It will take four years to correct the mistakes of this administration (Hold your fire: I'm referring to the Yankees)

The Yankiverse buzzed this week after Cheapland - I mean, Cleveland - declined its $10 M option on Brad Hand, one of the game's top closers. Fan-bloggers - floggers, we'll call them - gushed over the chance to solidify the Yank bullpen for the cost of A-Rod's clam dip. Despite the incessant poormouthing, everyone knows "Food Stamps" Hal Steinbrenner has the money. This would be a relatively cheap fix. 

Sigh.

Take a seat, everybody, because this won't be fun...

Remember that old Bette Midler song, "Don't go chasing waterfalls...?" For the Yankees, it should be, "Don't go chasing wild cards..."

I fear the Yankees have dug themselves into such a deep, unforgiving hole that we could be chasing second place for a long, long time.

For example, Brad Hand. To sign him, Hal would want to free up space. They might try to trade Adam Ottavino, who spiraled and crashed last year. Next year, Ottavino will earn $9 M. That leads to a question:  Why would any team take Ottavino - at $9M/yr - when they can sign Hand for $10M? 

The answer: Nobody will, we're stuck with Ottavino, and we're priced out of Hand.  

And that, comrades, sums up the Yankees. They have a roster of ridiculously overpriced veterans who toil beside ascending players, anxious for their own the gravy train to arrive. 

It's the result of what the Yankees call "rebuilding on the fly," or never taking the actual time to fix a problem the right way.  The greatest example of this is Giancarlo Stanton. We've covered his contract in the past. Basically, we'll pay him about $30 M a year until long after Covid is a memory. Stanton is an example of how we pay for past performances rather than invest in youth. Years ago, when we traded kids for Stanton, the Yankees boasted about the trade. Now, if we had a time machine... 

The lone exception to "rebuilding on the fly" came in mid-2016, when we abruptly cleared the veteran decks to acquire a wave of youth. Sadly, this plan did not last. Within a year, we had returned to the old ways, as evidenced by Chris Carter, Andrew McCutcheon, Troy Tulowitski, Edwin Encarnacion, Kendrys Morales,  Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn, Big Maple, El Chapo, and J.A. Happ.  

Look... Brian Cashman is not a fool. He has done great deals - Gio Urshela, Luke Voit, and Gleyber Torres, to name a few. But most of his trades have made old rosters even older, and his regular season successes are like winning the popular vote, when only the Electoral College (aka the World Series) matters.

This winter's free agent market will be heavily depressed. Owners will not spend as in the past. They will probably collude, as in the past. Brad Hand is just the first shot in a civil war that will culminate in a strike during the winter of 2021-22. 

This winter, the Yankees possess the most overinflated payroll in the game - a roster choking from its own financial weight. We boast four of DH's and one starting pitcher. And who do we plan to shop? Gary Fucking Sanchez. Listen: Nobody - nobody - is going to trade for Gary Fucking Sanchez. It's time to accept reality: Gary will probably return next season, because the Yankees have no other path out of this putrid malaise. 

Someday, Cashman will retire. It's clear, by now, that Hal will never fire him. But Cash will tire of the stress, the second place finishes, the losses in October and the chest pains when he hears the words "Michael Pineda." My guess is it will happen around 2024. A new GM will have the personal clout to launch an actual rebuilding program. The Yankees will trade big name stars for no-names, and we will actually start to improve.

Until then, we're chasing wild cards. I hope I'm wrong. Please, tell me I'm wrong.