Welcome To The Machine

September 26, 2008 · Filed Under MLB, RED SOX · 3 Comments 

-Today we have the much anticipated debut post of Tiny Danza. He brings it hard as expected, coming right out of the gates with a fuck you to the Yankees and the Pink Hats of Sox Nation. Nice work Tiny.

- by Tiny Danza… Earnest Hemingway once wrote in The Old Man and the Sea - “…Son never lose faith in the Yankees.” Well fuck Hemingway! He ended up in Cuba anyway didn’t he? And fuck The Yankees! Their season, dynasty and crummy little “house” have all crumbled before our very eyes. And while the love fest at B.S.P is going down I’m comin’ with a lovin’ spoonful for my main man Theo “Boy Genius” Epstein. While many of us were crying in our Yaz painter’s caps because Billy “Moneyball” Beane spurned the Sox and their lucrative offer in ‘02 to take over baseball operations. The Sox subsequently hired a young nobody and Luchino protege named Theo Epstein. Upon being hired Theo outlined 4 prominent organizational goals which are outlined and dissected in the proceeding paragraphs:

1. Re-build the moribund minor league system by making it a “…player development machine” -Check

The Yankee dynasty of yesteryear was not solely the by-product of the Steinbrenner Cabbage farm, but came to fruition in spite of it. Contrary to popular belief those Championship Yankee teams were built upon the backs of: Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettite, Williams, Soriano and Mendoza (yes there WAS a time he was very effective) all drafted and developed in their system to form a rock solid nucleus. Homegrown cheap talent filling spots at: S.S., CL, C, SP, C.F, 2nd, RP encompassing the most important positions in middle of the field.

Possessing upwards $200 million didn’t hurt either, well at least not at first. You see having that much Cabbage allows teams/G.M.’S to be more aggressive but also allows/exaggerates their mistakes e.g., Pavano, Irabu, Giambi, etc. etc.. And like the call of the siren, the allure of pricey free-agents and sexy trades at the expense of young/cheap talent will leave your franchise stranded on the rocks for YEARS. Just LOOK at the Yankees pitching staff for next year as proof. $200 mill and you’ve got: Rivera, Joba, and well…. SHITE! Hughes and Kennedy have been less productive than Irabu the infamous “Fat Toad” in the popular Yankee fable. Mussina and Pettite both faced Honus Wagner as rookies while Pavano will be retiring giving his body to medical research. A confluence of events that’s left the once proud Yankee farm system as potent as a Giuliani seamen sample and the roster just as useless. All the while BOY WONDER has stockpiled: Beckett (TRD), Dice (FA), Lester, Delcarmen and Papelbon in their collective prime, with Bucholz, Masterson, Bowden, and Bard on the horizon. Not to mention: Youk, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lowrie in the everyday line-up with Lars Anderson, and Argenis “I’ll win 8 gold gloves” Diaz on their way. The indisputable fact remains that in 4 years the Sox farm system has gone from laughing stock to “player development machine”. Welcome to the machine my friends welcome.

2. Reach the Post-season every year - *5 out of 6

Technically *4 of 5 as Theo’s contract dispute kept him Read more

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