The conversations within the Yankees' organization throughout July were, at their core, about what the team's fans want to watch. The Yankees had a lineup of established stars, from Alex Rodriguez to Carlos Beltran to Mark Teixeira, the kind of big names the franchise had relied on for years for championships and ticket sales and TV ratings.

But it was a formula that wasn't working, apparently, because the Yankees weren't playing well and the biggest names were struggling, and beyond all of that, it wasn't a particularly interesting team to watch. The Yankees had old players playing an old brand of baseball and general manager Brian Cashman argued that it was time for turnover, a sell-off -- which it was, but still, that's a very difficult argument in light of the team's history. Because of the success of the old brand.

Owner Hal Steinbrenner didn't sign off immediately on the idea of trading Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Beltran, and cutting Rodriguez. But despite some apparent reservations about the appearance to fans that the Yankees might giving up in the middle of the season, Steinbrenner gave his blessing for the makeover.

But a funny thing has happened. The Yankees have gleaned the expected long-term benefit with their trades, stacking their farm system with prospects -- but they might also have gotten immediately better and lot more interesting to fans.