State of the Yankees

I used to be the writer of a blog called Bronx Pride. I probably still would be if the people heading the network had not been so insanely uninterested. It was writing about the Yankees that finally put me on the path to becoming a professional writer. I suppose I could have struck out on my own blogging the Yankees, but I never did. With Bronx Pride gone my Yankees rants and raves end up in the strangest places sometimes. The lucky readers of this post are about to witness the latest one.

It is Bill Madden of the Daily News who has sparked this rant. I'll provide you with a small samples of the uninformed ramblings of this so-called reporter, so you will not need to bless his column with your patronage.

Yes, it would certainly seem that this is the year where youth must be served - which brings us to the Yankees, who have not been served well by what little youth they have. Phil Hughes? Ian Kennedy? Shelley Duncan?

Yankees GM Brian Cashman has placed most of the blame for his team's failures on the bafflingly hapless offense that even with the losses of Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui should not be struggling so mightily to score runs. But then, when the primary culprit is the $27 million-per-year cleanup hitter, to whom the Yankees are committed for another nine years, Cashman ought to be very concerned.

This is just the beginning of the youth movement, not the peak. A vital part of the change to a team built about player development is accepting that these players may struggle in their initial exposures to the majors. As for A-Rod, I thought it was common knowledge that his new contract was completed by the team ownership rather than Brian Cashman alone. He may not be the most "clutch" player in the game, but "clutch" stats are extremely overrated. If Alex Rodriguez does his usual damage, over the course of a season he will have done his job.

It would be nice if they had a couple of young position players like the Mets' Murphy and Evans coming in the system, but they do not. They do not have a first baseman to replace Jason Giambi, or an impact center fielder, or a shortstop to spell (and eventually replace) Derek Jeter, or a second baseman who could enable them to deal the enigmatic Cano while he still has value.

Is he seriously suggesting that the Yanks cannot match the Mets in prospects? Austin Jackson and Brett Gardner are both impact center field prospects. First baseman Juan Miranda has been tearing up Triple-A Scranton. They don't have any great infield prospects at the higher levels but they are more than deep enough in outfield and pitching prospects to trade for a longterm shortstop or second baseman should that prove necessary. In the meanwhile, Wilson Betemit is a more than competent fill-in for the 26-year old (and signed for three more seasons) Robinson Cano and the franchise staple (and not being replaced at short until he drops dead) Derek Jeter. The Yankees are also going to be swimming in cash with $80 million coming off the books and a new stadium (remember that?) providing bags and bags of cash. The Yankees could easily trade Cano and sign a free agent second baseman such as Mark Ellis or Orlando Hudson. I doubt either player would break the bank.

The reason they don't have any of these players in their system is because they continue to do a terrible job of scouting and developing. They spend millions more in Latin America than almost every other team and yet the only position players from there to make the big club over the last 10 years are Alfonso Soriano, Cano and Melky Cabrera. The draft? An even bigger disgrace. Jeter, in 1992, is the last player they drafted who became a regular.

He can't be serious. I think losing exclusive access to the Boss has addled his brains. The Yankees built this club with players they drafted or signed in Latin America. In fact the team has been so strong that until recently there has not really been room to add any regular players from the farm. The Yankees have sacrificed their best picks by signing players available in free agency such as Johnny Damon, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Kyle Farnsworth, Jason Giambi and a variety of other more bit players. They have used players from the farm system to acquire players such as Alex Rodriguez, Bobby Abreu, Wilson Betemit, Xavier Nady and lots of other players through the years. Or they trade a major leaguer such as Farnsworth for a star catcher like Ivan Rodriguez and replace him in the bullpen with quality pitchers like Jose Veras and David Robertson. The Yankees are loaded with pitching and outfield prospects. Ask someone from Baseball America if you won't take my word for it.

In this year's draft, the Yankees took pitchers with their first three picks: No. 1, Gerrit Cole, whom they did not sign because their scouts obviously didn't get to know the kid's makeup or his family situation; No. 2, Jeremy Bleich, who's going to need Tommy John surgery; and No. 3, Scott Bittle, whose arm problems were so severe they elected to pass on signing him.

After a while, you have to wonder what fatal attraction Cashman's player evaluators have with injured pitchers. Last year, they took North Carolina State righthander Andrew Brackman in the first round, knowing he was going to miss all of this season with Tommy John surgery. And, then, of course, there's the immortal Humberto Sanchez, purportedly the key return player in the Gary Sheffield deal with Detroit, who also underwent Tommy John surgery and is still rehabbing somewhere.

It seems silly to have to point it out because usually you can't get people to stop crying about it, but the Yankees have loads more money than most teams. Because of this financial advantage they are not forced to operate like a team such as the Atlanta Braves or Pittsburgh Pirates. Those teams have to draft players they know they can sign because this is the primary avenue through which they acquire players. The Yankees can take chances that other teams cannot. They draft high school players that have committed to colleges and high upside players that may need a year to recover injuries because they hope that they can throw far above slot money at the first class of pick, and their veteran laden team allows them the time to wait on the second class. Andrew Brackman, if he makes a full recovery may be the best player to come out of the 2007 draft. This seems worth the risk.

Madden should also realize that teams are not parting with unflawed prospects for short term, or expensive player acquisitions. That the Yankees were able to get three viable pitching prospects for an aging and expensive Sheffield is a credit to Brian Cashman, not the detriment that madden suggests. I wonder if the Tigers would rather have Sheffield or Humberto Sabchez right now. It might be a toss up, but toss in Kevin Whelan and it becomes a no-brainer in favor of the pitchers.

Cashman keeps stockpiling pitchers who come up hurt or fall on their face when they get to the big leagues. Enough! He is banking on the offense coming back next year, even though everyone will be a year older and there is nobody to step in when the inevitable injuries come. Off the way this season has gone, with young, homegrown teams such as the Rays and Twins giving their owners so much more bang for their buck, the Yankees returning to power would be an even bigger surprise.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been in rebuilding/prospect acquisition mode for more than a decade. The Minnesota Twins have long had a system (decades) in place where they replace veterans when they become expensive with younger players. Cashman has only entered their restructuring with youth project in the last year as it became obvious that expiring contracts and past peak players required it. Here is a prediction for Bill Madden, the Yankees will once again build a nucleus of young players (it may take a couple of years) when that project is complete they will concentrate more energy on supplementing with free agency to build a World Series contender. That team will eventually get old and the entire process will start over again. It is called a development cycle.