If you hated the Yankees before, you’ll hate them even more after this offseason
Despise the New York Yankees, do ya? Well get ready to hate them even more because they’re about to become every Yankee-hater’s worst nightmare this offseason. By the time they’re done making moves, the head of every non-Yankee fan across this great nation will be long blown off.
Think the Bronx Bombers were done after they signed CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett last week? They’re not done – not even close. They’ve also got Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez on their radar and if it were possible to raise Ty Cobb, Cy Young and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson from their death beds, the Yankees would have already made bids on their services, too.
Here’s the thing, the Yankees missed the playoffs last year. They also haven’t won the American League East since 2006, a pennant since 2003 or a World Series since 2000. Simply put, that is unacceptable in the Bronx and with a new stadium ready to be opened next year, the new boss Hank Steinnbrenner wouldn’t dare fielding a loser in 2009.
That’s why the Yankees will stop at nothing until they leave the free agent market bare, piss off every team in the league and generally give the middle finger to everyone who doesn’t like what they’re doing. And if they can’t do that, then they’re going to drive up the price for other teams in regards to free agents just to make life just a little bit harder on them.
Take Teixeira for example. There’s little doubt that the Yankees wouldn’t mind plugging them into their lineup, but they acquired Nick Swisher to play first via a trade with the White Sox and they need pitching above all else. But who are the other two major players for Teixeira this offseason? That’s right – the Angels and Red Sox. You think the Yankees are going to lose out on Teixeira without making life hell for Boston? Not a chance.
And you know what? Why wouldn’t they employ those methods? The Red Sox are one of the Yankees’ biggest rivals and their chief competition year in and year out. If they didn’t do their due-diligence to drive up the cost on Teixeira, they wouldn’t be doing everything in their power to win.
Personally, I like the Yankees’ attitude – always have. They’re not breaking any rules because there is no salary cap in baseball. Sure they have to deal with luxury tax, but that’s nothing for a club reported to be worth over a billion dollars.
Let me clarify: I am not a Yankees fan. But I admire a club that goes after what it wants. They want to win, and not just a division crown but a World Series. They don’t want to have a winning year or beat the Boston Red Sox – they want to win a championship. And they’ll stop at nothing to do so. They don’t care about what’s fair and they certainly don’t care about a Pirates or Royals club that can’t spend to compete.
Look, if you’re pissed off because the Yankees might wind up with Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira when they already have Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Xavier Nady and Jorge Posada on the roster, than focus your attention elsewhere. Major League Baseball is the problem here – not the Yankees. If the league wanted everything to be fair, then the owners would get together and figure out a way to implement a salary cap. But neither the league nor the owners care about fair – they just want to make money.
But back to the Yankees. What’s great about them is that they give baseball fans a villain. And the ironic thing is that teams have caught up to them by doing things the right way – building success through their farm system and not overspending for free agents. Yet people still focus all of their attention on the Yankees’ spending spree and blindly fail to see that what the Bombers have done over the years has caught up with them.
Look at the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays. They didn’t make any huge moves last offseason in efforts to land in the World Series; they built a solid core through their farm system and let their young players develop. Now they have a young team built for the long haul and they don’t need to go out and buy every top free agent on the market. They’re essentially set for now, and are looking good for the future because they remained patient through the years.
So let the Yankees do what they do. And even though you might throw up at the thought of it, you should admire them a little. They give you a team to root against because they’re overbearing, brash and cocky. (Or conversely, a team to root for because at least you know the main focus is on winning, which should be the only thing that matters to fans in regards to their favorite sports teams.)
And if they do wind up with Manny, Teixeira, Burnett, Cobb, Shoeless and Young, then good for them. They still have to compete for 162 games next year and put all of that money to work. The overspending strategy hasn’t worked for years and yet they continue to keep doing it to mask the fact that their farm system hasn’t produced like it had did in the mid-90s. (And really, the overspending method hasn’t worked for the Chicago Cubs, either, nor did it work for the 2008 Detroit Tigers.)
Right now, the Yankees may look good on paper, but last time I checked the World Series isn’t handed out in the offseason.
Posted in: MLB
Tags: A.J. Burnett, A.J. Burnett New York Yankees, Anthony Stalter, Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia, CC Sabathia Yankees, Jason Giambi, Manny Ramirez, Manny Ramirez rumors, Manny Ramirez Yankees, Mark Teixeira, Mark Teixeira rumors, MLB offseason rumors, MLB rumors, New York Yankees, New York Yankees 2008-2009 offseason, New York Yankees rumors, Yankees pursue Manny Ramirez
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They are truly in a different league than anyone else. Sad
Hey Guido,
Dis is sompin hah ? I got an idea. As long as there is no salary cap da richest teams can be in da World Series every year. You kiddin me, foughgeddabboudditt, Da Mets and da Yanks will be in da World Series every year ha ? Screw all da rest of um right Guido ?
Let em go ……. This time of the year is their World Series. It’s like freakin EBay to them. They go to the auction and bid against themselves. They were the highest bidder for CC at $140 mill. So what do they do ? Up it to $160 mill and take him ? Hey thats good business hah ? Maybe they just do that to piss off the rest of the League. Well, it’s working. Yankee fan is probably sitting home wondering why the rest of the world can’t stand them …….
If you guys knew anything the Yankees have at least 10 guys from their farm system on the current roster. That is more than most teams, don’t be so bitter!
Trade Bait !
Love, Melky
Are you calling me a Guido, JBagODoe??
Maybe you should read the entire column because I go into how this approach has backfired on the Yankees over the years. People get so revved up that the Yankees buy everybody but fail to see that they continue to shoot themselves in the foot.
Signed,
Mr. Guido
The fact that the yankees do all that they can to win a world championship year after year is a testimony to their will to win and the fact that the yankees are a world wide attraction. Being a new yorker and a longtime fan I expect no less. It is the worlt kind of sour grapes that fans of other teams scream and condemm the yankees for doing wht they need to do to win. I kansas city or Washington had the wherewithall and balls to go out and get Sabathia and Burnett not to meintion the big left handed bat they will bring in prior to the season, dont you believe they would do it. The fact is that MLB is about winning and the yankees do it best. So give it a break and rather than condemming the yankees condemn your team for not being in the business of winning and being in the business of making money. You hate us because we will always be better funded, better run and better than the rest. With the new state of the art stadium nothing less than a world series appearence will make NY’s happy and the yankees have been making us happy for years. So all of you idiots that cry about New York give yourself a break and start rooting the the real kings of the game
Richard – Spoken like a true bully.
I don’t bother with baseball because there is no salary cap. Teams with the most money can buy the best players and given the way the Yankees have performed the last few years it’s laughable that you claim that they are “better run” and “better than the rest.” The fact that they haven’t won a pennant in five years or a World Series in eight despite having, by far, the league’s biggest payroll during that span is proof at how poorly run an organization the Yankees are.
It’s true that the Yankees will be competitive ever year, but when you’re sitting on the league’s biggest payroll, that’s not something to be proud of.
Go ahead and root for the Yankees. You grew up with them and that’s fine. I don’t blame Yankee fans for rooting for their team, but when they don’t accept the fact that they have a distinct advantage over the rest of the league, then they’re living in a dreamworld. Just know that the rest of the country sees the Yankees as that kid in grade school that was held back a couple of years. You know the one — he already has hair on his chest and armpits. He steals everyone’s money at recess and then goes and buys himself an iPod. Great job, kid.
I must state that your comment is sophmoric at best and indicative of a lack of understanding as to the psyche of New Yorkers. As you so accurately point out the yankees have not won the world series in the past eight years despite having the highest payroll. Logic indicates that since they have not won but continue to lead the league in attendance, selling out each home game and siginficantly increasing attendance in away ball parks, have a highly successful television network and are a world wide trade mark, they must be doing something right. I have no sympathy for fans of teams that have owners who are too cheap or too interested in profit taking to pour resources into their team. The yankees consistently go after the best players, with some glaring mistakes (see Pavano), compete each and every year and with the signing already made this year and the big bat they will add before spring traming ( see ramirez or texiera), they will open their new state of the art stadium with a serious run at the World Series. Come on guys your team management just does not have the balls, werewithall and savy to do what the yankees do every year since 73 when George and company took over. the psyche of New yorkers is that we have little tolerence for losers (see Knicks, Mets) and are really the harshest critics of the yankees particularly last year when they sucked to no end. But I was born in the Bronx live away from new york now but will always be a yankee fan. So cut the sour grapes and come to grips that the yankees are the true contenders of baseball and that other teams are only pretenders who can periodicaly win but will never manage to attain the heralded standards that the yankees have set for the past century. By the way I think it was you John that I took lunch money from in third grade and used it to buy a ticket to yankee stadium and watch your team get beat!!!!!
Oh, I thought the idea of running a baseball franchise was to win the World Series, not to lead the league in attendance or to be the most popular team. It’s funny that you condemn franchises that are interested in making money in your previous post then when confronted with the Yankees pathetic performance of late you then use the their profitability as the main reason why they are so great. Talk about a contradiction.
I don’t blame the Yankees for trying to buy championships year in and year out. Clearly, they are incapable of developing talent or having a strong farm system, and since there is no salary cap then they can go ahead and outspend everyone to get the best players every winter. Baseball is to blame for not having a salary cap.
Baseball is the principal that sees the half-retarded bully on the playground but does nothing to even the playing field.
Once again you exhibit your high level of ignorance, and your envy of the yankees. As I tried to point out the yankees bring in the Big money and attendance figures despite their pathetic performance of last few years. this is done because the team consistently puts the best product on the field. In so far as player development see Jeter, Posada, Chamberlain, Rivera. Come on John You and the other yankee hating half wits need to give it up and realize that this is a class operation and that by concentrating on winning at all costs the yankees have shown that they are heads above the other teams in the league. Your lack on insight is beggining to annoy me so I will have to take your money again to teach you a lesson. Cut out the sour grapes and succumb to the yankee mystque.
Richard, it’s the laziest argument in the world to call someone ignorant if you have absolutely nothing to back it up. Like I said posts ago, I don’t care about baseball for this very reason. I have no envy of the Yankees because I simply don’t care about a sport that is set up on a playing field that is not level.
You contradict yourself at every turn. First, you criticize other clubs for trying to make money then when confronted with the Yankees’ pathetic performance you talk about how great their attendance and profitability are. How can you say that the team “consistently puts the best product on the field” when they haven’t won a pennant in five years despite outspending every other team in the league by a wide margin?
I don’t blame you for being a Yankees fan. Maybe you grew up following them as a kid, maybe you are a frontrunner that jumped on the bandwagon later in life. But it’s clear that you are using emotion to frame your arguments. Just be a Yankee fan and revel in the fact that your team has the biggest bank account. Why bother trying to pretend that your team doesn’t go into every season with a huge advantage? Just embrace it.
There’s a saying that when a person resorts to name-calling, he has simply run out of arguments. There’s no way to defend the Yankees’ performance/payroll management other than to say that they are following the rules that are in place. Good for them.
I had to comment on the news of the signing of Mark Texiera today by the yankees. What a signing, what commitment to the fans and what a blow to the boston red sox!!!!!!
I agree this is an orgy of unprecedented spending and the numbers are mind boggleing, But to all of my fellow Yankee fans this is what the Steinbrenners are all about. Think what you want about george and co. since they bought the team they have acted in the fans favor more often than not. I think they need to get rid of Giraldi and bring in a more balanced manager. I would not be surprized for them to bring in manny but that would be too much for even a life long fan to hope for. My point is that this is a prime example of the team thinking about the fans. Can you imagine the excitement on the streets of New York today. With this signing they have guaranteed 81 home sellouts for the next few years,high ratings for the YES network and have put a piece of coal into the stockings of all of those poor red sox fans who consistently cry about the Evil Empire not letting anyone else play in the free agent game. Well all of you must now know that spending money will immeidiately make the yankees the WS favorite, The time for the next dynasty is at hand. They must do on the field and you never know what happens but for now The empire lives.