THE SANCHEZ-McCANN PARTNERSHIP

Look, if you've read BYB since the beginning, you know that we believe that a solid team made up of youngsters sprinkled with veterans or vice versa can make a team turn into a pretty huge success.  Once we removed the log jam of Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira  this year, and traded off Aroldis Chapman. Carlos Beltran and Andrew Miller, things started to happen.  The youth came up and performed with some of our left over veterans... and you know what? We almost made it.

Great piece today on YESNetwork.com about the partnership that has formed between Brian McCann and now stud Gary Sanchez. You gotta read the whole thing, but here's a sample...

"Yankees GM and Senior VP Brian Cashman addressed the Bombers' bevy of talented backstops in a press conference last Wednesday, and discussed how having a surplus of talent behind the plate puts them in a uniquely strong position.

'Catching in this game is very thin, looking for a catcher is not a good spot to be in, so we're lucky to have two, and we have some young guys who can help us too,' Cashman said.

With both Sanchez and McCann in the fold, the Yankees have a pair of power-hitting catchers who have shown superior defense and impressive composure calling games - especially from the rookie Sanchez. With Sanchez's emergence, some wondered whether or not McCann might still have a role on the team a year from now, but it appears that Cashman is in no hurry to part ways with the seven-time All-Star.

'There is a role for Mac. We have a right-handed power hitting catcher in Gary and a left-handed power hitting catcher in Mac, and that's a valuable combo to have,' said Cashman. 'Both are excellent defenders and strong leaders for our pitching staff.'"

Nice work AJ Herrmann.

The reality is, McCann sees that he's no longer that big time catcher, sure he still has some pop, but Sanchez is the flavor of the year.  The Yankees love him, and have been grooming him for what seems like forever. The timing was right this year and McCann was used less... but don't get it twisted. The Yankees don't really have much of an intention on trading him off, because McCann is a genius behind the plate and what it will mean is that he and Sanchez will be able to mold and perfect the way our pitching staff performs moving forward.  McCann's got the experience. Sanchez has the spryness... and so the combo works!

Anyway, I really do hope the Yankees keep McCann. It's not over for him like many suggest. In fact, he would almost be more valuable with less pressure on him and instead using his mind to help move forward our pitching staff in this upcoming 2017 season!