The Money Pit

It’s trade deadline day for Major League Baseball. Unlike years past where trades could take place after the deadline, but be they’d have to be exposed to the waiver wire first, what’s done is done. There are no trades after 6 p.m. eastern.

From a Yankees perspective there are no miracles. Status quo is the rule of the day. There is no one that can improve this team, no magic wand, because the problems are fundamental; not because they’re lacking that key component. When you look at it that way there is no one, Ohtani included, that could help this team make the playoffs. Yes, I’m going to be reminded that as of August 1 they are only 3.5 games back of a wildcard. As I said in a previous post the playoffs will always be that close. Get back to me on September 1st and they’ll still be in the 3.5 to 5.5 range depending on streaks of both themselves and the opposition. They’re a .500 team and nothing more. I only expect the games back column to increase or remain the same a month from now, again, because the problems with this organization are more entrenched than just the performance on the field. The games are only the end product of the dysfunction and stand as the most visible attribute. The real fundamental problem lies in the fact the front office thinks it’s the best in baseball. They appear from the outside that they think they’re smarter than everyone else when, in reality, they’ve been passed by other organizations long ago. They were passed by Tampa Bay a decade ago; one only needs to compare the payroll of the two teams for proof. That mere fact that many cite is really telling. It shows how superior the Tampa Bay Rays are in scouting, player development, roster construction, and game day preparation. Yes, I’m well aware they had a dismal month of July, and were caught by the Orioles after an incredible start, but do you know what? They’re still better than the Yankees. I still expect them to take two out of three in this current series if not sweep it. I expect the same against Houston.

These are the series where the Yankees get buried, and that’s why the trade deadline is largely irrelevant. A $260M payroll should not be in last place in the division. Let’s stop talking about they’re only 3.5 out of a wildcard and start talking about that. They are a $260M last place team. That’s unconscionable. Then the fans and maybe the team itself are looking for salvation from outside the organization? There’s nothing left to get. You’ve purchased everything else for the most part. Adding another player to the roster is only exchanging parts at this point on what has become a money pit of an automobile.The fundamental problem with the current Yankees front office is they think they’ve won 27 championships. They haven’t. They’ve won none. The 27 championships were won by a team, players and front office, from another generation. Their championships over the last decade total 0, and while I don’t have unrealistic expectations of them winning every year I do expect them to be competitive. They’re not. They’ve become excruciating to watch making the same mistakes season after season. Quiet bats, poor fielding and base running, and compounded by adding more of the same by throwing money at the problem trying to fix it. This process has gotten old, and while I know contractually Cashman and Boone are going no where I have to ask, when push comes to shove, who is going to get shoved?