What Money Can't Buy

As a Yankees fan, I have been told my entire life that the main reason behind the Yankees’ recent dominance is their league-leading payroll. If you are one of these people still making this argument, I’m going to be rather blunt and tell you that you are a dumbass. The four World Series rings that the Yankees won from 1996-2001 had very little to do with the team’s salary. The unity of those teams was unbelievable, and they were built on a core of homegrown players like Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Bernie Williams. But after they lost to the Diamondbacks in the 2001 World Series, the front office panicked and started giving out monster deals to big-name free agents and trading away our young players for washed-up All Stars. Sure, some of these deals have panned out for the Yankees. I don’t regret the money that was given to guys like Hideki Matsui or CC Sabathia. But so many of these stars, like Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson, and AJ Burnett, just didn’t fit in in New York. Yes, the Yankees won the World Series in 2009. But for the amount of money that they spent in the past decade, one ring is not a success by any means. And now as the Yankees are down 3-0 in the ALCS, it appears as if our spending has once again bitten us in the ass.

Today’s game is much different than it was a few years ago. There is a greater emphasis on defense, base running, and small-ball hitting. Home run hitters don’t have nearly as much value as they used to. There is a lot more strategy involved, and I think it’s good for baseball. Small-market teams with low salaries are winning at a higher rate. Team chemistry and smart management are more important than ever. The culture of professional baseball is changing before our eyes, but the Yankees don’t seem to notice. They continue to value the name of the player over the player’s performance. The roster is full of guys who swing for the fences in an attempt to be the hero but just end up striking out. The defense is average at best. It’s really just painful to watch.

Clearly the guy who has been taking the most heat recently is Alex Rodriguez, and it couldn’t be more deserved. A-Rod is the Adam Sandler of the MLB. Back in the day he was the best there was, and it wasn’t even very close. In the middle of his career he might not have shown the same speed or range but he was still pretty damn good. Now, he literally does nothing right and he still manages to always find a way to look worse than he did before. A-Rod does not have one hit against a right-handed pitcher this postseason. NOT ONE HIT. It’s hit the point where I’m surprised if he doesn’t strike out. And when he comes up in a clutch situation? They might as well end the game at 26 outs. Other guys on the team should be thanking A-Rod for overshadowing how badly they’ve been playing as well. Nick Swisher has been a flaming piece of crap. I love Swish as a person, but I have no faith in him as a baseball player and can’t wait until he leaves New York. Eric Chavez has looked nothing like he did in the regular season. Curtis Granderson has been awful, striking out even more than he usually does. Robinson Cano looks like he just doesn’t want to be on the field anymore. Mark Teixiera continues to look like a .250 hitter. Add this all up, and you aren’t going to win many games. The Yankees have been shut out 29 of the 31 innings in this series. I know their pitching has been good, but come on. Doug Fister isn’t Nolan Ryan. Anibal Sanchez isn’t Pedro Martinez. The hitting just sucks.

I know the Yankees’ season isn’t over quite yet, and I haven’t completely lost faith. Obviously I hope they pull it together. I’m just saying that they don’t deserve to advance any further. Us Yankee fans have high expectations year in and year out, but if you look up and down this year’s roster you’ll realize that this team just isn’t that great. The Orioles probably outplayed us in the Divisional Series. The Oakland A’s probably would have beaten us. The Yankees have better players, but they are better teams. I’m actually very proud of the Yankees this season. I think they completely overachieved and some guys deserve a ton of kudos. Joe Girardi did an unbelievable managerial job. Cano probably would have won the MVP in a normal season. Derek Jeter led the league in hits at age 38 and came up big in the playoffs before his injury. Ichiro played his ass off ever since he got to New York. Raul Ibanez was more than clutch for us. And the pitching as a unit was phenomenal all year. Whether or not the Yankees win or lose this series, I’m glad with the results. I don’t think expecting a World Series out of this team would be reasonable. Sure, we’ve got some of the pieces in place, but we aren’t nearly as complete as some other teams. Those teams have adapted to the change in the air of the MLB, and it’s time that the Yankees do too.