This Yankee team wasn't like recent Yankee teams. There was no surly clubhouse character like Kevin Brown or Randy Johnson. Instead, a guy like A.J. Burnett pied players after walk-off wins. Nick Swisher kept thing light and prepared a collage of positive headlines in his locker each day. Even Alex Rodriguez found a side of his personality no one thought existed - the quiet, team-first guy that stayed out of tabloid trouble. These Yankees still believed they could win, even with two outs in the ninth inning.
No, this was not your grandfather's Yankee team. They weren't stoic professionals all the time, but that's why they won. Oh... and maybe that $200 million payroll helped. You can remind Yankee fans about that, but that doesn't take away how special this year was to them.
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7 comments:
I give them credit
you can pay for talent, but it has to stay healthy and perform
Rob you are killing me here- I'll even preface my comments by saying I am a Red Sox fan but still....
"This Yankee team wasn't like recent Yankee teams. There was no surly clubhouse character like Kevin Brown or Randy Johnson. Instead, a guy like A.J. Burnett pied players after walk-off wins. Nick Swisher kept thing light and prepared a collage of positive headlines in his locker each day. Even Alex Rodriguez found a side of his personality no one thought existed - the quiet, team-first guy that stayed out of tabloid trouble. These Yankees still believed they could win, even with two outs in the ninth inning. "
1- AJ is a huge hothead. Case in point. Btm 6th inning in Texas, Yankees up 3-0, AJ gives up 2 hits and comes back to the clubhouse storming around throwing 'stuff'. Yours truly took care of cleaning it up. He has always been a temper fueled character.
2- Not sure what you mean about Swisher and headlines, unless it was figurative.
3- Arod is the biggest narcissist in sports. Photos of him kissing himself, paintings in his house of him as a centaur, and when others get the game winning play, he is the first to step in for an interview or try and step in the spotlight and try and take recognition. The only good thing he ever says about anyone else is, "They are a good competitor". A-Rod shied away from the media because he knew the talk could be about steroids. When Manny Ramirez stayed from the media he was frowned upon.
4- Lets just call it what it is. The Yankees finally paid for guys who could perform in big games (Sabathia). Jeter/ARod have no relationship off the field. They barely speak in the clubhouse. They deserved this win no doubt because they were the best team. But to try and say that they won because of other reasons besides staying healthy and being some of the best players is crazy.
Chris - thanks for the detailed comments. Let's see if I can defend myself!
1 - AJ may me a hothead, but there's a difference between that and being grumpy like Johnson or Brown. I don't think anyone would deny that Burnett is a good teammate... except maybe Posada, who basically isn't allowed to catch AJ.
2- Swisher collects headlines and posts them in his locker. See near the bottom of this: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091107&content_id=7636280&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
3 - As for A-Rod, I think it's important to notice the transformation that he made this season. While he remains a narcissist, I'd like to think he's toned himself down a bit. See this SI article which highlights some changes he made: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1161855/index.htm
4 - I'm not sure I would say A-Rod and Jeter have "no" relationship. Have you been inside the clubhouse? Do you hang out with either of them? Can you invite me next time you do?! Ultimately, it is what it is but it clearly didn't get in the way of the Yanks winning the championship. Since that's the case, I personally don't care what their relationship is like off the field. I think many Yankee fans would agree with that.
Saying that the Yankees won because they have talent and stayed healthy is a fair comment, but they've always had talented players and they've stayed fairly healthy in recent years. It takes more than that to win a World Series and I think the Yankees showed that this year. Watching them year in and year out, I can see the difference between this team and some of the other teams of the 2000s. That was my point.
The Yankees were clearly inspired by South Park and Magic Johnson prior to last offseason. How the Yankees Cured Their Championship Woes. (You can skip to about minute 16, and also if you've never seen South Park, it's NSFW.)
Also, in Chris' defense he does hang out (or rather, works) in major league clubhouses, including the Yankees'. He is pretty stingy when it comes to inviting others though. I think it's the whole "trying to be professional" thing.
The yankees are the most disgusting organization in sports.
the best team that money can buy. a true testimony to everything that is wrong in baseball. they ruin the game.
Brian - The point was that that it really doesn't matter what Jeter and A-Rod's relationship is off the field as long as the team wins. Since that was the case this year, I don't think Yankee fans really care what their relationship is.
Yourtime - A agree that the Yankees demonstrate that there is something wrong in the financial landscape of baseball. In my opinion, there's no question that there should be a salary cap. Until then, however, the Yankees are well within their right spending as much as they do.
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