I may have mentioned this before, but this year's Yankees are harder for me to root for than usual. They're going to really test the "root for the uniform" theory. Let's take a look (asterisks indicate new '05 acquisition):
PitchersRandy Johnson* - beat the Yankees in 2001 World Series
Carl Pavano* - beat the Yankees in 2003 World Series
Jaret Wright* - not very popular with other teams while with Indians
Kevin Brown - surly and punched a wall with his hand, also not very good against the Red Sox in '04
Mike Mussina is the ace of the staff. Didn't he just get here?
Fortunately, there's still Mariano Rivera.
Position PlayersJorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez* - not hard to root for
Hideki Matsui - not hard to root for, especially since an interpreter can filter any inflammatory remark he'll make
Tony Womack* - not hard to root for, but not particularly good, and has the chance of being awful
Alex Rodriguez - still doesn't feel quite right
Jason Giambi - I still like the guy but it's hard to root for a cheater
Gary Sheffield - see "Jason Giambi"
To sum up:I find four of the new acquisitions hard to root for (out of five) and three of the nine starting players who remain have made themselves harder to root for.
I used to think that if this year's team became a disaster that I might still be entertained by all the antics. I don't think that's true because I could care less about the Knicks right now, and the wheels came off that wagon long ago.