Yankee fans exhibit the Stockholm Syndrome: They now identify with the penny-pinching ownershiip

Hooray! The Yankees saved money! They didn't shell out for an overpriced David Price! Yahoo! I can't wait until seven years from now, when Price is 37. Boy, will Boston regret it,then! Ha-ha-ha! 

We will pay less luxury tax! We'll slim down our payroll! (Shed that extra weight, and she'll be looking mighty fine. Grrrrrow, kitty...) Hal Steinbrenner will have extra movie money! Maybe he'll install a waterfall in his office! Or buy a flying car! He can date a Kardashian! And in seven years, Price won't be worth all that money. Boy, will we have fun! 

Yes, comrades, it has come to this. The battered fans of the Yankiverse now identify with their owner. Shrinks call it the Stockholm Syndrome: The hostage takes on the views of its captor. We are all Patty Hearst. Yesterday, segments of the Yankee fan base identified with Hal "I'm Not Cheap" Steinbrenner, a prince who sprang naked from his mother's loins and had to inherit every cent that will ever come his way. He is a billionaire - capital B. The Yankees are the richest sports franchise in baseball, if not America, and yet their fans actually let the owner poor-mouth. Here's a tidbit from the web site Bleeding Yankee Blue:

Will David Price help turn it around for the Red Sox? Sure, he's a good pitcher, I like him a lot, but I don't like him at the tune of $217 million and 7 years. That's utterly insane.  

Utterly insane. Consarn it all, them damn players, they aint worth all that there money. It's ruining the game. We don't need them, and we're better off without them. This is from Pinstripe Alley yesterday, bemoaning the inability to trade Yankee stars.

 You come up with a brilliant trade idea to post on this site or one like it. You have the Yankees getting better by shedding one of their pricey veterans...  Then the first comment in response goes something like this: "You can't trade him...he's got a no-trade clause." If you find that frustrating, imagine how Brian Cashman feels.  

Damn. If not for them damn pesky players...

Listen: These are fine Yankee web sites. I don't mean to pick a fight. I read them every day. I hate firing on my own troops. But yesterday, we saw yet another example of how the world has changed... while the Yankees sit around.

Right now, the Yankees are mired for their third straight year in the worst place possible - a few games above .500. It's the middle of the pack, the middle of nowhere. They don't draft high, they can't sign solid free agents because they'll lose their top draft pick, and they won't sign expensive ones because the owner pulls out his pockets and pretends to be poor. Middle of nowhere.

Yesterday, several fans stressed that Boston is panicking, having finished last twice in a row. But last place is a springboard. Look at Kansas City. Look at Houston. Look at the reality of pro sports today. You either outspend other teams - as old George did - or you finish low for a few years and rebuild. The Yankees are doing neither. Year after year, they're just chasing Wild Card births. And that's what they'll do in 2016.

Last September, the Redsocks undressed us with an exciting young lineup that's bound to improve. They won't come in last this year. We - on the other hand - will chase that final remaining one-game slot. And if David Price wins Boston a ring, who will be snickering seven years from now?

Whether you love or hate Boston's signing, the Yankees refusal to spend money this winter should be drawing gale force condemnation, verbal grenades. We should not be breathing sighs of relief and wailing about how much they spent, or how sad it is that we can't trade old guys. If the owner is going to be buying flying cars, the least we can do is shoot lasers at him.