The damn Yankees have gone and done it again. Yesterday's three-way trade between the Expos, White Sox and Yankees achieved everything the Bronx Bombers set out to do: 1) they traded away Orlando Hernandez who had become the surplus eighth starting pitcher in the wake of the Jose Contreras signing. 2) The Yankees acquired a solid relief pitcher in Antonio Osuna from the White Sox, helping fill the void left by departed reliever Ramiro Mendoza. 3) Perhaps most importantly, the Yankees' intervention in a trade involving ace starter Bartolo Colon prevented him from being sent to division rival -- and, conveniently, my hometown team -- the Boston Red Sox.
We card-carrying members of Red Sox Nation have long lived an embattled and embittered existence, frequently directing our angst of an 84-season World Series drought at public enemy number one, the Yankees. The start of this hatred, of course, came when the Red Sox sold legendary slugger Babe Ruth to the Yankees so then-Sox owner Harry Frazee could finance a theatrical production called "No, No Nanette."
The Ruth transaction began a period of New York dominance over Boston. Most of this pure and utter domination has come between the lines of the baseball diamond, though I would be remiss to discount the obvious and lasting impact the Yankees have had on the increasingly depressed psyche of Bostonians. Under the regime of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, the cause of Yankee dominance has shifted more from on-field demons seemingly cursing the Red Sox -- for example, see Bucky Dent's unlikely home run in 1978 to complete an improbable season comeback to eliminate the Sox from the playoffs -- to dominance in the free agency market. Now, the Yankees hardly seem to need any on-field luck because they maintain a large stock of premium and expensive talent. These days, they can bully the Red Sox with Big Stein's bankbook.
Karl Marx predicted that class conflict inevitably would lead to a revolution overthrowing the powerful bourgeoisie. The capitalist Yankees, however, hardly need to worry about the proletariat Red Sox who seem unable and -- this offseason, at least -- even unwilling to compete.
This can be attributed to new Boston ownership, led by John Henry, that wants to pare the Sox's payroll, or at least create a self-imposed cap on its escalating team payroll. In 2002 that total was a very distant second behind the Yankees, who now command a staggering $165 million payroll after half-hearted claims of eliminating some of their own big contracts. For reference's sake, their payroll is more than 50 percent higher than any other team.
New Boston general manager Theo Epstein, who recently turned 29 years old and is the youngest GM in Major League Baseball history, timidly seems reluctant to exert himself and make any bold move.
I'm sure that too is somehow the Yankees' fault, though I can't explain why right now.
Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino's comment, describing the Yankees as an "evil empire" certainly didn't help matters, seemingly provoking Steinbrenner to overextend his himself in his efforts to impede Boston's efforts to win a World Series.
It's a sad history that has been intensified this offseason. The Yankees were able to give more money to top Cuban prospect Contreras, snatching him from the Sox. Last year, the Yanks nabbed reigning MVP Jason Giambi. The Sox combated this move with free agent bust Tony Clark last year and now with Giambi's lesser, younger brother, Jeremy. To me, this is strikingly similar to the Yankees having Joe DiMaggio and the Sox having his lesser, younger brother, Dom DiMaggio. I already foresee "Dom" Giambi struggling for the Sox and being little better than Clark. The Colon move is just the icing on the cake, as one more solid starting pitcher would have given the Sox a sense of legitimacy.
And the worst part of yesterday's transaction is that I am slowly realizing the genius of the Yankees' move. For the Sox, well, there's always the year after next...
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