In Defense of Evil

Written by

November 10, 2009

Let me begin by saying that I hate the New York Yankees. I hate everything about them, and I will always hate them. I hate how Alex Rodriguez’s phoniness is so obvious that it oozes from my TV, I hate Mark Teixeira’s emotionless robot-stares, and I especially hate Derek Jeter’s unnecessary jump-throw thing that makes people think he’s a good shortstop. I hate that bleating goat John Sterling, I hate the bleacher creature roll-call, I hate the cocky way Robinson Cano chews his bubble gum whenever he jogs out a ground-ball, and I hate whoever invented the term “True Yankee”. Watching the Yankees celebrate winning the World Series was like watching a lost alternate ending to Return of the Jedi where the final scene is Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Kate Hudson spraying each other with champagne after defeating the Rebel Alliance. The World Series left me and every kindred soul that enjoys sunshine and happiness and puppies feeling cold and empty inside.

That being said, I don’t hate the 2009 Yankees for trying to win. Yes, they spent the most money, but they were also the best team in baseball, an offensive juggernaut that scored the most runs, hit the most home runs, and I must admit that a tiny part of me was glad to see the best team win. GM Brian Cashman assembled this orgy of talent last winter by bringing in the two best free agent pitchers, as well a switching-hitting gold-glove robot to play first base. They indeed spent a disgusting amount of money in the process, but it doesnt make any sense to call the Yankees evil for trying to win. The decade old argument against the Yankees is that they are somehow at fault for having a payroll 52 million dollars higher than any other team, that they are evil for spending whatever it takes to win, and that they are cheating the other teams by doing so. There is nothing wrong with what the Yankees do. They take in more money than any other team, so why wouldn’t they use that to their advantage? It would be foolish, and perhaps even unjust towards their legions of stormtrooper fans, for them not to spend away. Major League Baseball allows the Yankees to spend as much as they please, and its not the Yankee’s job to worry about anyone else.

The real fault lies in the unfair system that allows a team playing in the massive market of New York City to compete financially with teams from smaller markets, like Milwaukee and Kansas City, that have no means of leveling the playing field. It’s like letting LeBron James play on a youth basketball team. This is not to say that the mindless spending of money guarantees victory (just ask the New York Mets), but that massive resources well spent becomes an unbeatable combination. Fifteen of the last sixteen teams to make the postseason out of the AL East have been the Yankees and Red Sox, because they are able to spend more money than the other teams, because they have front offices that spend money intelligently, and because they have the ability to outspend whatever mistakes they make (Kei Igawa) that would financially cripple other teams. The Toronto Blue Jays are buried beneath a glut bad contracts, and will likely have to trade Roy Halladay or watch him sign elsewhere next year because they cannot afford to keep him. In 2008, the Florida Marlins spent less money on their entire team than the Yankees did on Alex Rodriguez. The Milwaukee Brewers watched CC Sabathia waddle over to the New York last winter because they weren’t able to offer him a contract anywhere near the one the Yankees threw at him. The financial giants of baseball have a tremendous advantage over the smaller teams, and the Yankees are the tallest, ugliest giant in the land of giants. But again, the Yankees are doing nothing wrong by using every advantage available to them. Should Mariano Rivera stop throwing his cutter because no one can hit it? Should Alex Rodriguez not be allowed to bat anymore because he can hit a home-run on any pitch? Why should the Yankees be blamed for their spending when it is allowed by the rules of MLB? The Yankees aren’t cheating, they are just the team best equipped to win.

So don’t hate the Yankees for their spending. Hate them for other reasons. Mock Sabathia’s weight and his presumably perpetually greasy fingers, mock how high and oddly shaped Derek Jeter’s hair line is, and mock Nick Swisher’s general aura of douchiness. Enjoy hating them, because its fun to boo and hiss the villains. But don’t hate the Yankees for trying to win, because they play by the same rules as every other team. Hate the system that allows them to have such a massive head start.

Comments

12 responses to “In Defense of Evil”

November 11, 2009

Marco Soriano

I have never read such an objective piece of journalism. I have always argued with people that although the Yankees spend money to win a Championship, they still have to play the game. I love the Yankees and it was great to see them celebrate their 27th Championship. GO YANKEES!!!

Reply
November 11, 2009

Gerry A.

Right on the money, Flood. No pun intended.

Reply
November 11, 2009

Joel

Nicely written anti Yankee article. At least you spoke the truth that the Yankees just played the game better then anyone else both on and off the field. Money talks in sports. And no where more then in Baseball.

Would any of us if our employers sold out to new management that wanted to be number 1 in there field, started to hire and promote from within, and paid outlandish salaries to get and keep the best. If it were any of us, we’d love it.

Reply
November 11, 2009

Charles (Coach G)

Great Job! You have made excellent points, and this article makes you really realize that the system is whats wrong with baseball, and the Yankees just play by the rules within the game. This article is a perfect example of why baseball needs a salary cap!

Reply
November 11, 2009

Kaiser D

Good points made all around, but one big point the author misses is despite the lack of salary cap as in the NFL, more teams have won the World Series than the Super Bowl-so I am not 100% convinced that “leveling” the playing field will make a difference

Reply
November 11, 2009

I love baseball

Baseball doesn’t need a salary cap! The Yankees are probably the most popular team in the world (aside from maybe Brazil in soccer). Why not let the most popular team spend the most money and win the most championships. It’s what the people want. If you love them, you want them to win. And if they stopped winning, people would stop hating them. But admit it, you love to hate them.

Reply
November 11, 2009

Miguel

WAAAAAAH,

Go wash your Pussies !!!!!

Reply
November 13, 2009

Richard

It is a well-written article, but it misses a key point. The Yankees should be hated because they have fought hard to maintain the current unfair system. They have little interest in sharing any of the revenues generated by their local TV contracts or sellouts in their new publicly funded stadium. Yankees apologists claim that we are capitalists in America and not socialists. However, the business of baseball is a single business. It isn’t really 30 different businesses. Unlike other industries, it isn’t in anyone’s best interest to drive competitors (in this case other teams) out of business. This would not help the game of baseball, the fans, the owners or even the Yankees.

There are no easy answers here compared to football where the bulk of the teams’ revenues come from a national TV package that is divided evenly. However, the disparity between high salaries teams and low salaried teams continues to grow and become a bigger and bigger problem in baseball.

For those who claim that spending money doesn’t guarantee success, I ask that you look at the facts. Over the past 10 years, the vast majority of the playoff teams have been in the top half in the league in salary. There are no guarantees that if a team spends money that they will win (Mets, Orioles) and there are no guarantees that if a team does not spend money that they will not win (A’s, Rays). However, it is incontrovertible that spending money gives a team a huge advantage. This, of course, makes sense. Why would the Yankees waste millions of dollars a year on salary over their competitors if it didn’t give them an advantage?

Since there is a clear advantage in spending more money and the Yankees have spent more than anyone else by a huge margin over the past decade, it also shows something else: The Yankees of this decade have the worst GM and the worst coaches in all of baseball. Given their resources, they should win a championship every year and yet, this is the first time they have won since 2000.

For those of us who enjoy the game of baseball, it is concerning that this trend will gradually result in the decline in the popularity of the game. Something needs to be changed and it will have to change with the cooperation of the Yankees. As long as they do not cooperate, they will continue to remain evil in my mind.

Reply
November 13, 2009

Patrick Flood

Richard,
I don’t think you can blame the Yankees for baseball’s inequity. They didn’t cause the problem, they’re just its ugly face. MLB let its player’s association get far too powerful, and I don’t think there will ever be a salary cap because the free market system is the best way for players to get paid the most money possible. The NFL is the league with the most parity, but their player’s union is so weak that they don’t even get guaranteed contracts in an excessively violent sport.
As for the Yankees not winning the World Series every year, I’ll point out that they made the playoffs every year but one. Baseball’s a weird sport where the best teams only win around 60% of the time, and the worst teams lose only 35% of the time. In the NFL, the best team usually wins 80% of the time or more. So whereas the football usually sees its best team steamroll everyone else in the playoffs, baseball’s postseason is a bit dicier. In a short series, it’s very easy for a bad team to knock off a much better one with a bit of luck. That’s why “bad” teams can win the world series every year, like the 2006 Cardinals who won only 83 games. The Yankees have a massive advantage in terms of getting to the postseason, but even they need the right bounces from there. As Billy Beane put it, “My shit doesn’t work in the playoffs”.

Reply
November 13, 2009

Richard

With all due respect, I think you should look into the Yankees position related to a salary cap in baseball and profit sharing. You will see that they have fought against it at every corner and only reluctantly agreed to a luxury tax that doesn’t limit their ability to spend, it merely requires that they spend more to get what they want.

You are absolutely correct related to the power of the MLB player’s union, but there is a simple answer to that issue: imposing a salary minimum along with a salary cap and more revenue sharing. If the pot of money available for free agents is bigger and not smaller (by requiring that the Marlins, for instance, spend the revenue “shared” with them), the player’s union should be appeased.

As for the weirdness of baseball, this may have perhaps been true in the past. However, as the disparity grows, the likelihood of the lower salaried teams beating the higher salaried teams shrinks. You aren’t going to serious claim that if the Yankees played a minor league team in a meaningful series (not a ridiculous exhibition) that they wouldn’t win 9 out of 10 times if not all 10. With the Yankees payroll growing to double that of most of the other teams in baseball, this comparison is not that far off. The Yankees had the resources to put together whatever team they wanted each year and instead of intelligently putting together a winning team, they blindly added the MVPs and Cy Youngs of seasons past. Billy Beane’s “…shit doesn’t work in the playoffs.” because, at the end of the day, he didn’t spend $200 MM to cover up all of his mistakes.

Reply
November 13, 2009

Patrick Flood

A salary cap would rob the Yankees of their biggest advantage, so why should they be in favor of one? Why shouldn’t they fight against it? That doesn’t make them evil. In the end, they are a business and a salary cap is bad for their business. Baseball will have to deal with the problem or this conversation will happen every time the Yankees win.
I actually like the idea of a salary floor combined with a salary cap, and agree that owners should not be pocketing shared revenue.
I agree that the Yankees would probably beat a minor league club 9 out of 10 times. But I would point out that the lowly Washington Nationals took two of three from the Yankees in the Bronx this summer, and the teams that play in the MLB playoffs are much better than the Washington Nationals. The shortness of postseason series allows for chance to play a much bigger role than it does in the regular season. The “hottest” team, not the best team, often wins in the playoffs. The randomness of the postseason is the only reason the Yankees haven’t won every year since they began their spending sprees.
I also want to defend the Yankees as an intelligently constructed team. Brian Cashman didn’t pull the trigger on the Santana deal in February of 2008 because he saw that Sabathia would be available in the next winter and wouldn’t cost him any prospects. He picked up Nick Swisher for utility-man extraordinaire Wilson Betemit and couple of non-prospects. Giving Damaso Marte a three-year deal was idiotic, and I don’t think Cashman is the best GM in baseball, but he’s certainly not among the worst. He’s built winners every year he’s been there. He deserves a little bit of credit.

Reply
December 7, 2009

Anonymous

good lord, I wish my classes had such lively discussions! maybe i wouldn’t fall asleep so much…

Reply

In Defense of Evil

Comments

12 responses to “In Defense of Evil”

Leave a Reply to Gerry A. Cancel reply

More posts

Hungarian and Romanian LGBTQ Activists Bring Cross-Cultural Conversations to Campus

Exclusive: The Argus Interviews “Sentimental Value” Director Joachim Trier at Critic Colloquy

Office Hours: Professor Nicholas Whittaker on Film, Philosophy, and the Value of Confusion

Introducing SafeWords, Wesleyan’s Sex Column: Going Down, Getting It Up, and Covering the Bases

The Wesleyan Argus