You had me, then you lost me.

Tim Marchman on December 27, 2006:

"Don't Give Up on Johnson in Pinstripes Just Yet."


Tim Marchman on January 5, 2007:

"Trade of Big Unit Is a Step In The Right Direction."

For Marchman's sake, let's hope that consistency really is the hobgoblin of small minds.


"The less important reason is that, all else being equal, it's a good idea for the Yankees to offload a superfluous former All-Star who didn't really seem part of the team. Picking up random people like Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Carl Pavano, and so on isn't why the Yankees haven't won a World Series since 2000, as most players of this class have played wonderfully for them. But on the other hand, Yankee voraciousness has in the past few years been associated with a growing sense of distance between fans and the team, as well as the loss of a sense of team identity. As long as they're sound on the merits, trades that send these kinds of players elsewhere are to be encouraged."

The growing distance between fans and players was so strong that 4,258,067 people went to Yankee Stadium last year to watch the Yankees play baseball. Ornery Randy Johnson may not have drawn anybody to the Stadium, but he didn't repel anybody, either.


Fans like winning. Fans root for the uniform. Even Roger Clemens is now being re-imagined as a clubhouse guy, a big game pitcher, and a True Yankee.

Why?

Because he won a couple of rings with the Yankees.

When you favorite team wins a Championship, it triggers endorphins in your brain, and then you associate all the good feelings with the players you see on the television screen.


However, the 2007 Yankees are not a marketing campaign, they're a professional baseball team.
If these spoiled fans disliked Randy Johnson's 17 wins so much, they may soon realize they dislike Kei Igawa's 17 losses even more.