Whom to blame?

Is it "whom?" Or is it "who?"

When I ask that question, does the question mark go inside the quotation mark? Like "this?" Or outside, like "this"?

Blogger needs a copy editor.


Speaking of confused, Dan Graziano on Thursday, pinning most of the blame on Steinbrenner:

"But here's a new thought. If Steinbrenner's looking for a neck around which to hang the blame, he might want to try his own.

At some point in the past five years, as their off-seasons have become more about grabbing for the most expensive All-Stars than assembling a team with complementary parts, the Yankees have lost sight of the principles that made them successful in the first five years of Torre's tenure. And while there's a lot of blame to go around, it's still Steinbrenner who directs the player-acquisition agenda."


Dan Graziano on Sunday, pinning most of the blame on Cashman:

"Cashman is as much to blame as anybody in the organization, and he'll admit that. Playing the company man, he refused to discuss where he had stood on some of the team's most controversial recent deals, offering an honest critique of the organization as a whole."

At least he didn't blame Kenny Lofton.


Hasn't the '05 season provided any perspective?

In the past four seasons, the Loser Yankees did actually experience some success. Especially when compared to the start of the '05 season.

They won 100+ games three seasons in a row, made the playoffs every year, made the World Series twice, and missed the World Series by just one game last year.

Now, if you think Character and Grittiness is the Difference between winning Game Seven against AZ and losing Gave Seven against AZ, then I disagree strongly. That team had Jetes & Paulie & Tino & Scotty, so that may be a bad example. It's just a reminder that Paulie and Pettitte lost some big games, too.

I know I'm in the minority opinion, but even in the post-O'Neill era, I've seen a team that mostly tries hard and copes with the pressure of playing in New York. They won a lot of games but just couldn't close the deal in October.

See, that's my gripe when 100-win seasons are labelled as "failures" just because the team doesn't win the World Series. (Of course, the character of the Jeterrific '97 and '01 teams is never questioned, even though they were failures if we use the same criteria.)

Because the '05 season just might be a legit disaster, with the Yankees finishing under .500 and/or missing the playoffs entirely. If that happens, it will make the teams of Karim Garcia and Dan Miceli look like the '27 Yankees.

What you got against Mondesi and Lofton, yo? Were Mondesi and Lofton ever on an 12-19 team? Thought not.

If the criteria is binary, if they're Failures when they don't win the World Series, then (a) the most successful sports team in sports history is a team that has mostly failed, and (b) what the heck do you call the '05 team? Calling this team a bunch of losers (so far) is an insult to losers.


Take Giambi, for instance. Yes, his career may be shot and it's probably because of steroid abuse. If he doesn't turn it around, his contract is obviously a bust.

But if he's such a loser, why did he hit two HRs off of Pedro in Game Seven of the '03 ALCS? While he's inexplicably criticized for being benched in Game Five of the WS against Florida, he did come off the bench and hit a heroic homerun. "Heroic" if Contreras hadn't melted down or if True Yankee Wells had pitched more than one inning.

'04? Giambi's fault.

Is he now nothing more than a salary drag that prevented good players from joining the Yankees? Yup.

But '02 and '03? Not his fault.


Also, let's clear up the Carlos Beltran nonsense. OF COURSE I wish the Yankees had signed Carlos Beltran, though I also think he's way overrated (bold statement the day after he hit two homeruns).

(On a side note, does this mean Beltran's a True Met finally? Or does he have to do it in October? At least against the Braves? Under pressure? In a big ballpark, like Shea?

Fifth player to sign a $100 million contract? The tough NY press is impressed with Beltran so far? Just checking.)

I wish the Yankees had signed Beltran and Pedro and Unit and Percival and Glaus as a DH.

But Steinbrenner asked a fair question: Beltran or Unit? The correct answer is still Unit.

The starting rotation is bad enough with Unit-Mussina-Pavano-Wang-Brown. Now imagine the starting rotation with Unit out and Javy in. My brain convulses at the thought.

Beltran in CF wouldn't help that much if the starting pitching is pitiful. Beltran would just need a a good chiropractor. His neck would hurt from spinning around to watch the balls sail over his head.

The whole theory is shot to heck if the Yankees miss the playoffs or if Unit gets hurt. But if this team makes the playoffs, Unit is their best hope to win the World Series.