Every team site I go to on Facebook has one thing in common… there are always a large group of people that just HATE THE YANKEES!
This offseason however, I’ve noticed that there are less and less complaints about the Yankees. It’s hard to figure out why.
Maybe it’s them not making the playoffs last year? Laying down the law with Robinson Cano’s agent perhaps? Maybe it’s residual from Mariano Rivera’s last performance or the joy of seeing Alex Rodriguez suspended for the whole season?
Those are all possible answers and likely pieces of that puzzle, but again, I ask WHY?
The Yankees did lose Cano to the Mariners and Mariano Rivera to the Hall of Fame via a five-year vacation. However, the Bronx Bombers didn’t strikeout this offseason. They struck often and they struck free agency hard … maybe harder than they have since signing Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia.
The Yankees have spend almost half a billion dollars this offseason on free agents (including the Japanese superstar Masahiro Tanaka — not including the 20 million dollar posting fee).
Well, it’s not quite half a billion dollars, only $471 million far as of today. However, rumors are flying that they are looking at Ervin Santana to round out the rotation and possibly Stephen Drew to move over from SS and play some third base for the suspended AROID. My guess is that either would command three years and $36 million to $39 million making my HALF A BILLION DOLLARS!!!! Remark a reality.
Over $94 million of that is guaranteed just this season alone in free agents. To put that into perspective their 2014 free agent spending would put them as the 15th highest TEAM salary in all of baseball all by itself.
For a complete list of free agents that the Yankees have signed so far please stop by ESPN and look at that laundry list.
So while I have never hated the Yankees for spending money freely, unlike my two favorite teams, the Pirates and the Twins, I know a lot of fans around the league who have made a big part of their fan-dom hating the Yankees. So what gives this offseason?
Screw the Yankees,it’s all about the Tigers this year!
Okay,so maybe it’s about Derek Jeter as well!