WHY THE YANKEES SHOULD BE AMERICA'S TEAM

Jonathan Papelbon darted the Red Sox for the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday, a 4 year, $50 million deal that in my opinion is too high for an arrogant Mariano Rivera wannabe. Boston fans don’t care, they have Daniel Bard or will sign Heath Bell no doubt and before you know it they will have a new makeup of great overpaid players who I once liked, but when they put on a Red Sox uniform, well, they make me see red.

I was thinking about the Phillies and the Red Sox though and how over the past several years they’ve done exactly what the Yankees have been doing, but doing it under the radar and not getting called out… buying All-Star players for the perfect makeup for a championship team. A team that is good enough to win a World Series, if they make it that far of course. Winning has always been the goal and the Yankees have won 27 times and lead all sports teams, so in America, in a world of having the American dream, owning a home, making enough money to support your family and advancing in your career and life and, winning, so to speak, why wouldn't the Yankees be considered America's team? I started thinking about it.

The Phillies have slowly collected everyone and they’re probably not finished. They have excellent pitching lead by Roy Halladay, even without Roy Oswalt and the Red Sox have Adrian Gonzalez, who, admittedly can be a monster and Carl Crawford, who, let’s face it sucks, but there’s no way that lasts, he’s too talented. These teams have took a page from the Yankees playbook, winning at all costs. The Yankees are in act the model for it.By the way, a little hint to Beantown; When it comes to Crawford, a piece of advice... put a veteran outfielder in centerfield, move Jacoby Ellsbury to left. Ellsbury is young, he can learn to play anywhere, Crawford would handle center better and is clearly lost in Left. It doesn’t take a Manager to see that, it’s obvious. Besides, Jacoby Ellsbury will dart when he's a free agent anyway... and probably sign with the New York Yankees if the timing is right and you'll be stuck with an overpaid left fielder in Carl Crawford...great contract, really.

But I'll get back on track...the point is the Yankees sign 1 free agent at a high price and they are “buying” a championship team. Well, what about the Phillies? What about those evil Red Sox? They are doing the exact same thing. America is a wonderful place and the New York Yankees should be America’s team, but sadly, the anti-Yankee bias is seeping out everywhere and that includes anyone who roots against wanting to win. The Yankees have always pushed to get the best players. The goal is always to be in first place and then of course crush the competition in the World Series, right? You don't play to win second, after all. Look, we don’t always win it all, but sometimes, like 2009, we do. For the most part, we’re winners and Yankee brass always does their best to get us fans who we need to win it all. They don’t like loss, either do the fans, hence, getting who we can to win a championship matters.

The Phillies clearly have caught on and the Red Sox slowly did building up to 2004 and with that they got a taste of being champions and stuck to the formula. But after the beer and chicken charade, Terry Francona was forced to step down and while the Beantown ship was sinking, Theo Epstein jumped like a coward and left his team behind. Then came the team Captain old man Varitek who never lead his team and took responsibility for the mess (Read HERE) and then Jonathan Papelbon has darted as well. No doubt the Red Sox will build once again though, because spending big money to get some all-stars is sometimes the way to go, especially if you have the money. The Red Sox will be right back in the mix again against the Yankees come 2012. But, through all of this, no matter what happens with the Yankees this off season, notice what will happen to the Bombers… they will be criticized, crucified and slapped around by the media because they big spent money on good players.

Mark my words and remember this post…11/12/2011 is when I wrote it… We, the New York Yankees, cannot and will not ever win over all of America to become America's team, even though we should be. Instead, we are considered the evil empire and the snobs. It's sad, but the Yankees will never be America’s team, even though we represent what America is all about… pride, courage and winning. Ironic isn’t it...it's almost un-American.

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