I call it the Curse of Giambino. Kinda catchy, right?
After the tough loss in seven games to
the Arizona Diamonbacks in the 2001 World Series, the Yankees were looking to revamp; give their team the extra punch it was missing at first base (sorry Tino Martinez and Nick Johnson but I guess ya just didn't cut it). Meet Jason Giambi. Fresh off two strong seasons in which he finished first and second in the AL MVP voting, the Yankees salivated at the chance to get him to use some of the power at Yankee Stadium, known for its "short porch" in right field. They signed Giambi to a seven year $ 120 million deal to play in pinstripes.Most agreed that Giambi sold his soul when he put on those pinstripes and lost the long hair and beard, but did the Yankees sell their soul as well? Since the Giambi signing the Yankees have continually followed the path of paying (perhaps overpaying) for the the best players in league, looking for the next big marketable player in New York. Feeling the pressure of New York mounting, owner George Steinbrenner began puppeteering GM Brian Cashman to sell their farm system and sign players--whom he thought--would help the Yankees win now. Not down the road.
Since the 2002 Giambi signing the Yankees have signed 14 top-flite players to mega deals; with the majority being busts.
1. Jose Contreras (4 Years $32 million)
2. Kevin Brown (7 Years $107 million; with the Yankees paying the remaining $36.2 million)
3. Javier Vazquez (4 Years $45 million)
4. Gary Sheffield (3 Years $35 million)
5. Hideki Matsui (4 Years $52 million)
6. Randy Johnson (2 Years $57 million extension)
7. Carl Pavano (4 Years $39.95 million)
8. Alex Rodriguez (10 Years $257 million and the majority of the Rangers original 10 Year $252 million deal)
9. Johnny Damon (4 Years $52 million)
10. Mike Mussina (6 Year $88.5 million)
11. Roger Clemens ($4.5 million per month)
12. A.J. Burnett (5 Year $82.5 million)
13. C.C. Sabathia (7 Year $160 million)
14. Mark Texeira (8 Year $160 million.
That's an insane amount of money to be spending on a team that hasn't even sniffed the World Series. (I won't even bring up 2004, Yankee fans.) Yet, teams like the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (they will always be the Devil Rays. You can't just drop the Devil and suddenly become good. It can't work that way) all have had more successful seasons with a considerably smaller payroll.
What are these teams doing that the Yankees aren't? The answer is finding talent within their own organization, developing players, and piecing together a cohesive group of veterans, youth, and role players. Despite the possible creepy romance between A-Fraud and Derek Jeter, I can't imagine them
ever being on the same page. The last Yankee "dynasty" had it all: veteran leadership (David Cone, Wade Boggs, Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, David Wells, John Wetteland), young home-grown talent (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettite, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Alfonso Soriano), and a strong supporting cast (Ricky Ledee, Chad Curtis, Shane Spencer, Luis Sojo, GlenAllen Hill). Where are the role players on this current team? We won't see Texeira taking a back seat. The only way we'll see Alex Rodriguez role-playing is if it's on a YouTube video with him, Madonna, and few "friends" from Scores.While Cashman has tried to go back to the philosophy of home-grown talent (i.e. Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Joba "the Hut" Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy), it seems the Yankees have reverted back to their gluton ways. This past off-season the Yankees spent over $400 million on three players alone.
Money may be able to buy a person a lot of things, but as recent history has shown it does not buy a World Series. Leave it to the pig-headed Yankees to think otherwise.
