Are the Yankees planning to operate like a small market team?

[apalradio]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yanke...ISdoVo0wFsqqYN

I'm a little disappointed that Hughes has never developed into the greatness that was once predicted for him as one of the best pitching prospects in the game. However, the idea that the team may not be able to afford him is a little too strange. Coupled with the bottom feeding they're doing this offseason to fill out the roster, it really doesn't look like they're interested in anybody that might cost any amount of money.

With all the revenues from YES, the new stadium, and the fact that they're the New York Yankees, this is getting a bit weird. If they're going to start running the team like the Oakland A's, maybe they need to hire Billy Beane. I'm not sure this is Cashman's forte.

[Jax Teller]

They aren't overpaying for mediocre free agents or committing an albatross contract to players they don't absolutely have to have.


It's not being a small market team, it's being smart.

[Young Steinbrenner]

agreed

[CalYankeeFan]

I think the next couple of years are going to be different than what we are used to - at least until some of these bad contracts are shed away. Once they are under the cap, reset the luxury tax and free up money from the "bad" contracts it'll be more like we are used to. I don't think it will ever go back totally to the way it was - but that may not be a bad thing.

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

^^^^ Agreed

[ArodEra]

They aren't overpaying for mediocre free agents or committing an albatross contract to players they don't absolutely have to have.


It's not being a small market team, it's being smart.

I hear what you're saying, but it's not by choice that they are suddenly being "smart," but rather due to the constraints put upon them. You can bet your bottom dollar that they'd be in on a couple of big signings - perhaps even some head-scratchers, if given their normal budget. This is a team that relied on the FA market in 2009 to go all the way, then worried about what turned out to be bad contracts (i.e. Tex, AJ) afterwards.

Whether or not this postseason's acquisitions turn out to be smart moves (however intentional or unintentional), remains to be seen.

[Jax Teller]

Touche.

Although, I do hope that the "buy whoever it takes to win" mentality with the team is dead & buried with forever & not just the next couple years.

[d32123]

Small market teams do not have 189 million dollar payrolls. Also Cashman is a brilliant GM and I think he's earned our trust by now.

[Stick Michael]

It would be a stretch to say the organization will operate like a 'small market team' but the days of seemingly unlimited payroll appear to be over, which I think will be a healthy thing, not just for parity's sake but for the team itself. For starters, a finite budget should give Hank Steinbrenner a reason to pause before handing out asinine long-term contracts like he did with Alex Rodriguez. The A-Rod deal hasn't been the only albatross but with the exception of C.C. Sabathia the organization has gotten a poor return on recent high-dollar, long-term investments. If this policy forces the team to be more judicious about about its free agent signings and pay more attention to scouting and development I'm all for it.

[matt2351]

Small market teams do not have 189 million dollar payrolls. Also Cashman is a brilliant GM and I think he's earned our trust by now.

Wow, just wow.

[d32123]

Wow, just wow.

What?

[matt2351]

What?

Brilliant? Blown away by that characterization. Not sure that even his supporters would go that far.

[teknetic]

I think the next couple of years are going to be different than what we are used to - at least until some of these bad contracts are shed away. Once they are under the cap, reset the luxury tax and free up money from the "bad" contracts it'll be more like we are used to. I don't think it will ever go back totally to the way it was - but that may not be a bad thing.

With the IFA draft and teams like LAA/LA/Detroit/Texas having megabucks to randomly toss around, it definitely won't be like it was.

[apalradio]

I can understand the team becoming more judicious about the money they choose to invest in players from now on, but the idea that they may be unable to afford their own homegrown talent any more sends out some troubling signals. That article about Phil Hughes was a bit of an eye opener. If this had been the team's philosophy in the 90s, who knows where guys like Bernie, or Pettitte, or Jorge, or God forbid even DJ might have ended up.

[JL25and3]

It would be a stretch to say the organization will operate like a 'small market team' but the days of seemingly unlimited payroll appear to be over, which I think will be a healthy thing, not just for parity's sake but for the team itself. For starters, a finite budget should give Hank Steinbrenner a reason to pause before handing out asinine long-term contracts like he did with Alex Rodriguez. The A-Rod deal hasn't been the only albatross but with the exception of C.C. Sabathia the organization has gotten a poor return on recent high-dollar, long-term investments. If this policy forces the team to be more judicious about about its free agent signings and pay more attention to scouting and development I'm all for it.

I think it's fine to say that the team's new approach will prevent them from making some bad decisions. It doesn't follow, though, that they will start making good decisions instead. The evidence so far is not encouraging.

[Nome]

First, please take note that the article was from the NY Post.

The Yankees want home grown and if Hughes has a great 2013 will be only to glad to have him stay. There are ways that they can keep him without paying big bucks in 2014. Then in 2015 he can get what he is worth.

I am a Cashman supporter and consider him almost brilliant

Andy

[JL25and3]

First, please take note that the article was from the NY Post.

The Yankees want home grown and if Hughes has a great 2013 will be only to glad to have him stay. There are ways that they can keep him without paying big bucks in 2014. Then in 2015 he can get what he is worth.

I am a Cashman supporter and consider him almost brilliant

Andy

i suppose that they could sign him to a one-year deal below market value, then sign him to a legitimate contract a year later. But if he has a great year, why on earth would Hughes do that?

[Yankees1962]

I think it's fine to say that the team's new approach will prevent them from making some bad decisions. It doesn't follow, though, that they will start making good decisions instead. The evidence so far is not encouraging.

So the Yankees haven't made any good decisions lately?

[Yankees1962]

i suppose that they could sign him to a one-year deal below market value, then sign him to a legitimate contract a year later. But if he has a great year, why on earth would Hughes do that?

I agree, Hughes can't take that gamble if has a really good 2013 season. Good health is dubious at best for most starting pitchers. You have to cash in your chips when the opportunity presents itself.

[longtimeyankeefan]

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yanke...ISdoVo0wFsqqYN

I'm a little disappointed that Hughes has never developed into the greatness that was once predicted for him as one of the best pitching prospects in the game. However, the idea that the team may not be able to afford him is a little too strange. Coupled with the bottom feeding they're doing this offseason to fill out the roster, it really doesn't look like they're interested in anybody that might cost any amount of money.

With all the revenues from YES, the new stadium, and the fact that they're the New York Yankees, this is getting a bit weird. If they're going to start running the team like the Oakland A's, maybe they need to hire Billy Beane. I'm not sure this is Cashman's forte.

If some team wants to pay Hughes over market value, why should the Yankees even consider matching such an offer.

We are talking Phil Hughes here - he of the career 4.39 ERA. He of the career 1.3 WHIP. He who gave up 35 HR last year.

Sometimes, it is time for a player to move on. The Yankee fans have been waiting now for six seasons for Hughes to give us reason to believe that he could slot into the #2 slot behind CC. He simply hasn't proven that he is worth the type of money that this article suggests.

For him to get these kind of dollars, he is going to have to have a 2012 Kuroda type season and I just don't see it happening.

With pitchers like David Phelps, Adam Warren and Nik Turley in the system (not to mention Pineda), we have plenty of replacements.

It is time for the Yankees to stop overpaying for players - after all, if we were to give Hughes a $13M AAV contract for say four years, Las Vegas would immediately open a book on how quickly the "The Phil Hughes contract is an albatross" thread would appear on this forum.

[Zimmers' Helmet]

I agree with Stick - until the A-Rod and Teixeira contracts elapse, the Yankees will likely continue to operate within the parameters Hal has put in place. This is Hal's team now, and by his own admission he is a finance-geek. Balance sheets and budgets are his forte.

I don't think this means the Yankees will avoid big contracts all together, but the days of handing out 8-10 year contracts to players over 29 years old are likely over and that's definitely not a bad thing. It will force Cashman to place an emphasis on the farm system and player development in order to generate budget-friendly talent and remain competitive.

The last time the Yankees built their team around home grown talent, it didn't work out too badly.

[ajra21]

I think the next couple of years are going to be different than what we are used to - at least until some of these bad contracts are shed away. Once they are under the cap, reset the luxury tax and free up money from the "bad" contracts it'll be more like we are used to. I don't think it will ever go back totally to the way it was - but that may not be a bad thing.

Have been saying this for years.

[BronxYanks45]

I think the next couple of years are going to be different than what we are used to - at least until some of these bad contracts are shed away. Once they are under the cap, reset the luxury tax and free up money from the "bad" contracts it'll be more like we are used to. I don't think it will ever go back totally to the way it was - but that may not be a bad thing.

totally agree, its the bad contracts they want to shed

[ajra21]

When this board went nuts over the Tex and AJ signings, I said this day would come. I wish we'd rebuilt in the middle 2000s rather than try to plug holes to go for it again. I wish we'd let Alex walk. The outcry was always going to come. Had they had done the right things five or six years ago, the outcry would have been huge of course but it would have been over.

Now it is (kinda) forced. I said before last season, we might need to enjoy the 2012 season as the last playoff opportunity for a few years. I believe we still have a chance during this period, but while the big contracts remain, we will have to do it the hard way and not expect to win.

Get use to it, reality is reality.

[JfromJersey]

It should be interesting to see how the Yankees handle the Cano contract situation. a homegrown All Star with Boras as his agent.