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So what happens when you build your real Major League Baseball team like a fantasy baseball team? You get the New York Yankees.
Sure they’ve finished first in the American League East six times since the 2001 series, but do you know how many World Series they won? Zero. The Yankees of the late ‘90s were not exactly starless, but they played as a team with a full compliment of role players to help the stars.
The key additions to the roster- players like Chuck Knoblauch, Darryl Strawberry, and Scott Brosius- were all good players, but far from the best in the game. Strawberry and Knoblauch were clearly in the twilight of their careers. They were acquisitions by Brian Cashman meant to add the final pieces to the puzzle for a team that was already almost there.
Yankee Stadium had a great run with Jorge Posada and Alfonso Soriano. The home grown talent was surrounded by free agent pickups and players from trades, but the team felt far from a desperate collection of all stars.
Today’s Yankees have an incredible roster with star-studded names and star-studded salaries. Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, and Bobby Abreu’s salaries combined dwarf most rosters. If I had those players on my fantasy team, at least when they were playing at the level when they were signed, I would be ecstatic.
The problem is that the simple collection of talent has only gotten them so far. The Boston Red Sox have emerged as greater playoff threats than the Evil Empire in the 21st century with two World Series titles. The Red Sox have appeared to have followed the old Yankees example.
Sure Fenway Park has its share of stars with David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Bartolo Colon, but thye also have a cache full of role players or former stars willing to do anything to win. J.D. Drew was a huge up and coming star that fell short, but on the Red Sox he is a solid contributor. Kevin Youkilis is one of those guys who fought through the team’s farm system to make the roster. He is also putting good, but not great numbers.
The Red Sox are outdoing the Yankees with a payroll significantly less than the Yankees. The Cubs over in the National League are doing the same sort of thing. Bring over big names like Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee, make a few good pickups in players like Kosuke Fukudome and Aramis Ramirez, and have some farm system talent like Geovany Soto, and Ryan Theroit and you have a team that could bring the World Series to Wrigley Field for the first time in decades.
A number of the players mentioned are now the disabled list, but they have made an impact this season or in the years before. The point is that when you build a team meant to lead the league in statistical categories like home runs, RBI’s, and batting average the idea of the team game gets lost. The other result of signing big name players, especially bug name offensive players, is that the pitching suffers. Cashman has become more conservative over the last few seasons and has not spent nearly as much, saving the payroll from exploding. With all the money going to big name, recognizable players the pitching has suffered and eventually broken down.
The teams they play in the playoffs are of a better caliber and are able to control the Yankees bats. The Yankees pitching is not able to do the same. The Yankees will continue to fall short, angering demanding New Yorkers until they recognize the problem and try and fix it. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and maybe even the Cubs will play deep into the fall every season.
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