Congratulations to Veruca Salt, uh, I mean the Yankees...

Well it finally happened. Congratulations. Welcome to the 21st century.

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?

The Big Dirt Nap: Yanks Season & the Stadium...

Well Yankee fans, how long ago did you twist your ankle jumping off the bandwagon?


A) Injury to Joba?
B) When A-Rod started hitting Madonna instead of baseballs?
C) The Hankster tossing in the towel?
D) Being in 4th place in September
E) Next year's DH (Posada) dictating who will be in the pen next year?
F) The 9 games out with 12 to play thing?

Elimination Party! Let's get this party started!

We do miss that compelling Sox / Yanks late September run. But we'd be pulling your leg if we said we didn't find enjoyment in watching a Yankee team just fall apart. And a big thanks goes out to Cano who forced Girardi to bench him. Is it just me, or did Girardi look like a guy trying to keep beach sand from falling out of his hands all season? So trust me, we're fully enjoying it, especially as we ready for the playoffs. Good luck with Girardi next year as well. The players really seem to respond...

Did I mention the enjoyment part?


Injuries, Injuries, Injuries...

And please, no more "we were decimated by injuries" crap. Look, every team in the AL already a lock for the playoffs had significant injuries. The Angels and Sox both lost starters before the season even started. The Rays lost their closer and two other formidable hitters. If we compare lists, you will just embarrass yourself. Your team simply wasn't good or deep enough, not to mention old. So save the silly nasty-grams.

By the way, we have dubbed Carl Pavano "Mr. Glass". Is it more infuriating that he finally comes back when it's too late, or that he's shutting it down now that he showed just enough to get a contract from someone else next year? "Uh, yeah, my hip hurts." Call Guiness Records because he must be gaining on Evel Knievel...

Know what the last championship banner flown at the Stadium will be? Yup, back in 2005 our friends shown here were holding it. Boy, it's been a while hasn't it?

Oh, how many rings you say? 20 of them were before 1962 and almost half of those were before World War II. Raise your cane high if you remember...


Your Yankees have outspent all of their competition every year, by a staggering amount and have nothing to show for it since 2000. They can't even buy a championship anymore, not even for billions of dollars. In 2008 alone they spend $75M more than the Sox. That's higher than 14 teams spent on their entire payroll.


Mailing it in...
We're not alone in calling out your Yankees. Newsday's Kevin Davidoff's recent article is titled "They sure don't look like Yanks or winners". He quoted a scout from another organization as saying "I've never seen a Yankee team play like that." The old man would have thrown Girardi out on his ass followed by the rest of his staff. It's one thing to lose, but it's inexcusable to lay down. If you don't fire the manager or clean house, how does it go away next year?


Hank is the Man...
The great thing is that Hank is going to continue down this path of mediocrity. He's almost guaranteed it. If you're Cashman, how fast do you run away from this? Hank proclaimed "If Brian stays on as GM that doesn't mean he won't be the #1 guy." He goes on to say; "But the fact is, the more opinions the better." Hey Hank, know what opinions are like? We love this guy. It will be great to see how many chiefs he can fit into one Florida boardroom. The more the better!


Goodbye to The Stadium...
While we don't have many fond memories there to be sure, we simply can't ignore the history in that building. Some things are actually sacred. Thankfully the Sox were able to exorcise their demons in 2004. Sorry Jeter, no more ghosts. But in the new stadium there will be the "Ghost of Big Papi". You didn't really think that he only buried 1 shirt, did you?


Good Luck Next Year!
Wow, it's a weird feeling actually saying that this early in the season. But boy it feels good. Enjoy your offseason Yankee fans. We are...

No Deal for Schill? Big Mistake...

What is going through the minds of Red Sox management? After spending a windfall of cash in the off-season – and OVERPAYING for new acquisitions, what could they possibly be thinking?

The market prices have obviously spiked so the “value for performance” ratio is now out of whack. Pitching is absolutely ridiculous. Apparently if you have an Era under 7 you’re worth at least $10M per season. Look at some of the deals for these second and third tier pitchers:

Barry Zito – not a true ace by any stretch, but landed $18M per season
Gil Meche – $11M, won 7, 10, and 11 games past 3 seasons...
Ted Lilly – $10M, never won more than 12 games until last year (15), career era 4.60

Schilling is still a good pitcher – and that is the bottom line

He was dinged up last season and still managed 15 wins and a sub 4 Era in the AL. Only 10 or so healthy players had better numbers. Hello Red Sox management – HELLO - that number is 10. If reasonably healthy, shouldn’t he be paid like a top 10 pitcher? What is that value in this market? Probably $18M+ - and yes he is still better than Zito (at least for another year or two)

The Value of Schilling:

He’s not asking for a raise or even fair market value. He wants to pitch in Boston at his current salary. In the current marketplace, he’s not trying to take advantage of the team when most players would. He gets it. He’s a gritty big game pitcher. He’s a great mentor for your young pitching staff. He’s still a lighting rod for the media. He was your best pitcher last season. He’s the model other athletes (the "money hungry" ones) should be emulating. You want him on your team. HE CAN STILL PITCH AT A HIGH LEVEL.

WHERE IS THE DOWNSIDE???


You just overpaid for a guy with a health risk in JD Drew, but you won’t pay below market value for a guy who is still viable? Pitching has never been this much of a commodity. This is the same group willing to pay Clemens $20M for half a season. Even if he falters you’re still going to get better numbers than most of the guys listed above – for the same money.

Let's face it, the Sox will not get equal value for $13M. Who do you REPLACE him with? No one in the farm system will be that good in 2008 (not that they can count on at this point anyway). Lucchino stated the door isn't closed and that they will revisit in the offseason. Nice to know it will be a one way conversation - you DONKEY. Would you come back if you were Schill? Not even at market value.

This team has the money to get this deal done without even blinking. Pitching is at the pinnacle of importance and cost. Do they have a lock on signing Johan Santana at $25M per season and need to save their pennies? Don't hold your breath. This is probably the worst faux-pas of the new ownership. Just awful.

They really screwed the pooch on this one. Our only recourse is to tell them how pissed off we are. So, enjoy Schill while he's here, you won't see him in 2008. Its times like these when those outrageous ticket prices have that extra "sting" to them.