Why is being a "yankee" so difficult?
455467
As a "hick" I must say that I have a true problem with most "Yankees." The main reason is that you think you are so much better than us.  We may speak a little slower, but there is a southern hospitality that no Yankee can understand.  For example, sometimes Yankees are so short and rude; you won't find that in the South. We are more likely to be polite and personal in all of our conversations! (No offense :) )
11316
yes i do despise the red sox.  a rod is not my favorite yankee.  my reasoning behind this is because he did not come up a yankee.  he is a natural star. i feel that my favorite yankee is derek jeter. he has a lot of talent and was brought up in the yankee farm system.  i think to be a true yankee, you have to be brought up learning the ropes in the yankee farm system, anything less would consider you an accquisition in order to try to improve the team.  as we all know, the yankees do not have many farm players coming up and it is sad.  maybe if we rasied more talent, we could win our 27th.
678485
I can't believe the way people act towards the Yankees. Having been a Yankee fan for as long as I can remember (and I am 30+) I've have supported them thru winning and losing seasons. And I've endured much ridicule and many jeers for doing so. The biggest thing I hear is how Steinbreiner buys pennants. This is not true. All teams have the same option of turn profits back into the team. He's a great business man. And he pays dearly for it. All the teams benefit from his hefty payroll because he pays the highest luxury tax in the league. \nYankees fans are all over...not just in New York.
20767
I live in Florida and here the locals call anyone from north of this county a yankee, and mean it as an insult.  I'm from Connecticut and don't in any way see it as an insult.  In the U.S. a yankee is anyone from East of New York, (New England).  That doesn't include New York.  And in Europe a yankee is an american from the U.S.  It's in the dictionary.\n\nIt's from the civil war era and the yankees are the ones that won the war and the rebels are still upset, even though you can hardly find one that knows why, they think it's because people with Michigan license plates drive bad.
788029
You've nailed it Jen.  The truth!!  All of these people who claim to disagree with you are just not being honest with themselves.  Of course they wish their teams were as successful as the Yankees.  What fan wouldn't?  The bottom line is that money or not the players still have to get the job done on the field.  Georgie is always talking about the Yankees not winning a world series in this century.  The fact is the Tigers haven't won still 1984.  So what is your point Georgie?  The Tigers are nothing more than a one hit wonder.  Big deal, you won a pennant.  You are all missing the point.  It's all about the legend of the Yankees and how it overshadows all of baseball.  No matter what the other teams do, it's still all about the Yankees and how your teams compare.  Some of you just have to make your hateful comments to relieve your frustration.  I think that's pitiful.  Instead of being mad at the Yankees what don't you turn to your own teams ownership and ask them why they don't put a winner on the field.  And don't give me this money crap.  All franchises have the money to buy anyone they want.  It's a matter of stepping up to the plate and doing it.  Obviously they don't have the guts.
814882
Craig, is that you?? LOL\n\nEdited to say: I'm laughing at all the Yanks who don't understand our glorious al fresco tradition...
797383
Mmmm difficult.  Its good to be an individual but sometimes it pays to fit in with the crowd...;
655500
Yankee Fan, sick of it too
228488
For the children of immigrants in the United States I would say that biggest difficulty of coming of age is being torn between two communal identities. Your family, who you love, wants you to remember your heritage. Your friends, who you also love, want you to embrace mass American culture. It can be difficult, if not impossible to reconcile these two opposing desires.\n\nI am not the child of immigrants but I lived in an area with a very high Asian immigrant population. It seems that growing up is a time for a lot of animosity between parents and children and especially so in the case of the children of immigrant parents. There are a lot of arguments and angry rants the next day at school about "Why can't they just let me be my own person?".
996740
For some, it's a nervous habit, like Joe Morgan with that wacko elbow movement before he batted and Julio Franco's ultra bat movement. How about Craig Counsell or Mike Hargrove (back in the day) and that stuff with his batting gloves? Also, footing does play a role as well as superstition, but footing is going to be good most of the time, unless the dirt is wet, otherwise, it shouldn't stick in the cleats. Mostly, it's just a habit.
311732
New York Yankees\nWhy?\nWhen I was a kid, my dad loved the Oakland A's. He always brought us to the Coliseum for games vs. the Yankees 'cause my mom is from the east coast. She hates Baseball so she never went with us but she bought my sister and I Yankee stuff to wear to piss off my dad. As I got older, and began playing baseball and understanding it more, I became a Di HARD, TRUE BLUE Yankee fan. The Yanks RULE. My dad still can't stand it and my little sis became a Mariners fan when she moved to Seattle. I now live in Alaska where Yankee fans are hard to come by. SOX SUCK!!!!!!
720026
I am NOT a Yankee Fan nor am I a Randy Johnson fan BUT.... You can not judge someones future by one game.  He looked AWFUL and due in part to the AWFUL pitching, my Red Sox blew the Yankees away last night.  But to say he is washed up is pre-mature.  We may be seeing the beginning of a decline but I am sure he has plenty more winning games left in him (Much to he dismay of this Red Sox fan) LOL
580138
Last night the Yankees couldn't sniff a hit off Billy Wagner and Mario Rivera gave up two bombs.  Today Wagner couldn't find home plate and Rivera blew the Mets away.  That is why baseball is so superior to any other team sport. \n\nWhat you should be asking is why did Willie Randolph pitch Wagner in the first place with a 4 run lead?
563122
there are many differences between red sox fans and yankees fans...red sox fans BELIEVE in their team win or lose...yankees fans for some reason think their team won no matter what. they are so arrogant and most are gay as well. they are all holding on to the 80s and 90s. face it yanks fans...the other teams are just too good for you to get through! red sox, white sox, tampa bay (hehe), gay-rod leads in errors, and damon...you can have him, hes gone gay! so step down yankees fans..you pinstripe bitches just dont shine anymore! RED SOX ALL THE WAY! lets go 3-0 against the yanks! you havent beat us yet! :p
174080
because they are just so darn good and people are tired of getting beat.\n\nGO YANKEES!!!!!!
189025
Glad???  No, furious in fact! Ok, I have gotten over it though. In MLB however, that's just how the cookie crumbles, unfortunately.\nAs a die-hard SOX fan, I can certainly empathize with you though. I remember waking one morning, still wiping the sleep from my eyes...turned on the tube and there he was, his mug peering back at me, short hair and a blue cap.\nI was like whaaaaat?? Am I dreaming?\nSad day for sure!\nWe'll do just fine w/o him though...remember, keep the faith!
757062
Buying a championship is a myth. Only a couple teams have done it in history. Even the Yanks in 77 & 78 had a core of home grown players or players that came over in trades.  Think about it. \nGuidry, Dent, Chamblis, Randolf, Nettles, Lyle, Munson, Rivers, Pinella, the relief core except for Gossage and most of the revolving door of starters were trades or from the Yankee farm system. \n\nThe Yankees dynasty epitimized and was the blueprint for many other teams to build WS teams in the 00s.  It was small ball team work. The few big name sluggers that were signed turned into disasters or very ho hum players. Chili Davis was not a major contributer. Strawberry at best was a distraction, Knablauch was troubled his entire stay with the Yanks.  El Duke could only pitch in the post season. Fielder never did much as a Yank. \n\nGuys like Wetteland, now he was important. But also not a free agent. \n\nMost of the key team came from the farm system or trades. Rivera, Pettite, O'Niel, Jeter, Possada, Martinez and Williams. The Yanks added Cone who helped fuel the team. From there they filled in holes with free agents like Boggs and Wells. Little guys came up big every year.  Shane Spencer one year came up big for the Yanks. Chad Curtis on multiple years came up big for the Yanks. Great play to fill in for injuries, broke slumps, carried the team when it was at it's lowest. Then went back to riding the bench without a complaint. Sojo, Leyritz, Brosus, Raines are some others that came off the bench and provided crucial performances. \n\nMendoza practically created his own role. His ability to be both mop up and short relief and take important starts was amazing. In some years Mendoza was the most important pitcher on the Yank's staff. It was like have three effective pitchers all rolled into one. Mendoza another Yankees farm prospect that came up big for the Yanks. \n\nThe Angels were one of many teams that created pretty much a duplicate of the Yankee's success and found their way into the WS.  \n\nOn the flip side look at the 80s Yankees,  The O's much of the 90s, the Diamondback's first attempts, the Rockies, the Cubs the Mets year after year. Teams that spent big and came up empty or worse. Sometimes sub .500.  Then you have teams like the Twins, Royals, Angels who have one of the lower payrolls in Baseball at the time winning a world series. \n\nWinning takes pitching, defense, timely hitting or a solid offense and most of all a team spirit. So many teams sabatage themselves by collecting flashy stats that do not produce wins.  Without the utley  kind of player a team like the Phillies can have all the Burrels and Howards they want but they are not going to win many games. The Braves made it to the series or league championship year after year after year while often not having more than a couple star hitters on their entire roster. Some years Chipper Jones WAS the Braves entire offense. They won with defense, pitching and team spirit. \n\nSo it is with great amusement I watch the Mets stock up on junk players. They have pulled a Stienbrenner and the mess that comes of it next year will be a zoo like the 70s and 80s Yankees were. The Redsox are another team that has mostly met with frustration trying to buy a world series. Year after year one of the top five payrolls. Year after year disapointment. When they did finally win a series the core team was home grown sox , pickups and trades not free agents.  \n\nSo buying a WS is almost impossible. You have have to have the core team to start with. One that's played together for a time, who give incoming players a foundation to fit into. You have to choose team players mostly not flashy selfish players. Teams can win despite the flashy players but very talented teams have been sunk by such players too. \n\nTo keep your core players you have to open up the pocketbook. The Astros have been wizards at keeping players for below market salaries. Biggio and Bagwell ga