All we can say is that they shouldn’t brag. The Yankees fans should be complacent. After a drought of eight years they finally did what they were expected to do; win a championship. But for shits and giggles, let’s run down the list of high priced free agent acquisitions that didn’t win them a World Championship.
Mike Mussina:
The prize of their 2001 free agent class, “Moose” was brought in to help the Yankees rotation. Many believed this was going to be like when they brought in Clemens. Another Cy Young winner from within the division, but he never delivered a championship. 2 World Series trips (2001 & 2003) no rings.
Jason Giambi:
Fresh off a steroid fueled MVP season in 2001 he was brought in to replace Tino Martinez in 2002. A move hated by many Yankees fans who loved Tino. Giambi had a great 2002 but then his steroid abuse finally caught up with his body and he was deteriorating on a yearly basis. He recorded the final hit at old Yankee Stadium. 1 World Series appearance, no rings.
Jose Contreras:
The Cuban star was fawned over by the Red Sox and the Yankees. The Yankees ultimately ended up with the prize free agent. Turns out that the “prize” wasn’t so. He was traded mid season in 2004 for…
Esteban Loaiza:
After paying through the nose for Contreras they traded him for Loaiza who was pretty bad. He was sent to the bullpen where he gave up the winning run in game 5 of the ALCS to the Red Sox. The next season he was gone.
Jeff Weaver:
Weaver was acquired by the Yankees in 2002. He sucked in 2003 and was traded away to the Dodgers for…
Kevin Brown:
You may remember him as the one time highest pitcher in baseball when he signed with the Dodgers. Well, the Yankees traded for him and he was the starting pitcher in game seven of the 2004 ALCS. He lasted less than two innings giving up five runs. He followed that up with a 4-7 2005 highlighted with a 6.50 ERA. He retired from baseball after that season.
This list could go on and on for a while with all these high priced guys (Gary Sheffield, Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Jon Lieber, Tom Gordon, Kenny Lofton, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright) but we’ll stop. The team that spent the most money ($80 million more than the Red Sox) won the World Series. You did what you were expected to do. So no gloating, just contentment.
All that Sox fans can hope is that the brass in the front office gets very upset by this and they acquire some decent help for the team this off-season. Enough John Smoltz and Brad Penny scrap heap guys. Make a trade for a King Felix from Seattle, a Hanley Ramirez from Florida, even an Alex Gonzalez from San Diego. You may not be able to outspend the Yankees but you have a farm system that’s got a lot of chips (that includes Papelbon for reference sake) that could be used in a trade. Get it done.
