Those who do not appreciate the commitment to excellence of the New York Yankees, in addition to those who do not know squat about reality, are constantly accusing the Yankees of "buying" championships, and of finishing in first year after year simply because of a large payroll.
The payroll helps, no doubt. Yet so does commitment.
Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, and Mariano Rivera have 45 years of service to the Yankees between them. Not only that, but those four have never played for another team, in the majors or minors. Throw in C.M. Wang, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrerra, and you have seven players (five position player starters) that are home grown. Of the 25 men on the post-season roster, 11 came up through the Yankee farm system.
The Mets? Two young home-grown stars in Wright and Reyes, but the rest of the starters are free agent signings- Delgado, Beltran, Pedro, Floyd, etc. The Twins? Good, young home-grown pitching, and some home grown players like Hunter and Morneau, but none of their stars have been eligible for free agency, so it is impossible to tell how loyal they are. The Tigers? Same as the Twins when it comes to pitching, but their offensive leaders are Pudge and Ordonez, who were very high priced free agents. The Dogers? Their ace is Brad Penny and their offensive leader is Nomar. Neither came up through the fabeled Dodgers farm system. Other offensive leaders are Drew, Frucal and Lofton. Free agent, free agent, free agent.
Now lets open up the field to all teams. How many teams have four players who are home grown, with more than ten years of service each? If you can find one, please let me know.
Oh, and just a small reminder- the Yankees will be wearing their "throwback" jerseys in October, like they wore in the 1920s. White with blue pinstripes at home, grey with "New York" in navy across the chest on the road. Navy blue cap, interlocking "NY," at all times.
posted by The leftist southpaw @ 9:45 AM
7 Comments:
Damn right the payroll helps. Who was going to pay Jeter $190 mil? Or Bernie $88 mil (besides the Red Sox, those nuts)? No one else was going to be able to afford that.
Best I could do with the home-growns were the Braves with 3 guys with 5+ (Marcus Giles, Chipper, and Andruw Jones)
you forgot Smoltz!
Smoltz was originally drafted by Detroit.
Your statement about the Twins belies your point. Unlike the Yankees, the Twins won't be able to keep all their homegrown talent, because they can't pay 9-figure salaries to their great as well as average players. According to USAToday.com, 7 of the top 25 salaries in 2006 go to Yankees; 3 go to Mets; 1 to a Tiger; 1 to a Dodger; 1 to a Cardinal; and 1 to a Padre. No Twins, No A's. Being "committed" to homegrown talent and buying--or, in the case of the 21st Century Yankees, trying to buy--championships are not mutually exclusive.
Alright, so I'm disappointed about the Yanks falling in the division series. But what amazes me is that while there are 28 teams in the majors, the vast, vast majority of whom haven't won a championship in years, that the Yanks didn't come out on top this year is the stuff of snide remarks.
And the people making these snide remarks are the same folks who, if the Yankees _HAD_ one the division series, the pennant, and then the World Series, would be carping about the Yanks' payroll.
I mean, I guess it's a testament to the greatness of the Bombers that it's a remarkable thing when they don't win, but jeez - so the Yanks haven't won a world series in six years. So what? A lot of teams have gone far, far longer without even making it to the playoffs.
I will offer the following, tho - the Yanks have never been the same since Paul O'Neil retired.
What say you?
The rumor mill is going... the Daily News is reporting that Mr. Torre is out and Pinella is back in...
As much as I love Loooouuuu, I don't want to see Joe go. Torre's not the problem, as far as I'm concerned. The lack of the depth of pitching is.
- Andrew Langer
I have another theory as to why most people hate the Yanks. People like to root for teams, not employees. These guys act like they're just there for a paycheck. Look at that A-Rod article in SI. When they asked him who he was close with and hung out with, he said the equipment manager or something. No team structure there at all.
Post a Comment
<< Home