I think the point he was trying to make was that since the yankees are essentially a bottomless money pit, they can afford to have an overpaid piece of crap sitting on the bench. If anything, the yankee spending power hurts other teams more than it does themselves. (Hence "the yankees/red sox ruined baseball"). They artificially inflate prices and, although other teams might not have to pay the yankee premium, they still have to overpay for players that they might otherwise be able to afford more easily.