First of all, you don't know if Fred McGriff took steroids.

"McGriff is a victim here. If all those players who took performance-enhancing drugs while he played were cheating baseball, McGriff may have lost the most. Together, all those crooks with the cartoon biceps and inflated statistics made his numbers look ordinary by comparison. They made 30 home runs look tiny. They made 100 RBIs look pedestrian. Their counterfeit accomplishments diminished McGriff, making him look less dangerous, less special. They stole from McGriff like an Internet swindler with your bank account number."

Secondly: 162-game average of .284, 32 HRs, 102 RBIs.

That's a HOF first baseman?

You can eliminate the first baseman who bloated their stats with steroids -- some speculation has to occur, of course -- Bagwell, Palmeiro, McGwire, Giambi, Ortiz, Vaughn -- and McGriff is still not a HOFer.

Because, to get into the HOF as a first baseman, you have to compare yourself to players like Gehrig and Greenberg.

This is an amazing confession.

I did not read the whole thing, but Lupica is basically setting up the Yankees vs. Rays in the ALCS.

This means Lupica is suggesting:

1) The Yankees will make the playoffs despite the lack of Johnny Damon.

2) The Red Sox will not make the playoffs.

Just a month or so ago, wasn't I supposed to be, like, worried about the Red Sox?

Only a fool says "sure thing."

Injuries, death, re-polarization of the Earth. All of these things can hinder Alex Rodriguez in his pursuit of 763 HRs:

"Homer No. 600 is not arriving easily for Alex Rodriguez, which only makes No. 763 more distant, more debatable, than ever."

More distant and debatable than ever?

Thirteen years ago, when Alex Rodriguez was a minor leaguer, 763 HRs was very distant.

Thirty-six years ago, before Alex Rodriguez was born, one would have probably lost the debate between choosing the Unborn Slugger over Hank Aaron.

Ten-thousand years ago baseball didn't even exist.

200 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, none of them had even heard of baseball and none of them even spoke. How does Bondy suppose dinosaurs debated the odds of ARod becoming the eventual HR king in a sport that didn't even exist?

Can we at least admit that, while Alex Rodriguez's 763rd HR is certainly no guarantee, it's closer to reality than it was 200 million years ago?

Who knew the human race would evolve; then language for debating; then baseball; then Alex Rodriguez would be born; etc?

Dinosaurs weren't concerned with Alex Rodriguez. Dinosaurs were all just walking around thinking, "It's so long ago."


"A-Rod should finish with about 27 homers this year at his current pace, for a total of 610. He will need 153 more, with his power theoretically waning. He would require seven more seasons, averaging 22 homers, playing until age 42."

Wow.

You just made it sound downright easy.

In fact ... I'll go ahead and say it ... "it's a sure thing."


"Rodriguez has those seven years remaining on his contract with the Yankees, who will feel no obligation to play him regularly if he can't help win a pennant. The Yanks aren't big on novelties, just rings.

The more likely scenario is that the Yanks eventually pick up the bulk of his remaining contract while Rodriguez finishes as a DH with a smaller market club. And that is only if he remains healthy and strong enough, without the aid of tested PEDs."

HA HA HA. That's a likely scenario? The Yankees are trading ARod to a smaller market club? Paying ARod to hit HRs for a competing AL team? Why, so the Yankees can maybe open up the DH spot for Juan Miranda?

HA HA HA. The guy who pushed attendance past the 4 million mark? The guy who sells more tee-shirts than any other player, with the possible exception of Jeter?


The Yankees are SOOOOO big on novelties.

The Yankees built incentives for HR novelties directly into ARod's contract, for cryin' out loud.

You could buy a Steinbrenner/Sheppard combo memorial tee-shirt before either of them were buried. Cha-ching! (Probably not offically licensed merchandise.)

You can wear that tee-shirt with your Yankee Stadium hat while gazing lovingly at your Mariano Rivera figurine.

Clemens got his 300th win! Jeter has more singles than Edgar Martinez! Posada has 1,000 RBIs!

Specially-marked ball, y'all, to commemorate Francisco Cervelli's 10th sac bunt as a member of the Yankees. Whoopee!


Hideki Matsui bats .600+ in the Word Series and the Yankees win number Championship number 27. In less than one minute, Matsui is on the field wearing NYY Championship merchandise. "I gratefully accept the MVP trophy on behalf of my teammates and Modell's sporting goods."


I mean, the only reason the Yankees love rings so much is because rings move the merch.

Yes, the Yankees are going to trade ARod to KC if he approaches Bonds's records. Because the Yankees just want the Royals to boost their profits.

Mind experiment.

Imagine if Jonathan Albaladejo had an ERA of 5.95.

He probably would be ridiculed by fans on his way back to the minors.


Imagine if Joba was 35 years old instead of 25 years old.

His 2010 season would herald the end of his career.


Imagine if Joba performed this poorly as a starter.

The fans would clamor for him to become a reliever.


So why the disconnect between perception and reality?

It's amazing that once minds are made up -- once a reputation has been established -- they simply don't change despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Amen.

"It wasn't the fact I didn't want to give up the 600th," explained the Royals starter yesterday. "I didn't want to give up [Colin Curtis'] second. I just wanted to keep us in the ballgame here."

Plus, he won the game.

Plus, he didn't pitch around ARod.

Praise for Kyle Davies.

Andy Pettitte is a cheater and a liar.

Andy Pettitte is still a Yankee fan favorite and a sportswriter favorite. Talk has started about Pettitte's HOF credentials.

Pettitte is often inexplicably and falsely referred to as a "lifetime Yankee," as if he never played for the Astros.

Pettitte unashamedly praised Steinbrenner in the wake of Steinbrenner's death, but Pettitte sang a different tune eight years ago when he signed with Houston and unfavorably compared Steinbrenner to ultra-Christian Drayton McLane.


Now, if you want to talk about frauds who get a pass, we can talk about David Ortiz. Big Papi. The gap in his toothy smile is disarming and we love him.

All of us love Big Papi, Mike Lupica most of all:

"Speaking of No. 13 of the Yankees:

He has put some remarkable numbers into the books, and 600 career home runs is right at the top of the list."

Arguably, one of the top five baseball players ever.

"No one will ever know how much steroids helped him get there this fast."

Tim Smith knows. He probably has a desk right down the hall, so just ask him.

No one knows if Griffey took steroids. Right?

No one knows if Jeter took steroids.

No one knows if Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia took steroids.

I mean, I get that ARod lost some benefit of the doubt, but the all-or-nothing, prove-a-negative logic isn't a compelling argument.

"No one will ever know if he really used performance-enhancing drugs only during the three years he said he used them when he was with the Texas Rangers.

When he said he didn't know what he was taking, didn't know what the drugs actually did for him, but kept taking them for three whole years, anyway.

So now that he has arrived at this milestone, you ask yourself the same thing you did when he copped to taking the drugs in the spring of 2009:

How is he different from Mark McGwire, even in the minds of Yankee fans?"

Let's see:

1) Most importantly, ARod's a Yankee and Mark McGwire was never a Yankee. That's the most obvious way ARod is different from Mark McGwire.

I mean, McGwire is the batting coach in St. Louis. I'm not sure what he teaches the players on the team. "Guys, I can't help you unless you take some 'roids. That's all I've got."

"How is he different from Barry Bonds, who says he only used a substance called 'the clear' accidentally?"

Let's see:

1) Most importantly, ARod's a Yankee and Barry Bonds was never a Yankee.

2) ARod has a ring. Bonds never got a ring.

"How is he different from Sammy Sosa?"

1) Most importantly, ARod's a Yankee and Sosa was never a Yankee.

2) ARod has a ring. Sosa never got a ring.

3) Stolen bases.

4) Fielding.

Oh, and another difference is that ARod admitted to his steroid use and talked about it.

Perhaps not a big difference, but you asked.

"If he gets a pass, they get a pass."

Yes, they all get passes ... if Pettitte, Ortiz, Ivan Rodriguez, Randy Velarde, and Troy Glaus get passes ... ARod gets a pass.


Besides, are Yankee fans leading the anti-Bonds, anti-McGwire, anti-Palmeiro charge? I don't think most Yankee fans/ARod supporters are keeping McGwire out of the HOF. That's the sportswriters, cherry-picking ethics based on a player's perceived contrition rather than on-field accomplishments.


Does Alex Rodriguez really gets a pass in New York? In your entire life, you've never seen a player so prolific treated so poorly by ignorant, spoiled fans.

Let's not forget how the reigning MVP was booed and ... I'm not making this one up ... it wasn't uncommon as recently as 2009 for pundits to suggest that Cody Ransom was a better teammate than Alex Rodriguez.

Can you imagine the endless coverage if ARod had pulled a Johan Santana? It makes front page news if ARod sunbathes in Central Park.


Back to the main point: Is Lupica seriously looking to sports fans for moral certitude?

He's not really wondering why Yankee fans embrace their own players, is he?

Doesn't Lupica understand yet? If Bernie Madoff had a tight slider, he could replace Joba tomorrow.

I think Lupica really understands. Lupica just doesn't like ARod and he doesn't like the Yankees and he doesn't like Yankee fans.


The reason Yankee fans are suddenly embracing ARod is because the Yankees won the World Series in 2009. That's the mind of a fan. Endorphins are released in our brains when our team wins and we associate good feelings with the players on that team.

Alex Rodriguez will be elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.

The problem with an article like this is that you have to wait fifteen years to say "I told ya so":

"It must be the emptiest feeling in the world, knowing that the thing he wanted to accomplish the most - to be the greatest home run hitter ever - will be attainable. But that if he gets there, it won't mean a thing because it won't be acknowledged with an entry into the Hall of Fame. It will be like baseball purgatory. Good thing Rodriguez has his newfound love of the game to comfort him."

It's the emptiest feeling in the whole world. Making $27,500,000 per year and getting ready to hit his 600th HR. Playing baseball every night for a living.

I'm surprised ARod has the strength to get out of bed in the morning.


The rest of it is comparing ARod's steroid use to the Black Sox scandal.

Because Shoeless Joe Jackson is not in the HOF, Tim Smith concludes that ARod will not make the HOF.

Tim Smith is incorrect.


Check that -- I am almost 100% certain that Tim Smith is incorrect.

ARod's HOF credentials will be argued for the next decade-and-a-half.

By then, I predict many admitted steroid users will be voted into the HOF and all of them will have weaker stats than ARod.

But it's kind of nonsensical and arrogant for Tim Smith, of all people, to proclaim that ARod will be excluded from the HOF.

Tim Smith has figured it out already.

Tim Smith has polled all the writers who will be voting 15, 20 years from now.

Jeter should ask for $50 cajillion dollars per year.

"Give it to me or I'll go play for the Mets."

"But it's an imaginary number, Derek."

"Make it happen, Hal. Or. I. Will. Go. Play. For. The. Mets.":


"There's no doubt that the Yankees will pay him whatever it takes to keep him."

Correct.


"But his struggles are costing him tens of millions of dollars on whatever contract he signs this offseason, which will probably be the last contract he ever signs."

Incorrect.


Also, if the first sentence is true, then the second sentence is false.

A Good Pitcher is the answer to every team's problem.

"It didn't take long for to turn all of Brian Cashman's proclamations about not looking for another starting pitcher before the July 31 trade deadline into sheer folly.

Hughes has been fantastic for much of this All-Star season. But he was far from stellar in the opening game of a two-game series against the Angels, giving up six runs in five-plus innings in a 10-2 loss at the Stadium Tuesday night."

If Hughes had pitched a Perfect Game and struck out 27 batters last night, I fail to see how that would have altered Cashman's strategy regarding the other pitchers in the Yankees' starting rotation.

The Yankees will likely add inconsequential pitching depth and inconsequential bench depth before the trade deadline.

Unless you're talking about someone who's better than Mitre -- someone who might supplant Burnett/Vazquez in the playoff rotation -- then it's really inconsequential.


"Burnett, Pettitte and now a rare bad start by Hughes don't make the Yankees look like the juggernaut they appeared to be before the All-Star break."

The Yankees have only played four games after the All-Star break.

During that time, the Yankees took two out of three from Tampa, which was fairly juggernauty.


"No need to push the panic button. It's not the Mets' rotation of Johan Santana followed by a wing and a prayer, but the Yankees need to add some insurance to the rotation if they want to maintain their lead in the AL East."

No need to push the panic button, so I'm going to push the panic button.


"With Hughes' innings limitations, the Pettitte injury and Burnett's inconsistency, it would be very prudent for Cashman to start working the phones harder to land another starter before the trading deadline."

Okay: Before Pettitte's injury and before Hughes's bad start on Tuesday, Cashman almost pulled off a deal for Cliff Lee.

"Working the phones even harder" means what? Trading Cano for Oswalt? Trading Jeter for Halladay? Trading Thames and Cervelli for Westbrook?


Every team could always use more starting pitching depth. Also, more bench depth, bullpen depth, infield depth, outfield depth, or maybe an extra pinch runner.

Without a cost-benefit analysis or even a proposed trade, it's just a useless idea.

It could have happened to anybody ...

... it's just funnier when it happens to the Dodgers:

"Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly, who had to take over after the separate ejections of manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer, went to the mound for a chat with Broxton before Torres came up. Mattingly took a few steps back off the dirt toward the dugout before turning around and advising first baseman James Loney what depth to play at.

Bochy came out to protest to plate umpire Adrian Johnson that Mattingly's about-face constituted a second trip to the mound. The umpires huddled and agreed, and Broxton had to leave the game."

I hope one day I can play poker with Larry Brooks.

"I am betting a lot of money. This indicates I have an excellent hand. Therefore, if you don't have a similarly excellent hand, you should fold. Because I have an excellent hand and, if you match my bet, you will lose a lot of money.

Think about it, Larry.

Why would I bet a lot of money if I didn't have an excellent hand? It makes no sense":

"Now, that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for Cashman to go out and get Roy Oswalt, who may not be a fit moving from the NL Central to the AL East; or Ted Lilly, who might not be able to keep the ball in the ballpark; or Brett Myers, who has the Type A personality the Yankees would be wise to avoid.

It does mean, however, that if Mitre goes his usual four innings-plus in his first couple of starts, Cashman would be obliged to acquire an arm who could get the Yankees through six innings and then move into the bullpen upon Pettitte’s return to health and the rotation."

The Yankees are going to make a move for a mediocre pitcher and Brian Cashman, like every other GM in the history of everything, isn't obliged to tip his hand.

It's funny that Cashman acquired ARod under-the-radar almost got Cliff Lee under-the-radar, but then Larry Brooks expects Cashman to advertise the Yankee pursuit of ... Ted Lilly?

Some days are easier than others.

This article from the LA Times:

"But Joe Torre said he feels energetic for his age, adding that if he decides not to return as Dodgers manager next season, it won't be because of any fears he'll be taking naps in the dugout."


Then, this article from USA Today:

"But if there's one bone observers tend to pick with Torre, it's his use (or occasional overuse) of key relievers. Sunday, after summoning his All-Star closer in the eighth inning only to see him fail in the ninth, Torre admitted he was in the wrong."

Yankees react to CRISIS with potentially MINOR TRADE.

"After the A.J. Burnett cut hand fiasco of the day before, there was a quietly desperate need on the Yankees' part to restore order in their universe, not to mention their three-game lead on the second-place Tampa Bay Rays."

Golly.

It was a big series and a battle for first place.

But now the Yankees aren't even allowed one-game losing streaks.


"That they succeeded - only after Joe Girardi found himself facing an against-all-odds situation just 2 1/3 innings into Sunday's game - can be viewed as both a testament to their championship mettle and the young Rays' lack of killer instinct."

It was a weird game. Price pitched poorly. The Yankees scored a lot of runs with two outs and the Rays couldn't capitalize on their opportunities.

I wouldn't read too much into it.


"It also makes you wonder if the Yankees can win the American League East on automatic pilot without having to go out and pay the new ransom it is going to take to temporarily replace Andy Pettitte."

That game makes you wonder if the Yankees can win the American League East on automatic pilot?

I can easily answer that question.

No.

The Yankees can't win the American League East on automatic pilot.


"Of course, we all know that isn't the way the Yankees do business when crises like this arise, in which their most consistent starting pitcher suddenly goes down - "
They sign Roger Clemens.


"Just because it was Hal Steinbrenner on the scene in the front office Sunday, and not his dad, it didn't mean Brian Cashman wasn't already on the case, dialing up the Arizona Diamondbacks about Dan Haren, the Chicago Cubs about Ted Lilly and the Cleveland Indians about Fausto Carmona."

That's a BLOCKBUSTER.


Go away, Bill Madden, and keep gloating about how you got the book out before Steinbrenner died. Congratulations on moving extra units.

Joba's got that 'pen swag back.

1-4, 5.79 ERA.

It's a fascinating example of collective cognitive dissonance.

As a (mostly) starter in 2009, Joba was 9-6, 4.75 ERA, and It Was Decided that he belonged in the 'pen. When he stinks in the 'pen, nobody cares. Because It Was Decided, that's why.

Hicks is plural for Hick.

That's not my line.

That's the hilarious line Lupica used last week when Lupica was mocking the Rangers for signing ARod a decade ago and for guiding the Rangers to bankruptcy.

So now the Rangers are trading prospects for a rent-a-player. But since that rent-a-player is a player the Yankees also wanted to rent, the Rangers are now Lupica's favorite team:

"This was a pretty amazing day in baseball, not because of anything that happened on the field, but because the did not get Cliff Lee. The Yankees almost always get what they want when they want it. Yankees didn't get their man Friday. Man bites dog."

Cashman will probably go after Lee in the offseason as a Pettitte replacement.

I think the All-Star-Worthy ascension of Gardner will make Cashman think twice about Crawford.

In any case, this is why Lupica is wrong, and I hate to bring common sense into the formula, but here it is: If the Yankees had really wanted Lee, they'd have gotten Lee. It's easy to do. Just sweeten the pot with, say, Cano, Hughes, Joba, and Cervelli. Throw in seven prospects. Let's see the Rangers top that.


"Lee goes instead to the Texas Rangers, a team that came into Friday's games with a record four games worse than the Yankees but 5-1/2 games better than the Angels in the AL West. Now they add one of the best pitchers in the world. The Yankees know that about Cliff Lee as well as anybody after the last World Series."

I just think it's funny that Lee gave up five runs in his second WS start last year, but, since he gave up most of those runs late in a game that he won, everybody acts like he pitched two shutouts.

I'm not diminishing the value of Lee on a playoff team -- I'd be more worried about facing the Rangers in a five-game series than a seven-game series.

But let's just not give the rings to the Rangers quite yet, huh?

Lupica's anti-Yankee mania is not allowing him to see clearly.


"But then this is the constant, continuing bliss of operating in a world without a salary cap. If the Yankees did have to spend the same money as everybody else, well, why even go there? It's a thought too horrible to contemplate."

The Yankees passed on Beltran, Santana, Halladay, Damon, Matsui, and I think they will also pass on Crawford.

The Yankees did not acquire Pujols, Rolen, Ichiro, or Mauer. Though they're sort of constantly accused of collecting every All Star in Hyperbole World, they don't collect every All Star.


The Yankees did not trade Cervelli, Gardner, Joba, Hughes, or Cano.

The Yankees also did not trade Huffman, Curtis, Russo, and other minor contributors.

If you want to include veterans from the farm system, well, I think you already know their names and the rings they've accumulated.

Though they're sort of accused of trading every prospect in Hyperbole World, they don't trade every prospect. They pick precise opportunities.


"You get that idea even as the Yankees look like the best team in baseball again, look as if they are ready to roll after Mark Teixeira's slow start, Alex Rodriguez's slow start, despite Nick Johnson's disappearance and the fact that Curtis Granderson hasn't shown up yet, not really."

Mike Lupica just said the Yankees are the best team in baseball.

Even without Johnny Damon.


"Maybe he didn't want people to get the idea, because of Nick Johnson and Granderson, because the Yankees let Johnny Damon just walk away - to the first-place Tigers - that maybe the Yankees hadn't improved quite as much as they could between the last out of the World Series and now."

Dude loves Johnny Damon, what can I say? It's bizarre that all the Yankee fans and players pine about Damon about as much as they pine about Jerry Hairston. But Lupica is obsessed with Damon, and only Lupica is obsessed with Damon.

I think the 2010 Yankees have two better outfielders than 2010 Johnny Damon. Granderson will have a big second half, which will make three.


But it's hardly the point.

Lupica continually rips the Yankees for spending money ... while also ripping the Yankees for passing on Damon.


2010 Damon, by the way, is batting .271 with 5 HRs and 24 RBIs. He has a lot of runs scored and a decent on-base%. But given the fielding prowess of Granderson? The 2010 Yankees just might have three OFers better than 2010 Damon already.

Could Damon DH for the 2010 Yankees? Sure. Fat Nick got hurt and Thames is mostly useless.

But would Damon DH instead of Posada? I doubt it.


Now, maybe one reason Cashman passed on Damon/Matsui is so he'd have the liquid assets to make a mid-season play at Cliff Lee.

Which he did.

Because he's smart like that.

Besides, the wrong time to rip Cashman's stewardship of the team is when they're in the midst of a West Coast sweep and on pace to win 104 games.

Jinx.

Doesn't mean much in the scheme of things, but I just find it amusing that Lupica warns Yankee fans about the Red Sox on Sunday and the plucky Red Sox are 4.5 games back, and in third place, by Thursday.

Not that it affects Lupica's shtick.

If the Red Sox lose twenty in a row and Big Papi bats .210, the next boogeymen will be the Rays + Evan Longoria ... or the Rangers + Josh Hamilton ... or any team that is above .500 + any pitcher on that team who throws a shutout at any time during the season.


The Yankees are current champs and enjoy the best record in baseball, but Yankee fans should be panicking.

Because the Yankees might not win the World Series.

Why did Charlie Manuel add Omar Infante to the All Star team?

Jeff Passan is puzzled:

"This was the choice of one man, Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who did something remarkable: delivered baseball its worst All-Star ever on his own volition."

Worst All Star ever? The guy's batting .300, for crying out loud.

If you include replacement All Stars, there is no way Omar Infante is the worst All Star ever.

I could so easily find worse All Stars. I can probably find a worse All Star each and every year. But I'll just chalk it up to hyperbole. Passan isn't being literal.


"Nor was Manuel satisfying some sort of positional need. He’s got Brandon Phillips to back up Martin Prado at second base and Jose Reyes to spell Hanley Ramirez at shortstop. And, thanks to a new rule, one designated player who leaves the game can re-enter – and Prado, a former utilityman who has played every position but center field and catcher, could fill that role."

Wrong.

Of course Joey Votto deserves to be on the All Star team, etc., etc. Every year, dozens of underserving players miss out. Lucky for them. Take a few days off and catch up on episodes of "Dancing With the Stars." (Sorry, Lupica, you don't have a copyright on that particular cultural reference.)

Jose Reyes is hurt right now and, even if it's a minor injury, there really is no reason for the Mets to allow him to play in the All Star game. So Jeff Passan's solution is that Martin Prado plays every infield position for the whole game?


In any case, the decision to include Infante is not puzzling at all. You can ask Charlie Manuel and I know 100% what he's going to say.

Manuel chose Infante because the NL All Stars has enough power-hitting first basemen and Manuel is looking for some diverse skill sets which may provide decision-making flexibility.

Heck, if I was composing a roster, I probably don't need Joey Votto when I've already got Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Adrian (don't call me Juan) Gonzalez.


Tie game, ninth inning and I need a homerun. Where is Joey Votto when I need him? Oh, wait, it's not a problem. I still have Ryan Howard available to pinch hit.

Tie game, ninth inning and I need a sac bunt. Who you gonna call? Omar Infante, that's who. (To be fair, I have no idea if Infante can bunt. Or hit and run. Or steal bases. But I'm making a leap of faith that Manuel wants some balance on his roster.)


You can agree or disagree with the decision, but please don't act like you're puzzled. The reasoning behind the decision is obvious.

Attention Must Be Paid.

If I ran into Mike Lupica in a bar, I'd bet him $100 that he could not name the starting shortstop for the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays, or Orioles. Just name one of them and you get $100.

He'd probably say something about Terry Francona.


What deep dive into American League East professional baseball can the baseball journalist provide?:

"The Red Sox basically haven't had Jacoby Ellsbury all season, nobody can remember the last time Josh Beckett pitched, both catchers are hurt, Dustin Pedroia is out for at least six weeks with a broken foot and … they had the same number of wins as the Yankees going into Saturday's games.

So, you know, attention must be paid."

Oh, the Yankees should pay attention to the Red Sox?

Who the heck are the Red Sox?

Most Yankee fans have probably never even heard of the Red Sox?


But I like how Lupica brings up injuries. What a jerk. Like every team doesn't suffer injuries. Last year, Lupica mocked Yankee fans who brought up injuries.


"I still love the notion that Joe Torre and Tom Verducci violated some sort of sacred clubhouse code with a great sports book called 'The Yankee Years.'

Especially with poor A-Rod.

Go back and read the stuff A-Rod said in Esquire about Derek Jeter before he ever thought he was going to be on the same team with him."

Okay, I will go back and read the "stuff." Easy to find this in the Internet age.

But what does it prove?

ARod said some inappropriate "stuff" and that somehow absolves Torre?:

"Alex is unsmiling, hard-faced. 'The thing about Mike Lupica that pisses me off,' he says, 'is that he makes me look like the biggest @#%$ in the world, and then he takes a guy like Jeter and just puts him way up there.'

So much for the brotherhood of shortstops united under the fatherhood of Honus Wagner.

'There's a big difference,' says Boras. 'Jeter had seventy-one RBIs and fifteen home runs. Jeter and Nomar last year had fifteen and twenty-one home runs. You can have a golden bulldozer, but if there's no dirt to push . . .'

'Jeter's been blessed with great talent around him,' Alex says. 'He's never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second—that's totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie and O'Neill. You never say, Don't let Derek beat you. He's never your concern.' "

ARod didn't say anything too bad about Jeter, mostly just ignorance about some of the finer points of Jeter's offensive contributions.

But, if Lupica wants to prove a point, it was a punk move by a punk. Alex Rodriguez is a punk. Alex Rodriguez is a very stupid man. He says a lot of stupid things. Also, Alex Rodriguez is very disrespectful and arrogant.

Glad we cleared that up.

Again, what precisely does this have to do with Joe Torre?

Does Lupica really think a player on a different team is held to the same standard as a manager talking about the ex-players on his own team?

Did Torre say these things to Damon's face or did Torre wait until he left the team?

Whatever you want to say about ARod because of the Esquire article, Torre is all those things, and worse.