REMEMBER WHEN THE YANKEES SPENT LIKE THE DODGERS?

You have to appreciate the Dodgers if you're a Yankee fan.  Jayson Stark of ESPN.com says that the Dodgers are gunning for guys like Anibal Sanchez, Zack Greinke and even Hiroki Kuroda...perhaps looking for alittle reunion after he had a successful season with the Yankees in 2012. Here is Stark's tweet:

Look, I get it, you need to snatch up guys you believe can help a club. I think back to the days when the Yankees went out every off season and signed the big name free agents and made trades when no one expected it.  Now we see Magic Johnson on the West Coast taking a page from the George Steinbrenner playbook, buying big talent to give his Dodgers a chance to win it all. It started last year with guys like Shane Victorino and Hanley Ramirez and so on... I like that.

Don't get me wrong, when young talent comes in and contribute to a club and they win, like for instance to 2003 Florida Marlins, that's impressive. But I was brought up in the Steinbrenner era.

I watched George sign guys like Reggie Jackson and Catfish Hunter, and later Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira and in the end, those names were part of championship Yankee teams.

Sure, we were accused of "buying" championships and to be honest, I never quite understood that logic.  Every team is given the same opportunity to pay for Free Agents.  It's not exclusive to teams like the Yankees or the Red Sox.  Look at the Miami Marlins last season. They ended up signing Jose Reyes, Heath Bell, Mark Beurhle and they were literally willing to pull the trigger to sign Yoenis Cespedes last winter until he decided to go to Oakland.  The point is Miami was trying to make a huge splash and there was plenty of expensive talent out there to help them win.  They went for it, they didn't win, but they tried.

Look at the Detroit Tigers trading for Miguel Cabrera a few years back and then last winter signing Prince Fielder,  to a huge contract! They made it all the way to the World Series this season, and if they were to win, do you think anyone would suggest they were "buying" a championship? Doubtful.

And remember when the Los Angeles Angels signed CJ Wilson and Albert Pujols? Big free agent names, yet, in the end, they didn't make it to the playoffs...but they sure did try signing those guys!

The point is, you sign guys you think can give your team a shot.  George Steinbrenner may have started it, but Magic Johnson is running with it now... and as a Yankee fan, I miss those days and I love to see what Magic is doing.  Hey, I may not be a Dodgers fan, but I love anything that's connected to Don Mattingly.  So hey, if Magic can make magic in LA for Donnie Baseball... let him, but at the end of the day, you know where my heart is... N Y C Baby... BX... the Yankees.

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