~~You’re a joke, Steve. You’ve sold out to SNY, the METS network, and you fill your posts with contradictory anti-Yankee nonsense. Which is why SNY even wanted you in the first place.~~

AndrewYF – this one’s for you:

http://tinyurl.com/55jbw8

If there’s a joke here, I believe it’s on you.

Of course, yankees76, where are they now? Not on the Yankees. No, they were TRADED. FOR MAJOR LEAGUE VETERANS. Only one of which worked out, Soriano for A-Rod, because Boston completely screwed up the deal and A-Rod fell to the Yankees for the mere price of Soriano.

So, just to get this straight – the Yankees farm system of 2000 failed, solely because none of the people on those lists are on the Yankees at this time. But, the reason why none of them are on the Yankees at this time is because they were traded away for major league veterans. So, a surefire way for the prospects of 2006 to not be on the Yankees in the future, and therefore ‘fail’ for the Yankees, is to trade them away. And yet, that’s exactly what you’re proposing.

Honestly, I would retract this post, and this line of thinking you (or SNY) has set up for you. It’s one of the most idiotic things you’ve ever said on this blog, and Steve, that is saying something.

I think mehmattski identified quite a lot of production from the farm system during that period. I’d be perfectly happy with that type of production for the 2008-2010 period.

And hey, during the same time period, there’s also ALFONSO SORIANO, who played most of 2000 at Columbus. DIONER NAVARRO, who played 2000 in the GCL and 2001 at A and A+ Tampa. WILY MO PENA played 2000 in SI and Greensboro before being traded to the Reds.

You tell me whether Damaso Marte counts, signed as a minor league FA in the offseason before 2001, and pitched at Norwich for part of 2001 before being traded for Enrique Wilson. I think that’s player development, identifying unsigned minor league talent that you can develop or use in a trade. Probably should have kept him, though…. Of course, then we wouldn’t have had all of those 2Bs that the otherwise pathetic Wilson hit off Pedro.

There’s also guys like Marcus Thames, who are seeing regular action now.

Johan Santana is an aging veteran. Sure, he’s a pretty good aging veteran, but how will he look next year? Or in 2011? And even then you’ll still likely be paying him more than any other pitcher in the game.

Going by this logic, you should be lavishing Cashman with praise for trading for Kevin Brown, who did provide the Yankees with some good, solid innings when he first came over. You should laud him for signing Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright. You should grovel at his feet for trading for the best pitcher in the game, Randy Johnson.

Frankly, you can’t ever, ever, ever again criticize Cashman for signing a veteran free agent. After all, only Yankee prospects never, ever, ever work out. Ever. In fact, they should abandon the farm system altogether. What good has it ever done?

You’re a joke, Steve. You’ve sold out to SNY, the METS network, and you fill your posts with contradictory anti-Yankee nonsense. Which is why SNY even wanted you in the first place.

Having a good farm system is VITAL to building a championship team. Trading away your best prospects who already had shown they can have major league success for an aging, declining pitcher that you then sign for the richest contract for a pitcher in major league history is exactly what the old Yankees would do.

Heck, using your method for analyzing prospects’ future success, we can even examine recent history for how Johan Santana would do: Kevin Brown, bust. Randy Johnson, not a bust but nothing close to what they expected. Javier Vazquez: unexpected bust, even though it was the right thing to do. So Steve, using your logic, trading for pitchers is the wrong thing to do, and it has not worked for the Yankees in this decade, and we can conclusively state that Johan Santana would likely be a bust. Or do you not like this stupid, idiotic logic when it’s used against you?

~~There is no evidence that the Yankees have abandoned trades and free agents; they have abandoned signing free agents to long term contracts and trading prospects for aging veterans.~~

See: Santana, Johan.

~~Do you want Yankees fans to not be excited about potentially good prospects? ~~

No, it’s OK to have some good feelings about it. But, I want them to check that excitement – because it just may be a situation where reality is about to pull the rug out from underneath them.

It’s OK to be pleased about having a good farm. It’s another thing to have this blind faith that the farm system will lead to all things glory in the future…and that’s what I’m hearing/seeing from many Yankees fans who buy into what Cashman is selling now.

So Steve, what do you want us to do? Do you want Yankees fans to not be excited about potentially good prospects? Do you want Baseball America to stop ranking the Yankees farm system highly so we don’t have any expectations? Do you want to blame Cashman for giving us too much hope? What do you want? What’s the point of saying “Oh by the way, most of these prospects won’t pan out.”

Do you want there to be a shift in philosophy so that they just empty out the farm system since, well, it’s unlikely these prospects will become anything except good trade bait?

Hopefully, for every 10 “Top Prospects” that don’t pan out there is one unknown prospect that can contribute, even if its only for part of a season or the stretch run.

Sure. Did you ever consider the possibility that Baseball America is wrong about the 2006-2008 Yankees farm system too?
—————–

I anticipated that response. And yet, already the Yankees have at least one impact player coming out of their farm system, in Joba Chamberlain. That a player can race through the farm system and make an impact at the major league level so quickly suggests the following:

The Yankees are evaluating talent better than they did in 2000-2002.

In particular, they are paying attention to the amateur draft in ways they failed to prior to 2004. We know this change in philosophy to be true, and we see its results in the form of solid pitching staffs at AA and AAA the last three years.

Your impatience with the farm system is quizzical. There is no evidence that the Yankees have abandoned trades and free agents; they have abandoned signing free agents to long term contracts and trading prospects for aging veterans. How can you say that’s a bad thing?

~~Did you ever consider the possibility that Baseball America was wrong about the 2000-2002 Yankees farm system?~~

Sure. Did you ever consider the possibility that Baseball America is wrong about the 2006-2008 Yankees farm system too?

If you disregard anything below the High A+ League. No position play has stamped their authority as a sure fire All Star caliber player this season.

Austin Jackson is having a nice year but it isnt a eye popping, jump up and down type of year.
Tabata has stalled slightly…and Gardner is having a great year but he isnt going to be a great Major Leaguer.

Pitching wise…Our best pitchers from AA and AAA are relievers. Which isnt a bad thing but they wont be valued like a top notch starter.

At the end of the day. The pitching doesnt concern me because Wang, Hughes and Joba will all be very good and we have some good bullpen arms coming up.
The bats do concern me though and it would be nice if someone at High A+ or higher would bust out and force their way into elite status.