I am not a Yankee fan, although I do enjoy watching several of their players. I love the sport of baseball; and I have for 25+ years now…
What the Yankees are doing is remarkable, and if I were a Yankee fan I would be thrilled with the product that they are putting on the field for us to watch. Already with one of the most talented line-ups in all of baseball, what the Yankees have done in the last 20 +/- days should make any baseball fan drool… Just imagine if your team added C.C. Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira to the line-up of your favorite team. For the non-Yankee fan and even the Yankee-hater, you would have to be pretty impressed by the talent being brought to your locker room to help bring more trophies to your team.
With a new ballpark opening in the Spring of 2009, the responsibility of the Yankee’s management is to put the best product on the field that they can. Hell, that goes for all GM’s across the league. It’s just that the Yanks are willing to spend with no limit to get that done. You can’t really blame them for that. If the Florida Marlins or Kansas City Royals had the same kind of money, they would certainly follow suit and bring in the high-demand guys too.
As we all know, just because the Yankees are spending the most money it does not guarantee wins or World Series appearances. Games still have to be played, and 162 games per season leaves a ton of room and time for anything to happen. Look at last year, how many players on the Yankee roster made more than the entire starting line-up for the Tampa Bay Rays?? 8-10 is not a bad guess…
So, while I sit back and wait for the season to start, I will not cast my vote yet for which team I think will escape out of the American League East this year. What I will say is that I expect the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays to field the best team that they possibly can with the resources they have. If New York and Boston feel that their best chance is to bring in top-level free agents to get the job done than so be it. And if the Rays feel that their minor league teams are the best places to find players to help them win, then I am good with that too. I do expect that the Yankees will be more competitive this season, and I don’t expect much of a drop-off, if any, from the Rays or Red Sox.
It should be very entertaining in the AL East in 2009 and with the additions of Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira more and more eyes will be watching!!! I’m ready for April!!!
30-Year Old Cardboard 