Y'all come back now, ya hear?

(Courtesy to Michael Kay and Ken Singleton for directing their listening audience to this article.)

"Still, we don't think the Bronx Bombers are quite as imposing as the Yankees teams from 1996-2000 that broke the Rangers' hearts three times in the playoffs on their way to four Series championships in five years."

I don't believe the Yankees ever won a single game due to intimidation. I really don't. If a professional baseball player in Texas was ever scared or intimidated when he playes against the Yankees at any point in his career, he should have retired on the spot.

IRod, Palmeiro, Juan Gone, Rusty Greer, Will Clark, Lee Stevens ... these men were intimidated by the Yankees? I doubt it very much.

The Yankees were imposing because they were good. They weren't good because they were imposing.


Also, the unintentional irony of the assertion is almost too trite to point out.

Perhaps the 2006 Yankee team is not quite as imposing as the 1996-2000 Yankees. The 2000-2005 Yankees have obviously not won as many Championships. But the 2006 Yankees still have a very imposing lineup that ought to be able to knock out R.A. Dickey even without using any sacrifice bunts.

The 2006 Yankees aren't playing the 1998 Yankees this weekend. The 2006 Yankees are playing the 2006 Rangers.

So, if we are discussing the Fear Factor, I think it's safe to say that the 2006 Rangers aren't quite as imposing as the 1996-1999 Rangers teams that made the playoffs three times in four years.

The number one reason is the 2006 Rangers don't have a good bullpen and stuff.


"Those four World Series champions were a versatile bunch with role players, such as Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, Joe Girardi and Paul O'Neill, who would hit timely home runs, but also play hit-and-run, lay down a sacrifice bunt and find different ways to win. This Yankees team certainly lives up to its Bronx Bombers heritage, but it's often feast or famine on offense. Kind of like the Rangers."

This paragrah is confusing in so many ways.

1) Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, and Paul O'Neill were hardly "role players."

2) The Championship Yankee teams hit a ton of homeruns. Why does everyone think they didn't hit a lot of homeruns? Game-winning homeruns. Playoff homeruns. Walk-off homeruns. Game-winning, walk-off homeruns in the playoffs.

3) Are sac bunts really intimidating?

4) Every offense is feast or famine. That's what offenses do. Bad offenses are just famine more often.

In the quest for 1,000 runs (well, maybe 900 runs), the Yankees won't get there with a steady 6.2 runs per game. They would love to score 6 runs every single game, no more and no less. They'd sign up for that right now and they'd probably win 120 games. It just doesn't work that way.

5) None of the players listed were on the 1996 World Championship team except for Paul O'Neill.

Well, technically, Joe Girardi was also on the 1996 squad. But why'd you have to go and bring up Joe Girardi? Do you bring up Joe Girardi just to get me going?

Put it this way: If Pete Alfano can name one time Joe Girardi hit a "timely home run," I'll buy a "Don't Mess With Texas" bumper sticker.