I actually think this is fair.

Unless you're going to exclude everyone who took steroids -- and it's too late for that -- then I think the whole point for any candidate is to assess their worthiness based on several factors.

If you think Bagwell took steroids, I don't even think that should necessarily exclude him from the Hall of Fame.

If you think he would have been a .260 hitter with 90 HRs without steroids, then, yeah, you should exclude him from the Hall of Fame.


My gripe, of course, is that the same guy voted for cokehead Tim Raines.

I want to play poker with Darek Braunecker.

" 'A.J. just had a down year,' Braunecker said. 'You know, it happens, and I'll bet you anything that he's going to have a really good year this year. He's focused. He's not happy, of course he's not. He's disappointed. But that's part of the game and part of life, ups and downs. I promise you, he's going to come back with a vengeance.' "

I'll bet $100 million.

Mike Lupica displays integrity. I'm shocked.

Two days later, after Lee signs with the Phillies: "The Yankees say they weren't desperate to get Lee. Yeah, they were, or they wouldn't have offered too much money and too many years. But that's what they do, who they are. I still believe it would have been a bad contract for them and is a bad contract for Philadelphia."

Cheating the Constitution is worse than cheating a baseball homerun record.

My intuition tells me Filip Bondy doesn't know what he's talking about.

"But then every once in a while - not too often, really, but at least twice in recent memory - something intuitively feels amiss and the chase becomes garish, excessive and short-sighted. It felt that way with Jason Giambi, about to turn 30, back in 2001, when the Yanks signed him to a seven-year, $120 million deal to replace Tino Martinez, for no great reason."

The only reason was because Giambi was a great offensive player.

In his first year with the Yankees, Giambi drove in 120 and scored 120.

.314, 41 HRs, 109 walks.

Made Mark Teixeira look like Andy Phillips.

It was the third season in a row Giambi finished top five in the MVP voting.

So unless Bondy intuitively knew Giambi was on steroids -- which might not have been too difficult to conclude, come to think of it -- then Bondy had no reason at the time to claim the Giambi deal was short-sighted.


"It felt that way again when the Yanks offered Alex Rodriguez, at 32, a 10-year deal worth $275 million. The idea of being stuck with designated hitter A-Rod, untradeable at 41, is not a happy glimpse into the future."

ARod is a great baseball player.

Don't trade him.


It's unclear to me when and how the conventional wisdom regarding ARod's contract tilted to the negative without any thoughtful debate.


"If he succeeds, however, he would be getting a top pitcher in his prime. Greinke is 27, and has two years left on a reasonable contract at $13.5 million per season. The Yanks would be able to renegotiate and extend it easily enough."

Right ... and that contract extension would be garish and excessive.


"That isn't the issue here, though. Desperation is. Forget the Rays for a moment. Cashman right now understands the Red Sox lineup is every bit as impressive as his own. Bullpens are unpredictable. There is really no way to plan them. The one thing the GM can do, must do, is shore up his starting rotation."

The Red Sox lineup is not every bit as impressive as the Yankee lineup.

The Red Sox lost Beltre and Martinez, right? Bondy is aware of this?


Assuming Ellsbury plays CF instead of Cameron, the Red Sox probably have an advantage in LF and CF and that's it.


Evoking the debates about Willie, Mickey, and the Duke, I'll call it a tie between Jarrod Saltalamachhia and Francisco Cervelli.

This is pretty much how I feel about it.

I just think Lee is overrated and his value is buoyed by some stellar playoff performances:

"The World Series that you might win with Cliff Lee—I am not sold on the idea that 24 current Yankees plus Cliff Lee equals a World Series, but even if you win one—is like cake. It feels good at first, but then over the next five or six years, you have a perhaps rapidly declining asset who used to throw 91 with great location but now throws 89 with great location and misses 10 starts a year because his spine is shaped like the letter Q. I could be wrong about that, and in the infinite parallel universes that exist, there will be many in which Cliff Lee pitched terrifically for the length of the contract, but there will be many more where he will not, because that is the way of things.

This morning, you will no doubt read many columnists who say things like, 'Now that the Red Sox have signed Carl Crawford, the Yankees must sign Cliff Lee!' I don’t quite understand this reasoning, much as I don’t understand the way that Crawford was supposed to be Plan B to Lee as Plan A. Saying that Crawford is an alternative to Lee is like saying you’re baking cookies and mustard is an alternative to sugar. It’s like saying that the alternative to your right leg is the Eiffel Tower. These are completely different players. If you need a left fielder, you pursue a Crawford. If you need a pitcher, you pursue Lee. Because you didn’t get Lee doesn’t mean that you now need a left fielder, and if you didn’t get Crawford it doesn’t mean you now need a pitcher. The needs stay the same, but the solution set changes."

Carl Crawford:

"As for Crawford, I hate to disillusion anyone, but he is just not a huge run producer for the simple reason that he doesn’t get on base that much. Clarifying: he’s an asset. Discounting 2008, when he was hurt, from 2006 to 2010, Crawford averaged .308/.354/.474 and averaged 54 stolen bases (and 11 caught stealing) a year, all while playing excellent defense. You can’t be dismissive of that, although you have to be aware that it’s not unusual for left fielders to have on-base and slugging percentages right in that zone. It’s a slugger’s position, and 2010 was the first time that Crawford was, on a per-game basis, a top-five producer at the position.

Now that Crawford is with the Red Sox, you can, just maybe, start subtracting from your expectations. Crawford is a better hitter on turf than grass. His .291/.332/.425 rates on natural surfaces aren’t spectacular for the position. His career .275/.301/.406 at Fenway is abysmal. Stolen bases only add so much when you don’t hit overall. Add in that Crawford is going to be hanging around from age 29 to age 36 and the Red Sox could really regret this deal, and that is even if Crawford doesn’t have some kind of catastrophic leg injury. All he has to do is lose a few leg hits a year and there goes the batting average that is at the heart of his game.

It is understandable that the Sox wanted to take this risk, because left field killed them last year. The position of Teddy Ballgame, Yaz, and Rice gave them just .230/.303/.396. Whatever Crawford does for them, it will be better than that. Put him together with Adrian Gonzalez and does he boost them up to 95-win territory this season, all else being equal? Yeah, maybe he does. But by himself is the move something that should panic the Yankees? No, not at all."

Mike Lupica is an Unfrozen Caveman Sportswriter who is Confused by Free Agency.

"Cliff Lee may turn out to be the most rare of free-agent starting pitchers, which means that he may be worth as much at the end of his contract as he is at the beginning of it."

All free agents, not just pitchers.

Freakin' Carl Crawford just signed a contract worth $20 million per year. He wasn't worth that much money when he was 27 years old. He's going to be 37 years old when this contract expires.


"So Lee might still be worth $25 million a year to the Yankees when he is 37 – the age Derek Jeter turns next year – or 38 or 39. So Lee might turn out to be the exception rather than the rule with insane contracts, money and length, for starters that often turn out to be a complete waste at the back end."

Well, you'll have to put some metrics around that. I think the Yankees would be happy with 110 wins overall, a .600 playoff winning percentage, and two Championships.

Is that fair?

When Lee is 38 or 39, assuming Lee is still alive and healthy and still playing for the Yankees, by then he'd probably a .500 pitcher. For argument's sake, let's say 12-12 and a #5 starter.

But how could I possibly know?

If Lupica expects 160 wins over 7 seasons, then that's not realistic.


For what it's worth, I think Lee is overrated. I also think the Yankees should offer him a seven-year deal and hope for the best. That's the Talent Pyramid.


"But here's the key thing: The Yankees have no idea if Lee will hold up or not. Don't know, don't care. They just care about next season."

No, you are wrong.

The Yankees care very much about Lee's longevity and the Yankees care very much about the future of their team beyond next season.


"The Yankees don't care how much they have to spend on Lee because the Red Sox now have Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford locked up."

No, you are wrong.

Mike Lupica is stating that the Yankees are going hard after Cliff Lee --
The 7-year, $185 million offer that everyone knew was coming for the past two years -- because the Red Sox singed Gonzalez and Crawford.


"When the Yankees absolutely have to have somebody, can't live without him, they spend whatever they need to."

I guess so.

They sign a lot of free agents. They also don't sign a lot of free agents.

I'm sure Lupica thought the Yankees needed Joe Mauer for sure.


"They were supposed to be done a couple of years ago after spending $240 million on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and then they found another $180 million on a shelf in a closet for Mark Teixeira."

The Yankees were supposed to be done spending on free agents.


"But, man oh man, the Yankees sure did have to hold the line on Jeter. Various Yankee executives and accountants nearly tore rotator cuffs patting themselves on the back for saving and all Steinbrenner heirs everywhere some money on the captain of the team."

Snarky.


"We hear that the Yankees are terrified, that's what they are, about having too much money tied up with aging ballplayers. Except now they are prepared to commit a ton of money to Cliff Lee when he is ... an aging ballplayer!"

"We hear."

Who hears this?

Does Lupica hear this?

I don't hear this.


"When they got Teixeira and Burnett and Sabathia, it was supposed to be the beginning of another Yankee dynasty, even if it hasn't worked out that way."

This has to be one of the weirdest analyses, even by Lupica standards.

How can Lupica know in December 2010 if this will be the start of another Yankee dynasty?

Lupica has determined the status of a potential dynasty after just two seasons.

Think about that.

These players won a Championship their first year in pinstripes. In their second season, they made it to the ALCS.

So if they continue a 50% Championship rate for the remainder of their contracts, will that be a dynasty?


"One of these days the owners of the Yankees should go back and look at where the Yankee payroll was in comparison to the rest of the sport when the team was winning four World Series in five years."

What they will find is that their good players were young and inexperienced and not yet eligible for free agency.

Then, these players became eligible for free agency, and the Yankees paid them a lot of money.

So the payroll went way up while the talent didn't magically increase proportionally.

Because that's how free agency works.

Almost every young all star -- Mattingly, Jeter, Soriano, Rivera -- is a bargain until the exact moment they become a free agent (or sign a free-agent-equivalent contract extension).

They sign long-term contracts when they are young. These contracts are burdensome when they're old.

This is how it works.

The alternative is to be a bad team with AAA players.

Mike Lupica is a man who is so stupid, he doesn't even realize who won.

Golly, I hope the Yankees don't regret their negotiating tactics during the Jeter talks. It would be costly if Jeter signed with another team.

Oh, wait.

Jeter signed with the Yankees:

"So here we are, close to what the Yankees wanted to pay. The Yankees acting as if they had some moral high ground on this. As if they were making some kind of big, loud statement. About the quiet captain of the team who helped win them five World Series, who was as valuable a player as they had between 1996 and 2000 when they were as great as any Yankee team ever has been.

You can't be a better Yankee than Jeter has been. It is the Yankees who will someday wish they had done things better on this."

I don't think the Yankees acted as if they had some moral high ground. I don't think the Yankees were acting as if they were making some kind of big, loud statement. The Yankees just wanted to bring Jeter's asking price down, and that's what they did.


This is nothing new. A successful negotiation with a free agent. What is the regretful consequence that Mike Lupica is referring to? Another nasty article by Mike Lupica?

What's the rush?

"The fun with Derek Jeter and the Yankees really never stops and won't stop until he and the Yankees reach an agreement, and we can only pray that it's sooner rather than late."

I know you need stuff to talk about in the offseason, but this is not a big deal.

The Yankees traded for ARod in February. Then, a few years later, the Yankees signed him as a free agent in mid-December.

The Yankees waited until January to sign Bernie Williams.

CC Sabathia signed on December 20th.

Mark Teixeira signed on January 6th.


"Just so you know: The Yankees don't just want to cut Jeter's salary because he's getting older, or because he had his worst year. Or because his range has diminished - this at a time when you can actually see A-Rod calcifying in front of your eyes at third base - or because they don't want to be saddled with another huge contract for an aging champion.

They want to be able to sign Cliff Lee for an insane amount of money and then stand in front of their fans and say, Look, the payroll went down!"

Just so you know, it snows in December.

Thanks for the cogent analysis.

Oh, and if they're going to sign Cliff Lee, when?

I pray it's sooner rather than late.


"- We keep hearing that the Yankees can't bid against themselves on Jeter. No, because that would be wrong, wrong, wrong. Looking back over the past 10 years, we see that the Yankees never ever bid against themselves."

You keep hearing that from the straw man in your head.

Jeter will be overpaid. Everyone knows this.


"Hank, you made one guy rich:

A-Rod.

A-Rod opted out of his contract during Game 4 or the 2007 World Series and everybody from the groundskeepers on up at Yankee Stadium, old and new, knows that Cashman was ready to let him walk.

But not you.

Oh, no.

You gave him a contract that takes him to the age of 42 and could pay him up to $200 million, which means twice what A-Rod was going to make anywhere else."

Well, I think it's up to $275 million, and even that is not twice what ARod was going to make anywhere else. He had just hit 50 and driven in 150, for cryin' out loud.

But remember what you just said about Cashman was ready to let him walk? That's right. That's what they always say before they sign you.

This is not an unusual negotiating tactic, even for the Yankees. It's what they always do. When they overpay Jeter, Lupica will complain that they spent too much money on an old player.

Tug.

Mike Lupica spoke with Jeter's agent on Saturday night. Those are some really good journalistic contacts there. The player's agent.

I like when Lupica says "Jeter wants a lot even if he is about to turn 37." It's just funny. It's like Lupica is reading from a teleprompter and still can't get it right.

"Even if he is about to turn 37."

Don't you mean it's a lot of money "because he is about to turn 37"?


To answer Lupica's question, this will not negatively affect the Yankees one bit. It's exactly like every other contract negotiation and everyone always forgets the hard feelings as soon as the player signs on the dotted line.


I actually care more about Mariano Rivera and Cliff Lee. Somebody, somewhere tell me about the negotiations with Mariano Rivera and Cliff Lee.

The Post has become a mouthpiece for management.

"Derek Jeter’s position when it comes to his contract negotiations appears to be this: I am Derek Jeter, pay me."

It's a sensible position, if you think about it.

It would be odd if Derek Jeter said, "I am Pippi Longstocking, don't pay me."


"It doesn’t matter he has almost no leverage or he is coming off his worst season or the production of shortstops 37 and older in major league history is dismal."

Jeter has a lot of leverage because he's a very popular player.


"The Yankees have offered Jeter $45 million over three years, which is being portrayed by the shortstop’s increasingly desperate camp as an insult. Except, of course, it is hard to find another organization ready to insult Jeter in similar fashion."

Perhaps other teams would not pay Jeter that much money, but they'd be wise to pay Jeter that much money. Because he's very popular.

When Jeter signs a 4-year, $55 million deal on Christmas Eve, I'm going to remember that you described him as "increasingly desperate."


"Look, a lot of this is about an elephant in the room named Alex Rodriguez. If you love Jeter — and why wouldn’t you love someone who has helped bring championships and honor to the uniform? — you are appalled the Yankees would take care of A-Rod through age 42, but not Jeter."

That's what Lupica said, too, but I don't see it. I don't think anybody is really thinking about ARod's contract.


"But the Yankees know now the A-Rod deal was a blunder. They saw A-Rod gimpy with his hip issues in 2010 and have to wonder if at some point they will have to eat $100 million or more of a contract that runs through 2017. A-Rod might be the Yankees’ Albert Belle."

Jeez, so you're just a dick.


"So the argument of the Jeter faithful is: 'Hey, you made a mistake with A-Rod and that means you have to make the same mistake with our guy. You have to turn to the left side of your infield into Jurassic Park.' "

You know, ARod isn't that bad, and neither is Jeter. This mistake-laden team won the World Series in 2009 and missed by six wins in 2010.

Last season, ARod managed 30 HRs and 125 RBIS. Jeter batted .271 and scored 111 runs.


"Even last season, in a down year, Rodriguez produced an .847 OPS — 10 points higher than Jeter’s career mark and a total Jeter exceeded just three times during the 10-year contract that covered his prime"

But you just said ARod is the Yankees' Albert Belle ...


"Yes, now we will hear about intangibles. But how did those intangibles translate last year when Jeter led the majors in making outs?"

Ha ha ... ouch!

Those intangibles translated into a Gold Glove, 4 million fans flocking to Yankee Stadium, and untold sales of Edges with cool panoramic vista roofs.


Almost every free agent is overpaid, especially at the end of the contract.

For all of Sherman's complaints about the ARod and Jeter contracts, he should at least acknowledge the lack of viable alternatives. Is Sherman shlepping the kids into the Bronx to see Pena and Nunez anchor the left side of the infield?

2010 AL MVP.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Josh Hamilton	358
Miguel Cabrera	262
Robinson Cano	229
Jose Bautista	165
Paul Konerko	130
Evan Longoria	100
Carl Crawford	98
Joe Mauer	97
Adrian Beltre	83
Delmon Young	44
Vladimir Guerrero	22
Rafael Soriano	21
CC Sabathia	13
Shin-Soo Choo	9
Alex Rodriguez	8
Felix Hernandez	6
Ichiro Suzuki	3
Jim Thome	2
Joakim Soria	1
Mark Teixeira	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Josh Hamilton	40
Robinson Cano	28
Miguel Cabrera	22
Evan Longoria	7
Alex Rodriguez	7
Jose Bautista	5
Joe Mauer	5
Boog Powell	4
Vladimir Guerrero	3
Carl Crawford	1
Paul Konerko	1

2010 NL MVP.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Joey Votto	443
Albert Pujols	279
Carlos Gonzalez	240
Adrian Gonzalez	197
Troy Tulowitzki	132
Roy Halladay	130
Aubrey Huff	70
Jayson Werth	52
Martin Prado	51
Ryan Howard	50
Buster Posey	40
Matt Holliday	32
Brian Wilson	28
Scott Rolen	26
Ryan Braun	19
Ryan Zimmerman	18
Carlos Ruiz	12
Dan Uggla	12
Adam Wainwright	12
Jason Heyward	11
Brian McCann	9
Adam Dunn	9
Ubaldo Jimenez	7
David Wright	3
Corey Hart	2
Josh Johnson	2
Heath Bell	2

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Joey Votto	46
Albert Pujols	29
Carlos Gonzalez	15
Troy Tulowitzki	6
Adrian Gonzalez	5
Orlando Cepeda	4
Ryan Howard	4
Jay Bruce	3
Roy Halladay	3
Matt Holliday	1

Go watch "Dancing With the Stars" and leave the negotiations to the grown-ups.

Negotiating is lying:

"Now it is as if he is being punished for the insane contract extension Rodriguez got from the Yankees three years ago, one that takes him until the age of 42. Sometimes you get the idea that the Yankees are more obsessed with the deal they already made with Rodriguez than the one they are trying to make with Jeter."

I don't think the Yankee management is obsessed with the Alex Rodriguez deal.

I think Mike Lupica is obsessed with the Alex Rodriguez deal.

Jeter's "punishment," by the way, will be tens of millions of dollars.


"Rodriguez opted out on them during Game 4 of a World Series and, oh boy, it was goodbye and good riddance. That position had the shelf life of an open carton of milk."

That position was a lie. In fact, Boras's first position was minimum $30 million per year, if not $35 million per year. That was also a lie.


"This negotiation doesn't involve Rodriguez, even though his name keeps popping up. It is only about the Yankees and Derek Jeter. It doesn't have to turn stupid. But if the Yankees really think that after all the years this is only about baseball with Jeter, the thing has turned stupid already."

The Yankees don't think it's only about baseball with Jeter.

Negotiating is not stupid, it's just negotiating.

If you believe what they are saying during a negotiating, then you're stupid.

2010 AL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Felix Hernandez	167
David Price	111
CC Sabathia	102
Jon Lester	33
Jered Weaver	24
Clay Buccholz	20
Cliff Lee	6
Rafael Soriano	5
Trevor Cahill	4
Joakim Soria	2
Francisco Liriano	1
Justin Verlander	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
CC Sabathia	50
David Price	27
Felix Hernandez	22
Jon Lester	8
Clay Buccholz	5
Catfish Hunter	4
Francisco Liriano	4
Cliff Lee	2
Rafael Soriano	1

2010 NL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Roy Halladay	224
Adam Wainwright	122
Ubaldo Jimenez	90
Tim Hudson	39
Josh Johnson	34
Roy Oswalt	14
Brian Wilson	7
Heath Bell	4
Mat Latos	4
Brett Myers	2
Tim Lincecum	2
Bronson Arroyo	1
Matt Cain	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Roy Halladay	56
Adam Wainwright	25
Ubaldo Jimenez	10
Chris Carpenter	5
Ferguson Jenkins	4
Mat Latos	4
Tim Lincecum	4
Matt Cain	3
Tim Hudson	3
Josh Johnson	3
Tovani Gallardo	2
Roy Oswalt	1
Brian Wilson	1

Yankee fan or Jeter fan?

"Because there is a faction of media and fans who seem more determined to make sure Jeter is taken care of than, you know, actually making sure the Yankees remain elite contenders."

I don't think it's a problem to overpay Jeter and remain elite contenders. The bigger issue is going to be Girardi's willingness to bench him, replace him in the field, bat him lower in the lineup. But even that problem is a couple of years away.

My problem is with so-called Yankee fans who actually claim they don't care how the team does, as long as Jeter is happy.

Just recognize that you're a Jeter fan more than you're a Yankee fan.

Errr ... why did Jeter win a Gold Glove?

"Derek Jeter won the Gold Glove this year for the same reason he can snag a greatest-hits list of starlets and have his own scent of cologne and instantaneously own any room into which he walks:"

Well, before I get started reading this article, the negative reaction to Jeter's Gold Glove is really a condemnation of the award, not so much a condemnation the 36-year-old Hall of Fame shortstop. The most supportive defense of the award has described Jeter's defense as merely "above average." So now the Gold Glove means defensive player who are above average. Which makes no sense.

Still, it continues a decade-long backlash to the ridiculous heights of Jeter worship.

Anyway, why did Jeter win the Gold Glove?


"He oozes Jeterness."

Yuck.


"Perhaps you have not heard of Jeterness. It is an all-encompassing and -embodying quality that amalgamates Derek Jeter’s greatest attributes into one succinct air of being. It is equal parts cool, attractive, intelligent, heroic, humble and confident. Men want Jeterness. Women swoon at those who have it."

Kind Sir, I live in the New York City Metropolitan area.

I've never heard of Jeterness? Even if it has never been described in such a foolish manner, I have heard about Jeterness just about every day for the past 15 years.

In short, Jeter's got an edge, baby. And he's got one with a cool panoramic vista roof!


"Right now, for the first time in his career, Derek Jeter is a free agent, and this development is spurring a great debate. There are two sides: to pay or not to pay, a fairly black-and-white construct."

Black-and-white construct? Just like Jeter himself. Har dee har har.


There really is no great debate. Everyone knows that the Yankees have plenty of money to pay Jeter and they will overpay him. Most veterans are overpaid, most free agents are overpaid, most pro athletes are paid for their past work instead of their future work.


"Hardcore Jeter loyalists want the Yankees to open their overstuffed pocketbook and write him a blank check. Jeter realists see his age, skill set and quantifiable contributions to the team and want him back – he is, after all, the only shortstop in this free-agent class worthy of wearing Pinstripes – albeit at market price, which is a good $10 million a year less than Jeter will end up getting."

I guess I agree with that, but it's not hard to figure out why. They're paying Jeter extra because he is the team icon and he moves lots of merchandise, etc.


"In the end, his Jeterness made his Gold Glove, and it makes it difficult to stomach, too. Anyone who watched a couple Yankees games this season – even the most ardent Jeter supporter – could say his defense isn’t what it used to be, and what it used to be was never much more than above average. Jeter wasn’t ever Luis Aparicio, Mark Belanger, Ozzie Smith, Omar Vizquel – and those are the only players to win more than his five Gold Gloves."

Hey, that's a good point, Jeff Passan.


"Jeter will get at least three years, and though the Yankees want to talk about $15 million per year, the number should creep closer to $20 million in the end. Last season, he was one of only five players to top that benchmark, and he doesn’t want to slide underneath it, not when the man to the right of him, Alex Rodriguez, made nearly 50 percent more than him last year. Jeter never complained about it because he’s bigger than that. You know, the Jeterness."

Well, stop saying "the Jeterness." It is not going to catch on.

But Jeter has no reason to complain about ARod's contract. ARod is a teammate who helps the Yankees win. Also, ARod sets the bar high, and the Edge is going to cash in.

Mike Lupica should be an agent.

Whenever the Yankees start recruiting a big free agent, the best part, every single time, is the hilarious notion that it's not about the money, it's about the relationships.

Right. This observation from one of the clows who thought Steinbrenner should have phoned Andy Pettitte. Like Pettitte and Clemens went to Houston for respect.


"Brian Cashman has now flown to Arkansas to meet Cliff Lee and Mrs. Lee and Lee's agent, just to get to know them. Maybe tell them that hardly anybody will try to spit on Mrs. Lee when she's sitting in her own suite. Before getting down to asking the only question that ever matters in this process:

When the time comes, after they've established a relationship and had so much fun getting to know each other, will Lee be willing to take a whole lot more money than anybody else is offering to come pitch for the Yankees?"

Err ... Brian Cashman is doing his job.


"We were actually expected to believe a couple of years ago that Cashman and CC Sabathia had practically turned into a buddy movie when Sabathia and not Lee was the big lefthanded pitcher in play. That it was the bonding and not the money when the Yankees ended up paying Sabathia $160 million and the next biggest offer on the table was $100 million."

Who says we were expected to believe this?

I read 100,000 articles that talked about the money. I don't recall one comment regarding the budding friendship between Cashman and Sabathia.


"Now when it's all over, we don't just hear about how it was always somebody's dream to wear the pinstripes, it was the sales pitch, too. It was the way the Yankees, especially Brian Cashman, were interested in them as people. It was Cash's persuasiveness, and winning personality."

Yes, that's true. The guy who signs with a new team always acts excited about it at a press conference.

Doesn't mean anything.

Hack writers should stop acting like it means something.


Cliff Lee and Mark Teixeira would play for the Red Sox if the Red Sox paid them one extra dollar. Same goes for Derek Jeter and Joe Dimaggio.

Jim Bouton on Marvin Miller.

" 'How did these people vote, and why are their votes kept secret?' Bouton asks. 'And why aren't there more players on that committee? Hank Aaron, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins—they're all on the committee for reviewing the managers and umpires. Essentially, the decision for putting a union leader in the Hall of Fame was handed over to a bunch of executives and former executives. Marvin Miller kicked their butts and took power away from the baseball establishment—do you really think those people are going to vote him in? It's a joke.'

Anyone who doubts the truth of what Bouton is saying only has to look at the two MLB executives who were voted in: former commissioner of baseball Bowie Kuhn, a man repeatedly bested by Miller and the union in every negotiation, and Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, the man who moved the team out of Brooklyn.

Does Bouton, then, blame the MLB establishment for keeping Miller out? 'No, I blame the players, he says. It's their Hall of Fame; it's their balls and bats that make the hall what it is. Where are the public outcries from Joe Morgan or Reggie Jackson, who was a player rep? Why don't these guys see that some of their own get on these committees? That's the least they owe Marvin Miller. Do they think they became millionaires because of the owners' generosity?' "

Keanu Reeves wins best actor.

Jeter is a defensive liability.

"If you watched the even casually it wasn't hard to see that looked closer to 46 than 36 compared to as a shortstop. That's not a knock on Jeter but simply praise for Andrus' eye-popping range and athleticism."

Well, it's also a knock on Jeter.


"In truth, this isn't even about Jeter so much as it is about the voting procedure. Too often the Gold Gloves are won as much on reputation and/or prowess at the plate as defensive excellence, as silly as that sounds, mainly because the managers and coaches in each league don't take the voting seriously enough."

I don't think Cano deserved it, either, but that's just me.


"In the case of Jeter, he is far from the worst defensive shortstop in the majors, as some computer ranking labeled him a couple of years ago, but neither is he a Gold Glover just because his six errors this season were the fewest in the AL at the position.

Andrus, for example, made 16 errors, but he also handled 659 total chances at short, compared to 553 for Jeter. And if you have watched Andrus at all, you don't need a zone rating to see how many runs he may well have saved the Rangers with his spectacular range and strong arm.

Still, you can bet that many coaches simply looked at the Yankee shortstop's error total and decided that was good enough for them, especially for a player of Jeter's stature."

They didn't look at the stats at all. They just voted for Jeter because Jeter's got an Edge with a cool panoramic vista roof.

Billy Martin won one Championship as a manager.

Why would Billy Martin get into the Hall of Fame?

Alex Rodriguez is the best.

This sounds like an exaggeration at the least, but it's still funny:

"The strangest story he told me of all his years as the clubhouse manager was one which involved Alex Rodriguez.

All the stories of how the media portrayed A-Rod to be full of himself, having a big ego, and being self centered were all true, he said to me. He told me of how before MLB had cracked down on clubhouse accessibility, A-Rod had a kid straight of college, as former clubhouse manager summed up to me as, 'Someone who would basically tell Rodriguez, how good he was, how he was the best, and etc. Almost like a personal assistant.' "

Steinbrenner was kind of an unreasonable prick.

For decades, Lupica relentlessly assaulted George Steinbrenner because of Steinbrenner's absurd mission statement that the Yankees should win the World Series every year.

Of course, anybody who pays attention knows that Steinbrenner was really primarily interested in making profits, and that's what he did:

"You would compare the Yankees of the past decade to the Atlanta Braves of the decade right before it in baseball except for one thing:

The Braves went to the World Series more."

Well, the Yankees are far more profitable and popular.

Also, the Braves' manager is going right to the Hall of Fame for winning one World Series. Is the comparison to the Braves supposed to be an insult?


"Since Mike Piazza hit one into Bernie Williams' glove at the end of the 2000 Subway Series, the Yankees have spent more than $2 billion in payroll and luxury taxes. On average, they have spent $50 million more per season than the next biggest baseball payroll."

You're counting luxury tax again and that makes no sense.

Luxury tax is not part of payroll.

It's a tax.

It's sort of the opposite of payroll.


"The Braves of the 90s were known as the Buffalo Bills of baseball. They went to the Series five times between 1991 and 1999, winning once, in 1995. The Yankees have been to three World Series since the ball was in Bernie's glove that night at old Shea."

I didn't know that the Braves were known as the Buffalo Bills of baseball. I also think any reasonable person would praise the Braves and Bills compared to their peers who were playing golf. Which is why all the important people involved with those teams are going to their respective Halls of Fame.


"George Steinbrenner's mission was pretty simple: Win it all. Or else. It is almost unfathomable that with this kind of financial advantage over the field, in a sport without a salary cap, the Yankees have only won it all once in 10 years."

It's fathomable, especially with three rounds of the playoffs.


"The Yankees are still covered like they're the dynasty of the late 90s. They're not. People still act as if it's some kind of aberration when it's the Giants and Rangers in the World Series. It's not."

What people?

I think almost every person on Earth knows that four titles in five years was the aberration.

If Lupica is changing his tune and now adopting Steinbrenner's mission statement as his own, then Lupica is ... well, he's a hack and a liar and a hypocrite.

But you already knew that.


I actually think 2010 was a fun year for the Yankees. An exciting team with a good blend of speed and power. Burnett and Joba tanked and the team shut it down in September. But, other than those disappointments, nobody was complaining after four playoffs games, that's for sure.

Mike Lupica does not like Alex Rodriguez.

But why would a grown man, in his dislike for another man, subvert his own intelligence? Essentially, this article is not an attack on ARod so much as a revealing assault on Mike Lupica's lack of mature thought processes:

"On Thursday, day before Game 6, they were asking Alex Rodriguez about the Rangers series, and he said something about how if the pitches weren't there, he was willing to take a walk and 'pass the baton.'

Even in this baseball culture where we're supposed to carry players around on our shoulders because they work the count and take pitches and sometimes do everything possible NOT to swing a bat, it was a pretty amazing admission from somebody who's supposed to break the all-time home run record someday."

On the rare occasion when ARod has peformed poorly in the postseason, it has been because he swing at too many bad pitches.

Yes, it's an amazing admission because it demonstrates that ARod is a baseball genius, even though he's a moron every time he opens his mouth off the baseball field.

"Somebody else, maybe Reggie Jackson, ought to explain to A-Rod that big Yankees don't look to pass the baton at this time of year, especially when their Yankee team is up against it. Especially if the big Yankee we're talking about already has 600 home runs in the big leagues."

Swinging at bad pitches doesn't help ARod or his team.


"One year after A-Rod carried the Yankees in the postseason, he was almost as soft a hitter this October as he was in all his other Yankee Octobers and his one November before last year."

Keep lying about ARod's postseason career. It's good journalism.


"Rodriguez talks about passing the baton, even after Robinson Cano was hitting in front of him. Really? Who did he want to pass it to, Nick Swisher?"

Yes, Nick Swisher. Because Nick Swisher batting with runners on base is better than Nick Swisher batting with runners out.

I mean, this is basically a guy who sits behind a keyboard telling Alex Rodriguez how to hit a baseball.

Not even chastising the results, questioning the strategy.


"No, he is also fascinating because even as good as he is, and even though people still seem to think he is going to get to 800 home runs, the Yankees had to go get Mark Teixeira to hit in front of him. It means they needed a $180 million switch-hitting star to come hit in front of him, as a way of taking pressure of him."

I challenge any human being on the face of the Earth to dig their way out of the erratic logic of this sentence.

Mike Lupica is claiming the Yankees acquired Mark Teixeira to take the pressure of Alex Rodriguez in the batting order.

Like, the main impetus was not to get another good player to help win baseball games. It was to take the pressure of Alex Rodriguez.

It's also probably why the Yankees acquired Lou Gehrig way back when, to take pressure off Babe Ruth. They acquired Reggie Jackson to take pressure off Thurman Munson. They acquired Roger Maris to take pressure off Mickey Mantle. They acquired Good Player to take pressure off Other Good Player.


"So this year he had Teixeira in front of him, Teixeira coming on after a bad start, putting up big numbers of his own until he hurt his thumb. And A-Rod had Robinson Cano having a career, MVP-type year. And still struggled to get to 30 home runs at the very end, despite big RBI numbers."

Uhhh ... so you're saying ARod is awesome? With his 30 HRs and 125 RBIs, and ARod is obviously going to get 500 HRs in his career?


"He is always going to be a numbers hanger, at least as long as his body holds up. Just not the numbers he had in Texas."

Right! Because he's awesome.


"Not the 54 home runs he hit after he got to New York."

Of course not! But he'll easily get to 800 HRs, right? Despite a bum named Mark Teixeria batting .250 in front of him in the regular season and .000 in the ALCS?


"Ask yourself a question: If A-Rod had hit like Hamilton in the ALCS and Hamilton had hit like him whose team is going to the World Series."
I actually don't know.

Hamilton had 7 hits in the World Series and 4 HRs (bringing his career postseason batting average up to a whopping .237, by the way). If ARod had hit 4 HRs and Hamilton had hit 0 HRs, I certainly can't guarantee the Yankees would have won the series.

It's kind of a pointless mind exercise, don't you think?

ARod is the best player on the field based on his career. It doesn't mean he will perform the best every game, every series, every year. It also doesn't mean he should swing at everything trying to hit HRs.

Intentionally walking the go-ahead run was a very bad decision and it is not the first time this season Girardi has done this.

Here is the box score of a game from May 1, 2010.

If it pleases the Court, I will highlight the top of the 7th inning. Yankees are winning 6-5, but not for long:

"Top 7th: Chi White Sox

- B. Gardner in left field

- R. Winn in left field

- B. Gardner in center field

- D. Robertson relieved S. Mitre

- A. Jones flied out to left

- P. Konerko doubled to right

- M. Teahen grounded out to third

- C. Quentin intentionally walked

- D. Marte relieved D. Robertson

- A.J. Pierzynski doubled to deep left, P. Konerko and C. Quentin scored

- M. Kotsay flied out to left"

Yankees ended up losing by one run.


No one will ever know if the Yankees would have won Game Four if Girardi had managed the game differently. But if a manager can't be criticized for a major gaffe that potentially costs his team a trip to the World Series ... well, then let's all drink some green tea, dig out our Steve Karsay jerseys, and put Joe Torre back in the dugout:

"Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson and Jorge Posada got big hits. The Rangers didn't. So the Yankee manager, a bum less than 24 hours earlier, didn't get hit after this one."

Really interesting use of conjunctions. A nod to Ernest Hemingway's propulsive prose? Or a nod to a lack of education?


"In a few hours, across the country in San Franciso, in a game the < needed so they wouldn't make the same 1-3 hole for themselves the Yankees had made against the Rangers, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would end up with , his No. 2 starter, pitching the 9th inning against the Giants. And losing the 9th inning and the game. If Girardi had done it, if the Yankees had lost a game like this with a starting pitcher pitching the 9th, people would have looked to fire him before he got on the bus."

Awww, "people" are being too hard on Girardi.

I promise you, every Phillies fan I know is apoplectic. They don't want to fire Manual before he gets on the bus. They want him to stand in front of the bus while they get into the driver's seat and rev it up.


"I thought that if Burnett had enough arm left to be in the game, he had enough arm to get out David Murphy, the Rangers' lefthanded No. 7 hitter. And if he didn't somebody else should have been pitching for the Yankees in Game 4."

Ivan Nova should have been pitching for the Yankees in Game Four.

But if you thought Burnett had enough arm left, then you simply haven't analyzed Burnett's stats for the season, Burnett's stats with runner on base, and Burnett's propensity to allow homeruns.


"Swisher, even with his Game 5 home run, is hitting .105, which makes this another postseason when he hasn't been up to the circumstances, at least so far. Mark Teixeira, before he grabbed his leg, was 0-for-14 against the Rangers.

At cleanup, still looking like you can only call him Mr. October 2009, is Alex Rodriguez, with a .176 batting average and two RBI and hitting the ball barely better than he did in the Octobers before the last one."

ARod's career postseason stats are .291/.399/.529. Compared to regular seasons stats of .303/.387/.571.

Take ARod's 62 postseason games and adjust for 162 games. You get .291, 34 HRs, 99 RBIs, and 105 runs scored.

So you're going to claim that Girardi is an easy target and unfairly criticized, and your response is to do the same thing to ARod?

Girardi blew it.

Girardi tanked September and home field advantage so he could rest his bullpen. The first six games of the playoffs justified his decision. Even the decision to start Burnett was rewarded for 5 2/3 innings. Then, when it was time for Logan to come in, Girardi inexplicably stuck with the unreliable Burnett:

“ 'I thought A.J. was throwing well at that point,' Girardi said. 'It was hard to argue with the way he was throwing the ball.'

That was the rationale for plowing through the inning, which soon reached its crossroads with a runner on second and two out. With an open base, Girardi again refused to listen to his inner voice, ignoring common sense to intentionally put the go-ahead run on base.

Why? Because of his maddening attachment to numbers. Girardi was uncomfortable with David Murphy’s career 5-for-18 against Burnett, so he called for an intentional walk. Never once did Girardi consider what an extra base runner would do to Burnett’s fragile psyche.

Why? Because time and again, Girardi has proven he has no feel for his players, no sense of the flow of the game. The stats are his haven; they act as an after-the-fact defense when it’s time to be accountable.

Anyone who’s watched Burnett’s acts of sabotage all summer knew what was coming. It didn’t matter that the right-hander had a brilliant fastball, charged by 11 days’ rest. In the first inning, Burnett’s four-seamer didn’t come in under 95-mph. He kept the heat through the fifth inning, and even into the sixth, Girardi said, 'he was still throwing great.' "

I don't really know if Girardi's problem is his unwillingness to play hunches or if he is deaf to the beats of his players' hearts.

This particular decision was contrary to most of his decisions -- i.e., his quick hook -- and completely indefensible. It was like Girardi was trying to build Burnett's confidence for a World Series appearance that will never occur.

Teixeira's fielding isn't THAT good.

"There is no sugarcoating this: Teixeira was having an awful postseason at the plate, going hitless in 14 at-bats this series. His biggest achievement was drawing a walk against Cliff Lee in Game 3, the first Yankees base runner against the dominant Texas starter that night.

Still, as much as he struggled offensively, his defense at first base was saving runs in every game. In the inning before he limped off the field, he dodged the broken bat of Texas first baseman Mitch Moreland to start a 3-6-1 double play that negated a leadoff runner.

The Yankees might not have gotten out of this round with Teixeira in the lineup, not with the Rangers outplaying them in nearly every phase of the game.

But it is certainly hard to see them returning to the Canyon of Heroes without him. You could see it on their faces in the dugout when he limped off. It was a turning point."

Golly.

Imagine how upset they'd be if Teixera was batting .001 in the ALCS instead of .000.

My key to the game for the Yankees is to score about twenty runs.

Three quick questions for Joe Girardi:

1) Why is Burnett starting?

2) Why is Cervelli catching?

3) Why is Gardner not leading off?

Trash.

The Yankees weren't "resilient" in the eighth inning on Friday because their players are paid a lot of money and I'm a typical sportswriter and I'm a dope.

The Rangers were "resilient" in Game Two because ... well, I don't know ... I can't quite figure it out. A team is down 1-0 in a 7-game series and Phil Hughes pitched poorly and it's an inspiration for abandoned puppies all over the world. After a bullpen meltdown, the Rangers were supposed to stop trying because their li'l hearts were broken.

I know the Yankees always play the role of Evil Empire, Faceless Corporate Behemoth, Goliath, blah blah blah. But it is way too common for Yankee opponents to talk trash. The Yankees are never allowed to talk trash.


The combined Championship rings of Elvis Andrus plus the combined Championship rings of Ian Kinsler equals the combined Championship rings of the Texas Rangers. Which is zero.

In fact, just to teach the kids a math trick, if you took the combined Championship rings of Elvis Andrus, Ian Kinsler, and the Texas Rangers, and multiplied that number by the biggest number in the whole Universe, the result would still be zero. Isn't that amazing?

The respective team histories don't even matter when assessing the Rangers' chances in the 2010 ALCS. The players on the Rangers just ought to keep their mouths shut and act like grown-ups.

When you talk this much, it sounds like you expect to lose and are trying to convince yourselves that you are going to win:

Elvis Andrus: " 'We all know the Yankees don’t like the speed game,' Andrus said. 'So that’s going to be a big key for us in the series.' "

I guess he means while playing defense the Yankees don't like the opposing baserunners to be aggressive on the basepaths?

Well, I suppose that's sort of true. Posada/Cervelli don't have great arms and Burnett can't hold anybody on base. But I also distinctly remember Game One where Kinsler was picked off first base and some other Ranger yahoo was thrown out at home, unable to outrace 475-lb. CC Sabathia.

So ... thanks for that "speed game," Rangers. Keep it up.


Ian Kinsler doing his best Jimmy Rollins impersonation: " 'We outplayed them for two days,' Kinsler said of the Yankees."

No, you did not. You outplayed the Yankees one game out of two.

You know how you know which team outplayed the other? The scoreboard, that's how.

Late-inning comebacks don't count somehow because they're unexpected. Eighth-inning runs don't count. Unearned runs are lucky, or something.. Almost wins count as actual wins.

In Game Two, I say Cano should have made a better play on the steal of home (gold glove candidate, my butt), Berkman should have hit a HR, and Hughes should have made a few better pitches.

Therefore, Yankees totally outplayed the Rangers and the Yankees should be up 2-0.

9-2 in postseason since re-joining the Yankees.

The postseason performance catching up to his reputation.

Also, some HOF talk building. Which I only find amusing because this particular discussion tends to avoid the mention of human growth hormone.

Mike Lupica is saving Mariano Rivera's arm for games in December.

"He came running out of the bullpen, running out of all the other Octobers, one out earlier than he should have in the first game of the playoffs. But here came the great Mo Rivera anyway, here came Rivera to show you how much and how badly Joe Girardi wanted Game 1."

Uhhh ...

You know it's the playoffs, right?

You know it's a five-game series, right?

Can you imagine if Girardi hadn't brought in Rivera?

The ethereal world.

"And anybody who doesn't think the Mets can come all the way back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees doesn't remember what the '80s were like in the place I've always called Baseball New York."

What is your deal, dude? What sort of invisible demons are your fighting?

First, the idea that an imaginary place called "Baseball New York" existed in the first place.

Second, the fact that you're living in the '80s. The last time the Mets were better than the Yankees, you didn't have a cell phone, you didn't have an Internet, the astronauts were dusting moon shmutz off their uniforms, the Berlin Wall was up, Barack Obama was in high school, and "Falcon Crest" was your favorite pop culture reference instead of "Dancing With the Stars."

Third, who are the people who don't think the Mets can come back and go toe-to-toe with the Yankees? Besides you, who is thinking about the Mets right now?

The Mets should worry about going toe-to-toe with the Marlins in the NL East before they worry about the respective attention they receive from Russ Salzberg.


"The Yankees are often right about big-ticket starting pitchers, but only as long as they're named Clemens or Sabathia."

I know, right?

The guy giving us a New York Baseball history lesson has forgotten about:

1. Jimmy Key.
2. David Cone.
3. David Wells.
4. Orlando Hernandez.
5. Andy Pettitte.
6. Mariano Rivera.

Awww, you're just upset because Johnny Damon didn't make the playoffs. Johnny Damon with his .271 batting average and 8 HRs.

Let's see how many times Lupica can be wrong in two pages. Start with the headline:

"CC Sabathia is a sure thing for the Yankees, same can't be said for A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez"

1) If Sabathia is a sure thing, then you can make reservations for the parade. Sabathia is going to start 2 games in a 5-game series and perhaps even 3 games in a 7-game series.

2) Vazquez won't be on the postseason roster. Burnett should not be. So if the gist of this argument is that the Yankees overpaid for these two pitchers, then you're stating the obvious. But if you're trying to predict playoff doom for the Yankees, you shouldn't look at the back end of the roster.

"This is as disinterested a September as a top-shelf Yankee team has had in a long time."

3) Last year, the Yankees were disinterested in September and they won the World Series.

4) This has been the Yankee way for at least a decade.


"Only now, on the verge of another Yankee postseason, it feels as if the only reliable postseason rotation the Yankees have is CC Sabathia."

5) Pettitte is reliable.

6) Hughes is reliable.


"Whatever Girardi and Brian Cashman say, would ever say, the Yankees have approached their rumblin', bumblin' September as if they will do anything not to face Cliff Lee and the Rangers in the first round."

Errr ...

7) The last time the Yankees faced Lee, the Yankees overcame a 6-0 deficit.

8) When the Yankees started taking the pedal off the metal -- around Labor Day -- they had no way of knowing the Twins would win 10 in a row and, frankly, the Yankees still don't know who will win the AL East and who will win the wild card.


"It would be pretty amazing, the big, bad $200 million defending champion Yankees looking to avoid a Rangers team that hasn't been in the playoffs in more than a decade."

9) ??? Why would that be amazing? I think that could conceivably be wise, but I also think the Yankees have no way of planning the Universe like that. As if Cashman is commanding the Royals to beat the Twins and the Rays. I Decree it so.


"No worries, though. Once the season is over, the Yankees will throw money at Lee - less than Sabathia money, more than Burnett - and act as if they have some sort of brilliant plan at Yankee Stadium that doesn't involve spending a couple of hundred million dollars on starters every couple of years."

10) I think Lee will likely replace Pettitte. I don't know who will replace Vazquez (Ivan Nova?).

11) The Yankees can afford Lee because of Cashman's brilliant moves in the outfield. Who needs Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth? (Or Hideki Matsui? Or Johnny Damon? Or Melky Cabrera?)


"The season wasn't supposed to go anything like this. But Pettitte got hurt, because aging pitchers do."

12) All pitchers are aging. All entities in the Universe are always aging, every second of every minute of every day.

13) Lee got hurt.

14) Santana got hurt.

15) Strasburg got hurt.

So if you meant to say old pitchers get hurt, then you're using an invalid modifier.


"The Yankees weren't supposed to have to pitch Hughes in an emergency start against the Red Sox Sunday night. They did."

16) Oh, I remember. The unreliable Hughes knocking the Red Sox out of the playoff race. That was sweet.


"The Yankees weren't supposed to be rooting this hard for Burnett to show up in Toronto the other night with something resembling the stuff he showed us in the last postseason."


17) In last year's postseason, Burnett had one good start out of four.

Top Five.

Top five Yankee pitchers who should start Game Four instead of A.J Burnett.

1. Ivan Nova.
2. Dustin Moseley.
3. Sergio Mitre.
4. Chad Gaudin.
5. Nick Swisher.
   

"... Rivera blew a save for the fifth time in 37 chances—but third since Sept. 11 ..."

Just being fair, Mariano has not pitched well lately. I don't know if it's something to "worry about" in October. I'm pretty sure Papelbon's meltdown won't matter too much in October. Except maybe at his local miniature golf course.

Tampa Loses! Tampa Loses!

Can they hold off the Yankees in the surge for the AL East crown?

Yankees can cut Tampa's lead to a mere 1/2 game!


I only think it's amusing that Tampa's 1.5-game lead is viewed as totally secure. But the Sox are going to make up 5.5 games on the Yankees fer sure.

Just stop.

So the Red Sox "plan" is to win every game while the Yankees lose every game. Sounds like a great plan.


Yes, I agree with the notion that the Yankees deserve to lose if they lose their last six games in a row to the Red Sox. But this losing streak to the Red Sox is only two so far.


I also think the Yankees should really start re-considering their annual September Swoon strategy. Get your rest after the Magic Number is 0.


But that's not the issue here. The issue here is mathematics. Mathematics is on the Yankees' side.

Only ten?

Hughes beats Rays! Hughes beats Rays!

Sorry I got so excited.

I was just counteracting the faux panic that would have occurred if the Rays had beaten Hughes.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Kevin Kernan gets the memo from 2008.

"The Yankees have found another rival to match the Red Sox."

The Rays rivalry does not match the Red Sox rivalry. I'm sure the New York Post has about 250,000 articles that refer to the Curse of Babe Ruth. The Yankees and Red Sox were rivals long before the Rays even existed.

I'm glad I could clear that up.


"Time to wake up and realize they are not the Beasts of the East that they thought they were this season."

Wake up! Wake up! Everybody needs to wake up!

Maybe Kernan really has been asleep since 2008, when the Rays won the division and went to the World Series.


"If not for Jorge Posada’s home run that gave the Yankees an 8-7 win Tuesday night in 10 innings, the Yankees could have been swept away by the Rays and Rangers."

If not for the HRs by Reid Brignac and Dan Johnson, the Yankees sweep the Rays.

If not for a bad call by an umpire on Kinsler's slide, the Yankees win that game and that's three losses turned into wins.

The Yankees lost most of these games by one run, so please don't talk about "if not for." One or two plays always decide close games. That's how it works.


"The Rays are not hitting much, either, but they still had enough to win two of three. Their manager Joe Maddon showed energy and enthusiasm, giving his players a lift. He was thrown out in the seventh during the Jeter incident."

When you said "the Rays are not hitting much," you probably meant to say, "The Yankees pitched well."


"The Rays are a better team this year because they have improved their bullpen. Soriano came on for his 43rd save in the ninth.The Rays have the mojo. The Yankees have issues."

The last two paragraphs just seem like a bunch of disconnected observations, but the Yankees are only a half-game out and a near-certainty to make the playoffs.

If the Yankees have issues and the Rays have mojo, then it's a wonder that the two teams have identical win-loss records.

Well done, cheater.

Maybe Jeter really does have an edge.

Game Two starter is Pettitte.

Though that could conceivably change if the Yankees don't get home-field advantage:

"If you still think you've got some hop on your fastball, call the Yankees, because they might give you a shot at starting Game 2 of the playoffs."

Mike Lupica crosses the Rubicon.

After 142 games, he finally concedes that the gritty Red Sox won't catch the Yankees.


As for the criteria for pitchers who would be eligible to start Game 2 of the playoffs for the Yankees, I believe this means that overrated slobs like John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield need not apply.


Now, the lingering worries about the Yankee playoff rotation. Focusing on the first round only:

Games 1 and 5 are Sabathia, who is the best pitcher in the American League.

Game 2 is Pettitte.

Game 3 is Hughes, who is actually quite good.

Game 4 is probably Burnett, though the Yankees shouldn't start him at home. Which means, if the Yankees choose not to start Burnett, then Burnett probably shouldn't make the playoff roster. In that case, Game 4 goes to Nova.

Can a rookie pitch in the playoffs?

Yes, a rookie can pitch in the playoffs.


Is the Yankee rotation really a huge problem? Please compare this starting rotation to the Twins' and the Rangers'. That's really the valid comparison, isn't it?

Game Two opponent would be Carl Pavano in Minnesota or C.J Wilson at Yankee Stadium.

I kind of like Pettitte's chances, frankly.

Tommy Hunter gave up seven runs to Toronto in his most recent start.

Typical take from Tim Smith where the Yankee playoff success hinges on Andy Pettitte's successful return.

Now, it goes without saying that a healthy Pettitte will help the Yankees in September and in October, but it's impossible to predict the outcome of a five-game series:

"If Pettitte doesn't come back right for the postseason, I'm not convinced that Sabathia, as good as he has been, can run all four legs of that relay race and help deliver another World Series title to the Bronx."

Who knows? Sabathia and Pettitte are not guaranteed winners and Hughes and Burnett are not guaranteed losers.


But what bugs me is that the Yankee opponents are never discussed. How can you proclaim the Yankee starting rotation depth is a problem when none of their opponents have starting rotation depth?

I think we can all agree that Javier Vazquez did not deserve to win.

"We know by now that Joe Girardi treats each and every ballgame as a mountain to be climbed, a safe to be cracked, a war to be won."

Is that a criticism?

It's a nice change of pace from a manager who treated every game like a between-nap chance to provide free product placement for Bigelow tea.


"But there are days like this one when he should just take a deep breath and resist the urge to overmanage."

This better be good, because now you're going to criticize the in-game decision of a manager whose team possesses the best record in baseball and is in the midst of an eight-game winning streak.


"Here he was, trying to bring Javier Vazquez back to life as a starting pitcher, and with two outs in the fifth inning of a game the Yankees were winning 5-3, Girardi came striding purposefully out of the dugout to yank Vazquez and bring in Dustin Moseley."

Second day in a row Girardi removed the starting pitcher after 4 2/3 innings.

Wonderful stuff.


"Never mind that Moseley promptly gave up a game-tying double to Lyle Overbay. That's not the point."

I don't think you have a point. Never mind that Vazquez has given up 29 HRs in 143 2/3 innings this year, that the go-ahead run was at the plate, that right field in Yankee Stadium is 225 feet away, and that Vazquez had given up a HR to Overbay earlier in the game.


"Or that Moseley, the pitcher Girardi just bumped from the starting rotation in favor of Vazquez, is not exactly Mariano Rivera coming out of the bullpen."

Or that Vazquez, the pitcher whom Moseley replaced, is not exactly Bob Gibson.

Vazquez is sort of a poor man's Denny Neagle.


"Or that the Yankees, sailing along at 85-50 with a seven-game winning streak as the day began, are hardly in desperation mode."

Yeah, well maybe that's because their manager treats each and every ballgames as a mountain to be climbed, a safe to be cracked, a war to be won.


"So why didn't he see the potential benefit of giving Vazquez a chance to get out of the inning, qualify for a win and earn a much-needed boost to his psyche?"

Because there is no benefit, you dope.

An 11-9 pitcher on his way out the door isn't much different than a 10-9 pitcher on his way out the door.

Also, I wonder how Vazquez's psyche would have benefited from another upper-deck blast?


"Whatever the formula, the Yankees found a way to win their eighth straight game, and that's the bottom line.

Maybe they won't need Vazquez come October and none of this will matter. But Girardi can't know that just yet."

I think Harper is wildly exaggerating the importance of one at-bat to Javier Vazquez's psyche, the importance of Javier Vazquez's psyche, and the importance of Javier Vazquez in general.

Q: What is intriguing about Girardi's decision?

"Top 5th

* McCoy grounded out, shortstop Nunez to first baseman Teixeira.
* Snider singled to right.
* Bautista popped out to center fielder Granderson. Snider stole second. Wells walked.
* Logan pitching. Overbay struck out."

A: Torre would have left Nova in trying to help the "youngster get a win."

Mother hen defends one of her chicks.

What the heck is the matter with Ms. Leather Pants? She gets so angry just because people are noticing Derek Jeter's poor play:

" 'All the people doing the talking are shortsighted, very shortsighted,' Waldman said. 'I don't think any of the talk, any of the stories, affect Derek at all. Everybody is jumping to conclusions because they need something to talk about.'

...

'You're watching a career go full circle,' Waldman said. 'It's not over, trust me. Wait and watch how this season plays out. Stop looking at it game to game. Baseball is a game of attrition. Let's see where Derek's standing in October. Then shoot your mouth off.' "

No, I don't trust you.


"Baseball is a game of attrition." What does that even mean?

Is that like when you say that a batter gets a good pitch to hit every at-bat?

That the key to the game is to throw strikes?

That the HR was hit on a pitch that drifted over the middle of the plate? Furthermore, that's not where the catcher wanted the pitch? Right down the middle of the plate?

Thanks for the insight.


So when are Jeter critics allowed to shoot their mouths off?

What if he finishes the season with a .330 on-base% and then bats .211 in the playoffs?

Then can somebody say something negative about Derek Jeter?


So, basically, fans and observers of baseball simply can't comment on what they see on the baseball field.

If you do, Suzyn Waldman will get very angry.

Padres lose sixth in a row.

Did this slump precisely correspond with Mike Lupica's gushing article? Or was the jinx delayed a couple of days?

Hey, pal, the exciting race for the Best Record in Baseball isn't working out so great. The Yankees now have a 5 1/2 game lead in this imaginary race.

I'm guessing Lupica won't mention the Padres again for the rest of the season.

Jeter? You know he's got an edge.

We're talking about runners left in scoring position ... right?

Because when it comes to runners left in scoring position, Jeter's got an edge, baby!

I thought Yankee fans were supposed to be worried about the Tigers.

I don't think the Twins are serious about bringing a World Series to their fancy new ballpark.

I was just thinking about baseball teams in the American League, and my conclusion was that the Minnesota Twins are not serious about winning.

That's why they play baseball games in clown uniforms with big red shoes and shoot cans of silly string at each other. They're kind of like the baseball version of the Harlem Globetrotters:

"If you didn't think the Twins were serious about bringing a World Series to their fancy new ballpark before, maybe them going for as a set-up man the other day will convince you that they want this year to be different from all the others when they couldn't make it out of the first round."

Oh, Brian Fuentes is the difference-maker in the playoffs.

You mean the guy the Yankees beat last year in the playoffs? The guy with the 9.82 World Series ERA? The guy with as many Championship rings as me?


"The Yankees were 13-14 over a month of baseball that ended with Friday night's sparkling performance against the White Sox, and when you play that kind of dreary baseball over this long a period, you get people wondering if you're still the $200 million odds-on favorite to repeat."

Hmmm ... the Twins haven't had a slump this year? Has there been a team in the history of major league baseball who hasn't had a slump?

Dismissing the Yankees demonstrates a lack of understanding of baseball.


"The Red Sox have lost one-third of the starting team they had at the start of the season - Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury - and should have gone away a long time ago.

And sort of haven't.

Have they?"

On August 7th, the Yankees beat the Red Sox and pulled 7 games ahead on the loss side.

Three weeks of dreary baseball later, the Yankees are 6 games ahead on the loss side.

The Red Sox sort of have gone away, those scrappy li'l $160 million underdogs. I think losing Youkilis, Pedroia, and Ellsbury brings their on-field payroll down to 2x the Rays'. The same Rays who've got 6 fewer losses.


Doesn't matter, Yankee fans. Once the Sox are thoroughly dismissed, Lupica will write an article hyping the Rays.

Worry about Price and the Rays.

Worry about Lee and the Rangers, Verlander and the Tigers, Fuentes and the Angels/Twins, any team with John Lackey.

Lupica wants you to be afraid.

It wouldn't matter if the Red Sox were 1.5 games back or 12.5 games back. Lupica is going to write the same article. I'm surprised he didn't bring up Babe Ruth and Aaron Boone.


Now ... this is key ... the entire reason a team builds a big lead is so they can withstand a 13-14 slump. The Yankees have room for error. The Red Sox do not have room for error. A few Papelbon blown saves, an ill-timed error by Mike Lowell, a couple of "tough losses," a bad month for Beckett, and their season if over.


I mean, I know it's coming, and it's still ridiculous.

Lupica is rooting against the Yankees so hard that he can't interpret baseball reality.

"Whatever," he says.

"But even if Girardi pulls Burnett from the rotation, he has limited options. He could give a start to Javier Vazquez, who is battling his own problems. Or he could give the job to long reliever Sergio Mitre.

Burnett likened his struggles to 'Groundhog Day.'

'Joe makes the decisions around here, so whatever,' Burnett said. 'But I'm looking forward to going out there in the next five days and making my start, and turn this thing around. Better late than never.' "

I am not sure I've ever seen a professional athlete less dedicated to the craft.

He doesn't field well.

He forgets to back up home plate.

He doesn't hold runners on.

He doesn't seem to scout the opponents.

He leads the league, for sure, in the "Burnett Index": Walks + Hit-By-Pitch + Wild Pitches.

Every time he gets two strikes on a batter, everyone in the stadium knows the next pitch is going to be a 45-foot slider that is 5 feet outside.

Dude, Little Leaguers have more control than that.

Yesterday, a run scored on a walk, a wild pitch, a ground out, and a wild pitch. Burnett sort of jogged to cover the plate as the runner was running home from third base.

Which is sort of a typical way Burnett gives up runs.

Do you think, in the combined careers of Pettitte, Rivera, and Sabathia, that they have ever allowed a single run to score like that?

I mean, does Burnett even practice pitching?

Does he practice throwing a baseball at a catcher's mitt?

One of these teams will lose.

Which is good news for the Yankees.


I am rooting for Tampa because making the playoffs is more important than winning the AL East.

If.

"The amazing thing about all the injuries the Red Sox have had is that they could still be right there with the Yankees and Rays if Josh Beckett hadn't pitched like this kind of scrub before and after he was on the DL."

1) I am too focused on the exciting race between the Yankees and the Padres. I am not even paying attention to the Rays and the Red Sox.

2) A team with a $160 million payroll should be able to replace injured players.

3) Math. Logic. Deduction.

"If Josh Beckett hadn't picked like a scrub, the Red Sox would be right there with the Yankees and Rays."

Why?

If Lupica is allowed to play baseball in Imagination Land, then so can I:

• If Burnett had won 20 games.
• If Vazquez had won 19 games.
• If ARod had hit 45 HRs.
• If Joba had a 0.99 ERA.
• If the Yankees had never lost a game the whole season.

The Red Sox are the only team with injuries and under-performing players?

Every team is a playoff contender if you take their bad players and re-imagine them as good players.

15-5.

Not sure why Hughes is still a question mark.

He's really good.

If you want to save his innings, score eleven runs and bring in Mitre.

What's the problem, folks?

Good for the Padres.

The Yankees are worth over $1.5 billion.

What lesson could the Padres possibly offer the Yankees with regards to professional baseball success on and off the field?

If the Yankees strove for more efficiency, they might make the World Series once every decade or so?:

"So my favorite race in baseball isn't the one between the Yankees and the Rays for the best record in the sport, it's the one between the Yankees and Bud Black's Padres. Coming into Thursday' [sic] play, the standings in that two-team race looked like this:

Yankees 74-46.

Padres 72-47."

For one thing, that's a three-team race, you retard. You even listed all three teams.

For another thing, you forgot your apostrophe s.


Bad editing aside, this is truly an incredible thing to say. Mike Lupica is more interested in an imaginary Lupica-Land race than in the actual professional baseball divisional race, and he publicly admits to this.


Oh, and the Yankees' best cost-cutting measure was their refusal to sign your Boyfriend Johnny Damon.

I think I've discovered hypocrisy in Mike Lupica's thought patterns.

For instance, if you really think the Yankees' inability to win the WS for nine seasons was inexcusable due to their high payroll, then how can you defend Joe Torre's managerial tenure during seven of those season? What, it was all Kevin Brown's fault?


"The fact that the Yankees have only won once since 2000 after having spent a couple of billion dollars on players and revenue sharing and luxury taxes remains one of the most amazing baseball statistics of all time, up there with Joe DiMaggio's streak, or Cal Ripken's, and the size of Barry Bonds' head."

Very ignorant and embarrassing thing to say.

The most obvious logical hole here is that the Yankee revenue sharing and luxury taxes help teams like the Padres. Duh. Your arithmetic needs work, son.


Lupica really expects a high payroll team to win the World Series every year? Their inability to do so remains one of the most amazing baseball statistics of all time? He actually compares the Yankees' streak -- one which they made the World Series two times and made the playoffs almost every year -- to Dimaggio's hitting streak and Ripken's consecutive game streak?

It's beyond stupid. Lupica is saying the most successful sports franchise in history isn't successful enough.


If you really expect the Yankees to win the World Series every few years, you know nothing about baseball, baseball history, the playoffs, payrolls, the talent pyramid, free agency, luck, and a hundred other factors that would help explain professional baseball to a person who is supposedly trying to understand professional baseball.


God, I hope the Padres lose their next 30 games.

Still has 21 HRs and 97 RBIs ...

... and it's mid-August:

"A-Rod was leading the AL with 97 RBIs going into last night, one up on Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, but his power output has diminished dramatically, with 21 home runs in 426 at bats. That represents one for every 20.3 at-bats, after coming into the season with one for every 14.3 at-bats, a significant difference.

There's also been a noticeable difference in Rodriguez's range at third base, where he's not making plays on balls he ate up his first few seasons in The Bronx."

That's funny.

ARod's defense has clearly improved. Not on days when his hip is sore, of course. Not on days when he's the designated hitter, either.


I guess I shouldn't complain.

This is clearly ARod's worst season, despite the RBIs.

At first, I was mystified by the lack of criticism: "ARod is a new man and he won a ring!"

But then when everybody notices he's having a bad year -- clearly because they started paying attention when he stalled slightly on 599 HRs -- the reaction is over the top.

This useless player will probably hit 40 HRs next year.

Stats of the day.

David Wright has made 14 errors and struck out 126 times.

The Red Sox are closer to fourth place than they are to first place.

The Mets are bigger underachievers and so are the Cubs. I'd say the Dodgers, too.

So the Red Sox are only the fourth-most disappointing team in major league baseball:

"The Red Sox have lost half their team this season and still came into the weekend with the third-most wins in the sport."

Wow, Mike Lupica is easy to impress. Second-highest payroll doesn't buy you much depth these days, I guess.


When this article was published, the following teams had better winning percentages that the gritty Red Sox: Yankees, Rays, Twins, Rangers, Braves, and Padres.

The Giants had the same record.

All of the above-mentioned teams have suffered injuries. Nobody cares about your injuries, especially when your payroll is north of $150M.


Yeah, I get that the Red Sox are more important to Yankee fans than the Padres. But this endless Gritty Red Sox Underdog storyline is tired and, in the year 2010, completely out of touch with reality.


Beckett is overrated. Lackey is a bust. Papelbon blows the save every time he faces a good team. Varitek, Martinez, and Ortiz are all off the PEDs and scaring nobody.

Beltre has had a great year, I'll give them that, and Lupica even predicted it.

But the Red Sox are not catching the Yankees*, and the Red Sox are not gritty.


* I hate making predictions, especially in baseball, but the Red Sox have to realistically win about 75% of their remaining games in order to win the AL East. I don't think it's happening and I don't think they would merit any attention if they had a different name on the front of their uniform.

It's not really a baseball analysis at all, it's just a measure of one's uptightness.

Stumbled on this article while looking at A.J Burnett's page at baseball-reference.com, just to confirm that Burnett's lifetime ERA is better than Josh Beckett's.

By a whole 0.01 earned runs per nine innings.

But it just reminded me of a lot of chatter I've heard lately:

"The rehab setback by Andy Pettitte could be just temporary, but the thought has to arise the injury could be more severe than initially diagnosed. There is also the possibility he may have to pitch with some level of discomfort the rest of the season. Will the Yankees even see the same version of Pettitte when he returns? Also, what if Pettitte can’t return in 2010 what will the Yanks do the rest of the season?"

Answer to question #1: Who knows?

Answer to question #2: Probably win the AL East. The "rest of the season" being less than 50 games.


"You could argue that Pettitte was statistically the ace of the staff. His 139 ERA+ led all starters and was his best since 2002. Only CC Sabathia has shown the same type of consistency this year, and he even had his down period. With two games separating the Yanks and Rays in the AL East, consistency will be paramount to success, especially in the starting rotation."

Do the Rays exhibit consistency in their starting rotation?

Do the Red Sox?

Does anybody?

For the millionth time, the 2010 Yankees are not being challenged by the 1998 Yankees. I think the chances of holding off the Rays are 50%-50%. The chances of holding of the Rays and the Red Sox for the wild card are probably about 90%-10%.


"Can you win a postseason series with both A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez starting a game? What about Phil Hughes innings? Can they win with a postseason bullpen sans Hughes? This small injury setback has so many ramifications."

You go to a three-man rotation if you have to, but, yeah ... the Yankees can win a postseason series with Burnett and Vazquez starting a game.

Just like they could lose a postseason series with Pettitte starting a game.


"It appears Dustin Moseley needs to be every bit Aaron Small if Pettitte doesn’t return this season. There just doesn’t seem to be any better options. Right now I am putting the 'cart before the horse,' but the injury setback to Pettitte is an ominous sign."

Yeah, I really don't understand the incessant desire to "worry" Yankee fans.

The Yankees are cruising to 100 wins, best record in baseball, and are the current champs. Pettitte has a slight rehab setback and it's time to get worried.

"Yankees are great" is just a boring story.