Whether or not they are deserving of the restraint, I'll stop short of calling Yankee fans frauds for going from "ya know, it's so refreshing to see things done the right way this time around!" to salivating at the idea of adding one of the most expensive bats in baseball in the time it took Derek Jeter to pull the trigger in the direction of his professional reputation. It's human nature to justify the moves your favorite team makes in an effort to win, and it's not exactly difficult to rationalize the insertion of a player who was one hanging curveball away from hitting 60 dingers into a lineup that was already more abusive on long balls than Larry David. Regardless of how A-Rod-esque the corresponding contract happens to be, Yankee fans should be pumped by the roster bolstering that caused the immediate uprising of 'The Evil Empire'. They just shouldn't expect to be taken seriously if they claim that it was the result of nothing more than wholesome team building that is beyond reproach. I'm fine with them embracing the role of the bad guy, but not while also claiming some type of moral superiority that would stop their organization from taking full advantage of a relationship that's damn near familial. Due to Aaron Judge's unfortunate dental "situation", Derek Jeter is basically still the face of the New York Yankees. So don't tell me he is some holier-than-thou human when the transaction that he at least partially facilitated helped the team that he is synonymous with turn heel. As someone whose expertise as an executive is limited to promptly shit canning every long time employee that had a vested interest in the team's success, Derek Jeter hasn't exactly earned the benefit of doubting his continued allegiance to the organization that treated his recent retirement like it was a year long funeral. And listen, I understand that it makes no sense for the Marlins to commit over 250 million to a guy whose star power would go wasted by a franchise whose immediate future is bleak. I get that it's not easy to move a contract that big when the person due a monthly Brinks truck has a no trade clause. I'll even admit that the first chapter of baseball's most recent success stories have basically been tales of yard sales, but - in sticking with that analogy - the Miami Marlins' owner essentially accepted spare parts in exchange for signing his Lamborghini over to his father figure to compete in the pennant race. Credit to the Yankees for pseudo-nepotistically networking their way into the reigning NL MVP, but you can spare me Brian Cashman's candidacy as GM Of The Year when a trade of this manner would get vetoed out of principle in about 97% of fantasy leagues. I'm not ready to dig through my closet, pull out a tin foil cap, and claim that this was all some sort of meticulously planned conspiracy coming to fruition. I am, however, ready to say that Derek Jeter's shit officially stinks - whether Yankees fans want to continue to hold their noses or not.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
January 2020
|