Derek Jeter and 5 Reasons the Yankees Are Going to Be at the Bottom in 5 Years

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The Yankees have made the postseason three years in a row now, but how long can they keep up their dominance? The Yankees have the largest fanbase, the largest payroll and most championships. So wouldn't they keep succeeding in the future? 

I'll give you five reasons the Yankees are going to meet the Baltimore Orioles at the bottom of the standings in a few years. 

Loss of Mariano Rivera

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Mariano can't pitch forever and I'm not saying he is going to regress, but he is probably going to retire in one of the next couple of years.

The Yankees have gave him over $140 million over his stellar career, and it's time to spend that.

Brian Cashman

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His last name really suits him as he is the man who dishes out the cash...a lot of it, $200 million every year to be exact.

He is nothing but a GM that goes on hype more than skill. I admit he has done a good job improving the farm system, but that was only after Tampa Bay started beating his team with a payroll one-sixth of his own.

Tampa Bay, Toronto and the Red Sox all have young talented GMs now that can run their organization so efficiently to find the sleepers and top prospects, and Brian Cashman is starting to show his age. 

Overrated Players

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Derek Jeter did not deserve his 2010 Gold Glove; it should have gone to Alexei Ramirez or even five other shortstops that were better defensively.

Mark Texeira can no longer hit for average any more since 2009, but yet people are still comparing him to Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols.

Curtis Granderson is going first in fantasy drafts, even though his 2011 stats are probably not repeatable as he strikes out a lot and still has a lot of trouble with left-handed pitching

The point is Yankees players always get a little bias when they are being talked about because they are from a popular team and they always will.

Improving Rivals

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Boston Red Sox

As is, they are just as good as the Yankees right now but come at about $50 million per year cheaper. That's five Evan Longorias or three Jose Bautistas or two Pujols and a partridge in a pear tree. They have the money to spend if they see they are slipping.

 

Toronto Blue Jays

They are only one to two impact players away from being a division contender, and they have the money to do it as well. The possible $140-150 million payroll means $60 million they could spend on a needed player. They probably won't, though, as they have one of the best farm systems around, and their young core is in place for four or five more years.

 

Tampa Bay Rays

They have Andrew Friedman and Joe Maddon. They can make anything work, even a $40 million payroll to contend.

Choke-hold Contracts

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For 2012, the New York Yankees have about $100 million promised to four players:

Alex Rodriguez

CC Sabathia

Mark Texiera

AJ Burnett

That's most teams' entire 40-man roster payroll, and to make it worse, about $85 million of that is committed to the next seven years. All those players are on the wrong side of 30 and are all starting to show signs of decline except CC Sabathia.

To make it even worse, Rodriguez has a point in his contract that if a larger contract is given to another player, the Yankees must match and beat it.