The Bronx Stop: A Yankees Blog

The following quote is real, not the dream of a lifelong New York Yankees fan that has been looking forward to what's "next" for the last couple of years. Brace yourself, this is not your typical Yankee frame of mind.

“We’re going to be in beautiful shape,” Hank Steinbrenner said Wednesday, a day after declaring that the Yankees had dropped out of talks for Santana. “I’m telling you, I’m very excited. I hope we can challenge this year, and I think we can. But the future looks even brighter.

This quote is exciting for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the fact that we have made it though the winter meetings with our prospects intact. Now don't get me wrong, I was not against the Santana deal as I had previously stated on this blog, but my main concern was that we would cave into the Twins demand that Kennedy, Hughes, and Melky were all included in a deal for Santana. I know Hank has taken a lot of grief in the press over the last couple of months, but I think it is important to put into perspective what he has accomplished since taking over baseball decisions from his dad in mid-October.

First, he was able to resign Alex Rodriguez to a mind blowing ten year contract, that guarantees the best player in the game will remain in pinstripes for the foreseeable future, and in turn will probably become the true home king, when he bests Henry Aaron's record of 755.

Second, he resigned Jorgie and Mo, something that was thought to be in question at least a couple of different times. Yes, we may have overpaid for Posada a bit, but that is precisely why the Yankees win 90-100 games every year. They take care of the players that take care of them.

Third, he did not cave to the pressure of the Twins and Red Sox threatening to do business with each other and sell the entire farm system down the river. Now how much of this credit should go to Cash and Michael I'm not sure, but I do not see the makings of a disaster in any of these moves.

You could make the argument that the Yankees have not gotten any younger and they have not improved themselves during the off season, but I think that you would be missing something in that statement. The Yanks have dealt for, traded for, and signed free agents with the names of Giambi, Damon, Pavano, and Abreu but have still maintained a farm system with 5-7 top notch pitchers (Chamberlain, Kennedy, Hughes, Horne, Betances, and Sanchez) and 3-5 top notch position player prospects (Jackson, Tabata, and Gonzalez) at their beckon call.

I think the future looks bright.

Happy Holidays!

Go Bombers!