Patton made it from high school to the majors in just 4 years, and would have been a pretty good MLB pitcher if not for his injuries. Either way, they were able to trade him for Tejada, so going over slot in that case worked out pretty well and could have been a home run with some luck. To reference the discussion in the Bourn thread, the quickest way for an MLB team to get better is organizational spending from top to bottom. That's how the Yankees have done it, but not every team can afford to take fliers on Boras clients and overrated Japanese imports.
It's interesting you mention that. The Orioles, Dodgers and Mets may be poster children for the argument that spending doesn't equate with success, but the Yankees may have made as many questionable signings as those teams put together. They've spent so much money, though, that they've been successful anyway.
The best thing the Yankees have done the past 20 years is develop and retain the services of Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Williams, et al. I've had Yankees fans argue to me that the Yankees aren't just about money, they're also about development. Of course, no other team could afford to retain that core of talent the way the Yankees did.
If you look at the revolving door of starting pitchers earning double-figures with the Yankees who've been a bust, there's been a huge amount of money wasted there. Probably enough money to cover the entire payrolls of lesser teams.
The Yankees are smarter than a lot of the other high-spending franchises, but their main blessing is still their local TV money, and they've made more than their share of mistakes.
