Here at theGEEKwriters we usually cover “traditional” geek news.  Comics, Sci-Fi, Movies, and the like.  But truth be told, we can geek out about anything.  And one of the topics sorely lacking coverage here is Baseball.  Baseball is the ultimate sport to geek out about.  Especially numbers; saber-metrics FTW!  So, in an effort to rectify this glaring oversight, glimpse into the future of the greatest franchise to play the game, the New York Yankees.

As fans, we have been spoiled over the last decade plus.  Every offseason, the Yankees have plugged the holes they had, and in the case of Soriano holes they did not have, with high priced superstar players.  The list is, quite frankly, staggering.  CC Sabathia, Mark Teixieria, AJ Burnett, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield, and Hiroki Kuroda.  And let’s not forget the trades that brought in A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Curtis Granderson, Ichiro Suzuki, and Javier Vazquez twice.  Not every move has worked out great and not every target has signed or been trade for.  But, overall, when the Yankees and their fans have wanted a player, that player has become a Yankee.

And now here we sit the 2012-2013 offseason almost over, and the Yankees have signed Kevin Youkilis to fill in for A-Rod while he has surgery on his hip.  They have also resigned Pettitte, Kuroda, Rivera, and Ichiro Suzuki.  And the ground-swell sentiment in Yankee land is that the team is done, they have become cheap/miserly, and they no longer care about their fans.  Yankee fans have had to endure the pain (sarcasm) of watching big names, Pujols, Greinke, Hamilton, etc., sign with other clubs.  Fans have had to see the pictures of Russell Martin in a Pirates cap and Nick Swisher putting on an Indians jersey.  And whether the fans will admit it or not, this new plan is the right plan.  The goal of a payroll below 189 million dollars makes sense for the team and for the fans.

It has been a long time since Yankee fans could be legitimately excited about the future.  Since 1996, the expectation has been to win the World Series every year and the fact that they have won titles in 96, 98, 99, 00, and 09 speaks volumes about how spoiled we all are.  But with those superstar signings, with that payroll, Yankee baseball has become hard to watch.  Other team’s fans complain about the payroll and so do we.  How many times have you watched a game and thought to yourself, “This guy is making x amount of millions and he can’t even buy an rbi.”  By lowering payroll, we can begin to eliminate this feeling from a lot of our game watching.

While pitching has certainly taken a hit in the minors recently the Yankees have some arms that we can dream on, some recovering from injury, and a few that could be in the Bronx sooner rather than later.  The big impact name due this year is Michael Pineda.  Acquired last offseason along with Jose Campos for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi, Pineda was the young, front-line guy the Yanks needed.  And then he got hurt.  And then he had surgery on his throwing shoulder.  Now, he is due back around June.  If he can regain his form, Pineda is a huge addition to this club.  He is the young, cost-controlled arm the Yanks desperately need.  Another injured starter to watch is Manny Banuelos.  Out for the year with Tommy John, Banuelos should be able to come back next year and pitch his way to the Bronx mid-season.  He flashed brilliance and paired with Pineda, could give the Yanks a 2-3 for years to come.  We can dream on guys like Dellin Betnaces, can he figure it out, Ty Hensley, this years first rounder with big goals, Nick Turley, Adam Warren, Jose Campos, and Rafael DePaula.  All of them have question marks but big ceilings.  And finally, guys like Mark Montgomery, a young college reliever, could be in the Bronx this year.  There is depth here, impact depth that has as many questions as possibilities.

Banuelos          Montgomery

More importantly though, the payroll plan affords us the opportunity to get back to what made the Yankees so dominate; in-house, cost-controlled, young players.  There is a legitimate chance that three of the top four Yankee prospects will be in the Bronx on an everyday basis by 2014.  The outfield trio of Slade Heathcott in LF, Mason Williams in CF, and Tyler Austin in RF have a ton of talent.  And while they may not be 100% ready for opening day 2014, they should be close enough.  If they get anywhere near their projections the Yankees will have an outfield that plays good to great defense, hits for average and power, runs the bases well, and most importantly is young.  A year later should see Gary Sanchez make his debut in the Bronx as well.  If he can match his projections than the loss of Jesus Montero should no longer be felt.

Heathcott         Williams            Austin             Sanchez

Those four represent the possibility of a new Yankee core.  They dynasty years were spurred on by the development of in-house, young, Yankees.  Jeter, Posada, Williams, Rivera, Pettitte, Soriano, Lilly, Hernandez, Spencer, Mendoza, Rogers, and Leyritz.  Smart trades and smart free agent signings brought about a championship.  They Yankees find themselves in a unique position this year.  With four standout prospects and a farm system full of potential on the pitching and hitting side, we could be looking at a young hungry team poised for a great run.