I recently read an article written by a Yankee fan about how, recently, the Yankees have been in the habit of buying talent instead of developing. The article went into a long description of how the system has changed from the 90's compared to now.
It described how in the 90's, when the Yankees were very successful, they developed players such as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada, and then accented them with players such as Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius.
In recent years, the philosophy has changed. They simply sign the players that will require the highest contracts.
Notice I did not say the best players.
Some of these signings appeared to make a lot of sense, as with CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, but even the ones that appeared to be locks have not always proven so.
The best and most obvious example of this shift in philosophy was the trade for Alex Rodriguez. While I was grateful for the trade because he could no longer drain on my team, it has not been so great for the Yankees.
The point is that whatever system the Yankees are using now, it's not working very well. However, one team that is having tremendous success this season seems to be using the Yankees' old system:
The Texas Rangers.
While we are still relatively early in the season, their success cannot be overlooked, and their method for achieving that success may look a little familiar.
After the HUGE mistake of wasting so much money on A-Rod, the organization has been hesitant about spending huge amounts of money on free agents. While they have still made some mistakes in that area, they have mostly seen the error of their ways.
Instead of throwing money away, the organization has shifted its method to improving the farm system. I believe it was Baseball America that recently ranked the Rangers' farm system as number one, so I guess it is working.
If you look at the Rangers' active roster, approximately half of the players spent time in the Rangers' farm system. That includes the entire starting infield.
While some of these players were originally drafted by other teams, they all played for the Rangers' minor league teams before getting the call-up.
Those players include Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler, Chris Davis, Michael Young, Scott Feldman, and Taylor Teagarden. I can't even imagine the Rangers without Young and Kinsler.
Perhaps the best example of the shift in method occurred during this offseason. It is widely known that the Rangers asked Michael Young to shift to third so that Elvis Andrus could be brought up from Double-A to play shortstop.
Personally, I was not happy about it because of all that Young means to the organization, and he had just won a Gold Glove at shortstop, so why make him change?
But it is not my team.
The change was made and it has proven to be a great move, though I doubt anyone could have expected it to work as well as it has.
Young has been a rock at third after last year when it was just a mess. Andrus has been as good as advertised on defense, and his offense has even been adequate. The entire infield is meshing well and team defense has been right at the top of the league.
Even with all the success, I can't help but wonder if we wouldn't be even better with John Danks and Edinson Volquez still around. As much as I love Josh Hamilton, it is hard to ignore how successful Volquez has been since the trade.
The other piece of this successful plan is signing veterans that can fill roles where needed, and we have learned well how to do that.
Sammy Sosa and Milton Bradley were both good signings to help the team get through the growth years, but they have moved on.
This year's signings have proved to be the best yet.
Andruw Jones has been a tremendous asset when it comes to getting on base whenever he gets the chance.
I also can't help but think he has given the outfielders some fielding tips. He has certainly lost a step over the years, but you don't win all those Gold Gloves without knowing how to play defense.
The other huge signing that I think is widely overlooked is the signing of Omar Vizquel. Many people saw it as merely an insurance policy if Andrus didn't pan out, but it was much more than that.
Just like Jones, Vizquel has his share of Gold Gloves and can only be helping the defense get stronger. It is nice to know that if the infielders need a day off, we have a reliable player to send in there. His leadership and veteran leadership also cannot be overlooked.
I am not ready to say the Rangers are going to win the next couple World Series, or even win it this year, but it is comforting to see the youth movement being effective for our team.
Let's just hope it keeps going.
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