Money Can’t Buy Them Love

The New York Yankees have done it again, angering baseball while trying to maintain professional sports’ most successful dynasty.

Owner George Steinbrenner opened his checkbook after the Yankees finished on the wrong end of a thrilling, seven-game World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks last season, stirring off-the-record industry criticism with each free-agent signing.

Texas Ranger owner Tom Hicks gave shortstop Alex Rodriguez a record 10-year, $252-million contract before the 2001 season. But the Rangers aren’t expected to print playoff tickets anytime soon. The Yankees are expected to remain big winners--and a major target for critics of free spending.

The 26-time World Series champions have participated in every postseason since 1995, including five of the last six Series, but criticism comes with the territory for the major leagues’ richest and winningest franchise. Sound decisions, not only spending sprees, have contributed to Yankees’ recent bedrock-solid foundation, and the Dodgers can attest that spending money doesn’t guarantee championships.

“There are a lot of things that get lost in the shuffle when people talk about [the money the Yankees spend], and we certainly get defensive about,” General Manager Brian Cashman said this spring. “This is my fifth year as the general manager, and in the first four it seems like there was a perception that we had the highest payroll every year. Two of my first four years we didn’t have the highest payroll.

“The bottom line is, fortunately for us, for the last seven years or so, we’ve had so much success. Therefore, it’s easy to say, ‘Well, the reason they win is because of the money.’ I’ve been here since 1986. We had money in the ‘80s and we had money in the early ‘90s, just like we have money now, but we didn’t win in the ‘80s and we didn’t win in the early ‘90s. I didn’t hear as much complaining as I do now, or people saying they win because they have the money.”

However, Cashman acknowledges the Yankees do spend more than most, and they power-shopped this winter to bolster an inconsistent batting order and increase rotation and bullpen depth after capturing their 38th American League pennant.

The Diamondbacks prevented the Yankees from winning their fourth Series in a row, so Cashman invested almost $172 million in free agents. Masterpiece of the improvement project was Jason Giambi, the AL’s most valuable player in 2000, who was coaxed away from the Oakland Athletics for more than $120 million. The moves kept the Yankees atop baseball’s payroll list at $125 million and enlarged the bull’s-eye on those familiar pinstripes.

Acquiring the dynamic Giambi was one thing, Yankee critics contend, but they also blew out the set-up man market, giving Steve Karsay $22 million.

Skilled but often-injured outfielder Rondell White was considered a risky signing at $9.9 million, then Steinbrenner dropped more than $6 million to bring back left-hander David Wells, one of the Boss’ favorite players, despite having already committed $11.8 million to left-hander Sterling Hitchcock.

That gave the Yankees six accomplished starting pitchers for five rotation spots--a luxury most teams can’t afford. Hitchcock will open the season on the disabled list because of a strained ligament in his lower back, so big bucks have once again helped the Yankees’ cause.

“I know the argument about the money, but that just guarantees you’re spending a lot of money,” Giambi said. “The thing that they’ve done an incredible job with is that the guys they’ve pursued have gelled together.”

Said center fielder Bernie Williams: “This is not a team made out of random pieces. We have the resources to go out there and get premier guys and then blend everything together.”

The Yankees pride themselves on decision-making, and they’ve made many correct ones during their latest postseason run that began in 1995. Cashman; Mark Newman, vice president of baseball operations, and Gene Michael, vice president of big-league scouting, form the nucleus of Steinbrenner’s talented advisory council.

The group has drafted well and augmented the farm system through the international free-agent market, signing and developing stars such as closer Mariano Rivera and second baseman Alfonso Soriano. The Yankees have traded surplus talent in the minors to acquire help for playoff pushes, retaining most of their top prospects.

Of course, serendipity has played a role too, explaining the timely October contributions of journeymen such as Luis Sojo and Dodger castoff Jose Vizcaino.

“You can look at it and say, ‘Well, they’ve got a high payroll,’ or you can go down the line of who’s making what and see if they come from our organization,” shortstop Derek Jeter said. “A lot of our own players are being rewarded for the team’s success. You’ve got [catcher] Jorge [Posada], myself, Soriano, Bernie [Williams], [starter Andy] Pettitte, Mariano [Rivera]. These are all guys who are being rewarded from the organization. The reason why we’re able to get a lot of players [through trades] is because we have a good minor-league system, so it’s not just because we have a lot of money.

“It’s about making the right decisions and doing the right things. Just take each organization and look at the minor-league system. You can see that we have one of the best minor-league systems as well, and we don’t necessarily have a high payroll in the minor leagues. We have a lot of guys who are doing a great job, Mark Newman in particular. The job that they’ve done with the minor-league system

Third baseman Robin Ventura, traded from the New York Mets in the off-season, said the Yankees are simultaneously admired and resented.

“There is a certain amount of envy when you’re on the other side,” he said. “They’re good, they’re consistent and they zero in on what they want. Like anything else, they probably get a little lucky, but they seem to make the right decisions.”

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