What will the Yankees collect first? another ring or their social security checks?

That’s right Yankee fans the reign of dominance that the Yankees have had for more than a decade is coming to an end. Since 2000, when the Yankees won their third World Series in four years, the club has only won the championship once, in 2009, during the last 12 years. Fast forward to 2013, the winds are changing in the Bronx as many factors are slowly eating away at the Yankees facade as the best team in baseball. You cannot question the teams’ success, 27 championships in the club’s history, but more recently the Yankees have lost the dominance the once had. There are many reason for this including the passing of the George Steinbrenner and passing the ownership to his son’s who have not shown the same passion for winning that their father once had.  Do you think that the boss would have stood for this or been this quite in the offseason? The competition in the AL East has caught up with the Bronx Bombers. Remember when it used to be a two-horse race between the Yankees and Red Sox? While the Yankees often beat out the Red Sox in the past decade, the Sox have won more championships than the Yankees. While the Red Sox have taken steps backward, the Blue Jays have vastly improved this offseason, especially because they’ve added half of the Marlins lineup and the N.L. Cy Young winner. Add in the Always competitive Rays and the improved Baltimore Orioles and you have a competitive division from top to bottom. It’s not like it was a few years ago when the Yankees could just beat up on the weaker teams in the division, now they will have to play in arguably the most talented division in baseball. While the Yankees competition has gotten better the Yankees biggest opponent may be father time. Just look at this team. At this rate they’ll get their AARP cards before they win another World Series. Just look at this spring, the injuries to Granderson, and Teixeria have already put more pressure on a thin depth chart. This Yankee roster is littered with players in the twilight of their careers with large contracts that the team cannot move. If this offseason was any indication the team isn’t willing to increases their already absurd payroll due to the salary cap tax the team would face.  They are paying these players hundreds of millions of dollars for declining production, trips to the DL, and no championships.  Just look at A-Rod. Over the past few seasons his

A-Rod is the poster child for the declining Bombers

production has steadily been declining and he’ll miss most of this season with his hip injury.  The answer is to replace him with Kevin Youkilis? Sounds more like waving a white flag then a move to put this team over the top.The problem the Yankees face is can they win a World Series with this group? We know they can make the playoffs but the Yankees are built for championships not playoff appearances. If they get to a point where the front office doesn’t believe this team can Win a World Series then they need to rebuild. Ok I know Yankee fans dread that infamous R word  and are probably yelling profanities right now but hear me out. The Red Sox began their rebuilding by shedding their payroll while continuing to  develop their farm system. The Yankees have the luxury of having the largest payroll in baseball so once they shed the contracts of A-Rod, Granderson, and Texieria, not to mention when Jeter an Mo come off the books, they can use that money to invest in a younger core. Cano would be a great piece to rebuild around for this new Yankee team. Let me ask Yankee fans this. Would you rather see this team to continue to decline to the point where they can’t even reach the playoffs, or sacrifice a year or two without October baseball in order to win more World Championships in the next decade? What do you think? Take the poll below and don’t forget to subscribe!