Evil Empire: An Ignorant Term Coined by Bigoted Fans

I'm so sick of hearing the phrase "Evil Empire" stamped onto Major League Baseball teams with a rubber stamp.

The Yankees were the first to get this label. The Red Sox have it now, also. Heed my words, the Chicago Cubs are next in line.

Don't believe me? I'll prove it.

Yankees

The Yankees getting the label is a no-brainer for sure. The Yanks have 26 World Series titles, the most championships of any professional sports franchise in the world. Adding to that, the Yankees have been a prime destination for major Free Agents since free agency was introduced to Major League Baseball.

But, why does this make them an Evil Empire? Is there anything so wrong, so maniacal, about spending money and putting every financial resource possible into fielding a respectable and playoff-contending baseball team?

Looking at the other side, the Yankees are scrutinized no matter what they do. General Manager Brian Cashman is called "incompetent" when he doesn't land pitchers like Johan Santana. However, when in the following offseason Cashman brings in pitchers C.C. Sabathia and AJ Burnett, the Yankees go back to their place as the notorious 'empire,' stealing away all the players from small-market teams. Those same teams who were unwilling to meet the contract demands of the player, which would explain that player being in free agency.

While most say that the Yankees have 'bought' their championships, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Most Yankee legends — Thurman Munson, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter, for a short list — were all "home-grown" talent, meaning the Yankees drafted or signed these players as amateurs and groomed them into the stars they came to be and all of them at one point contributed to a championship.

Also, guys like Bernie Williams, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes, among others, were products of the Yankees' minor league system.

If people want to look at what the Yankees have 'bought,' a World Series trophy is not on the list. A lot of big contracts have been like prison sentences for the team, like Carl Pavano's, for instance. Jason Giambi, despite displaying good power numbers for the Yankees, was a load off the collective chest of the Yankees when he left via Free Agency this winter.

How many Yankee free agent signees contributed to a championship? Looking at all the 'major' deals the Bronx Bombers have inked since 2000, the end result is shocking.

Since 2000, the Yankees have turned to Free Agency or major trades to fill in their roster. These signings have included: David Wells (2002-2003), Alex Rodriguez (2004-present), Gary Sheffield (2004-2006), Carl Pavano (2005-2008), Jason Giambi (2002-2008), Johnny Damon (2006-present), Hideki Matsui (2003-present), Bobby Abreu (2006-2008), Mike Mussina (2001-2008), Roger Clemens (2000-2003, 2007), Randy Johnson (2005-2006), and Kevin Brown (2004-2005). That's just to name some of the big-money players the Yankees have acquired since 2000. How many titles have the Yankees won with any of those deals? Zero.

The Yankees are far from an evil empire. This was a term coined to tarnish the image of the Yankees, stemming from many high-profile free agent signings and perennial success. This success was largely a product of legendary owner George Steinbrenner, who was literally hellbent on bringing championship trophies to the city of New York, which he did plenty of.

Red Sox

I would really like to know how this one got to the Red Sox. Boston may be a high payroll team, but again, like the Yankees, that is more a testament to the owner's willingness to field a championship-caliber team than the team being an evil organization hellbent on stealing away other team's superstars.

As surely nearly every baseball fan knows, the Red Sox went 86 years without winning a World Series, although they came very close before 2004.

However, despite the title drought, Boston was never short on great talent. This can be attributed to legendary owner Tom Yawkey, and more recently, ingenious General Manager Theo Epstein.

The Sox have seen many legends in their day. It is simply shocking they were never able to put together a title run with guys like Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Tony Conigliaro, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Fred Lynn, Carlton Fisk, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Nomar Garciaparra, and Mo Vaughn having played considerable amounts of time for the Red Sox.

However, unlike the Yankees, the Red Sox have seen championship success with major help from players acquired from Free Agency and trade. The 2004 championship probably wouldn't have happened without the clutch hitting of David Ortiz, or 'the steal' from Dave Roberts. Who knows what would have happened without Pedro Martinez leading the pitching staff or Manny Ramirez anchoring the middle of the lineup? It is hard to forget the leadership of Jason Varitek. Would Boston be able to hoist that trophy in St. Louis without Curt Schilling's heroics? And that's just 2004.

There were several players not produced by the Red Sox who played key roles in the 2007 World Series run. I am without a doubt that the Red Sox would not have even made the Fall Classic without Josh Beckett's stunning ALCS performance or Mike Lowell's regular-season numbers. Lowell led the team in RBI as well as being the best hitter in the lineup when Ramirez and Ortiz were slumping. Hideki Okajima was a key performer setting up for Jonathan Papelbon, escaping many sticky situations without having any damage done. Again led by Varitek, Schilling, and Ortiz, the Red Sox also had help from some kids and former top-dog Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

However, there have been some bad moves. Two moves, a four-year contract to Julio Lugo, and trading a promising outfielder in David Murphy for Eric Gagne in '07 were disasters. Luckily, we only had to put up with Gagne for a few months. Unfortunately, if the Red Sox fail to find a trading partner, Lugo is going to be around another two years. Also, J.D. Drew's contract is on the border of good and bad. On the bad side, he underperformed in his first season, and has been hurt very often. On the plus side, when healthy, Drew was one of the hottest hitters in the league in 2008.

Also, the Red Sox have produced a great young nucleus of talent that should keep them in title contention for years. Dustin Pedroia, the reigning American League MVP and former Rookie of the Year, is joined by Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Papelbon, Jed Lowrie, Justin Masterson, and Manny Delcarmen as "home-grown" talent on the roster.

Shockingly, the Red Sox have gone from Cinderella to Darth Vader in four years. In 2003, there weren't many people picking against the Red Sox and Cubs to be in the World Series. Everyone was on their bandwagon. In 2004, the trend continued, and joy wasn't limited to Sox fans when they "reversed the curse."

Now every Sox fan is accused of being on the same bandwagon which was crowded by virtually every non-Yankee fan just a few years ago.

Now, five years and two championships later, the Red Sox, according to many fans out there, have become what they hate: an evil empire. How? Does two championships in four years count as a dynasty? No. And as many fans (not only Yankee fans but others) like to remind us, "two championships in 90 years," which is pretty insignificant, right? But then again, whenever trade rumors involve a superstar player going to Boston pop up, they're the "evil empire."

You can't have it both ways, guys. Are the Red Sox an evil empire or are they a pimple on the face of Major League Baseball?

Cubs

Born in the early 1990's, the Cubs have been known as the Lovable Losers for as long as I can remember. The Red Sox might have been able to take that nickname once.

Not after two titles in four seasons.

I'm only including the Cubs in this for a few reasons.

The Cubs have the most complete team they have had in years. I feel like they have a very legitimate shot at making the World Series this year and in the years to come, and I also wanted this to go beyond a Red Sox-Yankees thing.

The Cubs are almost a lock to win the National League Central in 2009, and they are led by not only one of the most nasty pitching staffs in the game, but one of the most potent offenses as well.

Led by Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden, the back end of the rotation features two 17-game winners and a talented young Sean Marshall.

The offense has several power threats, including Derrek Lee, Milton Bradley, Aramis Ramirez, Geovanny Soto, and Alfonso Soriano.

Up the middle of the infield, .300 hitter and 20-base-stealer Ryan Theriot will play short, with .300 hitter Mike Fontenot at second.

Aaron Miles and Reed Johnson are valuable commodoties to have on the bench, as well as pinch-runner Joey Gathright, who stole 21 bags last season.

With this team placed in a weak National League Central, they are likely a sure bid to make the playoffs. If these guys play at their best in October and don't suffer any freak coincidences, they can make and even win the World Series.

Nothing wrong with that. I think it's great that things are looking up for the Cubs. However, they will have a lot of fans start bandwagon jumping on or off. They will also cease to be the Lovable Losers.

Cubs fans will hear a lot about their team's high payroll, and when trade rumors involving stars start popping up, 'evil empire' discussion will be sure to follow.

So for the fair-weather Cubs fans, who for some reason like being on the bandwagon of the Lovable Losers, the wagon may be reaching your stop soon. For you die-hard Cubs fans, good luck to the Cubs in the playoff hunt, and for all your sakes, I hope they never have to put up with this crap the Yankees and Red Sox are subjected to.