SOME DUMB OWNER WILL MAKE A DUMB MISTAKE....

Attention all owners, especially you Hal Steinbrenner, read on and study up. If only one of you does though, please let it be Hal. The rest of you can spend your money as you see fit and I won't care.....but I will still point and laugh.

Photo: AP

If you haven't read Bill Madden's piece that came out yesterday, READ it! It's a good read. He also made some very good points.  There are some guys that will get their big pay day and they definitely deserve it. Pitchers are going to get deals this offseason that just didn't exist last year. Guys like Patrick Corbin, Dallas Keuchel, and Nathan Eovaldi are the difference makers for contending teams. It's all about the pitching....especially for the Yankees.

But there are also guys out there that are going to get deals because they are popular names and are everyday players so they deserve $300 million plus deals for 10 years. The Yankees already have two of those names, why do we need to add to it?

Photo: New York Post

Think about it, Jacoby Ellsbury is the perfect example of a dumb mistake. He had one good year in Boston and somehow his agent Scott Boras convinces the Yankees to spend $153 million over seven years. He was non-existent for 2018, now suddenly Boras says he will be back and ready to contribute and be this great contributor for the next two seasons? Right. He's just a bench warmer. There's bad contract number one we are stuck with.

Photo: USA Today

Then there is Giancarlo Stanton. We are stuck paying him another $270 million until 2027 and if we continue to see 2018 Stanton as years go on then that is a huge bust for us. I admit, I expected a lot for from the former National League MVP who hit 59 home runs. He should've come into Yankee stadium and been more consistent, because clearly the tools are all there. People will say that he doesn't deserve all of the criticism after hitting 38 home runs and 100 RBIs this season.....but those numbers are short of the real talent he has to offer.

Photo: Sports Illustrated

The Yankees already have two expensive outfielders and two bad contracts on their hands. So why should the Yankees spend more money on Bryce Harper? Scott Boras is going to continue to plug Harper as "the best player in baseball" until someone pays a stupid price for him because he is a young 26 year old. Sure, we all like young players. His age means he could theoretically play for a really long time. But his defense isn't elite compared to other outfielders by any means and look at those strikeouts! Why would ANY owner (Steinbrenner or not) want to throw tons of dollars at a young guy who for the second year in a row has more strikeouts than hits?! Those numbers are only going to skyrocket as the league continues to adapt and Harper ages. Oh and not for nothing, there's another outfielder out there named Mike Trout who is also touted as "the best player in baseball" who makes hell of a lot less money and doesn't strike out like that.

So then what about Manny Machado? Owners could spend their money on the young stud infielder but he could be a team cancer. His dumb decision to brand himself as "I’m not the type of player that’s going to be Johnny Hustle…that’s not my cup of tea…that’s not who I am" is the worst attitude you could have on a team. The Yankees have been known to have meetings with big name free agents they are interested in to determine if they are a good fit for each other. I have a hard time believing that meeting changes anything. This is who Manny is. If he is this way now, why would he change AFTER he gets his big pay day? He has shown his true colors. Any team that signs him after those comments is dumb.

The Yankees don't need anymore flawed long-term duds on the payroll. Hal can spend his money other ways that will yield better results. Spend the money on the pitching, Hal. That is where it counts! Don't be that dumb owner.....please.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj