good read on how the Yanks slowly turned things around by building a better culture in the early 90s - fits in to what McBeane is doing here

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

I'm a Yankees fan. They will ALWAYS be the rejected red headed stepchild in my eyes.

 

Sometimes out of resentment stepchildren go rogue and beat up the unappealing lumpy and bald guy who is now sleeping with their beloved mother. I'm not a Met fan but in the home series with the Nationals the stadium was nearly full of raucous fans for three consecutive nights for three consecutive great games. That's good for baseball and good for the NY rivalry. 

[Gugny]

1 minute ago, ScottLaw said:

They got a tough stretch the next month or so starting tonight against the Braves. 

 

Interested to see how they do these next 3 games. 

 

Absolutely. They just have to win series.  Winning game one of every series, to me, is super important.  They took 2-3 against Washington.  They've got a healthy dose of division rivals between now and the first week in September.  In two weeks, they'll either comfortably own the #1 wild card spot, or be completely out of it.

 

Personally, I love that they're playing meaningful (to them) baseball in mid-August.

 

Gotta win game one tonight!

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, ScottLaw said:

They got a tough stretch the next month or so starting tonight against the Braves. 

 

Interested to see how they do these next 3 games. 

You make an interesting point. There are a lot of bad teams and some good teams played during a steak. So a lot of the winning streaks don't represent how good a team  actually is. 

[aristocrat]

Gotta have talent to go along with the culture. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 minutes ago, aristocrat said:

Gotta have talent to go along with the culture. 

 

Oh hey, Mike Schopp!

 

[JohnC]

15 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

The division is, indeed, lousy.  More importantly, the entire NL is weak with the exception of a couple teams.  That's why they're in the hunt. 

 

It would be nice, however, to play the Orioles 50 times/season like the Yankees do.  Home or away, they're playing in little league fields.

 

The fact of the matter is that the Mets are just as likely to get into the World Series as the Yankees are.

Settle down. You are working yourself into frenzy. Just get on that wave and ride it to wherever it takes you. 

[C.Biscuit97]

17 hours ago, CardinalScotts said:

the guys who discount culture typically never played athletics. its real yes winning fuels it but winning for a year doesn't build  it. There is much more to it and that the part some guys don't get. Being accountable to each other, playing for  someone besides yourself- if you don't get there you will only practice and play to what your mood/motivation is that day. If you can get where you play for each other not letting the others down motivates you. Again if you haven't been around athletics at a descent level you won't get it. (This is Schopp- Howie and Jeremy not an athletic bone in any of them

Played plenty of sports for a lot of years. While there is some truth in this, the best teams I played on had the most talent.  The best football teams I was in were when we had the best qb.  I played with a bunch of great guys but we won’t good enough.  Guys would pump themselves for every practice but we weren’t good enough.  

 

While culture is somewhat important, it is completely overblown.  Did anyone ever question the culture of the Jauron and Gailey teams?  A bunch of hard working, good guys.  Guess what? They weren’t good enough because they didn’t have the talent or qb.  This isn’t high school football.  The Cowboys of 90s were terrible people.  Read the bad guys won about the 86 Mets (one of my favorite  route teams ever).  The Pats won SBs with Aaron Hernandez.  Our own Bills of the 90s weren’t  exactly angels.  They won because they had an insane amount of talent.  

 

And those Yankees spent a ton of money on a sport without a salary cap. 

[Gugny]

6 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Settle down. You are working yourself into frenzy. Just get on that wave and ride it to wherever it takes you. 

 

Yankees aren't built for postseason - and they haven't been for over a decade.  Their starters won't get 5-6 runs in support against playoff teams.  But their starters will continue to give up plenty of runs.  The Astros have almost as many HRs as the Yankees do.  But the Astros also have pitching.

 

Last year, I think they were primed to win it all - even with the Red Sox going on the tear they did.  Had they kept Joe Girardi, I believe the Yankees would have won the World Series last year.

 

With their subpar starting pitching and the figurehead Boone "managing" games, I just don't think they stand a chance.  Shame on them.

[C.Biscuit97]

13 hours ago, inaugural balls said:

 

Yep

 

Ask the Red Sox

Yeah, those scrappy Red Sox who only had a 227 million dollar payroll.  What a bunch of underdogs!!!

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, Gugny said:

 

Yankees aren't built for postseason - and they haven't been for over a decade.  Their starters won't get 5-6 runs in support against playoff teams.  But their starters will continue to give up plenty of runs.  The Astros have almost as many HRs as the Yankees do.  But the Astros also have pitching.

 

Last year, I think they were primed to win it all - even with the Red Sox going on the tear they did.  Had they kept Joe Girardi, I believe the Yankees would have won the World Series last year.

 

With their subpar starting pitching and the figurehead Boone "managing" games, I just don't think they stand a chance.  Shame on them.

You are analyzing the Yankees with you biased and jaundiced Met eyes. I agree with you that the Astros are the favored team to not only make the series but to win it. The Zienke deal solidified their position. But you have to hand it to the Yankees that after sustaining so many injuries this team still kept on winning. Be gracious and tip your hat to the other NY team. No matter how they do in the playoffs they will have had a successful season because they prevailed over so much adversity. Be gracious to the other Gotham team Mr. Gugny. It will make you a better man. 

[Gugny]

20 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You are analyzing the Yankees with you biased and jaundiced Met eyes. I agree with you that the Astros are the favored team to not only make the series but to win it. The Zienke deal solidified their position. But you have to hand it to the Yankees that after sustaining so many injuries this team still kept on winning. Be gracious and tip your hat to the other NY team. No matter how they do in the playoffs they will have had a successful season because they prevailed over so much adversity. Be gracious to the other Gotham team Mr. Gugny. It will make you a better man. 

 

I give the Yankees a hell of a lot of credit for getting through an unprecedented injury bug.

 

I used to love the Yankees.  From the mid-80s until they signed Alex Rodriguez.  I was always a Mets fan, but still followed/rooted for the Yanks.  I swore to not root for them as long as Rodriguez was on the team; and I didn't.  It took me a while to warm back up to them after the bum was gone, but 2017 found me really enjoying watching them and pulling for them.  THAT was insane, for Girardi to take a team of nobodies that far.  Reminded me of the Mets' Valentine days.

 

And then they let Girardi go - replacing him with someone who's never been so much as a little league coach.  That put a sour taste in my mouth.  They have players who I like, but overall, my love for the organization is gone.

 

The 80s, 90s and early 2000s (with the exception of the Rodriguez era) were great Yankee teams and great baseball.  I simply don't feel the same.

 

I'm not a Yankee hater.  I don't root for them to lose.  I've just become indifferent, which stinks.  Because I really did enjoy loving them for all those years.

 

Anyway, I'll always give credit where it's due and they do, indeed, deserve credit for winning so many games with young guys and backups.

[JohnC]

17 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

I give the Yankees a hell of a lot of credit for getting through an unprecedented injury bug.

 

I used to love the Yankees.  From the mid-80s until they signed Alex Rodriguez.  I was always a Mets fan, but still followed/rooted for the Yanks.  I swore to not root for them as long as Rodriguez was on the team; and I didn't.  It took me a while to warm back up to them after the bum was gone, but 2017 found me really enjoying watching them and pulling for them.  THAT was insane, for Girardi to take a team of nobodies that far.  Reminded me of the Mets' Valentine days.

 

And then they let Girardi go - replacing him with someone who's never been so much as a little league coach.  That put a sour taste in my mouth.  They have players who I like, but overall, my love for the organization is gone.

 

The 80s, 90s and early 2000s (with the exception of the Rodriguez era) were great Yankee teams and great baseball.  I simply don't feel the same.

 

I'm not a Yankee hater.  I don't root for them to lose.  I've just become indifferent, which stinks.  Because I really did enjoy loving them for all those years.

 

Anyway, I'll always give credit where it's due and they do, indeed, deserve credit for winning so many games with young guys and backups.

It's interesting how much you disdain Alex. A lot of fans and even his contemporary players intensely disliked him. I'm sure his involvement with steroids was a factor but the bigger factor was that many people thought that his public persona was not authentic to those who knew him and wasn't reflective of his actual personality. Surprisingly, he has become more likeable now that he is involved in the games as a TV analyst. In my opinion he does an excellent job in not only analyzing the game but also doing it from a player perspective. He does a good job mixing in with the other two crew members. I'm very much surprised to how well he adapted to his media role. 

[Gugny]

10 minutes ago, JohnC said:

It's interesting how much you disdain Alex. A lot of fans and even his contemporary players intensely disliked him. I'm sure his involvement with steroids was a factor but the bigger factor was that many people thought that his public persona was not authentic to those who knew him and wasn't reflective of his actual personality. Surprisingly, he has become more likeable now that he is involved in the games as a TV analyst. In my opinion he does an excellent job in not only analyzing the game but also doing it from a player perspective. He does a good job mixing in with the other two crew members. I'm very much surprised to how well he adapted to his media role. 

 

I think he does a very good job providing color to the broadcasts he's part of.  He's a smart man who obviously knows baseball.

 

As much as I disliked him as a player, what bothered me more is that the Yankees tainted the organization by bringing him in, in my opinion.

 

Alex Rodriguez would not fit into any George Steinbrenner Yankees team.  George was a fantastic owner.  When he gave up the reigns, they Yankees became just another big-spending baseball team.  Not the same and, to me, it's sad.

 

[Andrew Son]

If a long suffering franchise like the Yankees can turn it around, anything is possible...

Edited August 13, 2019 by SWATeam

[row_33]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

 

 

The 80s, 90s and early 2000s (with the exception of the Rodriguez era) were great Yankee teams and great baseball.  I simply don't feel the same.

 

 

 

I will include 1976 to 1979 as well, losing Munson hurt big

 

still have to remind many that Reggie played for the Orioles in 1976, and wasn’t on that Yankees team....

 

[C.Biscuit97]

9 minutes ago, SWATeam said:

If a long suffering franchise like the Yankees can turn it around, anything is possible...

I always thought of the Yankees as the Bills of baseball. 

[row_33]

——————

 

Ken Singleton on occasion tells the story of entering the O’s clubhouse just before 1976 season began and Don Baylor was alone and very upset. When asked he said he just got traded to the A’s for Reggie.

 

so Ken had to console his good friend while thinking the whole time “this is the greatest thing to happen to the club in years...”

[C.Biscuit97]

1 minute ago, row_33 said:

——————

 

Ken Singleton on occasion tells the story of entering the O’s clubhouse just before 1976 season began and Don Baylor was alone and very upset. When asked he said he just got traded to the A’s for Reggie.

 

so Ken had to console his good friend while thinking the whole time “this is the greatest thing to happen to the club in years...”

I wasn’t alive during the Reggie Jackson years but I heard I how wonderful him and the manager got along and because of that great culture, they were able to win World Series. 

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Gugny said:

 

I give the Yankees a hell of a lot of credit for getting through an unprecedented injury bug.

 

I used to love the Yankees.  From the mid-80s until they signed Alex Rodriguez.  I was always a Mets fan, but still followed/rooted for the Yanks.  I swore to not root for them as long as Rodriguez was on the team; and I didn't.  It took me a while to warm back up to them after the bum was gone, but 2017 found me really enjoying watching them and pulling for them.  THAT was insane, for Girardi to take a team of nobodies that far.  Reminded me of the Mets' Valentine days.

 

And then they let Girardi go - replacing him with someone who's never been so much as a little league coach.  That put a sour taste in my mouth.  They have players who I like, but overall, my love for the organization is gone.

 

The 80s, 90s and early 2000s (with the exception of the Rodriguez era) were great Yankee teams and great baseball.  I simply don't feel the same.

 

I'm not a Yankee hater.  I don't root for them to lose.  I've just become indifferent, which stinks.  Because I really did enjoy loving them for all those years.

 

Anyway, I'll always give credit where it's due and they do, indeed, deserve credit for winning so many games with young guys and backups.

I am a huge Yankees fan and a big Girardi fan. But he was burnt out and done. I criticized his departure when it happened, but I was flat out wrong.  The players were tired of him, and at the end of the day it's a players game. You're not giving enough credit to Boone either. Over half of baseball managing is managing personalities, and Boone is better at it than Joe G. That trait is what made Torre an all-time great manager.  He dealt with a bunch of huge egos and got them all on the same page. 

[Gugny]

2 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

I am a huge Yankees fan and a big Girardi fan. But he was burnt out and done. I criticized his departure when it happened, but I was flat out wrong.  The players were tired of him, and at the end of the day it's a players game. You're not giving enough credit to Boone either. Over half of baseball managing is managing personalities, and Boone is better at it than Joe G. That trait is what made Torre an all-time great manager.  He dealt with a bunch of huge egos and got them all on the same page. 

 

Torre was phenomenal.

 

I really don't know that Joe was burned out.  Like I said, he got a very young team to within a game of the World Series in his last year.  For me, the jury is still out on Boone.  Perhaps my opinion of him is clouded with bias ... I don't know.  The Yankees have done will in an injury-riddled season; I just don't know how much Boone has to do with that.  I will admit, it's likely too early to judge him.