Long Live 'The Stein!' The Evil Empire is Back!

As an exhausted follower of the Yankee tradition, I need to get this off my chest. Regardless of what you may read from these lines, I cannot and will not change my allegiance to the ball club. After all, guys like Hughes and Jeter are still worth rooting for:

Like my father before me, I am a tried and true, hotblooded, diehard Yankee fan. I even went so far as to suggest 'Mattingly' and 'Derek' as names for my first-born son (my sensible wife thought better of it; I suppose they'll be better suited for the dog, a la Indiana Jones). Upon meeting my mother, my dad molded her into a rabid Yankee supporter; they both, in turn, had an indellible say when it came to my baseball allegiance. I was raised on stories of Guidry and Munson, fed several accounts of Mick mythology, and made an advocate of Mattingly and Winfield. At age 14, I was taken to an on-the-field clinic, a time when I actually got to walk on the field at Yankee Stadium, on the same day that Derek Jeter made his debut in New York.


But ever since 1995, my father swore off the Yankees, cold turkey. "As long as a Steinbrenner is running the show," my father digressed, "I will no longer root for the Yankees." Ever since, he has followed that second-class club in Queens, having missed four championships in the process. For dad, it was a matter of principle: consummate pros like Don Mattingly, Mike Stanley, and Buck Showalter were ousted (as per George Steinbrenner) for the construction of a new regime, an era to be led by Joe Torre, the same manager who failed miserably in his short tenure as Cardinals manager. What sickened my father was the renaissance of the win-first mentality: although the Yankees played a magnificent five-game series against the Seattle Mariners as the American League's first Wild Card winner, they were deemed failures by ownership for not bringing home a championship. Such sentiment, according to my father, led to Donnie Baseball's premature retirement, the final straw of ruin for his pinstriped loyalty.


As luck would have it, Big Stein's deteriorating health would coincide with yet another change in the Bronx. As quoted and later reiterated in the Superman series, "The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son." Welcome a new dictator at the helm, Mr. Hank Steinbrenner. My father's disgust for the organization may now last well into the next decade.



Under Hank's watch, this is what has become of the New York Yankees in the off-season:

• As taken from the lips of Hank: "I hope Andy Pettitte doesn't make us regret not trading for Johan Santana." As if Mr. Pettitte wouldn't have the mounting pressure of a Congressional investigation to worry about, the success of the Yankees' 2008 campaign rests squarely on his need to lead the pitching staff.
  
• Along the same lines, Hank has openly second-guessed Brian Cashman's trust in the youth of the organization, most notably Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain, a tandem Cashman would not include in any prospective trade involving Santana. This same group could, if given a chance, do something extremely special.


• Ownership gave Torre a low-ball deal, bypassed Mattingly as his predecessor, and hired malcontent Joe Girardi as manager, who was cocky enough to don the number 27 to suggest that he will add at least another championship to the organization during his tenure.


• The organization allowed Billy Crystal to take the field in pinstripes. The comedian Billy Crystal. Who is 60 years old.


• The Yankees' relationship with Scott Boras transcended the game of baseball. Alex Rodriguez opted out of his contract during a World Series the Yankees were yet again not contending in (as per his agent), much to Hank's chagrin. "We will no longer deal with the likes of A-Rod," chirped the young Stein, who later reconsidered, signing the three-time MVP to a ludicrous deal.


• The Yankees' propensity to spend recklessly (Andy Pettitte was tendered an ace's salary this year, where he will earn $16 million) has driven ticket prices to infinity and beyond! A bleacher seat at one time cost the common fan $5. During high school, it cost me $8 to be amongst the Bleacher Creatures. By 2009, this same seat will cost $24 in the new stadium. Ticket holders can rightfully thank the tycoons known as the Steinbrenners for this shift in price and shift in baseball economics. A game once affordable to attend is no longer family-friendly.


• The new-look Yankees are now prone to picking fights with the (Devil) Rays in retaliation for playing baseball the right way: hard-nosed.


• Not that this is Hank's fault, but Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling are still given the rights to broadcast from the booth. On the radio, the Yankees are UNLISTENABLE.


• The Yankees broke the bank for players past their prime. Albeit heroes, Posada and Rivera were given pricey, multi-year contracts to be retained, with no interest conveyed to them in the free agent market. Furthermore, no viable replacements are waiting in the wings for either of them (oh wait, the catching and closing positions don't have to be filled in-house--that's something the organization can handle in free agency with longer, even more ridiculous contracts). Which brings me to my next point....


• Why would Joba Chamberlain, he of the 0.38 ERA, spectacular stuff, and unparalleled moxie, EVER be considered for a spot in the starting rotation? In the eyes of Hank's 'baseball people,' he will start in the not too distant future. It is HIGHLY unlikely that Rivera will pitch seamlessly over the life of his contract. With that said, Joba MUST be groomed as the next Yankee closer. It's not often a reliever like Mo comes around, one who can dominate with the longevity that he could, and yet, here is Joba, whose flashes of brilliance last year were a glimpse into his dazzling future, one that is eerily similar to Rivera's, a pitcher touted as a starter, used as a set-up man, and later groomed as a closer. Ask the Red Sox how that worked out.
• The Yankees entertained offers for Hideki Matsui, one of which included trading him to the Giants for Noah Lowry, who isn't even on San Francisco's radar as a top-line starter. Trading consistency for uncertainty reeks of how the Yankees USED to do things.
• Jason Giambi is still given a chance to prove himself as a first base candidate.
• The organization allows Luis Vizcaino to walk so that he may be replaced by LaTroy Hawkins. The last time the Yankees blew big money on a set-up man, Kyle Farnsworth came to town. Hopefully Girardi's contract came with a Rolaids clause.
• And last but not least, another quotable from Hank: "It's time that balance in baseball return itself to the way it was. ESPN promotes all things Red Sox and are singlehandedly responsible for creating Red Sox Nation. It's time for us, the Yankees, to bring balance back to the universe. The baseball world is for us to reclaim."

Like father, like son. Here's to decades more of the Steinbrenner legacy!

LONG LIVE THE STEIN!