New York - City of Losers

[packs]

So what? The core of the team was built from within. Unless you're saying Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada were inconsequential to their championships and it was just a total coincidence that when they emerged on the scene the Yankees won for the first time in almost 20 years. And that's not even taking into account heroes of the moment like Ramiro Mendoza or Shane Spencer, or Ricky Ledee and you're seriously discounting the Yankees ability to sign the right guy at the right time, which can't be reflected more clearly in guys like Mike Stanton and Jeff Nelson. You call that buying players but I don't think anyone could have possibly anticipated what you were getting when you got guys like Jeff Nelson, or Mike Stanton. Paul O'Neil was a one time All Star that they traded Roberto Kelly for. That's an intelligent trade and not "buying" a player.