Here are the first two I’ve seen of what I am sure will be many sour grapes reactions to the Yankees’ title today:
Kevin Cowherd of the Baltimore Sun:
I hate the Yankees. I feel like crying whenever they win. Still, it was inevitable that the season finish this way. The Yankees were the best team in baseball — the best team money could buy AGAIN.
Scott Miller of CBS Sports.com:
The World Series takes personal checks. Credit and debit cards, too. Score one for the Yankees, and their bankers. Hideki Matsui as World Series MVP? Maybe. The three home runs were clutch, and the World Series record-tying six RBI in Game 6 were smashing. But the chief bean counter who sat behind the desk last winter and approved the expenditure of nearly $425 million to hoist CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett aboard the U.S.S. Yankee? Now there’s a true Yankee.
Personally I find this line of reasoning to be tired and lazy. Everyone has their own ideas of what ails baseball from a business perspective, and certainly the Yankees are playing a different game than everyone else these days. But counting the Yankees’ titles and chalking them up to dollars alone is nonsense.
The Yankees payroll is obviously gigantic, but it did not come out of general lockstep with all of the other teams until around 2002. Before then they didn’t always lead the league — they were behind the Orioles in 1998, for example, – and when they did lead the league, only a couple of million bucks separated them from a pack of the next highest payrolls. In fact, 2002 was the first time they were as much as $10 million higher than anyone else. Before then: four titles in the Jeter era.
The Bombers’ payroll exploded in 2002 and continued to escalate through 2008. They somehow managed to buy no titles during that time. Much is made about signing Sabathia and Teixeira this year, but their 2009 payroll is actually lower than 2008′s.
I’m not going to drink the Yankee-fan Kool-Aid and say that there’s some level playing field out there. But if the past fifteen years have shown anything, it’s that even if you can buy general competitiveness, you can’t simply buy a World Title. To get that, you have to be smart, you have to execute and you have to be a bit lucky too.
The Yankees were all of those things this year, and to leave any part of that out is to fail to tell the whole story.
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- roleston - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:39 AM
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Dude, you have to actually read the article first, then comment. Not the other way around. With that said, while I understand that not every owner can go out there and sign all the A-Rods of the world but the real question should really be directed towards the owners of the teams that are sellers every trading deadline. It seems that they’re all trying to create a good team but every time they get a valuable homegrown player, they trade for hopes of another prospect.
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- tb - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:39 AM
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The Yankees exectued down the stretch and were clearly the better team. (and I am a die hard Red Sox fan!) People forget that baseball is a business and you have to spend money to make money. The Yankees made the right investments this year, think of all the money they have spent in the past that were a bust! (Igawa, Pavano are a few) I agree that to have more parity in baseball there needs to be a salary cap but I agree with YankeesFanLen, that if David Glass wants to pocket the Royals money than invest in the team, that is his problem. Though I still think that the Yankees suck
, it is only because I am jealous that my team couldnt put it all together to win it.
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- AYankee - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:39 AM
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There can be little doubt that most lovers of baseball would like to wear “Yankee Pinstripes” regardless of salary, and why not? There is no other team in baseball that has the legend associated with it like our Yankees. Jealousy begets anger which turns to “Yankee Hatred”, that said, it`s a credit to many other fans that they can rise above such hatred and enjoy the way an excellent team plays the game regardless of the money they make. Who can argue against that other fact that the Yankees are now the greatest team in baseball, not just because of the money they make, but because of the way they played their games.
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- Evan - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:40 AM
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People also leave out the part about the Yankees generating GROSSLY (pun intended) more revenue than any other team in baseball and pay exorbitant taxes to weaker teams because of our payroll. Our fans spend more money than any other fans on merchandise and tickets.
Blame the system. And for those who favor a salary cap, you need not look any further than Football and Basketball. Parity is elusive.
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- Jason - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:42 AM
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You can’t really believe that the heart of a player in Seattle is less passionate than the heart of any one of the Yankee’s? It’s directly in relation to the talent the owner BUYS, not the passion of the player.
I do agree with you on the min/max idea though. Tax them if they’re under and DO NOT allow them to go over.
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- Matt - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:43 AM
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Clarification: no one is saying that when you spend more on a team you are guaranteed success, talented players can still turn into losers under the spotlight.
When you spend more you have a better chance of winning. When you spend way more you have a much better chance.
New York bought the world series. who cares?, it was still fun to watch. but Yankees fans, don’t pretend it was something special.
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- Dan O - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:43 AM
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Did the Yankees buy the title? Duh…
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- Materialman - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:43 AM
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Money can’t buy you love, but it can buy you a World Series title..
A few Yankee fans are happy, the rest of us want to hurl….
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- J.G. - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:45 AM
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Of course the money is a factor. Why else would anyone else want to go to the Yankees organization? Wasn’t it Damon who said he couldn’t be bought by the Yankees? Money talks……..
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- MM - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:45 AM
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I am not saying they have less heart… but the Yankees have changed the rest of MLB into their farm system.. Sure a minor league team can occasionally beat a magor league team.. but the talent is no longer the same always stacking the odds in favor of the major leage team.
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- jason - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:46 AM
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I’m a die hard Sox fan as well, but it’s MUCH more than a business. If it was treated like a real American business, they would have been broken up into several smaller Yankees teams long ago for fear of a monopoly.
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- MM - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:48 AM
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Wait till next year when they end up getting Joe Mauer from the twinks. The twinks will still be competative, but the Yanks will be getting the best catcher to play the game in a generation, and the Twinks cannot pay the amount that Joe deserves compared to the rest of the inflated salaries that the YANKEES started…
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- J.G. - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:50 AM
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Have to agree with MM…….you hate seeing one of your teams players come up thru the farm and after a couple years in the majors…….they go to the Yankees.
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- Karl Dean - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:51 AM
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Saying money can’t buy a pennant is like saying money can’t buy happiness. There are many cases where it holds true, but generally speaking, we all know having plenty of money gives you a much better shot at both in our society.
I grew up watching the Yankees in black-and-white on WPIX. Today’s Yankees are a high-powered corporation (as are many sports franchises). While I still love the game, the Yankees are to me an example not only of the best possible baseball team, but also the worst excesses of professional sports.
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- Bernie - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:54 AM
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The Yankees, as well as some other high salaried teams, pay a luxury tax to the rest of baseball for their high payroll. One of the problems is some of these teams in need take this money and put it into their pockets instead of investing it back into their team. If Bud Selig wasn’t just a shill for the owners, he would force them to re-invest this money on the teams.
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- Dennis - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:56 AM
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I wouldn’t count on Mauer leaving. He is a loyalist and if he leaves I would blame your organization more than blaming the Yankees. He alone fills your seats, sells your shirts, and gives everyone in MN a reason to go to the park, if Minnesota ownership is too stupid to see that then they deserve to lose him to another team.
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- roleston - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:57 AM
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But whose fault is that? B\c the yankees are willing to pay for players, they are the bad guys? Do you complain on behalf of the startup companies that can’t hire top talent like Microsoft? You have to spend money to make money but the twins seem to feel differently and become sellers every year.
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- Ed - Nov 5, 2009 at 11:58 AM
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Yankees were the best team in baseball this year no doubt. But take away the 3 FA’s that cost them half a billion dollars, they probably would not have been. All the “Yankee Pride” chatter – and there may be some truth given the history of the franchise – doesn’t erase the fact that the Yankee payroll is FAR above anyone right now. It is what it is – they Yankees bought this championship. You can call me a “Yankee Hater” – I was born that way (originally a Mets fan), and continue to be that way (live near Tampa). And don’t try to rationalize this Yankee Fan by saying “the Royals could be us if they were smart”, because that is utter BS. I’m not saying the Royals couldn’t do a better job maintaining a decent product, but when teams like the Yankees can toss money at any problem on the field without a care to the fiscal health of the club it will be tough for teams like the Royals, Pirates, and Rays to hang for very long, if at all. COngrats on #27 – will Joe Girardi wear Sparky Lyle’s number now?
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- NYYFanInBama - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:00 PM
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As a long time Yankees fan I’m glad the Steinbrenners are willing to pay top dollar for top players – sometimes it works out – sometimes it doesn’t. I’m very happy it did this year. If others want to whine about it, I say let them. Some people aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about.
The thing I am most tired of reading is how there is no “loyalty” in baseball. To those of you who feel this way I have a question for you – you are looking for a job – two companies are interested in hiring you – Company A offers you $50,000 more than Company B – you have worked for Company B before – you liked the people and the company – but are you really going to turn down the money from Company A? No, you wouldn’t, and if you answer any differently, you’re lying. So why should baseball players be any different? When a player becomes a free agent he is looking for a job. Of course he’s going to go where the money is. It’s human nature. It is what any of us would do.
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- RAJ - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:00 PM
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Place an asterick next to the title. * = Purchased
Money can and always will buy a title when your that far above anyone else. The years they didn’t win simply meant they underachieved.
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- Phil - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:01 PM
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If anyone has ever seen the movie Boiler Room, there is a great line that kind of goes like, “If anyone who tells you money doesn’t buy happiness, it’s because they don’t have any!”
I think the same applies….anyone who is top dog, whether it be in sports, business, both, or anywhere you look. Those below you will be jealous and find reasons to knock you down.
As a Yankee fan, (same goes for Cowboys fan in the 90s, Pats fans recently) etc. it just comes with the territory and you have to face the fact that people will hate your team, and it is only out of jealousy, cause if it was their team their mouths would be shut.
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- JW - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:03 PM
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only people east of St.Louis watched anyway….Boring !!!
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- Bill@TDS - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:05 PM
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It’s not that the Steinbrenners are willing to. Almost every owner would be willing to. It’s that they’re uniquely able to because of their unbelievably huge revenue stream. And that’s the problem.
I do agree with you that it’s stupid to blame the players for a lack of “loyalty.” But I don’t think you even hear all that many people doing that anymore (except I guess the Mariner fans w/r/t A-Rod).
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- The Doc - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:06 PM
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The Yankees are great for baseball! Just ask the seven year old kid in Pittsburgh who wonders why his team never wins. Then realizes that his football team manages to win once and a while. Now he likes football… and people wonder why the NFL is more popular?
No salary cap is BAD for baseball… BAD for sports. The luxury tax is a BS sell out to the MLB union and Yankee Managment’s unwillingness to accept a cap.
Yankee management being one of the biggest crusaders against a cap? What’s that tell you about the Yankees organization? Wake up, Yankee fans… your own team is yelling “Let us buy championships… or let us try to buy them, at least!”
Sports without parity is just boring.
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- Opie - Nov 5, 2009 at 12:07 PM
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Even as a Yankee Fan I couldn’t stop laughing…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBKvoIe0xRs
