Isn't it true that the NY Yankees...?

Yes...absolutely true...And a look at the Yankees rosters from the 1920's for 80 years forward says it...They won during the Depression, they won during WWII, they won in all but the late 60's. And they won because they had a tremendous scouting system...and a great reputation. They won when players could sign with any team they wanted to because there was no draft, and they won on the farm level, too--at Columbus, Syracuse, etc.

People forget that among the reasons the Yankees were able to obtain quality besides free-agency was they had a farm system. If we lose A-Rod and/or Posada, they have the young arms to help land whatever they do not pursue on the free agent market.

Chris, since you seem to be as old or possibly a slight bit older than I am, you remember the Mike Burke years of Ron Bloomberg and Horace Clarke...and they hated the Yankees back then.

The play "Damn Yankees" was about how the Yankees were hated...They have always hated the Yankees because the Yankees have always been able to do what no other team could do---produce the players that could provide the victories....whether on the farm, or in trades, not just through free-agency. But the fans hate the Yankees so much that no team has a greater Road attendance than New York, and that has been the case for decades...and the Yanks play at Fenway on the road. If they played at a place like the Stadium against the Red Sox, they would have even more people attending the opponent's games.

The other owners let Steinbrenner have his way for one reason--His teams bring money into even places like Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Baltimore.

The thing is, this year, the Yanks were done for until they inserted young pitching arms, which has nothing to do with money. Joba Chamberlain, Ramirez, Kennedy, Hughes...players like Duncan, Melky Cabrera, home grown products like Jeter and Posada...while Mussina, Petite, Clemens are/were struggling. It reminded me of 1964, when a young Mel Stottlemyre came up and went 9-3 and was chosen to start the WS.

No team has more Hall of Famers than NY. No team has won more championships because in the days when there was no free-agency, as the story goes, if a kid wa snot doing the job, guys as tough as the Ol' Sarge, Hank Bauer, would take them outside, and hold them up against by the collar and tell them "You're not taking money out of my family's mouth."

With the exception of 2B-and even then you'd have Tony Lazzeri---and Starting Pithcer--and you still had Jack Chesbro, Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, Whitey Ford the 1978 version of Ron Guidry, the Rocket-you could find a Yankee at every position that might be on someone's all-time best list.

C-Bill Dickey

1b-Lou Gehrig

2b-Tony Lazzeri

ss-Derek Jeter (very few money ballplayers like he is)

3b-A-Rod, Red Rolfe

OF-Ruth, Mantle and DiMaggio

SP-ROCKET

RP-Mariano, with Goose or Sparky when they were in their prime. Luis Arroyo before that, because without Arroyo, Whitey does not become a Hall of Famer.

And I have left people off the list like Yogi, Scooter, Bob Meusel, Mattingly in his prime pre-back years, Munson in his, Reggie.

Defensively, they had tremendous players. While people remember his Hr's, I have seen very few right fielders with the arm Roger Maris had.

If George has the money, it is because 4 million people fill the seats to see a good show.

I like the Enforcer's comment about the last four World Series won by home grown talent. Why then don't the Yankees stick to that instead of depleting their farm system to buy high priced free agents (Johnny Damon, A-Rod, Giambi, etc...)?

Now to answer this question, you can't blame Steinbrenner for trying to buy the best players in the game. You are absolutely right that MLB is the one to blame for allowing it, but all the owners voted against a salary cap. Sports and athlete's salaries in general is getting ridiculous and out of control, but it's us as the fans that are responsible for that because we continue to buy tickets and merchandise, no matter how much they increase in price. Each year there is a record for the highest signing bonus or free agent contract. Players like Zito and Clemens this year are way to overpaid. And it is bad for the game when it's structured that the team who can throw the most money towards a player will get them. It makes it financially unfair for the Diamondbacks, Royals, Devil Rays etc...to keep up and compete in the free agent market. However, baseball still is a pure sport where home grown talent, excellent scouting, and fundamentals win ball games. That's why teams that actively scout their farm systems and build their talent through the minor leagues can and do compete actively with big market teams. You can have a lot of big name players on your team, but it's been proven many times that to many egos lead to poor chemistry and bad attitudes in the clubhouse. I'll take a team of 11 guys who lay it all out on the field every day than 11 all-stars.

As a true Yankee fan I want my Yankees to win every year. I'm not a Braves fan and I'm could care less about Bobby Cox. Let the Braves fans root for him. He has had enough chances to win more than the one world series he got in 1995.

The MLB tried to change and implement a salary cap, but the owners wouldn't let them. All they were able to get through is the useless luxury tax which the Yankees readily break anyways and just pay a little more.

It is not good for the game to have a small number of teams buying all the talented players and eliminating parity in the MLB. Each year in April half of the teams in the league already know they will not be contending come September, and that hurts baseball period.

No one in NY hates George Steinbrener or his enthusiasm to bring home a championship to the City hes loved for over 4 decades. He can't buy a championship as has been seen since 2000 thet last year we won. Whoever he brings to NY doesn't matter because they still have to play the games. The currently have the best player in all of Baseball and it hasn't made a differerence so far....

Baseball is a business, if you can put a competitive team on the field and turn a profit all power to you. George does this very well. Nothing wrong with it, he has no problem paying a luxury tax. Baseball is a weird game unlike other sports, any team can beat any team at any time. To win in baseball you need good pitching and timely hitting. You can buy good pitching but not timely hitting. I like that you can spend in baseball, it's great for the fans to watch a team loaded with talent, it's also great to see smaller market teams with young talent beat teams with higher payrolls.

Hm. Let's see. Steinbrenner knows very little about baseball. He is one of the one's who started the big money baseball that makes it so families can choose between either attending one major league game or taking a two-week vacation in France, and the Yankees are 0-6 so far in the 21st century. So if no one hates him in NY, New Yorkers don't get it. We all who live outside of New York hate him. And blame him. And wait patiently for a baseball person to take over.

This crap about the Yankees buying players and titles is getting old so let me say this for the last time.

George Steinbrenner was "ALWAYS" and I repeat "ALWAYS" did everything in his power to put a winning team on the field for New York Yankees fans from the very first day he purchased the team in 1973 for 8.7 million dollars.

George Steinbrenner has always been an aggressive business man/go getter. He didn't purchase the team to lose money which is why the team is now worth $1.2 billion dollars today.

If George's philosophy/blue print for success bothers you then that's too damn bad. That just the way it and always will be.

And just so you know the last four world series titles won by the Yankees was done by Rivera, Jeter, Posada, and Bernie Williams. All of which are/were home grown talent.

the only people who think it's fair are yankees fans who say it's jealousy or that people are just haters, they ignore right and wrong because it benefits them, that shows why they are some of the worst fans in sports in my opinion. You never mentioned how they get more media coverage because of so many media outlets being in NY, the poor Met, from what I have heard from people on here hardly get any coverage.

MLB really needs to make a smaller salary cap, I hate to sound like a liberal, but this isn't life they just get this money for playing on this team it's not like earning money and having more money than someone else.

yeah

there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying something you can afford. Sports is also a business, so if Stein B has the money, he can spend it the way he wants to spend it. Even if he flushes it down the toilet, we have no right to question him.

Real Madrid is the same way. They got the best players they could afford, and thats why they have 30 championships.