"Win Today, Worry About Tomorrow Later"

So I was kind of stuck when thinking what specific Yankees topic I should write my blog about this week.  I took to asking around and seeing what people are interested in reading.  Most of the responses I received were about A-rod and the steroid scandal; others were about the respect Joe Girardi receives as a manager, and some questioned the Yankees starting rotation.  All good suggestions, but since I already talked about two out of three of the topics in my past blogs, I wanted to come from a bit of a different direction.

What was the end result you may ask?  A blog about the Yankees transitioning into territory that may not be too familiar to them.  What do I mean by this unfamiliar territory?  As we true Yankee fans know, a World Series Championship is expected of the team every season.  Those close to George Steinbrenner knew that he demands nothing less than the best.  The American League East is no longer a given to the Yankees or to the Boston Red Sox.  The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have made the playoffs in the past three years, and the Baltimore Orioles have turned around the franchise and won over ninety games. 

Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and Ichiro Suzuki are technically the only Yankees that will be under contract in 2014.  Those four contracts, alone, are just under $80 million.  Keep in mind that in order to avoid the 50% luxury tax the Yankees will have to pay, they must keep their payroll below $189 million.  What is the team's payroll as of now? $210 million.  That is a substantial amount of money to cut.  In the past five years, the Yankees have traded thirteen of their big prospects and talent.  Their response to those trades?  Five players, including Curtis Granderson, Ichiro Suzuki, and back-up catcher Chris Stewart.  Pitcher Michael Pineda turned out to be a huge disappointment for the team thus far. 

Above all, the New York Yankees will continue with their "win-today, worry-about-tomorrow-later mentality that has not put a lot of value on draft choices and bringing along homegrown players." (Yankees.com)