After an offseason of spending an unprecedented $500 million dollars, obtaining the 3 biggest free agents available, all while compromising an entire neighborhood and taxpayers, they did it.
Yankee fans are again beaming. But how does it feel to beat a hollow chest?
After not making the playoffs for the first time in a long time, the new Steinbrenner’s were embarrassed enough into spending a fortune in the offseason. This gluttony reared its ugly head at the same time many Americans were struggling and out of work. Great timing boys. If you didn’t think it was possible for more people to loathe the Yanks, well, keep telling yourself that.
All that aside, winning a championship is very difficult. Just ask the Phillies who had to twice trot out a Pedro Martinez we let go five years ago. But quite frankly, it would have been a monumental blunder if the Yanks didn’t win it all this season. Girardi would have been tarred, feathered, and probably banned from the state of NY forever. Cashman would have been handed his walking papers, and George probably would have stroked out.
Now you can say that there are many teams - including the Sox - that are considered “the have’s”. However, the Yanks still outspend this “group” by $70-$80M every season. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the Yankees are the “rich kid” of the class that everyone loathes. They get what they want simply because they have money.
“I want an Oompa-Loompa NOW Daddy!”
Oh, but you ask why is this year different if the payroll is the same? Well smarty pants they were able to grab the top 3 free agents on the market which included a #1 starter, a #2 starter, and one of the best hitters in the league. Who can’t win a championship by doing that?
The Yanks have screwed the pooch in prior years by overpaying all stars on the back 9 of their careers, and typically grabbing one big free agent per year. Those contracts are crippling especially in those players last couple of unproductive seasons. This trend isn’t going away. But the Yanks have enough money to survive these bad deals on the back end. If any other team had these resources, the additional $70-$80M per season would be spent on 4-5 all star and/or impact players. Who couldn’t win with that much talent?
No, but really, enjoy it. Who knew it was the most expensive trophy on the planet?
