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08
Feb
2009
Four Lessons From "The Yankee Years" PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Fantasy Baseball Blog
Written by Gabriel Lundeen   
The cover may give Joe Torre credit as co-author, but make no mistake: "The Yankee Years" belongs to Tom Verducci. Sports Illustrated writer Verducci analyzes both the Yankees and major league baseball as a whole, chronicling the game and the team’s evolution in the post-strike years.
 
The result: a well-written, insightful book baring no resemblance to the tell-all gossip session many expected. The real treat of "The Yankee Years" lies in the larger analysis, in looking at the larger tapestry of baseball history. The book analyzes the last decade-plus in baseball, and provides much food for thought for non-Yankee fans as well. 
 
What lessons can the fantasy player learn from studying "The Yankee Years"? 
 
Don't pay for previous years' stats. 
 
Don't repeat the Johnny Damon mistake with your fantasy team. The Yankees made the mistake of choosing Rondell White over Damon in 2002, and made the mistake worse by finally getting their man four years too late. Damon has not been a total failure in pinstripes, but he's a far cry from the Idiot days with the Red Sox. 
 
The Yankees paid premium prices for a player whose best years were behind him. Don't do the same in your fantasy draft. Never pay for previous years’ stats. Derrek Lee, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada come to mind, but there are many players whose value may remain inflated based on past glory. 
 
Draft consistent production throughout your team.
 
You don't have to fill your team up with superstars or specialists if you draft consistent productivity throughout your team. The 1996 Yankees team had no player who hit 30 HR, collected 200 hits or stole 20 bases, and ranked 9th in the AL offensively. Only when they began to rely on high-priced free agents and All Stars did the dynasty crumble. 
 
Sometimes it's the role players, the waiver wire pickups, the throw-ins to a trade, that help you the most. How many fantasy leagues were decided last year by the emergence of Cliff Lee, Edinson Volquez or Ryan Ludwick? We all love having great players on our rosters, but don't get caught up in name value.
 
Keep victory in perspective. 
 
Learn from The Boss, as described in "The Yankee Years":
“Steinbrenner, who was desperate for a winner when Torre arrived, having endured 17 years without a title, now had come to expect these championships. Each title brought him a little less joy. The Yankees could do no better than to fulfill an obligation."
Don't transform victory into a source of sorrow. Remember that we play fantasy baseball ultimately because it's fun. It's just a game. 
 
Besides, other than possibly money, what can you really win? Believe it or not, even winning prestigious leagues like Tout Wars, NFBC or LABR probably doesn’t mean much to 90% of the population. Don’t let your passion for acting as a fantasy GM delude you into thinking you’re Brian Cashman. 
 
A-Rod: No longer a sure thing?
 
Alex Rodriguez’s track record as a fantasy force remains unquestionable, but there could be more security in David Wright all of a sudden. Between the normal pressures of playing in New York, his notorious post-season struggles, recent revelations of testing positive for performance enhancers in 2003 and canoodling with Madonna, will he be able to handle the pressure?
 
Perhaps A-Rod should take some of Torre’s wisdom in "The Yankee Years" to heart:
"There's a certain free fall you have to go through," Torre says, "when you commit yourself without a guarantee that it's always going to be good. There's a sort of trust, a trust and commitment thing that has to allow yourself to fail. Allow yourself to be embarrassed. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. And sometimes players aren't willing to do that."
Compare A-Rod to current home run king Barry Bonds. Bonds had ice water running through his veins. Bonds seemed to relish in being hated, while Rodriguez feeds on adoration. Things get to A-Rod, and they could get into his head all season and impact his production. A-Rod’s faced controversy, but always buoyed by his tremendous talent and impeccable reputation. 
 
With his legacy tarnished, how will Alex Rodriguez react? Should fantasy owners care? What other lessons can we glean from The Yankee Years?
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written by GabrielLundeen, February 10, 2009
At this point, the bigger question is "who wasn't on the juice?"
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written by Kevin Orris, February 10, 2009
Do you guys think that Teixeira and Michael Young could be on that list as well, considering both were on the team?
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written by GabrielLundeen, February 09, 2009
Simple: by getting off the Internet and doing some canoodling of your own...
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written by big o, February 09, 2009
interesting article, as per your usual, gabriel .

the thing i will most remember, however, is "canoodling" .... lol .

can't say that i've ever used that word ... or ever heard anybody use it .

now, how do i get it out of my head ?
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written by GabrielLundeen, February 09, 2009
...unless the Yankees rally around him, which seems like a long shot at best. A-Rod's greatest hope is that Texeira and Sabathia take some of the heat off him, and that maybe Yankee fans realize that hating A-Rod is counterproductive to winning championships and that they're stuck with him, fake syringes and all.

Unfortunately for A-Rod, this seems about as likely as his getting traded to the Pirates.
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written by RobReed, February 08, 2009
Nice job, Gabriel... totally agree with you on Arod. I'm thinking he won't handle the huge syringe facsimiles and such in the crowd as well as Barry did...

So, the "haters" will get in his head, and then the Yankee fans will if he doesn't perform...

Could spell disaster.

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