The Yankees were officially eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday night, and already the most common analysis to what must occur now is some version of “blow it up.” The Yankees, of course, have to change. They must continue their move toward youth, athleticism and better overall pitching, and we will be spending a lot of posts making our suggestions. But today I want to discuss that “blow it up” model as dangerous for 3 Up reasons:
1. I know it feels like the Yanks had a horrible season, but they might have made the playoffs in 2008 if everything that went wrong happened except Chien-Ming Wang stayed healthy or if just Jorge Posada stayed healthy or if Phil Hughes just had an acceptable first full season at something like even 9-12 with a 4.60 ERA or if Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez hit better — not great, just better — with runners in scoring position. Again, I understand the frustration of fans who just want to destroy what was here, but what was here will likely finish the season as one of the major leagues’ better teams. This roster needs upgrades and a continuing evolution toward youth. But to act like this was the Pittsburgh Pirates or Kansas City Royals is a mistake.
2. When the Yanks acted emotionally and rashly in the recent past to failures to win championships, they threw money at the problem. They ended up importing too many players and at too high a cost. And when you bring in players from outside your organization you are bringing in players you really don’t know emotionally nearly as well as you know your own. It simply increases the likelihood of making mistakes on personalities. For example, by the time you learn Carl Pavano would prefer to cash checks much more than pitch, you are already writing those checks. But also when you just decide to spend whatever is necessary to make the pain right now go away, you are setting yourself up to pay a significant bill down the line. That is how you end up with a bunch of aging DH types and geriatric pitchers. So while Mark Teixeira probably would make 2009 rosier, the seven-plus year contract he will probably need will one day make you think — like you did with Jason Giambi — “why did we do this?”
3. What happens when you get into this “just fix it at any cost” mindset is what happens when your first choice is not there. Rather then just moving on, you end up overpaying for second and third choices that you know are significantly flawed and you just don’t feel good about in your gut. You have to be able to walk away from the table and when you are in that just “blow it up” mindset, you are much more likely to make mistakes. Hey, we didn’t get CC Sabathia so we will overpay Ben Sheets, though we know he is hurt all the time.
