by Paul Semendinger
March 3, 2024
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Before we get to the text of this article, it needs some background.
I was beyond thrilled when the Yankees acquired Juan Soto. That was a huge move. Gigantic. The Yankees acted big. Huge. They also talked big. There was the sense they were going for it. All-in. 100%. I was optimistic, very very optimistic, that they'd be the team to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto next.
At the time, I felt that after years and years of the Yankees saying that they were, absolutely, going all-in, that they finally would be. If not now... when? The Yankees have been big talkers for many years. They've said, "We're not done" many times only to be, in all actually, done.
Alas, a few weeks after the optimism of getting Juan Soto, the Yankees (no matter how it is wished to be spun) came up 25 million dollars short on Yamamoto.
Following that, they didn't go all-in. Many believe the Yankees are still a starting pitcher short. They also don't necessarily have a leadoff hitter. Third base is a concern. And there are other concerns.
Still, I am still optimistic about the 2024 Yankees - there is a lot to be excited about. This team seems like it'l be much more fun to root for than the last few years. But, while I have optimism, and while I am excited, it is also clear that they didn't pull out all the stops. They went "mostly in," but certainly not, all in.
The article that follows was the one I crafted and was set to publish the day after the Yankees landed Yamamoto. Once that happened, I was ready to celebrate. I wanted to be very clear... while I am frustrated that the Yankees haven't even reached the World Series since 2009, and while I talk about wining being what matters most, what I really want is for the Yankees to be the team that goes all-in, always, and forever. I want the Yankees' mission to be to do everything they can to win it all every single year. That's what the Yankees say they're all about and it's also what has been lacking these last many years - not just the winning, but the lack of a plan, seeming lack of desire, the lack of focus, and the lack of commitment to go all the way.
As I have said often before, the Yankees' approach, for a long long time, has been like lyrics from the Beatles classic Day Tripper:
She's a big teaser
She took me half the way there
She's a big teaser
She took me half the way there, now
She was a day tripper
A one-way ticket, yeah
It took me so long to find out
And I found out
The following was what I wrote in early December. It's been waiting months to be published. I thought I'd publish it once Blake Snell signed. And maybe he will... but I'm tired of waiting.
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From December 2023...
Okay, now that the Yankees have Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it is clear, to me at least, that they are going for it. They seem all-in for 2024. This is the time. It's been a long time coming and I could not be more pleased, more happy, or more excited. This feels like the Yankees again. They are the big man on campus.
This is how I always want the Yankees to approach every off-season and every season. I want them to put themselves in the best position to win.
Do I expect them to win every year? No. Am I good with them losing sometimes? Yes.
I think that is what so many will not understand.
I am okay with the Yankees falling short. That is going to happen.
While I would love for the Yankees to win every World Series from now until 2057 (and beyond), I understand that they won't (of course). But, if the Yankees put themselves in the best position to win, logically, reasonably, and even emotionally (as a fan), that's all I can ask for.
I don't care if the Yankees don't win the World Series if I believe they truly did all they could to build a team that should be the prime contender for the World Series.
I believe in being my best. I have run marathons fast (3:25:16 was my fastest) and much slower (4:47:47). In each, I gave my best effort. That's all I can ask the Yankees to do.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but the effort, always, should be one's best.
My frustration these last many years was that the Yankees did not put themselves in the best position to win. We've been over this a million times before so there is no need to go over it all again, but we all know, the Yankees played smaller, they did not go all-in, they went into many seasons with clear holes on the team, and passed on opportunities to fill those holes with great players instead letting it ride and hoping for the best. (And the best hasn't happened.)
Unlike most teams in most sports, the Yankees, baseball's most accomplished and iconic team, should never let it ride and hope for the best. The Yankees, ever year, should work to be the best. Period.
They won't always be the best at the end of the day. But the owner and the general manager (and all the people who work for them) should always have being the best as their only goal. The Yankees have the financial rescouces (and so much more) to play big - always. Always. Always and always.
So, when the Yankees go small, as they have so often so recently, and they lose by missing the playoffs or by getting defeated by better teams, I'm not satisified. That's not good enough. Desiring to be pretty good isn't the same as working to be the best. The Yankees should always work to be the best. That should always be the goal.
As I look at the 2024 Yankees right now, it seems clear that they have done a ton to be the best. They are all-in.
And this is what I think many will not understand...
I am not going to be angry or disappointed or frustrated if they fail to win the 2024 World Series.
All I ask from this team is to be the best. They seem to be doing that now.
Because of bad decisions regarding the structure of the team, the Yankees have been a boring team to root for - for years. With Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and maybe even a few others, the Yankees should be fun again in 2024.
It seems a new era is dawning.
The ideas from the past, just be good enough to sneak into the playoffs, doesn't seem to be the model for 2024. If you're just trying to be good enough, and you aren't (and you're the Yankees), I'm going to be frustrated and displeased. That isn't good enough. It never is. Good enough never is. There should always be the desire to be the best.
And that is the approach the Yankees have taken this off season.
So, for me, while I want the Yankees to win it all, and while I hope they do, if they don't, I'll know that they put their best foot forward - and that's all I can ask.
They went all in. They did it. I'm okay if they don't win the World Series. They've done all I can ask for.
This is how I feel, I'm just not sure if many will actually understand.
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*Footnote For Clarity: If the Yankees lose because Aaron Boone makes bad decisions that lead to the Yankees losing, I will be frustrated, angry, and whatever... I feel Boone was a "good enough" choice for the manager. They Yankees didn't try to get the best manager when they hired Aaron Boone and he's done nothing to prove that he is a good manager. He is only good enough. Boone is not the definition of striving for excellence. He is left-over from the "good enough" era and if his best isn't good enough and the Yankees lose because of him, in that situation, I will not be satisfied with a Yankee post-season series loss.
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