more than that...unless you're from there, i don't know how you could ever root for them. if they're your hometown team...sure. but otherwise it's like rooting for the empire in star wars. there is nothing compelling about that at all.
Rob Neyer has written a good article about how the BoSox fleeced the D-backs, and discusses what they'll do with Kim. Rob Neyer: Red Sox clear winner in Kim-for-Hillenbrand trade
Dbacks have been purging salary where possible. Player/talent wise it looks like 2 real bad Dback trades to the AL in the last 6 months or so (Durazo, now this one). Dumbasses should have just kept Durazo (get him or Overbay to learn 3rd) and Kim. In terms of talent, no question.... Durazo > Hillenbrand Kim > Dessens Makes you wonder where their heads are at.
I'm really tired of explaining to people how they don't. Just look at the amount of players they have from their farm system.
I just checked their roster. Four players from the starting lineup might be from the farm. Everyone else of significance, including starting pitchers, is in the all $tar hired gun category. And when they need another player, they'll just get the available all star from those once proud midwest teams. The Yankees are spending money to buy the best players = buy championship.
Plus this isn't fantasy baseball. You don't just move players around on a whim, especially to one of the most gruelling defensive positions on the field. They were OF/1B types for a reason.
Bernie Willams, Derek Jeter, Alfonso Soriano, Nick Johnson, Hideki Matsui, and Jorge Posada are all very good everyday players that have never played for another team. Mariano Rivera was a homegrown talent that started off as a setup guy. Andy Pettite was homegrown. Roger Clemons was traded for. Raul Mondesi was a castoff. I think the Mets cut Robin Ventura. They lost Stanton to pick up Hammond (should have kept Stanton). So, is the big problem that everyone has with the Yankees that they took Mussina and Giambi away from their clubs? The A's could have kept Giambi if they gave him his no trade clause, so thats on Oakland. I don't see anyone else on the roster that anyone could have a big complaint about. Zeile, Weaver, Juan Rivera, Hitchcock, Osuna, Acevedo, Wilson, Trammel, etc. are not going to push a team into contention. All of them could be replaced by people from AAA and it wouldn't make much difference.
Two of these are not like the other ones, two of these just don't belong. Clemens was acquired because the Yankees could give him a huge contract. Mondesi was a castoff because of his salary - which the Yankees can easily afford. The Yankees grabbed ventura from the mets for david justice as a stop-gap for Drew Henson(who the Yankees only have because they could give him the money to not play football). Money does not merely play a part in acquiring talent from other teams, but in keeping home grown talent. Teams that do not have the financial resources of the Yankees have to make choices about who they keep - like for example giving up the third best shortstop in the league because you need the resources to lock up your star pitchers - the yankees do not - they keep everyone. And they can make big gambles on players like Mondesi, Contreras, Matsui, Sterling Hitchcock with contracts that would break other clubs, all while giving out huge contracts to Jeter, Giambi, Williams, Rivera, etc, etc. The argument that the Yankees having a number of homegrown players means they aren't buying championships doesn't hold water, because other teams would've had to give up several of the cogs that made the championships possible.
the yankees suck in three ways: so hard, so bad, and wicked bad. nomaaaaaaaah seriously i get sick of "fans" that latch on to whichever team just won a championship. thats gay. and unless you live in new york, then shut up. you were probably one of those people in high school who followed around the school bully or did whatever was stylish at the time to fit in and feel good about yourself. its not if you win or lose, its how you play the game. not how you ruin the game like the yankees and their extravagent spending. i seriously have met people who are at the same time: "diehard" lakers, yankees, and bucks fans. for these people its more about style and being assiciated with the winner. a pox on them. originally from boston. go sox! nomaaaaaaaaaaaah ha and on a side note....i still cant understand why texas has an NHL team. theres not even ice in texas. ice hockey...the great southern past time
Ice or not...apparently they have a great team. They also have a huge fan base. We here in Texas have love ice
Still doesn't defend the Durazo for Dessens trade. In Kim and Durazo the Dbacks traded away arguably their two best players/prospects under 30 for far less in return. If you said 6th months ago Durazo and Kim were to be traded you would think they would have gotten a major stud or 2--like a young Matt Williams or someting which Hillenbrand is not either defensively or offensively. Dbacks are falling apart and shaving salary when they can.
Even though I think you are being facetious here, BGM, I think one big revenue stream for the Evil Empire is their cable TV contract, but I might be wrong about that. As for this deal, I am completely mystified at how anyone can think that the D-Backs got the better end of it (the ESPN site had a poll and the majority voted that Hillenbrand was the better player!). If Shea could learn to take a walk and play defense, then I can see that reasoning better. There was a reason why Epstein got Mueller. It seems like a lot of casual fans forget that and think that just because the guy (talking about Hillenbrand) had a career year and made the all-star game, that he is something. Kim gives the Sox versatility with his experience at closing AND starting. Personally, I would like to see him close for the rest of this season, and then in the off-season be moved to the rotation and Theo abandon the closer by committee thing (which I told people here was doomed to fail) and get a badass closer. With Kim in the rotation along with Pedro, DLowe, and Wakefield, that is a strong front 4 and Fossum is not bad as the 5th starter. I have to give Theo credit; I ripped a lot of his deals, but this one was definitely a major coup in my opinion and along with getting Mueller, Millar, and Ortiz, another strong move (so far). Only the Jeremy Giambi and of course the closer by committee experiment have been disappointments. I am SO glad that the Sox don't have Contreras now because if they had him, there is NO way they can get Kim, at least I think it would be tough for them to do. And getting back to the Evil Empire....Max said it best, unless you live in New York or are from that area, how can you possibly root for that franchise? I can understand Rule because he lives in Jersey, but guys like 03, Pimp, and especially Hydra amaze me for their love of the Evil Empire. Maybe all of them lived in New York at one time (I think Pimp did), but if not, I just don't get it. Hydra's love for them is very perplexing. The guy is a badass poster and criminally underrated here, but his love for the Evil Empire is his only flaw. Hydra - what kills me more than anything though, is your intense hatred for the Sox. You act like that the Sox are the ones that have won like 25 world series and the Evil Empire haven't won one since 1918. Just look at Rule - he never says anything about the Sox unless he is provoked and why should he? His team has nothing to prove...it is MY team that is the one that has something to prove, yet you act like that the Evil Empire are that team that has to prove something. Oh and Pued pretty much blew your case against homegrown talent out of the water, but I will add this: Only the Evil Empire can afford to pay a guy $8 million a year and have him spend time in AAA and at their complex in Tampa. That right there is why people say that the Evil Empire buy their players.
