No storyline in the soap opera ‘As the Yankees Turn’ provides more yearly fascination than watching Steinbrenner spend obscene amounts of money to lure the best players to New York only to have them play – during the critical October pennant race and World Series – as if they were bought with phony dollar bills (and were just giving him what he paid for…).
[Fall classic: the Yankees lose again…! TIJ, October 10, 2007]
This quote should indicate how much I have reveled in chronicling the Yankees’ failure since 2000 to win the World Series, which, understandably, they’ve been expected to win each year.
But I always knew that, sooner or later, the players on this best team money could buy would finally play up to their potential. And so they did last night – by defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in game 6 at Yankee Stadium to win the 2009 World Series 4 games to 2.
No thanks to Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod), though, who struck out (again) with the bases loaded, blowing an opportunity to seal this championship in the third inning. Frankly, I don’t understand why this guy is the highest-paid player in the game … and by such an absurd margin, making 33 million this year, which is 12 million more than the second-highest paid, and far more productive Yankee, Derek Jeter.
Not to mention lingering suspicions that Rodriguez has yet to come clean about his use of steroids….
The New York Yankees have now won 27 titles – the most of any team in baseball history. Never mind that they’ve been on the losing side of 13 World Series – the most of any team….
But so ends this run of ‘As the Yankees Turn.’
Congratulations boys … Yankees redeemed!
Related commentaries:
Yankees on precipice of redemption
A-Rod comes clean about steroids…kinda
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