Before we get too in-depth with this post I just want to
start it off by saying that as unpopular of a decision that it was I actually
agree with the Yankees decision to move Adam Warren back to the bullpen and to
keep the likes of CC Sabathia and Nathan Eovaldi in the starting rotation for
this team. There is zero doubt in my mind that Warren pitched better than
either of these men and deserved to be in the rotation more than these two men
but that’s not what was best for the team. Truth be told what’s best for the
team is a trade, DFA or phantom injury to Sabathia but that’s also the
unlikeliest of the scenarios as well but what can you do? Warren helps the
bullpen more than Sabathia or Eovaldi could and Warren is also approaching his
career high innings limit with a shade over half the season remaining which
begs for disaster in September when he’s exhausted. This is not the last we’ve
seen of Warren in the starting rotation I believe, and truth be told he is an
injury away from being right back in it and with the Band-Aid that holds this
rotation together being as flimsy as it is I’d expect him back at some point,
but at least for now he’s in the bullpen and I think it helps the 2015 Yankees
out more than anything and that’s all that really matters in the end.
The discussion and debate about whether Warren should be in
the rotation and whether Sabathia should be in the bullpen is a discussion for
another day, I will instead focus on why the Yankees made the move and why
teams like the San Francisco Giants win World Series in the modern game and why
teams like the New York Yankees do not. The Giants run their organization like
it’s a multi-million dollar company while the Yankees run their organization
like they are a mom and pop organization trying to compete with the new Super
Wal-Mart in town. Hank can go on and on about how he isn’t cheap because of his
payroll but what he wants us to forget is the contracts of Alex Rodriguez, CC
Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and other high-priced Yankees players were handed out
by George Steinbrenner, not Hal. Sure the Yankees owner did shell out over $500
million in an offseason but in a large sample size, there’s that whole sample
size thing again, Hal has been more of the Coupon Clipper than the Yankees
Clipper.
This mindset was brought to the front of the line when the
Yankees moved Warren to the bullpen and kept Sabathia in the starting rotation.
Again, for this team it was the right move but how many times have we seen the
same decisions happen when it wasn’t the right move? The Yankees have used
excuses like how much a player is owed to keep him in the rotation, to keep him
on the field and to keep him on the roster but why? The Giants, the team that
seemingly wins a World Series every other season and the Giants who are the
reigning World Series Champions, aren’t afraid to make the moves that need to
be done in order to propel the team to the ultimate prize. Do the names Tim
Lincecum and Barry Zito ring a bell? Both players were making in excess of $20
million per season and both were struggling in the rotation much like Sabathia.
The difference here is that the Giants trusted their analytics and trusted
their scouts and weren’t shy about moving those players into the bullpen to
make room for the players that helped the team win.
When the Yankees pull moves like this it does not instill
confidence in me as a fan, it makes me believe that the bottom line is what’s
most important and screw the on the field product as long as the team itself is
making money. Sure it’s a business but it takes money to make money and with
bonehead moves and policies like this I cannot see me and many other fans
spending much more of our money to support a team that only cares about the
money. This all sounds rich coming from a guy who owns a blog called The GREEDY
Pinstripes but that greed comes from the team getting the players it needs to
win by any means necessary and less about the financial greed. The financial
greed comes with winning and comes with recognizable faces, maybe someone should
let the Yankees owner know that.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)