New York Can Learn From Kansas City/San Francisco

The New York Yankees all watched the first two games of the World Series just like you and I did but hopefully they were paying attention like I was. New York can learn a lot from these two teams going forward, especially if they want to compete in the foreseeable future. The same things that I have been beating a drum for all season long are what's going on in these two cities right now with these two teams, coincidence? Keep reading to find out.

San Francisco currently sports a young second baseman in Joe Panik that reminds me a lot of Robert Refsnyder. The Giants went the veteran and expensive route with Marco Scutaro before losing him to yet another injury. The same can be said for the Royals after losing expensive veteran Omar Infante as Kansas City filled the hole with Christian Colon some before leaving him off the World Series roster for Jayson Nix. The Yankees need a second baseman next season and if it's not Martin Prado maybe it should be Refsnyder.

In both San Francisco and Kansas City the emphasis for the managers is to get five or six innings out of their starters and hand it off to the bullpen. We have all heard about the three headed monster of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland for the Royals but not enough is said about the Giants Jeremy Affeldt, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, and Santiago Casilla. There are many around Twitter, the Yankees blogosphere, etc. that believe letting David Robertson walk in free agency is a good idea and these two teams show you how much of a bad idea that may be for New York.

Finally both teams have not been shy about relying on young guys in big spots. Ned Yost and the Royals have relied heavily on Brandon Finnegan who became the first player to player in an NCAA Championship game and a World Series in the same season. Yost has also used Yordano Ventura in the bullpen when necessary while the Yankees preferred the likes of Rich Hill or Josh Outman to the strikeout factory Jacob Lindgren.

Finally, all signs point to Pablo Sandoval and James Shields walking away via free agency this season rather than their teams paying a premium for what the player has done and not what the player will do. Pay attention New York, this is how baseball teams are constructed these days. This is how you win and I like to win, so win.