Yankees're screwed

[SCFinFan]

Man...

Bubba Crosby being injured, Carl Pavano having surgery again, Posada getting injured last night, and the inefficiency of both Johnson and Rivera have me pushing the panic button pretty hard right now. We showed a lot of heart in that huge comeback over the Rangers... looks like that was our last hurrah for a while.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Happens every year, they take awhile to get going, although the injuries are pretty ridiculous at this point. They have about 13 starters who are on the DL or WOULD go on the DL if everyone else wasn't on it.

As far as Posada goes, I don't think he's really hurt, I think him and Johnson just finally snapped and Torre had to separate them. Randy is a giant child who doesn't like Posada. Last year in games where Flaherty caught him I think he was something like 12-2 with an ERA under 2. With Posada he was like 5-7 with an ERA over 5. Now, for a TWO PITCH PITCHER, that's just ridiculous unless Jorge keeps calling for the knuckler.

I mean, Tim Wakefield's ERA wouldn't rise if Jorge caught him(excluding passed balls).

Damon(hurt himself trying to tackle a wall, plays but has no power anymore)
Giambi(hurt his neck but will play because Miguel Cairo is his backup)
Randy(is either a child or maksing an injury. I honestly don't know anymore)
Chacon(hurt his leg hence the shelling by Texas, will miss his start today)
Carl Pavano(out for the season, but is that such a bad thing?)
Matsui(out for the year)
Sheffield(milking his boo boo because the Yankees didn't pick up his option, could be out another month)
Jorge(supposedly, back spasms)
Farnsworth(back problems)
Sturtze(done for the year, but that's a good thing)
Proctor(hurt but still pitches because Torre is evil)
Villone(hurt but still pitches)
Williams(will miss a few games due to being 95 years old)

So that's 13 right there, 12 regulars. They will probably rebound and make the playoffs, but it's never fun to watch such a lull like this.

[SCFinFan]

Point made, Edge...

But why do you hate Torre so much? I admit he's not the perfect manager, but I'd say he's gotta have some managerial talent to win 1000 games with any team.

I also had no idea Proctor was injured.

When did that happen?

[Dphins4me]

Man...

Bubba Crosby being injured, Carl Pavano having surgery again, Posada getting injured last night, and the inefficiency of both Johnson and Rivera have me pushing the panic button pretty hard right now. We showed a lot of heart in that huge comeback over the Rangers... looks like that was our last hurrah for a while.

Here is me not shedding a tear.  Sorry, but this could not happen to a better team.  I love it when a team like the Yanks over pay for old players who break down.  Of course they will simply spend more.    It is what makes baseball boring for me anymore.

[raptorsfan29]

at least your team can win, were getting swept by colorado in colorado, doesn't get any worse then this.

[EDGECRUSHER]

Here is me not shedding a tear.  Sorry, but this could not happen to a better team.  I love it when a team like the Yanks over pay for old players who break down.  Of course they will simply spend more.    It is what makes baseball boring for me anymore.

Matsui is not old and no one really broke down. Sheffield was involved in a collission as was Damon and Posada. Giambi is fine now, Crosby is 29 Farnsworth is 30 or so and Chacon got a line drive off his leg.

Considering that the Yankees haven't won anything since 2000, their spending shouldn't make you avoid baseball unless you weren't much of a fan of the sport to begin with.

[Dphins4me]

Matsui is not old and no one really broke down. Sheffield was involved in a collission as was Damon and Posada. Giambi is fine now, Crosby is 29 Farnsworth is 30 or so and Chacon got a line drive off his leg.

Considering that the Yankees haven't won anything since 2000, their spending shouldn't make you avoid baseball unless you weren't much of a fan of the sport to begin with.

I use to be huge into baseball, but the strike of '94 did it for me.  I never made it back.  I simply am tired of listening to players who make millions cry about money & needing to feed their families, while it cost a family of 4 $200 bucks to go to a game.  Why people turn out for baseball games anymore does confuse me.


As for the Yanks..

I have also just grown tired of everytime there is a quality FA on the market their name is brought up as being the team most likely to land them.  I simply wish baseball would level the playing field so lesser teams like Oakland have a chance to actually keep the players they develop, instead of being an major league farm team for the top teams.

The Yanks may not have won anything since '00 but they have been there every year with a chance.

[SCFinFan]

As for the Yanks..

I have also just grown tired of everytime there is a quality FA on the market their name is brought up as being the team most likely to land them. I simply wish baseball would level the playing field so lesser teams like Oakland have a chance to actually keep the players they develop, instead of being an major league farm team for the top teams.

The Yanks may not have won anything since '00 but they have been there every year with a chance.

Dlphins, that's frankly not true...

Yes, they are there every year, I'll grant you that, but they certainly don't scoop up every quality FA. If that was true, we'd have a pitching rotation that included Greg Maddux, Tim Hudson (I think) and Pedro Martinez. They were all big FAs a little while back, and had Yankee rumors surrounding them (with the exception of Hudson)... but no trigger was pulled. Same thing on the other side of the plate with guys like Beltran, Juan Pierre, etc etc.

I can understand your reason for having a distaste for all baseball since the strike. Fortunately, I was not old enough to be disastrously affected by it. However, your arguments against the Yankees are pretty flimsy. Quit relying on stereotypes and newspaper clippings... find out some stuff for real.

[Dphins4me]

Dlphins, that's frankly not true...

Its more than true, its fact.  How many other teams have had a 200 million dollar payroll?  How many other team can sign all their own home grown products & sign other teams best players?  Not to meantion players from abroad.

When is the last time the Yanks lost a home grown FA they wanted to keep?

They get who they want most & if the player fails, then they simply move them & take the hit.  Many other teams cannot do that..

They wanted A-Rod & they got him.  They wanted Giambi.  They got him.  They wanted Damon.  They got him.. They wanted Johnson.  They got him.  They wanted Sheffield.  They got him.  They wanted Mussina.  They got him.  They wanted Pavano  They got him.

Need I go on? 

 They also can over pay for average talent.  How much did they give Karsay to be a middle reliever?  21 million for 4 years.  Yea, you see that all the time.  I've yet to bring up what they paid Jaret Wright a broken down pitcher who has had major arm problems.  So far he has taken home13 million in two years.  Again how many teams have the money available to offer up that type cash for a player like him?

So they missed out on Beltran.  One player out of how many?  Frankly I do not recall they Yanks going after him that hard.

The fact is.  If the Yank want the player bad enough then they simply can pony up more cash.  They have it & other teams do not.

Yes, they are there every year, I'll grant you that, but they certainly don't scoop up every quality FA. If that was true, we'd have a pitching rotation that included Greg Maddux, Tim Hudson (I think) and Pedro Martinez. They were all big FAs a little while back, and had Yankee rumors surrounding them (with the exception of Hudson)... but no trigger was pulled. Same thing on the other side of the plate with guys like Beltran, Juan Pierre, etc etc. ...

Not what I said.  I basically said the Yanks are always in the running for the best players.  Not that they always get them, but usually they get who they want most.

Hudson would have been a Yank had the Yanks actually had some minor league talent to trade for him when the A's had him.  He has never been a FA.

I can understand your reason for having a distaste for all baseball since the strike. Fortunately, I was not old enough to be disastrously affected by it. However, your arguments against the Yankees are pretty flimsy. Quit relying on stereotypes and newspaper clippings... find out some stuff for real.

First of all I do not get my opinion from sterotypes & newspaper clippings & before you start telling someone else to get their facts straight.  Get your straight first.

  I'm way older than you since you cannot recall much about the strike of '94.  My arguement against the Yanks is more than flimsy.  Its fact.  Just because you choose to stick your head in the sand & ignore it does not mean it is not there.

You do not believe me.  Just take a look at the players they have acquired over the last 10 years & the price they paid them.  Now take a look at the other teams.

Here is a little info for ya. 

The Yanks have the top 3 highest paid players in baseball for '06.  All making over 20 Million.

4 out of the top 6 are Yanks
5 out of the top 11 are Yanks
7 out of the top 25 are Yanks

Closes team  has 3.

Top 25 Baseball Salaries


They are paying 3 players more than what 9 teams are paying their entire team. If you add in Mussina salary then its 16 teams. 


So in closing.  Please do not sit there & ramble off some shit that what I say is not true, when in fact you have no idea as to what you are ramblin on about.

I cannot believe someone actually tried to defend that the Yanks do not get whomever they want.

By the end of the summer they will have at least 2 more top players who make a bundle load of cash.

[MaineDolFan]

One thing that drives me a little crazy are rants above that basically state that the Yankees are ruining baseball.  The bottom line with any sport is winning - and the Yankees have become the American League version of the Atlanta Braves.  For all of their spending, the Yankees haven't won anything since the days when their farm system looked like an all-star team.  They really started opening their pockets with the Giambi thing - they haven't won a thing outside of the division and one World Series nose dive since.

When the Yankees are over spending for the Farnsworths of the world, does it make teams like the Blue Jays have to overspend to get a guy like BJ Ryan?  Sure.  But it's not the Yankees fault, it's the owners and player's union.

The Yankees have the resources and are operating within the rules.  One thing that never gets brought up in these talks are the funds that go to other teams.  The Detroit Tigers, in 2003, took a huge amount of money that the Yankees had to pay into the luxary tax.  The result?  Three of the Tigers starting four pitchers are being paid with a good portion of that money, as is the starting short stop. 

The Yankees didn't start this madness, truth be told.  Yes, they have always been willing to part with prospects for "known talent" and yes, they have money to spend.  The Texas Rangers started this madness with the contract given to A Rod and the Rangers should be kissing George's hair beanbag - the Yankees are the only ones that could have taken that contract on.  Boston, back in the Duquette days, didn't do anyone any favors with the insane contract that Manny has - - and the current Red Sox brain trust has been trying to rid themselves of ever since.

The Angels followed suit by signing Mo Vaughn to a crippling deal.  The Mets overpaid for Pedro and Beltran.  Toronto is throwing money around like it grows on trees.

Very few teams rely on their farm system and take a more New England Patriots approach to their budget:  value each position as "x" and refuse to overspend.  One big spender in the league, Boston, has started to do this.  Without Manny's contract they would be well under $100 million in total payroll.  However, Boston's overspending of the past has hurt the game today.

Until there is a salary cap in place - this will continue.  You can't lay this blame on the Yankees doorstop, it's simply not fair.  New York is the biggest media outlet in the world, will the Bubba Crosby players of the world attract enough attention so anyone cares?  No.  Until each team has to operate under the set financial mindsets, no blame can be dealt on to the Yankees alone.

[Dphins4me]

One thing that drives me a little crazy are rants above that basically state that the Yankees are ruining baseball.  The bottom line with any sport is winning - and the Yankees have become the American League version of the Atlanta Braves.  For all of their spending, the Yankees haven't won anything since the days when their farm system looked like an all-star team.  They really started opening their pockets with the Giambi thing - they haven't won a thing outside of the division and one World Series nose dive since.

When the Yankees are over spending for the Farnsworths of the world, does it make teams like the Blue Jays have to overspend to get a guy like BJ Ryan?  Sure.  But it's not the Yankees fault, it's the owners and player's union.

The Yankees have the resources and are operating within the rules.  One thing that never gets brought up in these talks are the funds that go to other teams.  The Detroit Tigers, in 2003, took a huge amount of money that the Yankees had to pay into the luxary tax.  The result?  Three of the Tigers starting four pitchers are being paid with a good portion of that money, as is the starting short stop. 

The Yankees didn't start this madness, truth be told.  Yes, they have always been willing to part with prospects for "known talent" and yes, they have money to spend.  The Texas Rangers started this madness with the contract given to A Rod and the Rangers should be kissing George's hair beanbag - the Yankees are the only ones that could have taken that contract on.  Boston, back in the Duquette days, didn't do anyone any favors with the insane contract that Manny has - - and the current Red Sox brain trust has been trying to rid themselves of ever since.

The Angels followed suit by signing Mo Vaughn to a crippling deal.  The Mets overpaid for Pedro and Beltran.  Toronto is throwing money around like it grows on trees.

Very few teams rely on their farm system and take a more New England Patriots approach to their budget:  value each position as "x" and refuse to overspend.  One big spender in the league, Boston, has started to do this.  Without Manny's contract they would be well under $100 million in total payroll.  However, Boston's overspending of the past has hurt the game today.

Until there is a salary cap in place - this will continue.  You can't lay this blame on the Yankees doorstop, it's simply not fair.  New York is the biggest media outlet in the world, will the Bubba Crosby players of the world attract enough attention so anyone cares?  No.  Until each team has to operate under the set financial mindsets, no blame can be dealt on to the Yankees alone.

I do not blame the Yanks, they are playing within the rules set forth.    Hate to tell you but the Yanks started it, ever since George has owned them, they have spent more cash on players than any other team.

Sure a team like Boston may pony up a huge deal for a player from time to time, but they cannot or will not do it for multiple players year after year.

My point in all this is when a less revenue team has a quality player then that player when he becomes a FA looks to only a handful of teams or decide to take less cash to stay with his current team.

As far as making other teams over spend.  No it does not make them, since they can choose to not over pay, however when the market price has been raised & you are trying to win then you have to pay what the market says.

Texas is a great example of how the Yanks have driven the market.  They overpaid for A-Rod in order to get him or he would have ended up with the Yanks.  After they did then money was tight for other players & they could not provide him any help.

So the Yanks step in & simply toss him in with other 20 million dollar players & never miss a beat.  Money is no concern with them.

I'd love to be their GM.  Sign the best talent with no worries about balancing the act being veteran & young players.

[MaineDolFan]

Except for all of their spending, they've produced zero in results.  Again, since 1999:  One World Series trip that ended in a loss to the Marlins, one World Series loss to Arizona, one meltdown ALCS loss to the Angels, another to the Red Sox and a divisional loss to the Angels. 

Meanwhile - teams that "can't compete" due to financial constraints provided by the Yankees bloated spending have gone on to the promised land:  Arizona, Florida, Angels, White Sox...not exactly "big hitters."

[Sunstroke]

I don't think there is any doubt that the Yankees have ruined baseball.

They are also responsible for global warming, priests molesting children and every single Ben Affleck movie. George Steinbrenner himself is secretly dictating to President Bush our government's foreign policy and forcing gas prices through the roof.

In short, the Yankees are destroying America. Guilty! Every last pin-striped antichrist!

I dare anyone to present any evidence that can possibly refute these societal truths!

[Dphins4me]

Meanwhile - teams that "can't compete" due to financial constraints provided by the Yankees bloated spending have gone on to the promised land:  Arizona, Florida, Angels, White Sox...not exactly "big hitters."

How many other teams are there year after year with a chance?  When is the last time the Yanks were not in the playoffs?  '94?  The only other team making the playoffs is the Braves & they are doing it with a payroll under 100 million & to my knowledge have never topped that mark.

In 10 years the Yanks payroll has incresed payroll almost 4 times of what it was in '96 & they were the highest paying team in '96.  Everyone else, has double for the most part.  The gap between first & second has went from 4 million to 74 million.  That gap alone between 1 & 2 is more than some teams are able to pay their entire team.

Sure teams like Ari/Fl roll the dice from time to time then have to unload everyone soon after because they cannot with stand several years of high payroll.

Ari payroll 4 years ago was over 100 million.  This year its 60 million.  A drop of over 40 million.  While the Yanks have increased payroll 70 million.  Ari had a payroll of 80 million in '01 & won the WS.  They increased payroll the following year to 102 million to try & defend the title.  In '03 they were back down to 80 million.      In fact there was talk then about the team being in serious financial shape.

There was a 27 million dollar gap between Ari & the Yanks in '01 when they played.  In '06 its 135 million.  Slight difference would you not say?

The Angles have been in the top 5 of spending for the last 3 years.  So I'd say they are a big hitter. 

The fact is lesser teams have to develop talent then they have a year or two window to make a run for it, before they have to drop back & start all over again.. 

The Yanks just keep spending & letting other team develop their talent.

I fully expect them to land a couple of high priced players before the deadline, if they have the minor league talent to do so.

Only a Yanks fan would actually try to deny this.  Everyone knows the playing field is slanted in their direction, just please do not sit there & try to say its not.  You have no leg to stand on other than its the rules they have.

  Talk about people crying if baseball ever levels the playing field.  Heck the Yanks might actually have to find a GM who knows a thing or two about talent & how to spend money more wisely.

Being the GM of the Yanks is the easiest job in baseball.  See a talented player.  Go buy him.

[MaineDolFan]

Only a Yanks fan would actually try to deny this. Everyone knows the playing field is slanted in their direction, just please do not sit there & try to say its not. You have no leg to stand on other than its the rules they have.

Wow, did the equipment cost a lot of money?  You know...the stuff that allows blind people to use the internet? 

Me...a Yankee fan.  I think that now I have heard it all.  Here's your first tip, try looking at my avatar.

I think that only someone with a minimal education within the game will place 100% of baseball's faults on the New York Yankees.  But I guess that is why basketball makes free throws from where they are - easy targets.