WHEN THINGS DON'T GO AS PLANNED

Source: USATSI

We left the #WinterMeetings with some power moves but as many fans have expressed over the last week, not enough of them.  Perhaps we needed to do more.  Perhaps there was an expectation to do more or maybe things went just as they had to go.  Sometimes, however, things don't go as planned and we are left with thinking, "What if..."

Source: Scoutables

According to sports writer Andrew Marchand, "The largest reliever contract in baseball history is one the New York Yankees will regret. It is too long, for too much money, for the wrong guy and, in the long run, a mistake."  Marchand is of course talking about Aroldis Chapman who signed with the Yankees this week for $86 million over five years.  What if we didn't sign him? What if we put more of an effort in Dellin Betances or some of our other pitchers and relievers in the farms.  What if that money could have been allocated better elsewhere.  Recall that the Cubs did not even touch this. Theo Epstein, as Marchand states, "never even tried to re-sign Chapman. What does that tell you?"

Did the Yankees always plan to pay Chapman this much for so long?  Marchand writes, "Given Cashman's past stance on paying closers big money, this seems like a strange move for him to make. Owner Hal Steinbrenner was "all-in" on wanting Chapman, so Cashman might have had a little nudge."  So, this paints a different picture.  Cashman was following orders so even if he had not planned to go that high, he was told to.  Perfect.

Source: Purple Reign Show

I sit here Sunday morning frustrated with what happened at the #WinterMeetings because I feel like we just did not do enough.  The Boston Red Sox are most likely going to beat up on us because their starting pitching is stacked.  "St. Louis is expected to consider free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Trumbo, both of whom exited the Winter Meetings without a contract. Either of those players would presumably factor at first base for the Cards, if they are ultimately pursued," writes MLB Rumors.  Yet, if they both wind up getting re-signed with their respective clubs in Baltimore and Toronto, we've got more problems within our division.

When things don't go as planned in my head, chaos ensues for me and those around me for some time until I can figure things out.  Some say you can sleep on it and things will look better in the morning.  For the Yankees, I thinking sleeping on it has hurt them and they need to wake up.  Maybe things will look brighter as we head into late December and early January,  but right now, it just feels like things didn't go as planned.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof