Well thats a point I have made the past two years in regards to the moves we have made (or not made as the case may be…)

I didn’t go into it because it’s been rehashed so many times here with ludicrous excuse making as the reason why it wasn’t possible….

One of which is this predilection for blaming this all on the Madoff situation…

But you know my stance I could care less if the WIlpons go broke, or have to sell the team…
Not my concern! As far as I’m concerned that is THEIR problem and of thier own doing and if it is affecting the baseball on the field I’m not going to cut them any slack for letting one mistake CAUSE another!

Mistakes happen thats why Erasers are put on pencils…
But to let one mistake force you to make another mistake thats just NEGLIGENCE and hardly the type of thing we should be UNDERSTANDING and patient about.

Sure they had no money to spend but that has more to do with the fact we stopped going than what Madoff did to the Wilpon ability to float a losing business!

The approach to cut spending as a solution has not worked. Two years of cuts and they STILL lost 23 Mil this year!

There are other ways to fix the finances that do not require or compromise the stated goal of building up your MiL system for the long term.
And that is to attack the REVENUE issue!
A Store with little product won’t make enough money to expand and improve their productline!

A Store that goes out and gets a product people want will get extra sales short term that will allow them to use the profits to get even BETTER product!

And then the store is packed and you do not need to cut and scrimp anymore.

Not saying that they could have but just a “What IF they had” scenario here….

If they had managed to get Cliff Lee last time around what would have happened to the attendance figures and where might they have been in July 2011 when they deemed K-Rod wasn’t worth having and Beltran was not worth keeping because the season was done?

Would we have been 7.5 games out of the playoffs at that time or closer to 4 or 5 and maybe even ahead in the Wildcard race?

Would we have lost 70 Mil that year? I tend to doubt it! In Fact I bet they would have turned a profit with all the season tickets they would have sold knowing they had Two Cy Young pitchers on the Roster.

As I have tried to explain Baseball is an entertainment business when it comes right down to it.
You might go see Dracula on Broadway when Frank Langella is the lead but you won’t go to see Bruce Campbell at some dinner theater version of it….

The key to profitability is in the tickets sold before the season starts…Those Full Season tickets that do not care if you show up or not!

Win some games you get the benefit of a good second half and all those season tickets show up and eat your way to profitability!

There are two ways to skin a cat and we took the least effective by limiting ourselves to:
Cutting Cost
Diminishing product

When the real answer was the easier way to go…Increase Revenue by giving the fans something that would inspire them to buy before a single game was played or won!

What is most important I saved for last. The uncertainity of the Picard madoff lawsuit. Yes SA can trade some of the players you named for young outfielders. We are not now in a position to trade to win on account of the 95 M payroll budget. That is why I recommend serious rebuilding like Wright and Dickey for a boatload of prospects. Of course if we can have a 145 M budget then we need Wright and Dickey to use them for their skills rather than trade bate.

Homegrowns
Wright
Davis
Murphy
Tejada
Harvey
Niese
Gee

(Probably add Wheeler to that list by Spetember)

Most of those names have not made the All Star game yet but then again they haven’t had the help around them the Yankee kids did when they came up either…

Mattingly
Boggs
McDowell
Cone
Wetteland

Wright is an All Star
Davis could be if he keeps hitting 30 HRs every year, Sure he has a tough time beating out Votto for the start but that doesn’t mean he isn’t All Star type player if he gets the Average up and keeps those 30 HRs. Ryan Howard makes the All Star game in 2010 and 2011 with only 31 and 33 HRs.
Harvey and Niese could go eventually.Maybe not be the Starter the way Dickey should have but one good first half for either could get them in.

And Murphy was way more All Star Worthy than Uggla who hit .233 and .220 the last two years.

And lets face facts Furcal has NOTHING on Tejada when you look at the numbers.
Furcal .264 .325OBP
Tejada .289 .333OBP with a better glove to boot!

So truth is if people think what the Yankees did was the baseline of homegrowns to start spending around them, then I would argue we are already a that point, have MORE homegrowns that could be all stars or compare favorably to those who made it already here and playing in the MLB!

I also say we don’t have to really spend but could do what the Yankees did by trading some of that farm that does not fit our needs for players who do!

Flores is hitting great! But he is an infielder that has no place to play unless Wright goes away!
Mejia and Familia may be Starters, maybe relievers but both could be used in a trade to get an OFer or more reliable closer…

The opportunity to improve is there!
But we need to get off the notion the Minors are so bad that we need to rebuild THEM and start rebuilding the MLB team!

Then there is plenty of room to sign and assign your entire draft that might have the next hernandez or Piazza!

I cant WAIT to buy my 2012 Sandy Alderson jersey.

Personally, I dont think he is ‘The face’ of the franchise but rather another body part

To me, this quote “Regarding any negotiations with Wright, Fred Wilpon only said he knew there were conversations, but while talking about Sandy Alderson and the front office,” sounds an awful lot like he was talking in the context of who was running the team, meaning he wants no part of the glory right now!

Rebuild and develop and add selective FA. The ideal is have five homegrown players all star caliber like I reference with the Yankees below. But during the 1980′s the Yankees with Steinbrenner out of hands on operations were able to rebuild

Rely on stars on own team and increase budget in NY market for FA and always try to contend. The Yankees after they acquired their homegrown talent did that.

For a while the Yankees developed homegrown Bernie Williams, Derrick Jeter, Mariano Riveria, Joe Giaradi, and Andy Pettitte and signed FA Paul O’Neil and Jason Giambi. It worked.

And never for specific player deals just the rsults of the whole made under a specific GM.

all u get is some random “the buck stops here” speech they repeat everytime a GM is fired

I will give the Sandy fans a nugget here regarding context…

I believe the context Wilpon was speaking to was in regards to who is running the team.

But those quotes seem to suggest that Sandy is doing what he wants not what he is being forced to do and Wilpon is waiting for that plan to execute.

If the team loses more money next year then that sentiment will change!

Second, how long have you been reading here? I know you must have read at least one of my many statements where I keep saying that SA won’t be here long enough to see a championship – he’s a one and done type GM whose job it is to stabilize the team finances for the Wilpons to hold onto the team. After that, he’ll be handing over the reigns to the next GM.

If you don’t remember reading at least one of the many times I’ve said this, then I can understand how you constantly make the mistake of sliding me in the ‘Sandy lover brigade’ you keep talking about.