Ruthless and Ruth-less: Was Jeter's farewell tour the last gasp of Yankee loyalty to their players?

For the last two years, the Yankees have done little more than launch farewell tours and hand out plaques to their icons of the '90s. Our pitching was mediocre, the hitting worse, and the brain trust was always first to note that it would NOT blame all those injuries - which is, of course, the spin doctor's way to blame all those injuries.

But today, passengers on the NY Titanic face a brand new revelation, one that I didn't see coming:

The Evil Empire - which always had a secret heart of gold when it came to longtime Yankees - is done with tearful farewells. Hal Steinbrenner may share many of his dad's traits, but loyalty to the work horses is not one of them.

Thus, yesterday, David Robertson told reporters that he was "not surprised" that the Yankees failed to make him an offer. He knew the deal. They had signed Andrew Miller for $4 million less, plus received a draft pick. They had moved on.

Listen: I cannot blame Brian Cashman for making this move. (Cash claims the Yankees feigned interested in Robertson out of loyalty, so he could run up the bidding.) From a strictly business standpoint, the Yankees saved a few bucks, which can go somewhere else - the wide-open drain in RF, for example. And who knows what they'll do with the draft pick? (Alphonso will say they'll squander it, and maybe so, but nothing deflates us more than a June draft when our first pick comes in the third round.) Dumping Robertson was business, end of story.

This is far different than last year's fiasco with Robby Cano, mostly because it was Cano who threw loyalty out the window, choosing a meaningless extra year on a ridiculous contract over the fans, the city and the franchise that raised him from a pup. We shouldn't blame Cano for wanting the gold. I understand it. But I will always, always, hold a grudge. I hope he plays 10 years and never sees the light of a post-season.

Alas, that may be our fate.

Listen: There is absolutely no point in trying to assess the Yankees' winter, thus far. Everything can change in a moment. But Cashman has made one point crystal clear: The farewell tours are done. There are no ties to the old teams. From now on, the Yankees will be ruthless - and Catfish-less and Reggie-less, too. Which means they better win.