Proposed: The Yankees should stop acting like a small-market team

An e-mail exchange between Wailin' Suzyn and BernBabyBern:

Bern,

Here's the issue: Brian Cashman is trying to run the Yankees with a small-market mentality in a big market. It won't work.

In a small market, it's better to lose a player a year too early rather than a year too late. A small market team would not have resigned Rivera. It wouldn't have resigned Posada. Both either would have been traded last year for a band of merry prospects or allowed to walk. In a small market, talk this month and next would revolve around trading Matsui, Giambi, Abreu and Mussina before the July deadline.

Oddly, I agree with Hank: Cashman taking the "develop our prospects" approach akin to Oakland or Minnesota or Tampa Bay, is doomed to failure in a big market.

Sincerely,

Wailin' Suzyn



Suzyn, you ignorant slut

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

Cash's plan isn't doomed to failure -- as long as Hank lets him hang around after this year.

Fact is, the Yanks started their roll in the 1990s when they pulled a decidedly small-market move. They moved a bunch of promising kids in the lineup (Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Williams, Pettitte) and let them play. Then, they added key mercenaries ... oops, excuse me, veterans ... to push the kids over the top.

Cashman has rebuilt the Yanks farm system to the point where he once again believes he's got a crop of kids who could be something special. Problem is, the team made a bunch of big-money signings in a desperate attempt to keep the 1990s going. Now, all the signings at the beginning of the decade are old, decrepit and make too much money to get rid of (hello there, Jason).

Even the Yankees budget ain't unlimited. Cash has got to be salivating at the prospect of dumping about $80 million in payroll after this season (Giambi, Mussin ai, Pavano, Pettitte, Farnsy, Hawkins, Abreu; plus Matsui and Damon after 2009). Put all that money back in the budget, and we'll see how "small market" Brian is.

That is, if he ain't in Washington or Philly next year.

Yours in baseball,

BernBabyBern



Dearest Bern

I didn't miss the point at all. If, in fact, the small-market approach was started in the 1990s, it wasn't allowed to follow its natural life -- that being shedding yourself of the Posadas, Riveras and the Pettittes at the appropriate time. The fact that this didn't occur makes my point -- you can't do the small-market-develop-your-own-talent dance in a big market.

You artfully avoided my point, which is: If Cashman is taking the develop-your-own route, he should be dealing not dumping to restock the farm system. He can't do that because of the big-market expectations.

Again, I say, he's screwed. His approach can't work in New York, and your big-market frame of reference is messing with your ability to see this. What he needs to do is return to the old days of picking the cream of the crop from the rest of the league and forget about salvation arriving through the farm system. That's the natural order of things. Stop messin' with nature.

Suzyn.


Suz,

"Wasn't allowed to follow its natural life?" Geez, we only made the playoffs 13 years in a row. That's a natural life any other team would be damn happy with. Sorry we weren't unbeaten one of those years.

But anyway, you show the small-market mindset in your argument. It's the choice - develop your talent, or buy your way to a title.

Here's the big-market response: Why choose? It's like at the end of "Trading Places," after everyone's gotten rich (way, way after Jamie Lee Curtis' obligatory topless scene). The question is posed to the heroes - "Lobster or cracked crab?" The answer? "Why can't we have both?" A Yankee answer if there ever was one.

You're right on the expectations thing -- small-market teams suck for a decade, have a good year and they're a big success story. The Yanks make the playoffs every year since 1995 with four world titles in that span, and then we dip under .500 in mid-May and Stubby is threatening to kick the manager's ass.

But the key is this. Just picking the cream of the crop is what we did in the 1980s -- and it didn't work until the farm system came through with some talent we didn't trade away. And Cash's problem now is the failure of the "cream of the crop" attitude earlier this decade has busted even the Yankees' budget. We gambled and lost on long-term, big-money deals for guys like Giambi, Mussina and Pavano, and now we're paying the price.

No, Cash ain't dealing yet. Do you think anyone will give a prospect worth anything for Giambi? And let's be honest. There is some talent here. After 13 straight years in the playoffs, May is a little soon to give up and have a fire sale.

We've got a shitload of young talent that's either here (Cano, Cabrera, Joba) or on the way (Jackson, Gardner, etc.). This year is the "have patience" year. Hank needs to shut up, wait until all the dead weight is gone after this season, and use that $80 million on guys who can do more than DH.

Bern