It goes without saying that as a Detroit Tiger's fan, I am automatically not a fan of the New York Yankees. In fact I like the Yankees the least of ALL other MLB teams.
The Tiger's and Yank's used to be in the same division when it was just the American League and National League. And still when each league was subdivided into two separate divisions. At the addition of the the Rays and Rox (I think this was around '93 or so) the leagues went to 3 divisions. The Yankees went to the east, where the Tiger's where in the Central.
The main thing that angers me is the Yankee's "win at all COST." For starters it's made for a much more volatile free agent market, and driven up the cost to add a player ten fold. Not that players shouldn't make their worth.
The problem is that had driven up the costs for a family to attend the ball park. There is currently such a rash of no black baseball players. And a push to add more ball parks in the inner city. The reality is these kids can't afford to go to the ball park.
The same is true for a family of four that lives 2+ hours from the ball park. When we lived in North Dakota I was shocked by the people that would drive 5-6 hours from the Dakota's to watch the Twinky's play ball. That's a pretty loyal fan base. However, people in that area don't make a great deal of money. Now they're spending 10-12 hours on the road ($70 in gas), buying tix ($125), buying a beer and a dog or... two! ($30-$50), Grabbing a meal or two for the trip ($40). That's $250+ for a single game. Unreal.
Thank the Yankees.
On the same hand it's tough to really blame one team. As all really are guilty. The Tiger's have improved their 2011 line-up for about $30,000,000 additional dollars next year. They're somewhere in the top 1/3 of the pack with $$$ this year. Unfortunately, my guess is they've commit 10-20 million more on signings this year.
The Yankees on the other hand just learned the cost of paying exorbitant prices for players. They just resigned Jeter for about $17 million a year. Jeter has definitely had success in pin stripes. However, the Yankees WOULD be better with about 20 other guys (at least) playing that position. Number's have shown a decline in Jeter's abilities. Last year was a dramatic decrease. This years numbers might be a tick over 2010's performance... but bottom line... he won't hit .300 this year.
Having to pay a guy that, just simply because he's the "greatest Yankee of this era" (which doesn't mean diddly squat outside of the five boroughs) is laughable. Sure he want's to retire a Yankee and a short stop. But if you really care about the organization your paid what your worth. Not the the imaginative worth that your name means to a franchise.
Magglio Ordonez has arguably meant as much to the Tiger's in the last 6 years as Jeter has to the Yanks. Bottom line, the Tiger's love him and would like to bring him back #1 for the right price, and #2 in the right situation. But they're shopping. Teams need the most BANG for their buck. At least teams other than the Yankees.
I'm glad the Yankees had to WAY OVERPAY for a guy with minimal skills at best in today's game. YES I said it! MINIMAL SKILLS. He had his day, he washed up! Good job Yankees! Thanks giving me something to laugh about! It's good to watch you waste money.
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