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Not that I don't already get enough e-mail calling me an idiot -- and worse -- because of this column (my favorite well-reasoned criticism is still: "Ron Sirak eats worms."), but I'll admit to something guaranteed to send angry fingers reaching for the "reply" icon.

I am a New York Yankees fan.

That said, watching the collapse of the Yankees against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, I could not help but notice the striking similarities between the Bronx Bombers and the United States side in the Ryder Cup. Both were all-star teams that ended up being all stars and no team.

The last time the Yankees won a World Series (and in the world of George Steinbrenner, four years ago is an eternity) they had Scott Brosius, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez on the roster. They have been replaced with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi. I'll take those first three guys -- the ones who knew how to play for the team -- over the last three any day.

Call it the Curse of the Checkbook. Somebody in Yankeeland lost sight of the fact that great teams are composed of a couple of great players and a bunch of role players willing to play the team game. The Red Sox didn't have as many gazillionaires as the Yankees, just as the European team in the Ryder Cup didn't have as many private jets as the American side.

The other thing the Yankee gag-a-thon got me thinking about is memorable collapses. In the world of baseball, the unraveling of the Bronx Bombers is far worse on the barf-o-meter than what happened to the New York Giants in 1951, the Philadelphia Phillies in 1964 or the Red Sox in 1978. This time a team with a payroll roughly equivalent to the Gross Domestic Product of Portugal lost four straight games to a Boston team dragging around more excess baggage than the Rolling Stones embarking on a 20-city tour. And the last two of those losses came in Yankee Stadium, when the ghost of the Bambino apparently hit a bar instead of getting off at the 161st Street and River Avenue subway stop.

Back to golf. Direct from the home office in New Castle, Pa., here is my list of the Top-10 Collapses in golf:

Standing at 3 under with a delicate chip for this third shot on the par-5 third hole, Ballesteros dumped it into the bunker then skulled his sand shot over the green into a lake. He eventually holed out for a triple-bogey eight and never recovered, shooting a 78 to finish five strokes behind Bobby Wadkins and Larry Nelson, who won the playoff. If Ballesteros had played the final 16 holes in 1 over, he would have won outright.

Strange was four strokes ahead after a 32 on the front nine in Sunday's final round and was still two clear standing in the fairway of the par-5 13th hole with 208 yards to the green. (Remember, this was before players hit 6-irons 208 yards). Instead of laying up he went for the green with a 4-wood, dumped it into Rae's Creek and made a bogey 6 to fall into a tie for the lead with Bernhard Langer. A 4-iron into the drink on No. 15 ended matters and Strange finished tied for second, two strokes behind Langer.

Leading Bobby Cruickshank on the 22nd hole of the 36-hole first-round match by 9-up, Watrous conceded a 6-foot, downhill par putt to halve the hole. So much for doing the gentlemanly thing. Cruickshank won nine of the next 11 holes and took the match on the 41st hole -- the fifth extra hole -- when Watrous missed from three feet after Cruickshank didn't concede the putt.

Sneed was three strokes ahead with three to play when he three-putted Nos. 16 and 17. One ahead on the final hole, Sneed left his approach short, chipped to six feet and missed the putt to finish with a final-round 76, tied with Fuzzy Zoeller who birdied the second playoff hole (No. 11) to become the first Masters champion to win in sudden death.

In the days before on-course scoreboards, Snead came to the next-to-the-last hole thinking he needed to finish with two pars to win. (He actually just needed to play the two holes in 1 over.) After making a bogey on No. 17, he played to make birdie on the par-5 final hole. He hooked his drive into the left rough and, still not knowing he needed only a par to win, went for the green with a 2-wood and ended up making an 8. Snead never won an Open in his career.

The Europeans were ahead 10-6 going into Sunday's singles play and needed only four of the 12 points up for grabs to successfully defend the Cup with a 14-14 tie. Team Europe lost the first seven singles matches played and lost 14½ to 13½. If Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik had combined to get a mere half-point Europe would have retained the Cup, but the foursome was shutout.

Playing in the last group of the day, the Frenchman came to the final hole -- a par 4 -- needing a double bogey to take home the silver claret jug. Instead, he needed to make a difficult 6-foot putt for a 7 to get into a playoff with Justin Leonard and eventual winner Paul Lawrie.

After a 32 on the front nine, Palmer was seven ahead of Billy Casper and nine clear of Jack Nicklaus going to the back side. But bogeys at Nos. 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17 led to a 39, tying Palmer with Casper, who closed with a 32. Casper won the playoff the next day 69 to 73 and Palmer never won another major championship.

The Swede set Open records for best opening round with a 63 and lowest 36-hole score at 132. After 43 holes, Alfredsson was 13 under and had a seven-stroke lead. She then three-putted the 44th hole from 3 feet and played the next 18 holes in 14 over par -- 85 strokes. She finished 76-77 for 285, eight strokes behind winner Patty Sheehan.

Like Alfredsson, Norman opened with a 63. Unlike Alfredsson, Norman didn't start to unravel until Sunday. Starting the final round with a six-stroke lead over Nick Faldo, he was picked apart by a masterful round by the Englishman. Faldo pulled into a tie when Norman three-putted No. 11 and took the lead for good when the Australian famously dumped his tee shot into the water on the par-3 12th hole. Norman started the day six ahead and ended five behind, posting a 78 to the 67 by Faldo, which is one of the best closing rounds ever in a major but is lost to the memory of Norman's collapse.

On the scale of things, the Yankee collapse is most comparable to Palmer and Norman -- proven winners with seemingly insurmountable leads nevertheless losing. By the way, if the Yankees sign Pedro Martinez as a free agent this offseason I plan to invoke my territorial right (abandoned several years after I moved to New York in 1972) to shift my baseball allegiance back to the team I grew up with -- the Pittsburgh Pirates. I may not have a winner to root for oh, say, the rest of my life, but at least I will be able to sleep at night.

Oh, almost forgot: Let's go Cardinals!

Ron Sirak is the Executive Editor of Golf World magazine.