And liking it. A lot.
King George comes through for the Bomber faithful like Santa does for rich kids who've been nice. Yeah, Damon doesn't do much to shore up a Yankee defense that's like Pamela Lee's after downing four bottles of Boone's Hill's with Tommy, but hey, could you have asked for anything better (and available) at the top of that lineup? Anything? No, didn't think so.
On Randy, on A-Rod, on Giambi, on Damon...on Sheffield, on Godzilla, on Pavano, on Wright. Hey, you can yearn for the days of Paulie, Scottie, Tino, Derek, Bernie, Jorge and Mo all you damn please, but the bottom line is that all of those "mercenaries" will still be wearing the pinstripes and I'll still be rooting for every one single of 'em -- even the waste of human space that is A-Rod -- every single time I'm up on a 162nd & River.
And as for the $52MM, who cares? Is it your money? For that matter, Manny still available?
Is it too early for me to start my 'but their pitching sucks' mantra?
Posted by: daveNYC | December 21, 2005 at 08:04 AM
hows that facial hair gonna ride up in the bronx?
i cant even hate on this. too early.
Posted by: KHAN-yeezy | December 21, 2005 at 08:59 AM
George is ok with proper beards. He may have to take down the mop, though.
Either way, I'm feeling pretty used right now by Damon. I hope he buys me breakfast this morning.
Posted by: Cozmo | December 21, 2005 at 09:57 AM
Ugh.
Posted by: jerloma | December 21, 2005 at 10:14 AM
'Tis the season for the Yankees to try to buy another World Series. MLB really needs a salary cap.
Posted by: Nominal Me | December 21, 2005 at 11:08 AM
oh well...NY'ers have to have something good to talk about on that 8 mile walk to work...cuz you know how funny this is on the outside looking in? i think the cabbie companies have a dirty hand in this. Just pouring money into the Al-qada accounts.
Posted by: KHAN-yeezy | December 21, 2005 at 12:03 PM
"MLB really needs a salary cap."
I disagree. I think profit sharing has been a fair alternative. If these smaller market teams can't generate enough interest, that's their fault. Maybe they shouldn't have a team. To me, that's the biggest problem -- expansion. Starting cutting teams and you'll see less of a problem with parity.
Posted by: Coop | December 21, 2005 at 12:03 PM
this sucks, we had a meager center fielder with no arm, now we have a meager center fielder with no arm who can hit marginally better....
At least we are slowly dismantling the Sox...
Posted by: Babu | December 21, 2005 at 12:36 PM
this sucks, we had a meager center fielder with no arm, now we have a meager center fielder with no arm who can hit marginally better....
At least we are slowly dismantling the Sox...I think the Sox are laughing about this one, we got set up man!
Posted by: Babu | December 21, 2005 at 12:36 PM
Yankees = Wal-Mart
Posted by: jbcizool | December 21, 2005 at 12:44 PM
You have a little shrine to Ayn Rand in your bedroom, don't you Coop.
Posted by: daveNYC | December 21, 2005 at 01:46 PM
2 big signings yesterday, Dotel and Damon.
Say what you want about how Damon is not an upgrade defensively and that it is another Bernie with a weak arm, but he is not that much worse (if at all) defensively than Bubba Crosby, who was gonna be the starting centerfielder.
He's a huge upgrade over Bernie/Crosby offensively. Jeter can finally bat in the 2 hole and we don't have to worry about Kenny Lofton or Tony Womack crapping the bed. Damon has proven he can produce under pressure in the postseason (refer to Kevin Brown, grand slam), I like it.
Also, peep this about the pitching squad:
Without Dotel, the Yankees have an overloaded pitching staff, with Randy
Johnson, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano, Chien-Ming Wang, Shawn Chacon, Aaron Small and Jaret Wright as potential starters and Rivera, Farnsworth, Villone, Myers and Tanyon Sturtze in the bullpen.
The addition of Dotel gives the Yankees the ability to deal a pitcher, or simply protect themselves against an injury to one of the other 12 pitchers.
Posted by: Nice | December 21, 2005 at 01:50 PM
"You have a little shrine to Ayn Rand in your bedroom, don't you Coop."
Heh, heh. No, sir. But I can understand why you might think so based on my post. My point is that revenue sharing gives the small market teams a huge boost before a single ticket, hat, or hot dog is sold. The Devil Rays, for example, spend little more on payroll than what they get from revenue sharing. So if those teams can't get enough baseball fans to the park, people to watch their games on TV, or even buy their gear, then I think it's reasonable for me to suggest that baseball isn't important enough to the people of that city for there to be a team. The Yankees and Red Sox spend more because their fans spend more. The fans spend money. Why? Because the the team spends money. If teams like the Devil Rays spent money and spent it wisely, they would field a competitive team. The question is, would enough Tampons care to spend their money at the ballpark? I don't think they would. The short-term successes and long-term failures of the Marlins and D-backs demonstrate as much.
Posted by: Coop | December 21, 2005 at 03:28 PM
Johnson, Mussina, Wang, Chacon, and Small as a five man rotation? Not exactly super stacked, and that is assuming that Father Time hasn't wreaked havoc with Mussina and Johnson in the off-season.
Posted by: daveNYC | December 21, 2005 at 03:29 PM
A salary cap ensures more competitive balance. Sure, the NFL has the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots at the extremes, but the Yankees dominating the payroll every year is ridiculous. Why bother watching the sport when only four teams really have a shot at it every year? The other teams should not be a farm system for the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox.
Posted by: Nominal Me | December 21, 2005 at 04:21 PM
I kinda like the way the Yankees always sign big talent. It makes for a clear bad guy in baseball, and, even if your own team sucks, you always have a team to root against.
In a parity sense, sure, it kinda blows. But if you're just looking for entertainment and drama (which you should be, since sports are entertainment), having that villain is a good thing.
Posted by: Maine | December 21, 2005 at 04:37 PM
"Why bother watching the sport when only four teams really have a shot at it every year?
Horseshit. (See e.g., Marlins, Florida; Twins, Minnesota; White Sox, Chicago; Diamondbacks, Arizona; Angels, Whereverthefuck.)
Don't hate the playa. Hate the game.
Posted by: Jackie | December 21, 2005 at 04:40 PM
"A salary cap ensures more competitive balance."
Not necessarily. Baseball has never had a salary cap. Has parity always been a problem?
"Why bother watching the sport when only four teams really have a shot at it every year?"
How many different teams have won the World Series in the last 10 years? 7. How about Super Bowls? 8. Participating in the championship the last 10 years? Baseball - 13, Football - 15. Not much difference there.
Posted by: Coop | December 21, 2005 at 04:42 PM
Im wit Jackie.Only on the dont hate the playa paht.
This year was the exception but whoever said 4 teams only have a chance is incorrect. There are really only 2. The sooner the rest of you people realize that the sooner soccer will grow in Amerikkka.
Screw the salary cap...there shouldnt be anyone telling you how to spend your money.
If your owner doesnt want a competitive team and he wants to pocket the profits then so be it. Write your congressman. They never have anything to do.
Posted by: KHAN-yeezy | December 21, 2005 at 04:56 PM
<>
I do. The game needs a salary cap.
The sport should have an even playing field. It doesn't. The year the Yankees win a World Series with an average payroll is the year their fans will actually have something to be proud of.
Posted by: Nominal Me | December 22, 2005 at 01:35 PM