once in his career. There's a history of guys moving to first base late in their career so that their bat can still get in the lineup while their defensive shortcomings are minimized (Ernie Banks comes to mind). Heck, just last year the Yankees tried Gary Sheffield at first base. Couldn't they try the same with Bernie? Plus, you get a decent pinch-hitter on the days when he's on the bench (and a switch-hitter, unlike Phelps or Phillips) and the continued maintenance of the "Yankee mystique" in the deal, instead of a PR disaster. Why NOT do this? Of course, Bernie may have no interest in first base, which is his right. But shouldn't the Yankees at least ask?

Several years ago, Bernie turned down a serious offer from the Red Sox to re-sign with the Yankees (leading Boston to try the Carl Everett experience, which will hopefully soon be erased from my brain). At the time, I was disappointed that the Sox didn't get Bernie, but over time I realized that he was meant to be in New York. Brian Cashman should realize that, too. It's your call, Mr. Cashman. I'm sure there's a first baseman's mitt lying around somewhere...