Long time, first time.

Just have to say that you should stick to reporting and not predicting.

I believe it was you two years ago that made some reference that there was a better chance of aliens landing in Central Park than A-Rod going back to the Yankees.

Then, this year, you called all the Yankees fans (and a lot of your fans) a whole slew of unsavory words when Yankees fans on here would write, beg and plead for the NYY FO to sign Tex…

You can add SJ44 to the list of people that should be eating foot today and just keep their uneducated, unknowing mouths shut.

Salt, or pepper, with that crow?

Furthermore, lets look at the last month:

Yankees sign CC = Pete asleep after up all night at the craps table in Vegas.

Yankees sign AJ = Pete asleep again… Probably after a vodka and Red Bull induced evening.

Yankees sign Tex = Pete at Marley and Me, or whatever movie you went to yesterday.

Seriously, I thought it was your job to break the news?

NYYWS27in09!!!!

He’s a Red Sox homer too.

LOL

you gotta love the Yankee owners!

everyone else just wishes that their owners put this kind of money on their payroll

Reading comprehension > you.

you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

you must be tired after writing what undoubtedly gave you a lot of satisfaction yet was misinformed and off-base.

lay down and dream of the Red Sox winning the world series again in 2009 and the yankees continuing are decade of inefficient excess

As a Yankee fan, it’s been a great Christmas so far.

What I don’t understand is all the sour grapes among Boston fans on the various blogs and sites I read. Not one week ago Boston fans were practically hailing Teixeira as the second coming when all signs were pointing to him signing with Boston. And now that he signed with the Yankees, he’s overrated and Henry was smart for not signing him. They practically had Lowell’s bags packed. In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but a local Boston radio station had scheduled a Goodbye Mike Lowell party on the radio. This is the same way they behaved when A-Rod ended up signing for NY. He was the greatest player ever when the Sox were about to sign him and the second it fell through and he became a Yankee, A-Rod was the worst person alive. I’m sorry but as an outside observer, Boston seems very two-faced and they treat your pillar players like trash.

For example, Nomar was the Boston franchise years ago. Boston had very little to cheer about [i]other[/i] than Nomar. As soon as he’s let go, he’s a bum.

Johnny Damon was one of the most beloved Red Sox (Red Sock? What’s the proper nomenclature?). If it weren’t for Damon, Boston gets swept by the Yankees in 2004. Yet as soon as he signs with the Yankees because Boston lowballed him, the Sox fans jump on his back, call him a traitor, hail the move as genius, and boo him every time he steps foot in Fenway. Yet who betrayed who? As I see it, the Sox ownership treated Damon like a kid who lives off his mother until he’s 40 and then as soon as she needs his care, ships her off to a nursing home and wipes his hands clean. Is this the way Boston treats it’s legends?

Look at how Wade Boggs was treated. Mrs. Yawkey dies in 1990 after telling Wade the Sox were going to offer him a 5-year deal because they wanted him to follow in the footsteps of Williams and Yaz and the next in charge pull the plug on the deal and offer Boggs 1 year and an option. So he signs with New York who offers him a multi-year, wins two gold gloves, bats over .300 in the four years with them (including .311 in ’96), and caps it off with a horse ride around Yankee Stadium after winning a World Series. Yet he gets booed by Sox fan who should instead be storming their front office and booing them. And in the ultimate show of who has the most class, Boggs decides to go into Cooperstown as a Red Sock.

Same with Manny. It can be argued that Manny was the single biggest factor in the two Boston championships of this decade yet the minute he leaves town, he’s a bum. What happened to all that “Manny being Manny” crap? The way Boston treats it’s ex-players is absolutely soulless. Yet when it’s time for him to go into Cooperstown I’m sure Boston fans will be insisting he do it as a Red Sox. He was the best player in the world..he gets let go and is a bum…and now that the Yankees get Teixeira, Manny is great again because you need a bat. Jesus.

Compare that with the Yankees who hire their ex-players in consultation roles. Reggie Jackson has been huge in mentoring young players and recruiting free agents. Darryl Strawberry is a team consultant. Doc Gooden comes back. Paul O’Neill is an announcer. Ken Singleton. Jim Kaat. The list goes on. Phil Rizzuto became an announcer and practically lived at the stadium along with Berra, Murcer, Ford, and innumerable other former Yankees. That’s why you will [i]never[/i] see Jeter in another uniform. Same with Mo, with Bernie, and Posada. Jeter and Posada may be well past their prime but there is gratitude for the 4 world championships they brought to the team. And that gratitude is more than a hand shake and a subtle pushing out the front door to end their careers with another team. That gratitude is money, security, and the assurance that they will only have to don one uniform in their entire career. There is no denying the Yankees are a class organization. This is what is meant by the phrase ‘Yankee Pride’.

After 2000 it was the Yankees trying to buy their championships (even though Boston has the notorious distinction of having the highest payroll of any world championship team ever). Once Boston was winning the bought championships talk died down. Now with the recent signings (CC, AJ, Tex), I’ve actually heard Boston fans quipping about how the Yankees will never win by buying the championship and need to return to focusing on their homegrown talent as they did from 96-2000.

As things stand now, the Yankees payroll will actually be [i]less[/i] in 2009 than it was in 2008. So even when the Yankees payroll is reduced people still whine.

No one was complaining about the Yankees the past few years but this year the Yankees dump over $85 million in salary and sign a few guys and still come out less in salary and all of a sudden everyone complains.

The Yankees [b]play by the rules set by Major League Baseball[/b] that [i]any other team]/i] is more than welcome to abide by but the Yankees are the villains. The Yankees are the cheaters. It’s the same misguided anger and sophomoric logic as those who get angry at players who are driven out of town by cheapskate front offices. Look, I’m as much a proponent of a salary cap as any baseball purist. And yes, as a Yankee fan that would hurt me more than any other team’s fan, however as long as the rules say the Yankees can do this, I’m going to cheer them on. Rather than point fingers at the guy across the street whose dad bought him a new car, why not go back in the house and ask your fathers why he insists that you still ride a skateboard around? Quit worrying about the Yankees and get your ownership to spend more money. Sorry, no solutions on how to do that. That’s your issue.

I’m happy to have an ownership who understands that you have to spend money to make money. Who does all they can to try to field the best team they can get year after year. Who pours the money us fans spend on it’s brand, back into the team. Baseball, the game, is what we watch on television and cheer. Baseball, the business, is what we spend our money on and what affords the money the Yankees can spend on players. Let’s be honest, there isn’t a fan of any team alive that wouldn’t kill to have an ownership willing to spend half a billion dollars on improving their team. Anyone who says otherwise is a bold faced liar. So go ahead and buy that ‘Yankee Sucks’ t-shirt, showing that your hatred of the Yankees is more passionate than the love of your own team. Trust me, the shirt says more about you than it does about the Yankees.