Mystique No More

Today December 14, 2010, Ruben Amaro Jr redeemed himself and the New York Yankees were dealt a large dose of reality. Cliff Lee turned down an extra 28 million dollars NOT to play in the Yankee pinstripes. They recruited him, they allured him with riches beyond any other team, they even gave Lee a promise ring to officially declare their love and exclusivity. But in the end, none of the extra stuff was worth the price of Cliff Lee's integrity.

The Yankees offered Cliff Lee 7 years, 148 million dollars, a spot in the rotation next to his good buddy C.C. Sabbathia and a pretty much guaranteed playoff roster spot for the next 7 years. And yet all those extra incentives could not equalize or overcome the opportunity to win with the team with more losses than any other sports franchise in world history; the Philadelphia Phillies!!!

OK so that last one is beside the point but it sounded good so I wrote it. The underlying truth here is that Cliff Lee couldn't be bought and that the Yankee mystique that so many fans and writers talk about, now has been redefined and renewed under a much different guise . That mystique that began way back in the 1920's when Babe Ruth became a Yankee and that same feeling that occurred in 2009 when Mariano Rivera closed out the 27th championship; that feeling and that mystique are dead.

Yankee Stadium is gone. George Steinbrenner is gone. The curse of Babe Ruth died in 2004. And the current Yankee captain and hero had to beg the team that he helped win 5 World Series rings to give him what he felt he deserved in a contract. That beautiful Yankee mystique has slowly died over the years and has morphed into an aura of corporate arrogance and entitlement. Who wants to play for that? What kind of competitor wants to play for a team that is guaranteed a spot in the finals? What kind of baseball player wants to sell out the game itself for a few extra million and a ho hum ring that means absolutely nothing because it was supposed to happen?

Mark Texiera and CC Sabbathia did what Cliff Lee refused to do. They took the money and Lee took the Game. Cliff Lee may have also started a trend. He sent a message to the rest of the world that no longer do those pinstripes mean so much. The new reality for the Yankees is they are not Sinatra's Yankees. They are not Joe Torre's Yankees. The Boss is no longer barking orders and putting fear into managers and players. The Yankees are The Powers that Be and some Major League Baseball players out there still have souls like Cliff Lee.

Bottom Line is a championship for the New York Yankees means less than it does for any other sports franchise. Players with the real goods are starting to realize this. The trend is now to refute the offer. The trend is now to take less money. In this time of poor economies and reduced means, the trend is to NOT SELL OUT.