Personally, I don’t think we have enough negativity. I blame everyone else.

“Anyway, since Bean had killer numbers in the minors and stunk it up in only 2 games here and was axed, will that make any other new guys scared?” We’ve seen this movie a dozen times at least in the past few years. What makes it weird is that pitchers who aren’t out of our farm system get chance after chance to stink up the joint (Franklin, Embree, Sturtze to name the latest). I’m not saying Bean’s a major league pitcher (he probably needs to go fully submarine to crack a major league staff)but it’s counter-productive for an organization to treat its prospects like they’re auditioning for American Idol in the Pittsburgh Holiday Inn across from the airport. And, Don, keep bashing me for things I haven’t even said. I’ll be here all week.

My problem with Yankee fans is they are too quick to fall in love with he latest George acquisition. I for one didn’t want Giambi, Sheffield, A-Fraud or RJ. George (and too many fans) forget how the previous run was done.
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And the previous run before that? (: Hunter? Jackson?

There were some moves made that I wouldn’t have made; Lowell would be @ 3rd, and Nick Johnson would be @ first, for starters, but the moves have worked out.

Just wanted to say, again, THANKS TO ALL for your comments on this one – good stuff and appreciated!

Steve, I love the blog. Yes, you come up with some crazy shit, but that’s what I love about the site. I can read politically correct crap elsewhere. I love the site because many times your overreactions mirror my overreactions. You’re basically the same type of fan I am, only smarter. That said, no way does A-Rod get a buyout, and frankly, while he drives me nuts, he is still one of the best players in the game. And he’ll turn it around this season. But I will still watch nervously whenever he is up in a big spot, I know the numbers don’t back it up but man, his big moments do seem few and far between.

For the love of God what is Long doing on this team, 0 for 3 tonight with 2 weak popups and a K. Yeah, Melky couldn’t match that. Why not have him face the knuckleballer since we only play Boston 74 games a year and he’ll have to at some point?

And maybe I’m nuts, but doesn’t DFAing Bean so quick kind of hurt morale? I know some relievers have commented that it’s tough to succeed in New York because if you don’t get on Joe’s good side right away, you rot in the pen and when you do sniff action, you’re rusty (I believe it was Hammond who made this point). Anyway, since Bean had killer numbers in the minors and stunk it up in only 2 games here and was axed, will that make any other new guys scared?

I’d just like to point out to Don that guts and players acquired free agency or trade are not mutually exclusive.

Steve I appreciate the effort you put into this blog and I have no problem with your take on the Yankees. You aren’t anywhere near as negative as JohnnyC (except viz Joe Torre).

My problem with Yankee fans is they are too quick to fall in love with he latest George acquisition. I for one didn’t want Giambi, Sheffield, A-Fraud or RJ. George (and too many fans) forget how the previous run was done.

This team has no guts, said so here since you started your blog. Evidence? The collapse against the Bosox and since. Yeah, I know, they won the AL East in 2005. And then? Let’s see what they show the next two games in the Fens and then in Detroit.

Guts for garters.

Actually, Shaun – that’s what I want to hear. Thanks.

When asked “Why do you blog?” I always answer with: It’s a way to let it out. I think about this stuff, all the time, and, now, rather than let it die there, I just decided to start jotting it down too somewhere.

So, it’s nice to see that my thinking makes others think too. Thinking is good.

What everyone else said, Steve. I don’t always agree with you – see the A-Rod discussion today – but I think you always bring up good points. You make me think, and I’m grateful for that.

As long as there’s some decent reasoning behind them, I enjoy hearing different views.

I’ve enjoyed and agreed with all the comments on this post.

To me, the only credential one needs to be a fan is this: you care about the Yankees. That’s it.

You don’t have to be a tireless cheerleader for every scrub player and boneheaded front office decision. Nor do you have to be Steinbrenner junior, spitting fire if the team doesn’t get a win every time out or A-Rod has an 0-fer day. The only thing you need to be a Yankees fan is to care about the Yankees. Questioning someone else’s fan loyalty is, in a word, inane.

I strive to be objective about the Yankees (and everything else), and I think Steve does too – that’s one of the things I like best about this blog. If any of us tends towards pessimism, I think it’s only because the bar has been set very high by some great (and lucky) Yankees teams of recent memory.