Keidel: The Mets Are More Interesting — And Probably Better — Than The Yankees
By Jason Keidel
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So the Yankees whiffed on David Robertson and we assumed it would free them up for a hard charge at Max Scherzer. Then Mad Max got mad money from Washington, making the Bronx Bombers look broke by comparison.
So, what does this mean?
It's merely a microcosm of baseball in the Bronx. The Yankees are no longer the bullies on the block. Retire the Darth Vader masks. The Jeter babies can burn those nauseating "Got Rings?" shirts. Lose the elitism. Because the New York Yankees are only elite in the wallet and in the price of their ticket packages.
Maybe the Yanks could use some modesty. Indeed, a healthy heaping of humility is what got them the Core Four dynasty. The early '90s were a wasteland in the Bronx.
They went from nothing to something with some old-school savvy and talent evaluation. Just a few years of Stick Michael and Bob Watson watching the shop got them the Joe Torre empire. Nobody could have predicted the confluence of timing and talent that brought the Core Four, but the baseball gods no longer smile on the Yankees as currently constituted and operated.
According to ESPN, the Yankees are now a 25-to-1 shot to win the World Series. To give you a sense of how far they've fallen, the San Diego Padres are just as likely to win the Fall Classic as the Yankees. In the AL East, only the Tampa Bay Rays (66-to-1) have worse odds.
If the Yankees are going to return to their stratospheric form, they will have to win the old-fashioned way -- through the minors. The Yankees' farm system has been mediocre to middling for over a decade. The last stud -- and everyday player -- spawned by the farm was Robinson Cano, who no longer bears his beloved pinstripes.
This buying-titles business model just isn't working anymore. They have a shortstop who swings a wiffle ball bat, an injury-addled first baseman who used to be great, a supposedly star catcher who batted .232 last year and a $30-million per-year third baseman who can't play third base anymore. And lord knows their outfield, while good, can't make up for such an anemic infield.
Their former ace (CC Sabathia) can't break an egg with his fastball anymore. Their new ace (Masahiro Tanaka) nearly needed Tommy John surgery -- Ivan Nova did need it -- and Michael Pineda never met an injury he didn't like. Hiroki Kuroda is now pitching in Asia.
Hence the need for a fertile farm system. Not that the Yankees have one. According to Baseball Prospectus, the Yanks had the 23rd-best crop in the sport entering the 2014 season. Bleacher Report was a bit kinder, ranking the Yanks 19th this winter.
We can talk John Ryan Murphy and Luis Severino all we want, but until a Cano or Dellin Betances flashes his MLB mores, he's not anything. As a friend who writes for The Associated Press often tells me, a prospect is just that until he proves otherwise.
So the Yankees losing, or not even entering, the Scherzer sweepstakes doesn't necessarily prove some cellar-dwelling omen. But Brian Cashman's top priority can no longer be going after the reigning MVP or Cy Young winner. His job must be to sprinkle as much magic dust on the minor leagues as possible.
They say the Nationals might deal a high-end starter in order to offset the cost of Scherzer. But the Yanks should resist surrendering the few blue-chip boys they have just to save face this season. It's about time the Yankees cure themselves of their corporate myopia and think a little long-term. A couple of 85-win seasons won't kill the franchise, unless they keep charging Porsche prices for a Prius.
This is an odd time for Yankees fans. For the first time in forever, the Mets are the more interesting team, and probably the better team, at least if you buy the baseball adage that pitching wins games. The Mets have a way more potent rotation, a way more pleasant ballpark and a sense that things are swinging upward.
Again, humility isn't always a bad thing in the Bronx. Lord knows there's a lot more humble pie to be eaten this year, and probably next.
Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonKeidel.
