This recent article on Deadspin got me thinking about the dumpster fire of cash that are the New York Yankees.
The Yankees find themselves mired in a World Series-less decade.
Since July 13, 2010, the day George Steinbrenner, the kindly old man who just wanted to win, passed away, his beloved Yankees have won nothing. George would not want to hear about Wild Cards and quick playoff exits. This has been a decade in the wilderness for the Bombers, and it is obvious that the people that own the Yankees obviously can’t be trusted to run a Major League Baseball team.
It’s not just the lack of winning pennants, it’s the circus. Since St. George’s death, their rosters have featured players suspended for Domestic Violence, a player involved in Biogenesis, and even one player suspended for 211 games related to PEDs.
Ownership seems to have no long vision. One moment (2012) they are saying…
“I just feel that if you do well on the player development side, and you have a good farm system, you don’t need a $220 million payroll. You don’t. You can field every bit as good a team with young talent.” (via CBS Local)
…the next moment they are tying up in the neighborhood of a quarter billion dollars in one player.
And with tying up that much money into one player, they still reportedly entered the season with the 7th highest payroll in baseball.
This is a team with their own TV network, a relatively new stadium, a rich history, playin in the biggest market, and they get their clocks cleaned by Boston, winners of three championships this century, a team that plays in a tiny stadium that is over 100 years old.
They couldn’t get along with their manager who had Girardi, who led the Yankees to a 910-710 record, six playoff appearances and a title in his 10 seasons as manager (ABC News), although to be fair that would not have been good enough for George.
You want a laugh? Their roster strategy is sometimes guided by #YankeesTwitter
Steinbrenner said watching fan reaction on social media and seeing how many sponsors wanted to meet young first baseman Greg Bird during spring training were a sign the team’s fan base was ready for a rebuild. (NBC Sports)
And Manfred idly watches as the Yankees make roster moves because Joe from The Bronx calls WFAN. There seems to be no plan.
The Yankees, having jettisoned their sure handed manager and now guided by their rookie manager who is less successful than Boston’s apparently smarter rookie manager, are five back of Boston, the city with a population of 673,000 (give or take) and yet the team that spends the most money and as a result wins the most championships in the no longer new century.
As usual with the Steinbrenner Yankees, the march to another year of not winning a pennant looks like bad luck—injuries to star outfielders, pitchers not living up to the hype—but is better understood as bad management. Even their little brothers across town make the World Series sometimes.
When will Manfred step in and do something about this?
