The House that Ruth built has been replaced by a billion-dollar baseball arcade where there is something for everyone.
The voice of the franchise doesn’t contain the bravado or walk with the swagger his father did.
“If we don’t win the World Series, we have let our fans down,” Hal Steinbrenner said yesterday as the Yankees prepared for a workout in the new Yankee Stadium.
After spending $423.5 million to hire CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira and moving into a billion-dollar Stadium, losing is not an option.
The players, coaches, Joe Girardi and the front office understand what’s at stake. The fickle fans will demand a whole lot more than last year’s out-of-the-money finish.
Yesterday, the Yankees, who will host the Cubs in exhibition games tonight and tomorrow, went through a workout that was attended by community groups and season-ticket holders.
They took infield and batting practice. Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte threw bullpen sessions off the main mound. Inside the spacious clubhouse, many of the players attempted to navigate the message board/computer that hangs in their lockers. And most of them were trying to figure out how to get to certain areas of the clubhouse.
And yet as the players introduced themselves to the impressive facility, why they are Yankees — winning the World Series for the first time since 2000 — wasn’t lost in the newness.
“It’s been like that since I have been here,” Derek Jeter said as he organized shoes in the locker. “That’s no different. It’s good that ownership feels that way.”
From the moment Hal Steinbrenner gave GM Brian Cashman permission to ink Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira, expectations skyrocketed. Then as the Stadium came into bloom, the fever spiked. Now, Opening Day is Monday and the home opener is April 16, and you get the feeling the next big moment for the 2009 Yankees will be choosing where to sit on what float during the November parade up the Canyon of Heroes.
“It has to be that way,” Chamberlain said of Hal Steinbrenner’s comments. “We have to prove who we are.”
In the final season of a four-year deal and at 35, Johnny Damon understands the clock is ticking on him copping a Yankee World Series ring.
“We know what we have to do,” Damon said. “They gave us every necessary weapon. We got the players.”
When asked if the players owed the Steinbrenner family a title for all the money spent on talent and for bringing the new Stadium to life, Damon didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely, for a few of us here it’s the last chance,” he said.
Since everybody expects to win before the season there are repercussions if failure follows expectations. Around the Yankees that subject falls on Girardi’s job security if the Yankees get off slow or experience a second straight dark October. Hal Steinbrenner is aware whose head the fans and media will call for if it goes wrong. However, yesterday wasn’t the day for that negative vibe.
“I haven’t thought of that. We are going to make the playoffs,” Hal Steinbrenner predicted.
On paper, they should. Their rotation is the best in baseball. Jorge Posada’s surgically repaired right shoulder appears to be sound. Teixeira will be a run-producer from the No. 3 spot. Jeter and Damon look comfortable hitting first and second, respectively. Robinson Cano has shown signs he is ready to atone for last year’s disappointment, and Mariano Rivera is healthy. And Alex Rodriguez is due back in six weeks; possibly earlier.
Questions? There isn’t a lot of experience in the bullpen before Rivera, and Brett Gardner is a big-league neophyte in center.
Yet the good outweighs the unknown. And considering the investments, what happened last year and a new Stadium ready to open, it better.