ESPNNY article on Hal Steinbrenner's penny-pinching

[NYSpirit1]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/stor...w-york-villain

Basically what I posted last week. This needs to stop. We're in New York City, not Milwaukee.

[metswon69]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/stor...w-york-villain

Basically what I posted last week. This needs to stop. We're in New York City, not Milwaukee.

Now you guys know what its like crosstown albeit not nearly as bad.

[Dugmet]

It's hard to cruticize Hal's perspective because he is right:

I just feel that if you do well on the player development side and you have a good farm system, you don't need a $220 million payroll. You can field every bit as good a team with young talent."

Who disagrees?

[RCSownsU]

You act like this is something new.

The fans have known this has been coming for a long time.

Everyone thinks the payroll is just too avoid the tax.

This also affects our IFA money, which guys like Cano and Mariano Rivera were signed through. So it's imperative that the yankees reach this goal.

I don't get what is so hard to understand, stop acting like a spoiled brat, there is no reason we can't win with a payroll of 189 of less. The yankees have one WON championship in the last 10 years with this whole throw money at everybody approach, it's time for a change. If you can't get with this, find another team to be a fan of. It's getting annoying. Deal with it or change teams, simple.

[jango2000]

This might be a great plan if we had an amazing farm system with players ready to jump up, but we don't. Nice kids in single A ball, years away.
The 50 million that Hal gets to pocket in luxury tax savings won't seem so tasty when the stadium is empty in 2014 when we field a joke of a team.
We are going to have two or three very lean years of rebuilding.
Maybe 2015 opens with a boatload of fresh puppies who will have many growing pains. Could be exciting. Maybe Hal lets Cash supplement those puppies with some big free agents.
Only thing is Hal is sending big smoke signals that he is selling this team.
Already sold off half the YES network. Publicly stated he's a businessman, not a baseball man.
Stay tuned.

[rbangs38]

Yes, you CAN win with a payroll that is less than $189 million(as Hal says). Most teams do that. However, you CAN NOT win when the majority of that payroll is tied up among 5 guys. There is very little other money to go around. When those teams with lower payrolls win, their money is dispursed relatively evenly amongst the entire team. The Yankees problem is that they have 4 guys making over $20 million a year, which eats about $100million dollars. The other 36 guys have about $90 million to go around(I wish we had these problems). So its hard to win when 4 aging guys make well over $20 million a year, and the rest of the team is expected to make around $3 mill. Just wont happen.

The frustration with this comes that there are holes on this team that they NEED to fill. Yankee fans (and rightfully so) expect a competitve product on the field. When we hear that we currently have "no C, no RF, and no 3B" then we get outbid by the Pirates for players, or lose out on players who sign 1 year $2 million contracts...its very disconcerting. Maybe we shouldve planned for this a few years ago, before re-upping Alex for a kings ransom. They have to be careful with Cano, or else it'll be the same thing all over again

[7chuck7]

This might be a great plan if we had an amazing farm system with players ready to jump up, but we don't. Nice kids in single A ball, years away.
The 50 million that Hal gets to pocket in luxury tax savings won't seem so tasty when the stadium is empty in 2014 when we field a joke of a team.
We are going to have two or three very lean years of rebuilding.
Maybe 2015 opens with a boatload of fresh puppies who will have many growing pains. Could be exciting. Maybe Hal lets Cash supplement those puppies with some big free agents.
Only thing is Hal is sending big smoke signals that he is selling this team.
Already sold off half the YES network. Publicly stated he's a businessman, not a baseball man.
Stay tuned.

I think you nailed it. Hal is not George. Even when the Yanks won in 2009 it looked forced when he showed up for the trophy presentation in the locker room after game 6. Never liked him or his brother. They remind me of the kids everyone on the block wanted to beat up. Aholes.

[jeter4president]

This was never a plan for 2013. It's his plan for building a good young team for 2014-2020. The faster everyone realizes that, the better.

[rrzubnyy]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/stor...w-york-villain

Basically what I posted last week. This needs to stop. We're in New York City, not Milwaukee.

It makes no sense considering on how much money his family makes with everything counted up.....trust me, the tax, no matter how severe it will be, would not cripple the Yankees...Hal is basically going by a baseball budget with all other monies coming in not counted.....a joke!

This is like Broadway play charging the highest ticket prices and then bringing in high school actors in place of the stars....

How does Hal address the season ticket holders?

[jd25213]

Welcome to being a fan of a normal sports team.

[djall10]

This was never a plan for 2013. It's his plan for building a good young team for 2014-2020. The faster everyone realizes that, the better.

Exactly.

This is exactly the point...I think most fans understand the financial impact of the luxury tax and the need to get below $189, but for god's sake, have a fck'n plan for the year leading up to it and not look like a bunch of idiots losing out on below average, 1 year stop gaps.

This all changes, however, if they trade Granderson and sign Hamilton and Ichiro...then all of a sudden, they're geniuses!

[rrzubnyy]

It's hard to cruticize Hal's perspective because he is right:



Who disagrees?

No problem with that but the Yankees farm system does not have major league ready players yet.....maybe a few but not what he thinks. There was no reason to lose Martin to the Pirates....You resign Kuroda, Pettitte and Mo and then lose your checkbook?

No RF
No C
No 3rd basemen

Martin should have been signed....Keppinger and Chavez should have been signed to 1 year deals were they could not refuse.

And just give Ichy RF

Why couldn't they take their chances with that?

That would have kept the team in the top of the East for at least the beginning of the season...the offseason is far from over but the way it looks Kuroda, Mo and Pettitte got ripped off with the team they are currently on..

[rrzubnyy]

Current lineup

1. Jeter SS
2.
3. Cano 2b
4. Teix 1b
5.
6.
7. Granderson CF
8.
9. Gardner LF

[Mike64]

It's an interesting article. The 'market correction' the article speaks of those is subject to a lot of variables. In recent memory, home-grown aces (Cain, Weaver, possibly King Felix) are taking pay cuts to stay with home team. The thought that this tax is to be used for Verlander is very strained logic. Even the mention of Andrus, whose name is continuously the subject of trade rumors - there is no sure thing 2 years from now.

I see the silver-lining, in that I could care less to watch Victorino and even Russell Martin. They are average players who are continually replaceable. Haren, Keppinger and even Soria I view as lost opportunities. We are counting on Pet and Mo to remain healthy, Kuroda to not regress, Hughes and Phelps to progress, and Cano to carry the offence.

I see the business logic, but as it stands now - this is not a playoff team.

[rrzubnyy]

Exactly.

This is exactly the point...I think most fans understand the financial impact of the luxury tax and the need to get below $189, but for god's sake, have a fck'n plan for the year leading up to it and not look like a bunch of idiots losing out on below average, 1 year stop gaps.

This all changes, however, if they trade Granderson and sign Hamilton and Ichiro...then all of a sudden, they're geniuses!

With the money the Yankees take in every year and along with the new TV monies being dooled out this tax scare is just an excuse for more profit for Hal...the tax would not cripple the Yankees, please.......Hal is either selling or just doesn't care about winning championships....

Hal should be embarrassed with all of the profits he rakes in every year and is afraid of a stupid tax. That tax, no matter how severe it could be for them is ust pennies for a money machine like Yankees....

Do you know how powerful the Yankees brand is? World wide! The Steinbrenners are killing it with profits!