By then, Miami could be a buoy floating in the ocean, President Herschel Walker could be cracking down on vampires, and Hal Steinbrenner will either have won something of consequence or be reviled as the man who turned the once-great Yankee franchise into the Washington Wizards.
There's no way out. And everything balances on Hal.
He must either outbid the crazy money obsessions of other billionaires, or to use the team as a roadside ATM, bleeding his inheritance to buy soccer teams and tropical islands. And it's not just Judge. To win a ring, Hal will need a supportive cast, and the few stars available in trades usually come with similar horrible contracts. (See Donaldson, Josh.)
Folks, this isn't the train workers' strike. We're not talking about sick days. This is multibillionaires fighting with multimillionaires, and in the final calculus, fans matter to neither.
Hal must decide his future legacy. He can be the owner who:
1. Kept Judge and financed a Yankee resurgence.
2. Let Judge go to another city.
3. Kept Judge as the solitary star on runner-up teams. (See Henderson, Rickie.)
No free agents out there can fill Judge's shoes. Hal has the money. He must decide whether to spend it. He must decide who he is.
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11 comments:
While I certainly want us to sign Judge, I have to wonder what his contract will look like in 5 years. We lament having Stanton now with his salary, inability to stay healthy and lack of versatility. We were all so happy when we signed him to pair with all our other sluggers (ie: The Kraken). Now we lament that he is untradable. Is there anyone out there worried about where a 9 year, $40million (!) Judge contract will leave us down the road when we have a 36 year old DH clogging up our lineup? Really torn here…..
I don’t care what the Judge contract will look like by 2030. By then, between normal inflation and baseball inflation, which already sees 38 year old pitchers making 43 mil, Judge’s 38 might just be going rate for dh. Also, it’s not like ticket prices won’t go up either way.
He is either 2 0r 3. A cheapskate.
Here is the obvious answer to the question: Maya Angelou once said, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Miguel Castro is gone. The bullpen is improving already.
@ Pgpick,
I’ve been saying this for years. Resigning Judge would be a great short term win and an awful long term loss. Left unsaid is Judge’s significant injury history, sure to resurface as he ages. My belief is that the team will move him to 1B sooner rather than later, but it won’t matter - Father Time is undefeated.
As far as the execrable Steinbummer is concerned If past practice is any guideline I would say our future hews more to #3; Anyone who thinks that Steinsucker will one day awake Scrooge-like, reborn with a fiery desire to compete, to WIN, is a victim of wishful thinking. As fans are consigned to more years of hellish mediocrity, though I’m not exactly sure what our sins are or were. Hubris? Arrogance? Greed?
As Shakespeare wrote, “The fault Dear Brutus is not in our Stars, but in ourselves.”
I love Aaron Judge. He's asking for nine years. I'll repeat. He's asking for nine years.
Does Judge still play with relative health at age 35? I'd be asking that. We don't know? But what does your gut say?
If the Yanks ever needed an excuse to finally rebuild...here it is...don't sign him. Do some really moneyball and get stop gaps in a few positions...see what your top prospects do...get any good starting pitcher not named Verlander...
On that subject, I want to hear those Met fans complain about Steve Cohen not spending...I'm waiting...
HAL is an effeminate, cheap, inherited money billionaire that would never be found again if he showed up (alone) at the bar we had our pregame at a few years ago.
Say goodbye to Judge and hello to piles and piles of horseshit from the death barge on how they're going to be really, really, competitive this year. blah, blah, blah...
It’s just Chinatown, Jake…
She's my Sister and My Daughter . . .
All and all, you are just another brick in the wall.
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