Yet, that’s what I was talking about, the hate “other than the cliche” nonsense.

I get the hate thing, I really do.

But they’ve done this before. And teams can go back and look at their FA’s in the past and thank the ground the Yanks step on for signing guys like Jaret Wright and Giambi.

I just don’t understand the non-respect thing. Cuz they’ve been winning like this all year, showing as much heart as those non-big budget teams in the late 90’s.

I mean I respect the Phillies. Did since last year. I know who’s on that team. I don’t respect them any less now that the Yanks are up 3-1.

I just don’t understand how you can say hate = now you respect them after they’re up in the series.

Or is it just a seeing it for yourself type thing?

First of all, I’ve been following some of your posts over here and want to offer kudos… you’ve been bringing the trash talk and banter one would expect from a fan of the opposition, but it’s all been in fun and the focus has been baseball, as it should be. We’ve seen a number of other teams’ folks around here who have NOT brought anything like that… you know, trollish behavior, the four letter word posts, the whining about some sort of umpiring conspiracy in favor of the Yankees, Mariano throws a spitball, etc. Wanna thank you for a higher level of discourse, I for one appreciate that, bro.

I get you on the hate. I can’t feel it myself because as you say, I’m a NYY fan, but I feel what you’re saying in general. In my defense, I’ve been a Yankee fan since 1978, through 14 years of no playoff appearances, a whole bunch of free agents who never quite worked out, the dysfunctional musical manager days, the early 1990s years where we were the absolute dregs of the AL east… so please forgive me for feeling the Yankees do not have some sort of cosmic advantage. Folks outside NY sometimes see the payroll (which is invariably played up the media) and don’t see that the Yankee universe has more than its own share of problems, too.

If the money could buy our championships, why haven’t we won the WS since 2000? The truth is, money buys some margin for error… but it still takes smart acquisitions, good player development, sound management, team chemistry… not to mention starting pitching and defense, timely hitting, and all the rest, to win the WS. The Phillies have climbed that mountain and as a NYY fan I certainly hope we get back to the top now.

As an aside, the money brings its share of problems, too. For example, if a high priced free agent comes to NY and plays mediocre ball, there’s pressure to play him BECAUSE he has a big contract… and not all players perform well in NY due to the various pressures (media, Steinbrenners…), with Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, Jaret Wright, and many more as token examples.

The Phillies aren’t completely immune to this stuff, though. Midseason the Phillies came up with Cliff Lee while the Yankees, who desperately needed another starting pitcher, ended up with Chad Gaudin. And the majority of players on the Yankees roster were homegrown or other teams’ castoffs, not high-priced free agents. (Though we certainly have some of those, too.)

Where would you guys be this postseason without Lee?

Don’t get me wrong, the Phillies have a GREAT team, you guys should be proud! These games have made me nervous, start to finish. Your lineup is scary. Your pitching is frustratingly good. We need to bring our “A” game to close out this WS, otherwise we’ll still lose. I think more than a few folks around here have newfound respect for the Phillies, too!

i know the yankees are in a huge market and stuff, but so are the mets, boston chicago and LA are big markets too, not as big as new york but they are still big enough to go out and sign a big player or two. and to add one more thing i was listening to the brian kenny show a week ago during a travel day and he made a great point that the owner of the royals, the glass family, has more money then the stienbrenners.

now what ticks me off is saying “we earned our title” so we havent earned what weve done this season? that annoys the crap out of me, we have earned it and we will.

the Yankees certainly spend a ton of money. And they get a lot of great players. But they also do develop from within. Half their team is homegrown. Jeter, Cano, Rivera, Pettitte, Posada, Melky, Gardner, Joba, Hughes, Robertson, Aceves, Coke, CERVELLI!!!!!!!

So, Im just saying that the Yankees do develop from within as well. Had to get that out there.

Lefties kill the Phils. But the team is still good enough for another run or two in years to come.