MLB

Yankees en-title-ed to take it slowly

CHICAGO — It is not in the Yankees’ payroll, history and, thus, organizational DNA to do anything but pursue a championship year after year.

So they will assemble a team this offseason capable of revisiting the Canyon of Heroes in 2010. But what their parade last week provides the organization is some cover if they want to be a little more cautious about spending and/or adding/retaining older players at a time when strategically they are looking to get younger and more athletic.

In many ways, this is a 180-degree turn from last offseason. The Yankees failed to make the playoffs in 2008 and were opening a new stadium with historically high ticket prices. They were incredibly motivated, therefore, to not let heaven, earth or $423.5 million stand in the way of constructing as bulletproof a roster as possible for 2009.

HARDBALL AT THE GM MEETINGS

SHERMAN ON TWITTER

A championship in 2009 reestablished, for the Yankees, goodwill with their fan base. Again, this will not mean the Yankees will take their payroll down to $100 million, but it just might push them to try to finally ease beneath $200 million.

Just consider that in August 2008 Yankee officials met informally about the coming free-agent class and at that time were steadfast that they would not offer A.J. Burnett a five-year contract. As late as early December 2008, Hal Steinbrenner was still telling GM Brian Cashman that Mark Teixeira did not fit into the payroll. But in the lust to open the new Yankee Stadium extravagantly, the Yanks did give Burnett a five-year deal and also decided to enter the Teixeira sweepstakes late and successfully.

They are not facing the same kind stimuli this time around to push hard for a big free agent such as Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey.

In fact, from conversations with Yankees officials, I sense the organization is wondering if the 2009 championship now provides them the impetus to see if Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes really can handle the Nos. 4-5 rotation spots, David Robertson and Mark Melancon can become eighth-inning men, Francisco Cervelli could be the backup catcher and at some point next year Austin Jackson could work into an outfield rotation.

“We have quality in our system so we do not have be as desperate as last year,” Cashman acknowledged.

The Yanks could retain their assets with two markets in mind: The trade deadline of July 31, 2010, and the 2010-11 offseason.

Internally, the Yankees are proud that they won a title and did not give up big-time prospects on July 31 when there was pressure to move on Roy Halladay (Hughes or Chamberlain had to head that package) or Jarrod Washburn (Jackson). That would enable them to go into next July 31 with all of these assets plus the rest of a growing system to make bold trades, if necessary, for the 2010 stretch drive.

Also, if they avoid signing a big free-agent contract now it will make them more flexible for a potentially more attractive class next offseason that could have outfielders Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth plus starters Halladay, Josh Beckett and Cliff Lee. Remember how after the 2007 season, the Yanks were pushed to include Hughes, Melky Cabrera and two other prospects for Johan Santana. But Cashman recommended patience to retain the young base and wait 12 months for CC Sabathia to be a free agent.

This is a similar mode. Now things can change. If Andy Pettitte, for example, decides not to return, the Yanks would be forced to more seriously consider Lackey or another starter, and it remains possible they just don’t trust going with Hughes and Chamberlain after the Hughes/Ian Kennedy combo was such a disaster in 2008.

But for now, the Yankees are moving slowly, feeling that the parade on Broadway — at the very least — gives them the option to act more judiciously than last offseason.