He's not really going to retire, is he?

"He's got a tough decision to make," Posada said. "He said if he doesn't play with the Yankees, he's not going to play at all. Right now, he's leaning toward retirement."

Here's what you do.

You accept the offer, pitch one game, feign injury, and give the money to orphans and puppies.

It's time.

"What does matter is performance on the field, and whether Rodriguez's elephantine payday will prevent the Yankees from spending the additional monies necessary to surround him with a winning cast as no one player, no matter how good, can drive a weak team to the playoffs."

I disagree with Mitch Getz.

You don't say ...

"Joe Torre was often the only manager in the majors to skip the winter meetings. Girardi, meanwhile, is everywhere. The Yankees are not used to such off-season activity from their manager, but they like it."

The Yankees are also not used to much during-season activity from their manager.

Overpaid disloyal mercenary makes team better.

When did the Yankees get their soul back?

I thought the Yankees sold their soul when they signed Wade Boggs.

For sure when they signed Roger Clemens the first time.

Undoubtedly, when they signed Roger Clemens the second time. Remember that hub bub? It was the end of the Universe and cats were going to start getting along with dogs.

That was just a few months ago.

So, the Yankees must have quickly gotten their soul back sometime this summer. Must have been Joba Chamberlain. But he doesn't have the soul of, say, Soul Brother Number One, Charlie Hayes. Which means the Yankees really sold their soul when they signed Scott Brosius.

Not to mention when they signed Jose Canseco. Did you know Jose Canseco has more Championship rings than Don Mattingly? More Championship rings as a member of the Yankees even.

Not to mention when they signed Jason Giambi instead of Tino Martinez. Not to mention when they signed Tino Martinez instead of Don Mattingly. Not to mention when they signed Joe Girardi instead of Mike Stanley.

Or when they kick-started free agency with the Cafish Hunter signing.

Or when Reggie Jackson insulted Thurman Munson.

Maybe when they stole Babe Ruth from the Red Sox.

Did the Yankees ever have a soul to sell?

Maybe they're just a professional sports team and Anthony Rieber is being silly.

Carlos Marmol? Never heard of him.

Them..................		Felz & His Friends
Jimmy Rollins	353	Jimmy Rollins	22
Matt Holliday	336	Matt Holliday	21
Prince Fielder	284	Prince Fielder	20
David Wright	182	Ryan Howard	19
Ryan Howard	112	David Wright	9
Chipper Jones	107	Rickey Henderson	4
Jake Peavy	97	Willie Randolph	4
Chase Utley	89	Alfonso Soriano	4
Albert Pujols	50	Chase Utley	3
Hanley Ramirez	49	Carlos Beltran	2
Eric Byrnes	43	Albert Pujols	2
Alfonso Soriano	39	Hanley Ramirez	2
Aramis Ramirez	36	Jose Reyes	2
Jose Valverde	19	Paul Lo Duca	1
Miguel Cabrera	18
Jose Reyes	16
Brandon Webb	15
Troy Tulowitzki	13
Carlos Lee	7
Adrian Gonzalez	6
Carlos Beltran	6
Brandon Phillips	3
Aaron Rowand	3
Brad Hawpe	2
Ryan Braun	2
Carlos Marmol	1

Potentially more pitching.

Making the playoffs is a "horror show":

"The New York Yankees have lost 13 of their last 17 playoff games and basically dismissed their iconic manager because of it, and they just spent nearly $400 million to put the same product back on the field, only with potentially less pitching."

Potentially more pitching is what I think you meant to say.


"Indeed, assurance and vigor have gone the way of Mystique and Aura, capricious mistresses last seen on Curt Schilling's arm."

In all seriousness, I saw them on craigslist last night. I even sent the links to my friend Jason, who probably couldn't even afford them.

2007 AL MVP.

My apologies to Mike Lowell. In my analysis of D. Wright's MVP chances, I wrongfully predicted that Lowell would not crack the top 10. Perhaps my apologies should be to the voters and not to Lowell.

Actually, why am I apologizing to people who don't even care?


I don't understand how J.J. Putz could receive more MVP points than any other pitcher while receiving zero Cy Young votes. Just a statistical oddity.


I also like the person who somehow thought Abreu was the sixth-best player in the AL. I'm not sure he's the sixth-best outfielder on the Yankees.

Them..................		Felz & His Friends
Alex Rodriguez	382	Alex Rodriguez	72
Magglio Ordonez	258	Magglio Ordonez	26
Vladimir Guerrero	203	Vladimir Guerrero	10
David Ortiz	177	David Ortiz	9
Mike Lowell	126	Jorge Posada	8
Jorge Posada	112	Mike Lowell	5
Victor Martinez	103	Curtis Granderson	2
Ichiro Suzuki	89	Grady Sizemore	1
Carlos Pena	64	Ichiro Suzuki	1
Curtis Granderson	51
Derek Jeter	17
Grady Sizemore	15
J.J. Putz	12
C.C. Sabathia	11
Torii Hunter	5
Orlando Cabrera	5
Bobby Abreu	4
John Lackey	4
Placido Polanco	4
Justin Morneau	3
Chone Figgins	3
Josh Beckett	2
Fausto Carmona	1
Frank Thomas	1

Balderdash!

"You have to ask yourself where the Yankees would have finished without A-Rod and where the Tigers would have finished without Ordonez," Hawkins said. "A-Rod had a better supporting cast than Magglio did. I know for a fact the Tigers would not have been anywhere close and certainly not in Wild Card contention without Magglio."

Let me the first to point out (ahem) that the Tigers would have probably missed the playoffs without Ordonez.


The Tigers arguably gave Magglio Ordonez a better supporting cast than the Yankees gave Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees had a better catcher than the Tigers and that's about it.

Just look at the stats and judge for yourself.

Who is the most underrated player in the AL? Granderson, Guillen, or Polanco?

2007 NL Cy Young.

Them..................		Felz & His Friends
Jake Peavy	160	Jake Peavy	40
Brandon Webb	94	Brandon Webb	23
Brad Penny	14	Brad Penny	13
Aaron Harang	10	Carlos Zambrano	7
Carlos Zambrano	3	Tom Glavine	4
Cole Hamels	2	Pedro Martinez	3
John Smoltz	2	Billy Wagner	3
Jose Valverde	2	Cole Hamels	2
Jeff Francis	1	Aaron Harang	2
		Chan Ho Park	2
		Jose Feliciano	1
		Jeff Francis	1
		Tim Hudson	1
		John Smoltz	1

Crazy Eddie unavailable for comment.

Hey, if ARod can demand approximately $280M and this action can somehow be construed as "crawling back to the Yankees," then maybe the following tidbit isn't weird:

"It's believed Mitch Modell of Yankees sponsor Modell Sporting Goods was the third party. Rodriguez and Modell were at an Orlando charity event Tuesday night with Johnny Damon, a friend of Modell's."

Clearly.

"He is an enigmatic figure in their clubhouse, clearly not a player who improves his team."

Clearly, Alex Rodriguez is not a player who improves his team.


I don't think ARod is an enigma. He's a self-centered, arrogant, alpha dog who is trying unsuccessfully to act like he's one of the fellas.

He tries unsuccessfully to act like he respects Joe Torre and Derek Jeter when he's really thinking, "Hit fitty homeruns and then you may speak with me. From now on, it's Mr. Rodriguez when you want to speak to the baddest somethin' somethin' you ever met."


Why does George Vescey even care if ARod offended the Yankees? Offended the sensibilities of Scott Boras and Hank Steinbrenner?

How is that even possible?

These are people who'd eat their children to make an extra dollar.


You know, Andrew Eugene Pettitte talked a lot about his love for the Yankees before he played for the Astros, while he played for the Astros, and after he played for the Astros.

ARod said all along he wanted to stay in NY and, though I didn't believe him for a second, it doesn't even matter. It doesn't matter how it gets done, as long as it gets done.

Sign the dotted line and then play some ball.

The rest is noise.

Why are so many people concerned with the negotiating tactics, anyway?

The Yankees should not opt out on Alex Rodriguez. Because he's a very good baseball player whose presence on their team will greatly increase their chances of winning baseball games and, ultimately, winning the World Series.

The Yankees should play Wilson Betemit at third base because ARod isn't contrite enough? Can you imagine?

These are grown men making decisions that affect a $billion corporation. These aren't middle school boys in the playground deciding who gets invited to a birthday party.

Pretty much.

"And don't give me that crap about how A-Rod would upset your club's precious chemistry. I keep reading all these comments praising the great 'chemistry' and 'teamwork' of the Boston Red Sox. Please. As if the Rockies and Indians somehow had flaws in their character, or were bad teammates simply because they didn't beat the Sox. So the Rockies won 21 of 22 games, and then got swept in the World Series because their bottle of 'chemistry' ran out? Nonsense. The Red Sox didn't win it all because their character was somehow superior to every other team's. They won because they had more talent. They won because they had better players, better pitching, and they played the best in October.

It's wonderful if every teammate is like Mike Lowell or Jason Varitek, but it's hardly necessary as long as a player produces. For crying out loud, Curt Schilling's ego is so monstrous it's an official stop on the Boston duck boat tour, while Manny has repeatedly asked to be traded. Talent matters, not personality. Chuck Knoblauch was as moody a player as there ever was, yet the Twins won a World Series and the Yankees won three straight with him in the lineup. Jack Morris was as self-involved a player as I've ever covered, and he was a cornerstone for three different World Series champs.

...

And it's not like Rodriguez is a troublemaker or a bad guy. Granted, taking his shirt off in Central Park on a sunny summer day was pretty scandalous (the nerve of that guy!). But seriously, c'mon! At worst A-Rod is like the office know-it-all who wants you to know how cool his 72-inch plasma screen looks, and how well his fantasy team is doing, and where all the cool restaurants are. But he also happens to really know his stuff, and he's able to hack into any system and write code that really, really works. You may not want to sit next to him, but you definitely want him in your office.

...

Have teams gotten better after A-Rod left? Well, that depends on how you look at it. We all took great delight trumpeting that 'fact' when the Mariners sported the best regular-season record in American League history the year after A-Rod signed with Texas [Felz note: After adding AL MVP Ichiro]. But the Mariners haven't been to the postseason since that 2001 season, finishing in last place three times. So who would Mariners fans honestly rather have at third base now? A-Rod or Adrian Beltre? Or at shortstop: A-Rod or Yuniesky Betancourt?

...

And while the Rangers did improve to 89-73 the season after they traded A-Rod, they haven't had a winning record since and landed right back in last place this year."

2007 AL Cy Young

Them..................		Felz & His Friends
C.C. Sabathia	119	Josh Beckett	49
Josh Beckett	86	C.C. Sabathia	32
John Lackey	36	John Lackey	20
Fausto Carmona	7	Chien-Ming Wang	14
Eric Bedard	1	Fausto Carmona	9
Roy Halladay	1	Johan Santana	9
Johan Santana	1	Alex Rodriguez	8
Justin Verlander	1	J.J. Putz	2
		Eric Bedard	1
		Dan Haren	1

Yes, ARod got a few Cy Young votes.

Deal with it.

Anybody remember the homerun by Leyritz? When Wohlers hung a slider and McCarver kept saying Wohlers shouldn't have thrown a slider?

Leyritz was a catcher, by the way.

Leyritz was also awaiting the throw from left field in 1995 when Griffey slid in safely with the winning run.

Just sayin'.

Posada existed later on.


In the entire 1996 season, Jorge Posada had 14 at-bats.

In the 1996 postseason, Jorge Posada had 0 at-bats.

I'm not really sure if Posada received a Championship ring for 1996. After the series is over, the players vote on it. I know for a fact that Posada was not on the Yankees roster for the 1996 World Series:

"He gets paid now by the Yankees for all of it, what he used to be and what the Yankees used to be, for being one of the last members of the Class of '96 - class in all ways - who is still here. He gets paid for the four World Series, for the tag he put on Jeremy Giambi that night in Oakland, for the thrower and the game-caller he became. He gets paid for hitting .338 at the age of 36, which is only 51 points higher than he ever hit in his life.

If Andy Pettitte decides to retire, as hard as it is to see him retiring with $16 million on the table, then it is just Posada and Mo Rivera and Derek Jeter from the World Series team of 1996."

I don't know which is more odd: The absurd notion put forth by Lupica that Posada is being paid for the memory of a 1996 World Series in which he didn't play; or the fact that Lupica may be right.

I am not really sure anymore.

The Yankees have such a strong tendency to live in the past, and the history is revised so often, that maybe Posada is actually being paid extra money because he is associated with the 1996 World Series.

In which he didn't play.

Statistical analysis has made baseball dynasties virtually impossible.

Great, great material right here:

"Baseball has changed dramatically since I began my tenure with the Yankees ... I look forward to sharing my thoughts and perspective on how the game has evolved ... In addition to sharing Torre's knowledge of the game, the authors will examine the rapidly changing baseball landscape, explaining how developments such as revenue sharing and the rise of statistical analysis have made the future existence of dynasties virtually impossible."

Torre will also manage the Los Angeles Whatchacallits in his spare time.

Nineteen Freakin' Fifty Eight.

That is when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.

Name five current pitchers from the NL West.

Is Jake Peavy left-handed or right-handed?

The San Diego baseball team is called the ___________. (Hint: When you were manager of the Yankees, you beat this team in the 1998 World Series.)

Veteran of the psychic wars.

Can you imagine the psychic break in Lupica's brain if ARod played for the Mets?

I think the Love for the Mets would win out and ARod would need to be re-imagined as a scrappy underdog.

He's no Pavano.

Never in a million years would I have thought Pettitte would turn down his option.

Unless he thinks he can get a better contract.

Maybe he can.

Heck, he could have exercised the option, collected $16M, and gone on the DL.

Obviously.

"I don't know my team, obviously," Torre said.

Name three players.

Scott Proctor doesn't count.

I am trying to think of an analogy.

Maybe Joe Gibbs?

I mean, how much better do people think Torre is compared to Grady Little?

How much different do people think Torre is compared to Grady Little?:

"What for days appeared to be another episode of reckless decisions and bungled stewardship by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt turned into the franchise's greatest coup since drafting Mike Piazza in the 62nd round 20 years ago.

The Dodgers exchanged Forrest Gump for Joe Cool."

Belichick for Yankee Manager.

Parahprahsing Bill Belichick while discussing this Sunday's game: "Nobody care about what you did three weeks ago or last year."

Meanwhile, Joe Torre is still bringing up 1996.

It's called negotiating.

You start off $100 million apart, then $70 million apart, then $10 million apart, then you act all insulted by the demand for first-class airplane tickets and box seats for his wife.

Then you sign a contract.

I doubt very much if ARod will sign a contract anywhere near $350 million. Why would another team bid against itself like Texas did seven years ago?

Overpaid underachievers ...

... like Paul O'Neill and Don Mattingly.

The USA Today salary database is probably not definitive, but it tells a story of the playoff team that Torre inherited.

Did you know the Washington Nationals had a payroll of $12 million in 1995?

Neither did they.

(I know they mean the Expos, but, c'mon.)

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

"Joe Torre, beloved in New York for converting an underachieving, high-payroll team into World Series champion, is being hired to duplicate his magic on the West Coast."

I truly don't understand why Buck Showalter, Gene Michael, Bob Watson, etc. need to be disrespected in order to praise Joe Torre.

Torre presided over several underachieving, high-payroll teams.

But the team of underachievers he supposedly "converted" was already a very good team. A playoff team, in fact.

1993: 88-74 (.543)
1994: 70-43 (.619)
1995: 79-65 (.549)

Total: 237-182 (.566)

Not 114 wins, but not a bunch of underachievers.

Also, just for the record, the 1995 Yankees were not really overpaid. Not like Abreu / Clemens / Damon / Pavano / Giambi overpaid. The team won the wild card and did not have the highest payroll in their division, at least I don't think they did. I think the Orioles had the highest payroll in the division in 1995.


"The hiring of Torre, who probably will bring along Yankees bench coach Don Mattingly, might have as big an impact on the organization as the 1998 blockbuster trade of Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins."

Bigger impact than Mike Piazza.

Sure.

Sure, they will.

I'm shocked.

Scott Boras says something obnoxious:

"The brilliant Mariano Rivera, probably the only flaw he's made in a historic career over the postseason, if he got those three outs (in the ninth inning of Game 4), Alex would have been in the World Series and he would have been held to have a great postseason."