Ok, I get that some (most) people hate the Yankees. But to say George Steinbrenner " buys " championships? Come on!
Are you guys seriously telling me that Jeter isn't a good SS?
That A-Rod isn't one of the top 5 players in mlb?
That Damon isn't awesome OF?
If ANY of the Yankee players were on any OTHER team, they'd stand out and be called superstars the way David Ortiz is. A-Rod won 2 Gold Gloves and none were with the Yankees. He won those fair & square with out the $25 millIon a year.
When will you guys realize that each Yankee is there because he earned it, not because he was bought by anyone! ? ! ?
OK . Hit me! I'm ready!

Andy Pettitte went from the Yanks to the Astros regardless of money. His family wanted him to and he did it. Period. So please don't say George won't "allow it". That's crazy!

You can't argue that the Yankees don't play by the rules. They certainly do. But that doesn't mean it's healthy for the sport.

The Yankees, thanks in large part to their huge TV revenue, have MUCH more money to spend than any other team. This enables them to spend far more on players. They got A-Rod simply because they were about the only team who could afford to absorb his salary. The financial facts are simple: other teams can't pay what the Yankees pay. This is not because the Yankees are better or cooler or smarter. It's simply because their revenue stream is so enormous. Anyone who denies that isn't facing reality.

Some quick facts to illustrate how out of whack this is:
- The Yankees 2006 payroll, before acquiring Bobby Abreu and his $15 million salary, was $68 million greater than the Red Sox, the team with the 2nd highest payroll. $68 million!
- To put that in perspective there are 13 teams whose TOTAL payroll is under $68 million. 13 out of 30 teams, almost half the teams in major league baseball, don't have a payroll which can match the DIFFERENCE between the Yankees and their closest competition. If they could afford it, in theory the Red Sox could absorb the entire Rangers or Reds or Indians or Twins payroll and still not dole out as much as the Yankees do in salary.
- The Dodgers payroll, the 6th highest in the majors, is less than 1/2 of the Yankees.
- The average Yankee salary (before Abreu): almost $7.1 million (.603 winning percentage as of today)
- The average Tiger salary: about 3.1 million (.655)
- The average Twins salary: about 2.4 million (.585)

The fact is the Yankees can offer the most money, so they do. It's within the rules. It's above board. But it's an inequity that tarnishes their accomplishments.

And for the record, I'm not a Red Sox fan. lol

I can't argue with you - I love the Yankees ever since I took my son back in 1978 to Yankee Stadium and watched Reggie Jackson hit a huge homerun over the wall. They won the AL East championship that night. It was great. Go Yanks!

What they're saying is that they fork out the money to the players. They are, in a way, paying for championships, but then so is every team. It is, after all, a business.

The yanks haven't won since they got A-rod. I hate them anyway. I hope Jeter chokes on a-rods wang. GO SOX!

i hate the Yankee's and nothing you say can change that i bleed Dodger blue

Yes, Mr. Stienbrenner does buy his teams.

He always gets all the top free agents.

Other teams may offer a top FA $30M an year, and the yankees will give him $35M a year.

The fact is, all those wouldnt be on any other team because george steinbrenner would not allow that to happen.

Mary, that is one of the reasons I dislike the yankees.
Plus they think they can always win. Money doesnt always buy championships.
I find it extremely funny that with a $198M payroll this year they wont win the World Series.

George Steinbrenner does not buy world championships.

But he can buy his way into the playoffs to be dissappointed to have another low budget team beat the Yankees.

Its only jealousy that makes people say the Yankees buy their championships. Look at the facts:

The Yankees have won the world series 25 times in the last 105 years--and they have been in them about 45 times. That shows that they have been in 47% of the world series in the last 105 years! That means that are a good team and a good organization!!! No other sports team can make those claims!!

I have to agree with you. the fact of the matter other then A-rod the Yankees don't have the highest paid player at any position. and they didn't sign A-rod someone else did. They also didn't buy Jeter or B. Williams those players are from their farm system. I'm not a Yankees fan but respect what they have done. The only people that hate the Yankees are Red Sox fans cause their team is so pathetic that they can only win 1 title in 80 years.

Mr Steinbrenner does it by the rules and recently since giving up the day to day operations to Brain Cashman, has only giving the"Ok" when big deals are made. The Yankees are the best team that could be fielded and rightfully so. We pay excessive luxury tax to the league for those salaries that are paid. There are only one or two other teams that do that. One of them are the Red Sox so people need to know they are just as guilty as the Yankees but don't get the notoriety the Yank's get. The other teams in the league receive Revenue sharing dollars and the luxury tax is part of that. What the other teams do with the revenue sharing dollars is their business but most of them take that money and pocket it instead of using it to go after free agents that are available.
What people fail to realize is that whoever the Yankees get to play for them still have to pitch, hit, steal bases etc and win the games. They have to earn the championship.

i really dont care i HATE the yankkes and george Stinbrener....

I don't get how people can be upset with the Yanks for spending money to win. As a fan, I want all of my teams to spend the money to win, not just the Yanks. The people that complain about it are usually just unhappy because the Yanks have such a prestigious background and history.

I live in Philly, and if the owners would spend the money that Steinbrenner does, I am sure Phillies fans would be much happier.

The ones that complain the most are usually the ones who cheer for loser teams.

FYI---Jeter, Williams, Pettite, Rivera, Cano, Melky Cabrera Soriano were all home grown talent. So they can actually draft too, but I guess that doesn't matter.

Its mostly Redsox fans that say that. But its the ultimate hypocrisy because they have the 2nd largest payroll in MLB. Furthermore, look what happened when they really started spending money and actively pursued key free agents (ex: Curt Schilling)---they won their first world series in how long? Something like 86 years?! So, they are complete hypocrites to say that. Besides, its professional sports. Wake up already!

hey im with you the only reason we won 26 is because of talent not money