50 Shades of Lard: A comparison of the Yankees and Cardinals front offices

The two most successful franchises in baseball history are the Yankees and Cardinals. But they did in different ways. The Yankees basically bought their tradition. The Cardinals developed players on the farm.

Today, the Cards look - as usual - vibrant and strong. The Yankees - well - they look like last year's team, with A-Rod instead of Jeter.

How do the Cardinals do it? And why can't the Yankees? We've been hearing since 2005 how the Yankees planned to build a championship franchise, without outspending the competition by $50 million. With luxury taxes kicking in, the Yankee money advantage is slipping away. What the hell is wrong with the Yankees?

Well, let's look at the two front offices.

This is the Cardinals masthead - which reflects the top-down power of decision-making. Former players or career scouts - so called "baseball men" - are bracketed in red.

This is the Yankees masthead. Same deal: The "baseball men" are bracketed in red.

That's right. One. And Mark Newman - taking the hit for the shameful performance of the farm system - is retiring. (Brian Cashman played in college and was never a scout. His real career is in office politics.)

The top of one organization is full of baseball people. The top of the other is comprised of vice presidents of whatever.

Which organization do you think makes more money? And which do you think puts more emphasis on baseball?