Yanks get Tex, the End of Days begins

My ears hurt.

It's from all the gnashing of teeth and pathetic wailing coming from around the baseball universe and it's really, really irritating.

Based many people's initial reaction to the news that the Yankees have signed Mark Teixeira to an 8-year, $180 million deal you'd think there's no point in even playing out the season.

Give me a break.

What happened the last time the Yankees went free agent crazy? For that matter, what has happened the last several times someone named Steinbrenner went down this path?

Nothing.

Okay, maybe not "nothing" but certainly nothing of championship caliber.

Remember how big a deal it was when they got Clemens? Then when they got him back? How could anyone forget what "Edith" Waldman did - "Oh my gawd! Rowjah Clemens is a Yankee! Oh my gawd!"

What about A-Rod? Weren't the Yankees supposed to run away and hide after they robbed the Rangers blind? Wasn't that the move that would get them over the top?

Or when they signed Jason Giambi to that huge deal? Or Hideki Matsui, also known at the time as "Godzilla?"

Each and every time they outbid the rest of Major League Baseball for a big name player (or three) people freak out. And the Yankees don't win anything.

The Yankees spent entire decade of the 80's and the first half of the 90's wallowing in the muck because of their spend-first strategy when it came to building the Major League roster. For God's sake, the George Steinbrenner led Yankees went 17 seasons without a World Series title (and only won one division title during that time, in 1981) and it took George's eventual suspension for the franchise to return to championship level.

In the early and mid 90's the Yankees' baseball people did an outstanding job of developing players and picking up the right free agents (or trade acquisitions) to build a team that went on an amazing 8-year run from 1996-2003.

Since the World Series back in 2001 the Yankees have been flailing again. They've been throwing around free agent cash - to no avail - and now they've gone absolutely insane with their spending.

It makes for great Hot Stove discussion, no doubt, but the Yankees are hardly an unbeatable force heading into the 2009 season.

Let us take a look, shall we...

1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Mark Teixiera, 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Xavier Nady/Nick Swisher, RF
7. Jorge Posada, C
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Melky Cabrera/Brett Gardner, CF

That's a really good lineup but is it really all that much better than any other lineup? I don't think so. Lots of question marks there though I suspect guys like Damon, Jeter, Tex and A-Rod will keep the team scoring runs no matter what.

1. C.C. Sabathia
2. A.J. Burnett
3. Chien-Ming Wang
4. Joba Chamberlain
5. Andy Pettitte/Phil Hughes

That's a nice looking rotation - great talent accumulation there - but again they're hardly without question marks. Burnett is erratic and has been injury prone, Wang is still recovering from a foot injury, Chamberlain hasn't proven he can put in a full workload over a whole season as a starter, Pettitte is starting to decline and Hughes hasn't proven he can get Major League hitters out.

That should be a fine group but, again, does that rotation look like it's that much better than that of other contenders in the AL? I think Boston, Tampa and Anaheim might be able to make a case for theirs...

CL. Mariano Rivera
RP. Damaso Marte
RP. Brian Bruney
RP. Jose Veras
RP. Edwar Ramirez
RP. Jonathan Albaladejo
RP. Alberto Aceves

Rivera is still the best around but nobody else there is all that inspiring. Veras and Ramirez are talented but not proven late-inning guys. Marte had a 5.40 ERA w/ the Yankees last season and guys like Bruney, Albaladejo and Aceves are middle men.

There is potential around Rivera but this group is hardly imposing beyond the man handling the 9th inning.

What's the point of all this?

Let things play out.

There is no need for knee-jerk reactions suggesting a salary cap is necessary, that the Yankees are ruining the game, so on and so forth...

The more they spend the more they pay in terms of luxury tax, which will help some low revenue teams pay their bills and maybe keep a few players, and recent history shows us that attempts to "buy a title" don't always turn out as planned.

I'm not saying the Yankees can't or won't win the World Series. I'm just saying they're not simply going to walk away with the league in 2009 and leave everyone in the dust.

The Red Sox and Rays aren't going away and neither are the Angels.

Without Goliath there can be no David....

KW