Congratulations Sox!

[jimmytheg]

I'm not sure what you mean by big season. And you can't know for a fact that they have the highest profits in baseball because MLB doesn't release those numbers.

Glaring weaknesses include 2nd base, 1st base, center field, their entire bullpen except for Rivera, a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th starter.

And if they do intend to get Randy, they will need to part with at least Posada, which makes catcher a glaring weakness. But I don't think they will get Randy, and definately not Pedro.

You say they were only 3 outs away from the series this year, but the sox were only 5 outs away with a 4 run lead last year....and in 1986 the sox were 1 strike away from winning the series. Doesn't mean anything till you finish the game.

Yeah, they lost Clemens and petite, but there was pitching on the market, hence the sox getting schilling. and brown and vasquez, who ended up bombing but were expected to be horses.

Their lineup is great 1-4, but there's a big dropoff afterwards. In fact, from 1-9, the Sox have a better lineup, and had one last year. The Sox were the top offense in the league last year. The Sox were better than the Yanks in every single category except for home runs...that includes hits, runs, 2b,3b,rbi, batting average, obp,slugging, and ops.

If the Nomar trade had happened earlier in the year, this sox team would have run away with the division. I beg to differ with your guarantee the Yankees will win the division next year.

[GeoffM]

1st base, is Giambi not coming back next year?

CF? While not the players they once were, Lofton and Williams are nobody to wave sticks at either.

The D-Backs won't demand Posada in a trade. There is no sense in them paying Johnson so much when they suck. I think they will realize that finally and the Yankees can throw cash their way, something they need.

The Yankees made somewhere around $80 million last year, and so I assume no other team makes more. I'm sure their merchandise sells more than any other team, and they have their own TV station to air games. Add the fact they sell out all the time, and year-in, year-out are playing home playoff dates when the players aren't paid, that's all profit.

I guess we'll find out soon what happens. But they will win their division, they will simply buy what's missing like they do every year. I hate them, don't get me wrong, but I also have to respect the fact that they will continue to buy their teams and top teams until baseball comes up with a more strict salary system, something hockey is looking to do now.

[jimmytheg]

The Dbacks have more qualified suitors for johnson, like the cardinals and the angels. And according to Peter Gammons, they are demanding Posada as a base for any possible trade from the yankees.

Giambi is not even close to the player he once was...the old steroids rumor might have a part in that. Williams hit .262 last year, and isnt getting any younger. Lofton hit .275 in a half-years worth of at-bats...and also isnt getting any younger.

The players do get a playoff share, and it is a fixed percentage of all postseason revenue. I;m not sure where this 80 million profit number comes from, please elaborate. And the Red Sox also sell out every game, own their own cable station, and have a smaller payroll than the Yankees while selling just as much merchandise.

The Yankees can throw all the money in the world out there, but if they continue to make bad decisions, it wont matter.

[GeoffM]

Their payroll was $153 million in 2003.

"The Yankees pulled in $223 million in revenue last season--almost double the league average--even after paying $29 million into the revenue-sharing scheme." (from Forbes magazine)

So they made $70 mill, but I was close.

[Kidd7138]

The Yankees will not get Johnson this year. The D-Backs, a rebuilding team looking to dump payroll, does not want overpaid veterans on the wrong side of 30. They can easily get much, much better value in a Johnson trade with the Dodgers or Angels, both have Major League ready stud prospects, the Yankees simply have no one AT ALL in their system.

While not having any farm system won't hurt them now, it will start to catch up to them in the future. The Red Sox, Angels, and Dodgers are 3 teams that can support a huge payroll, not Yankees huge but they could probably all go over $100 mil. Factor in the fact that they all have good farm systems and you see trouble for the Yankees. In a few years all three of these teams could easily have a core of 3-4 young star players making league minimum or close to it. That's a nucleus of players making under $5 mil easily. That gives the team's management over $100 million to sign a supporting cast with. Imagine what else the Sox could've done this year if Cabrera, Lowe, and Nixon were all making $500,000 instead of $5 mil+.

[junYUN]

i'm sorry but the yankees will not drop off. one year of giambi plagued by injuries, parasites, and all of a sudden he's a glaring weakness? giambi will be back next year hitting long balls as usual, and the yankees will pick up at least one more starter. sure they have weaknesses, but they also have the craziest owner in baseball who is willing to do whatever it takes. there's also talk of a kevin brown for andrew jones swap (with the yankees paying for most of browns salary) which would give the yankees an absolutely devastating lineup, and the best center fielder in the game. brian cashman is a very smart guy, he will figure something out.

oh and i'm not a yankees fan

go cubs :]

[jimmytheg]

Jones hit .300 once, in 2000, but every other year he has never hit above .275. He hit 7th in a weak braves lineup this year. That's the same as Bernie Williams. And if they do make the deal and get rid of Brown, that is yet another starting pitcher they need to acquire. There's only so much pitching out there. As it stands now, they only have Mussina and Vasquez, (I'm assuming El Duque isnt coming back) The old Yankees won with dominant pitching and clutch hitting.

Giambi has to be a big question mark...diesregarding all steroid rumors, the guy hit .250 in 2003 before the injuries. He did hit 40 homers that year, but about half the league did too. Even Cashman has said that Giambi's status is uncertain for next year.

I agree that Cashman is a great GM, but Steinbrenner has the ultimate final say, and he's been using it more and more these past couple years.
While I hate to say this, I would trade Pedro in a second if it meant the Sox got Pavano and Radke for just a little more money. Pedro is on the downswing on his career, and I wouldnt mind at all seeing the Yankees over pay him for too many years if we got those two other guys.

Just remember, while Steinbrenner was the owner, the Yankees were terrible from the end of the 70's until 1995. All his money doesnt always translate into great teams. And when the Yankees did become great again, it wasn't because they spent more money than anyone else, it was because they developed great pitching and had clutch team players. Guys like Tino, and Oneil and Brosious and even Joe Giradi....guys like David Wells and pre-big contract Andy Petite and David Cone....these guys werent superstars, but they all were clutch. Not Brown and Vasquez and Giambi and Contreras (another hugely overpaid supposed superstar who amounted to a pile of crap).

[GeoffM]

Thanks for the support.

Trust me people, as much as I'd love to eat my own words, the Yankees will again be the favorite next year after yet another busy off-season, and again they will be the team we all love to hate.

As for that Jones for Brown deal, I think Atlanta must be on drugs or something. What happened to them keeping payroll low for now? Now they are going to trade one of their bright younger stars for a pitcher who I believe will be ineffective next year.