The winter obsession last year was Johan Santana -- and the Yankees or the Red Sox could have had him. They could have traded for the accomplished left-hander who was about to turn 29. But what folks in both front offices decided was that the double-barreled cost was prohibitive.
On the front end, both teams would have been required to surrender their top pitching prospects -- for the Red Sox, that was Jon Lester, and for the Yankees, that was Phil Hughes -- and then they would have to pay Santana like he was a free agent. It was such an extraordinary price that even some folks in the Mets' organization wondered, after getting Santana, whether it was the right thing to do.
The argument that several executives made with the Red Sox and Yankees was that if you were patient -- patient -- then you might have a shot at a pitcher much like Santana in CC Sabathia, and the cost would only have one layer. Sure, you'd have to give him a huge contract, but you wouldn't have to give up top prospects along the way.
So the Yankees, in the end, were patient and got Sabathia, and the pundits who are saying that the team has blown up its plan for player development are simply not paying attention. In fact, the signings of Sabathia and A.J. Burnett are absolutely in keeping with the refocus on the farm system.
Because the Yankees waited to pursue Sabathia, rather than deal for Santana, they still have Hughes and Ian Kennedy and Austin Jackson and all the players mentioned in the Santana talks, and as the pitching talent pool has increased at the major league level, there is now more time for those youngsters to develop. It actually has been more than a decade since the Yankees have had as much minor league talent stacked up as they do now.
Yes, they will sacrifice draft picks in landing Sabathia and Burnett. But keep in mind that the Yankees will have picks in the first and second round of the draft in 2009 because of players unsigned in 2008; it's not as if they are being shut down.
The Yankees spun themselves into a hole in the past decade partly by acquiring and relying on aging pitchers (Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson) at premium prices. Now, when the free-agent machinations are over and the new Yankee Stadium opens, this is what the Yankees' rotation will look like:
1. Sabathia, 28 years old 2. Burnett, 32 3. Chien-Ming Wang, 29 4. Andy Pettitte, 36; or Ben Sheets, 30; or Derek Lowe, 35 5. Joba Chamberlain, 23
Compare that rotation with the Yankees' rotation in the year of their epic playoff collapse against the Red Sox:
1. Mike Mussina, 35 2. Javier Vazquez, 27 3. Jon Lieber, 34 4. Brown, 39 5. Jose Contreras, 32
The Yankees' rotation will be much younger next season, and it has a chance to be the strongest it has been since 1998, when Pettitte, David Cone, David Wells and Orlando Hernandez filled out the top four spots, in front of Hideki Irabu.
Marlins president David Samson ripped the Yankees this week for what he portrayed as wild spending, but apparently he doesn't realize that the team's payroll is going to go down by around 10 percent. The Yankees had about $85 million in expiring contracts, and for next season, so far they've spent $23 million on Sabathia and $15 million on Burnett, and they'll spend on another veteran pitcher and probably acquire Mike Cameron; it's possible the Yankees' payroll for next season will be about $180 million to $190 million.
So to review: The Yankees will be younger, cheaper and deeper, and maybe better.
Who knows if all of that will be good enough to win the AL East? Burnett is an enormous risk, nobody knows if Chamberlain can stay healthy, and the Yankees don't know whether Jorge Posada can be an everyday catcher, and they don't know if Alex Rodriguez will be the monster of 2007 or the guy who seems to disappear in big spots.
The Red Sox are years ahead of the Yankees in their player development and have their pipeline of talent already flowing into the big leagues, and by the end of this week, they may land the best position player, Mark Teixeira (some executives strongly believe the bidding will, in fact, end up around $200 million). The Rays have a chance to be as good or perhaps even better, because it appears they will wind up with a solid veteran hitter, and David Price will step into the rotation in 2009.
In the fall of 2005, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman mapped out a course for the organization to begin building a powerhouse that combines player development and the power of the dollar, a model that looks an awful lot like what we've been seeing from the Red Sox over the past three seasons. The Yankees continue to move closer to achieving that goal.
Nick Cafardo wonders if the Yankees are poised for a fall like the one the Tigers had last year. Mike Lupica has a much different opinion than my own on the Yankees' pursuit of Sabathia and Burnett.
Heard this: Sabathia will arrive in New York on Monday.
