I am so tired of anyone who uses the "the Yankees spent 60 bazillion and bought the best record in baseball" comment. They even used it last year when they were not even in the postseason. These people I refer to are either Mets or Sawxs fan in my experience, and they always forget that they are the number two and three highest payroll teams in MLB and are sitting home on the couch. Just like their fans.
The Mets were fighting to be in last place with that huge payroll, people should yell about that. People should be surrounding the Citi Field and screaming until Omar Minaya is sent packing. Also their conditioning coach and their hitting coach and ANYONE involved in the Organisation who thinks it was just a bad year. They had a system wide breakdown, and the Wilpons are at a loss to fix it. Omar must go.
Omar Minaya's record stinks. with the Expos he traded away these:
Jason Bay (2004 Rookie of the Year, All-Star in 2005, 2006, & 2009, Top 25 in MVP Voting 2005 & 2006)
Cliff Lee (2008 AL Cy Young Award, All-Star in 2008, Top 25 in MVP Voting 2008, 4th in AL Cy Young Voting 2005)
Grady Sizemore (All-Star in 2006, 2007, & 2008, Gold Glove in 2007 & 2008, Silver Slugger in 2008, Top 25 in MVP Voting 2005-2008)
Brandon Phillips (Gold Glove in 2008, Top 25 in MVP Voting 2007)
Chris Young (2007 All-Star)
And with the Mets:
The Mets signed Moisés Alou to multiple lucrative contracts, but Alou was plagued with injuries during his Mets career. Minaya also traded away several young pitchers that could have helped the Mets avert their historic breakdown at the end of the 2007 season. In November 2006, Minaya sent Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the Padres for Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins. A few days later, he sent hard-throwing relievers Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom to the Florida Marlins for lefties Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick. The following month, he traded starting pitcher Brian Bannister (son of former major league pitcher Floyd Bannister) to the Kansas City Royals for a live bullpen arm in Ambiorix Burgos. The young pitchers dealt away by Minaya, most notably Bell and Bannister, thrived with their new teams, overall the Mets netted little on those deals.
Omar is a joke. And batted .187 in two years of minor league ball.
He never played in the Majors. He is the Isiah Thomas of baseball who never got to the bigs.
At least Theo Epstien has a clue and had built some very powerful teams that have got rings to prove it, but the Sox spend a lot of money getting there as well. Just the signing for Dice K was $111.11 million for just six years. Old Theo was running trying to catch up to the Yankees and fell into a ditch that Cashman already climbed out of...He kept on signing old pitchers that could break down or lose velocity or control at any moment...and they did, boy did they.
Curt Schilling Frankenstiens Army did not fare well this year...as it went for Curt last year when the Sawx ended his career by not letting him have surgery. It was a bad move just like getting Penny and Smoltz was. Theo also had no Manny Replacement in place. Jason Bay is a .279 career hitter, and JD Drew is is .282, but they batted .261 and .267 this year. Don't get mad at the Yanks because of recent success, they haven't even won anything yet, not in years actually. Nine to be exact.
...The Yanks paid cash (as is the American way) and built a great baseball team...any team could make that much money, all you gotta do is keep your stars and trade to get more and reap the marketing and ticket sales, and reinvest until you are making bank...just like any business in the world. The Yankees use the same dollars as everyone else. The teams that make the most money get to spend that money. It is reality, and a fantasy for anyone who is a baseball fan to think that they shouldn't or would not be allowed to, because this is entertainment, and people want to see Dream Teams of all kinds going against a similar built machine. The Yanks face the Angels in the playoffs this week and they are very much the two teams that belong there.
The Dodgers and Phillies slug it out in the NL tonight. They belong there as well, last years champs versus the team with the best record in the NL.
The object in baseball is to build the best team possible and win a World Series.
May the best team win.
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