A Time for Change

There are two very powerful Georges of whom I hold nothing but hate. The first sits in the Oval Office, and the second usually sits in Tampa. As many Americans, I sincerely hope for the impeachment of the first George, and if this does not occur, wait with baited breath for the end of his all-too-long term of terror to end.

However, I write today to address the need for the end of the reign of the other George: Steinbrenner. He has lorded over the New York Yankees, my beloved team, for almost thirty years, and the time has come for regime change. The Bronx Bombers, under his tenure, have won the World Series, yes. But only in 1996, after about twenty years of fumbling and stumbling. Meanwhile, George has fired managers for disagreeing with him, sent players packing for longer-than-acceptable hair, and micromanaged throughout. And there is more.

The policy he has adopted over the past ten years, since the Yanks won the 1996 Series with a team of scrappy, and mainly home bred, farm team successes, has been this: buy big names, no matter how old and how cranky. This has had minimal success, and has led to serious image problems within and without of the organization. The team is seen by many as the Evil Empire, with George as Darth Vader. Players like Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and Alex Rodriguez have reinforced the belief by thousands that the team just spends and spends, creating a vicious and spiralling "arms race" throughout Major League Baseball.

And these complainers are right. The Yankees, for many years, have neglected a minor league system in the name of "time." They want to win now, and never rebuild. Well, they are doing a sad job of supporting the thesis that buying stars creates World Series winners. George is the root of this travesty. So here is my prediction: as long as George runs the Yankees, they won't win it all again. He needs to step down, and let someone else try to build a winner.