Empire State

The Yankees may not suck.

It's true, despite the chants to the contrary. But it's not as obvious a statement as you might think. The Yankees certainly did suck, from October 27, 2000, until midafternoon yesterday. That's what happens when you have the payroll of nine teams. You either win the World Series, or you suck.

Yankee fans may disagree with that admittedly high standard, but Brian Cashman is clearly on my side. What else could inspire a man to pick the top three free agents in a relatively stacked offseason and buy them all? For $423 million?

The Yankees want to win a World Series. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. They're going after the best players in order to do it, and there's nothing wrong with that either. The problem, as I've said before, is that they do it in the most inelegant way possible. Brian Cashman and Hank Steinbrenner may have just secured their team a championship, but there wasn't an ounce of baseball analysis or business negotiating skills involved in the process. Find the three free agents who had the best years last year and offer them endless money? Indications are that the Yankees weren't even bidding for Teixeira until the Red Sox and Angels dropped out, then they stuck their heads in and offered him $180 million and a full no-trade clause. Mark Teixeira, since I now hate you, it gives me pleasure to know that you could have held out for $10 million more. Trust me, they would have given it to you.

Sure, I'm a Red Sox fan, but if you think about who the real victims are here, it's the Nationals. They wanted to revitalize (well, "vitalize") their franchise. They broke the bank to make a huge offer that would have helped level a MLB playing field that so reliably tilts towards the big-money franchises. It's too bad, Nationals fans; it turns out your league is actually designed so you don't have a shot at the World Series.

So there you have it. You'd think that, to win a World Series, you have to be highly skilled at evaluating talent, and predicting when players are about to peak so you can buy them cheaply. But that's not the case--really, anyone can do it. You too can win a World Series, for the low, low price of $423 million.

Yes, you certainly can win a championship that way. But I'm certainly going to be satisfied every time the Yankees lose to the $30 million Rays along the way.