The New York Yankees have already won 27 World Series, sport a payroll that sits just north of $160 million, will pay four players more than $20 million each this season, and recently added a bat that mashed 59 homers in 2017 to an already potent lineup. They are the odds-on favorite in Las Vegas to win the AL East for the first time since the – gasp – 2012 season.

The Yankees are the antithesis of the underdog. There is no characteristic that even remotely qualifies them to adopt such a mentality. They are the upper-crust of baseball society, long usurping the best and most talented players that outgrow the financial limitations of their previous teams. They are bullies that stand diametrically opposed to the little guy. I’ve never heard the story told where Goliath was the dark horse. That didn’t stop general manager Brian Cashman from playing the underdog card as a guest on ESPN’s The Michael Kay Show. And why not? I mean, after all, why let reality stand in the way of a good story?

They (Boston) are the American League East champs so we are not on equal footing. We were a wild card. They are the American League East champs and we are not. We are not on equal footing until we take it away from them.

Cashman’s interview prompted this preposterous back page of today’s New York Daily News:

Cashman went on to refer to his team as “The Little Engine That Could.”

First of all, the underdog deal—that is Philly’s thing now and no, New York, you cannot have it. Second of all, no team that features a handful of all-stars, that type of payroll, and a middle of the lineup featuring Aaron Judge and Stanton, who combined for 109 homers a season ago, can ever call themselves underdogs. Ever.

Fortunately, civic leader Lane Johnson stepped in our behalf and defended the honor of the true underdogs:

The Yankees. Underdogs. Get the fuck out of here with that.