in 1996, the Yankees had the highest payroll.

In 1999, the Yankees had the highest payroll.

In 2000, the Yankees had the highest payroll:

"Most Yankee fans are tremendous, the way most New York fans are.

But always there is this loud minority thinking they have special insights into baseball that nobody else has because, well, they're Yankee fans."

Well, let me just say that I could throw a rock and hit a random person anywhere in the world and, even if that person has never watched a baseball game in their life, that person probably has more "special insights into baseball" than Mike Lupica.


Besides, who cares?: "I think Yankee fans are obnoxious." Who cares what you think about Yankee fans?

Tell us more about Johnny Damon's haircut or "One Tree Hill," you bozo.


"Ten years ago, we were privileged to watch as magnificent a Yankee team as there has been in the whole history of the Yankees.

The '98 Yankees won 114 regular season games and then won 11 more in the playoffs, those 11 in October Reggie is always talking about, which made 125 wins in all.

And you want to know what the best part is?

They didn't lead the world in payroll that year."

No, sir, that is not the best part.

The best part is that they won 125 games in all.

You are making some odd and irrelevant moral distinction between the highest payroll and the second-highest.


Also, you are demonstrating little "special insight into baseball."

Because the 1998 Yankees wouldn't stand a chance against the 1927 Yankees.

Not that anyone was asking until you brought it up.



"The Yankees didn't need to have the highest paid guys at half the positions on the field.

Here, in fact, is the team Joe Torre had on the field for the last game of the World Series that year:

Knoblauch, Jeter, O'Neill, Bernie, Tino, Brosius, Ricky Ledee, a pitcher named Andy Pettitte and a catcher named Joe Girardi."

Bernie made $8.25M in 1998 and was the highest-paid centerfielder.

Knoblauch made $6M in 1998 and was slightly behind Roberto Alomar and Craig Biggio as the highest-paid second baseman.

David Cone made $6.7M (free agent) and was the fifth-highest-paid pitcher.

David Wells made $4.7M (free agent), Andy Pettitte made $3.8M, Tino Martinez made $4.3M, O'Neill made $5.5M, and Chili Davis made $4.3M to play DH.

Through free agency and re-negotiations, a lot of these players (Jeter, Bernie) soon made EVEN MORE MONEY.


"The foundation for that team was laid by a great general manager named Gene Michael, with the help of Buck Showalter, and it really began when George Steinbrenner was out of baseball."

True.


"Michael somehow had a vision of the future that involved more than writing checks."

Also, writing checks.

Boggs, Fielder, Key, Wetteland for starters.


"And in the next decade the Yankees won four World Series in five years.

The crazy spending didn't begin until the Yankees stopped winning the Series."

Is that so?

After the 1999 season, I distinctly recall the Yankees paying Jeter a back-loaded contract which averages $20M per season. Then, I am pretty sure the Yankees won the World Series in 2000.

In 2000, David Cone was paid $12M to win 4 games. The Twins' entire payroll was under $16M.

In 2000, the Yankees paid Jose Canseco $3M to jog to the mound after the game to congratulate the other players on the team.

Because the Yankees were all about efficiency and that is how they won.


The Yankees have been very successful since the 2000 season.

Three 100-win seasons, two World Series appearances, nine playoff appearances in ten seasons, unbelievable attendance, enormous revenue, and, most importantly, a valuation of the franchise to over $1 billion.

The investment in payroll has paid off big time.

Unless you only care about winning the World Series.

Unless you're the type of fan Lupica describes thusly:

"These are the ones who think that the earth hasn't been spinning properly because the Yankees haven't won the World Series in eight years."

Lupica sounds exactly like one of these arrogant, foolish fans who expect the Yankees to win the World Series every year.

Lupica is not only a fool, he's a hypocrite.

The time value of money.

A couple of things to keep in mind as you read about the Yankees' free agent signings:

1) The Yankees didn't just write a check for $180 million and give it to Mark Teixeira. This money will be paid over 8 years. By the time the contract expires, Teixeira will be a bargain and the 50th highest-paid player in baseball. David Wright will be paid $35M in the year 2017.

Eight years ago, Albert Belle* was the highest-paid player in baseball and he got paid what Julio Lugo got paid in 2008.

* When I first wrote that, I thought I was exaggerating, but then I looked it up on baseball-reference.com and that is actually quite close to the truth. Belle was paid $12.9M in 2000 and Lugo was paid $9.25M in 2008.

2) $420 million is not really "almost" $500 million.

It's 84% of $500 million.

If 84%= 100%, then the Dow Jones Industrial Average is still at 10,000, this country is not in a recession, and Bernie Madoff's clients are not killing themselves.

If 84% = 100%, then the Yankees won 106 games last season.

Yankees cut payroll, part 2.

"For months we heard about how the Yankees are going to spend less, throw money around less, hand out fewer blank checks. We heard about how the Yankees are now on some kind of a budget. Apparently that meant an imaginary one."

They are spending less if you subtract the salaries of Giambi, Mussina, Pettitte, Abreu, and Pavano.

Since these contracts have expired, the accompanying salaries may be subtracted.

I apologize if I'm going too fast for you. Subtraction is a component of an area of personal expertise known as Advanced Calculus.


But that's hardly the point. Use your brain when Cashman says he's going to cut salary. It's a meaningless statement and it would be a foolish business decision.


"The Yankees are big business. They've been that way for the better part of three decades, ... "

For the better part of ten decades.


" ...and the notion that they would be anything but big business this year - the year a billion-dollar stadium opens, the year after they missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993, the year George Steinbrenner's sons officially took control of the team - is as ridiculous as when the Yankees say they've done everything by the book when it comes to paying for their brand-new ballpark."

Right.

So why is everybody shocked?

You spend $1 billion on a new Stadium and $160 million on payroll. You're going to spend the additional $22.5 million to help ensure you make the playoffs.

Of course, there are no guarantees. Start with injuries.

The Yankees still don't have too much depth, but the number five starter could be a combination of Hughes, Kennedy, Aceves, and Cook.

Each dollar they spend is going to have diminishing return.

But there is no reason for the Yankees to be penny wise and pound foolish.


"A year ago, the Yankees were talking about their kids. Young, cheap kids who were going to be the cornerstone of the franchise for years to come. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain were the pitchers of the future, and Robinson Cano was a stud second baseman, worthy of the long-term deal the Yankees gave him even though they hardly ever buy out players who are still in their arbitration years."

Hughes, Cano, and Joba will probably pay off in the short-term and in the long-term. There is a very good chance these three players will be cornerstones of the franchise for years to come.

Of course, a year ago, these young players were surrounded by $15+ million contracts in left field, right field, shortstop, third base, first base, catcher, DH, pitcher, pitcher, and closer.


So, here's the drill since the early '70s:

1. Free agents become available.
2. Yankees (and other teams) act disinterested and claim poverty.
3. Yankees (and other teams) overpay for the free agents.
4. The populace acts outraged and shocked.

If you are outraged, that's your personal demeanor.

If you are shocked, you are a fool.

Yankees cut payroll.

"Sometimes it seems as if the Yankees inhabit some alternate reality, a bizarro universe in which the AL East race is not a competition among ballclubs but among bankbooks, one in which the recession doesn't exist, unemployment has been eradicated and depression is a word for shrinks, not sharks.

For them, it's always a bull market, money is plentiful, credit is readily available and cheap, and the World Series is not something to be played but purchased."

This "bizarro universe" has been around since before Wallace Matthews was born.

The annual fake outrage is a bit tiring.


"Obviously, they haven't noticed that unemployment is way, way up, wages are way, way down and morale among American workers is lower than Eddie Gaedel's strike zone."

I'm an American worker and my morale was just raised.

Wheee!

Go Yankees!


Timely Eddie Gaedel reference, by the way.

1951: What a year. That was right in the smack dab in the middle of the Yankees' six straight World Championships.

Yeah, Eddie Gaedel from the good ol' days. Before free agency. When the Yankees used the reserve clause and strong arm tactics to buy their Championships.


"Or that the enemy they always seem to be fighting, the Red Sox, is not the one they should fear.

...

Except that Boston is no longer the enemy and money is no longer the answer - if, in fact, it ever really was.

While the dinosaurs of the division were sleeping, the Tampa Bay Rays shot past both of them. The Rays return in 2009 a year older, a year more experienced, a year better. But not a penny more expensive. Unlike the Yankees, they win baseball games the old-fashioned way - on the field, not on the balance sheet."

What an odd thing to say.

I think the Red Sox will be competitive, probably for a longer time than the Rays.

Also, the Yankees got better. For their own sake. It wasn't just so they could beat the Red Sox. It was so they could beat all the other teams, too.


By the way, the Rays will lose because their young players will become eligible for free agency and then the Rays won't be able to afford them. A few years near the top of the standings will cost them high draft picks. Throw in a disinterested fan base and I think the Red Sox have more staying power.


"But no one could have imagined the kind of shameless shopping spree the Yankees have been on this month - $161 million for CC Sabathia, $82.5 million for A.J. Burnett and a reported $180 million for Teixeira - at a time when more than 10 million Americans are out of work and another 4 million might join them in 2009."

I'm someone, and I imagined this.

I would have been very surprised had the Yankees not signed Teixeira.


"After winning four of five World Series between 1996 and 2000 with relatively modestly financed rosters built around pitching, timely hitting and skilled role players, the Yankees went big-ticket with the likes of Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Carl Pavano, Johnny Damon, etc., etc.

They have won nothing since."

Matthews wasn't whining when the Yankees traded for Clemens after winning 114 games in 1998? Was Clemens a role player?

The 114-win team sparked all this luxury tax stuff. "The Baseball Universe is coming to an end. Only six teams are going to exist!"

The 1996-2000 Yankee teams were hardly "modestly financed." They were built around highly-priced free agents. (I think Baltimore had the highest payroll in 1996, but the Yankees the rest of the time.)

Why all the hand-wringing and revisionist history every time the Yankees sign a big-ticket free agent?

Why does it make Wallace Matthews feel better to pretend Paul O'Neill was a role player or Tino Martinez and David Wells were Yankee farmhands?

How come I know more than Peter Gammons and Buster Olney?

All this talk about gaping holes being filled reminds me of Pettitte and Clemens.

"Tired of waiting for the Yankees to make a move, the Brewers killed the proposed deal for Mike Cameron Wednesday, leaving a gaping hole in center field in the Bronx.

Could that hole be filled indirectly by Manny Ramirez?"

No.

Because Manny Ramirez doesn't play center field.

Thanks for asking.

Besides, I'm not sure if Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera/Johnny Damon are really enormous gaping holes in center field.

A GM said ...

Good news for Yankee fans:

"I think [the Red Sox are] in the lead and ahead of where everyone else is right now," the GM said. "I'm not sure who's bidding against them at this point."

I say the Yankees blow Teixeira away with an offer he can't refuse.

Sixteen years and $800 million.

Sportswriting reaches its nadir.

Peter Abraham gets a chance to reunite with his daddy:

"Were it up to Joe Torre, the Winter Meetings would be in Las Vegas every year. The manager of the Dodgers arrived early with a large group of friends in tow and embraced the scene. The Torre posse - think 'Entourage' for the AARP set - stayed at the luxurious Wynn Las Vegas and enjoyed the best of food, wine and cigars.

'We fight over whether we're going to shoot craps or bet horses,' Torre said. 'It's a trip for the boys.' "

Really? You weren't discussing the importance of starting pitching depth? You weren't analyzing Jeff Kent's batting average on balls in play in 2008?

I understand.

No better place to get away from baseball than the baseball winter meetings.

"Yankees manager Joe Girardi, conversely, looked pained every second he was there. Girardi doesn't smoke, drink or gamble. He barely touched the rich chocolate dessert served at the annual managers' luncheon on Wednesday."

The rich chocolate dessert which ended up in Peter Abraham's coat pocket.

I've got an offer for you ...

$9.50 an hour to wash Joba's towels.

If you refuse this offer, your photograph goes up in every ticket booth.

You won't be allowed into the Stadium with a ticket.

Yeah, but ...

"After that, the Yankees and their fans will expect nothing less than greatness. If he delivers anything less than a championship, if he doesn't win big in October, he will be deemed a failure.

...

That challenge eventually destroyed Chuck Knoblauch and confounded Roger Clemens for most of two seasons."

Chuck Knoblauch won one ring before he joined the Yankees and then three rings in his first three seasons with the Yankees.

Chuck Knoblauch's teams are 13-1 in playoff series.

Olney somehow concludes that October failures eventually destroyed Knoblauch.


Clemens won two rings in his first two seasons with the Yankees.

The next year, Clemens won the Cy Young Award.

Seems like smooth sailing to me, other than gratuitous criticisms from dopey sports columnists.


Perhaps the lesson is, if Sabathia feels too much pressure, he ought to soothe his nerves by taking lots and lots of steroids.


"It's a challenge that still seems to gnaw at Alex Rodriguez."

Most likely, the lack of a ring gnaws at ARod.

Didn't seem to bother Mussina, though, did it? Or Fan Favorite/Steroid Abuser Jason Giambi. Or Chien-Ming Wang and his 14,000.00 post-season ERA; or Matsui; or Abreu.

In fact, for the past half-a-decade, only one Yankee player gets blamed.

I was at a game where Giambi caught a pickoff throw from the catcher, spun to tag the ghost baserunner who was not there because he was already running toward second base. Giambi then threw the ball out of the shortstop's reach. Giambi was paid $22 million last year, or something like that. Giambi didn't get booed that day.

You know who got booed. In fact, ARod didn't even play that day. He was booed when he appeared on the Diamond Vision telling the fans to watch out for foul balls.

Hey, everybody! A sportswriter says something stupid!

"And so far Sabathia hasn't been much better than A-Rod as a postseason performer, 2-3 with a 7.92 in five October starts, four for the Indians and one for the Brewers."

A lot worse than ARod, you mean.

Of course, as everybody knows, Sabathia pitched, like, 50 straight complete games for the Brewers down the stretch, all on two days' rest, and was simply wiped out by the time the playoffs started.


"Of course, he also showed great heart and toughness for the Brewers after being traded last season, carrying them to the playoffs with dominant pitching throughout August and September, the last few starts on three-days' rest after an injury to Ben Sheets left Sabathia as the Brewers' only hope.

In fact, some scouts and executives dismiss his poor Game 1 in the playoffs against the Phillies that saw him give up five runs in 3 2/3 innings, believing all the extra innings and short rest finally caught up with him in October."

Of course.


One more thing: Can the Yankees actually get to the playoffs before we start evaluating the playoff performances?

Attention to detail is the foundation of journalism

The New York Daily News polls its readers. Nice work, fellas:

How many games will C.C. win for the Yankees in 2009?

0-5 4%
5-10 4%
10-15 18%
15-18 36%
18-20 2 7%
more than 20 12%

I think C.C. [sic] will win exactly 15 games.

So I voted twice.

Because I think he will win both 10-15 games and 15-20 games.

The biggest fraud in baseball.

Cash in with a stupid GM while you can:

"A far better way to measure a reliever’s value is a statistic called Win Probability Added, which compares a team’s chances of winning a game before a pitcher takes the mound to the same figure once he departs. So the closer who protects the three-run lead in the ninth is credited with only 0.035 wins — the difference between the 96.5 percent likelihood of victory when he entered and the 100 percent when he left — while the setup man keeping a game tied in the eighth gets 0.113 wins, for increasing his team’s odds of victory from 36.5 percent to 47.8 percent.

Rodríguez’s 3.33 W.P.A. was only the fourth best among American League closers last year, trailing Mariano Rivera, Joakim Soria and Bobby Jenks."

I don't need Win Probability Added to know that K-Rod is not the best closer in the AL.

The End of Logic.

"It would probably cost the Mets $20-22 million a year for five years, but they are getting $25 million a year for 20 years from Citigroup, which is getting $45 billion from our wonderful government. Call it a Federal Bailout of the Mets."

Either Manny is worth that much money or he is not.

The value of the product is not determined by the source of the funding.

The Mets can probably afford to pay Manny $22M, and it's likely a good idea. But that's also $22M in opportunity cost -- like an entire bullpen.


"I know Manny laid down at times last year because he was unhappy about his contract status (just ask Mariano Rivera and every member of the Red Sox), but there are a lot of people who believe Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado did the same thing because they were unhappy with Willie Randolph."

So Manny's negative is no longer a negative because Reyes and Delgado share the same negative.


I love logic. This guy stumbled into the right answer and can't give a good reason why.

It's not even really that difficult to figure out why Manny is worth it: He hits good.

Took you long enough.

"If Pettitte signs elsewhere, regardless of the dollar figure, he should be viewed as a world-class phony forever around here.
...

In his moment of need, when it was revealed Pettitte was both a liar and cheater, the Yankees stood by him last season. At that time, Pettitte was only too happy to say the Yankees were the only team he ever wanted to play for any more. He did not say he only wanted to play for the Yankees unless they offer him a paycut.The Yanks have indeed offered that cut. Pettitte made $16 million last year and, according to sources, he was offered $10 million to return in 2009. So far, Pettitte has rejected that bid while his camp has done nothing to dispel reports linking him to Joe Torre and the Dodgers."

Good article, but it's five years late.

Awww, shucks.

This guy's a trip:

"Before seducing free-agent CC Sabathia with a six-year, $140 million pitch, the Yankees made an offer to Pettitte. The offer was less than the $16 million the 36-year-old left-hander made last year, when he was 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 starts.

...

Nevertheless, the Yankees received word that Pettitte didn't want to take a pay cut."

So he's going to go play for the Dodgers and blame Steinbrenner again.

Did Roger Clemens give you permission to do this?

2008 AL MVP.

Love the vote for Jason Bartlett, a player with 48 runs scored and 37 runs batted in. That's for the entire season, and he wasn't a pitcher.

Them		Us
Dustin Pedroia	317	Dustin Pedroia	20
Justin Morneau	257	Josh Hamilton	19
Kevin Youkilis	201	Justin Morneau	16
Joe Mauer	188	Kevin Youkilis	12
Carlos Quentin	160	Carlos Quentin	6
Francisco Rodriguez	143	Miguel Cabrera	4
Josh Hamilton	112	Alex Rodriguez	4
Alex Rodriguez	45	Joe Mauer	3
Carlos Pena	44
Grady Sizemore	42
Evan Longoria	38
Cliff Lee	24
Miguel Cabrera	17
Vladimir Guerrero	16
Jermaine Dye	14
Aubrey Huff	12
Milton Bradley	9
Jason Bartlett	6
Mike Mussina	3
Raul Ibanez	1
Ian Kinsler	1
Ichiro Suzuki	1
Mark Teixeira	1

Fielding Statistics.

"But Abreu will be 35 when next season starts and his range in right field has become glacial. The video scouts at Baseball Info Solutions charted every play this season. On six occasions, Abreu allowed a ball to deflect off the wall over his head, allowing a runner (or runners) to take extra bases. That was tied with overrated Pirates center fielder Nate McLouth for the most in baseball."

Right field at Yankee Stadium compared to center field at PNC Park.

314 feet compared to 590 feet.

It was Pettitte or me.

"Country singer Mindy McCready claims she broke off her relationship with Roger Clemens when the former baseball star wouldn’t marry her ..."

I think Pedroia will win AL MVP.

I think Youkilis will be second.

I didn't do much research. Just a hunch.

According to Tom Singer, the favorites are Francisco Rodriguez and Josh Hamilton.

I think one of these so-called "favorites" will not crack the top five.

As for the lunacy of Rodriguez's MVP qualifications:

"K-Rod had a hand -- or, rather, a right arm -- in almost two out of every three Angels wins."

Pedroia scored 118 runs and played in almost every game.


"His record of 62 saves wasn't the result of greater use -- he appeared in a similar number of games each of the prior four seasons."
We agree. It was just a statistical fluke because his team happened to play in a lot of close games. His save% was under 90%, if I remember correctly.

"Rather, as manager Mike Scioscia pointed out, it was owed to the amazing number of situations begging for his specialty that presented themselves."

Statistical fluke.


"The Angels won 63 games by one or two runs; K-Rod saved 51 of them, and he picked up the victory in two others."

No mention of the blown saves or the losses.


"No one else in the league, obviously, has directly affected as many team wins."

Dustin Pedroia scored 118 runs and played in almost every game.

"By definition, no one else has been as valuable."

True.

Except for Pedroia, Youkilis, Hamilton, A-Rod, Mariano, Mussina, Mauer, Morneau, Sizemore, Bradley, Kinsler, Ordonez, Cabrera, Quentin, and probably Carlos Pena, too.

2008 NL MVP.

Wow.

Not much divergence this year in the "Them vs. Us" awards voting.

Them		Us
Albert Pujols	369	Albert Pujols	32
Ryan Howard	308	Ryan Howard	28
Ryan Braun	139	Lance Berkman	6
Manny Ramirez	138	Ryan Braun	6
Lance Berkman	126	Manny Ramirez	5
CC Sabathia	121	David Wright	5
David Wright	115	Chipper Jones	3
Brad Lidge	104	Hanley Ramirez	3
Carlos Delgado	96	Matt Holliday	2
Aramis Ramirez	66	Jose Reyes	1
Hanley Ramirez	55
Chipper Jones	44
Geovany Soto	41
Johan Santana	30
Chase Utley	30
Ryan Ludwick	17
Brandon Webb	14
Adrian Gonzalez	13
Matt Holliday	13
Prince Fielder	11
Derrek Lee	10
Carlos Beltran	10
Tim Lincecum	9
Jose Reyes	3
Jose Valverde	3
Stephen Drew	2
Nate McClouth	1

Peter Gammons uses the word "juxtapose."

"Yet the logic behind Hank Steinbrenner's announcement of the offer could be to scare others away.

But scaring people won't happen. Sabathia is in no rush. He went to a high school football game outside Houston on Saturday with Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson and other friends. And whether Steinbrenner realizes it or not, Sabathia will give the West Coast teams every opportunity to make him an offer that his family lifestyle cannot refuse. Signing him will take a while.

Sabathia is fascinated by the Dodgers and the Angels, and knowing the Dodgers are in it offers him the chance to make due diligence on his opportunities for his financial and familial futures. It's clear this weekend, as he relaxes with friends, that he isn't stirred up by the immediate frenzy."

After reading this, I'm even more convinced that Sabathia will be a Yankee.

My bold prediction.

CC will sign with the Yankees.

2008 AL Cy Young.

Them		Us
Cliff Lee	132	Cliff Lee	44
Roy Halladay	71	Roy Halladay	18
Francisco Rodriguez	32	Francisco Rodriguez	9
Daisuke Matsuzaka	10	Mike Mussina	7
Mariano Rivera	3	Daisuke Matsuzaka	5
Mike Mussina	2	Mariano Rivera	3
Ervin Santana	2	Joe Nathan	1
		Ervin Santana	1

2008 NL Cy Young.

Them		Us
Tim Lincecum	137	Tim Lincecum	33
Brandon Webb	73	Johan Santana	20
Johan Santana	55	Brandon Webb	20
Brad Lidge	10	CC Sabathia	15
CC Sabathia	9	Ryan Dempster	2
Ryan Dempster	4	Eric Gagne	1

Compare and Contrast, Election Edition.

Harry Carson, Giants Hall of Famer:

"I voted for Barack Obama at 7:30 this morning. ... I've always taken voting seriously because people died to give me the right to vote."

Chris (Mad Dog) Russo, Sirius XM sports radio:

"I voted for McCain. Tough call. Eenie-meenie-miney-moe thing."

Errr ...

How about no?

Teams that got rid of Bob Abreu: 1.

Teams with Bob Abreu: 0.

Best Player in Baseball 0-for-Series.

But he's definitely clutch. He's the kind of player you build a Championship Team around.

Tampa is too tight. I mean, too relaxed. I can't keep track.

They lost one game, and they even almost won:

"And yet there comes a point at which relaxation runs into complacency, where one loss turns into two and then three and four, and then the inherent flaw in their thinking – espoused by Bob Marley – gets exposed: Every little thing isn’t gonna be all right."

I must say that the Rays are definteily in trouble in the 2008 World Series if they lose four games. It's happened to other teams in World Series over the years. One loss turns into two and then three and four.

As for the Rays/Bob Marley attitude problem ... I can't follow the logic. Read that sentence again and try if you want to lose your mind.

It was like Marciano vs. Schmeling.

The Red Sox are like an aging champion boxer with a steel jaw who got up from the canvas, but the Rays are like a young boxer who got in the final punch.

A knockout punch.

A jab here, an uppercut there.

Finally, a knockout punch.


Dear Lord, that was awful.

Expect to see it in a Lupica article tomorrow morning.

Manny Ramirez is a good baseball player.

"All those who seem to think that the Red Sox wouldn't have fallen into the hole they did against the Rays if Manny Ramirez were still around must have done everything except actually watch the Red Sox season."

As if Lupica watches baseball games.

Or maybe they're watching the games and noticing that Big Papi is hitting about .100 without the "protection" of Manny.

"So now they want to ignore the way the team played in August and September once Ramirez was gone.

They want to ignore how the team actually scored more runs once he was gone."

I think you mean to say more runs-per-game once he was gone. It's impossible to know how many runs they would have scored if they'd kept Manny.

Jason Bay is good. Manny Ramirez is better.

In 53 games with the Dodgers, Ramirez hit .396 with 53 RBIs. The relative performance of the Red Sox offense during that time doesn't diminish this.

"Mostly, they wanted to ignore the fact that the Red Sox wouldn't have even been playing the Tampa Bay Rays if Jason Bay, the guy who replaced Ramirez in left field at Fenway, didn't play the way he did against the Angels in the first round, all the way to scoring the winning run in Game 4."

In the first round of the playoffs vs. Chicago, Ramirez was 5-for-10 with 2 HRs and 4 walks.

He was even better in the second round of the playoffs.

I say WS MVP Manny and the Sox would have found a way to beat the Angels.

Do you ever wonder what would have happened if Torre was 1-5 in his first six playoff series?

"That game the Red Sox won, coming from 7-0 behind?

There was a time when Torre's Yankees won like that."

Not to get all technical on you, but ... no.

In fact, those teams never gave up 7 runs.

"Incidentally, do you ever wonder what would have happened with the Yankees if they had just let A-Rod go?"

I think about it a lot.

The answer is easy. Fourth place, if not fifth place.

But you need to be more specific. When?

If Lupica is talking about letting ARod go before the '07 season, then one good thing could have come out of it. It would have been the end of Torre's playoff streak.

You know, Joe Torre: The 21st Century version of Bobby Cox.

Personally, I will miss you.

"Two days later, Dodgers manager Joe Torre was still being second-guessed about the way he used his bullpen in Game 4 of the NL championship series.

No problem, he said."

He will not answer one question directly.


" 'This time of year, it's not unusual,' Torre said Wednesday before Game 5. 'Everybody who's a baseball fan always has an idea of what you should do, which is great. It goes with the territory.' "

Not interested in your mental well being. Only interested in why you burned up three lefties while Matt Stairs was still on Philly's bench.


" 'You don't base decisions on, "What am I going to say?" You make decisions based on trying to win a game.' "

Right.

So why did you take out Derek Lowe so early?


" 'If there are things I have to answer for, so be it.' "

Still waiting for you to answer.


" 'The thing I was surprised about was all the Derek Lowe stuff,' Torre said. 'We had a two-run lead entering the eighth. I'll take that every day of the week. We got the lead (in the bottom of the fifth). It was a long inning.' "

You still haven't answered the question.

As for the two-run lead entering the eighth, I'm sure the Phillies were happy with a two-run lead exiting the ninth.


" 'I had no second thoughts about what happened the other day,' Torre said. 'It's a lot worse to second-guess yourself.' "

Nice.

Lesson learned.

Never second-guess yourself.

Meanwhile, I'm willing to bet that Torre had no idea that Matt Stairs was on the Phillies.

Current Events.

"A game-losing, series-altering gopher ball by a pitcher who hadn't served up a home run in his home ballpark in so long, the Dow has dropped about 5,000 points since then?"

The Dow dropped 5,000 points since ... noon?


"A game-tying homer by the biggest villain in town, a fellow who is about as popular in Los Angeles these days as gas prices?"

Gas prices are the lowest they've been in about a year.

Torre loves Manny Ramirez more than he loves Derek Jeter.

Jeter got hit about 1,000 times when Torre was his manager. I think he actually led the league. Torre never retaliated.

I remember when Ken Huckaby dislocated Jeter's shoulder and Roger Clemens may have even been pitching for the Yankees. Torre didn't retaliate.

One time, as a member of the Red Sox, Manny hit a HR off Scott Proctor and admired it at home plate for about fifteen minutes. Torre said he didn't see it because he was watching the ball.

Now, with the Dodgers, Manny gets buzzed once and Torre retaliates.

Even if the batter the Dodgers chose is 5' 2" and weighs 90 pounds.


So, Torre finally grows a pair.

I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.

I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or calm myself down with a nice, delicious cup of green tea.

So order your pitchers to hit one batter. Just one.

I'm so pleased this has suddenly become a national news story:

"Torre said it wasn't about intimidation or retaliation. It was about establishing the outside part of the plate by showing a willingness to throw inside and keep opposing hitters honest."

What's wrong with intimidation and retaliation?


"He cited a well-known pitcher Torre often caught."

I'll give you three guesses:

• Bob Gibson.
• Bob Gibson.
• Bob Gibson.
  

" 'People remember Bob Gibson and they say he pitched inside,' Torre said. 'Really, he pitched away. But he made you conscious [inside] because he didn't want you diving over the plate. It's sketchy sometimes, the way umpires make more of it. It's the way the game has changed.' When asked specifically about a pitcher protecting his hitters, Torre said, 'We're all in this thing together. We're a team and we have to make sure we're there for each other.' "

We have to make sure we're there for each other. We also have to make sure we drink a lot of green tea.

I am so smart. I am so smart. I am so s-m-a-r-t.

"The fifth pitch, Russell Martin was knocked down by a Brett Myers fastball.

The eighth pitch, Manny Ramirez was tilted backward by another Myers fastball.

The ninth pitch, Ramirez was greeted with a Myers fastball that sailed three feet behind his head, braids included.

Nine pitches, three messages, and the Philadelphia Phillies couldn't have been more clear if they had painted it across Joe Torre's brow.

We don't fear you. We won't bend for you. What are you going to do about it?

After nearly four hours Friday, with their hitters waiting and their coaches wondering, Dodgers pitchers meekly submitted an answer.

Nothing."

First of all, the Dodgers forcefully responded. I saw Don Mattingly on TV. He was in the dugout, yelling at Myers. "Hey, quit it. You stop doing that." Or something to that effect.


" 'They kept pitching us hard and inside all night,' Matt Kemp said Friday night, shaking his head.

Asked whether Dodgers pitchers should retaliate, he sighed and said, 'It is what it is. But if we played the game like they played the last two games, we'd be all right.'

...

When Ramirez was asked about it, he actually complimented the nutty, gritty Phillies pitcher.

'I want to have a guy like that on my team,' he said.

Hint, hint."

Look, if Torre actually instructs his pitcher to retaliate, it would be the first time.

Torre is too classy, don't you know?

When Joba Chamberlain was being eaten alive by bugs on the mound in Cleveland ... in the most important game of the year ... Torre didn't pull his team from the field. Torre didn't kick the umpire in the nuts. Torre didn't even complain. It would be unseemly.

The Dodger players don't understand. This isn't about them. It's about Torre. He has a reputation to uphold.

If I were you, I'd learn to duck.

No more steroids = no more clutch.

David Ortiz has gone about 50 postseason at-bats without a home run.

A Red Sox player is Lupica's MVP. Twenty-fifth year in a row.

"Brad Lidge, the Phillies' closer, won't win the MVP award in the National League.

But he ought to."

No, he ought not.

Though it's a more compelling argument than K-Rod in the AL.

I also have to give Lupica credit for turning his back on Billy Wagner. It must be difficult to say goodbye to the ones you love.


"And Kevin Youkilis, who can play first or third base for the Red Sox, who bats cleanup for the Red Sox now that Manny doesn't, is MVP of the American League."

My favorite moment of the baseball season occurred in last night's ALCS Game Two.

Eighth inning, tie game runners on first and second, Youkilis batting.

6-4-3 DP.

But I know it wasn't a choke. It couldn't be a choke. Because Youk doesn't choke. He just doesn't. Look at his beard and look at the dirt on his uniform.

Torre, I get ...

Why would the Yankees or their fans care about Manny Ramirez?

Hardball.

I'm surprised nobody is seeing the easy way to beat the Dodgers. Peg Manny in the back the first time he bats. Then, the second time he bats. Every time, if necessary.

Torre won't retaliate -- he never does.

Manny won't retaliate -- we know that.

What are they going to do? Peg Ryan Howard? Go ahead.

Howard won't charge the mound. He will smile and slowly walk towards the mound, casting aside Dodger players until he reaches the pitcher. Then, Howard will reach into the pitcher's chest, pull out the pitcher's heart and eat it.

Torre should run for President.

I'm too classy to say "I told ya so," but, "I told ya so":

“I didn’t necessarily feel I needed to vindicate myself, I just wanted to see if I could do it somewhere else."

I didn't necessarily feel I needed to vindicate myself, I just wanted to vindicate myself.


“It wasn’t that I was looking to get out of New York. I just felt it was time to leave because it wasn’t as comfortable.”

It wasn't that I was looking to get out of New York, I just felt it was time to get out of New York.

Now we're getting somewhere.

"The Division Series between the Angels and the Red Sox ended, appropriately enough, with Jason Bay, who had toiled in obscurity as a Pirate, scoring on a base hit by Jed Lowrie, a rookie who'd been called up after only 40 games in Triple-A.

These men were strangers to playoff baseball. But then, so what?

The time has come to expose the great ruse of October: postseason experience.

Who needs it?"

Most sportswriters are lazy, shortsighted, and unimaginative. They use meaningless criteria like "playoff experience" because it is easier than thinking.

"I don't care what the sabermetric geeks do with their calculators; the heroically clutch athlete — the one who elevates his game under pressure — is the foundation of all sportswriting."

Right.

"Clutch" is probably the only lazy cliche more hackneyed than "playoff experience."


Kriegel brings up an interesting observation, however.

The "heroically clutch athlete" probably is the foundation of all sportswriting. I agree. All lazy, shortsighted, and unimaginative sportswriting.

Not the foundation of sports success.

Not the foundation of enjoyable sports viewing.

Just the foundation for hack writers looking for a storyline.

Are you being serious?

"Counting the playoffs, Sabathia has thrown 513 innings over the last two seasons. Whoever signs him will dismiss that and talk about what a good athlete he is for his size. But that’s a lot of innings. Make a list of all the long-term contracts for free-agent starters that worked out well. Let’s see there’s … um … Mike Mussina."

Hi, I'm a baseball writer and I've never heard of Randy Johnson (four Cy Young Awards in a row), Greg Maddux, or Roger Clemens.

Or does he mean recent Yankee free agent pitchers only?

You've still got David Cone, David Wells, and Jimmy Key.

It's like boxing. You're like boxing. Everything is boxing.

Mike Lupica writes about politics in America!:

"When [McCain] tries to throw a big punch, Obama slips it in the elegant way Ali used to, slips it and moves away and then jabs back and keeps piling up points."

As long as McCain isn't being compared to Gerry Cooney, I think we've successfully avoided any unnecessary racial overtones.

Still, I don't even think that's how Ali used to fight. Maybe Sugar Ray Leonard.


"Every time it happens, McCain looks a little more dazed and confused, to the point where even a lightweight like Palin starts to look as if she has a better sense of who she is than the guy at the top of the ticket ..."

Kind of like Boom Boom Mancini.


"... a notion that is frankly scarier than all 'Friday the 13th' movies combined."

Even scarier than all "Friday the 13th" movies? Combined?

That is really, really, really gosh darned scary.

All the "Friday the 13th" movies ... combined!

Not as scary as watching all the "Friday the 13th" movies back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back.

But all the "Friday the 13th" combined in one compact singularity of scariness.

Can you imagine such a scary thing?

That's how unbelievably scary it is that lightweight Sarah Palin starts to look as if she has a better sense of herself than John McCain does of himself.

I mean, "Friday the 13th Part VIII, Jason Takes Manhattan" was SO SCARY by itself, that I actually crapped in my pants while I was watching it.

Imagine how scary it would be when COMBINED with the other EIGHT "Friday the 13th" movies.

My goodness.

A wordsmith like Mike Lupica can really sends chills down my spine.

A modern-day Poe if there ever was one.

Tough Crowd.

Ladies and Germs, your entertainment for the evening, Mike Lupica!:

"But they all keep acting as if Ramirez was magically transported into Tinsel Town on angels' wings.

Not the Anaheim Angels, of course."

I said, not the Anaheim Angels, of course.

Sheesh, tough crowd.

How about a boxing metaphor?:

"Another first-round defeat for our $200 million kids when they won the first game of a five-game series and then went down as easily as Michael Spinks did one time against Mike Tyson."

Michael Spinks?

So, you're trying to elucidate a baseball playoffs series that occurred one year ago by comparing it to a long-forgotten boxing match that took place, I don't know, twenty-five years ago? Twenty years ago?

Not for nothing, but the team that was "knocked out" by the Red Sox in 2004 keeps winning 90 games or more and usually make the playoffs.

Spinks retired that night.

So, your metaphor is not only confusing and esoteric, it's not relevant.

Good work.

Klap on, Klap off.

Very cool to name your awards the Klappies.

Oh, by the way, Bob: Do you spoon Joe Torre much?:

"MANAGER OF THE YEAR, NL: Joe Torre, Dodgers.

Enjoying the ultimate 'Take that' to the Steinbrenner family, although Joe Cool won’t gloat. His cool, calm demeanor was exactly the elixir the Dodgers needed."

1. The ultimate "take that" would be winning the World Series.

2. Joe Cool gloats every chance he gets. You just have to read between the lines. Because he's never forthright enough to speak the direct truth.

3. While playing in one of the worst divisions in MLB history, the Dodgers were only able to win 84 games.


"WEASEL OF THE YEAR: Hank Steinbrenner

Or whoever in the front office was responsible for keeping Torre’s name from being mentioned during the Stadium’s closing ceremonies. No excuse for such an obvious slap."

I was going to say Andy Pettitte for taking human growth hormone, lying about it, lying about it again, getting his family involved, and then tanking in the second half of the season.

All the while stealing $17 million from the Steinbrenners.

Of course, my vision extends beyond Joe Torre.


"ON THE WAY DOWN (Yankees): Joe Girardi.

Seeing flecks of grey in that state trooper crew cut."

Won 89 games, clearly improved as the season continued, and also compelled his team to close out the season strong, which at least displayed professionalism and cohesiveness.

So, Giradi is on the way up.

But he's not Joe Torre ... so Klapisch doesn't like him.


"LAST LAUGH AWARD: Joe Torre.

For all the obvious reasons."

So ... you created an entirely new Klappie Award ... just so you could mention Joe Torre again.

Bottom line.

I can be a bottom line, serious-minded, results-oriented guy.

The Yankees won 89 games this season, missed the playoffs, and will not win the World Series.

Girardi was disappointing. His bullpen management was excellent, and that's probably the aspect of the game where a manager can have the most impact. He did not discipline Cano and Melky enough. I think he was trying too hard to ease the Torre transition when he should have sought a clean break. An occasional awkward platoon decision, but nothing too bizarre:

"Asked about his relationship with the media, Girardi said: 'I think it’s pretty good. I think I’m comfortable with the media and the media is comfortable with me. You take away (the injury issue) and I think it’s outstanding.' "

Outstanding? Meanwhile, Cashman said several times yesterday, including on WFAN, that Girardi needs to improve how he deals with the press because it’s important in the New York market. Forget what I think, that’s the GM talking."

Let's say Girardi answered every press question perfectly this season. He was forthright, he was entertaining, he was avuncular, he was always available.

He even had charming anecdotes about ex-ballplayers and he remembered the name and birthday of every reporter's spouse.

How many games would the Yankees have won?

I say 89.

So explain why it's important in the New York market.

Just because Brian Cashman says so?

Cashman is the guy who's now explaining how Hughes + Kennedy were not disappointing in 2008.

Phil Coke had one more win than Hughes + Kennedy combined.

Carl Pavano had four more wins than Hughes + Kennedy combined.

You could have watched every game while sitting in a bean bag chair with a Pabst Blue Ribbon in each hand and you'd have won as many games and Hughes + Kennedy combined.


Mussina had 20 wins, Pettitte had 14.

You know who was third on the Yankees?

Wang ... with 8 whole wins.

Mariano Rivera had 6 wins, which is more than any other starter besides the top three.


Maybe that's Cashman's problem. Too much yackety yack with the press.

$ales pitch is vital for deep CC fishing.

That's the actual headline: "$ales pitch is vital for deep CC fishing."

At long last, headline writer for the New York Post, have you left no sense of decency?



"EIGHT years ago, the top start ing pitcher in the free-agent market had no desire to be a New Yorker or a Yankee. None."

How the heck do you know?


"During a five-minute call, Mussina was blown away by Torre's gravitas and ability to project the positives of the New York suburbs and life with the Yankees."

How the heck do you know?


"Fatherly and forthright, Torre was a wonderful salesman in his time as Yankees manager."

Yes, I don't doubt that Torre is a wonderful salesman. He may have even persuaded Mussina. That and a lot of money. A WHOLE lot of money. Lots and lots of money money money money money money money money money.

It's a charming story about the five-minute phone call.

Mussina's silence was probably not due to profound reverence. He was probably distracted, listening with one ear, calculating the compound interest on $98 million.

"Honey, we're getting a new pool! Ummm ... no, go ahead, Mr. Torre. I was listening."


"Now, eight years later, the top starting pitcher in the free-agent market has no desire to be a New Yorker. None."

Oh, I thought you were going to say, "Now, eight years later, Mussina still has zero Championship rings."


"So who is going to motivate CC Sabathia to reconsider his Yankee aversion? Joe Girardi? What exactly is that phone call going to be like between the hardly fatherly, hardly forthright Girardi and the fun-loving, 300-pound Sabathia? 'CC if you want to drag that hulking body through my marine boot camp spring training and live in a clubhouse where I ban sweets of all sorts from candy to ice cream to soda, and spend the next six years thinking up synonyms for humorless, boy, have I got a team for you.' "

No, he doesn't have to say all that.

He just has to say, "Cha-ching!"

"CC, my fat friend. With the amount of money we're going to pay you, you can buy all the candy you want. You can buy Little Debbie. Not the company: the person. You will actually be able to buy Little Debbie and order her to make candy in your kitchen after every game."

Jon Heyman is a joke.

These all-over-the-map picks are ridiculous on so many levels, I don't really think he believes it. I think it's an April Fool's Joke or an attempt to drum up controversy.


As an example, Heyman decides to give NL awards to half-year players.

I think this scenario essentially disqualifies the player, but that's just my personal opinion. I know Ramirez had a huge impact with the Dodgers, but he only played two months in the NL.

But how do you vote Ramirez #1 despite his lack of NL playing time ... while Chipper Jones doesn't even crack the top ten?

Look at Chipper Jones's numbers for a second and be amazed.


I'd like to focus on the worst MVP pick I've ever seen: Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels. Who just about led the league in blown saves, is easily replaceable by other AL closers, and did nothing to distinguish himself other than getting a lot of save opportunities.

Also, he's a relief pitcher.

Also, his team won the division by about 30 games, so they could have made the playoffs if Hideki Irabu was their closer.


Now, at the very least, can we all agree that a pitcher who's the Move Valuable Player is also the Most Valuable Pitcher?

Not according to Jon Heyman.

According the Jon Heyman, Rodriguez is first in the MVP and third in the Cy Young.

Two stupids don't make a smart.


Oh, yeah, and check out his description of K-Rod's season:

"3. Francisco Rodriguez. Now holds the alltime saves record."

Really?

Francisco Rodriguez now holds the alltime saves record?

So he has the most saves of all time?

Actually, he's 36th all time.

Look out, Jose Valverde!

It tells you the Rockies were much worse.

"This past week is proof he knows what he's doing. He took a team that finished 14 games back and he made the playoffs. What does that tell you?"

Just use your brain.

The Dodgers won 84 games this year.

The Dodgers won 82 games last year ... without Manny Ramirez.

Who was a better manager? Grady Little in 2007 or Joe Torre in 2008?

It also confirms, once again, that it's better to be lucky than to be good.

Players who know how to win.

"Three moves.

That's what the Yankees New York Yankees have to make this winter and they will be back in the postseason and probably the World Series again next season"

Oh, boy.


"* Do whatever it takes to sign free agent CC Sabathia. It will be expensive, but it will be worth it to grab the most powerful of the available power pitchers."

Can't argue with that.


"* Ditto A.J. Burnett. Four initials will make the difference. Add CC and A.J. and the tides change in the AL East."

Burnett is not very good in the first place and has a history of injuries. Sounds like the second coming of Carl Pavano.

But, whatever.

He's better than Ponson, right?


Now, I don't see the necessity of distilling this down the three moves. There's simply no reason to stop with three moves, and that would be the case whether the Yankees won 120 games or 90 games.

But C, CF, and 1B still have not been addressed.

So, Kevin Kernan, what else have you got?:

"* Package a couple good young players - and the Yankees have them, especially on their South Atlantic League team, and trade for the Braves' Casey Kotchman."

Ummm ... what?


"He's a solid hitter and more importantly, he is a tremendous first baseman, something the Yankees have lacked since the Glory Days with Tino Martinez. Current defensive statistics are misleading - the Yankees (only 81 errors) don't get to enough balls. A defensive-minded first baseman, who can handle the bat, is invaluable."

With the statuesque Giambi and arthritic Abreu combined with the sleepy Cano, the right side of the Yankee defense probably adds 200 pts. to an opponent's batting average.

But the key to the Yankee Glory Days was not Tino's defense at first base.

The Yankees need to improve defensively overall. They will need a new first baseman.

But why Casey Kotchman?

Why not Mark Teixeira?

Or a dozen other first baseman who can field and also "handle the bat"?

The Yankees are good and so are the Mets.

You know, the only reason the Yankees are perceived as a disastrous team is because the Tampa Rays just happen to be good this year. I think five of six teams have a better record than the Yankees:

"Only the Mets, it appears, can spare Hank Steinbrenner an October emotional meltdown by failing to save themselves from another September nervous breakdown.

Misery would love the Mets’ company in the shuttering of the New York baseball season Sunday, weather permitting."

The Yankees drew 4 million again this year.

In the final weekend of a playoff race, Shea is about half-empty.

Now, other than bragging rights, I don't think Steinbrenner is fixated on the Mets.

Well, Steinbrenner might be fixated on the Mets, but that's because he's mentally unstable (as the rest of the article will attest).

Any "misery" that crybaby Yankee fans are experiencing will not be soothed much if the Mets miss the playoffs.

Favorite Things.

"Giambi said before the Yankees' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays last night at Rogers Centre. 'He said, "Do you think you want to go to the West Coast." I told him I enjoyed winning and playing on good baseball teams.' "

Things Jason Giambi Likes:

1) Winning.

2) Playing on good baseball teams.

3) Steroids. Lots of sweet, sweet steroids.

Thirteen, you dummy.

"It was a great ceremony on Sunday night, with a reverence and respect reminiscent of the closing of the Montreal Forum, beginning with the pre-game treatment of great Yankee stars of the past (Torre and Roger Clemens excluded) to the post-game on-field celebration featuring the current group, led by Jeter.

Most striking were the differences in demeanour between the deeply spontaneous, joyful reactions of the born-and-bred career Yankees, especially Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano, compared to the ho-hum, sheepish looks on the faces of the come-lately mercenary types – especially Alex Rodriguez, with a forced smile, and a very uncomfortable looking Mike Mussina."

???


"Jeter took charge of the post-game show nicely, but his speech lacked raw emotion.

Of course, that would have been the job of the ever-emotional Torre."


??????


"But he was otherwise occupied in leading his Dodgers to the NL West title, extending his personal post-season streak to 14."

Poor Buck Showalter. It's like he never existed.

The ice will probably melt.

Sorry.

With Wang injured, I need to turn to hockey for funny player headlines.

He batted .300 once the pressure was off. Right?

Quite an insightful article here by Mike Lupica. He noticed that Derek Jeter is a fan favorite.


I think I can make this entire thing easier on everyone.

Instead of saying "Jeter is the best Yankee ever" or "Jeter is the best player in baseball" or "Jeter is better than ARod," change it slightly to "Jeter is my favorite player" or "I like Jeter more than I like ARod."

There.

Doesn't that make it easier on everyone?

Stop me if you've heard this one before ...

Keys to the game.

Just listened to Suzyn Waldman's "Keys to the game."

1. The Yankee batters need to be patient.

2. Carl Pavano needs to get ahead in the count and keep the ball down.

Sometimes, Waldman has a variation where she says the Yankee pitchers need to keep the opposing batters off base.

But, for all intents and purposes, it's the exact same keys to every game.

Very appropriate.

"Pettitte will officially close the park by pitching in the final game on Sunday, Sept. 21, the Yankees confirmed Friday, in a rather appropriate nod to the recent past."

A mediocre, overpaid pitcher is appropriate for this team.

Rutgers beats North Carolina, 24 - 21 ... on PlayStation.

I know it's not a baseball post, but that's very exciting college football news from a newspaper.

Pinstriped Coffins!

"Aura and Mystique have been replaced by Blind Faith."

Are Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood reuniting for a Yankee Stadium gig?


"And, no Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Steve Winwood aren't reuniting for a Yankee Stadium gig."

Oh, well.

Because when you said "Blind Faith," I naturally instantly associated it with a fairly obscure rock band that released one album thirty-nine years ago.

I thought Delgado was the fourth-most valuable Met ...

Behind Reyes, Wright, and Santana.

Then, I read Bill Madden's article, and it reminded me that Carlos Beltran is more valuable than Delgado.

So, Delgado is the fifth-most valuable Met:

"Wednesday night was no exception, as Delgado's sac fly in the seventh inning broke a tie in what turned out to be an unseemly 13-10 win over the Nationals that, combined with the Phillies' loss to Florida, increased the Mets' NL East lead to 3-1/2 games."

Wednesday night, Delgado was 0-for-3 with a walk and a sac fly.

Delgado's sac fly was set up by singles by Wright and Beltran. Wright was 4-for-4 with a homerun, 3 rbis, and 4 runs scored. Beltran was 3-for-5 with 2 rbis and 2 runs scored.

Upon closer examination, Beltran has outperformed Delgado offensively for the entire season. Beltran has 100+ runs and 100+ rbis. Beltran, of course, also adds more value defensively and on the basepaths.

Also, Beltran is hitting .419 in September.

In the heat of a playoff race, fighting off the ghosts of the 2007 collapse, and all that jazz ...

Clutch is the last refuge of morons.

In 2006, Carlos Delgado was 12th in MVP voting. In 2008, his stats almost exactly mirror his 2008 stats. Twelfth in MVP voting sounds about right to me:

"That's why Carlos Delgado will not be the National League MVP, even though he should be.

The numbers don't work for him. With a .261 average, he doesn't crack the league's top 50, and it's way shy of even his Mets teammates Jose Reyes (.300) and David Wright (.291).

His 103 RBIs is impressive, sixth in the league. But it's three fewer than Wright.

Thirty-five home runs is good enough for fourth in the NL. But, heck, Alex Rodriquez has 33 and nobody is touting him for most valuable anything.

Too bad baseball doesn't keep one stat I'd love: clutch hits."

This is very easy to do yourself, if you really want to. Go through the box scores and put a tick mark next to the clutch hits. I'm quite certain Delgado has less clutch hits than this guy thinks. With an overall .261 batting average, I'm guessing Delgado has also made a ton of clutch outs.

As for the idea that ARod isn't valuable at all, Delgado is batting .276 with runners in scoring position and ARod is batting .274 with runners in scoring position.

The resurgent Mets are a good storyline. Delgado is a fresh face among MVP candidates. Utley's 25 first-half homeruns are so first half.

Baseball is played in April, May, and June.

"You know who the legitimate NL MVP candidates are after Albert Pujols? No one."

It's astonishing to witness the sudden, mindless support for Carlos Delgado.

Every stat that mentions what Delgado has done in the past 60-something games just highlights how little he accomplished in the first 80-something games.

The only roundabout argument I can make for Delgado's MVP candidacy is that Delgado's first-half debacle led to the firing of Willie Randolph and the firing of Willie Randolph propelled the Mets into first place.

How ya gonna trade him?

"When this season started, Robinson Cano stood as one of the best young players in the American League. Five months later, he is one of the most disappointing. In reading the comments on the blog, many people want him traded.

This, I think, would be a mistake on several fronts.

You should never trade a player when his value is decreased. Cano, at the moment, is a second baseman hitting .268 with a .304 OBP and a tendency to take plays off in the field. What do you think you’re getting for him? It’s not Casey Kotchman."

Cashman deserves serious heat for Cano, Melky, Hughes, and Kennedy. Pavano and Igawa, too, obviously.

It doesn't matter if other GMs wanted Pavano. It doesn't matter if bloggers (and John Sterling) thought Cano was going to be the next Rod Carew. It's not their job to properly evaluate talent for the Yankees.


"If the Yankees don’t have somebody willing to put the hammer down, get somebody who will. In any sport, the manager or coach has one primary duty: Get the players to play hard. The rest pretty much takes care of itself."

Well, I'll be damned. I agree completely.

But it should be pointed out that Torre would not have put the hammer down, despite the charming anecdotes about Larry Bowa.


"He’s 25, he’s a work in progress. His career is at a point where it could go one way or the other. I think the Yankees should stick with him because there is greatness to be had."

I don't know about that. I just think the pitchers have learned that he swings at everything and he refuses to adjust to the new strategy. Yes, that speaks largely to his overall laziness, and, yes, he should get his butt kicked.

But what are you going to trade Cano for at this point?

A Steiner Sports certified Steve Sax autographed baseball?

Ladies and Gentlemen, the clutchest player in the major leagues ...

Jose Lopez.

That is just perfect.

Yes, Jose Lopez's inspiring clutch play will probably propel the Mariners into the Wild Card race in the last month of the season.


Albert Pujols, The Best Hitter In Baseball, is middle-of-the-pack. -0.17.

Albert Pujols is not clutch in 2008

Uh huh. That makes a whole lot of sense right there.

You know who's more clutch than Albert Pujols?

Fred Lewis. Batting .283 with 9 HRs and I've never heard of the guy.

You know who else is more clutch than Albert Pujols.

Yunel Escobar. Batting .282 with 8 HRs. Not the worst player in the Universe, but not exactly .363 with 30 HRs.


Now, I will list the bottom twelve, from lowest to highest:

ARod
Dye
Utley
Ludwick
Atkins
Beltre
Howard
McCann
Thome
Loney
Millar
Huff

I'd say about seven of them will receive MVP votes.


If you care to take a gander at the full list, you'll see a statistic that reveals little. Basically, a random dispersal of the players.

Milton Bradley and J.D. Drew are -1.00 while David DeJesus is +.98.

If you'd prefer DeJesus with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, be my guest.

If that's what you decide, you simply don't understand How Things Work.

Statistics are fun.

There's really no way for me to discuss this without sounding like an arrogant jerk. But this is simply an unacceptable statistical analysis:

"When analyzing how 'clutch' a player truly is, sabermetricians turn to a statistic called WPA, or Win Probability Added, that calculates how many wins a player added to his team by giving more credit to important situations. Fangraphs.com comes up with a 'clutch' score by comparing WPA with WPA/LI – Win Probability Added with the Leverage Index removed, i.e. making all at-bats equal, regardless of the situation."

The fundamental flaw here is that you're comparing a player to himself.

To wit, ARod in 2008:


Overall in 2008, ARod's "clutch"-weighted measurement is 0.27, which ranks 93rd.

Overall in 2008, ARod's measurement is 2.91, which ranks 18th.


Neither of these rankings are particularly stellar, but the "clutch" measurement actually subtracts the second measurement from the first.

So, ARod is punished for being good.

If ARod hit .175 with the bases empty and .250 with RISP, then he'd be "clutch," according to this flawed measurement.


I'd love to see the full list.

I'll bet quite a few MVP candidates are in the lower half of the list -- Pujols, Wright, Hamilton, etc. -- they hit too good in the first inning or when their team is winning by ten runs. In other words, they hit too good when it the situation isn't "clutch," whatever "clutch" means.

(I'll tell you, when I just saw a game where the Yankees almost blew a 9-2 lead, I think every run is an important run.)

The guy who leads the list -- the "clutchest" player in baseball -- is probably some stiff like, I dunno, Gerald Laird.

I can guarantee it.

Tadahito Iguchi is the clutchest player in baseball because he has a few well-timed hits in the ninth inning and bats .210 in innings one through eight.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS does not like baseball.

I thought the game was very intriguing from beginning to end:

"Both underachieving teams began the final month with double-digit deficits in their divisions.

Perhaps the only intriguing moment happened in the second inning when Ivan Rodriguez came to the plate for the first time against the Tigers since they traded him, and the catcher was greeted with a standing ovation. He acknowledged the fans by taking off his helmet and waving to the sold-out crowd."

ARod with three at-bats with the bases loaded. Two hits, three rbis.

STORYLINE: ARod batting with runners on base? Yawn. This has received more ink that Hurricane Gustav.


Cano making two good plays in the field ... including the first diving stop I've ever seen him make which led to an out ... followed in the very next inning by another tank job on a sure double play.

STORYLINE: What's the deal with this guy? Is it just talent that can never be harnessed? Is it really possible that he's trying hard, but it just doesn't seem that way?


Yankees winning by six in the second inning and Magglio Ordonez is batting with bases loaded and two outs.

STORYLINE: How much did Ordonez drop off after last season's MVP-caliber campaign?


Phil Coke throws a shutout inning and strikes out two in his first major league inning.

STORYLINE: Can Coke step up and fill the Yankees' need for a lefty pitcher?


Crowd's reaction to Ivan Rodriguez's first at-bat?

Personally, I did not care too much about that.

Seven innings, two runs.

"Darrell Rasner was decent, just not good enough, and the bullpen sloppy in a 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays at the Stadium."

Okay, the first Toronto batter in the seventh inning singled.

The next batter hit into a 4-6-3 double play.

The next batter grounded out to second base. (Still unsure why nobody noticed that the "single" following the error was just a ground ball that the Yankee second baseman made no attempt to reach for.)

So, Rasner pitched excellently. Two runs in seven innings.

ARod didn't hit into a double play in the bottom of the ninth inning there was no bottom of the ninth because the Yankees won the game in nine innings because they have a second baseman who plays professional baseball.

Throwing overhand requires lots of energy, Coach.

"Cano bungled a sure double-play ball in the seventh and the Blue Jays went on to score three times in the inning. His backhand to Derek Jeter at the bag was low and skipped away, putting two runners on with no out. Bautista hit an RBI single and Joe Inglett a two-run single to pull Toronto within 6-5.

'You have to make sure of one out in that situation,' Girardi said. 'He has that smoothness that people will assume he's being nonchalant. He's not. He's made that play so many times.' "

There ya go.

Torre Version II.


Remember a couple of weeks ago when Cano "smoothly" jogged after a ground ball in the ninth inning that cost the Yankees a game?

Girardi should have dealt with it at that time.

Actually, Girardi should have dealt with it in Spring Training.


ARod's double play was bad luck. He was thrown out by only 1/2 a step -- because hustled down to first base -- what a concept.

Boo?

Jeter 0-for-4 with one GIDP, two Ks, and four left on base.

I know it's different.

Yankee fans shouldn't boo Jeter. Everybody can have a bad game. I'm just kidding.

No, I'm not.

So now Grady Little is the smartest man in baseball...

Now go home and get your shinebox

So much for this particular feel-good story:

"Tanyon Sturtze sat at his locker Wednesday afternoon, packing his bags and shaking hands with teammates. Dodgers Manager Joe Torre had just told the reliever that the team had cut him.

That kind of scene is common in the major leagues. This one is not: Torre talked to Sturtze again a few minutes later, this time to tell him the Dodgers would not cut him Wednesday, leaving him in limbo beyond then.

Sturtze declined to comment. Torre described Sturtze's reaction to the developments this way: 'He's not OK.' "

Classy is as classy does, and that move was classy.

David Wright was 0-for-5 last night with two strikeouts.

David Wright is now hitting .231 with RISP and two outs.

How much you wanna bet Fanboy Puma thinks Wright is the NL MVP?:

"Alex Rodriguez got the boo birds off his case last night, but the stench from his performance a day earlier was still prevalent in the Stadium.

Two doubles, too little too late."

Right.

Last night was a typical 2008 Yankees performance.

That is to say, their third baseman plays well, but he's surrounded by mediocrity.


"A month that began with the Yankees a legitimate AL East title contender has become a disaster, and Rodriguez's pedestrian .250 batting average in August is part of the wreckage."

Alex Rodriguez is one of the only reasons the Yankees began the month as legitimate AL East contenders.

I don't know how legit their campaign was, anyway, especially after Joba got hurt.

With a regular third baseman, they might be in last place in the AL East.


"Rodriguez stroked an RBI double against Paul Byrd in the first inning last night and then doubled leading off the fourth before scoring the Yanks' second run.

Where was that a night earlier?"

A night earlier, he struck out twice and hit into two double plays, which is atypical.

This night, he had two hits and was the best player on the team, which is typical.


"That idea of Rodriguez hitting in the clutch his whole career doesn't mesh with A-Rod's October history or the fact he entered last night batting .246 with runners in scoring position this season."

"Mesh" is a mighty big word for a mentally challenged person like you.

Convincing deep dive into the stats, by the way.


You know what is amazing to me?

I did not actually see last night's game until the 8th inning.

ARod dives for a ball and almost fields it. Hustles after it and holds Youkilis to a single. Not a big deal, it's a legitimate single off the 3b's glove and major leaguers are always supposed to hustle.

Next batter is Jason Bay and he hits a fly ball to right-center field. It's a can of corn.

Abreu does his typical Gutless Old Man With Arthritis act and, somehow, Bay ends up with an RBI triple. Not only does Abreu short-arm the ball -- he's scared of the wall, don't you know -- but he inexplicably cartwheels on the warning track. Never even touches the ball. Damon has to back him up.

Sox end up with 7 runs in the inning. Obviously, not all of those 7 runs are Abreu's fault, but it would be nice to see a wee bit more effort.

There are about 900 players in the major leagues who would have caught that ball.

Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera would have caught that ball if they were shagging flies during batting practice.

Bottom of the 8th, Abreu grounds out.

No boos.

No boos for a left-handed hitting corner outfielder who bats third, is protected by ARod, has a mere 15 HRs, will barely break 100 RBIs, can't even hit .300, and is paid $16 million.

No boos for Abreu, the gutless stiff, the symbol of the 2008 Yankees. Either Abreu pulling up at the wall or Cano swinging feebly at the first pitch.

Boo.

Bottom 7th: NY Yankees

- K. Youkilis at first
- J. Lowrie at third
- A. Cora at shortstop
- I. Rodriguez hit for J. Molina
- I. Rodriguez struck out swinging
- J. Damon walked
- D. Jeter singled to right, J. Damon to second
- B. Abreu walked, J. Damon to third, D. Jeter to second
- J. Masterson relieved M. Delcarmen
- A. Rodriguez grounded into double play shortstop to first, B. Abreu out at second

I don't know what's up with the sudden surge of double plays. In the context of the game's importance and the scrutiny, that at-bat is utterly disgraceful. Hit a sac fly, you jerk.

But, next time you need a HR, I still say he's the guy you want up.

Also, Cashman doesn't regret signing him for the next nine years.

ARod's going to win a lot of games over the next nine years.

I'm tired of the negativity directed towards him, but, tonight, he deserves the boos.

Smartest Man in Baseball Swept by Charlie Manuel.

"This is no time to sound clueless, the Dodgers going flat against the Phillies again, the manager asked what he might say to his team, and Torre appearing befuddled.

'There's nothing I can tell them,' he said."

I'm pretty sure you can think of a time the Cardinals lost four in a row and then Bob Gibson won a game.

I wonder who Mike Lupica is rooting for.

"It starts with A-Rod, who so far this season has been nothing more than a gaudy numbers-hanger and a tabloid dream."

Nothing more than a baseball player putting up gaudy numbers, when he could have been so much more.

He could have been a beacon of hope for blind orphans.

He could have been the Democrats' presumptive nominee.

He could have been my lover.


"Let's see if this is the week against the Red Sox when at least one of the games ends with a swing of his bat."

Tonight, I'm willing to bet that ARod ends the game with a swing of his mighty bat. Though it's only a 1 in 9 chance, I'm gonna roll the dice here.

Pettitte gives up 7 runs in 4 innings. Two of the runs are unearned because Jeter/Cano can't turn double plays. But they're really earned runs, technically, because the official scorer can't assume a double play, which is moronic. As John Sterling would say, that's just recordkeeping.

4 IP, 7 R, 11 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Youkilis goes deep twice and Bay drives in at least three or four runs just so somebody can compare him to Manny. "Even without Manny ..." will be Michael Kay's mantra.

Then, the Yankee bullpen gets lit up. Is Chris Britton still in the bigs? Either Britton or that guy David Robertson.

Then, with the Yankees losing by 14 runs in the ninth inning, ARod grounds out to shortstop to end the game.

Thus, the game ends with a swing of ARod's bat.

For his career, ARod hits .303 with the bases empty and .303 with runners in scoring position.

"It even extends to Alex Rodriguez, whose numbers don't look all that disappointing. A-Rod actually possesses the AL's second best OPS at .992 (to Milton Bradley's 1.029) but has come up limp in the clutch.

..

Club higherups are concerned enough about A-Rod that they are even wondering aloud whether his off-field distractions are affecting his play."

Unfortunately, ESPN does not provide those particular splits: Pre-Madonna and Post-Madonna breakdowns.

Maybe it's because they couldn't keep track of all the pro athletes who've slept with Madonna.

Ba dum bum. Ahem. Is this mic working? Attention K-Mart shoppers.

ARod's divorce was announced in early July and his post-All-Star stats exceed his pre-All-Star stats. Not by a whole lot; they're almost identical. But that's kind of my point.

Do we have to go through this hand-wringing every time ARod has a bad two weeks? Or a bad 50 at-bats? Or strikes out with the bases loaded?

This is fun for me to do.

It is really not too difficult, either. In fact, it's easy.

Let's go with the idea that ARod's all-around batting average is fine. .312 is higher than his career average and it's top ten or so in the league.

I don't quite understand why we suddenly revert back to BA when we're discussing situational splits, but whatever. Let's go with at-bats, batting average, runs batted in.

(Not for nothing, but this particular breakdown has ARod batting .292 in something called "late inning pressure." Wonder how they came up with that distinction.)

Now, the reason I bring up his overall BA is because the gripe is not so much with ARod's overall BA, it's with the distribution of hits.



So, let's even things out:

RISP: 124 at-bats, 31 hits, .250 ba, 47 rbis.

No RISP: 283 at-bats, 96 hits, .339 ba, 31 rbis.


How do we even things out?

We take 8 hits from category two and move them to category one.


Adjusted RISP: 124 at-bats, 39 hits, .315 ba, ??? rbis.

Adjusted No RISP: 283 at-bats, 88 hits, .311, ??? rbis.


Ponder these additional eight hits with RISP.

In a perfect world, they'd all be bottom-of-the-ninth game-winners and I've just miraculously given the Yankees eight more wins.

That conclusion is, of course, absurd.


ARod absoutely should have more RBIs and he should hit better with RISP. I'll give him 12 more RBIs if he was hitting up to par with RISP. However, you've also got to deduct a few RBIs from category two (you've just taken away 8 hits after all -- what if all 8 of those hits were HRs?).


ARod's deficiency with RISP has probably cost the Yankees about 9 or 10 runs this season.

I don't want to ridicule those 10 runs. Ten runs are ten runs. They couldn't hurt and they probably could have helped win 1 or 2 games all by themselves.


But this is a team that's 200 runs off last year's pace.

This is a team that is seventh in the league in runs scored. So much for "Murderer's Row and Robinson Cano."

Those 10 runs would put them 190 runs off last year's pace.

If you're looking for the biggest culprit, look elsewhere.

Imagine if he'd lost the game.

"Carl Pavano is still a colossal disappointment, the appropriate butt of countless jokes and hands down the most overpaid athlete in Yankees history. Heck, he's probably the most overpaid athlete in New York sports history."

You know what's funny?

Pedro Martinez is still inexplicably given credit for giving the Mets "credibility," or something.


As for the most overpaid athlete in Yankees history (I can only speculate that Baumbach has a gigantic list of overpaid non-athletes in Yankees history -- personally, I think Willie Randolph was probably overpaid all those years standing at third base with his hands on his hips yelling, "run home, run home"), it may very well be Carl Pavano.

It also may be Kei Igawa, and Igawa is on the current Yankees' roster. Or it may be Mike Witt. Or it may be Pascual Perez -- you'd have to use 1990 dollars, to be fair about it.

Or it may be Jim Abbott, relatively speaking -- was Jim Abbott the highest-paid pitcher while he was going 20-22?

I may go with Abbott. Or maybe Barfield. Or maybe, ummm, maybe Steve Kemp.

How could you forget Steve Kemp, big free agent signing, being sent to the minors?

It's kind of tacky and nonsensical to compare injured players to healthy players, don't you think? Barfield was bad just because he was bad. Kemp was sent to the minors in the prime of his career, not because he had to recover from major surgery.

I'm not going to completely defend Pavano, for the love of Christ. Pavano was a bad signing from day one. But is he more overpaid than Allan Houston? Is he more overpaid than Yinka Dare?

Probably not.


"After a brief chat, Girardi let Pavano continue, and he recorded the final two outs of the inning with ease. It was an upbeat end to a thoroughly surprising positive night.

Now let's see him do it again."

Pavano has more wins in the 2008 season than Kennedy and Hughes combined.

Very easy to verify, part 2.

"But then, when the primary culprit is the $27 million-per-year cleanup hitter, to whom the Yankees are committed for another nine years, Cashman ought to be very concerned."

ARod is the best player on the team, by far.

Missed 20 games, played another 10 or 20 while injured, and still practically leads the team in every important offensive category: runs scored , runs batted in, homeruns, doubles, and stolen bases.

Sixteen stolen bases in eighteen attempts.

He's going to go 40/20 without even straining and while missing a month.

If you think ARod is the primary reason the Yankees have a bad offense, then you are a fool, an idiot, a moron, an embarrassment to the evolution of human intellect.


"Alex Rodriguez is supposed to be the key cog of this Yankees team. But going into the weekend, the man the Yankees have decided to build their franchise around for the next decade had driven in only 24.8% of runners in scoring position (with a .246 average), and of his 28 homers, 19 had come with the bases empty and only six had put the Yankees ahead."

Only 24.8% of runners in scoring position had scored? I have nothing to compare that to, but we need a little more information.

Are we counting at-bats or plate appearances? Because, in case you hadn't noticed, the opponents pitch around ARod quite often. It partially explains the whopping .452 on-base percentage with RISP and two outs.

In fact, I'd say ARod's biggest offensive flaw is his unwillingness to take the walk. He chases pitches out of the strike zone too often.

So why would opposing pitchers pitch around ARod? Maybe it's because the guy who's "protecting" him in the lineup hasn't sniffed .300 since 2002.


In 123 at-bats with RISP, ARod has 47 RBIs, which is .38 RBIs/at-bat. That's a measurement which doesn't necessarily mean too much, but at least it's a point of reference.

Wright: .43.
Abreu: .37.
Hamilton: .62 (wow!).
Pujols: .61.
Braun: .46.

Sometimes, when runners are in scoring position, ARod's driving in himself. Sometimes, he's driving in the runner who is on first base. Those runs count, too, even if Madden chooses to ignore them. Those runs can win baseball games.

I don't know how Madden came up with his measurement of 24.8% and I don't know how it stacks up to Hamilton, Abreu, Pujols, Wright, Braun, etc.


ARod is performing poorly with RISP this season and has also been a poor situational hitter. But you can't just say "24.8" and expect that to mean anything unless you provide an explanation, a context, and comparative statistics.


"The reason they don't have any of these players in their system is because they continue to do a terrible job of scouting and developing. They spend millions more in Latin America than almost every other team and yet the only position players from there to make the big club over the last 10 years are Alfonso Soriano, Cano and Melky Cabrera. The draft? An even bigger disgrace. Jeter, in 1992, is the last player they drafted who became a regular."

Let's conveniently ignore Joba, Pettitte, Mariano, and Wang.