Jim Souhan: Markets collapse, and yet Yankees still spend freely

FORT MYERS, FLA. — Those of us lucky enough to visit Florida in February become immersed in the rhythms and customs of spring training: Drinking in the sunshine, breathing in the smoke from the charcoal grills, gagging at the sight of the New York Yankees.

One fan at Hammond Stadium on Friday carried a banner reading: "A-Roid -- From Hall of Fame to Hall of Shame," but the Yanks brought neither Alex Rodriguez nor his cousin to Fort Myers to play the Twins.

Rodriguez probably will be in the lineup today, when the Twins play the Yankees in Tampa, home of the most overpaid group of people this side of Fannie Mae's executive board.

Last year, the Yanks spent about $209 million on players and missed the playoffs. Thus, they foreshadowed our country's economic collapse, spending money because they could, not because they should, and now spending even more to pull themselves out of their tailspin.

The Yankees feature five players who are the highest-paid at their positions -- Rodriguez at third, Derek Jeter at short, Mariano Rivera among relievers, Jorge Posada at catcher and Mark Teixeira at first. Once again, the Yankees are trying to overwhelm the baseball world with their wherewithal, even though their last four World Series titles had nothing to do with signing the most expensive free agents on the market.

They currently employ the owners of the five most lucrative contracts in baseball history -- Rodriguez with his past two deals, and Jeter, Teixeira and Sabathia.

They own eight of the 10 biggest contracts ever signed in terms of annual value, including deals given to Roger Clemens.

None of those monster contracts preceded a World Series championship.

This winter, they made Burnett, 87-76 over 10 big-league seasons, the sixth-highest-paid pitcher of all time, despite his reputation for physical and mental fragility. (Salary figures and comparisons courtesy of the website Cot's Baseball Contracts.)

The Yankees spent $423.5 million on Sabathia, Teixeira and Burnett. Sabathia and Teixeira are elite players, but they will be worthy of this bailout money only if they win a World Series. As youth and speed becomes increasingly important as the influence of steroids declines, there is no guarantee they will put the Yankees over the top.

Rodriguez has yet to win a ring with a franchise that won four before he arrived, and now a guy who wilts under the pressure of October will perform under duress all season.

What have the Yankees bought with all of their free agent money since 2001? Playoff failures, and steroids freaks who annually embarrass the game.

Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez have either admitted to using steroids or have been implicated beyond a shadow of the public's doubt. Giambi and Pettitte offered a modicum of grace and honesty; Clemens and Rodriguez have joined Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro on the Mount Rushmore of players for whom the attempted cover-up was more embarrassing than the transgression.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire knows he will see another Murderer's Row in Tampa today.

"They're just baseball players," he said. "None of us play with our billfolds. But they're good players, and they went out and got a bunch more good players."

Does that make him crazy? "It's just amazing that a team can do that," he said. "Not one, not two, but three. And I still don't think they're done. I think there's one more guy out there that they're going to go after."

Manny Ramirez? "That's just my thought," Gardenhire said.

That would make for a perfect marriage -- the most unlikeable franchise in sports signing the most unlikeable player in baseball that it doesn't already employ.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com