Either I'm losing my mind, or Madden's gone mad, because today, I read his column and nodded my head in agreement. Contrary to the blogs that are screaming for the Yankees to make a move - any more - Madden says the recent Winter Meetings weren't such a debacle, after all.
[I]t could’ve been worse, actually a lot worse, if Cashman had done a lot of dumb things such as trading off any of his three top farm prospects — the electric, fast-rising righty Luis Severino, lefty-hitting first baseman Greg Bird — the Arizona Fall League MVP — or outfielder Aaron Judge, the hulking 6-7, 230-pound outfield slugger — or given the kind of four-year contracts, for $48 and $54 million, McCarthy and Ervin Santana got from the Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, respectively. If nothing else, you have to commend Cashman and the Yanks for the restraint they’re showing this offseason.
He's right. With a little creative self-immolation, we could have Jimmy Rollins - age 36 - playing SS next season. Or we could have drained our still-iffy farm system for a Matt Kemp or Howie Kendrick, and be plodding in fourth place until the polar caps are growing palm trees. We didn't do anything stupid. What a great rallying cry.
I'm holding my breath here. The Yankees are like a sawmill sign that counts the days since the last workplace accident. I personally put the number at 104.
I believe our last severed appendage came July 31, when we traded Pete O'Brien for Martin Prado. I do like Prado, but O'Brien is one of the top power prospects in the game. You don't trade him for a guy who peaked in 2010, especially when all you're trying to do is prop up a desperate run for the last wild card spot. I grant that Prado played well for us in August - (before, surprise!, he got hurt.) But soon after we added Prado's $11 million per year contract to the payroll, we sat out in the bidding war for Rusney Castillo, the so-called Cuban "Brett Gardner with power," who signed with Boston. We still don't know who good Castillo will be. But he represents my biggest fear: If the guy follows in the footsteps of Puig, Cespedes, Abreu, et al... the Redsocks will have a rising star in the OF. That could vault them ahead of us for years - and I gotta believe our trading reactions will never let the sign outside the sawmill rise above 104 again.
We haven't done anything stupid... yet.
I agree with Billy Madden. What hath God wrought?
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We have thought, for years, that doing nothing can be good.
" Sometimes, the best trades are the ones you don't make." - Socrates ( or myself, I can't recall).
I think, what we have here, is an emetic.
The problem with this area of Hope ( continuing not to pull the trigger on another stupidity ) is the person on whom we are depending.
Can you actually imagine Cashman pursuing a long-term strategy of team development?
Following a plan we ( you ) have outlined a hundred times?
This is a bit like declaring some insane, middle-eastern Despot to morph into a concert violinist, and an advocate for birth control in Africa.
But it's good enough for today. Until brunch, at least.
All of this would make for funny reading if we could overlook the fact that we're only on Year 2 of the latest "14-year Barf(ield)".
2027 isn't exactly around the corner and it makes me wonder: Who will be the Balboni's, Phelps's, and Guante's of the next cycle? Do they already waddle among us?
I'm going back to bed.
Every time Cashman speaks is an emetic.
I have barfed myself slender.
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