Columnist Dean Juipe: Yankees infuriate some fans, captivate others

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 | 9:19 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

The imperialistic owner plays right into the team's Evil Empire reputation. They couldn't be a better fit.

People say they hate George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees, holding each's wealth and power against them as if they were at the vortex of Satanic clout.

And their latest caper has initiated a new round of fury, Steinbrenner digging deep into his wallet to bring baseball's best player to the Yankees -- much to the angst and chagrin of many non-New York residents and fans.

Spring training officially opened today for the Yankees but Alex Rodriguez has already been in Tampa banging home-run balls off parked cars. He's juiced, having been traded from the last-place Texas Rangers to a team that wins, contends and offends almost every year.

But I like the Yankees despite having no connection to New York or relatives on Steinbrenner's extensive payroll. I've always liked them.

And I think what they and Steinbrenner do -- and did, by acquiring Rodriguez -- is good for baseball. For all the sports fans who whine about parity destroying pro football in particular, the Yankees provide a clear focal point for their sport each and every year.

The fact that their payroll (estimated at $190 million this season) exceeds the second biggest spender (the Boston Red Sox) by $70 million and is about $100 million above a median team's budget only goes to show how committed they are to winning. (Well, it also goes to show that they have an incredible local TV contract, but, even if they didn't, there's every reason to believe Steinbrenner would still shell out the money for expensive players and their gold-embossed contracts. He'll pay the "luxury tax" that baseball's labor agreement requires of such free spenders.)

Of the eight players in baseball history who have signed contracts worth at least $100 million, four of them play for the Yankees. So do a total of 17 past and present All-Stars.

There is no doubt, nor has there been for some time, that the Yankees habitually are the best team money can buy. That doesn't mean they will always win, but it does mean they will almost only contend and disproportionately snare more than their share of headlines.

But here's something else the Yankees do, as has been particularly evident in the two weeks since they acquired Rodriguez from the Rangers: They get people talking about baseball, even in the dead of winter in most of the country. In that respect, even the most disturbed of Yankee haters would say they're good for business.

They've certainly been good for business at the sports books in Las Vegas, where preseason lines usually sit idle awaiting the last thaw. But this year an influx of money wagered on the proposition bet "Odds to win the World Series" has caused more than a few lines to be altered.

At the MGM on Monday, the Yankees had been bet down from 7-2 to 5-2 to win the 2004 World Series -- as have the Red Sox. (The Chicago Cubs, having recently signed free-agent pitcher Greg Maddux, are presently the third favorite at 4-1 after opening at 6-1.)

Bettors are so enthralled with the Yankees vs. Red Sox rivalry -- which Steinbrenner and Boston owner John Henry are capable of extending with their own invectives -- that books such as the one at the MGM are offering more specific wagers. Now you can bet on whether it will be the Yankees or the Red Sox who win their head-to-head season series, or which team will finish with the most regular-season wins.

I would say it's all in good fun but there is a seriousness involved when you're talking about the Yankees, whether you're a bettor, a fan or a member of the fabled club. That seriousness has been stoked by the Rodriguez deal and the fact Henry and the Red Sox thought a month earlier that they had orchestrated a Rodriguez for Manny Ramirez trade that would have brought the great infielder to Boston.

But Steinbrenner slipped in after Henry dropped the ball, and to add insult to mock injury he got the Rangers to pick up a goodly portion of Rodriguez's mind-numbing $252-million, 10-year contract. This year New York will pay Rodriguez, the American League's reigning MVP, a mere $15 million for his services.

What's $15 million to Steinbrenner or to a Yankees team that has stars up and down the lineup who command a collective $190 million in salaries? They look at the addition of Rodriguez as the last piece of the puzzle.

Others see it as the worst thing that could happen in sports, the rich getting richer and all of that.

Steinbrenner has to love that kind of attention.

And believe it or not, so do the bigwigs at Major League Baseball.