It's quite humorous the way things worked out for the Yankees this season.
They missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995 all because the Yankees ... decided to not be the Yankees.
For the first time in more than a decade the John D. Rockefeller of baseball chose not to open up his pocketbook. The Yankees, under Hank Steinbrenner's direction, chose to develop prospects rather than pawn them in exchange for ready-made All-Star talent.
Steinbrenner passed on a trade for Johan Santana because he didn't want to part with Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes.
Santana nearly single-handedly carried the Mets into the postseason. Hughes and Kennedy were out of the rotation by May. Hughes, after a rough April, landed on the disabled list for four months with a stress fracture to his ribs. Kennedy proved he wasn't Major League ready, going 0-4 with a 8.17 ERA in 10 games (nine starts).
Wait, there's more.
The other player Minnesota sought to acquire in exchange for Santana was outfielder Melky Cabrera.
Guess what?
Cabrera lost his starting job when Xavier Nady arrived from Pittsburgh at the trading deadline and finished the season batting an unimpressive .249.
Hughes and Kennedy still have tremendous upside. Expectations are also higher than the Empire State Building in New York and across the nation for the Yankees.
Go out and get the talent now. It's the strategy New York took to 12-straight playoff appearances. It's what the fans want. It's what they're accustomed to. And it gives purpose to that thick wallet.
After all, as childhood taught, don't try to be someone you're not.
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