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What a bad time for the New York Yankees to decide they don’t want to fall off their own fiscal cliff. To avoid a luxury tax in 2014, which may cost them $50 million, the Steinbrenner family is insisting that general manager Brian Cashman bring payroll down into the $189 million range.

That would be great if the Yankees had a core of players just reaching their peak or a farm system ready to shuttle three or four Major League-ready players to the Bronx. Instead, the Yankees keep getting older and breaking down like an old car.

Instead of Yankee Stadium, they might want to change their home field to Jurassic Park.

The news about Alex Rodriguez‘ impending hip surgery ends any expectation that he would be on a mission in 2013 to prove he isn’t washed up as the postseason indicated. Blaming his ineptness at the plate on his hip shouldn’t make Yankee fans feel better either; the surgery and recuperation is supposed to take from four to six months and ultimately diminish A-Rod’s power even more.

The Yankees gave him that ridiculous 10-year contract extension because they factored in a marketing bonanza when A-Rod eclipsed the all-time home run record. Well, that isn’t going to happen now. Instead, the Yankees are saddled with a one-time superstar who is now a shell of what he used to be, but who will be getting paid for what he was.

The five years and $114 million owed to the 37-year-old Rodriguez and the four years and $88 million owed to Mark Teixeira, who may also be prematurely in decline, are responsible for the lack of payroll flexibility. Losing catcher Russell Martin to free agency and potentially outfielder Nick Swisher and closer Rafael Soriano as well has created holes in the lineup and bullpen that could be fixed with some old-time George Steinbrenner spending.

That seems unlikely, however, as the Yankees have become more cash-conscious. They recently agreed to sell 49 percent of their YES Network to News Corp., which will net them more than $270 million initially, but Hal Steinbrenner is not expected to invest any of that in player acquisition or to pay luxury taxes.

In fact, it gives more credibility to the notion that in a few years’ time, when the A-Rod and Teixeira salaries come off the books or those players reach a compensation settlement, the Steinbrenner family might sell the franchise. Hal Steinbrenner, the managing partner, is not his father’s son when it comes to bombast and grandiose moves.

Hank Steinbrenner is a chip off the old block, but he was quickly moved into the background after George died.

In the highly competitive American League East, the Yankees are now facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs. Signing 40-year-old Andy Pettitte to a one-year deal and bringing back Mariano Rivera after his 2012 season ended abruptly with a torn ACL demonstrates there are no heir apparents in the minor league system that can help immediately.

With Derek Jeter returning from a broken ankle and those previously mentioned holes to fill in right field and behind the plate, the Yankees may be going with low-cost options such as Cody Ross or relying on re-signing more older players such as Raul Ibanez, Eric Chavez and the Ancient Mariner Ichiro Suzuki.

Perhaps these grumpy old men have one more season left and then the Yankees promising farmhands will be ready for that big step up to the Bronx. Perhaps Michael Pineda will be ready to step into the rotation by middle of next summer.

But one thing is clear: A team that always measures success by whether they win the World Series might be grateful just to get to the postseason in 2013.

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Success certainly raises the bar, as the Boston Red Sox have learned.

Two World Series titles in the first decade of the new millennium made the Red Sox more like the New York Yankees than they probably care to be. As the payroll increased, so did expectations. When those expectations weren’t met, the ax fell. First on manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein, and now on the core of the team expected to contend this season.

Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford are headed to Dodger town with their silly money contracts in one of the biggest trades in baseball history, according to the Associated Press via ESPN.

The Red Sox get James Loney and some prized Dodger prospects as they rebuild in the image of first-year general manager Ben Cherington. And the third-highest payroll in the major leagues behind the Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies just nose-dived like the stock market in the crash of 2008.

But should Yankee fans rejoice as the Red Sox raise the white flag and begin to rebuild?

Or are the Bronx Bombers facing a similar fate in 2013 or 2014?

The Red Sox aren’t finished cutting ties with the glory days of the early 2000s. David Ortiz is probably spending his final months in a Boston uniform. John Lester may be on the trading block, and perhaps Dustin Pedroia too, even though he is a fan favorite.

No one knows whether Bobby Valentine will be back as manager.

The Yankees do not have the toxic clubhouse problems that initiated the dismantling of the Red Sox. Like their rivals, however, they are an aging team saddled with contracts that are weighing them down. They are also adhering to a philosophy that the free-spending days of George Steinbrenner are over and that the Yankees will have a payroll of $185 million going forward to avoid a luxury tax.

Most teams would salivate having that kind of money to spend, but in New york this represents belt-tightening.

Nick Swisher will be a free agent as will catcher Russell Martin. Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano will be entering their walk year in 2013.

And A-Rod and Mark Teixeira are being paid for production they don’t deliver anymore.

The progress of the young arms in the farm system has been delayed by injuries, and there aren’t any position players that appear to be ready to step into the lineup in 2013.

The Yankees have managed to keep winning, however, but the question is whether or not this will allow them to avoid the Red Sox’s fate. Or is it simply delaying the inevitable?

Let’s look at a few Yankees who may not be wearing pinstripes in the future: 

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Here is one thing we can all agree on: CC Sabathia cannot pitch every day.

Thankfully for the New York Yankees, neither can Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers or Jared Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels. The burning question, however, is whether the other Yankees starters can measure up to the rotations they might face during the postseason.

The Yankees failed to acquire a starting pitcher at the trade deadline either because they felt the price  was too high or because the anticipated return of Andy Pettitte, the winningest pitcher in postseason history, will more than offset the Angels’ acquisition of Zack Greinke and the Texas Rangers‘ trade for Ryan Dempster.

Pettitte is the wild card in the Yankees’ postseason expectations. He and Sabathia are accustomed to big-game situations.

That cannot be said for the rest of the rotation. Hiroki Kuroda has been the most consistent starter after Sabathia, and Phil Hughes hit his stride in late June and has pitched well to improve his record to 11-8 and lower his ERA to 3.96. At one point this season, Hughes was allowing close to five runs a game.

At this point, Ivan Nova has pitched himself out of postseason plans and might even take a back seat to Freddy Garcia.

Nova’s record has always been misleading; he has been the beneficiary of good run support the past two seasons, but recently even the potent Yankee bats can’t keep up with the runs Nova allows. He is 10-6, but his ERA has climbed to 4.81.

If Pettitte returns, Nova and Garcia would be relegated to the bullpen for duty in long relief. Ideally, the Yankees would set up their rotation to go with Sabathia, Kuroda, Pettitte and Hughes.

The Angels are the only team that might have a stronger front line with Weaver, Greinke, Dan Haren and C.J. Wilson.

If Pettitte doesn’t return or isn’t 100 percent, well, the Yankees may have issues. Kuroda started three postseason games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and has a 2-1 record. The loss was to the Phillies in 2009, when Kuroda was roughed up for six runs in 1.1 innings.

He has done surprisingly well against American League teams after four years with the Dodgers in a pitcher’s park. Kuroda is 10-8 this season, but his ERA is an impressive 3.19.

Hughes has plenty of postseason experience, having been in 16 games. Given the Yankees’ indecision about whether Hughes should start or relieve, only three of those 16 games were starts. And he was 1-2, losing both to the Rangers in 2010.

Except for Greinke, the Yankees’ rotation wouldn’t have been upgraded with the addition of any pitcher who was traded, among them Dempster, Francisco Liriano, Paul Maholm and Joe Blanton.

Given that the Miami Marlins ultimately did not want to part with Josh Johnson, or were asking for the moon, or that Matt Garza of the Chicago Cubs was injured, the Yankees were better off holding on to any trade chips they do have.

For better or worse, it looks as if their playoff hopes hinge on the arms who are getting them there. And that may be enough to get back to the World Series.  

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Michael Pineda, the future staff ace, didn’t make it out of spring training. Mariano Rivera, the closer of all closers, was sidelined for the season by a freakish injury suffered while shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City.

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are putting up numbers that would be acceptable for players making half their salary, and catcher Russell Martin is struggling to hit his weight.

And yet here are the New York Yankees sailing along with the best record in baseball at the All-Star break.

Why?

Well, because Derek Jeter carried them through a difficult first month or so of the season. Andy Pettitte came out of retirement to solidify the starting rotation. Rafael Soriano stepped in admirably for Rivera. And a cast of extras on the bench and in the bullpen has responded with timely hits and shutdown relief work.

The Yankees are winning even though Robinson Cano and perhaps Jeter will finish the season with a batting average near or above .300. The Bronx Bombers are winning because they are living up to their nickname by leading the majors in home runs.

So while CC Sabathia may be the only starter you may bet the house on every time he pitches, the Yankees are getting contributions from all 25 players on the roster. One of their strengths is their depth, and that has enabled them to survive injuries to key players such as Rivera, Brett Gardner and Pineda.

Let’s give props to some of those who have played a supporting role.

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You can credit the Yankees‘ recent surge to interleague play. You might argue that the long ball has paved the way to the team’s rise to the top of the American League East and the best overall record in the league.

And you have to tip your cap to the pitching staff, where the starters have been consistent and pitching deep into games while the bullpen has thrived despite the loss of Mariano Rivera.

For our money, however, the biggest reason the Yankees are streaking is Robinson Cano. He is the their most complete player, offensively and defensively.

He is their best hitter, the only one likely to finish with a .300 average. And yet Cano doesn’t take a back seat to anyone when it comes to reaching the seats. He is second on the team to Curtis Granderson with 17 home runs. But while Granderson has sacrificed average for home runs, Cano was hitting .302 entering Tuesday’s game and appears headed for his fourth consecutive .300-plus season.

You can take any other Yankee out of the lineup, and manager Joe Girardi has options. Derek Jeter, you say?

After a phenomenal start, Jeter has come back down to earth. The Yankees might miss his leadership more than his bat.

Who, however, would they plug into second base for any length of time?

It’s a rhetorical question.

After a slow start in the first five weeks of the season, Cano has found his groove. It’s no coincidence that his resurgence coincides with the Yankees’ turnaround.

He has developed into one of the best all-around players in the game, with a picturesque swing and even disposition. He has overtaken Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers in the All-Star balloting. Kinsler is really the only other second baseman in the majors who comes close to Cano in talent. 

Cano is a gifted defensive player with a .988 fielding percentage and only four errors thus far. The best part for Yankee fans is that he is still only 29 years old and is in his prime. 

And he is durable. He missed only 12 games from 2007-11 and has played in every game this season. Don’t overlook that quality on an aging team where injuries are a price you pay for experience. 

For a franchise that seems to have abandoned the philosophy of developing their own players as the Yankees did with Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, Cano is a reminder of how patience can pay off.

We can see him moving to third base when Alex Rodriguez becomes a full-time designated hitter, but that’s a story for another day.

The Yankees are overpowering opponents right now and that approach will work in their quest to win the AL East and finish with the best record in the league. The playoffs are another matter. That’s when pitching tends to dominate and the Yankees won’t be facing anyone’s No. 4 or No. 5 starter.

That’s where Cano will be even more important. Hitting is not an all-or-nothing proposition for him as it is for Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez, among others. He still strikes out a little too much, but isn’t infatuated with the long ball. He saves that guilty pleasure for the All-Star game, where he won the Home Run Derby last season and will defend his title this season.

With Cano in the cleanup spot, the Yankees should be set for another half-dozen years. That’s provided they sign the Scott Boras client to a new contract. Cano is signed through 2013.

Chances are, even the new budget-conscious Yankees will ante up for their best player.

Tommy Heinrich was Old Reliable.

Jeter is the Captain.

Robinson Cano has become Mr. Indispensable.

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Ivan Nova was a revelation for the New York Yankees in 2011. He had a breakout season, finishing 16-4 with a respectable, if not lights out, ERA of 3.70.

One year, however, doesn’t make a career. No one was penciling in Nova for another 16 victories this season until he showed he wasn’t going to be a one-hit wonder.

Nova is on pace to duplicate his first full season in the majors. He is 8-2 and allowed only one run in 15 innings of his last two starts.

Still, the question remains: Is Nova that good or that lucky?

There is no questioning that Yankee bats come alive when Nova is on the mound. The Yankees averaged 5.95 runs in his starts last season, and they are averaging 5.78 runs in his first 12 starts in 2012.

That has helped Nova avoid a few more losses, if not increase his victory total. His ERA is still 4.64 even after his last two starts. His WHIP is 1.41.

Is he a No. 1 or No. 2  starter, or does he give the Yankees one of the best back-of-the-rotation pitchers in the American League?

At this point the jury is still out. Nova has allowed five or more runs in six of his 12 starts, which is not the consistency the Yankees want from him.

On the other hand, he appears to be maturing into more of a strikeout pitcher. He has 69 strikeouts in 77.2 innings this season. He had only 98 in 165.1 innings in 2011.

Run support can be a double-edged sword, of course. Some pitchers lose focus and get sloppy when they have big leads. That isn’t the case for more experienced starters, like CC Sabathia, who is 7-3 with a 3.69 ERA and has gotten better run support than Nova with 5.86 runs per start.

Compare this to Hiroki Kuroda—who has gotten only 3.46 runs per game to work with—Phil Hughes—who has received 4.24 runs per game—and Andy Pettitte, who in a handful of starts has had 4.86 runs scored for him.

Pettitte, who is almost 40, has a 2.81 ERA. This demonstrates how he doesn’t let the score affect his approach on the mound.

Will Nova get better with experience, or is he destined to be only as good as the hitting support he gets?

The next two years should tell the story.

Meanwhile, there have been some pitchers who finished with impressive win-lost records in a given season, but a less-than-impressive ERA.

Let’s look at a random few, some of whom pitched for the Yankees.  

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This might not be the best time to take issue with Brian Cashman, the general manager of the New York Yankees. After a slow start, the Yankees are in third in the American League East, only 1.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays entering their three-game series.

The Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles are also leading the wild card race, although even the lowly Minnesota Twins are only 8.5 games behind with two-thirds of the season to play.

Nonetheless, the Yankees appear to be hitting their stride. They are third in the A.L. in hitting with a .266 average. They lead the league, make that the majors, with 80 home runs.

But, as Shakespeare might say, therein lies the rub.

The Yankees live and die by the long ball.

Cashman has allowed the Yankees to get old and slow. It’s not his fault that Brett Gardner has missed most of the season depriving the Yankees of the league’s leading base stealer in 2011.

Now that Curtis Granderson has morphed into a full-time home run hitter, his speed on the bases has been neutralized. And a running game doesn’t necessarily rely solely on speed: Savvy baserunners like Granderson, Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano can swipe bases based on their experience and ability to read pitchers.

Playing hit-and-run puts pressure on pitchers to throw more fastballs. It puts infielders in motion, creating holes for hitters to shoot for.

It takes the defense out of its comfort level.

You might be inclined to blame manager Joe Girardi for the Yankee’s reluctance to play small ball more often. He can only play the cards he has been dealt, however, and Cashman has given him a one-dimensional team that will overpower most opponents but might be lacking come the postseason.

And let’s face it, the Yankees don’t measure their success by whether they make the playoffs. Call it arrogance, but the Yankees expect to be in the World Series every season.

Wait, let me clarify that.

They expect to win the World Series every year. Girardi, remember, switched his uniform number to 28 after the Yankees won their 27th World Series in 2009.

That’s why this series against the Rays is important even though it is only June. The Rays might have the best rotation in the league and lead the A.L. with a 3.41 ERA. The Yankees are eighth with a 4.07 ERA.

And although the Rays are near the bottom with a .236 team batting average, they have scored just 19 fewer runs than the Yankees.

They are, in fact, reminiscent of Joe Torre’s Yankee teams, relying on a mix of youth and experience, blending solid pitching with situational hitting and some long ball thrown in for good measure.

The Rays are seventh in the league with 59 homers.

This is the formula it usually takes to win in October. The Texas Rangers were probably the best team in 2010 but the San Francisco Giants shut down the Rangers potent offense.

The Rangers lineup was more imposing than the St. Louis Cardinals, even with Albert Pujols, but the Cardinals pitched better and hit when it mattered the most.

That is apparent again this season. After a 22-11 start, the Rangers have lost 10 of 12 and five of six, mostly because their pitching has faltered.

If the Yankees want to be the last team standing around Halloween, then Cashman needs to swing a deal for a good contact hitter and maybe another starting pitcher.

He has to hope that Gardner will breathe new life and energy into the Yankees with fresh legs when he returns. The Yankees don’t have a Will Middlebrooks like the Boston Red Sox do, infusing some youth and pop into the lineup.

And Gardner is no Jacoby Ellsbury—the injured Red Sox center fielder who gives them speed and power at the top of the order.

The Yankees are restocking their farm system in the amateur draft. That won’t pay any dividends, however, this season.

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Yankee fans probably know by now that the son of George shot down reports in the New York Daily News earlier this week that the Yankees were for sale.

Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner, who now runs the most famous franchise in American sports with brother Hank, called the report “complete fiction.”

He said he expected his family to own the Yankees for years to come.

Perhaps the Daily News doesn’t have a reliable source but I don’t think that’s the case. For all we know someone in the Yankees organization leaked it to see what the reaction would be.

Or perhaps the topic was broached at a meeting of the Yankee higher-ups who were speculating what the franchise would get given the $2.15 billion that a group led by Magic Johnson paid to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, as an old Brooklyn Dodger fan I know the Boys of Summer are also one of the iconic sports teams. They are not, however, the Yankees. A story that ran in USA Today and other publications quoted experts saying the Yankees may be worth around $4 billion.

That is a staggering amount given that it was only in March that Forbes named the Yankees the most valuable Major League Baseball franchise, worth $1.85 billion.

Obviously the sale of the Dodgers is a game-changer and a primary reason why the Steinbrenner family might actually contemplate selling the team for what amounts to all the money in the world.

First, there is no replacing George Steinbrenner, the tyrannical Boss who micro-managed the Yankees back to prominence when he bought the franchise from CBS for $10 million in 1973.

George Steinbrenner brought about the free-spending ways of sports owners, paying lavishly for free agents and then demanding they earn every dime he paid them.

Imagine what he would be saying about the 2012 Yankees?

Neither of George’s sons can ever hope to emulate their bombastic father, although my feeling is that Hank Steinbrenner might try.

Hal, however, is managing partner and appears to be the voice of the family. And perhaps he would be more inclined to end the Steinbrenner era and sell for a price he probably never imagined.

Nothing is forever and the Steinbrenners know that when their father bought the team, it was no longer the powerhouse it had been in the 1950s and early 60s. With an aging roster and saddled with a huge payroll that will be difficult to trim, it is conceivable that the Yankees will have a few lean years in the near future.

Why not get out and let another ego-maniac have the stage.

The problem is who can afford $3-4 billion? It might take a village, as the saying goes.

But there has to be a front man and there are some candidates who might not be able to resist.

Here are a few: 

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The New York Yankees may have left spring training with questions about their starting rotation, but the bullpen was considered a strength.

How many teams could afford to have Rafael Soriano, who saved 45 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010, as their seventh-inning go-to guy?

With David Robertson in the setup role and Mariano Rivera closing, all the Yankees were hoping for were six good innings from everyone in the rotation not named CC Sabathia.

That was then—this is now. Losing Rivera to a torn ACL when he caught his spikes on the warning track shagging flies in Kansas City immediately cast a shadow over the Yankees’ expectations of getting back to the World Series this season.

Exit Sandman.

David Robertson got the first shot at replacing Rivera, and he appeared to be a different pitcher than the one who had been virtually untouchable since the beginning of 2011.

Robertson earned a shaky save in his first closing opportunity, and then blew a save and the game in his second appearance.

Now, Robertson is suffering from soreness in his left ribcage, which has landed him on the 15-day disabled list, according the Yankees’ official Twitter account:

RHP David Robertson placed on 15-day DL with left oblique strain; RHP Cody Eppley recalled from SWB: atmlb.com/JeP6BE

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 15, 2012

Now no one knows when he will be healthy enough to get another shot.

Enter Soriano.

Just a few weeks ago, we were advocating trading him because it didn’t seem to make sense to pay anyone $11 million to pitch the seventh inning.

A day after that article, Rivera tore his ACL and Soriano’s stock took off.

He may not be Rivera—no one is—but given the injuries and ineffectiveness that have plagued a number of closers around the majors this season, Soriano almost immediately moves to the top of the list.

We understand why manager Joe Girardi gave Robertson first crack at the job.

He earned it with his performance, and he was looking increasingly like Rivera’s heir apparent.

What may have been overlooked was the fact that Soriano was signed to a three-year free-agent contract—after his career year in 2010—to become the Yankees’ setup man and perhaps the successor to Rivera.

Soriano got off to a slow start in 2011 before being injured. That gave Robertson an opportunity to pitch the eighth inning, and he excelled.

A lot of baseball people, however, say that going from the setup role to closing is a big leap in responsibility and the pressure it brings.

Robertson never had that responsibility before; Soriano had been through it in 2010, when the Rays made the playoffs.

Perhaps Robertson injured his ribcage because he was trying too hard and overthrowing. 

Soriano, in contrast, is well-acquainted with closing.

He had six saves and a 1.80 ERA in the last month of the 2010 season, when the pressure was the greatest.

He did have a spotty postseason for the Rays, picking up a save in Game 4 against the Texas Rangers, but giving up runs in his two other appearances.

Nonetheless, as the Yankees’ pitching problems mount with Ivan Nova’s ankle injury, Soriano gives them some stability for the ninth inning.

He is 2-0 this season with a 2.57 ERA and has converted his only two save opportunities.

More importantly, he has been there and done that.

And the Yankees don’t have the luxury of conducting auditions for Rivera’s job right now. 

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Count Derek Jeter as one of the biggest early-season surprises in baseball.

Only a couple of months from his 38th birthday, the Yankee captain has had perhaps the best start of his Hall of Fame career. He entered the second game of the series against the Texas Rangers batting .411 with 30 hits and a 1.08 OPS.

Never known as a home run hitter, Jeter has four homers this season compared to six in all of 2011. It wouldn’t be realistic to expect him to keep up this kind of pace, but the resurgence at the plate has helped the Yankees overcome some shoddy starting pitching to lead the American League East.

It also got us to thinking about how some other players performed when they reached Jeter’s age. Barry Bonds obviously set the bar at a level most 38 year olds could never reach when he batted .341 with 45 home runs and 90 RBI in 2003.

Bonds walked 148 times that season and had an off-the-charts OPS of 1.278.

But we’re reluctant to use Bonds as the benchmark for aging players because of the steroids cloud that  surrounds him. He was a great player before the steroid controversy tarnished his reputation and accomplishments but it’s hard to envision anyone putting up the numbers he did without some pharmaceutical help.

So we’re going to take a random sampling of position players who were still contributing in a major way when they turned 38. It’s by no means a complete list so don’t be offended if your favorite geezer is left out.

It demonstrates, however, that Jeter may be able to turn back the clock this season and give fans an encore presentation from his youth.

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