If MLB had a salary cap, could the Yankees end up like the Knicks?

Question

In MLB theres no salary cap so you can continue to stack the payroll as far you can go. In the NBA the cap isnt as tight as the NFL but still something. The Knicks like the Yankees have the highest payroll and are completely garbage. The Yankees have a $215 million payroll and still cant win as the rack up superstar after superstar and still end up losing. The Knicks on the other hand keep overpaying players and still fail to make the playoffs each other. The Yankees havent made smart decision players, and well ill just make up a number, if the MLB had a $85 million salary cap would the Yankees end up like the Knicks?

Answer 1

First off, the Yankees have made some smart decisions. Even though they got busts like Carl Pavano and Richie Sexson, they've made quality moves like getting Johnny Damon (he was a smart decision in my book), traded for Xavier Nady and did well with the acquisition of Mike Mussina. While the Yankees haven't won the World Series in the last eight seasons, they have made it to the playoffs every year in that timeframe and made it to the World Series twice and arguably could have beaten the Diamondbacks in '01. The Yankees have made smart choices, even though it hasn't led to a Series win since 2000.

The Knicks, a team I'm a fan of, have made horrendous decisions of late, thanks in large part to the ineptitude of Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas. While the Yanks have nabbed quality players, the Knicks have picked up a lot of bad players or players whose better years have long since passed. The Stephon Marbury deal was a disaster, the Jerome James signing was one of the worst in NBA history, and the Steve Francis pick was pretty dumb, too.  

In short, the answer is no. Brian Cashman is a much better GM than Scott Layden or Isiah Thomas. If you have good people making choices, you'll succeed, regardless of a cap. That's why the Yankees would still be successful even if a cap was instituted. Any of you who think that the Yankees just pay to win are fooling yourselves. They have good baseball people in addition to a vast payroll.  Money won't solve all your problems. You want examples? Look up the '93 Mets, the '98 Orioles and the current Mets, who've made it to one NLCS in the last eight years. (And the '98 Orioles had the highest payroll in MLB. The Yankees were third that year.)

Answer 2

No way!  People forget that most of the Yankees came up through their farm system:

Cano

Jeter

Cabrera

Posada

Christian

Rivera

Chamberlain

Hughes

Ramirez

Also, thery have made out like bandits on some deals:

Nady and Marte for Karstens, Ohlendorff, etc.

Farnesworth for Pudge

Next season $84 million is coming off their payroll so they will be in buy mode. ( Pavano, Giambi, Abreu will go) Although a few Yanks have underachieved this season, nothing hurt them more than injuries. Losing Posada, Matsui, and Chamberlain for a long period of time is crippling.

Answer 3

firstly the yankees actually have smart people running the franchise dolan and the knicks management is the worst in professional sports. If there was a salary cap which there never will be one because the players union wont agree to it.

But just to get this out its not like these teams don't have money and then wanna go cry when they don't get to keep there players, it is a common misconception that they don't have the money which they do,they might not have the money the yankees have but regardless they have money.

Now recently in the past few years the yankees have not really goin out and spent crazy money.they have rebuilded this team through there farm system.

You have to update your argument because 4-5 years back you could of said that yea the yankees just keep buying players  but half of this team is a product of the system

ex

jeter-

posada

petitie

cano

wang

joba

hughes

veras

edwar rameriz

i can keep going

so you cant say they buy all there players

But the not winning even though they keep racking up superstar after superstar has nothing to do with that the reason they havent won is because they have innjuries but im not making excuses but not many teams can lose 80% of there rotation and many key contributers to there eveyrday line up and still be as competitive as the yankees

But to anwser the base of your question it would be no they would not end up like the knicks