Yanks Do Not Flex Financial Muscle

Rather than risk overpaying on one-year deals for decent-if-not-great players, the Yanks have chosen to take the safe route. Brian Cashman and company have decided not to offer arbitration to Andy Pettitte and Bobby Abreu (and Pudge Rodriguez). As Pete Abe, who was one of the first to break the news, suggests, the decision is about payroll:

It came down to economics. The Yankees did not want to risk going to arbitration with any of their players given the salaries they made last season.

I am surprised, and not in the pleasant way, that the Yanks are following this tack, especially in the case of Abreu. What's the best that can be said about these conservative moves? That they're fiscally responsible? Woo hoo!!! (Will ticket prices be going down then as well?) That they're saving money to throw at players who will require longer and riskier deals? That the Gerritt Cole experience was so traumatic, they felt it best to avoid the tempation of draft picks altogether?  Anyway, my initial reaction is not a positive one. What do you think?