So, I found myself driving down the road, jamming some Mastodon, when I thought to myself, “Man, imagine if you put Brann Dailor (drummer from Mastodon) in a band with Buckethead on guitar, Mike Patton on vocals, and Trevor Roy Dunn on bass. God, THAT would be phenomenal!” Then, I thought, “You know what? It probably wouldn’t. Each of those guys is so technically sound and their style is so tight that they could never productively coexist in the same group.” It’s the same reason why Hendrix had a goofy white guy with one snare and a high hat as his drummer in the Experience. Because what Hendrix needed was complimentary pieces to his monstrous style, people who laid down the rhythm for him to wail on.

Then came Band of Gypsys. Now that was a great album. He replaced his white bread rhythm section with some soul, and it was a great thing to behold. But, down the line, when you really think about it, the songs played by The Band of Gypsys were just the songs originally written by The Experience souped up by the stylings of an all-star cast. Then the facts rear their ugly head. Band of Gypsys were great for what they were, but they were essentially a novelty. The true talent, and the true center of this rock phenomenon was Jimi Hendrix.

You put Buddy Miles behind the drums and Billy Cox on bass and you’ve got 20 minute versions of “Machine Gun” and so forth, which is great for a time. But, you stick Mitch Mitchell behind the drums and Noel Redding on bass, you’ve got staying power. Classic after classic was written by these guys, just because Mitch and Noel knew to sit back, cover Jimi’s ass, and enjoy the ride.

The super group always looks good on paper, let’s go through a few, and if you’re not musically inclined, bear with me I’ll be getting to my point soon:

1. Travelling Wilburys – Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison. Seriously, that is possibly one of the most important lineups in musical history. Every person in the band is a legend. But, and some may argue with me, this album is a novelty that doesn’t stand up to any of their individual efforts.
2. Damn Yankees – Jack Blades (Night Ranger), Tommy Shaw (Styx), Ted Nugent, and Michael Cartellone (a million bands). This band should have rocked. They didn’t. They sold a bunch of albums, but so did Mili Vanili.
3. Oysterhead – Les Claypool (Primus), Trey Anastasio (Phish), and Stewart Copeland (The Police). Wow! What a line up! Each person’s style and technique is tighter than Barry Bonds’ baseball cap. Too bad the album they made is absolute crap.

So, why am I talking about all of this music? What exactly is my point as it pertains to sports?

What other places have we seen super groups created with great expectations who ultimately fall on their faces? Baseball! Free spending, salary cap-free, championship crazed Major League Baseball.

The New York Yankees won the World Series 4 out of 5 years between 1996 and 2000. Let’s look at what their lineup GENERALLY consisted of. (I say generally because obviously a few people came and went during the five years, but the lineup stayed relatively the same.)

C: Jorge Posada
1B: Tino Martinez
2B: Chuck Knobloch
3B: Scott Brosius
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Chad Curtis
CF: Bernie Williams
RF: Paul O’Neill

A couple of those names were different from year to year, but this is generally recent history’s World Series juggernaut lineup, and at the time, not one of those players were flat out superstars. They were a collection of men who knew their roles, knew what needed to be done, and each contributed what they could to the pursuit of winning…and they did that a lot.

But, then in 2001, the juggernauts didn’t win it all. They looked like they might, but Luis Gonzalez and the Arizona Diamondbacks pulled the rug right out from under them. This left a nasty taste in Steinbrenner’s mouth. But, a funny thing happened in the offseason. A flux of premier free agents became available. With so much available talent in free agency at the end of 2001, teams realized they could field an entire All-Star team within their own confines. The Mets quickly snapped up Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn, and Jeromy Burnitz. Not to be upstaged by the cross town rival, Steinbrenner did what he knew how to do better than anyone, he started throwing money around.

2002 saw Jason Giambi and David Wells don pinstripes. It also spawned 103 victories for the Yanks, but ended with a collapse in the ALDS to the wild card Anaheim Angels (who went on to win it all with a payroll $65 million dollars less than the Yankees). Well, that was worse than the year before! The Mets faired much worse, falling into last place with a 75-86 record. What do you do now, George? Throw more money at the situation!

2003 brought Godzilla to Gotham City. The price tag was steep and the hype was even steeper. However, it brought a 101 win season and the inevitable World Series loss in 6 games to the Bartman aided Florida Marlins. Yet ANOTHER wild card team torches the Yankees and with 10 fewer regular season wins than the Yankees (and a $104 million cheaper payroll) to boot.

2004 is where the free agency supergroup evolution truly came to a head. Sick of losing to wild card teams full of scrappy youngsters, Steinbrenner opened up his wallet, turned it upside down over his desk and dumped all of it’s contents into free agency. 2004 brought in Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Esteban Loaiza, Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez, Jon Lieber, and Kevin Brown. It also raised payroll by almost $32 million from 2003 to 2004 (The Yankees’ 1996 payroll was just over $52 million). You may remember the 2004 post season. Yankees up 3-0 in the ALCS and cruising to the World Series. Bottom of the 9th, the Red Sox tie the game, then win in the 12th. They eventually went on to win the next 8 games to take the World Series.

In the meantime, Steinbrenner grows more and more frustrated that money isn’t stopping the losing. Since the Yankees last won the World Series, the World Series winners’ payroll has ranked like this:

2001 – #9 Diamondbacks ($85 million)
2002 – #15 Angels ($62 million)
2003 – #25 Marlins ($49 million)
2004 – #2 Red Sox ($127 million)
2005 – #13 White Sox ($75 million)
2006 – #11 Cardinals ($89 million)

With the exception of the Red Sox, we’ve seen nothing but scrappy teams pulling together for the victory. Nothing but Jimi Hendrix and The Experience. The Band of Gypsies are all sitting at home.

The moral of this story is that it’s becoming more and more apparent that a successful team cannot be bought. Players need to come up through the system with each other. They need aging veterans to learn from. They need a lead guitarist so that they can lay down the rhythm for him. When you have a team full of lead guitarists, it’s just going to turn into a noodly mess.

Case in point, and it pains me to say it, the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs spent more money this off season than they ever had. They brought in superstars and bought themselves a team, just like Steinbrenner. Now look at them… They are getting their asses handed to them by a group of scrappers with the 17th highest payroll. I wish the Cubs nothing but luck and will support them to the death, but this isn’t a team, it’s a collection of lead guitarists.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Hmmm...I got nothin'...