Day 117

Fresh Start_117: Reinvention
It is really tough to rebuild any franchise in any major sports market in 2016. Every franchise wants to do well and wants their team to provide the best play they possible can on the court, field, or ice. Rebuilding is not easy by any means, and it is not encouraged by the majority of fan bases. In fact, in many cases rebuilding is look at as a failure and not a necessary step toward a championship (trust me, I know I’m a Yankee fan).

In the Bronx, winning is expected every single season, and at this point it is almost second nature for many fans. The Yankees are expected to make the playoffs in a lot of people’s eyes, most notably their own owners eyes. That’s why at the trade deadline this past July, the owners disagreed with the direction Brian Cashman was trying to take the team, and rebuilding the organization. I was one of the few in favor of Cashman’s decision. But this isn’t the only big name franchise that has had to go through a rebuild in the past 5 years. Franchises like the Lakers, 49’ers, Cowboys, and even the Mets had to dump older more expensive players and sell to get back on top. The 9’ers and Lakers are still going through their rebuilding periods, and the Cowboys haven’t won anything yet, but the rebuild is working very well. The Mets sold year after year to get that dominate pitching staff that they currently have.

I don’t think a lot of people remember how good the 49’ers were just 3 years ago. This was a team that made it to the Superbowl in 2012, and had one of the best defenses in the league. The ‘9ers were not a team to mess with in the NFL. Of course this rebuild was brought on by unexpected retirements and the owner forcing Jim Harbaugh out of San Francisco, but it isn’t always like that. Take the Kansas City Royals for example… that is a franchise that rebuilt currently. I compared the 2014 and 2015 Kansas City Royals to the late ‘90’s Yankee teams that created a dynasty. The Royals never won 3 in a row—not even 2 in a row that, but the team had potential for greatness. The Royals built a young core that helped Kansas City compete in a way that not every team could every day, and that is a credit to the Royals emphasis on speed. Not to mention, but they also revolutionize the game by shorting the game. Kansas City played through their bullpen, and made the game accentually a 6 inning game instead on 9. Aroldis Chapman can thank Kansas City for his new contract because of the new need for a dominate back end of a bullpen. If you want to win, you not only need a shutdown closer, but a nasty setup man. I’m not going to say you need to revolutionize the game to have a successful rebuild, but you need to bend the rules to make the game seem different when another teams plays you. Create a style, a culture that can’t be matched. I am fascinated by rebuilds and seeing if they workout.
Sources:(theringer.com)

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