Greatest Yankee of the Modern Dynasty?

Recently Joe Posnanski wrote an article about who is the greatest Yankee of the modern group: Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter?  The full article can be found here: http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/08/16/mo-v-the-captain/.  Posnanski's conclusion was that Jeter's role as the face of the Yankees and an everyday player was too much for Mo to overcome.  While I admire and respect his talent's as a writer and sports commentator, I respectfully disagree with Posnanski's conclusion.

First, let's take a brief look at each players career:

Jeter joined the Yankees full-time in 1996 and has been the starting shortstop ever since.  He won the Rookie of the Year in 1996 and is an 11-time All-Star.  Jeter has played in 7 World Series, winning 5 of them.  He was the World Series MVP in 2000 and is one of only 11 Yankees ever to be named the team captain.  He is noted for his leadership, consistency, and clutch play.  Jeter is the face of the modern Yankees and one of the greatest shortstops ever to play the game.

Mo joined the Yankees full-time in 1995 and spent the 1996 World Series campaign as John Wettleland's set-up man.  He became the full-time closer in 1997 and the rest is history.  Rivera has also played in 7 World Series with 5 victories.  He was the ALCS MVP in 2003, the World Series MVP in 1999, and is an 11-time All-Star.  Mo has the second most saves in MLB history and owns every conceivable playoff relief record.  He is almost indisputably the greatest closer of all-time and his cut fastball is widely considered the most devastating pitch baseball has ever seen.

The first point that becomes clear in this debate is that their is no wrong answer.  Both Mo and Jeter have had sensational careers and both players appear to be far from done.  Without either player, the Yankees of today would be very different.  However, there are two reasons that make Mo the greatest Yankee of the modern dynasty.  The first is the uniqueness of his dominance.  Jeter is by no means a "common" player, but there have been other shortstops of his caliber.   In the early 2000s, you could make a very convincing argument that he was actually the 4th best shortstop in the league, behind A-Rod, Nomar, and Miguel Tejada.  He has outlasted all of these players (except for A-Rod, but he doesn't player shortstop anymore because of Jeter so it still counts), but he doesn't dominant his position in the same way that Mo does.  Other closers may have better individual years, but no one has sustained a level of dominance anywhere near that of Rivera's.  He is the best ever at closing games and he effectively makes the game only 8 innings long.  Jeter may contribute offensively and defensively on a daily basis, but Mo allows the Yankees 9 innings to score more runs than their opponents can score in only 8.  If the opposing team is losing and "Enter Sandman" comes on the loudspeakers, they know the game is over.  The second, and more important, reason Mo is the most important player in the modern dynasty is that he represents the best of the Yankees.  As a longtime fan of the team, I can tell you that it is devastating and shocking whenever the Yankees lose, especially in the postseason.  We truly do expect to win every game.  But if a team beats the Yankees by going through Rivera, I cannot be upset that the Yankees lost.  He is the most devastating player on the team and when he loses, the other team truly deserved to win.  And that is why Mo is the greatest Yankee of the modern dynasty.  He doesn't ever lose and when he does its okay because it means the other team really was better.

Was "The Decision" Good for the NBA?

The general consensus regarding Lebron's ESPN special was that it represented everything that is wrong with the egotistical NBA.  And that is absolutely correct.  However, when Lebron "took his talents to South Beach," the NBA was the biggest winner.  There are two reasons why:

1)  The NBA is a league driven by great teams and dynasties.  The best years of the NBA are all defined by one or two dominate teams.  The 60's featured the Russell's Celtics and Wilt's Warriors/76ers/Lakers. The 80's had the Showtime Lakers versus Bird's Celtics.  And the 90's belonged to Jordan's Bulls.  Since then we have been treated to 1 great team, Shaq and Kobe's Lakers, and a bunch of other good teams.  And the NBA's overall brand has suffered for this fact.  By putting three stars on one team (with the prospect of more Miami Thrices happening elsewhere), the NBA should once again have great dynasty-worthy teams.  Bird and Jordan may remaniss about being the only superstar on their teams, but in reality those teams were absolutely stacked.  As were the Showtime Lakers and Russell's Celtics.  The salary cap has done a great job of spreading the talent around the NBA, but the overall brand has suffered because of it.  The Miami Heat should begin to reverse this trend starting next year.

2)  Everyone loves a villain.  More accurately, everyone loves to cheer against a villain.  And the Miami Heat are the biggest villains the NBA has had in a very long time.  The closest comparison in any sport to the Heat is the Yankees.  Not the historically Yankees (the most successful franchise in sports history), but the Yankees of right now.  They have more stars than any other team in the league and fans across the nation hate them for it.  And yet, because they hate them so much, they sell out every single game they play.  Most baseball teams charge more for Yankees tickets than any other ticket.  The Heat could face similar treatment this year and certainly will in the future.  Even in venues like Atlanta, the Heat will sell out because everyone will come to cheer against them and see the Miami Thrice fall flat on their faces.  Lebron James has gone from being the most loved to the most hated player in the NBA, but one thing has not changed.  He is still the most popular draw in the league.

And the NBA may be entering another golden age because of it.

Remembering the Boss

Sports fans throw around the title "Greatest of All-Time" far to often.  We never really stop and think what that title means.  It means that the person you are discussing is the singular best person at that activity or action ever.  Lots of positions don't even have a greatest of all-time, or rather there is too much debate to settle on one.  There is no single "Greatest Quarterback of All-Time".  There is no single "Greatest Pitcher of All-Time".  And even though I wrote a column about it, there is no single "Greatest Basketball Player of All-Time".  Other positions do have one single "Greatest Player of All-Time".  No one will disagree that Jerry Rice is the "Greatest Wide Reciever of All-Time".  There is also a single choice for "Greatest Owner of All-Time".  His name is George Michael Steinbrenner and he passed away yesterday.

There are many, many reasons why George Steinbrenner (or as he is affectionately know in the Yankees' organization, the Boss) is the "Greatest Owner of All-Time".  George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees in 1973 for $8.8 million. Current estimates place the value of the franchise at $1.5 billion and steadily rising.  George Steinbrenner's Yankees won 7 World Series and 11 American League pennants.  Thee totals are more than all but 3 baseball franchises have earned in their histories.  As hard as it is to believe, George Steinbrenner was adamitly opposed to free agency in the beginning.  But like all great businessman, he put his personally feelings on the subject aside and his team dominated free agency like no other franchise in sports.  George Steinbrenner's Yankees were the first team to market their own TV rights and his YES Netword paved the way for making sports the multi-billion dollar industry it is today.

While all of these reason are good ones, the real reason the Boss is the "Greatest Owner of All-Time" is a lbit more abstract.  George Steinbrenner is the owner every fan should want and every player should want to play for.  There is one purpose to sports and it is winning.  The Boss's singular focus during his entire Yankees' tenure was winning the World Series every single year.  Any other result was deemed a failure.  The most common criticism of the Yankees is that they win because they have more money than every team and thus can buy their victories.  It is true that the Yankees earn more money than any other team in baseball.  However, the Steinbrenners are far from the richest owners in baseball.  Theodore Lener of the Washington Nationals is worth $3.2 billion, almost two and a half times as much as the Boss!  John Fisher of the small budget Oakland A's is worth the same amount as the Boss.  The difference is that George Steinbrenner, unlike most other owners, takes his money and invests it back into his franchise with the goal of winning.  Isn't that what we as fans should expect out of our teams?  Rather than watching the super-rich uses their sports franchises as cash cows, isn't it refreshing to see an owner run his team like we would if we had the opportunity?  George Steinbrenner's sole focus as owner of New York Yankees was to bring the greatest franchise on Earth more World Series titles, for himself, for the franchise, and most importantly, for the fans.  And that is why he is the "Greatest Owner of All-Time".

No article about George Steinbrenner would be complete with mentioning all the good he has brought to the world around him.  The Boss was by no means a saint.  He was twice suspended from baseball for two years each.  He hired and fired Billy Martin as manager five times!  He was well known around sports circles as the toughest owner in the business to work for.  While he demanded perfection and tolerated nothing less, the Boss was also one of the most compassionate and giving men in sports.  He expected his employees, from Derek Jeter all the way down to the night janitors, to give their all every day at work.  In return, he was their for them no matter what.  In the hours and days since he passed away, stories have appeared all over the Internet of former employees who the Boss took care of.  He was always willing to pay for expensive medical procedures or cover a child's college expenses.  And George Steinbrenner's generosity extended far beyond the Yankees organizartion.  His adopted home of Tampa, Florida has benefited tremendously from the countless millions he has donated in the area.  Stories of the Boss's generosity are alone starting to appear now because that is exactly the way he wanted it.  George Steinbrenner is quoted as saying, "If you do something for someone, and more than two people know about it, you didn't do it for the right reason."  Steinbrenner didn't help fallen soldier's families because he wanted publicity.  He did it because he wanted to use his wealth and sucess to make the world a better place.

Rest in Peace George Michael Steinbrenner, a great owner, a great Yankee, and a most importantly, a great man.

Its a great week in sports!

A couple times a year their is a sports week that makes us all happy to be fans. Usually, these weeks happen during the fall or winter and revolve around college and pro football. But this week is one of those weeks! The World Cup is beginning. The baseball draft is going on. The College World Series is mid-swing. The most classic NBA finals is happening. Baseball is reaching its pre-All Star break height. And as an added bonus, their is a massive re-alignment going on the college conference landscape [more on this topic coming soon]. But the biggest story of the week (and possibly history) happened tonight. Super-ultra-mega phenom Stephen Strasburg made his major league debut. And he exceed expectations! With 14 strikeouts in 7 inning (including his last 7 batters faced) Strasburg showed he is every bit as good as advertised. As a Yankees fan I only have one more comment to make about Stephen. I can not wait to see him dominate Game 1 of the World Series in a couple years, in pinstripes of course!

Let's Talk About Baseball

So far we have talked a lot about basketball and a little bit about football, but nothing about baseball. So, how are things going in America's past time? Specifically, what teams are playing above their preseason expectations? If the season were to end today, in the American League the Rays would win the East, the Twins would win the Central, the Rangers would win the West, and the Yankees would win the Wild Card. The result in the East is not all that unsurprising. So far this season, the Rays have been the best team in baseball. That is not surprising given the absurd amount of talent on that time. Either the Rays or my Yankees are sure to win the Wild Card, whichever one doesn't take the division that is. The biggest surprise is the fact that the East is only a two team race. Apparently the Red Sox pitching and defense experiment has failed. On to the wide open Central, no one should be surprised the Twins are winning. It feels like 3 or 4 teams have a chance to win this division every year and more often than not that team has turned out to be the Twins. With their offensive core surrounding Maeur, the Twins should keep on winning for many years to come. [On a side note, I am really excited for the Twins new outdoor stadium to open. Hopefully, the Minnesota weather can give them a really cool homefield advantage.] Finally, the biggest surprise in the AL is out West. In fact, the standings are the complete reverse of what one could expect. The Rangers have been up and coming for years, but they have final put together a pitching staff and turned a corner. Hopefully, they can sustain it all year because this team could be exciting come the postseason. The A's are right where anyone could expect them, playing well but with no chance of seriously contending. The Angels seem to final be declining after a decade of dominance in the West. All of the losses from their core have finally caught up with them. And finally, the most surprising team is the awful Mariners. With their much improved pitching, this team was a popular pick to win the division and a sleeper pick to win the pennant. Instead, the Mariners absolutely cannot score and are putting the best 1-2 pitching tandem in the league to waste.