Carl Crawford possibly moving to the Bronx to join the New York Yankees?

One of the biggest reasons for the Tampa Bay Rays’ emergence as an American League powerhouse has been Carl Crawford. The 1999 second round pick has grown up and become a premier major league left fielder, but when his 2010 season comes to an end, so will his contract and likely his time in St. Petersburg. Crawford will be a free agent this winter and will entertain offers from most of the teams in the league.

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The Yankees’ Homegrown Solutions to Expensive Problems

There is a perception that the New York Yankees’ success is the direct result of a $200+ million payroll year after year. It seems that each offseason, the Yankees will just go out and fill their holes with cash, which was highlighted this past offseason with the acquisitions of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira.  However, if you look a little deeper, you’ll see that the Yankees also have a healthy mix of homegrown talent on the field day after day.

There’s the obvious “face of the franchise” in Derek Jeter, whose Hall of Fame bat and classy off-the-field demeanor is famous nationwide; and there’s the scariest closer in baseball in Mariano Rivera, who can make even the most dangerous batters look like A-ball rookies in the box. But the Yankee scouts have been hard at work for the last few years, trying to find cheaper solutions to the on-field problems.  Let’s face it, while the Yankee ownership doesn’t have trouble with the stratospheric payroll, why wouldn’t they want to cut back some costs if there are cheaper options available?

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