ESPN New York Picks Top 50 Yankees

Ah...starting tomorrow...maybe...but we might also have FIVE TO TEN INCHES OF SNOW COMING!

ESPN, and its local arm, ESPN New York, put together a list (oh, I know - love them and hate them) of the Top 50 Yankees of all-time. 

A summary, written by Andrew Marchand, is here.  A slideshow is here.

Upon reading Marchand's piece, I discovered the so-called "experts" who served as voters...

Andrew Marchand (he's legit, and a good writer), Matt Marrone (OK, I guess), Wallace Matthews (bit obnoxious, but whatever...), Ian O'Connor (oh...dear...God...), Tim Kurkjian (double oh...dear...God), Michael Kay (biting tongue), Brandon Tierney (whatever), Don LaGreca and Jody McDonald (HUGE METS FANS...but I'm going to guess they played fair). Then we reach the last two...Ryan Ruocco and Robin Lundberg (calling Jeff Pearlman).

For the love of Roger Peckinpaugh (who I'm sure neither Ruocco or Lundberg have ever heard of), I'd rather Bill Lumberg vote before these two.

OK, I get it.  It's ESPN's little poll and they want to let the kiddies play along.  But if we're going to be serious about ESPN, how about some of their other experts?  Buster Olney, for instance.  But to just toss this into the hands of some people who don't have the first clue about Yankees history is idiotic.

Now I'll just sit back and wait for the whole "you're a blogger in your mother's basement" crap.  Yeah, and?  Doesn't mean I don't know my stuff now, does it?

As for the ranking, well, they did...um...OK, I guess.  My top 10 list is in this post from a few weeks ago.  Coincidentally, their top 10 is, um, pretty much the same as mine (though they put Red Ruffing at nine over Bill Dickey, and I think that's OK).  Still, I don't get it with Reggie Jackson.  Sorry, I never will.  Reggie over Bernie or Pettitte or Lazzeri?  No...no...no.

You simply can not get the top five wrong: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio (or Mantle - I still say it's a virtual tie), and Mariano.  After that comes Yogi, Jeter, Whitey, Dickey (who I rank highter than Ruffing), and I still believe the tenth is open to discussion from a list of players including the aforementioned Pettitte, Lazzeri, Lefty Gomez, and even...GASP! Alex Rodriguez.

Of course, Ian O'Connor dings A-Rod for PED's, but he also takes Jeter over Mo, and literally EVERYONE else believes the most-recent Yankees dynasty doesn't happen without the Great Mariano (and we forgive him for Sandy Alomar Jr...2001 in Arizona...and 2004).

Anyway, I know how this works.  It's a list, full of opinions, which are like...you know.  Plus I wonder who is reading here anyway, because it's not like we load up on comments!  Good thing I don't get paid by the page view!

Ah, and before we depart on this Opening Day's Eve, please give a read to Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports.  I wondered why he was wearing a bow tie during the 2010 World Series (and apparently, so was he).  Now he knows, and says he'll be wearing more of them.