$200 million sure doesn't buy as much as it used to ... because the Yankees spend $200 million on their baseball team ... and their baseball team isn't very good ...

Aside from a template tribute to Jeter (wherein Lupica reminds everyone that he's personal friends with Joe Torre), there isn't much positive to say about the New York baseball teams.

How can one express the poor return on investment for the Yankees?:

"Once the Yankees, even after they stopped winning the World Series, still felt like the greatest show on earth, and could draw 50,000 a game to the old Stadium. Now they’re grinding away for the second wild card in the American League, which makes you believe, more than ever, that a $200 million payroll officially doesn’t buy you nearly what it used to in baseball.

It just seems so unfair."

Let's say you're a man.

A man who writes columns and these columns get published in a newspaper.

You have a joke.

It's not a great joke, it's a so-so joke. It's a snarky joke.

The joke is, "$200 million doesn't buy as much as it used to."

You use this phrase to demonstrate the Yankees' recent lack of success (2001 - 2014), especially compared to the Torre Dynasty years (1996 - 2001).


How many times can you use this joke?

You have been using this joke since 2001.

Is the voice in your head telling you this is a funny joke?

Or is the voice in your head telling you that a joke retains its dubious hilarity despite overuse?

Either way, the voice in your head is wrong.