For yet another year, the formerly-dominating Yankees will head into an offseason scratching their heads wondering why a $202 million payroll has failed them again in the postseason.

If there was ever a reason to believe that the New York Yankees should tighten their purse strings this offseason and not chase the big names, look no further than Aaron Small, Shawn Chacon and Chien-Ming Wang — three pitchers who were responsible for keeping the team in contention when the high-priced starters failed. Their combined salaries are roughly $3 million, as opposed to the $9 million the Yankees are paying Carl Pavano (their targeted acquisition last offseason) to sit on the bench.

Since the Yankees have a plethora of options for their starting rotation, they will look to address their putrid bullpen this offseason. They will most likely make a serious run at the top free agent bullpen arms like B.J. Ryan, Eddie Guardado, Ugueth Urbina and Guillermo Moto, especially if Tom Gordon chooses to close for another team (maybe the Mets?) rather than return in a set-up role.

Maybe the biggest mistake the Yankees made this past year was to acquire Randy Johnson instead of addressing their problem at center field by signing Carlos Beltran. Both players had a rough first year in New York (Beltran is with the Mets), but in the long run, with Johnson turning 42 and center field being a pressing need, Beltran may have been the more logical choice. Still, Beltran heading to the Mets may benefit the Yankees this offseason. Former centerfielder Mike Cameron should be available in a trade, and would be a cheaper alternative to Minnesota’s Torii Hunter, rumored to be asking for Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang.

The reason the Yankees lost the division series against the Angels was not because of starting pitching, it was because of shoddy defense, a weak bullpen and the inability of the offense to hit in key situations. No one could have predicted that MVP candidate Alex Rodriguez would have failed so miserably in the postseason.

The big offseason acquisitions from last year — Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano and Jared Wright — were almost non-factors this year. So does that mean the Yankees will learn from their mistakes and target less expensive players to compliment their core team? As long as Steinbrenner is in control, chances are slim.

It’s been over five years since the Yankees won a World Series. Clearly, no one can convince Steinbrenner that money doesn’t buy championships. Until someone does, he will spend at all costs this offseason, maybe only to find out that it’s the Aaron Small’s of the world that will translate into ticker tape parades.