It doesn't take a Billy Beane or a Theo Epstein to figure out that the Yankees were not exactly in dire need of more hitting for the 2006 season. The Yankees needed to get a reliable defensive centerfielder because the aging Bernie Williams was starting to embarass himself out there last year (and I have always liked Bernie Williams as a player). Their number one priority for the centerfield position was better defense, not more hitting. What they got in Johnny Damon was a guy who can go and get it in center - he gets a good jump on the ball, covers a lot of ground, and is sure-handed. His only drawback, as everyone knows, would be his weak arm.
The fact that Damon is also one of the better leadoff hitters in baseball is a nice bonus for the Yankees, but just adds more of what they already have in surplus - fearsome hitting. Yes, you can win 90+ games with superior hitting, but pitching wins in the post-season (see the 2005 Yankees and Red Sox: awesome hitting but not enough pitching to win even one series). When a story breaks about the Yankees signing a player, I just want to know if they signed a good pitcher. If not, I smile and rest easy. They can put nine Lou Gehrigs out there for all I care. Their pitching looks iffy to me, and that's what wins playoff series.
Welcome aboard, Josh Beckett.........and we're leaving a light on for you, Mr. Millwood.
Johnny Damon's defection to the Yankees has the Red Sox Nation scrambling to find a scapegoat in the front office, while Yankee fans are patting themselves on the back for the sheer genius of their club's Ruthian-like steal of a deal.
But save the praise and hold the blame for another day, or better yet, another sport.
With no hard salary cap, signing free agents is simply money - not mind - over matter.
In the NFL, a general manager is forced to use intelligence, fiscal ingenuity, and player evaluation savvy to get the best team on the field, since all the GM's start the game with the same number of chips.
Imagine a poker game played by all the baseball GM's. We've got players like the Pirates' and Indians's GM's, bringing about $40 million to the table. And then there's George, with about $200 million worth of chips stacked neatly in front of him. All the other GM's want to play a Limit game, but, of course, the game is in George's house, and he demands the game be No Limit Texas Hold'em. What's more, if George goes all-in with a pair of deuces (see Kevin Brown) and gets beat, he can always shout, "RE-BUY!", and keep right on playing.
What about the "competitive balance tax", you say? What about it. The Yankees were about $80 million over the payroll limit this year, which, BY ITSELF was more than the payrolls of 19 other major league teams. The Yankees will pay about $30 million for the TAX ALONE this year, which represents 50% or more of the payrolls of 11 other teams. The Yankees #### taxes and player's salaries like so many peanuts.
Right about here, some of you might be saying to yourselves, "Well, Edsox is a Red Sox, so what's he complaining about? His team's payroll is higher than every team out there but the Yankees?" True, but it's not sour grapes. I can't blame the Red Sox for having some limit to their spending, even if it's a dizzyingly high one. Johnny's departure is no surprise and remember, I've seen worse - losing Roger Clemens. I'd rather see the Red Sox payroll go down if it meant a fairer game.
In a fantasy world, I'd get Bud Selig and Donal Fehr together to rectify this ridiculous inequity and create a level playing field with a hard cap. Of course, the player's union is too strong to let that happen. It considers any cap a threat to its players' ability to "make a living". And George would never agree to giving up his chip advantage. A cap would mean some current owners would be unable to ante up and play the game (if there was a floor on the payroll as well as a cap), but I can't feel sorry for obscenely wealthy men who just aren't quite as obscenely wealthy as some others. I'm not advocating subsidizing the small-market/miserly owner teams. Sell your team to someone who can afford to play the game.
Sure, spending the most money doesn't guarantee a World Series championship - the Yankees have ONLY managed 26 championships since 1903 - but giving every GM the same number of starting chips would at least give everybody a fair shot to win based on merit, and not just money.
I'm beginning to wish the entire Red Sox front office - owners included - would jump into a giant #### suit, climb to the top of the Coke bottle sign at Fenway Park...........and await my further intstructions.
It seems the Red Sox have re-invented the Hot Stove League.
I want "Miggy for Manny" stories, hot rumors about who's going to be the next short-lived shortstop, and good news about Johnny Damon re-signing with the Sox.
Instead, I get stories about who the next Red Sox GM will be, where the last GM is now, and what the current GM-by-committee thinks about the last GM(s), and the next GM(s), and........ enough already! I am all GM'd out!!
Now we're being told the Four Horsemen have been reduced to the Daring Duo of Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington. Or have they?
Apparently, Theo the Great may be returning - did he ever really leave? Was that really Theo sneaking out of Fenway Park on Halloween night, disguised as a ####? Will he return as King Kong and rescue poor Julio Lugo from the Devil Rays to play shortstop for the Red Sox? Does anyone really even know where Theo is?
I read that he was hanging out with Pearl Jam in Argentina. Nice gig. Don't cry for him, Red Sox nation. Theo's just fine and back in the fold - it's amazing what a 5,000 mile separation from Larry Lucchino will do for a man's outlook. Theo's just doing business the modern way - he's telecommuting.
I can see it now, a teleconference to announce Manny's been traded to Brazil for The Girl from Ipanema and a slugger to be named later. (Of course, Brazil would have to pick up the bulk of the money owed to Manny, which would immediately triple Brazil's national debt.) Why freeze in Boston when you can make deals from the sun-drenched beaches of Rio de Janeiro, with a cell phone in one hand and a cold Brahma Light in the other?
Perhaps Theo IS running the show again, but the point is, I'm sick and tired of this corporate soap opera. Can't we just stick to some good, old-fashioned, rumor mongering about the PLAYERS?
