My honest opinion is he finally figured out that the Yankees were going to need to actually develop some talent in order to get back on top because other teams with big time payrolls (Red Sox, Angels) were pumping out big-time young players from their farm system when the Yankees had been neglecting theirs. Normally he would have traded prospects to improve the pitching staff but he felt pressure to build from within and simply went with the younger guys. His thought process was on the right track and they have strengthened the farm system since then but for him to think he could use that farm system to patch his holes was just another bad decision in a long line of similar decisions.

actually, i dont know if there was a backup plan at all, but i ask you this. what better pitcher was available last year at the beginning of the season that made sense to sign as a backup? my guess is none.

Absolutely false and has been proven so in many different articles, probably a few of them written on this website. Of course it helps to draft high but they made several moves not related to their draft position that put them in a position to succeed.

Can you seriously tell me that having Sidney Ponson as our #1 backup plan for 2 rookie starters is not a bad move? Really? I think calling it “risky” does it a major injustice. It was simply a poorly thought out roster planning. Of course you want to believe in your rookies but you have to be realistic. Rookie pitchers don’t often fare that well. With all the resources Cashman had at his disposal, he had no excuse for not having a decent backup plan.

That is a strategy also known as “finish last for 10 years straight and draft in the Top 10 every year.” The very GM you are hinting at inherited a stacked farm system and a team full of excellent, young, cost-controlled players.

I don’t think “efficiency” carries the same value you maintain it carries. If we were to judge by some sort of input vs. output metric, teams like the A’s and the Twins would be on top.

Why did the Yankees go into 2008 with Hughes and Kennedy as their #4 and #5 starters? They were 2 of the top 3 pitching prospects in the Yankees farm system and put up decent September numbers, with Hughes standing out in his relief appearance in the ALDS against the Indians. To bring them both up at the same time was a risky move, but far from “terrible planning.”

A team with 8-10 major league-ready starters on the 40-man or in the system is like Bigfoot: it doesn’t exist. A team with two or more ML-ready starters in their AAA club has exceptional pitching depth.

they STILL WON 89 GAMES. This is not even a remotely bad season, especially when you lose 3 of your 5 opening day starters due to injuries/ineffectiveness. This is way above acceptable for 95% of all major league clubs. It’s not the Yankees fault that Tampa won 97 games last year… it’s the discounting attitude and people looking at last season and going “wow the yankees sucked they didn’t even make the playoffs!” that i’m contesting here…

Why doesn’t Cashman count on losing half of his rotation? Are you serious? The Red Sox signing every aging pitcher under the sun to give the appearance of “depth” is just as inneffective as trying to roll out of ST with 2 rookie starters.

Anyways, thanks for bringing up injuries. You have once again further proven our point. Injuries are exactly why you build depth and a farm system and the Yankees did not do a good job of that considering their huge payroll. 250+ million dollars and your main backup plans are Ponson and Rasner?? That’s not exactly efficient. Look at Boston and Atlanta. They are both loaded with 9 or 10 major league ready starters in case injuries hit. Why doesn’t Cashman built depth like that? It’s simply a lack of foresight.