Remember "the Evil Empire?" What a joke.

Lately, when I rise at 3 a.m. to pee, I experience one thought:

Will this be the day the Yankees crash? 

Face it: They are no longer the Yankees, the Evil Empire, the bombastic franchise that spent the most and signed the biggest stars, (even if it didn't always work.) Nope. They have become the Steinbrenner family's cash cow, and if legacy gets in the way of Hal's new boat house, well, that's capitalism, Suzyn. 

Face it: We follow a team that once symbolized American power and pride, if not greed and gluttony. Baseball, like every form of entertainment, always needed a villain, and the Yankees were that team. People loved them or loathed them. As Yankee fans, we relished both sides.  

These days, it's rare to find anyone who attacks the Yankees; they're too busy chuckling. Some tribal elder might still break a sweat, sort of as muscle memory, but the ranks are thinning. You see it in daily obits, which describe their subject as "a lifelong Yankee fan," part of his or her humanity. They're gone, and nobody is replacing them. 

At 3 a.m., I make peace with my own obit in just that manner. 

Face it: This is the year when the Yankees will become NYC's other team. No cavalry, no free agent, no acquisition, will save us. The Mets have the money, and they're willing to spend it. The Yankees have the money, but no desire to see it go.

The last great Yankee era - the 90s under Joe Torre - was financed in part by the YES Channel, which gave us an advantage over the rest of baseball. That time came and went. The Yankees' organizational goals slowly switched from winning to contending.  

So, while I stand there at 3 a.m., I wonder if today will be the day Cody Bellinger bids farewell? Frankly, I come to hope so. I'd be happy to see Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones, for better or worse. And when the pitching injuries come - they always do - I hope the Yankees face an angry fan base. 

But they won't. Because the fan base is starting not to care. The Yankees simply haven't been the Yankees for a long, long time. And today might be the day...