Posts Tagged ‘david price’
At this point in their history, there is not that much that hasen’t been done in a Yankee uniform. Records have been set, records have been broken and most stones have been unturned. But yesterday, history was made. Derek Jeter, the third captain in the team’s history, became the first person to reach 3,000 hits as a Yankee. To make the moment even sweeter, he was able to do it at Yankee stadium; in front of the hometown fans that hold him in such high regard.
At times, this season and last, it has seemed like the Jeter of old was nothing but a memory. But when push came to shove, Derek did what he does best: came through in the clutch. Going into the game, Jeter had only 2 home runs. What does the man do? He blasts a 422-footer, becoming only the 2nd man to ever reach 3,000 with a home run. Not only that, he does it off of a division rival’s ace (David Price). For good measure, he also went 5-5 in the game and drove in the winning run. It is only fitting that when Jeter reaches his big moment, he does it in such a fashion that any Yankee fan can appreciate: big.
I don’t think anyone felt the Tampa Bay Rays were going to repeat as division champs in the AL East, but to begin the season at 1-8 means things might be worse than expected. This offseason, The Rays lost many key players. The most notable of these are the 2 they lost to teams within their own division: Carl Crawford (Red Sox) and Rafael Soriano (Yankees). The worst thing that could have possibly happened to this team was allowing these players to leave for destinations in which they could have the largest possible detrimental effect on Tampa Bay: within the AL East. Last seasons’ AL Saves leader Soriano, who left to become the heir-apparent to Rivera in New York, can shut down opposing batters and teams’ hopes of a comeback. While Crawford may be the fastest player in the MLB; he can steal anything: be it a base, a game or the Rays’ hopes for the playoffs. The rationale for not retaining their services is simple: they simply could not afford to financially. Tampa has a beautiful stadium in Tropicana Field and last season had a very competitive and entertaining product; still they had significant trouble attracting interest and selling tickets. This led to severe financial losses. This is only part of the problem. The other is owner Stuart Stermburg. Stermburg, is an investor by nature and says his number-one priority is getting team finances in order. Furthermore he lives in New York and still holds season tickets to the Mets. This brings into question where his loyalties lie. As an investor, he should have seen locking down irreplaceable assets such as Crawford and Soriano down long-term as good for business. Instead he let them leave and will now be stuck competing with far superior products for relevance within his own division.