Bronx bombers
So here you go, Kansas City. Marvel at it, Pittsburgh. Live it up, Milwaukee.
And, of course, Tampa Bay – which merely ended an eight-game losing streak by hanging 22 runs on those sorry old New York Yankees in two solid victories this week – go ahead and bask in every last bit of the fun.
These are the glory days for fans of small market baseball, fans of a baseball salary cap that may never happen, fans who just hate the winter because every day it seems George Steinbrenner has signed another mega-star to a mega-contract.
The Yankees and Devil Rays play Thursday for last place in the American League East.
Yes, last place.
And New York isn't sending out some Cy Young winner with a nine-figure contract, but righty Chien-Ming Wang, he of one career major league appearance.
"This is the toughest time we've had," manager Joe Torre said Tuesday after another sorry performance. "[But] certainly with all the success we've had, we're not going to have anybody writing us any get-well cards."
It is open hunting season on the Yankees, open folly time on the rich getting their comeuppance. Many in major league baseball are loving, absolutely loving, every single moment of it.
Which they should. Because if you know anything about the Yankees, it is that this – their worst start since 1991 – won't last for long. Deep down everyone knows New York still is capable of winning its eighth consecutive AL East title
Of course, with a payroll of more than $200 million, that's how it ought to be, isn't it?
"It is unbelievable to me that the highest-paid team in baseball would start the season in such a deep funk," Steinbrenner said back in mid-April when the team wasn't even in as deep a funk as it currently finds itself.
"They are not playing like true Yankees," Steinbrenner fumed. "They have the talent to win, and they are not winning."
They do have the talent, but they don't have the heart, the guts or the Yankee pride. Oh, there are still some champion holdovers (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and others), but too many of their teammates are too old, too clueless or too fraudulent to carry the Yankee flag.
Where have you gone, Paul O'Neill?
The Yankee teams that won four world championships from 1996-2000 certainly had some highly-paid stars. But they also had a clubhouse full of gutsy competitors, clutch hitters and true winners. That was when New York still developed talent, bringing up guys who knew what the franchise was truly, truly about.
Now they buy rotisserie heroes who only think they do. This lineup is so overpriced and listless you'd think Isiah Thomas had something to do with it.
Jason Giambi, the steroid fraud, is batting .208 in the middle of a $120-million contract.
Kevin Brown has an 8.25 ERA and maybe not a single friend in the clubhouse while cashing checks on a $105-million deal.
Hideki Matsui is struggling. Randy Johnson is inconsistent. Jaret Wright has a 9.15 ERA. The normally reliable Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada look aged.
A roster that appeared to be a dream come true during hot stove season has burnt out like an unattended fire. There is just no courage there, no confidence. The always-say-die Yankees have gone down 1-2-3 in the ninth in each of their last six losses.
Being the first team to blow a 3-0 playoff lead last year wasn't an aberration; it was a personality trait.
Steinbrenner, who watched the carnage in person Wednesday, will start issuing pink slips soon enough. Brian Cashman may want to update his resume. Joe Torre, new contract or not, may not be far behind.
The Boss will push for deals in a hurry – a return of Roger Clemens gets more plausible with each shelling.
The Yankees won't stay down. They won't.
In the meantime, you can't fault fans of the rest of baseball for reveling in their misery. Everyone likes to see the golden child tarnish. Everyone likes to see Goliath fall. Everyone likes to see big-name players realize melting away their little-town blues wasn't all they expected.
Texas (Alex Rodriguez), Oakland (Giambi) and Arizona (Johnson) – heck, all but five teams – have better records than the Yankees.
That doesn't solve the spending differential that makes baseball a class-system sport. But it does soothe the pain a bit.
New York plays for last place Thursday.
Start spreading the news.
