Complacency can kill
November 27, 2009, 10:00 am by iYankees · Leave a Comment
From Buster Olney (ESPN):
It was in the middle of the afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, and yet Orioles president Andy MacPhail was at his desk, answering his phone. “That’s what happens after your team finishes 64-98,” MacPhail said dryly.
But MacPhail — like a lot of rival talent evaluators — likes the progress he sees in the Orioles, who have developed a tremendous core of young talent, from Nick Markakis to Matt Wieters, to young pitchers Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman. I mentioned to him that another GM had said that in two seasons, Baltimore has a chance to take long strides of progress in the way that the Rays did in 2008. “The improvement in the standings, like Tampa Bay showed, can come overnight,” MacPhail said. “We are starting to get that critical mass of guys who are prospects.”
Next season, due to an influx of productive young talent, we’ll likely see some very noticeable improvements from American League teams like the Orioles, Royals, A’s, Rangers, and, even without Roy Halladay (I’m assuming he’ll be traded over the winter), the Blue Jays. Therefore, although the Yankees have a strong core of players going into 2010, the defending champions will have to continue to improve with the competition so as to prevent a short-lived reign. This means avoiding complacent behavior and being aggressive with the right free agents and with the right trade ideas during the offseason (of course, “right” can be an extremely subjective term).
I think the Yankees and Brian Cashman know this and will keep their options (e.g., Lackey, Holliday, etc.) open.
Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images
