The World Series flop and Soto’s decision to leave tells you the Yankees aren’t back.
Who doesn’t cackle when Yankees fans and the local media hype the Yankees as the greatest team in baseball year in and year out? Although the Yankees have not won the World Series in 15 years, they are given the benefit of the doubt every year.
After losing in five games, the Yankees had a humbling World Series experience when they were outplayed and outclassed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then, on Sunday, they lost Juan Soto to the crosstown Mets after he signed a 15-year, $765 million deal with them. Yet, the Yankees’ propaganda came in full force after they overpaid when signing Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract on Tuesday. The fans were giddy, and the media hailed the team. All it took was one dumb deal to say the Yankees were back.
Oh my! Are we serious here?
You would think one would have learned that the Yankees lost their luster ages ago. They are not the team the Yankees fans and the local media are making them out to be. They are just an ordinary team and nothing more.
It was funny hearing that the Yankees were back after playing two AL Central cupcakes in the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians. There was talk the 15-year title drought would end with the Yankees sweeping the Dodgers in the World Series. But no one should have been surprised when the Dodgers exposed the Yankees. The Yankees had an EZ-Pass to the World Series. They wouldn’t have made it without saying the Houston Astros or Baltimore Orioles. Their season was a waste of time and a failure in the end.
For goodness’ sake, the Mets received more publicity locally and nationally than the Yankees. The Amazins defeated two quality teams, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies, until they lost to the Dodgers in six. There was a reason for that. The Mets were a better team than the Yankees.
So it shouldn’t be such a shock for Soto to leave the Yankees. He knows the Yankees are not the team they once were. His best chance of winning a championship was going elsewhere, and he found it with the Mets. The Mets farm system is going to get better under president of baseball operations David Stearns, and Cohen will spend to get a championship, luxury tax be damned.
What’s more, there was a reason Shohei Ohtani had no interest in playing for the Yankees. He knew the team’s days of greatness were long gone. It has been long since a free agent of Ohtani’s caliber signed with the Yankees. The last star was Gerrit Cole, which was long ago. Yet, for some reason, the media and fans are in denial.
Besides, the idea that the Yankees can be better by allocating Soto’s money to other players is nonsense. You don’t replace a once-in-a-generation talent. Plus, there’s no guarantee other guys would be suited to play in New York. In case people forgot, New York is a difficult place to play. Soto made it look easy in a way that few others can.
So, let’s stop celebrating the Yankees overpaying anyone to play for them. They have been overpaying guys for a long time with nothing to show since 2009.
Even if you want to argue that the Yankees should be in the playoffs in 2025, I say, so what? That’s like being the tallest midget in a weak division. They are not World Series contenders in the Dodgers’ class, and signing Fried won’t change anything despite what the local media tell you. The Yankees lineup remains too home-run heavy, and losing Soto does not improve them.
The Yankees deserve to be ridiculed for underachieving year in and year out. Today, they are the new Dodgers, a team that underachieved when Fox and Frank McCourt owned them. Like those Dodgers, the Bronx Bombers are yesterday’s news, not what they used to be. It’s hard to think that will change anytime soon.
The World Series flop and Soto’s decision to leave tells you the Yankees aren’t back.
