And they say they don't try to buy championships

[JimmyBlueEyes]

WARNING WARNING JBE LONG ASS POST ALERT!!!! WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!


I've been sitting here reading this rather spirited debate and trying hard to keep the grey matter in. I was a Yankee fan, because of my father at first. Simply because he was. He took me to my first baseball game when I was 5 or 6,but, it was a Mets game. I grew to admire them and watch them more than the Yankees. I was 12 going on 13 when they won it in 86 and had already been a fan before that. I, like Flock have suffered thru the good(86 and 00) the bad, (Bobby Bonilla and Glavine) and the ugly, (the past two seasons and most of the 70's and 90's along with that Anthony guy who lost 26 straight starts). Brain, your name suggests a lot of intelligence, and when it comes to baseball it seems to me that you are a walking book of stats and figures. I don't get into it. The Yankees have won 26 World Championships in their 100 yr existencse. In my eyes, the present owner has a win now, and nothing else is good enough attitude, along with some extremely deep pockets. He also has a strong fan base in a city where many can afford to pay the prices for tickets and food to help pay these big salaries. He wants to bring the team back to the era of Di Maggio, Ruth, Gehrig, and those who came before and after. Admirable, however, what I believe Flock is getting at here is money has gotten in the way of competition. And it goes for all sports. Greed of the players and others has gotten the better of them. We both agree that ALL pro athletes are overpaid. Steinbrenners biggest problem is his lack of patience. He wants it all now. And yes, you Yankee fans have gotten spoiled by that, and the belief has permeated through the ranks, from the players to the fans. Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. And losing sucks. But you have to expect to lose a few. This last World Series the Yanks underestimated every team they played. It cost them. They did the same with the Angels in '02 and with Arizona in '01. They got cocky. And they got beat. I think if the Yanks can pull this trade off, great. But what if A-Rod is a bust at third base?? What happens if he gets hurt like Boone did??What happens when Boone is healthy?? $200plus million gone. The Yankees have thrown money at a lot of players and they haven't produced. Example Giambi, he was a shell of his former self from Oakland. Money doesn't always solve the problem. Atlanta is another good example, all that money and what, 2, maybe 3 World Championships out of it?? Not to mention the Yankees showed no Loyalty to Tino, and even I liked Tino.

It's nice to see a little variety out there. I for one, would have loved to have seen a Cardinals/Red Sox or a Cubs/Red Sox Series last year. Not because I hate the Yankees, simply because it makes it more interesting. I'm not trying to make this a Mets fan vs. Yankee fan issue here, but can you understand the frustration of other fans and teams when Steinbrenner throws money at another greedy player who is being paid far too much?? It doesn't even out the playing field, when you're putting out an all star team every day, or in the minds of a few, a bunch of hired guns. Which is what many players on any given team are.(Example, the opening sequence in BASEketball) No equality, so the guys who only have a budget of say $75 million can put up a team with enough talent to stand a chance against a team that has a $185 million budget. Unless it's the Mets who have Steve Philips to blame for a lot of bad deals. I hope you understand this slightly neutral look at the situation.

Flame away my friend.....