Apparently, the Yankees are determined to trade Marcus Stroman. Have they learned nothing?

A long, long time ago - eons, you might say - in a upstate backwaters barn sale, I came across a gourd that had been hand-painted to resemble Lawrence Taylor. 

I pondered it. I sniffed it. I weighed it in my tiny hand. It was number 56, the Giants, a decorative tribute to the greatest defensive player in NFL history. 

The owner wanted $15. I sighed, set it down and headed to the car. 

Halfway home, the gravity of my decision began to take hold: 

I had passed on a gourd, hand-painted to be Lawrence Taylor. For $15. A gourd. Hand-painted. The greatest Giant, ever.

To this day, that gourd haunts my nightly dreams. I shall never escape the embarrassment, the ignominy, the self-degradation, of that horrible decision.

I don't claim that the Yankees will ever view Marcus Stroman on the same level as a hand-painted gourd, even one that commemorates Lawrence Taylor. But there is a moral to this story: 

When you let money rule your decisions, you make bad ones. 

And these days, the Yankees are doing just that - on every decision. 

According to the Internet, Cooperstown Cashman is shopping Marcus Stroman like a split-level on Sunset Boulevard. (Sorry, too soon; prayers to L.A.) He wants to shed Stroman's $18 million salary and maybe grab a serviceable 2B. 

Over the last quarter century, Cashman's record as GM includes one ever-repeating debacle: He acquires pitchers, watches them struggle, dumps them - as if their mere presence is a bother - and then watches them thrive. His shit list is formidable: AJ Burnett. Carl Pavano. Kevin Brown. Ian Kennedy. Phil Hughes. Nathan Eovaldi. Sonny Gray. Lance Lynn. Jamison Taillon... 

They always arrive with high expectations. They hit a snag and get tagged with the "Can't Play in NY" handle. They go to another city and make a comeback of sorts. If you look at just the trio of Gray, Eovaldi and Lynn - what a difference it would have made in recent years. But Cashman said no. Too much money. 

Okay, I know what you're thinking: But Duque, Stroman fell apart last year. They barely put him on the playoffs roster. Boone lost confidence in him. He never threw a pitch. 

Yeah, I get it. Stroman is 33. Last year, he went 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA - not great by any measure but - get this - the guy ate 154 innings. Those aren't horrible stats, unless you leash them to an $18 million price tag. 

And that's my problem: The Yankees want to deal Stroman not because he's done, but because he's being paid too much, and Cashman doesn't want him hanging around, reminding everybody of another failure. 

Right now, Stroman is the 6th man in a 5-man rotation. (Apparently, the Yankees won't try a 6-man rotation, which is sorta sad, because seems like a future inevitably. I guess innovations can only be made by Tampa?) Every member of their rotation - Cole, Rodon, Fried, Schmidt and Gil - missed time last year. It's ridiculous to think they'll stay healthy, all year. Every team in baseball needs pitching, pitching, pitching, and the Yankees want to trade a guy who gobbled up 154 innings? 

Okay, I get it: The devil is always in the deal. Maybe the Yankees will grease a trade by paying down Stroman's salary and adding a prospect or two. But what they'll get - mark my words - will be some other team's disappointment. 

Despite their skittishly frugal owner, let's remember that the Yankees remain the richest team in baseball, and the biggest ATM in professional sports. They should never have to base a decision on how much a player is being paid. It should never be in the discussion, much less drive the deal.

If the rumors are true, they'll soon trade Stroman. The Gammonites will hail it - as they always do. But I wonder: Halfway down the road, maybe as early as March, will we be thinking about a hand-painted gourd that looks like Lawrence Taylor?