The Yankee Model: What the Cubs Can Learn from the World Champs

In some ways, it's the same old story. The Yankees win, the Yankees win, say it 27 times for emphasis. But for those of us who cast a critical eye on the Yankees' championship romp through a 105-win regular season and a dominant playoff run, there are lessons from which a hopeful contender in 2010 can learn a great deal. The Cubs are just such a would-be winner, and since I make it my business to always look for new ways the Cubs could exploit potential advantages, it seems prudent to spend some time in meditation on what made the Yankees winners, and what the Cubs must do to match their results. There's no better place to start, in this case, than at the close. The Yankees won this World Series, as they have the previous four since 1996, as much because of closer Mariano Rivera as for any other reason. Rivera, 39, returned to his rightful place at the top of the relief pitching world in 2009. His 6.15 WXRL (Expected Wins Added Over Replacement; a metric that takes into account the situations ... (link)