That and spending a ton of money on players that didn't help them win anything. Do you think a big name FA is going to play as hard day in and day out as a very talented player who was brought up from the farm?
Of course they do. Derek Jeter has one of the biggest contracts in baseball and whether you love him or hate him you can't ever claim he doesn't play every single out of every game he's in. Oh, I get it - he's "homegrown" so he's immune to money, then? Please. This is just fan crap - the tough, gritty home town guy vs the big, bad mercenary who doesn't care. Funny, Manny Ramirez and Keith Foulke seemed to work out just fine for Boston in '04. I guess they forgot they weren't homegrown.
When big stars get their millions a lot of them get lazy.
Of course. I'm sure you have reams of data backing this up, too.
Saying bad luck has to do with the Yankees woes is an excuse. This is a pro team, with pro scouts and a rich history. Spending a ton of money on free agents simply has not worked for them thus far. Every team in the MLB can cite bad luck as their reason for losing......thats an excuse, and one that would get you laughed out of every MLB dugout.
When I say "bad luck" I'm pointing to the vagaries of baseball, not a "woe-is-us" line of argument. Wang getting hurt running the basepaths in an interleague game is bad luck, for example. Our lineup collectively having a down year due to injuries and lack of hitting in high leverage spots is luck. Yes, all teams have to deal with it, and some times your team gets hit with it harder than others. Not meant as an excuse, just a factor for any sport. It's why every prediction for any team always starts out with "if they stay healthy..."
The point is trying to argue that the Yankees haven't won
because they've signed expensive players is just silly. It's applying the same value to a CC Sabathia as you would a Carl Pavano. We've seen all different types of teams, homegrown, FA heavy, players traded for, win championships. The fact that the Yankees didn't make the playoffs for the FIRST TIME since 1995 suggests that actually, their player acquisition has worked out quite well for the most part. Winning a WS is not easy, regardless of who is on your roster. The other team is talented and they want to win too.