As the Yankees formulate their plan for 2019, it's time to ponder the words of Mr. Mike Tyson

Quoth the philosopher:

"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth."

I raise this august pearl of wisdom because - today, as Cooperstown Cashman and his weenie entourage attend the GM meetings in Carlsbad, California - the Yankees' "plan" for 2019 seems to involve sitting on their wallet for Bryce "Doesn't Fit" Harper and Manny "Bad Attitude" Machado. They won't budge. They'll sit in the corner, guarding their steel-trap fanny pack, rubbing their genitalia with copper coins.

According to Joel Sherman - the last Gammonite to actually hear the disembodied voice of Prince Hal Steinbrenner - the famed Yankee boy owner hasn't yet disclosed his master plan for 2019. One cosmic question remains unanswered: How much will the Yankees spend? Writes Sherman:

Hal Steinbrenner will want to stay beneath the 2019 $206 million luxury-tax threshold. But he knows the Red Sox are not going away next year and he already has told me he doesn’t want to be in the wild-card game for a third straight year.

Translation: Nobody knows nuthin'. Will Hand-Me-Down Hal spend big, or will he maintain his self-imposed payroll cap, thereby negating the Yankees' greatest advantage over the rest of baseball? Coincidentally, such a move would allow the Steinbrenner family to bank all the money not earmarked for salaries. But clearly, greed has nothing to do with it! Hal is standing on principle! He has said in the past that the Yankees shouldn't have to spend more than $200 million to win a World Series. Dammit, it's just not right, having to pay all that money to employees! Eeeeww! 

Trouble is, Boston spent $230 million this year, and they seem rather content with the results. Looking at 2019, they have potential weaknesses at catcher and first base, and the closer looks to be beyond his sell date. Don't be surprised if they sign a slugger or trade for an all-star catcher - a punch to the jaw of the Yankees' plans.

But wait, there's more. Could the Mets do something meaningful? What if they run out and sign Harper? (The new face of MLB, by the way.) The Yankees might suddenly lose their iron grip on the NYC tabloid back pages, as chronicled by this website. Or they could chase Machado, a star heading into his prime. A punch in the face.

In the past,  the Yankees several times have taken a shot to the jaw and suddenly abandoned all discipline, all plans. Remember when Boston outbid us on Dice-K, and within days, our brain trust broke the bank to put Kei Igawa in pinstripes? And it was just as the Mariners were about to sign Robbie Cano that the Yankees made their shot across the bow - signing Jacoby Ellsbury... even though it made no sense. They'd simply been punched in the face.

Remember when Boston outbid us on Yoan Moncada? Or last winter, when the Japanese Babe Ruth suddenly nixed NYC? Shots to the jaw. One left our farm system slogging through 2015, the other resulted in us becoming lashed to Moby Stanton for the next decade, a deal we still can't measure for hope or despair. 

So, the Yankees have a plan, eh? Fine. My guess is that it will last until the first big free agent signing. Then we'll see. Do we fallback, or will we rush into the center of the ring and swing like Buster Mathis? Will we dictate the market, or will we turn over that role to baseball's premier franchise. (Hint: It's not us.)