4 important points people don't consider when looking at the myth of Yankees homegrown players.

1) Pettitte was a homegrown Yankee, but he went to Houston. The Yankees bought him back at an incredibly high price. Other teams part with great players all the time, but they don't have the luxury to buy them back. You can no longer call Pettitte a homegrown Yankee. He's another big-money acquisition.

2) Yes, the Yankees have more homegrown players than any other team. BUT (and this is a really big but), when you sign big name pitchers like Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettite for your rotation, it allows you to experiment with homegrown garbage like Hughes, Coke, and Joba.

When you sign big bats like A-Rod, Texeira, Damon, and Matsui, it allows you to experiment with homegrown garbage like Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, and Ramiro Pena.

3) Homegrown Yankees in the postseason starting lineup: Jeter, Posada, Cano, Cabrera
Big money signings from other teams: Damon, Texeira, A-Rod, Matsui, Swisher.

Last night, the Yankes 2, 3, 4, & 5 hitters were all big off-season acquisitions. That's the meat of the lineup!.

Looking at pitching...
Homegrown starting pitchers in postseason rotation: NOBODY!
Big money signings from other teams in postseason rotation: Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte

4) Yankees fans like to point to Jeter, Posada, and Rivera as examples of their homegrown talent, but these players all came up 15 years ago. Yes, Jeter and Rivera are great. Posada is highly overrated. And keep in mind that every team brings up talent (especially over a 15 year span), but the other 29 MLB teams don't have the money to keep every homegrown player that shows any sign of talent. Only the Yankees have this luxury.

The bottom line:
The Yankees success is only about money. Yankees fans always brag about their homegrown talent, but it's the biggest myth in baseball. This team runs off its off-season acquisitions. It's not about team chemistry; it's not about heart; it's not about cultivating young talent; it's not about great managing and on-field strategy. It's about piles of money building an all-star team. End of story.

Good post! Thanks!

There should be a salary cap in baseball. Other teams can't compete!

bump,,, the yankee trolls will not reply to this one because they know it's true.

Last night, the Yankes 2, 3, 4, & 5 hitters were all big off-season acquisitions. That's the meat of the lineup!.
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Alright. So 1, 6,7,8, and 9 were not. What's the point?

Looking at pitching...
Homegrown starting pitchers in postseason rotation: NOBODY!
Big money signings from other teams in postseason rotation: Sabathia, Burnett, and Pettitte
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Andy was homegrown, as you had already admitted

4) Yankees fans like to point to Jeter, Posada, and Rivera as examples of their homegrown talent, but these players all came up 15 years ago. Yes, Jeter and Rivera are great. Posada is highly overrated. And keep in mind that every team brings up talent (especially over a 15 year span), but the other 29 MLB teams don't have the money to keep every homegrown player that shows any sign of talent. Only the Yankees have this luxury.
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And tell me how .277 hitter is over rated?

Bottom line is this post is c*rap. Do the Yankees break the rules? Do you hate people who are well payed by their employer?

byyanks,

Thank you for confirming everything in my original post.

By the way, I love how Yankees fans always pull out the argument, "Hey, we're playing by the rules. What's wrong with that?" It's the last argument of a defeated Yankees fan.

The system is broken. Like every other professional sport, MLB needs a salary cap. When that happens, everyone will see the Yankees farm system for what it is: mediocre at best.

I don't get it. Your saying Posada is over rated, I say he is a career .277 hitter. For how long he has been playing, I consider him a very good ball player. Your saying the whole pitching staff is "bought". Pettitte was not bought. He was home grown, and decided to leave for Houston to be closer to his family. Joba was in the starting rotation this season. How much was he "bought" for? What about Wang? The whole bullpen is other teams scraps, or homegrown. If the Phillies win it, your going to congratulate Amaro for his signing of Ibanez and Pedro, and his trade for Lee. If the Yankees win, your going to blame Cashman for going out and getting what they need to make the team better. Please stop blaming the Yankees for putting out a team that competes every season.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

**Pettitte was a homegrown Yankee, but he went to Houston. The Yankees bought him back at an incredibly high price.**

they signed him for 5 mill plus incentives. Incredibly high price?

*Homegrown Yankees in the postseason starting lineup: Jeter, Posada, Cano, Cabrera
Big money signings from other teams: Damon, Texeira, A-Rod, Matsui, Swisher.**

Damon was signed when the red sox didnt offer him a contract. teix big signing. Arod was traded for. matsui was an interntational free agent. And Swisher was traded for. Also, i would HARDLY call swisher big money

Pretty much these big money signings from other teams are Teixiera. And ill give you damon. But thats 2 guys...

**ast night, the Yankes 2, 3, 4, & 5 hitters were all big off-season acquisitions. That's the meat of the lineup!.**

Again, swisher was traded for wilson betemit. I would hardly call him big money or even a big acquisition. And once again, we traded for arod.

**And keep in mind that every team brings up talent (especially over a 15 year span), but the other 29 MLB teams don't have the money to keep every homegrown player that shows any sign of talent.**

But you just said posada was overrated... whats wrong with keeping a less talented player at a higher price for old times sake??

Every team goes out and tries to build a better team. There's nothing wrong with that. But when the Yankees spend more than $200 million each year doing it, teams in smaller markets can't compete. You're comparing the Phillies signing Ibanez and Pedro (a slightly above average hitter and an aging starting pitcher) to the Yankees signing Sabathia and Texeira (probably the single-greatest pitcher in the AL and one of the top 3 run producers in the leauge). It's apples and oranges.

Posada is overrated. He's a solid catcher, but he's nothing special. If he wasn't on the Yankees, no one would care about him.

When you talk about homegrown Yankees talent, you talk about Wang and Joba. These are not the guys that got the Yanks into the postseason. This exemplifies my point that the homegrown "talent" on the Yankees is a joke (with the exception of Jeter and Rivera). The reason the Yanks are in the World Series is because of guys like A-Rod, Texeira, and Sabathia, players no one else could afford.

**The system is broken. Like every other professional sport, MLB needs a salary cap. When that happens, everyone will see the Yankees farm system for what it is: mediocre at best.**

ALl you've done is show how the yankees built their team... you havent provided any evidence as to how the system is broken.

There have been 75% of the teams in the playoffs in the last decade alone. This isn't communism or grade 1, do you want allllllll the teams to make it the same amount? Maybe give a gold sticker to the teams that don't make it?

What evidence is there that the system is broken?

phil hughes got us to the PS. He nailed down the 8th in the regular season

robinson cano got us here too... he showed flashes of brilliance at second base and had some great D

mariano got us here, and phil coke wsa big for us down the stretch.

And francisco cervelli and ramiro pena got us here too... they filled in for big parts that were missing from the lineup

How many walkoffs did melky have for us this year? Or gardner holding down CF for us

There were only like 3 teams that could even afford to take on ARods salary. Why do you think he was traded? And look who he was traded for, a guy who the Yankees bought.

www.forbes.com/lists/2009/33/baseball-values-09_The-Business-Of-Baseball_Rank.html

Richest Owners:

Nationals - Theodore Lerner @ $3.2B bought team from MLB for $450M in 2006
Cubs - Sam Zell @ $3B Tribune Co. bought team in 1981, Zell took control of Tribune in 2007.
Braves - John Malone @ $1.5B bought team from Ted Turner's Time Warner in 2007
Astros - Drayton McLane @ $1.4B bought team in 1992
Tigers - Michael Illitch @ $1.4B bought team in 1992 for $82M, also owns the NHL's Red Wings.
Reds - Carl Linder @ $1.4B a fall from the #3 spot, was worth $2.2B at this time last year.
Yankees - George Steinbrenner @ $1.3B
Athletics - John Fisher @ $1.2B part owner since 2005, down from the #4 spot, worth $1.8K last year.
Red Sox - John Henry @ $1.1B
Rangers - Tom Hicks @ $1B bought team in 1998 from George W. Bush, also owns the NHL's Dallas Star.

Tell me how they couldn't afford A-Rod, CC or Tex? why is it that the Red Sox can put out a team that competes year in and out while the Nats can't get out of last place?

alfonso soriano was an international free agent playing in japan and hitting .118 when the yankees signed him...

Bought???

And arod's salary was signed to him by the rangers. Why are you blaming the yankees for their corporate bailout of the rangers and their stupid contract? is it better for the rangers to starve under arod and be in dead last place now instead of a contending team?????

Yankees didn't buy Soriano.

You're just proving the point.

Why would the Rangers starve with ARod, while the Yankees thrive? MONEY! I know you can see the imbalance in the system. And it's not just with major league salaries. It with paying over slot for draft picks. It with paying posting amounts to negotiate with players. It's having the ability to spend more on foreign player scouting. There are many, many problems with the system.

"Nationals - Theodore Lerner @ $3.2B bought team from MLB for $450M in 2006

Tell me how they couldn't afford A-Rod, CC or Tex? why is it that the Red Sox can put out a team that competes year in and out while the Nats can't get out of last place?"

Real intelligent post!!! Please tell me the revenue for the Nats the past few yrs.

THANKS FOR PLAYING. I can't believe you posted this garbage as if it was that black and white.

They drafted Soriano?

I thought he came up through the system, but appearently not.

But I wouldn't say signing a .188 BA internation FA as a big signing. And plus.. Sori $ucked defensively. I don't see why they signed him originally.