Offering CC Sabathia $140 million all part of the Yankees' long-range plan
Let's see. Last offseason the Yankees turn down the Johan Santana trade because they want to go with youth in the rotation and don't want to spend $140 million on a pitcher AND trade their best prospects. They start the season with two young pitchers in the rotation. Those pitchers combine to go 0-8 and the Yankees don't make the playoffs for the first time since Mrs. Clinton's husband was in the White House.
But this year's mega-bucks pursuit of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe is all part of that same plan. It's not a retreat from what Brian Cashman tried to do last offseason. It's not a new direction, no not at all.
Cashman is a great guy and a good GM. But why do we have to buy into this fiction? It's OK if they admit they wanted to go one way last year -- the Youthful Way -- and it didn't work, so now they are going back to outspending everyone. The Steinbrenner Way.
Really, guys, it's OK. Admit it. You made a mistake with Santana last time around and are trying to buy your way past that mistake now.
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Comments (4)
Anthony, at the risk of being targeted by RG2, I think you are only 50% right here.
I agree with you that this is definitely a different plan than last year. I think gun to Cashman's head last winter, he would have told you he wasn't planning on signing CC Sabathia. But to be fair, CC didn't have the resume he does now. CC proved a ton this season with bringing the Brewers to the playoffs.
And in each of these signings, they aren't giving up their youth. I really think Cashman wants to keep the youth and bring in vets through FA.
And lets say they traded for Johan last winter. Do you really think we would have seen a parade on the Canyon of Heroes?? I dont. Maybe they make the playoffs...maybe. But they are a lot better served with Hughes and CC than just Santana.
Lastly, not every young player is great at the beginning of their career. I remember the outcry to trade Jose Reyes a few years ago when he kept getting injured. "We have to trade him for Soriano!!!"
Maybe they made a mistake, but if they did, it wasn't proven this season, it will be proven over TIME!
But the other 50% I do agree with. I think there was a total shift in the plan. But CC isn't the shift. Its Lowe/Burnett that is the shift. Had the Yanks won the World Series this season based on Hughes/Kennedy's back-to-back shutouts, the Yanks still would have bid on the greatness that is CC. Or they would have went after Texiera. They Yanks always go after Best.
The shift is the better than average pitchers they are trying to get.
Rat alert...I emailed Davidoff and am trying to start the Monthly TFS vs. Baseball Insider War!!
Much like CC, I can be bought!!
anthony cut the nonsense !! we pass on beltran 4 years ago, even though he wanted to play for us. we get outbid for dice-k 2 years ago. we pass on satana last year, because we didn't want to give up 4 prospects and pay satana 137 mil. now yankee haters bash us, because we want to sign 2 free agent pitchers, to add to 3 HOMEGROWN starters ( wang, joba, and andy ). please sing that song somewhere else.
What's funny is that if they do sign two free agent pitchers, it probably pushes Hughes and Kennedy out of the rotation (Sabathia, Wang, Burnett/Lowe, Pettitte, Chamberlain). So unless the plan all along was to keep the young'uns as sixth and seventh starter insurance or trade bait (and we know that's not so), it's clear the plan has changed. Girardi said back in October that neither is guaranteed a spot in the rotation. There's a good chance both start the season in the minors and Melky, who was also mentioned in Santana trade scenarios, might not even make the 25-man roster. Yeah. And considering Sabathia will cost at least $10M more and is more of a long-term risk (workload, build, pitching stlye) than Santana... probably should'a made that trade.
Bill, I think you're missing the point of Anthony's post.