Yankees Have A Winning Formula No Team Can Copy

That’s exactly what they did in 2016. The bullpen was not just the unquestioned strength of the team; it was the best in baseball. And the two best players on the team were Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman. At the same time, their worst player might have been rapidly aging A-Rod; it was time to move on. Tex was not exactly his 2009 version, and The Yankees Senate agreed it was time to bring up a bevy of baby Yankees.

It was also agreed that the only way to get the best from at least one of the players was to surround all of them with less talent and see who responded. Only in that way could they help the players and, by extension, the team.

They were mainly focused on helping Sanchez, as he struggled in his earlier call-up but had the most potential. And this is why the Yankees traded Miller and Chapman, at least according to my sources.

When the move was made, many in the Empire held their breath, uncertain of the results but unable by Yankees law to question the emperor upon pain of being traded to Kansas City. Not the team, just the city. A fate worse than death.

The Results are In

And it worked. I need only point to the historical performance by Gary Sanchez and the sudden improvement in the fortunes of the club for the remainder of the 2016 season. Even Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin provided some history, at least for one night. That’s more than a lot of players—players such as Archie “Moonlight” Graham—ever get.

And when the season was done, and the removals had done their job, Chapman was free to return. To some in the Yankees hierarchy, the plan had clearly been successful. Others, though, were not so sure. They wanted more definitive proof.

First, they pointed out that Judge and Austin were ultimately not successful last year. And Greg Bird was coming back from an awful Fall League performance. Severino and Pineda both stunk on ice last season. Yankees up and down the Empire were reminded by Hal that all of these players needed to improve vastly and quickly. And in the first week of spring training, it looked like none of them had.