Yankee Haters – don’t start the party yet

Are you like me? Can’t STAND the New York Yankees? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the players. If I was drafting a team, the first player I would take would be Derek Jeter. He’s a fantastic player and a clubhouse leader. And I’ve gone from being an A-Rod hater to an A-Rod lover. I was really glad to see him have a good spring, mainly because I thought the media just spent too much time on him. The press will tell you that you have to be tough to play in New York because of the constant scrutiny, then turn around and report every time he farts. There are other likeable players – Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Jason Giambi (yeah, I said it. He took his punishment like a man. Oh, and he’s still a ferocious hitter WITHOUT steroids). So when I root against the Yankees, I’m rooting against them as a whole, not as parts. And really, even though I would probably detest him if I knew him, I can’t blame Steinbrenner for doing what he does. He’s putting together $250 million teams because he CAN. Major League Baseball’s current system allows him to do that. I don’t want to get into whether that’s right or wrong, but it is what it is.

But believe me, I hate the Yankees. And once again, they are starting the year in the crappiest of ways. Outside of Alex Rodriguez, they are sucking wind. Pitching is terrible. Bats are silent. And what happens is that many of us say, “Oh, boy THIS is the year that they will finally collapse and Boston/Toronto/Baltimore will finally win the division.” We’ve all said it before and what happened? Yankees win the pennant. See, the Bronx Bombers understand something the rest of us fail to comprehend in April or May. There are 162 games in a season. They are running a marathon. Everybody else is running short sprints. I bet that the Yankees go on to have an even worse May. We’ll get our hopes up and love looking at the scoreboard to see them losing.

But it ain’t gonna last and deep down inside you know it. Even before the trading deadline, when they will go out and get Bary Zito, John Smoltz, Roy Halladay, and Johann Santana, they will turn it around and have some wonder kids propping them up until Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreau, Hidecki Matsui and the rest of the Hee Haw gang turn it around. They aaaaaaaalways do.

So temper your trash talk. It’s gonna come back and bite you when they start winning.