The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night 7-2, one day after Minnesota defeated Detroit in a one-game playoff to determine who would have the honor of getting their hats handed to them by the “Evil Empire.”
Seriously, is there anybody who lives outside of New York who actually likes the Yankees these days?
Because we can’t stand them.
In fact, as far as we’re concerned they represent everything that’s wrong with the game, buying up all the best players (some of whom then go out and buy up all the best steroids) and then winning tons of games … and tons of championships.
Wait … that’s capitalism. We take that back.
Maybe it’s those annoying pinstripes we don’t like.
Whatever the case, the Yankees and their perpetually playoff-bound selves seem to always grate on our last nerve – in part because we haven’t had much use for them ever since Dave Righetti left, in part because their flaunting of baseball’s parity-averse salary structure.
This opening day, the Yanks’ payroll was $201.5 million – or more than three times the Twins’ payroll of $65.2 million.
And you were expecting suspense this postseason?
You see, there’s a reason the score of Wednesday’s game was directly proportional to the team’s payrolls, people. New York bought better players.
Again, though, that is the essence of capitalism. The Yankees have more money to spend because they consistently produce a better product. After all, it’s hard to argue with a team that can still sell thousands of tickets every game at an average of over $70 a pop … per seat, per non-playoff game.
Still, though, there’s something about the competitive endeavor that makes you – or at least us – want to root against the Bronx Bombers, an endeavor that has actually met with some unexpected success over the last decade. After win four out of five World Series championships from 1996-2000, the Yankees lost to Arizona in 2001 and the Marlins in 2003.
That’s right, the Marlins (cue Harry Caray) …
In fact, over the past five seasons, New York hasn’t had so much as a whiff of the World Series – which is perhaps why last December the team went out and signed C.C. Sabathia ($161 million over seven years), Mark Teixeira ($180 million over eight years) and A.J. Burnett ($82.5 million over five years).
We’ll find out this month if all that money can buy the Yanks’ the World Series love they’ve been missing – the kind of love that’s been residing in Boston a good bit lately.
By Calhoun Fawls October 8, 2009 at 7:20 am
Don’t hate, appreciate.
By Mike Reino October 8, 2009 at 9:36 am
Michael Moore isn’t a Yankees Fan – If that is reason enough to like them, what is? The Yanks are Capitalism at it’s finest…
By Crooner October 8, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I agree that there’s something just unsportsmanlike about buying a championship. It doesn’t always work, but it does work all too often.
This baseball fan is rooting for a Yankees versus Dodgers World Series (just like MLB and whoever has the broadcast rights), with Torre’s new team winning it all.
By Seymour Glass October 9, 2009 at 10:22 am
What really makes this latest situation despicable is that the Yankees insisted on holding the opening game of the series on Wednesday even though they were perfectly aware that the Twins-Tigers tiebreak game was to be played on Tuesday night (b/c of Brett Favre & the Vikes MNF game). Top that off with the fact that the game went 12 innings and ended 21 hours before the first pitch of the playoff series, and you have yourself an exhausted band of AL Central Division Champs. Not only do you buy up the best players, but you make sure to put the opponent worst possible condition when they arrive to play.
By Jenny October 9, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Face it, there are teams out there that really don’t want to win – Brewers, Orioles, and for that matter the Braves. They should have paid Teixeira and replaced Big Bobby years ago. Strange that big salary complaints do not blame the MLB for failing to enact a lower salary cap, or spending limitation programs. As cliche as it is, “Don’t hate the player…”