Exceptional Off season banter Let's Settle This Question by jmdg1954 Artwork by MKFlood at FanArtReview.com

When baseball's 2013 World Series ended with the Beantown Bums, a.k.a. the Boston Red Sox as world champions, for me it marked the beginning of a new season, the off-season. The time when Major League Baseball (MLB) teams discuss next season. They begin this process with a review of their current players, under contract-   * Who are the aging players with diminishing skills?   * Which player(s) is coming off an injury-riddled season?   * How will he look next season?   * What minor league players could have an impact next year?   * How do we move forward in free agency? Addressing those we've lost and potential signings. These are just a few of the hundreds of questions ownership and management ask themselves when trying to achieve a playing level, by putting the best possible position players and pitchers on the field. Although I wrote MLB "teams", between you, me and the rock in your garden, I'm referring to the NewYork Yankees. That is the only "individual" team which concerns me. Fellow Yankee fans, let's be honest, the 2013 baseball season was a disappointment. They did not make the playoffs. You want to take some solace in the fact that they played competitive baseball for a good part of the season? Fine. Go right ahead. But at the end of the day, the fact remains, according to the late Yankee owner, George Steinbrenner, if his team did not make the playoffs, than ... Season = Failure! Therefore, this off season is critical in building a foundation for the 2014 Yankees. The cornerstone of that foundation is one Robinson Cano, the Yankee All-Star second baseman, regarded by many as one of baseball's top five players. The problem is, Robinson Cano is a free agent, meaning he can talk to, negotiate and sign with any team in baseball. Any team. The issue is, Cano and his agent are asking for a $300 million, ten year contract at baseball's "middle age" of thirty-two. Personally, I feel $300 million to any ONE player is ludicrous, and it got me thinking yesterday as I drove home from Newark International Airport. So, for any Yankee fan reading this, I pose this question: Putting contract dollars aside, if you were building a new Yankee roster, would you have as your first pick, Robinson Cano at his age of thirty-two, or would you select the thirty-two year old Derek Jeter? Let's take it one step further... add as part of your selection picks, thirty-two year olds, Don Mattingly and Mariano Rivera. These players (Mattingly, Rivera and Jeter) have played for the Yankees their entire career as has Cano . Also, let's keep this apples-to-apples. Your decision can only be based on the player's body of work up until the age of thirty-two, because no one could predict the future years of those players. Have fun... Recognized

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