The NY Yankees Black hole at Third- Wrap up Time!

 

The NY Yankees Black hole at Third - Wrap up Time!

by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (1-18-13)

[Part One from Monday]

TODD:

The Yankees' corner man situation won't be pretty. As I tweeted the other day, @sportspinata, the Yankees have turned into an owner in a fantasy auction draft. They had a plan and didn't want to go over budget on certain guys, rightfully so. But, instead of waiting out the other players for a bargain, they waited too long and are left with nothing but scrub options. Sometimes, in these auction drafts, you look back and wish you had gone four to five dollars more on that guy who can actually walk and chew gum.

As for Youkilis, why the vitriol? Why do you care who he used to play for? I never understood this argument from other fans or even analysts. I have never met any of these MLB players, know nothing about who they are and really couldn't care. If they are wearing a Yankees uniform, I will root for them to succeed! Fans get all bent out of shape about the lack of loyalty in professional sports. Here's an idea, stop being so loyal to people you don't know, have never met, will never meet and will never be friends with! You root for a team; that should be enough.

If Youkilis the Yankee bats over .280 I will welcome him with open arms. If he is confirmed as washed up, I will root for his exit, which has nothing to do with who he used to play for.

DAN: 

Completely love the auction draft guy analogy. I've been that guy. I've also been the guy who pays the extra five bucks only to see said player hit IR within a week. Fantasy!!

You've opened a can of worms with the fan debate. I whole heartily agree that as a fan of a team you root for your team and the guys on it to succeed. I don't think I'd care much for Santonio Holmes if he wasn't a Jet, considering he's a demon in the locker room.  But here's where you've got it all wrong.  We root for a team as a fan, but we love our teams because of the guys on it. And we love it even more because of our team's enemies. As a Jets fan I'm grateful to hold the Patriots as an enemy, and as a Yankees fan we have the Red Sox to some extent. Considering the Red Sox have been a vastly inferior product for much of my life, I never really 'hated' them, but as a fan I did come to hate some of their players over the years. Particularly my years living in Boston.

Back to third base and Kevin Youkilis.  It’s not that I hate having him on my team; I’m thrilled to root for whoever is playing third for the Yankees, but I despise him a little. I hold some vitriol for the Red Sox and their players from the successful seasons of 2003 through 2008, a five year stretch in which I spent the first three living in Boston. I do not care for those players, except maybe Johnny Damon who I was thrilled to have as a Yankee. He seemed anti Red Sox by the end of things. Loved it.

As fans we love and hate irrationally and that's what makes it fun! To not hold loyalty to any player is to hold loyalty to a logo which is just color and design on fabric. I'm human and I like to connect with other humans. I want another Derek Jeter!

TODD: 

This is where my irrational love of statistics and my ice cold heart come into play. I could not care less if Derek Jeter played for the Minnesota Twins tomorrow as long as the Yankees had someone to take his place (Hey there Eduardo!). I really have no loyalty to any players of any kind in any sport. I don't know how this developed really. When I was a little kid my favorite players (Ken Griffey Jr. in baseball) were never on my favorite teams. And now that I have no favorite players, I strictly root for fantasy success and the Yankees, end of story.

Columnists always wax poetic about how sports are a business and fans need to see that in the decisions teams make. I actually don't think teams go far enough sometimes. Let's use Jeter as another example. Everyone was fine with this past contract the Yankees gave him because he had earned it with everything he did previously. How idiotic is that!? Would an owner of Home Depot pay an old man who cannot mix paint anymore just because he used to be the best paint mixer in town? Sports seem to show MORE loyalty than regular jobs, not less; and it is because no one roots for or pays to watch that old man mix paint. Teams would be much better off in most situations if they took their hearts out of decisions.

Just know that my heart is cold and black when it comes to professional athletes. Most people think they care about certain players, but they're just too stubborn to admit otherwise. How many of those Yankees fans rooted for Jeter's head when he got off to a terrible start a few seasons back; and how many diehards will yell and scream in favor of Kevin freakin' Youkilis the first time he goes four for five in a game?

DAN: 

Even though I root for players, I'd fire the elderly paint mixer.  I'm forced to agree as both a realist and a big picture guy. I love having players to root for and I've loved rooting for Derek Jeter over the years. But the Yankees should have given him a one year deal and seen how it went. He played great, so give him another year. But signing any old guy long term is dumb. Good franchises don't fall into this trap more often than not, and bad franchises never have this trap to worry about in the first place.

Speaking of a bad team, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I've actually enjoyed rooting for Mark Sanchez over the three seasons prior to this current one as a Jet. Living in Los Angeles I got to see him kick ass on the USC Trojans and then get drafted by my favorite team. Win, win! However, I'm not blind. He has to go. So it doesn’t have to be as cut and dry as you make it. You can root, root, root for your guys until they are no longer valuable to your team. As for the Yankees and Youkilis, he is an excellent one year stop gap at 3B, 1B, DH etc. Great pick up. At least that's what I keep telling myself.  I'll find it in my heart to root for him. It’s not cold and black like yours.

[If you missed Part One from Monday]