"Can the Yankees, with question marks in their rotation, wait until the end of December for Pettitte's decision to hurl or retire? And where does Clemens fit into the equation?"
Clemens is the husband and Pettitte is the wife.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Phil Pepe's Last Article.
ARod took on Jeter and lost.
Big Papi took on Jeter and lost.
Two rules in New York City: (1) Don't take visitors to the Statue of Liberty and (2) Don't take on Derek Jeter:
"I believe fervently in the literal definition of the term 'Most Valuable.' The award was designed to go not to the year's outstanding player, but rather to the one most instrumental in the success of his team ..."
Which is why this article is about Joe Mauer?
Which is why not a single everyday player on the 95-win Tigers received a single MVP vote?
Which is why Ryan Howard won the NL MVP and his team didn't even make the playoffs?
"On June 7, the Twins were 25-33, 11 ½ games behind the Tigers in the AL Central and Morneau was batting .236 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in."
Is it really necessary to point out that baseball games count in April, May, and June?
Is it really necessary to point out that Pepe is trying to support Morneau's MVP case while pointing out that Morneau was hitting .236 on June 7?
Is it really necessary to write six consecutive sentences that are rhetorical questions?
"From June 8 to the end of the season, Morneau batted .362 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs, and the Twins went 71-33, passed the Tigers and won the division championship. That, to me, is the definition of a Most Valuable Player. How much clearer can it be?"
With no basis for comparison, it's very unclear.
Maybe the Twins passed the Tigers because the Twins had a pitcher who lost zero games at home the entire season.
"To say that Jeter deserves extra consideration as MVP because he plays a critical position on defense is a valid point. Jeter not only is the Yankees' shortstop, but an exceptional one, the winner of a Gold Glove this year."
Ha ha ha.
Phew.
Pepe gets to keep his job after all.
Big Papi took on Jeter and lost.
Two rules in New York City: (1) Don't take visitors to the Statue of Liberty and (2) Don't take on Derek Jeter:
"I believe fervently in the literal definition of the term 'Most Valuable.' The award was designed to go not to the year's outstanding player, but rather to the one most instrumental in the success of his team ..."
Which is why this article is about Joe Mauer?
Which is why not a single everyday player on the 95-win Tigers received a single MVP vote?
Which is why Ryan Howard won the NL MVP and his team didn't even make the playoffs?
"On June 7, the Twins were 25-33, 11 ½ games behind the Tigers in the AL Central and Morneau was batting .236 with 11 home runs and 38 runs batted in."
Is it really necessary to point out that baseball games count in April, May, and June?
Is it really necessary to point out that Pepe is trying to support Morneau's MVP case while pointing out that Morneau was hitting .236 on June 7?
Is it really necessary to write six consecutive sentences that are rhetorical questions?
"From June 8 to the end of the season, Morneau batted .362 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs, and the Twins went 71-33, passed the Tigers and won the division championship. That, to me, is the definition of a Most Valuable Player. How much clearer can it be?"
With no basis for comparison, it's very unclear.
Maybe the Twins passed the Tigers because the Twins had a pitcher who lost zero games at home the entire season.
"To say that Jeter deserves extra consideration as MVP because he plays a critical position on defense is a valid point. Jeter not only is the Yankees' shortstop, but an exceptional one, the winner of a Gold Glove this year."
Ha ha ha.
Phew.
Pepe gets to keep his job after all.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
4-0.
"Assuming he is truly the guy he has presented himself to be over the past 11 seasons, Jeter would rather be a world champion than an MVP any day of the week and any season of his career."
Every pro athlete would rather win a championship than an MVP award.
"Jeter's detractors use a lot of insults to describe him: cold, condescending, aloof, bloodless, a robot programmed to play baseball."
Is there really some big army of Jeter detractors that the rest of the world is unaware of?
I don't think I've ever heard anybody describe Jeter as cold, condescending, aloof, bloodless, or a robot programmed to play baseball. Only I describe Jeter as cold, condescending, aloof, bloodless, and a robot programmed to play baseball.
By the way, I wish! That would be awesome! A robot programmed to play baseball!
I can imagine Bob Sheppard's voice echoing over the Yankee Stadium speakers: "Batting fifth (fifth) ... number ninety-nine (nine) ... shortstop (stop) ... furby ... number ninety-nine (nine)."
I personally believe Jeter is a phony. But I could google "Jeter" and "phony" and felzball would probably come up 500 times out of 501 hits.
(Amazingly, I just tried this and felzball came up as the top two sites.)
I am apparently the only person on Earth who has ever written "Jeter" and "phony" in the same sentence.
I googled Jeter + condescending and got nothing.
Jeter + aloof got articles that described ARod as aloof.
Jeter + cold returned phrases such as "Jeter's cold determination" and "Jeter's cold spell" and one about Jeter's "cold shoulder" toward Ken Huckaby, the guy who accidentally injured Jeter on Opening Day 2003. Also, one about Jeter on the television show, Cold Pizza.
Jeter + bloodless (yuck!) got nothing.
So, out of 100 million sites on the Interweb, felzball is the only website that qualifies as a Jeter detractor.
Jeter's MVP consolation speech was one of the phoniest things you will ever hear. Perfectly safe and precisely what the fans want to hear. Which is fine. No need to be radically honest.
But please, Wallace Matthews, at least admit this guy is a big phony.
" 'Phony' is not one of them."
Oh, well.
"If he were, he would have publicly embraced A-Rod by now, just to shut everybody up."
Ahem.
Fact 1: Jeter says he'll do anything to win.
Fact 2: Publicly embracing a troubled teammate may help the Yankees win.
Fact 3: Jeter does not like ARod.
Observation: Jeter will not publicly embrace ARod because Jeter does not like ARod.
Conclusion: When Jeter says he will do anything to win, he is being a phony.
"But Jeter doesn't exist to placate teammates or the media, or to accumulate statistics and accolades. By all available evidence, he exists to win baseball games, not awards."
But only on his own terms.
Hasn't Matthews realized that placating teammates can sometimes help win baseball games? It sure couldn't hurt.
"When Alex Rodriguez won the MVP last year as a member of a Yankees team that bombed out in the first round of the playoffs, he said this of his runner-up, David Ortiz: 'I'd certainly trade his World Series championship for this MVP trophy'
Since the sincerity of A-Rod's words is always open to question, you can take that for what it's worth. And you know that if Alex Rodriguez dies without a World Series ring but with his two MVPs, he will die smiling.
...
To Jeter, winning the MVP in a season that ended as badly as 2006 did for the Yankees would be like hitting a solo home run at the end of a 10-run loss. Maybe A-Rod could be satisfied with that, but not Jeter." "
Me Wallace. Me no like ARod.
You know what I think? I think ARod has hunger and drive and resourcefulness. ARod is still out there taking fielding practice rather than getting fat and lazy with his $252 million contract (in case you hadn't heard, ARod signed a $252 million contract).
A player can not accomplish what ARod has accomplished without hunger and drive and resourcefulness.
I also think that nobody in baseball wants a ring more than ARod. Nobody gets crucified more than ARod for failing in the postseason. ARod would give back twenty MVPs for one Championship ring. He doesn't want to go down in history as baseball's version of Dan Marino.
ARod tanked in the playoffs the past two years. Hate the results. Don't hate the effort.
You know what else I think? As I dare to bring up the unspeakable evil that lurks in the heart of men?
I think that Jeter & Torre dislike ARod so much that they'd rather keep the ring count at 4-0 than allow it to become 5-1.
I can't prove it. It's just a hunch. But it may explain why Jeter smirks while ARod gets booed and it may explain why Torre goes out of his way to embarrass ARod in the playoffs.
Every pro athlete would rather win a championship than an MVP award.
"Jeter's detractors use a lot of insults to describe him: cold, condescending, aloof, bloodless, a robot programmed to play baseball."
Is there really some big army of Jeter detractors that the rest of the world is unaware of?
I don't think I've ever heard anybody describe Jeter as cold, condescending, aloof, bloodless, or a robot programmed to play baseball. Only I describe Jeter as cold, condescending, aloof, bloodless, and a robot programmed to play baseball.
By the way, I wish! That would be awesome! A robot programmed to play baseball!
I can imagine Bob Sheppard's voice echoing over the Yankee Stadium speakers: "Batting fifth (fifth) ... number ninety-nine (nine) ... shortstop (stop) ... furby ... number ninety-nine (nine)."
I personally believe Jeter is a phony. But I could google "Jeter" and "phony" and felzball would probably come up 500 times out of 501 hits.
(Amazingly, I just tried this and felzball came up as the top two sites.)
I am apparently the only person on Earth who has ever written "Jeter" and "phony" in the same sentence.
I googled Jeter + condescending and got nothing.
Jeter + aloof got articles that described ARod as aloof.
Jeter + cold returned phrases such as "Jeter's cold determination" and "Jeter's cold spell" and one about Jeter's "cold shoulder" toward Ken Huckaby, the guy who accidentally injured Jeter on Opening Day 2003. Also, one about Jeter on the television show, Cold Pizza.
Jeter + bloodless (yuck!) got nothing.
So, out of 100 million sites on the Interweb, felzball is the only website that qualifies as a Jeter detractor.
Jeter's MVP consolation speech was one of the phoniest things you will ever hear. Perfectly safe and precisely what the fans want to hear. Which is fine. No need to be radically honest.
But please, Wallace Matthews, at least admit this guy is a big phony.
" 'Phony' is not one of them."
Oh, well.
"If he were, he would have publicly embraced A-Rod by now, just to shut everybody up."
Ahem.
Fact 1: Jeter says he'll do anything to win.
Fact 2: Publicly embracing a troubled teammate may help the Yankees win.
Fact 3: Jeter does not like ARod.
Observation: Jeter will not publicly embrace ARod because Jeter does not like ARod.
Conclusion: When Jeter says he will do anything to win, he is being a phony.
"But Jeter doesn't exist to placate teammates or the media, or to accumulate statistics and accolades. By all available evidence, he exists to win baseball games, not awards."
But only on his own terms.
Hasn't Matthews realized that placating teammates can sometimes help win baseball games? It sure couldn't hurt.
"When Alex Rodriguez won the MVP last year as a member of a Yankees team that bombed out in the first round of the playoffs, he said this of his runner-up, David Ortiz: 'I'd certainly trade his World Series championship for this MVP trophy'
Since the sincerity of A-Rod's words is always open to question, you can take that for what it's worth. And you know that if Alex Rodriguez dies without a World Series ring but with his two MVPs, he will die smiling.
...
To Jeter, winning the MVP in a season that ended as badly as 2006 did for the Yankees would be like hitting a solo home run at the end of a 10-run loss. Maybe A-Rod could be satisfied with that, but not Jeter." "
Me Wallace. Me no like ARod.
You know what I think? I think ARod has hunger and drive and resourcefulness. ARod is still out there taking fielding practice rather than getting fat and lazy with his $252 million contract (in case you hadn't heard, ARod signed a $252 million contract).
A player can not accomplish what ARod has accomplished without hunger and drive and resourcefulness.
I also think that nobody in baseball wants a ring more than ARod. Nobody gets crucified more than ARod for failing in the postseason. ARod would give back twenty MVPs for one Championship ring. He doesn't want to go down in history as baseball's version of Dan Marino.
ARod tanked in the playoffs the past two years. Hate the results. Don't hate the effort.
You know what else I think? As I dare to bring up the unspeakable evil that lurks in the heart of men?
I think that Jeter & Torre dislike ARod so much that they'd rather keep the ring count at 4-0 than allow it to become 5-1.
I can't prove it. It's just a hunch. But it may explain why Jeter smirks while ARod gets booed and it may explain why Torre goes out of his way to embarrass ARod in the playoffs.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Ignorance is fun.
You know what drives people crazy? It's not the spectre of subjectivity and it's not the debating.
It's the inconsistency:
"The whole thing is completely subjective and debatable, which drives statistical analysts crazy, but makes baseball fun."
Well, it's not completely subjective.
Every candidate's case is firmly grounded in statistical analysis.
If it was completely subjective, then Kevin Reese might win the AL MVP simply because his name sorta sounds like former Attorney General Edwin Meese.
"Morneau won because he batted a major-league best .362 after June 7, when the Twins went a major-league best 71-33."
Those are statistics.
You are analyzing them.
That's crazy.
"But then why did most of the Twins endorse Morneau? Simple: They believed that his importance to the team transcended his numbers — which, by the way, were pretty darned impressive.
There's something to that, no matter how many times analysts cite VORP and runs created and all the other newfangled statistics that point to Mauer or Jeter as more deserving MVPs."
No, no, no.
That's bad, bad, bad.
You're admitting that the sportswriters voted for Morneau just because his teammates liked Morneau more than they liked Mauer.
Stop doing it.
Stop asking the players their opinion. This is absolutely the worst way to determine the MVP.
What if most of the Yankees think Chien-Ming Wang should have won the Cy Young? Or Mariano Rivera? Or Scott Proctor?
Are you going to vote for Scott Proctor because Aaron Guiel says Proctor is an inspiration to the rest of the team?
"For those who must know, the Indians' Travis Hafner led the AL in runs created per game last season. Terrific. He also was a designated hitter who appeared in only 129 games for a team that finished fourth in a five-team division. Runs created per game doesn't tell you that, does it?"
Who led the AL in runs created per game? I Must Know.
Even if this particular statistic does not tell me how many games he played or his team's position in the standings. I Must Know Who Led the AL in Runs Created Per Game.
Actually, no stat tells you games played or the team's position in the standings.
Batting average, slugging percentage, errors, stolen bases, runs batted in, OBP, VORP, WHIP, or any other stat.
The only stats that tells you the number of games played is the games played stat The only stat that tells you a team's position in the standings is the standings stat.
The idea is to take all the information you can gather -- honest-to-goodness so-called objective stats and also intangible attributes -- and then you prioritize the data, weigh the data, and analyze the data.
Runs create per game is simply one more piece of information. I don't think anybody claimed that Hafner was MVP of the AL simply because he led the league in one stat.
But, you know, now that you mention it, he might have won the award if he had not gotten hurt. Hafner is a one-dimensional player who can rake and whose team didn't make the playoffs -- kind of like Ryan Howard.
"For the 1,653rd time, the award is not for best stats, not for best hitter, not for player of the year; it's for MVP, however that is defined by voters in a given year."
How about defindng MVP simply as "most valuable player?"
Do you really think Justin Morneau was the most valuable player in the American League in 2006? Because I don't. Even if the Twins players said so.
"As for the AL, it's downright amusing to hear statistical analysts rally to the defense of Jeter, a player they've trashed for years, screeching that his defense was overrated. That's true to an extent, but for heaven's sake, watch the games. Jeter's value is almost immeasurable."
Ken Rosenthal's propensity for hyperbole is almost immeasurable.
But, there you go.
If a player's value is immeasurable, if you can only divine this value by watching the games or maybe asking his teammates, then you no longer have to defend your case with common sense and logic.
You end up with the fourth-best player on the Twins as the MVP of the entire AL.
It's the inconsistency:
"The whole thing is completely subjective and debatable, which drives statistical analysts crazy, but makes baseball fun."
Well, it's not completely subjective.
Every candidate's case is firmly grounded in statistical analysis.
If it was completely subjective, then Kevin Reese might win the AL MVP simply because his name sorta sounds like former Attorney General Edwin Meese.
"Morneau won because he batted a major-league best .362 after June 7, when the Twins went a major-league best 71-33."
Those are statistics.
You are analyzing them.
That's crazy.
"But then why did most of the Twins endorse Morneau? Simple: They believed that his importance to the team transcended his numbers — which, by the way, were pretty darned impressive.
There's something to that, no matter how many times analysts cite VORP and runs created and all the other newfangled statistics that point to Mauer or Jeter as more deserving MVPs."
No, no, no.
That's bad, bad, bad.
You're admitting that the sportswriters voted for Morneau just because his teammates liked Morneau more than they liked Mauer.
Stop doing it.
Stop asking the players their opinion. This is absolutely the worst way to determine the MVP.
What if most of the Yankees think Chien-Ming Wang should have won the Cy Young? Or Mariano Rivera? Or Scott Proctor?
Are you going to vote for Scott Proctor because Aaron Guiel says Proctor is an inspiration to the rest of the team?
"For those who must know, the Indians' Travis Hafner led the AL in runs created per game last season. Terrific. He also was a designated hitter who appeared in only 129 games for a team that finished fourth in a five-team division. Runs created per game doesn't tell you that, does it?"
Who led the AL in runs created per game? I Must Know.
Even if this particular statistic does not tell me how many games he played or his team's position in the standings. I Must Know Who Led the AL in Runs Created Per Game.
Actually, no stat tells you games played or the team's position in the standings.
Batting average, slugging percentage, errors, stolen bases, runs batted in, OBP, VORP, WHIP, or any other stat.
The only stats that tells you the number of games played is the games played stat The only stat that tells you a team's position in the standings is the standings stat.
The idea is to take all the information you can gather -- honest-to-goodness so-called objective stats and also intangible attributes -- and then you prioritize the data, weigh the data, and analyze the data.
Runs create per game is simply one more piece of information. I don't think anybody claimed that Hafner was MVP of the AL simply because he led the league in one stat.
But, you know, now that you mention it, he might have won the award if he had not gotten hurt. Hafner is a one-dimensional player who can rake and whose team didn't make the playoffs -- kind of like Ryan Howard.
"For the 1,653rd time, the award is not for best stats, not for best hitter, not for player of the year; it's for MVP, however that is defined by voters in a given year."
How about defindng MVP simply as "most valuable player?"
Do you really think Justin Morneau was the most valuable player in the American League in 2006? Because I don't. Even if the Twins players said so.
"As for the AL, it's downright amusing to hear statistical analysts rally to the defense of Jeter, a player they've trashed for years, screeching that his defense was overrated. That's true to an extent, but for heaven's sake, watch the games. Jeter's value is almost immeasurable."
Ken Rosenthal's propensity for hyperbole is almost immeasurable.
But, there you go.
If a player's value is immeasurable, if you can only divine this value by watching the games or maybe asking his teammates, then you no longer have to defend your case with common sense and logic.
You end up with the fourth-best player on the Twins as the MVP of the entire AL.
2006 AL MVP.
I'm quite proud of my friends simply because they downgraded Justin Morneau vis a vis the opinion of the baseball writers.
Still not quite sure why Morneau's status was elevated above other sluggers like Ortiz, Hafner, Konerko, etc., and I'm truly baffled why Morneau's status was elevated above the catcher on his own team.
Ditto for Frank Thomas. Frank Thomas was the fourth-most valuable player in the American League? Thomas is a DH who hit .270 and scored 77 runs. He only played in 137 games.
Paul Konkerko, as an example, exceeded Thomas in every single offensive statistic, even stolen bases (1 to 0). Konerko ended up with 3 MVP points compared to Thomas's 174. I have no explanation for this occurrence.
In any case, the voting comparison is below.
A few of my friends just boycotted the NL ... which makes me even more proud of them.
Still not quite sure why Morneau's status was elevated above other sluggers like Ortiz, Hafner, Konerko, etc., and I'm truly baffled why Morneau's status was elevated above the catcher on his own team.
Ditto for Frank Thomas. Frank Thomas was the fourth-most valuable player in the American League? Thomas is a DH who hit .270 and scored 77 runs. He only played in 137 games.
Paul Konkerko, as an example, exceeded Thomas in every single offensive statistic, even stolen bases (1 to 0). Konerko ended up with 3 MVP points compared to Thomas's 174. I have no explanation for this occurrence.
In any case, the voting comparison is below.
A few of my friends just boycotted the NL ... which makes me even more proud of them.
| Baseball Writers | Felz & His Friends | ||
| Justin Morneau | 320 | Derek Jeter | 29 |
| Derek Jeter | 306 | David Ortiz | 13 |
| David Ortiz | 193 | Joe Mauer | 10 |
| Frank Thomas | 174 | Justin Morneau | 10 |
| Jermaine Dye | 156 | Jermaine Dye | 8 |
| Joe Mauer | 116 | Johan Santana | 4 |
| Johan Santana | 114 | Aex Rodriguez | 1 |
| Travis Hafner | 64 | ||
| Vladimir Guerrero | 46 | ||
| Carlos Guillen | 34 | ||
| Grady Sizemore | 24 | ||
| Carlos Delgado | 23 | ||
| Jim Thome | 17 | ||
| Alex Rodriguez | 13 | ||
| Jason Giambi | 9 | ||
| Johnny Damon | 7 | ||
| Justin Verlander | 7 | ||
| Ichiro Suzuki | 7 | ||
| Joe Nathan | 6 | ||
| Manny Ramirez | 6 | ||
| Miguel Tejada | 5 | ||
| Raul Ibanez | 4 | ||
| Robinson Cano | 3 | ||
| Paul Konerko | 3 | ||
| Magglio Ordonez | 3 | ||
| Vernon Wells | 3 | ||
| Carl Crawford | 2 | ||
| Mariano Rivera | 2 | ||
| Kenny Rogers | 2 | ||
| Chien-Ming Wang | 2 | ||
| Troy Glaus | 1 | ||
| Gary Matthews Jr. | 1 | ||
| A.J. Pierzynski | 1 | ||
| Michael Young | 1 |
I really don't understand why Morneau won ...
... but it had nothing to do with Alex Rodriguez.
I understand Sherman's point regarding Jeter's lack of leadership and I don't disagree.
But please remember that MVP voting occurs before the postseason even starts.
Even after Game One of the ALDS, Jeter was still 5-for-5 Cap'n Courageous and the Yankees were Murderer's Row & Robinson Cano.
A lot changes in three games.
The Yankees fell asleep against Detroit, ARod batted sixth and then eighth, clubhouse discord spilled out onto the field, and the leadership abilities of Torre and Jeter were called into question.
But the MVP votes didn't change one bit. The MVP votes were already locked up.
Also, second place in MVP voting is not a snub.
Jorge Posada was snubbed. Paul Konerko was snubbed. I'd say Miguel Tejada and Jimmy Rollins were snubbed relative to other players in their league at the same positions.
Derek Jeter came in second in the whole league.
It's an honor, not a snub.
I understand Sherman's point regarding Jeter's lack of leadership and I don't disagree.
But please remember that MVP voting occurs before the postseason even starts.
Even after Game One of the ALDS, Jeter was still 5-for-5 Cap'n Courageous and the Yankees were Murderer's Row & Robinson Cano.
A lot changes in three games.
The Yankees fell asleep against Detroit, ARod batted sixth and then eighth, clubhouse discord spilled out onto the field, and the leadership abilities of Torre and Jeter were called into question.
But the MVP votes didn't change one bit. The MVP votes were already locked up.
Also, second place in MVP voting is not a snub.
Jorge Posada was snubbed. Paul Konerko was snubbed. I'd say Miguel Tejada and Jimmy Rollins were snubbed relative to other players in their league at the same positions.
Derek Jeter came in second in the whole league.
It's an honor, not a snub.
Monday, November 20, 2006
2006 NL MVP.
| Baseball Writers | Felz & His Friends | ||
| Ryan Howard | 388 | Ryan Howard | 20 |
| Albert Pujols | 347 | Albert Pujols | 18 |
| Lance Berkman | 230 | Carlos Beltran | 10 |
| Carlos Beltran | 211 | Lance Berkman | 5 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 170 | Barry Bonds | 2 |
| Alfonso Soriano | 106 | Miguel Cabrera | 2 |
| Jose Reyes | 98 | Alfonso Soriano | 1 |
| Chase Utley | 98 | David Wright | 1 |
| David Wright | 70 | ||
| Trevor Hoffman | 46 | ||
| Andruw Jones | 29 | ||
| Carlos Delgado | 23 | ||
| Nomar Garciaparra | 18 | ||
| Rafael Furcal | 10 | ||
| Garrett Atkins | 10 | ||
| Matt Holliday | 10 | ||
| Aramis Ramirez | 5 | ||
| Freddy Sanchez | 5 | ||
| Chris Carpenter | 4 | ||
| Chipper Jones | 3 | ||
| Mike Cameron | 2 | ||
| Jimmy Rollins | 2 | ||
| Bronson Arroyo | 1 | ||
| Jason Bay | 1 |
Saturday, November 18, 2006
You'd better not let Joe Mauer beat you. Because he can.
"During the past 10 years, the Most Valuable Player award has gone to two admitted steroid users (Ken Caminiti and Jason Giambi), two strongly suspected (wink, wink) steroid users (Sammy Sosa and some guy in San Francisco) and one guy, Pudge Rodriguez, who has shrunk more drastically in the past two years than Lindsay Lohan.
If you can give baseball's most prestigious honor to Barry Bonds six times and to Alex Rodriguez twice, don't you think it's about time the academy showed some love for Derek Jeter?"
What the hell is this guy's problem with Alex Rodriguez?
Why is he lumping Alex Rodriguez in with steroid users and cheaters?
That's truly disgusting and offensive.
"I know, the MVP is not supposed to be a lifetime achievement award, but it's not supposed to be a stats competition, either."
Of course it's a stats competition.
"Unfortunately, as baseball fell deeper and deeper into its drug-fueled love affair with the long ball, so too have the MVP voters."
Do we have to go through this again?
Pick a decade, pick any decade. Peruse the history of MVP winners. It's very easy to find on the Interweb. Even Hal Bodley could probably find it.
While homeruns are not the only statistic that matters, they're historically pretty damned important in MVP voting. It's just incredibly ignorant to suggest that the nation's love affair with the homerun is some sort of recent phenomenon.
"You can say what you want about Jeter, that he's too smug, that he's protected in a great lineup, that he's a bad teammate for not cradling poor widdle A-Rod to his bosom -- it's all hogwash, by the way -- but even the most fervent Jeter-haters out there would have to concede that not only does he play hard and play well every time out, he also plays clean."
Okay, fine. Derek Jeter plays clean.
David Ortiz doesn't play clean? Joe Mauer doesn't play clean? Justin Morneau doesn't play clean? Travis Hafner doesn't play clean? Johan Santana doesn't play clean? Poor widdle Alex Rodriguez doesn't play clean?
"Plus, more than any of his teammates, he sets the tone for what opponents have come to expect from the Yankees."
A first-round exit in the playoffs?
"The perception that the Yankees never quit, that the Yankees play smart baseball, that the Yankees will find any way to beat you, all come from Derek Jeter. He doesn't represent the Yankees so much as the Yankees represent him."
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, for your consideration, Wallace Matthews: A New York City sportswriter who missed the entire 2006 American League Divisional Series.
"Granted, those are tickets to Cooperstown, not the MVP award, but if we are going to reward numbers, artificially enhanced or not, then for once, why not reward 'intangibles,' the qualities that can't be juiced?"
Even if I was convinced that "intangibles" should be rewarded (why is "intangibles" in quotation marks? "Intangibles" is regular ol' English word, is it not?), I'd still have to be convinced that Jeter provided more intangibles than his AL MVP competitors.
"This season, it was those qualities in Jeter that kept the Yankees ahead of the AL East when they had every excuse to pack it in early."
You know, the injury-riddled Yankees still had Jeter, Damon, ARod, Posada, Rivera, Wang, Abreu and well over $100 million on the field every night ... in other words, they had absolutely no excuse to pack it in early.
"Despite what A-Rod told Esquire, I have yet to hear anyone in baseball say, 'We better not let Joe Mauer beat us.' I have heard plenty say it about Jeter."
Matthews never heard anyone in baseball say, "We better not let Joe Mauer beat us."
Wow.
Maybe that's why Joe Mauer beat so many people in baseball.
Or maybe Wallace Matthews doesn't know too many people in baseball.
Or maybe people in baseball are just really, really, really, really stupid.
If I was a baseball person? I'd be aware of the catcher who batted .347 with a good eye and decent power.
Then, right before I played the Twins, I'd say, "We better not Joe Mauer beat us."
If you can give baseball's most prestigious honor to Barry Bonds six times and to Alex Rodriguez twice, don't you think it's about time the academy showed some love for Derek Jeter?"
What the hell is this guy's problem with Alex Rodriguez?
Why is he lumping Alex Rodriguez in with steroid users and cheaters?
That's truly disgusting and offensive.
"I know, the MVP is not supposed to be a lifetime achievement award, but it's not supposed to be a stats competition, either."
Of course it's a stats competition.
"Unfortunately, as baseball fell deeper and deeper into its drug-fueled love affair with the long ball, so too have the MVP voters."
Do we have to go through this again?
Pick a decade, pick any decade. Peruse the history of MVP winners. It's very easy to find on the Interweb. Even Hal Bodley could probably find it.
While homeruns are not the only statistic that matters, they're historically pretty damned important in MVP voting. It's just incredibly ignorant to suggest that the nation's love affair with the homerun is some sort of recent phenomenon.
"You can say what you want about Jeter, that he's too smug, that he's protected in a great lineup, that he's a bad teammate for not cradling poor widdle A-Rod to his bosom -- it's all hogwash, by the way -- but even the most fervent Jeter-haters out there would have to concede that not only does he play hard and play well every time out, he also plays clean."
Okay, fine. Derek Jeter plays clean.
David Ortiz doesn't play clean? Joe Mauer doesn't play clean? Justin Morneau doesn't play clean? Travis Hafner doesn't play clean? Johan Santana doesn't play clean? Poor widdle Alex Rodriguez doesn't play clean?
"Plus, more than any of his teammates, he sets the tone for what opponents have come to expect from the Yankees."
A first-round exit in the playoffs?
"The perception that the Yankees never quit, that the Yankees play smart baseball, that the Yankees will find any way to beat you, all come from Derek Jeter. He doesn't represent the Yankees so much as the Yankees represent him."
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, for your consideration, Wallace Matthews: A New York City sportswriter who missed the entire 2006 American League Divisional Series.
"Granted, those are tickets to Cooperstown, not the MVP award, but if we are going to reward numbers, artificially enhanced or not, then for once, why not reward 'intangibles,' the qualities that can't be juiced?"
Even if I was convinced that "intangibles" should be rewarded (why is "intangibles" in quotation marks? "Intangibles" is regular ol' English word, is it not?), I'd still have to be convinced that Jeter provided more intangibles than his AL MVP competitors.
"This season, it was those qualities in Jeter that kept the Yankees ahead of the AL East when they had every excuse to pack it in early."
You know, the injury-riddled Yankees still had Jeter, Damon, ARod, Posada, Rivera, Wang, Abreu and well over $100 million on the field every night ... in other words, they had absolutely no excuse to pack it in early.
"Despite what A-Rod told Esquire, I have yet to hear anyone in baseball say, 'We better not let Joe Mauer beat us.' I have heard plenty say it about Jeter."
Matthews never heard anyone in baseball say, "We better not let Joe Mauer beat us."
Wow.
Maybe that's why Joe Mauer beat so many people in baseball.
Or maybe Wallace Matthews doesn't know too many people in baseball.
Or maybe people in baseball are just really, really, really, really stupid.
If I was a baseball person? I'd be aware of the catcher who batted .347 with a good eye and decent power.
Then, right before I played the Twins, I'd say, "We better not Joe Mauer beat us."
Hal Bodley wires in another baseball column.
"There's so much money in the sport these days — it took in $5.2 billion in 2006 — I'm not sure my computer has enough dollar signs."
(1) You don't own a computer.
(2) No matter how big the dollar amount, you only need one dollar sign.
(1) You don't own a computer.
(2) No matter how big the dollar amount, you only need one dollar sign.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Wins divided by payroll.
"Willie Randolph should have won, even if his own payroll with the Mets was nearly $85 million more than Girardi's was with the Marlins."
Mike Lupica is obsessed with money when the Yankees spend it.
Mike Lupica is oddly not so obsessed with money when the Mets (or the Red Sox*) spend it.
(* By the way, in case you weren't familiar with Lupica Math, don't be fooled. The Yankees did not spend $57 million for Randy Johnson. It's just one of those typical Lupica tricks where he conveniently decides what counts as a debit and what counts as a credit. In this case, Lupica is adding Johnson's salary + luxury tax + portions of Javier Vazquez's salary.)
According to Lupica, Steinbrenner and Cashman are greedy villains who are ruining baseball. But Randolph is Manager of the Year and Theo Epstein is the (ahem) "future Boy Prince of Baseball."
Too bad Lupica can't use glue and sparkles to write out Theo Epstein's name. Maybe a little heart to dot the "i."
"The guys who gave Girardi all those first-place votes have a perfect right to their opinion. This is mine."
I checked the Constitution of the United States and, sure enough, the writers who voted for Girardi have a perfect right to their opinion. As long as Mike Lupica grants them that right. It says so right there in the First Amendment:
If you say so. I didn't think the Braves would be so bad, but I think just about everybody picked the Mets to win their division.
On the other hand, I don't think anybody expected the Marlins to win more than 55 or 60 games.
"He won big in the NL East in a year when he got nine wins - nine - out of Pedro Martinez, who was supposed to be the ace of his staff again."
Nine. Nine? Nine!
But Randolph also had $eighty five million - $eighty five million - more in payroll, which kind of helps offset the fact the Pedro Martinez only had nine - nine - wins.
I'd also like to point out that Pedro Martinez's 2006 salary was higher than the payroll of the entire Marlins roster. Not that Pedro is an evil free agent mercenary. Only Yankees are evil free agent mercenaries.
"He lost Victor Zambrano early, and whatever you think of Zambrano or thought about him, he was in Willie Randolph's rotation coming out of spring training."
Maybe Randolph's decision to keep Zambrano in the rotation is another reason Randolph did not deserve to be named Manager of the Year.
Because Zambrano wasn't just "in" Willie Randolph's rotation by magic or happenstance or coincidence. In fact, Willie Randolph was one of the key decision-makers in the entire world when it came to determining who was in Willie Randolph's rotation.
"Then he was gone and a kid named Brian Bannister got plugged in and he showed some promise and then Bannister was gone."
I'm convinced. Randolph deserved Manager of the Year because the Mets were actually the only team in baseball whose players suffered through injuries.
"The Mets nearly won 100 games this season and would have won 100 if they had needed to."
Huh?
They would have won 100 if they had needed to?
I guess they didn't really need to win Game Seven vs. St. Louis. But they would have won that game if they had needed to.
Or is Lupica praising the manager of a team and, at the same time, claiming that this team didn't win as many games as they could have?
"Jim Leyland won Manager of the Year for the job he did with the Tigers."
Right, but the Tigers are in the American League and the Mets are in the National League.
"Leyland didn't have nearly the stick on offense that Randolph did. But look at the pitching Leyland had. The Mets didn't have anything close this season."
Right, but the Tigers are in the American League and the Mets are in the National League.
"Even after the votes were in for Manager of the Year, Randolph kept managing his team."
Oh, I see.
That's a dig at Joe Girardi because the Marlins didn't make the playoffs.
The Marlins, with their $85 million disadvantage and their pitching staff of Dontrelle Willis plus the Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars.
"But even when the Mets finally stopped hitting, even when David Wright gave them nothing in the biggest games of the year, Randolph's team stayed in there against the Cardinals, nearly beat them the last two games at Shea, nearly made it to the World Series with John Maine starting Game 6 and Oliver Perez starting Game 7."
Wowza.
The heavily favored 97-win Mets almost beat the 83-win Cardinals.
The Mets almost beat the powerhouse team that had Jeff Weaver and everything!
"Girardi had $85 million less to work with than Willie? There was even more of a gap between Willie and Joe Torre, and people talked about Torre doing the best job he's done in years getting his team to 97 wins."
Okay, let me help Mike Lupica with this concept once again.
Major League Baseball consists of two leagues: The American League and the National League.
When one discusses the National League Manager of the Year, one usually limits the discussion to managers of teams in the National League.
Lupica is simply trying to divert attention away from the Mets/Marlins payroll gap. Lupica can not deal with it. Lupica needs the Mets to be underdogs. Lupica needs Randolph to be the Con Ed kid in the left field bleachers.
Instead of comparing the Mets to the Marlins, Lupica is pointlessly comparing the Mets to the Tigers and Yankees: "The Tigers had better pitching than the Mets. The Yankees spent more money than the Mets."
Yeah, but ... the rest of us were talking about the Marlins, weren't we? The team with the lowest payroll in the major leagues by far?
It should be obvious that, using Lupica's criteria, the Marlins compare even less favorably to their AL counterparts than the Mets do.
Yet, the Marlins managed to compete for a playoff spot for most of the season and almost finished with a .500 record.
Now, let's drill down on this payroll gap. For the sake of this discussion, I'll use payrolls of $15 mill for Florida, $100 mill for the Mets, and $200 mill for the Yankees. Close enough.
The gap between NYM and Florida is $85 mill and the gap between NYY and NYM is $100 mill.
So, technically speaking, the gap between the Yankees and Mets is greater than the gap between the Mets and the Marlins.
But you don't need an economics refresher to understand that Lupica is misreprazentin'. You just need common sense.
The expectations for a $200 million team are high. The expectations for a $100 million team are nearly as high, especially since that $100 million team has the highest payroll in their league.
But what are the expectations for a $15 million team? In a league where the league minimum is $10 million? For a team whose payroll is 1/3rd Tampa Bay's?
I was expecting '62 Mets territory.
Even more to the point, Torre did not win Manager of the Year in the AL. He wasn't even close, despite what "people talked about."
This is beacause voters typically use a simplistic formula when determining Manager of the Year: Wins divided by payroll.
Even if this methodology is flawed, at least it's fairly consistent.
Unless your name is Mike Lupica.
If your name is Mike Lupica, the only mathematical consistency is that the Yankees are Bad and the Mets are Good.
Mike Lupica is obsessed with money when the Yankees spend it.
Mike Lupica is oddly not so obsessed with money when the Mets (or the Red Sox*) spend it.
(* By the way, in case you weren't familiar with Lupica Math, don't be fooled. The Yankees did not spend $57 million for Randy Johnson. It's just one of those typical Lupica tricks where he conveniently decides what counts as a debit and what counts as a credit. In this case, Lupica is adding Johnson's salary + luxury tax + portions of Javier Vazquez's salary.)
According to Lupica, Steinbrenner and Cashman are greedy villains who are ruining baseball. But Randolph is Manager of the Year and Theo Epstein is the (ahem) "future Boy Prince of Baseball."
Too bad Lupica can't use glue and sparkles to write out Theo Epstein's name. Maybe a little heart to dot the "i."
"The guys who gave Girardi all those first-place votes have a perfect right to their opinion. This is mine."
I checked the Constitution of the United States and, sure enough, the writers who voted for Girardi have a perfect right to their opinion. As long as Mike Lupica grants them that right. It says so right there in the First Amendment:
Mike Lupica shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Mike Lupica for a redress of grievances.
"He just should have won because of the way he won with the Mets, the way his team ran away with things in a year when nobody expected them to do that."
"He just should have won because of the way he won with the Mets, the way his team ran away with things in a year when nobody expected them to do that."
If you say so. I didn't think the Braves would be so bad, but I think just about everybody picked the Mets to win their division.
On the other hand, I don't think anybody expected the Marlins to win more than 55 or 60 games.
"He won big in the NL East in a year when he got nine wins - nine - out of Pedro Martinez, who was supposed to be the ace of his staff again."
Nine. Nine? Nine!
But Randolph also had $eighty five million - $eighty five million - more in payroll, which kind of helps offset the fact the Pedro Martinez only had nine - nine - wins.
I'd also like to point out that Pedro Martinez's 2006 salary was higher than the payroll of the entire Marlins roster. Not that Pedro is an evil free agent mercenary. Only Yankees are evil free agent mercenaries.
"He lost Victor Zambrano early, and whatever you think of Zambrano or thought about him, he was in Willie Randolph's rotation coming out of spring training."
Maybe Randolph's decision to keep Zambrano in the rotation is another reason Randolph did not deserve to be named Manager of the Year.
Because Zambrano wasn't just "in" Willie Randolph's rotation by magic or happenstance or coincidence. In fact, Willie Randolph was one of the key decision-makers in the entire world when it came to determining who was in Willie Randolph's rotation.
"Then he was gone and a kid named Brian Bannister got plugged in and he showed some promise and then Bannister was gone."
I'm convinced. Randolph deserved Manager of the Year because the Mets were actually the only team in baseball whose players suffered through injuries.
"The Mets nearly won 100 games this season and would have won 100 if they had needed to."
Huh?
They would have won 100 if they had needed to?
I guess they didn't really need to win Game Seven vs. St. Louis. But they would have won that game if they had needed to.
Or is Lupica praising the manager of a team and, at the same time, claiming that this team didn't win as many games as they could have?
"Jim Leyland won Manager of the Year for the job he did with the Tigers."
Right, but the Tigers are in the American League and the Mets are in the National League.
"Leyland didn't have nearly the stick on offense that Randolph did. But look at the pitching Leyland had. The Mets didn't have anything close this season."
Right, but the Tigers are in the American League and the Mets are in the National League.
"Even after the votes were in for Manager of the Year, Randolph kept managing his team."
Oh, I see.
That's a dig at Joe Girardi because the Marlins didn't make the playoffs.
The Marlins, with their $85 million disadvantage and their pitching staff of Dontrelle Willis plus the Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars.
"But even when the Mets finally stopped hitting, even when David Wright gave them nothing in the biggest games of the year, Randolph's team stayed in there against the Cardinals, nearly beat them the last two games at Shea, nearly made it to the World Series with John Maine starting Game 6 and Oliver Perez starting Game 7."
Wowza.
The heavily favored 97-win Mets almost beat the 83-win Cardinals.
The Mets almost beat the powerhouse team that had Jeff Weaver and everything!
"Girardi had $85 million less to work with than Willie? There was even more of a gap between Willie and Joe Torre, and people talked about Torre doing the best job he's done in years getting his team to 97 wins."
Okay, let me help Mike Lupica with this concept once again.
Major League Baseball consists of two leagues: The American League and the National League.
When one discusses the National League Manager of the Year, one usually limits the discussion to managers of teams in the National League.
Lupica is simply trying to divert attention away from the Mets/Marlins payroll gap. Lupica can not deal with it. Lupica needs the Mets to be underdogs. Lupica needs Randolph to be the Con Ed kid in the left field bleachers.
Instead of comparing the Mets to the Marlins, Lupica is pointlessly comparing the Mets to the Tigers and Yankees: "The Tigers had better pitching than the Mets. The Yankees spent more money than the Mets."
Yeah, but ... the rest of us were talking about the Marlins, weren't we? The team with the lowest payroll in the major leagues by far?
It should be obvious that, using Lupica's criteria, the Marlins compare even less favorably to their AL counterparts than the Mets do.
Yet, the Marlins managed to compete for a playoff spot for most of the season and almost finished with a .500 record.
Now, let's drill down on this payroll gap. For the sake of this discussion, I'll use payrolls of $15 mill for Florida, $100 mill for the Mets, and $200 mill for the Yankees. Close enough.
The gap between NYM and Florida is $85 mill and the gap between NYY and NYM is $100 mill.
So, technically speaking, the gap between the Yankees and Mets is greater than the gap between the Mets and the Marlins.
But you don't need an economics refresher to understand that Lupica is misreprazentin'. You just need common sense.
The expectations for a $200 million team are high. The expectations for a $100 million team are nearly as high, especially since that $100 million team has the highest payroll in their league.
But what are the expectations for a $15 million team? In a league where the league minimum is $10 million? For a team whose payroll is 1/3rd Tampa Bay's?
I was expecting '62 Mets territory.
Even more to the point, Torre did not win Manager of the Year in the AL. He wasn't even close, despite what "people talked about."
This is beacause voters typically use a simplistic formula when determining Manager of the Year: Wins divided by payroll.
Even if this methodology is flawed, at least it's fairly consistent.
Unless your name is Mike Lupica.
If your name is Mike Lupica, the only mathematical consistency is that the Yankees are Bad and the Mets are Good.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
2006 AL Cy Young.
| Baseball Writers | Felz & His Friends | ||
| Johan Santana | 140 | Johan Santana | 28 |
| Chien-Ming Wang | 51 | Chien-Ming Wang | 17 |
| Roy Halladay | 48 | Roy Halladay | 15 |
| Francisco Rodriguez | 5 | Mariano Rivera | 3 |
| Joe Nathan | 3 | Fraincisco Rodriguez | 3 |
| Kenny Rogers | 3 | Joe Nathan | 2 |
| Justin Verlander | 2 | B.J Ryan | 1 |
| Justin Verlander | 1 | ||
| Barry Zito | 1 |
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
2006 NL Sigh Yawn.
| Baseball Writers | Felz & His Friends | ||
| Brandon Webb | 103 | Brandon Webb | 17 |
| Trevor Hoffman | 77 | Chris Carpenter | 10 |
| Chris Carpenter | 63 | Trevor Hoffman | 8 |
| Roy Oswalt | 31 | Carlos Zambrano | 8 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 6 | Francisco Cordero | 4 |
| Billy Wagner | 4 | Roy Oswalt | 4 |
| John Smoltz | 3 | Billy Wagner | 4 |
| Takashi Saito | 1 | Derek Lowe | 1 |
| Dontrelle Willis | 1 |
Saturday, November 11, 2006
That's "Mr. Leyland" to you, pal.
"I'm happy it didn't drag out," manager Joe Torre said Friday night at a dinner for his foundation. "It just looked like it was getting uncomfortable for both sides."
Oh, no.
Not the dreaded uncomfortable.
I think both Sheffield and Cashman could handle it. They are grown men. Maybe Torre should just be quiet and go back to drinking green tea or whatever it is that he does.
"At least Gary's going back to the manager he won a World Series with and I know that Jimmy thinks very highly of him."
James Richard Leyland is 62 years old.
Have you ever used the nickname "Jimmy" for any person over the age of eleven?
Just when you thought they Mr. Leyland and Mr. Torre were co-presidents of the Mutual Admiration Society, Jimmy takes a not-so-subtle dig at Joey's managerial decisions:
"I have no plans to play him at first base," Leyland said. "It might get on his mind and affect his hitting."
Hmmm ... Sheffield played first base against the Tigers in the playoffs ... Sheffield had only one hit against the Tigers in the playoffs ... hmmm ...
Oh, no.
Not the dreaded uncomfortable.
I think both Sheffield and Cashman could handle it. They are grown men. Maybe Torre should just be quiet and go back to drinking green tea or whatever it is that he does.
"At least Gary's going back to the manager he won a World Series with and I know that Jimmy thinks very highly of him."
James Richard Leyland is 62 years old.
Have you ever used the nickname "Jimmy" for any person over the age of eleven?
Just when you thought they Mr. Leyland and Mr. Torre were co-presidents of the Mutual Admiration Society, Jimmy takes a not-so-subtle dig at Joey's managerial decisions:
"I have no plans to play him at first base," Leyland said. "It might get on his mind and affect his hitting."
Hmmm ... Sheffield played first base against the Tigers in the playoffs ... Sheffield had only one hit against the Tigers in the playoffs ... hmmm ...
Friday, November 10, 2006
Mission 27 in full effect.
It's just logical, folks:
Step 1: Tigers beat Yankees in the 2006 playoffs with young pitching.
Step 2: Yankee acquire young pitching from the Tigers in 2006 offseason.
Step 3: The team formerly known as the Columbus Clippers wins the 2007 AAA Championship.
Step 1: Tigers beat Yankees in the 2006 playoffs with young pitching.
Step 2: Yankee acquire young pitching from the Tigers in 2006 offseason.
Step 3: The team formerly known as the Columbus Clippers wins the 2007 AAA Championship.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
The Moral Watchdogs Shrugged.
Read this quote from the New York Post when Jason Giambi's grand jury testimony was leaked:
"He has disgraced the Yankee pinstripes and made a mockery of everything that is wonderful and good and pure about the game of baseball.
So now it's up to George Steinbrenner. Say what you will about the man, he has only ever put one thing above winning: class. And now Major League Baseball and the fans - indeed, the nation - need to know what class really means."
Then read this.
"He has disgraced the Yankee pinstripes and made a mockery of everything that is wonderful and good and pure about the game of baseball.
So now it's up to George Steinbrenner. Say what you will about the man, he has only ever put one thing above winning: class. And now Major League Baseball and the fans - indeed, the nation - need to know what class really means."
Then read this.
Friday, November 03, 2006
That wasn't so hard, was it?
Captain Mariano stands up for Alex Rodriguez, Yankee teammate:
"This guy, he's a great player. We're a better team with him. I hear people say we should trade him and I don't agree. I don't think we lost because of Alex. We lost, period. The fans, everybody, they should be with him.''
This simple statement of support will not guarantee that ARod is a Yankee next year.
This simple statement of support will not guarantee that the fans stop booing ARod.
This simple statement of support will probably not improve ARod's on-field performance.
This simple statement of support will not guarantee a Yankee World Series title in 2007.
But when you compare it to the comments by Derek Jeter, ask yourself one question: Who sounds like the true Yankee leader?
"This guy, he's a great player. We're a better team with him. I hear people say we should trade him and I don't agree. I don't think we lost because of Alex. We lost, period. The fans, everybody, they should be with him.''
This simple statement of support will not guarantee that ARod is a Yankee next year.
This simple statement of support will not guarantee that the fans stop booing ARod.
This simple statement of support will probably not improve ARod's on-field performance.
This simple statement of support will not guarantee a Yankee World Series title in 2007.
But when you compare it to the comments by Derek Jeter, ask yourself one question: Who sounds like the true Yankee leader?
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