The Yankiverse is seething, and some sites simply don't get it

First came the shock, as we realized that - holy crap! the Yankees aren't just posturing; they're really going to pass on Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. 

Then came the rage, as the revelation settled in: The grand and glorious Yankees, who spent the last two years cutting payroll in preparation for the 2019 free agent class, is turning its back on two generational talents, both of whom want to play in New York.

Now, we're seeing an "on the other hand" backlash from sites and Gammonites, assuring us that - no, the Yankee ownership isn't cheap. It's just doing what all teams do.

Listen: That's why we're angry. Yesterday, a lengthy thumb-sucker popped up on a website called The Runner Sports, arguing that Yankee fans should stand down. Here's the final paragraph:

The New York Yankees are not being cheap. Fans need to realize this. They will be over the luxury tax threshold. Likely, their payroll could compete for the highest in 2019. Cashman is still determined to add one more reliever (waiting on Adam Ottavino). Plus, the team will add a player during the trade deadline. That will only add to the payroll. Fans need to stop spewing nonsense about how cheap the team is right now. It is not cheap. It is paying for the value that is needed rather than the value fantasized.

First, I don't mean to pick on a fellow blogger. It's like firing on your own troops. But folks never go wrong by agreeing with the status quo. You weigh and assess, mull and deliberate, figure and finagle - and then announce that, yes, all considered, it's not raining outside, merely drizzling. Rather than be defined by someone who has painstakingly counted the beans and found us to be spending far more than the Cincinnati Reds, I'd like to explain Yankee fan-rage one more time. This is not an attack on a writer, but an attempt to clear the air on why we Yankee fans feel betrayed.

The Yankees used to represent the greatest and most glorious tradition in American sports. They were always the team to beat. There was baseball, and there was the Yankees. They spent the most money. When Curt Flood knocked down free agency, it allowed the Yankees to buy their way out of 1960s mediocrity and restore the brand. Ever since, when stars became available, the Yankees would set the market on their value. That was their place in the baseball universe - at least until Hal Steinbrenner took over. Today, as team revenues skyrocket, Yankee payroll has flat-lined, leaving fans to wonder, where is all the money going? Worse, the Redsocks have now won three straight AL East titles and are poised to win the World Series again. Last year, they outspent us by $40 million, while Hal wheedled to get below the luxury tax threshold. 

The Yankees used to be capitalism's great gift to the working fan. For most of us, rooting for the Yankees was as close as we'd ever get to being rich. The Yankee fan never had to worry about money. If a player came on the market, we could afford him. We were the gold standard. We were never supposed to hear the owner whine or poor-mouth about player salaries. For most of the last century, the Yankees offered the working class the same level of escape as millionaires. In The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway made the great Dimaggio signify the promise of America. The team is not supposed to run by a cold, calculating money-grubber. The Yankees are supposed to offer an escape from the hardships of daily life. That's why they have fans in every city. We are not supposed pull out our pockets and plead poverty.

Everything changed ten years ago, when the Yankees scrapped the greatest cathedral in American sports and built a concrete symbol of power and corruption. In many ways, it's right that they won the 2009 World Series and have done next to nothing since. Instead of providing an escape for working people, they have done all they could to alienate them. Their security guards police the stands tightly, so that the rich and poor never co-mingle, even in late innings, when the box seats sit empty. They serve food that doesn't even meet Health Department standards. And when two great free agent stars emerge - both in mid-20s, both expressing their desire to play for the Yankees - they turn their backs. 

You can compare the Yankees to small market teams and rightfully say that - no, they are not cheap. Trouble is, this is the fucking New York Yankees. Compare them to who they were and - yes, they are cheap bastards. And the fan base knows it.