The Yankees entered this offseason ready to make a serious upgrade to their rotation and add to their lineup. They had it all planned out to sign Cliff Lee away from the Rangers and pick up Carl Crawford for left field. They had the money as they always do, and they were ready to get it done. They just didn't count on one thing, other teams beat them out for everybody they wanted.
So how did the Yankees get out-Yankee'd? Well lets discuss Carl Crawford. He was a hot commodity and everyone was ready for his free agency this year, even last season. The Yankees had wanted him for a long time. They knew they could give him a big offer. After the signing of Jayson Werth, that upped Crawford's potential contract value, leading everyone who follows baseball to all but assume the only team that could give him that money was the Yankees. However, the Red Sox found the cash, and added him for an astonishing 7 years/$142 million.
The Yankees then moved on to serious negotiations with Cliff Lee. Everyone reported that the Yankees offered Lee more money than any other team. They flew to Arkansas three different times to meet with him. The Rangers put together strong negotiating tactics with Cliff Lee as well. Nobody saw the Phillies coming. It had only been reported as an afterthought that there may be a mystery third team involved.
That mystery third team, the Phillies, came out of nowhere to sign Cliff Lee for 5 years/$120 million. Reports assumed that Lee's offer from the Yankees had been somewhere around 7 years/$160 million. That means he chose the Phillies over the Yankees because he wanted to play there more. This is a great Christmas present for Phils fans, but kills the Yankees in the short term.
Finally, lets discuss Derek Jeter. The Yankees HAD to re-sign Jeter. They would have been lambasted by all NY media and fans if they let Mr. Yankee himself walk away to another franchise. That being said, Derek Jeter did everything he could to make sure the Yankees were the only team that he was going to sign with. He priced himself right out of the market for every other team in baseball. He managed to play off the Yankees desperation in the matter, and get a 3 year/$51 million deal that everyone knows is outrageous. I don't think any other team in baseball would have even given Jeter $10 million a year. He will basically make $25 million for his talent, and $26 million for his name.
So out of the three biggest names they needed to sign, they got one, and were forced to overpay significantly for his signature. This is bad news for New York. They didn't get any better and watched the Red Sox add two players that instantly put them at the top of the American League. They watched even a team like the White Sox get the man they were gunning for, Adam Dunn, as well as the other pieces they wanted to re-sign. They watched the Phillies swipe Cliff Lee and become the class of the National League.
At the very least, the only positive for the Yankees this offseason was watching Tampa Bay dismantle the team that had taken them out last season for the division title. The Rays lost Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford and are now shopping Matt Garza for a trade. They probably cannot re-sign Rafael Soriano either. The Yankees, Rays and Angels are all big losers this offseason. However, the spotlight will always shine on the Yankees, and they will always be the biggest losers when they fall behind other teams because of their payroll and status in the game.
The Yankees, unless they pull off a trade, will go into next season with a rotation that sees Vazquez leave for the Marlins and AJ Burnett be basically worthless for a lot of money spent. Andy Pettitte might be a big winner in all of this, since the Yankees are now desperate to add a starting pitcher to their roster. CC Sabathia will have another solid season, but the Yankees have to hope that Phil Hughes will have another season as good as 2010 just to stay in the mix. They did manage to re-sign Mariano Rivera, but not before he initiated contact with the Red Sox to discuss figures.
Things look bad in Yankee land this season. Fans of the other 29 teams in MLB have watched the Yankees buy every All Star player they want at higher prices than any other team can afford year after year. They are literally made of money and will pay whatever it takes to win a championship. Their GM's name is "Cashman" for Christ sakes! Their old stadium was "The House That Ruth Built" but their new stadium has been called "The House That Steinbrenner Bought". This year, though, no amount of money could get the Yankees the players they wanted.
In future negotiations with top free agents, they apparently cannot just flash the money and get the signature. Does this mean that many players are simply not dreaming about playing for the Yankees anymore like they used to? Do these guys see the Yankees and not believe that is their best chance to win a championship? Is the money spread out better among other teams now to compete with the Yankees offers? Players go to teams for many other reasons these days. Cliff Lee just wanted to play in Philly, a place he apparently loved in 2009. Carl Crawford liked what he saw in Boston and went with it.
All that being said, they did well in the last few years to get the players they wanted. They got CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson. They still have one of the best second basemen in the league, Robinson Cano. The Yankees are not that far behind, but they are clearly now in second place in the AL East on paper. We will see how the season plays out, but the Red Sox should find themselves right at the top and the Yankees clearly took a step backwards by staying the same.
This has to be disconcerting for the Yankees' fans. The team knows they have to make a deal for a pitcher before the season starts because right now they would only go into the sesaon with 3 real starting pitchers. They could re-sign Andy Pettitte, and/or trade for a pitcher. Zack Greinke is still out there, and with the Yankees in desperation mode, who knows what will happen?
The Yankees might actually give up their top prospects to bring in Greinke at this point. That would be if Zack could pitch there, given his anxiety issues. The Yankees did sign Mark Prior to a minor league deal, but Mark is a long way away from pitching in the Majors again, if ever. He has only pitched 1 inning in professional baseball since 2006. Mark Prior is what the Yankees would probably call "Plan X". They need a guy that can pitch tomorrow. Brandon Webb is another free agent they could take a chance on, coming off shoulder surgery. He is a free agent, and has a lot of upside if he works out. The Cubs are also pursuing him as their #1 target according to reports.
Still, no teams really have taken them out of the playoff picture entirely on paper. I cannot say that I see the Wild Card coming from the AL West, and the AL Central only has an outside chance of seeing both the Twins and White Sox both putting together better seasons than the Yankees next year.
As we all know though, the Yankees are not judged by simply making the playoffs. Their fans and media expect them to contend for the World Series every season. Anything short of the World Series is a failure of a season for them. On paper, right now, it does not look good for them to make a World Series run. They better get better quick, or they will find themselves watching the World Series on TV.
No comments:
Post a Comment