kshutchins Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf..._tag_on_ya.html CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Time for another trip through the Sunday Sports Spin. Not everybody loves a parade: The only saving grace in this one was that LeBron didn't ride shotgun with A-Rod and Jay-Z. General Manager Brian Cashman, who somehow keeps making prime rib out of Alpo, called the latest Yankees' World Series title "remarkable." Sure enough. That's the Yankees: "The Little Engine That Could." They may have spent $1.5 billion signing players since their last World Series win eight years ago. And, true, in signing C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett in the off-season they committed $423 million more to the effort. But it's amazing what a small Bronx neighborhood can raise in a bake sale. Wait. Comes word the Yankees had more help than that. I knew it. After their slingshot felled the mighty Phillies in Game 6, Teixeira said God led him to sign with New York. You're probably thinking, sure He did. jeterma.jpgMichael Appleton/Associated PressAh, the loyalty shown by long-time Yankee heroes such as Derek Jeter, who turned down far richer offers from ... from ... well, money isn't everything, right? Right? Right?But Teixeira says he felt a calling, and who exactly do the small-market sinners scattered across baseball's landscape think they are to say he did it for the money? Though Matthew 19:24 does seem problematic for Teixeira: "Again I tell you," the Scripture passage reads, "it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God." No worries. Hank Steinbrenner reportedly told Cashman, "If by Matthew they mean Matt Holliday, shut that guy up and sign him, too." Derek Jeter stood at the microphone after so many rich men passed down Broadway and while an entire nation reached for the remote -- even if channel surfing carried the risk of coming across an infomercial on a miracle cure for hammer toe. "It's been too long, hasn't it?" Jeter said. "It feels good to be back. I really forgot how great it feels." Eight years in New York between titles. Sixty one in Cleveland. And Jeter staked a claim to title amnesia. That "C" on his uniform apparently stands for "chutzpah." In the mid 1990s, the difference in payroll at one point between the powerhouse Yankees and the powerhouse Indians was $12 million. Next year it'll probably be $130 million or more. Yes, I know, I need to get over this. I risked similar apoplexy about the Yankees in a Spin not too long ago. It's just that watching them win isn't the worst of it. The worst of it is when the real amnesiacs on TV and around the Yankees treat the fiscal disparity in baseball like it's no bigger advantage than say, the cheers of the crowd owning home field in the World Series. A screaming sportswriter on ESPN's Around the Horn -- I know, I know, I need to be more specific -- said the nice, overlooked story of the Yankees win was how homegrown talents like Jeter and Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera stayed together to win yet again. Seriously. Jeter made $21 million this year. Rivera made $15 million. Posada made $13 million. Really, how did the Yankees convince them to stay all these years and not go somewhere else for some serious cash? The rest of baseball begs them to share their secret. That's three players for only $49 million. The Pirates' payroll was $48 million and the Pirates weren't the lowest salaried team. The only thing "remarkable" about this first World Series title in nine years is how long it took. It depends on your definition of "is" and, well, your definition of "run out of the building," too congerwedding.jpgCarin Baer/Fox TV photoOK, so George Kokinis and the Browns weren't quite as mismatched as Darva and Rick ... but that's a pretty low bar to clear, isn't it?Browns owner Randy Lerner told SI.com in so uncertain terms that George Kokinis is not fired. In a different story on the same Web site, sources are quoted saying the relationship between Eric Mangini and George Kokinis went south almost immediately. Maybe Lerner should say, "Define 'immediately'" and divert everyone's attention to Listaholic.com's compilation of the Ten Shortest Celebrity Marriages to refute that. 1. Rudolph Valentino-Jean Acker: six hours 2. Zsa Zsa Gabor-Felipe de Alba: one day 2. Robin Givens-Syetozar Marinkovic: one day 3. Britney Spears-Jason Alexander: two days, seven hours 4. Michelle Phillips-Dennis Hopper: eight days 5. Cher-Gregg Allman: nine days 6. Robert Evans-Catherine Oxenberg: 12 days 7. Darva Conger-Reid Rockwell: three weeks 8. Drew Barrymore-Jeremy Thomas: four weeks 9. Ernest Borgnine-Ethel Merman: 32 days 10. Nicholas Cage-Lisa Marie Presley: three and a half months. If Hollywood were the context for Lerner's hopes of stability when he hired the two friends, heckuva job Brownies' owner . And with that he immediately became a candidate for the Browns GM job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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