George Is No Yankee

I no longer believe that George Steinbrenner is a Yankee. Maybe I just managed to delude myself into thinking he was. No more. Here is why:

First, the obvious; he wants to build a new stadium. I think he's lost his mind. Yankee Stadium is the jewel of Baseball. It has seen more championships than any other sports teams' home. It has been home to the greatest list of ballplayers in the history of the game and some of the greatest moments there ever will be. It houses the Yankee ghosts that help us through the rough moments. It is the Cathedral for all of Baseball and should be considered hallowed ground. George wants to leave it behind.

The Stadium is for watching the team play ball. It is not for trying out the latest cuisine, sipping exotic drinks, enjoying a dip in a pool (a la Arizona). It is where real fans come to see Baseball. Not just show up to be distracted by the stadium extras. It is called a "Baseball Stadium" after all.

I've heard people argue that it isn't the original stadium anyway. Keep in mind that it was just renovated, not replaced in 1973 - 1976. The ground is the same ground that the Yankee greats walked and it is to be respected and cherished. The basic building is the same and the facade is still there. It is the home of the Yankees. Period. George doesn't think so.

Yep, the new stadium will bring in lots more money, but that brings me to my second point; why do we need more money? George shouldn't be allowed to get his hands on more money. Spending it on free agents has only destroyed the team. Buying players never works. Look to the current team and see where it gets you. This years team reminds me of the bought teams from the 1980's. All potential, no results. The Yankees need to do things the right way, starting with the farm system. That is the reason for the recent dynasty. A good mix of home grown talent and a few veterans with maybe one or two plug-ins where necessary during the season. That's how the Yankees won so much between 1995 and 2001. Not by bowing to George's whims and becoming saddled with old guys whose salaries are huge. Not to mention the young talent given up in deals leaving the farm system depleated.

More revenue will mean bigger salaries and bigger names. Probably won't mean more championships.

The great Yankee teams were founded on hard work, good management and dedication of the great and sometimes not so great players. The current state of the Yankees is to pay for the name and lose chemistry, lose balance, lose respect and untimately, lose games. Old George never learned this lesson. He keeps trying to buy his way out of losing.

If George was a true Yankee he would respect the game and the legend of the Yankees. He would allow the team to be run properly and let the Baseball people build a team, not field a bunch of high priced names. He would let the team win. George is no Yankee.

Question Of The Day

Has anyone seen the Yankees? I remember seeing them in early May, but they seem to have gotten lost. If you see them anywhere, please send them back to the Bronx asap because we have a pennant to win and we really should get started on it soon.

Thanks.

YB

For The Record

The Yankees stunk up Minnesota last night. They are on a 6 game losing streak, have managed to score only 9 runs in the last 4 games and now George is instigating conference calls with the staff. (As we all know, when he gets really involved, things get hairy.) Things haven't been great for the past week.

This morning the first thing I did was go downstairs and grab my big Yankee flag and hung it outside for all to see. I'm a Yankee and I know things will be OK. No giving up in YB's house. No quitting, no crying about it. (There's no crying in Baseball!) For the record, I'm keeping the faith.

Today we start a new win streak. Go Yankees!!!

Ice Cream For Homeruns

Meritt has a deal with her son; if he hits a homerun, he gets ice cream as a reward. I think she's a genius! I'm going to propose this idea to the Yankees. Something has to help. When you have a stacked team like New York and can't win even one game from the glorified AAA Kansas City Royals, you need some better incentives.
Think about it. A true reward worth playing hard for. Sure, they get paid a lot, but when you were a kid, what better incentive did you have than ice cream for a job well done? None. I think todays ballplayers need to get back to those types of roots. They need to remember that it is a game after all and they need to start acting like it is. They need to feel the satisfaction of playing well and enjoying doing the best they can. They need to remember what fun it is to play ball. As a reward they can have ice cream, the one reward they will remember.
Monetary rewards don't work. How could they care about a few extra hundred thousand dollars after already earning millions for sucking ass all the time? They can't. They act like it's really a job. A chore. To play a kids game, go through the motions and stink up the baseball diamonds. They need real, down home, fun type incentives. Ice cream is the answer. Maybe a Baby Ruth reward for a good defensive play or an Oh Henry! candy bar thrown in there for good sportsmanship too.
Yep, those guys need to remember just what it is they're doing out there. Playing. The Yankees look like they know exactly what they are doing; earning lots of money for a job not so well done.
They need some ice cream.

I Just Don't Get It

Can someone explain to me why the Yankees can't beat the scrub team from Kansas City? I'd really like to know.

The O's and the sux are busy beating each other up, giving the Yanks a golden chance to move up in the standings but they can't win against a AAA type team? Actually, John Kruk has described the Royals as a good AA team. I wonder how he would describe the Yankees this week?

The Yankees have scored 4 runs in 2 games so far against a stinking pitching staff. 4 big runs. Wow.

Now we're back to 4th place, 5 games out. Yeah, I know it's a long season and this shouldn't mean anything to me. It does though. I hope that in September when I look back on this mini-stretch I don't have a reason to be bitter. The boys should be rolling over teams like this one.

I just don't get it.