| Scott Essman. 28th June, 2005 - 1:36 am
 It was so good, it was almost perfect. The Mets -
legitimate crosstown rivals on-and-off for 37 years -
just about did it. They came within a half of an
inning. If Mets' "closer" Braden Looper hadn't walked
Tino Martinez to lead off the bottom of the ninth on
Sunday's Met-Yankee game at Yankee Stadium, opening
the floodgate for the tying and winning runs, they
would have done it.
Yes, the Mets would have swept the Yankees in Yankee
Stadium, a first for the Mets and a rareity; even in
this season of Yankee mediocrity, they haven't been
swept at home. But even better, a Mets sweep would
have meant sending the Yankees below .500 heading into
a road trip, having lost 6 of 7. In this writer's
opinion, it would have also meant someone's job in the
Yankee organization, most likely Brian Cashman's
general mangerial position, or Joe Torre's field
managerial job. I don't think that Yankee owner
George Steinbrenner would have tolerated a sweep at
home, especially at the hands of the hated Mets, a
viciously jealous point of Steinbrenner's rage. He
hates anything that the Mets do that inches towards
success, and this unlikely Mets sweep would have sent
him over the edge.
How perfect would it have been for the Mets themselves
to send former Met player and manager Torre to his
firing from the Yankees? A Yankee season without
postseason play, much less a sub-.500 season, is
unthinkable in this age of the $200 million payroll.
Heading into a lengthy roadtrip and stretch in which
they play division rivals would have been just too
much for a Yankee team on the brink of collapse in
light of a homefield sweep, topped with losing 3 of 4
to the lowly Devil Rays early last week. Torre would
have been the fall guy if not Cashman, who's stitching
together of this new team, layering high-priced aging
free agents and salary dumps of high-priced players on
top of aging Yankee prospects from the 1990s. But if
was not meant to be, saving Torre, Cashman, and the
pride of an organization that boasts 26 championships
over the 102-year history of the team, an astounding
25% winning percentage.
All of which got me to thinking just why I hate the
Yankees so much. It's really too easy just to say
that I hate them and be done with it. I hate the
Yankees more than I hate the Republican party. More
than I hate unbridled capitalism. Which, in a sense,
are three of a perfect pair, unfairly or not. It all
seems like one big problem, especially polluting my
beloved baseball. There are definite and specific
reasons that I hate the Yankees, some of which have
little or nothing to do with sport so much as the
human condition in the 21st century.
I hate the Yankees as an organization. Their secret
history is filled with serious indiscretions as Yankee
scouts and money men were quietly infamous for
scouring the country and buying up the rights to the
best players long before there was an Internet,
television, or wire service to report on the latest
players and the teams who "drafted" them. Has anyone
stopped to wonder whether or not it's a pure
coincidence that after "acquiring" Babe Ruth and
leading the charge into the 1930s with Lou Gehrig, the
Yankees, in sequence also got the rights to Joe
DiMaggio, then Mickey Mantle? Is there a book there
about the scandalous nature of Yankee acquisitions
that led to 20 titles from the 1910s through the
1960s?
I hate the Yankee management. For starters, little
has been said about the failures of the team to
effectively retool under Cashman's supervision. The
team hasn't won since 2000, five years, with this year
seeming a longshot at best. Yes, they made the
postseason 10 straight years, an accomplishment in
itself, but Cashman and his lieutenants repeatedly try
to undermine the rest of baseball by "assuring"
themselves of the best team. They do this by spending
and outspending the rest of baseball (in many cases,
one could compile the collective salaries of 5 teams
and still not supercede the Yankee payroll). Yet the
spending has yet to be fruitful in this century. The
teams of the late 1990s, however dominant, have not
carried over their success.
I hate the Yankee ownership. There aren't enough
adjectives to describe my loathing of what George
Steinbrenner stands for. Greed, jealousy, arrogance,
yes, the man has those in spades. But he also
possesses that uniquely American trait of entitlement.
Just because he can, he does, in all cases at all
times. Competition be damned, George will outspend,
outstrip, and out-baseball everyone else, sparing no
expense, player development initiative, or other
team's welfare in the process.
I hate Joe Torre. I remember in the late 1970s when I
attended a Mets game as an eager young fan and Torre
put himself in to pinch hit as a player-manager.
Seemed a ponderous decision even to a youngster, but
that was classic Torre, making questionable baseball
decisions even then. He was no better a manager on
his succeeding teams, but after Buck Showalter's huge
gaffe in the 1995 playoffs, leaving dead-tired Yankee
pitcher David Cone in a playoff game against Seattle
so long, the man could barely reach the dirt in front
of home plate. Showalter was out and Torre was in.
His 1996 team was seemingly on the brink, until game 4
of the World Series against the Braves when an
incredulous Mark Wohlers threw journeyman Jim Leyritz
a hanging curve that he tattooed to tie a certain
Braves win - the Yankees won the game and the series
in 6. In 1997, Torre's team collapsed when sure-fire
"closer" Mariano Rivera blew a save against the
Indians in the playoffs, leading to an Indians win in
that series (they eventually lost to the Marlins).
Certainly the 1998-2000 Yankee teams were steadfastly
dominant - no denying their brilliance. But Torre's
2001 team, coming from behind twice to beat the
Diamondbacks to take the World Series lead, collapsed
again on a piece of horrible managing: Torre was so
unsure of his bullpen, he let "closer" Rivera pitch
the 8th and 9th innings to get saves. In game 7, the
clincher, Rivera blew the lead and gave up the winning
hit, obviously tired and no longer a mystery to the
Diamondbacks. Then, in 2002 and 2003, Torre was
outmanaged by Mike Scioscia and Jack McKeon
respectively in the postseason, followed by the
Yankees amazing collapse in the 2004 playoffs at the
hands of the surging Red Sox. So, where Torre should
be commended for three consecutive great seasons of
1998-2000, you must find at least SOME fault with
Torre's style and decisions in preceding and
succeeding seasons. Is this a Hall-of-Fame manager?
Some might say so, but I can't fathom awarding a man
who has blown five postseasons appearances, ostensibly
with "superior" teams.
I hate the Yankee players. All of them. The only
ones who I could ever stand put on their uniform in
the late 1970s when they had class. Sparky Lyle, Ron
Guidry, even Reggie Jackson. Those Yankees had
character. They were dynamic personalities. Not like
this new bunch.
I hate Derek Jeter, though I freely admit that he's
the most heads-up player in the game today, if not
ever. I hate his arrogance. Even in the pitches that
he takes - whether balls or strikes - he leans into or
back from, as if to say that he should have hit them.
I hate his swagger, his cockiness, his
self-assuredness.
I hate Mariano Rivera. The man was unhittable for a
time, but what goes up must come down. And his three
aforementioned postseason blown saves must stand out
in history as terrible chokes. For all of his
successes, he has a treasure chest of high-profile
failures.
I hate Bernie Williams. The man is heralded as one of
the greatest outfielders in the game, but that's
purely because he's a Yankee. The numbers don't
support that claim. The man has averaged 24 home
runs, 104 RBI and a .301 average over 162 games
through his career. Definitely solid numbers, but not
even in the top 50 players all-time for any category.
His average in six World Series is .208. Career-wise,
he ranks most similarly with Bobby Bonilla, Will
Clark, and Dante Bichette. And the last two years, he
has clearly fallen way off.
I hate Alex Rodriguez. He can keep his millions,
that's okay. I don't like his failure to stick with a
team. He leaves Seattle and they win 116 games. He
leaves Texas and they threaten to make the playoffs.
His bitch-slap heading to first base against the Red
Sox told me all I needed to know about him - that play
will mar his career from that day forward.
I hate Jason Giambi. Not for leaving the A's high and
dry. Not for his "we'll hammer 'em like porn stars"
comment when he joined the Yankees. Not for his
obvious steroid use. Just because of what he
represents - another high-priced Yankee trophy for
their case. It's glorious to see him fall on his
face, post-steroids.
I hate Hidecki Matsui. Was is baseball afraid to
pitch to him? Just throw him some tight fastballs and
ring him up. Pitchers like to play with him. He's
overrated.
I hate the touted Yankee rookies. Watching Robinson
Cano make a crucial error against the Mets on Sunday
was joyous. You've gotta believe that Cano was
swindled onto the team like other Yankee rookies
before him. He's another overhyped player. Ditto for
pitcher Chien-Ming Wang.
I hate Jorge Posada and Gary Sheffield. Can the men
hold their mouths just once? They argue every call,
right or wrong. Does being Yankees give them the
right to do so?
Lastly, I hate all of the Yankee pitchers. Especially
Randy Johnson. The guy is a first-ballot
Hall-of-Famer, no question. But he's been on six
teams. Do you think he's a nice guy? That much
talent and so many teams usually means zero upstairs.
Plus, it's great to see his numbers tainted in a
Yankee uniform. Too little too late, I'm afraid.
Ditto for Kevin Brown - same story. Mike Mussina's
probably not a bad guy, but he's clearly on the
downside of his career. Watching the aging pitching
tank is wonderful to a Yankee hater. It exemplifies
why Steinbrenner and Cashman's strategy is backfiring
- try as you might to buy a winner, to outspend all
others, to outdo the competition by sheer force of
will instead of sensible planning and development -
you just can't win all the time.
Giambi's big hit against the Mets Sunday, averting the
looming Mets' sweep was good for me, in a way. Torre
is still there, Cashman's job is saved at least
another series, and all is stable at Yankee Stadium.
It gives me an ongoing reason to keep hating all of
them.
Scott Essman can be reached at scottessman2005@yahoo.com. |
