Spankees
Yes, my beloved New York Yankees have ended their 2006 season. For all you haters, send your comments to blowitoutyourass@suckit.com. For the rest of you, either Yankee fans or any open-minded baseball fans, I submit to you my three step process for rebuilding the New York Yankees. Mr. Steinbrenner, if you are reading, please grab a pencil...
1) Abandon the "all-star team" approach - being an investment professional, I talk all the time about the importance of diversification, and how a well-diversified portfolio will not have all of its investments performing well at once. On a regular basis, I use the all-star sports team analogy, pointing out that "all-star" franchise teams never do what is expected of them on paper. The current Yankee squad is a perfect example. Everyone kept talking about their "hitting potential", "it's an all-star team", etc. but look what happened. Why? Because all stars rarely see themselves as part of a team - they are more concerned with the all-star = themselves (see more in A-Rod step below). The point is slightly harder to make in baseball because it is an individual who gets up to bat or field the ball, but nonetheless, it still stands. And here we have a textbook example. For comparison, consider the Yankees of the late 90s - four championships in five years, and not one with an "all star" lineup like you see today. For those of you who followed those teams and enjoyed the run as much as I did, you recall the feeling you got when the least likely guy on the team got the clutch hit or made the game-turning play - they were scrappers, all of whom stepped up at one point or another when they had to. Mr. Steinbrenner, start over!
2) Get rid of A-Rod - I see this as essential to the longer-term success of the Yankees, but also highly unlikely. Why? Because Mr. Alex has a no-trade clause in his contract, and Mr. Alex won't waive it anytime soon. Those of you who follow the Yankees or sports media remember his recent tirade about locker room drama between him and his teammates. Not only is that incident a perfect example of my earlier point about all-stars and selfishness (rather than take the hit for his poor performance, he pointed fingers at shortcomings of others) it also serves as an exnaple of A-Rod's ego - that same ego will not let him waive his no-trade clause because that would be admitting that he failed in New York, the biggest stage in sports, and that perhaps he is an overpaid hype - a failure, by the way, in a string of three (Seattle and Texas should count as failures considering the way he left and the success the teams found after his departure). Let me be clear on one thing though - I do not think he is an "overpaid hype". Well, perhaps he is overpaid, but he is also one of the best baseball players today, and perhaps ever. But some guys just can't play in New York, can't handle the big stage, the media, the scrutiny, the home town booing and jeering, etc. As good a ball player as he is, he may just be one of those guys. And so he's got to go. Free up the money to bring in some of those srappers, or at least someone that can get a hit or two during the month of October.
3) Hand over major decision-making control to Brian Cashman and the front office staff - Mr. Steinbrenner, you may find it hard to jot this one down! Don't get me wrong, I love your passion for winning and the desire to be the best, but too often your emotions get in the way of sound decision-making and that is hurting this team. Ironically, this also relates to the A-Rod problem - why do we have him? Because Steinbrenner was more concerned with one-upping the Red Sox, who tried so hard to get him and failed, than with making a smart baseball transaction. I'll admit, I was as excited about the deal as the next guy, but hindsight is 20/20 and perhaps we were all clouded by emotion. In any event, that cannot get in the way of building a smart team. If I had a fourth step, that would be it - build, don't patch. Pick a leader or two (Jeter, Posada) and build a team around them. Stop going to market and paying too much for the quick fix, or easy fill (a.k.a. A-Rod, or Johnson).
Those are my three steps to re-building a Yankee dynasty. They are not the only keys, but they are a great step in the right direction. Take them for what you will - I am just an investment guy, not the Theo Epstein of New Jersey. But if you follow baseball, and the Yankees, I think that I might just make a little bit of sense here...
1) Abandon the "all-star team" approach - being an investment professional, I talk all the time about the importance of diversification, and how a well-diversified portfolio will not have all of its investments performing well at once. On a regular basis, I use the all-star sports team analogy, pointing out that "all-star" franchise teams never do what is expected of them on paper. The current Yankee squad is a perfect example. Everyone kept talking about their "hitting potential", "it's an all-star team", etc. but look what happened. Why? Because all stars rarely see themselves as part of a team - they are more concerned with the all-star = themselves (see more in A-Rod step below). The point is slightly harder to make in baseball because it is an individual who gets up to bat or field the ball, but nonetheless, it still stands. And here we have a textbook example. For comparison, consider the Yankees of the late 90s - four championships in five years, and not one with an "all star" lineup like you see today. For those of you who followed those teams and enjoyed the run as much as I did, you recall the feeling you got when the least likely guy on the team got the clutch hit or made the game-turning play - they were scrappers, all of whom stepped up at one point or another when they had to. Mr. Steinbrenner, start over!
2) Get rid of A-Rod - I see this as essential to the longer-term success of the Yankees, but also highly unlikely. Why? Because Mr. Alex has a no-trade clause in his contract, and Mr. Alex won't waive it anytime soon. Those of you who follow the Yankees or sports media remember his recent tirade about locker room drama between him and his teammates. Not only is that incident a perfect example of my earlier point about all-stars and selfishness (rather than take the hit for his poor performance, he pointed fingers at shortcomings of others) it also serves as an exnaple of A-Rod's ego - that same ego will not let him waive his no-trade clause because that would be admitting that he failed in New York, the biggest stage in sports, and that perhaps he is an overpaid hype - a failure, by the way, in a string of three (Seattle and Texas should count as failures considering the way he left and the success the teams found after his departure). Let me be clear on one thing though - I do not think he is an "overpaid hype". Well, perhaps he is overpaid, but he is also one of the best baseball players today, and perhaps ever. But some guys just can't play in New York, can't handle the big stage, the media, the scrutiny, the home town booing and jeering, etc. As good a ball player as he is, he may just be one of those guys. And so he's got to go. Free up the money to bring in some of those srappers, or at least someone that can get a hit or two during the month of October.
3) Hand over major decision-making control to Brian Cashman and the front office staff - Mr. Steinbrenner, you may find it hard to jot this one down! Don't get me wrong, I love your passion for winning and the desire to be the best, but too often your emotions get in the way of sound decision-making and that is hurting this team. Ironically, this also relates to the A-Rod problem - why do we have him? Because Steinbrenner was more concerned with one-upping the Red Sox, who tried so hard to get him and failed, than with making a smart baseball transaction. I'll admit, I was as excited about the deal as the next guy, but hindsight is 20/20 and perhaps we were all clouded by emotion. In any event, that cannot get in the way of building a smart team. If I had a fourth step, that would be it - build, don't patch. Pick a leader or two (Jeter, Posada) and build a team around them. Stop going to market and paying too much for the quick fix, or easy fill (a.k.a. A-Rod, or Johnson).
Those are my three steps to re-building a Yankee dynasty. They are not the only keys, but they are a great step in the right direction. Take them for what you will - I am just an investment guy, not the Theo Epstein of New Jersey. But if you follow baseball, and the Yankees, I think that I might just make a little bit of sense here...
posted by bdonin at
8:37 AM
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