Yes. Manny will be the next big addition to the Yankees lineup for the 2009 season, stirring up the critics who claim you can’t buy a championship. The Yankees’ brass is out to prove the critics wrong … again.
Now before you go hating on the off-season Yankees and claiming they are killing baseball, know that these same Yankees haven’t won a World Series in eight years and an American League Pennant in five years (and this isn’t the first spending spree for the Yanks).
What they have been doing for years is buying up the high-priced players left-and-right and paying the hefty luxury tax, which is used to help the smaller market teams survive. The Yankees luxury tax tops out at $26.9 million, which is just barely under the $27 million the Florida Marlins spent on their 40-man roster last year. Is it any wonder why the Marlins average 19 people at each home game, whereas the Yankees boast of sellouts no matter if they are home in their state-of-the-art new stadium or away in a ballpark near you?
What would you rather have, a greedy business stingy with its money and ultimately screwing the fan, or an organization that spends its’ money to do everything it can to win a championship for its’ fans?
And next on the spending spree list is one, Manny Ramirez. And here is why the Yankess will most definitely sign the oft misunderstood (translation: nut case and clubhouse cancer) power hitting left fielder.
First of all, for all the $420ish million the Yankees spent this off-season on CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira; the removal of contracts for Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano and Andy Pettitte leaves the Yanks under last years payroll. Which means only one thing … the Bronx Bombers are not done making noise and spending coin.
Secondly, the new Steinbrenner is more of a media whore than his pops ever was. Nothing strokes Hanks’ ego like seeing his mug and his team on the front page of the most hated in baseball, as voted by those who do not wear pinstripes. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit, if there were already a deal for Manny sitting on the table just waiting for the buzz to subside from the Teixeira deal.
Steinbrenner wants not only the best of the best, but also a stranglehold on the coverage throughout the whole off-season. A few days after the ESPN pimp stops stroking the Yanks, Steinbrenner will lay the next juicy get on the table to the accolades and full attention of baseball fans and sports talk radio alike.
And finally, signing Manny will put to rest the argument that you can’t buy a championship. Yankee fans start dreaming of this lineup and opposing pitchers begin your cold sweat now.
Having Manny playing in the outfield hides Johnny Damon’s noodle of an arm safely in the DH and keeps his valuable bat and legs in the lineup. Joe Girardi, the Yankees skipper, could even alternate the DH and outfield between Manny, Damon and Hideki Matsui.
There are two great benefits to baseball and fans of baseball that a lineup like the Yankees will provide for next year. First, it guarantees that the Florida Marlins will sellout three games next year. And secondly, it guarantees the world won’t be subjected to another Phillies vs. Rays Fall Classic.
*****************************************************************************
J.David has never won an award for his writing, but he is a former collegiate athlete for a small college where everyone makes the team. Currently, he is a grad student at the University of Southern California studying the archaic form called, Print Journalism. J.David points to a hot dog at old Tiger Stadium as the birth of his love for baseball, and his walk-off homer against the Astros as his shinning moment as a little leaguer.
No related posts.
God this writing reminds me of a Citizen Cope show I once attended. How can you defend the Yankees like a sheep? Of course the Yankees should use the system to their advantage by signing these guys while never losing their home grown talent. Grow a pair and write about a flawed system known as Major League Baseball. As an Indians fan, I watch as both CC and Manny search for the most lucrative contract…knowing the team that drafted them has zero chance in sweepstakes. It turns me away from a sport that is dying already. Do I have a solution? No, but my job is to sell swing sets. So instead of slurpin’ on the Yankees…take your supple hands out of their trousers and write something worth while. Also, if you can’t appreciate the talent that the Rays & Phillies have put on the field…perhaps you should concentrate on gardening or cooking. Or perhaps you could write about how James Shields will eventually be pitching for the Red Sox, BJ Upton will be patrolling center for the Mets, and Scott Kazmir will be toeing the rubber for the Yankees. Hey, I really like the bit about the hot dog at Tiger stadium and the little league homer…good stuff.
Baseball needs two things as soon as possible for fair competition.
1. A salary cap (Yankees – 300 million for player salaries, FL Marlins – 25 million for player salaries).
2. A new Commissioner of Baseball (Bud S. has done a lousy job regarding team competitiveness and steroid policies).
In the NFL, every team (except the Detroit Lions) has a chance to make the playoffs every year due to the salary cap.