After the owners and players agreed on the most recent CBA, the Yankees, and everybody who followed the Yankees, saw there was a giant, flaming loophole begging to be jumped through in 2014. It’s entirely possible the loophole was forged and set aflame specifically to incentivize the Yankees to lower their payroll – temporarily or otherwise.

The Yankees, as gleeful, recidivist violators of the salary threshold, stand to be punished at ever-increasing rates according to the new CBA. However, if they get under the salary limit in 2014 ($189 million), they can reset their clock. The next time they go over, which we all hope and pray will be 2015, they will be punished as first time offenders and save a ton of dough.

Thus a goal was born in the winter of 2011 - to trim annual salary from the customary $210 million down to $189 million within two years. This is made more difficult because the Yankees owe a lot of money to CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira in 2014, and Alex and Teix no longer play up to their paychecks. To field a World Series contender in 2014 would take creativity, starting right then and there.

Spending big on free agents isn’t as easy under these new constraints, but there are other ways to acquire talent. International free agents have no track record and less bargaining power, so their first contracts are often very reasonable. Posting fees don’t count towards the salary cap and the contracts that follow them are also very reasonable.

Of course without the Major League track record comes a huge risk of getting a crappy, Kei-Igawa-level talent. That’s why the Yankees usually have an advantage when it comes time to sign them; they can absorb that hit better than anyone else. The Yankees employed Hideki Irabu, Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreras, Hideki Matsui and Kei Igawa via these routes and, on the whole, they received excellent return on their investments.

Two major players came down the pike just after the Yankees signed the CBA. The Oakland A’s Yoenis Cespedes was one of the best outfielders in the American League last year. He makes nine million dollars a year.

Rather than find out just how much ground Brett Gardner can cover, the Yankees just gave Ichiro Suzuki a two year commitment for $13 million. And now they’ve pumped more 2014 cash into Vernon Wells, where’s there’s plenty of room where his baseball talent used to be. There no question that Cespedes was a risk, but I have a hard time thinking he was a bigger risk of failure than the players who have already proven they have straight sucked eggs for the last two years.

Yu Darvish was hot topic around here last year and he divided the room. Japanese pitchers have faired poorly in the USA, though not universally, domo arigato Kuroda-san, and Darvish came attached to a big posting fee. He won 16 and struck out 221 in 191 innings for the Rangers. He walked too many and wasn’t a Cy Young candidate or anything, but he sure looks good at $9.3 million a year for the next five years. After one-year deals to Kuroda and Pettitte expire and Phil Hughes files for free agency, the 2014 rotation looks like CC Sabathia and a wishing well.

The Yankees did not seriously pursue either of these players, nor did they get close to Aroldis Chapman, though his courtship took place before the current CBA and its loopholes. Whether that makes the Yankees lack of effort to acquire his raw yet undeniable talent more or less forgivable is up to you.

Either the Yankees don’t know how to evaluate international talent or they are cheaper than we thought. When Chapman came and went without any news of an offer from the Yankees, I was surprised. When they lost with a whimper on Darvish and Cespedes (not to mention Jorge Soler)?

The acquisition of Wells and Suzuki suggest a combination of penny-pinching and incompetence and incompetent penny-pinching that is downright scary.

Some Yankee notes from: It’s About the Money,  Hardball Talk, and Lo-Hud (A and B), and Sports Illustrated.

Also over at SI.com, our pal Jay grades the Yankees’ off-season:

Preliminary grade: D+. At a weighted average age of 32.7 years, the Yankee lineup was the oldest in the AL by nearly three full years, and yet they seem to have taken steps to get even older this winter while leaving significant holes in their lineup. Without a few more fixes — fixes that should be easy given this team’s resources, but which are suddenly agonizingly hard to come by — this may well be the year where age catches up to them and leaves them on the outside looking in.

[Photo Credit: Duanexharris via It's a Long Season]

Ken Davidoff with a sensible take on the Alex Rodriguez news.

Andy Pettitte ain’t pitching in no WBC.

Pronk?

Want to learn more about the Yankees’ payroll? William Juliano and Mike Axisa ‘splain.

Kevin Long, back to work.

[Photo Via: The Poetry of Material Things]

Ken Dawidoff has word from Prince Hal. Chad Jennings has more.

Rafael Soriano, yeah, he won’t be back; Mariano Rivera, will.

Here’s Chad Jennings with some notes. Otherwise, the Hot Stove is cool these days round these parts.

Still, here’s an open Yankee thread to start the day, featuring Bruce Davidson’s photograph of Willie Randolph because I found it at the lively Yankee site 161st & River.

Hope the holidays treated you all well. Over at Lo-Hud, Chad Jennings has these New Year’s resolutions for the Yanks.

[Picture by Bags]

Don’t need much of an excuse to check out the cool Yankee blog 161st and River, but this picture of Don Zimmer is a good one. So is this list of the 15 Worst Transactions in Yankee History.

Raul Ibanez to the Mariners and, as expected, Nick Swisher to the Indians.

That is all.

Some players go on and on forever while others fall off the table without ceremony, thwap. Ichiro belongs in the first group though there were times last year when it looked like he was all but finished. And then he had a late surge and it reminded us of the great player he’s been.

The Yanks are bringing him back for two years and he could be more like the player in Seattle last season than the one he was in September and October for the Yanks. Still, I liked this from Marc Carig’s article in Newsday:

“I believe the Yankees organization appreciates that there is a difference between a 39-year-old who has played relying only on talent, and a 39-year-old who has prepared, practiced and thought thoroughly through many experiences for their craft,” Ichiro said. “I am very thankful, and I will do my best to deliver on their expectations.”

[Photo Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP]

Hey Swish…Woo Woo.

This weekend’s Yankee rumors involved Vernon Wells and Michael Bourn.  Meanwhile, the Jays are on the clock with R.A. Dickey.

If he winds up in Toronto the Blue Jays’ starting rotation looks nice.

[Photo Via: frOzenpizza]

It’s almost official but looks like the Yanks will have their Ichi for Christmas.

[Photo Via: New York Times]

Youk a Yank? Why not? (Photo: Getty Images)

Will there be a serenade of “Yoooouk” or a cascade of “boos” when Kevin Youkilis makes his Yankee Stadium debut in pinstripes? Judging by the initial response to the trade, the reaction might be somewhat mixed, especially with the Red Sox in town for Opening Day. Considering Youkilis’ infamous past as a Yankee killer, even those willing to welcome him into fold might still be susceptible to a flashback, particularly if they imbibed a little too much before the game.

In the 112 year history of both organization, 219 players have appeared in at least one game for both the Yankees and the Red Sox. However, Youkilis migration to the Bronx isn’t a run of the mill rivalry crossover. With a bWAR of 29.5 while in Boston, the former All Star ranks 20th on the Red Sox all-time list for hitters. So, when Youkilis steps into the box on Opening Day, many in the crowd will likely do a double take, and not just because the third baseman will be without his signature facial hair.

Red Sox Standouts Who Became Yankees

Just missed: Duffy Lewis, who compiled 19.8 WAR with the Red Sox from 1910 to 1917, played for the Yankees from 1919 to 1920. Bill Monbouquette, who compiled 19.8 WAR with the Red Sox from 1958 to 1965, played for the Yankees from 1967 to 1968.

Note: Includes players who compiled 20 WAR or more with the Red Sox before joining the Yankees. Babe Ruth’s WAR includes totals as a pitcher and position player.
Source: Baseball-reference.com

By joining the Yankees, Youkilis becomes only the fifth Red Sox player to don the pinstripes after compiling at least 20 WAR in Boston. Babe Ruth was the first person to crossover, and since the Bambino helped build the Yankees into the most successful franchise in sports, the flow of talent between the two teams has usually benefited the Bronx Bombers. Although it would be almost 60 years before another Red Sox legend made his way to the Bronx, the two recent transfers since Luis Tiant’s short stint with the Yankees in 1979-1980 also had a major impact.

Like Youkilis, Wade Boggs was a mid-30s third baseman when he joined the Yankees after having a down year. However, Boggs rejuvenated his career in pinstripes, batting over .300 in four of five seasons to go along with an OPS+ of 112. Soon after Boggs departed the Bronx, Roger Clemens joined the Yankees. After the 1996 season, the Red Sox had also given up on the Rocket, claiming he was in the twilight of his career, but instead Clemens responded with two Cy Young seasons in Toronto. Following his stint with the Blue Jays, Clemens spent five years in pinstripes tormenting his former team by not only winning two World Series rings, but adding another Cy Young while on the “downside”.

Yankees Standouts Who Became Red Sox

Just missed: David Cone, who compiled 19.1 WAR with the Yankees from 1995 t0 2000, played for the Red Sox in 2001.

Note: Includes players who compiled 20 WAR or more with the Yankees before joining the Red Sox.
Source: Baseball-reference.com

The Red Sox have actually had more 20-plus WAR Yankees join their ranks than vice versa, but the contributions of those players were relatively insignificant. On offense, Ben Chapman, Elston Howard, and Rickey Henderson were all former All Stars in pinstripes who wound up playing for the Red Sox, but neither made much of an impact in Boston. Among pitchers, Jack Chesbro made his Hall of Fame bones with the Yankees, but ended his career by pitching six innings for the Red Sox. Herb Pennock, who actually had an undistinguished start to his career with the Athletics and Red Sox, was another successful pinstriped hurler who pitched his last season in Boston. Finally, Ray Caldwell cobbled together a competent 12 years with the Yankees, but also found his way to Boston before retiring as a Cleveland Indian.

Even if Yankee fans don’t warm up to him at first, Youkilis can still win their affection by making a contribution in line with the other former Red Sox who wound up wearing the pinstripes. Of course, if he struggles in the Bronx, the denizens of Yankee Stadium won’t hesitate to voice their displeasure. In that regard, however, Youkilis does have one distinct advantage. Even if the crowd showers him with “boos”, he can always pretend their singing his last name.

The Greek God of Walks is really a Jew, and according to Ken Rosenthal he’s also about to become a Yankee.

Ah, memories of Paul O’Neill, our favorite red ass.

I don’t have anything against Youkilis as a former Red Sox who was easy to root against but I worried if he’s got any game left in him. Twelve million bucks seems like an awful lot for a a guy who was lousy in Boston and Chicago last season.

Got a friend, big Red Sox fan, whose dog is named Youk. I imagine this isn’t easy for him.

It was raining when I left my apartment building this morning but the sun was out by the time I reached the subway platform.

No word on Ichiro yet. The Mets have reportedly upped their offer to R.A. Dickey, though it still might not be enough.

And the Yanks, Angels, and Cubs will no longer play nice with StubHub.

This report from Ken Rosenthal says that there is a good chance Ichiro will be back in the Bronx next year. I’d like to watch him play for the Yanks again. He may be old but he’s the King of Style.

Meanwhile, they are also waiting on that old goat Youk. Vat Gives, Youk? You’ve got $12 million on the table, Hoss. Nu?

The Dodgers are making the Yanks look like low rent bums.

[Photo Credit: Digital Grin]

Recovering addict in NYC? Pass.

[Photo Credit: Grzegorz Sowa]