Posted on 05/08/2007 8:36:39 AM PDT by raccoonradio
It is sad, really. Even during their current seven-year championship drought, even while they were losing four straight to the Red Sox in 2004 or flopping in the first round of the playoffs to the Tigers last year, the Yankees at least were interesting. They always were dangerous, always threatening to put it all together and return to the top of the baseball world.
As they made one ridiculously expensive splash after another - signing Giambi, signing Pavano, signing Damon, trading for A-Rod or Abreu - you couldnt help but wonder: Is this it? Is this the move that finally puts them over the top? They havent won anything since 2000, but the Yankees always succeeded in instilling a little fear and anxiety in the Red Sox and their fans.
And now? Now the Yankees are just kind of pathetic. These days, their game plan seems to be simple. The Boss is old and getting older. They need to win and win now. Do something, anything, everything. Theyve already used five rookie starters, and that didnt work. Now theyre turning their lonely eyes to a guy who was a rookie two years before Phil Hughes was born. How desperate are they? This is the baseball equivalent of purchasing a mail-order bride from Outer Mongolia.
Consider the scene Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium: More than 52,000 fans stood and cheered as if their team had just won the World Series, or at least gotten back to .500. In the broadcast booth, our friend Suzyn Waldman had what has been described as a Meg Ryan moment. It was a delirious celebration for all of Yankees Nation, the highlight of this star-crossed baseball season in New York. And what exactly did the mighty Bombers do to engender such joy and happiness?
Well, they essentially bought the most expensive car on the lot, the most expensive house in the neighborhood, the most expensive athlete in team sports - and they paid above the listed price. Talk about brilliant front-office maneuvering: The Yankees signed Roger Clemens to a contract that would be worth $28 million for an entire season, or more than the entire Devil Rays payroll, and now they have to wait a month for him to take the mound. The Yanks will pay $4.5 million a month (plus 40 percent for the luxury tax) for a guy who:
Turns 45 in August;
Was 7-6 last year (and made $12 million);
Averaged fewer than six innings per start last year - against National League lineups;
Plans to be a part-time member of manager Joe Torres team, returning home to Houston (or to Augusta or Pebble Beach) between starts;
Is coming back for the money, as always.
The Red Sox did not come close to meeting Clemens price, and its worth noting they didnt want Clemens to join their rotation right away. The Sox preferred to wait another month, probably because they know there is only so much gas left in Rockets tank. He is not only a six-inning pitcher these days, but a three-month pitcher. The Yankees cannot afford to wait: They want their mail-order bride, and they want her now.
Everyone knows Clemens was a great pitcher, perhaps the greatest ever, and once upon a time, he was worth more than any player in the game. But weve got some disappointing news for our friends in New York: That time has passed. Hes older than aged left-handers Jamie Moyer (Phillies) and David Wells (Padres), older than Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan.
Every pitcher grows old and breaks down some day, and that day is fast approaching for Clemens. You know how some athletes dont want to leave the game if they have one more great performance in them? Roger doesnt want to leave while he has one more big payday in him. He wants to grow old on somebodys dime, and right now, that somebody is wearing a white turtleneck and conversing with the coat rack in his New York apartment.
Curt Schilling is absolutely right when he says the Red Sox dont need Clemens. Did the Sox want Clemens? Sure they did, but they didnt need him. Not like the Yankees, who ranked 26th in the majors in ERA entering last night. New York GM Brian Cashman was forced to grovel at the feet of Clemens because he spent $100 million on his starting rotation and ended up with a more dysfunctional cast than Diffrent Strokes. You want to know why the Yankees had to get Clemens? Because they didnt get Schilling, Beckett or Matsuzaka.
Now they hand a blank check to Roger and tell him theyll take anything he can give them. Five or six innings, three or four months. Anything to stop the bleeding. Clemens says hes going to New York for the ring, which is like going to Ireland for the food. He says he wants to win for the three or four guys down here that still dont have a championship ring. Oh, sure. Hes doing it for Mike Mussina and Alex Rodriguez. And Colter Bean, too.
Actually, Clemens is doing it for the same reason hes done just about everything else for the past 23 years: lots and lots of money. Nothing wrong with that. Every player has his priorities. This will put Roger over the $150 million career mark, which means hes not lying when he says he just wants to win. Hes almost 45, and now hes the highest-paid player ever.
He wont save the Yankees, but youve got to hand it to Roger: He wins again.
These teams have been very evenly matched since 2003. The pitching has been equal, the offenses have been very similar over that stretch and head to head numbers are even after the 5-1 record that the Sox hold.
The Yankees success in the 90’s can be summed up in one word, pitching. It has been proven time and time again that pitching is the key to any team’s success and when you think of the 90s they had Petite, Boomer Wells, Clemens, David Cone, Hernandez and great bullpens with Rivera, Mendoza, Nelson and Stanton. They also had guys like Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams and Brosius. Baseball players, not rent-a-players or overpriced free agent pick ups.
Ah yes, how wonderful of you to remind us of the greatest single collapse in the history of professional sports, initiated by the perfectly-timed steal of second base by Dave Roberts.
Do you think the Greatest Yankee fan of all time, Hillary Clinton, remembers the collapse? Or the steal (I don’t recall the exact play)?
Or, is she now an ex-Yankee fan, realizing that probably 90% of baseball fans in the country hate the Yankee$?
Neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox suck. It’s their fans when the two teams play each other that are more annoying than a Code Pink rally.
Good question.
But I'm sure Shrillery has, in her bag of accents, that silly Italian tough guy wannabe accent for when she needs to speak with Yankees fans.
The Steal
Facing elimination in the bottom of the ninth inning down 4 runs to 3, Kevin Millar drew a walk from Mariano Rivera. Roberts, who had not played in 10 days, came in to pinch run. Rivera threw over to first base three times (the last almost picked off Roberts), and on the next pitch, Roberts managed to steal second base. Bill Mueller followed with a single, Roberts scored, and the Sox went on to win in 12 innings and begin their run of eight straight wins culminating in the World Championship title.
Its about the money? I’m shocked!
I dont see the 45 year old Roger as a threat. He will struggle in the AL east.
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