Junto Boys

YANKEES LOSE. . . AHHHHHH YANKEES LOSE

No regrets in seeing the Tigers win tonight. You could tell that it actually means something to them. We’re so use to seeing clubhouse displays, but the spraying of fans with champagne was so touching and magical. These guys were happy and appreciated it in a way the overpaid all-stars on these Yankees never could. The Yankees that celebrated with the fans in 1996 are long gone. No more Wade Boggs on the back of the horse. These Yankees expect to win without all that much effort. And if it doesn’t go as planned then they are more than comfortable with losing. It must have been so lonely on the road without their Ferraris and BMWs. Now they can get back to their home theatre room, put on some tunes and then strategize with their agents about renegotiating their contracts.

Did pitching let them down? The pitching was poor, but other than Damon’s 3-run homer in game 2, they scored but one run in the last three games. The old Yankees Jeter and Posada hit .500. These are guys that play to win. The over inflated all stars stood up there like it was owed to them and scratched their chins when their half assed attempts didn’t work.

Jason Giambi doesn’t understand the first thing about winning. He understands shady trainers and secret supplements and signing big contracts, but he’s unfocused in big game situations. He muffed a simple caught stealing throw to second base yesterday. How long has this guy been in the league? He still hasn’t learned to field his position? He had only 4 more assists than errors this season. If you can’t take steroids to fix a weakness then he’s not interested. Giambi teams are 2-5 in October series. He hit around .240 in two series his teams happened to win.

Alex Rodriguez makes one question the notion of what it is to be a great player. His numbers and his age suggest elite. But if the goal in Baseball is to win championships then someone else is going to have to carry him on their back. This is not Ted Williams or Dave Winfield that stank in their first try. This is a guy who went 3-30 with 0 RBI over the last two years. The combined pressures of postseason, playing in New York, playing 3B, and the big contract have left him hopeless in clutch situations. Put him in Seattle or Texas and let him hit his 50 homers and lead him to the couch by October 3. He’s a good dog. He just needs a good home.

A great deal was made out of the Yankees lineup that had 9 former All Stars and 10 if you count Bernie who played in game 4. Melky Cabrera is the only guy who wasn’t. And what happened? That lineup made 3 Tiger pitchers look like Carl Hubbell. The key to money in baseball is being able to afford your Jeters, Bernies, O;Neills, and Posadas when other teams like Oakland and Minnesota cannot and buy a few reliable quality arms that can keep your team in the game. How many home run hitters do you need when Jaret Wright is your 4th starter? Steinbrenner could have had a better team at 2/3 the cost. It’s hard to think the Yankees would have been worse keeping Pettite, O Hernandez and Contreras especially when the Yanks won without Sheffield and Matsui a good portion of the season,

Down 8 runs tonight, Jeter fouled off pitch after pitch trying to get on base. Posada hit a homer with two outs in the 9th. Most of the rest of the team played like it was May 11. A Rod, Giambi and Sheffield cost $55 million this year. That’s more than some entire teams. Money buys all stars while heart, desire, will, or whatever you name it wins championships. And it doesn't hurt to have Jim Leyland either.

The word verification today for this post was actually a real word, "fatal." It's the first time I've had a real word. I guess it sums up the Yankees play.

UPDATE: Reports that Torre may be fired are infuriating. He's one of the few guys on this team that know how to win. He wasn't swinging the bat up there. He wasn't signing these overpaid chokers. He made the team work with Cabrera, Phillips and a tomato can bullpen.