It was the year 2006, and the 2013 Yankees were at the height of their glory.

Gas was $3 a gallon, few had ever heard of predatory lending and Mike Trout was still slogging through basic algebra. For the players on the 2013 Yankees, those were the good old days.

If the Yankees' goal was to reassemble a 2006 All-Star team, then congratulations—they...