But he sounds like an adult compared to the Looney Tunes at the Daily News:
"Orza told me that the lifetime-ban rumor is purely a negotiating tactic: 'Baseball knows it can’t ban Alex for life.' The labor contract
language that would presumably empower it -- the specific clause says
that players can be disciplined for 'conduct that is materially
detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of baseball'
-- was designed to prevent players from betting on games. If the
provision applied to other situations, why wasn't it invoked during one
of baseball’s previous scandals -- the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s,
for example? Also, at the insistence of the union, Selig signs a letter
attached to the labor contract every year assuring players that he won’t
invoke it. So that’s that.
...
Even if Selig is sitting on baseball’s version of the Pentagon Papers
-- and he might just be -- I’m still not sure how that justifies his
handling of the Biogenesis investigation. If baseball is so confident in
its evidence, and the means by which it acquired it, why is it so eager
to avoid presenting it before a neutral party in an arbitration
hearing? Whatever crimes Rodriguez stands accused of, doesn’t he deserve
his day in court?
In any event, it's time to see what evidence of wrongdoing baseball is holding. Show us your hand, Bud."
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
I'm tired of talking about Alex Rodriguez. Let's talk about Victor Cruz instead.
First question for Victor Cruz: what does Victor Cruz think about Alex Rodriguez?
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The Yankee Way.
Which player most embodies the Yankee Way?
Jeter?
DiMaggio?
Gehrig?
How many names would you list before you got to Bam Bam Meulens?
Jeter?
DiMaggio?
Gehrig?
How many names would you list before you got to Bam Bam Meulens?
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Bill Madden's reliable sources.
It sure looks likely that ARod will never again play for the Yankees, though I'd have bet against it a few weeks ago.
My favorite part is the side comment that Cervelli will get 50 games. Because here's yet another steroid cheat playing for the Yankees and nobody really cares:
"If Rodriguez and his representatives reject a deal, the embattled superstar's suspension could be announced as early as late Monday or Tuesday. A source close to Rodriguez says the player is sticking to his story that he has done nothing wrong and is unwilling to cut a deal.
'If there is a suspension,' the source said, 'he will fight it.'
According to a source familiar with the discussions between MLB officials and A-Rod's representatives, if Rodriguez accepted a settlement that would call for him to be suspended for the rest of this year and the entire 2014 season without pay, he would still have a chance to collect the $60 million the Yankees would owe him from 2015 to 2017.
The deal would allow MLB to impose the suspension immediately and avoid arbitration. If Rodriguez declines the deal, commissioner Bud Selig is expected to pursue what would be an historic suspension that would ban the 38-year-old Rodriguez from ever returning to the field."
My question is whether or not the arbitrator has to decide all or nothing.
If it's an all-or-nothing proposition, as crazy as it sounds, ARod still has a chance.
A reasonable person can wonder why everyone else gets a penalty of 50 games and $500,000 while ARod gets 700 games and $100 million.
O.J. Simpson was found civilly liable for the murder of two people. His fine was $25 million.
My favorite part is the side comment that Cervelli will get 50 games. Because here's yet another steroid cheat playing for the Yankees and nobody really cares:
"If Rodriguez and his representatives reject a deal, the embattled superstar's suspension could be announced as early as late Monday or Tuesday. A source close to Rodriguez says the player is sticking to his story that he has done nothing wrong and is unwilling to cut a deal.
According to a source familiar with the discussions between MLB officials and A-Rod's representatives, if Rodriguez accepted a settlement that would call for him to be suspended for the rest of this year and the entire 2014 season without pay, he would still have a chance to collect the $60 million the Yankees would owe him from 2015 to 2017.
The deal would allow MLB to impose the suspension immediately and avoid arbitration. If Rodriguez declines the deal, commissioner Bud Selig is expected to pursue what would be an historic suspension that would ban the 38-year-old Rodriguez from ever returning to the field."
My question is whether or not the arbitrator has to decide all or nothing.
If it's an all-or-nothing proposition, as crazy as it sounds, ARod still has a chance.
A reasonable person can wonder why everyone else gets a penalty of 50 games and $500,000 while ARod gets 700 games and $100 million.
O.J. Simpson was found civilly liable for the murder of two people. His fine was $25 million.
Alex Rodriguez is stupid and Mike Lupica really wants you to know this.
"It started in the old days with the old man, George (Boss) Steinbrenner, who could work the phones himself the way Alex Rodriguez’s flacks were working them this week, peddling their ridiculous version of things, starting here:
Alex was healthy enough to play and the Yankees wouldn’t let him. . . because they don’t really want to win!"
The theory is not so much that the Yankees "don't really want to win." (Though I'm glad we're all in agreement than a deteriorated ARod is still probably a better baseball player than Luis Cruz, Travis Hafner, Alberto Gonzalez, Reid Brignac, David Adams, etc.)
The theory is that the Yankees are waiting for MLB to suspend ARod so the Yankees are relieved from their contractual obligation.
The more expansive theory is that the Yankees want to buy out ARod's contract. Without any leverage, the Yankees would have to pay, I dunno, 90 cents on the dollar. With the pending threat of a lifetime ban (imposed by MLB, not the Yankees), maybe ARod would accept, I dunno, 50 cents on the dollar.
"But Hal Steinbrenner had nothing to do with embarrassing the Yankees this week. Randy Levine, president of the team did not, nor did Brian Cashman. The manager had nothing to do with this, nor did any of the other Yankee players. There was one guy turning the Yankees back into a Bronx Zoo, even from out of town: Alex Emmanuel Rodriguez, who still has this amazingly stupid idea that he is smarter than everybody else."
In a recent article about Alfonso Soriano, I noticed that Mark Teixeira was quoted.
Why is the press even talking to Teixeira? Teixeira is on the DL.
Jeter is in the dugout with the same injury as ARod. ARod is exiled to Tampa and intentionally kept away from the team.
The Yankees are embarrassing ARod on purpose.
Did ARod make his own bed? Of course. But this is a team with a vast history of steroid cheats, including a lot of players on its current roster. So this is a player the Yankees have decided to publicly reject. This is noticeably unusual behavior for the team that embraced Howe, Strawberry, Gooden, Giambi, Hafner, etc.
As for embarrassing the Yankees this week, CC Sabathia took care of that already.
Yesterday, the entire Yankee lineup managed two baserunners in an important game vs. an AL East rival. In the postgame press conference, the ever-optimistic (i.e., delusional) Girardi said that his team's offense hit some balls hard, but, unfortunately, the Tampa fielders caught the hard-hit balls.
Hughes vs. Moore today as the Yankees try to avoid the sweep.
That's the Yankees' Week in Embarrassment right there.
One hundred million stupid WFAN PR campaigns from a player on the DL can't possibly embarrass the organization as much as their performance on the field.
"So once A-Rod’s flacks found willing partners all over the airwaves, it no longer mattered that it was Rodriguez who first complained about leg problems in the minors; Rodriguez who chose not to show up in Tampa for a rehab game, whether that game got rained out or not; Rodriguez who didn’t want to go to Buffalo and wasn’t ready to play the Texas Rangers at the start of the week."
Right.
I don't understand the whole thing with the doctors. An ill-advised, hypocritical, and pointless attempt to turn public sentiment against the Yankees.
ARod is not an intelligent person. His stupid behavior is often misinterpreted as narcissism or arrogance or PR phoniness. If you really listen to the words that come out of this man's mouth -- especially when he's forced to be spontaneous -- he's really quite ignorant and stupid. A lot of what he says is simply incoherent.
"I wrote about all this on Wednesday, chapter and verse, and was the first to wonder why someone this wronged and this mistreated, one who is having his flacks and handlers and star-struck doctors suggest that he was the victim of an outrageous medical fraud perpetrated by his own team, didn’t file a grievance with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
When A-Rod finally responded to that, because you knew he would, he said he didn’t know he could file a grievance. Really? We’re supposed to believe that a guy who has a lawyer with him on a conference call with the Yankees, who has been working with a lawyer who represented Ryan Braun, isn’t aware of his rights?"
Oh my freakin' God.
Mike Lupica "was the first the wonder why ARod didn't file a grievance." The first person in the whole world was Mike Lupica.
"When ARod finally responded to that, he didn't know he could file a grievance."
I don't know how to break it to Lupica, but ARod doesn't read Lupica's column.
Lupica is not steering this storyline in any way.
ARod was not responding to Mike Freakin' Lupica.
I was actually listening to Francesa's show when Francesa asked ARod about the grievance. ARod's response was something like, "I'm gonna jump off the phone." ARod said that about 20 times. The kind of thing a stupid man says when caught off guard and asked to think for himself.
But you know the primary reason I just might believe that ARod isn't aware of his right to file a grievance?Because ARod is preternaturally unintelligent.
"Suckers buy into a narrative like that, into the poor-Alex narrative, into the conspiracy narrative, and about how this is only about his love for the game and not about establishing a legal position to hold on to as much of his money as possible."
Well, once again, I think Lupica is fighting a non-existent enemy. You'd find almost zero people who buy into the "poor-Alex" narrative. He's guilty.
Having said that, a lot of people are not buying into the "poor-Yankees" narrative or "poor-Selig" narrative.
If someone points out that a lifetime suspension for ARod above all other steroid cheats seems unfair, it's because it absolutely is unfair compared to all other steroid cheats.
If someone points out that the Yankees' outrage regarding steroid cheats seems hypocritical when compared to other steroid cheats -- and this moral outrage is undoubtedly tied to the remaining contract dollars rather than a "love of the game" -- it's because that is also obviously true.
I don't think this stance qualifies as "pro-ARod" or "poor-ARod." It's just the Yankees are 54-50 and 8 games out of first place. Until the suspension is official, let's get this lying, cheating, stupid bat back on the field as soon as possible. A stupid cheating liar will fit right in with American pro sports teams.
Alex was healthy enough to play and the Yankees wouldn’t let him. . . because they don’t really want to win!"
The theory is not so much that the Yankees "don't really want to win." (Though I'm glad we're all in agreement than a deteriorated ARod is still probably a better baseball player than Luis Cruz, Travis Hafner, Alberto Gonzalez, Reid Brignac, David Adams, etc.)
The theory is that the Yankees are waiting for MLB to suspend ARod so the Yankees are relieved from their contractual obligation.
The more expansive theory is that the Yankees want to buy out ARod's contract. Without any leverage, the Yankees would have to pay, I dunno, 90 cents on the dollar. With the pending threat of a lifetime ban (imposed by MLB, not the Yankees), maybe ARod would accept, I dunno, 50 cents on the dollar.
"But Hal Steinbrenner had nothing to do with embarrassing the Yankees this week. Randy Levine, president of the team did not, nor did Brian Cashman. The manager had nothing to do with this, nor did any of the other Yankee players. There was one guy turning the Yankees back into a Bronx Zoo, even from out of town: Alex Emmanuel Rodriguez, who still has this amazingly stupid idea that he is smarter than everybody else."
In a recent article about Alfonso Soriano, I noticed that Mark Teixeira was quoted.
Why is the press even talking to Teixeira? Teixeira is on the DL.
Jeter is in the dugout with the same injury as ARod. ARod is exiled to Tampa and intentionally kept away from the team.
The Yankees are embarrassing ARod on purpose.
Did ARod make his own bed? Of course. But this is a team with a vast history of steroid cheats, including a lot of players on its current roster. So this is a player the Yankees have decided to publicly reject. This is noticeably unusual behavior for the team that embraced Howe, Strawberry, Gooden, Giambi, Hafner, etc.
As for embarrassing the Yankees this week, CC Sabathia took care of that already.
Yesterday, the entire Yankee lineup managed two baserunners in an important game vs. an AL East rival. In the postgame press conference, the ever-optimistic (i.e., delusional) Girardi said that his team's offense hit some balls hard, but, unfortunately, the Tampa fielders caught the hard-hit balls.
Hughes vs. Moore today as the Yankees try to avoid the sweep.
That's the Yankees' Week in Embarrassment right there.
One hundred million stupid WFAN PR campaigns from a player on the DL can't possibly embarrass the organization as much as their performance on the field.
"So once A-Rod’s flacks found willing partners all over the airwaves, it no longer mattered that it was Rodriguez who first complained about leg problems in the minors; Rodriguez who chose not to show up in Tampa for a rehab game, whether that game got rained out or not; Rodriguez who didn’t want to go to Buffalo and wasn’t ready to play the Texas Rangers at the start of the week."
Right.
I don't understand the whole thing with the doctors. An ill-advised, hypocritical, and pointless attempt to turn public sentiment against the Yankees.
ARod is not an intelligent person. His stupid behavior is often misinterpreted as narcissism or arrogance or PR phoniness. If you really listen to the words that come out of this man's mouth -- especially when he's forced to be spontaneous -- he's really quite ignorant and stupid. A lot of what he says is simply incoherent.
"I wrote about all this on Wednesday, chapter and verse, and was the first to wonder why someone this wronged and this mistreated, one who is having his flacks and handlers and star-struck doctors suggest that he was the victim of an outrageous medical fraud perpetrated by his own team, didn’t file a grievance with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
When A-Rod finally responded to that, because you knew he would, he said he didn’t know he could file a grievance. Really? We’re supposed to believe that a guy who has a lawyer with him on a conference call with the Yankees, who has been working with a lawyer who represented Ryan Braun, isn’t aware of his rights?"
Oh my freakin' God.
Mike Lupica "was the first the wonder why ARod didn't file a grievance." The first person in the whole world was Mike Lupica.
"When ARod finally responded to that, he didn't know he could file a grievance."
I don't know how to break it to Lupica, but ARod doesn't read Lupica's column.
Lupica is not steering this storyline in any way.
ARod was not responding to Mike Freakin' Lupica.
I was actually listening to Francesa's show when Francesa asked ARod about the grievance. ARod's response was something like, "I'm gonna jump off the phone." ARod said that about 20 times. The kind of thing a stupid man says when caught off guard and asked to think for himself.
But you know the primary reason I just might believe that ARod isn't aware of his right to file a grievance?Because ARod is preternaturally unintelligent.
"Suckers buy into a narrative like that, into the poor-Alex narrative, into the conspiracy narrative, and about how this is only about his love for the game and not about establishing a legal position to hold on to as much of his money as possible."
Well, once again, I think Lupica is fighting a non-existent enemy. You'd find almost zero people who buy into the "poor-Alex" narrative. He's guilty.
Having said that, a lot of people are not buying into the "poor-Yankees" narrative or "poor-Selig" narrative.
If someone points out that a lifetime suspension for ARod above all other steroid cheats seems unfair, it's because it absolutely is unfair compared to all other steroid cheats.
If someone points out that the Yankees' outrage regarding steroid cheats seems hypocritical when compared to other steroid cheats -- and this moral outrage is undoubtedly tied to the remaining contract dollars rather than a "love of the game" -- it's because that is also obviously true.
I don't think this stance qualifies as "pro-ARod" or "poor-ARod." It's just the Yankees are 54-50 and 8 games out of first place. Until the suspension is official, let's get this lying, cheating, stupid bat back on the field as soon as possible. A stupid cheating liar will fit right in with American pro sports teams.
The Yankees can't hit.
Funny thing is, their July offense has improved when compared to June and the team is over .500 in July.
Larry Brooks surveys the damage:
"It is their longest home run drought in 29 years, since the 1984 team went 10 straight without one. The team that clubbed opponents into submission through the first four years of residence at their new address — a franchise record 245 home runs last season after smacking 222, 201 and 244 the three years before that — has hit 88 through 104 games, 14th in the AL.
They are the only team in the majors without a home run since the All-Star Game.
The power, the glory, the porch, the history. The bandbox of the new place that suddenly has been transformed into Yellowstone, the fences as far from home plate for the home team batters as if looking through the wrong end of a telescope.
Where have all the homers gone? Gone with Curtis Granderson to Tampa and the club’s minor league rehab center. Gone with Mark Teixeira to the disabled list. Gone with a new organizational checkbook mentality. Gone with Nick Swisher to Cleveland, with Raul Ibanez to Seattle, with Russell Martin to Pittsburgh.
Gone with A-Rod, who most surely is going, going away.
Robinson Cano, who went a feeble 0-for-3 against Archer without getting the ball out of the infield, has gone 13 straight games and 48 at-bats since he last hit one out on July 10, his only home run in the last 21 games.
Alfonso Soriano, who was acquired from the Cubs to provide right-handed power — no homers from the right side of the plate for the Yankees in 28 straight games since June 25 — never before had hit cleanup as a Yankee before Friday night."
Larry Brooks surveys the damage:
"It is their longest home run drought in 29 years, since the 1984 team went 10 straight without one. The team that clubbed opponents into submission through the first four years of residence at their new address — a franchise record 245 home runs last season after smacking 222, 201 and 244 the three years before that — has hit 88 through 104 games, 14th in the AL.
They are the only team in the majors without a home run since the All-Star Game.
The power, the glory, the porch, the history. The bandbox of the new place that suddenly has been transformed into Yellowstone, the fences as far from home plate for the home team batters as if looking through the wrong end of a telescope.
Where have all the homers gone? Gone with Curtis Granderson to Tampa and the club’s minor league rehab center. Gone with Mark Teixeira to the disabled list. Gone with a new organizational checkbook mentality. Gone with Nick Swisher to Cleveland, with Raul Ibanez to Seattle, with Russell Martin to Pittsburgh.
Gone with A-Rod, who most surely is going, going away.
Robinson Cano, who went a feeble 0-for-3 against Archer without getting the ball out of the infield, has gone 13 straight games and 48 at-bats since he last hit one out on July 10, his only home run in the last 21 games.
Alfonso Soriano, who was acquired from the Cubs to provide right-handed power — no homers from the right side of the plate for the Yankees in 28 straight games since June 25 — never before had hit cleanup as a Yankee before Friday night."
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Legit crisis.
"The $191 million lefty, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow last winter, coughed up a seventh run in the fifth. He now has been reached for 22 runs (17 earned) in his last three appearances to fall to 9-9 on the season. His 4.65 ERA through 22 starts is better than only six American League pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title."
A certain joie de vivre.
Soriano and Cano can have a contest over who spends more time in the batter's box admiring warning track fly balls:
" 'One of my favorite teammates of all time,' Mark Teixeira, the injured first baseman who played with Soriano in Texas, said Friday. 'He's like Robinson Cano, one of those guys who's always happy.' "
Always happy? Robinson Cano plays baseball with the joy of a guy who's working the overnight shift at a Shanghai zipper factory.
" 'One of my favorite teammates of all time,' Mark Teixeira, the injured first baseman who played with Soriano in Texas, said Friday. 'He's like Robinson Cano, one of those guys who's always happy.' "
Always happy? Robinson Cano plays baseball with the joy of a guy who's working the overnight shift at a Shanghai zipper factory.
Monday, July 22, 2013
You know what makes me angry? The misleading promo for Hideki Matsui Bobblehead Day.
Mushnick seldom disappoints:
"Seems as if everything now comes packaged in bogus hype, bubble wrap pumped with gas. Soon, straight addition — two-plus-two — will be presented as limited edition, act-now, must-see math."
Yeah, and those kids skateboarding on the sidewalk.
" 'Hi, I’m Henry Winkler, here to tell you about the latest, greatest offer on earth — a triple-reverse mortgage!' "
How's Chachi?
"Even an 18-second, in-game promo narrated by Michael Kay during Friday’s Yankees-Red Sox YES telecast, was loaded with moron-targeting bunk."
Well, you've got to admit, there's lots of morons.
"One of the hottest collectibles of the season? Given that Matsui last played for the Yankees in 2009, it sounded more like souvenir shop surplus, a warehouse space-killer, a collectible in that it collects dust."
They totally exaggerated in their promo!
"Or did the Yankees — having announced a Matsui Day back in April — actually then order the manufacture of 18,000 Matsui-in-Yankee-uniform 'hot' collectibles four years after he left? Anything’s possible."
I don't know which it is.
Did the Yankees have pre-existing Hideki Matsui bobblehead dolls collecting dust in a warehouse?
Or did the Yankees order the manufacture of 18,000 Mastui-in-Yankee-uniform "hot" collectibles four years after he left the Yankees?
The world may never know.
Anything is possible.
Anything.
Is.
Possible.
"Even more ridiculous, the full-screen billboard read that the bobbleheads would be given to the first “18,000 guests in attendance.”
Guests? When did customers become guests? When’s the last time you charged your guests 40 bucks to park — just for starters?"
Yeah!
You get 'em, Phil!
You know what happens, don't you? First, bobblehead doll promos exaggerate the importance of the bobblehead dolls ... then, the world start substituting "guest" for "customer" ... and, the next thing you know, cats are living with dogs and Socialist Americans are putting mustard on their french fries.
"Seems as if everything now comes packaged in bogus hype, bubble wrap pumped with gas. Soon, straight addition — two-plus-two — will be presented as limited edition, act-now, must-see math."
Yeah, and those kids skateboarding on the sidewalk.
" 'Hi, I’m Henry Winkler, here to tell you about the latest, greatest offer on earth — a triple-reverse mortgage!' "
How's Chachi?
"Even an 18-second, in-game promo narrated by Michael Kay during Friday’s Yankees-Red Sox YES telecast, was loaded with moron-targeting bunk."
Well, you've got to admit, there's lots of morons.
"One of the hottest collectibles of the season? Given that Matsui last played for the Yankees in 2009, it sounded more like souvenir shop surplus, a warehouse space-killer, a collectible in that it collects dust."
They totally exaggerated in their promo!
"Or did the Yankees — having announced a Matsui Day back in April — actually then order the manufacture of 18,000 Matsui-in-Yankee-uniform 'hot' collectibles four years after he left? Anything’s possible."
I don't know which it is.
Did the Yankees have pre-existing Hideki Matsui bobblehead dolls collecting dust in a warehouse?
Or did the Yankees order the manufacture of 18,000 Mastui-in-Yankee-uniform "hot" collectibles four years after he left the Yankees?
The world may never know.
Anything is possible.
Anything.
Is.
Possible.
"Even more ridiculous, the full-screen billboard read that the bobbleheads would be given to the first “18,000 guests in attendance.”
Guests? When did customers become guests? When’s the last time you charged your guests 40 bucks to park — just for starters?"
Yeah!
You get 'em, Phil!
You know what happens, don't you? First, bobblehead doll promos exaggerate the importance of the bobblehead dolls ... then, the world start substituting "guest" for "customer" ... and, the next thing you know, cats are living with dogs and Socialist Americans are putting mustard on their french fries.
Dontrelle Willis is pitching for the Long Island Ducks if the Yankees are looking for a reliable lefty starter.
Hot Dog Neck has now allowed a career-high 23 HRs this season.
But if the Dontrelle Willis signing doesn't work out, I have a solution.
1) Pay Anthony Bosch $5 million in "consulting fees."
2) CC's name magically appears on the list.
3) While we're at it, here's another $5 million for Teixeira.
4) Lifetime suspensions.
5) Insurance money.
But if the Dontrelle Willis signing doesn't work out, I have a solution.
1) Pay Anthony Bosch $5 million in "consulting fees."
2) CC's name magically appears on the list.
3) While we're at it, here's another $5 million for Teixeira.
4) Lifetime suspensions.
5) Insurance money.
Little Leaguers don't like Alex Rodriguez.
Next up, the Daily News interviews wide-eyed orphans and squirmy puppies.
"If they get the chance, of course. The News, citing sources close to the Rodriguez affair, has reported Rodriguez is considering claiming he is physically unable to perform and then retire from the game before he can receive a likely suspension for alleged use of performance enhancing drugs provided by the Biogenesis clinic in Miami."
That's why this quad strain bothers me a lot.
Bill Madden may be 100% right. ARod may be going through the motions and preparing to end his career.
The longer ARod stays in Tampa, the more credence this theory holds.
"If they get the chance, of course. The News, citing sources close to the Rodriguez affair, has reported Rodriguez is considering claiming he is physically unable to perform and then retire from the game before he can receive a likely suspension for alleged use of performance enhancing drugs provided by the Biogenesis clinic in Miami."
That's why this quad strain bothers me a lot.
Bill Madden may be 100% right. ARod may be going through the motions and preparing to end his career.
The longer ARod stays in Tampa, the more credence this theory holds.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Reputation on the line.
MLB might announce its suspensions Monday (though I assume they'd immediately be appealed).
ARod may get injured before Monday. ARod may feign injury or perhaps even announce his retirement from baseball.
But if ARod plays one game with the Yankees in 2013, then Bill Madden (and his "sources") will be instantly embarrassed:
"According to all the involved parties — Major League Baseball being the one notable exception — A-Rod time is upon us. Or is it?"
In what way is MLB the notable exception?
Is Madden saying that MLB is going to suspend ARod on Monday morning? Maybe they will and Madden will be proven right. I sure haven't seen anything that suggests the suspensions could be enforced that quickly.
"On Thursday, Alex Rodriguez told reporters, 'yeah, of course' he expected to be back with the Yankees in Texas Monday. He didn’t say in what capacity and conceded 'we have one big obstacle' in this weekend of Triple-A games to close out his 20-day rehab session. Then on Friday Yankee GM Brian Cashman said that, if healthy enough to play Monday, A-Rod 'would play third, he would play DH, he would pinch-hit and he would take days off.' ”
Sounds sensible to me. I'm not expecting much in the field or on the basepaths, that's for sure.
I'm also still not seeing how MLB is a notable exception.
"When further asked why A-Rod wouldn’t be limited to just third base or just DH, Cashman said: 'Why would we do it in the minor leagues but not in the major leagues.' ”
1) What kind of a dumb question is that?
2) Cashman answered a question with a question, but you forgot the question mark.
"What is interesting here is the apparent double standard Cashman is applying to A-Rod as opposed to his adament stance with Derek Jeter in spring training in which he said the Captain needed to prove to the Yankees he could play shortstop before he would be activated. 'We don’t need him to DH,' Cashman said. 'We have plenty of DHs. We need him to play shortstop.' ”
1) Not interesting at all.
2) You spelled "adamant" wrong. Who edits this newspaper, anyway?
"Well, nothing has changed since then."
Nothing has changed since spring training?
Is that seriously your proposition?
"The Yankees do not need A-Rod to DH. They’ve got plenty of people who can DH on any given day."
The Yankees kind of don't have plenty of people who can DH on any given day.
Wells hasn't hit a HR since mid-May. Hafner is completely shot. Even Almonte is now on the DL.
"What they don’t have is a third baseman, unless, of course, you believe Luis Cruz is the answer."
Overbay has been quite good, relative to expectations. No complaints.
Cano and Garnder have been pulling their weight. Ichiro is good enough, I suppose.
Everyone else on this team is garbage.
"What they don't have" is a catcher, shorstop, third baseman, left fielder, and DH. They also don't have any bench depth.
"So why is Cashman seemingly tip-toeing through the A-Rod tulips when it comes to activating him for what the Yankees really need him for? The answer to that is twofold: For one thing, the Yankees do not want to put themselves in a position where it is perceived they don’t want A-Rod back and are deliberately keeping him away from the team, and so, if he says put me in coach, I’m ready to play' they have no choice but to take him up on it."
The team can't hit.
"At the same time, however, does anyone believe A-Rod can play regular third base at an even average level any more? The answer to that one is no — not even A-Rod himself."
No one expects a lot from ARod at third base.
"Of course, no one is going to come out and say so."
For all intents and purposes, Cashman just said so.
"The proof, as they say, will be in the playing — if and when that actually happens. Meanwhile, the long arm of Sheriff Rob Manfred and the MLB drug posse hangs heavily over A-Rod, only adding to the uncertainty of what’s left, if anything, of his career."
Congratulations to Bill Madden.
With the help of pristine MLB sources, a tireless editor, and an adament spell-checker, Madden has been able to uncover a secret Yankee plot.
A secret plot that was just detailed in public by the Yankee GM.
ARod may get injured before Monday. ARod may feign injury or perhaps even announce his retirement from baseball.
But if ARod plays one game with the Yankees in 2013, then Bill Madden (and his "sources") will be instantly embarrassed:
"According to all the involved parties — Major League Baseball being the one notable exception — A-Rod time is upon us. Or is it?"
In what way is MLB the notable exception?
Is Madden saying that MLB is going to suspend ARod on Monday morning? Maybe they will and Madden will be proven right. I sure haven't seen anything that suggests the suspensions could be enforced that quickly.
"On Thursday, Alex Rodriguez told reporters, 'yeah, of course' he expected to be back with the Yankees in Texas Monday. He didn’t say in what capacity and conceded 'we have one big obstacle' in this weekend of Triple-A games to close out his 20-day rehab session. Then on Friday Yankee GM Brian Cashman said that, if healthy enough to play Monday, A-Rod 'would play third, he would play DH, he would pinch-hit and he would take days off.' ”
Sounds sensible to me. I'm not expecting much in the field or on the basepaths, that's for sure.
I'm also still not seeing how MLB is a notable exception.
"When further asked why A-Rod wouldn’t be limited to just third base or just DH, Cashman said: 'Why would we do it in the minor leagues but not in the major leagues.' ”
1) What kind of a dumb question is that?
2) Cashman answered a question with a question, but you forgot the question mark.
"What is interesting here is the apparent double standard Cashman is applying to A-Rod as opposed to his adament stance with Derek Jeter in spring training in which he said the Captain needed to prove to the Yankees he could play shortstop before he would be activated. 'We don’t need him to DH,' Cashman said. 'We have plenty of DHs. We need him to play shortstop.' ”
1) Not interesting at all.
2) You spelled "adamant" wrong. Who edits this newspaper, anyway?
"Well, nothing has changed since then."
Nothing has changed since spring training?
Is that seriously your proposition?
"The Yankees do not need A-Rod to DH. They’ve got plenty of people who can DH on any given day."
The Yankees kind of don't have plenty of people who can DH on any given day.
Wells hasn't hit a HR since mid-May. Hafner is completely shot. Even Almonte is now on the DL.
"What they don’t have is a third baseman, unless, of course, you believe Luis Cruz is the answer."
Overbay has been quite good, relative to expectations. No complaints.
Cano and Garnder have been pulling their weight. Ichiro is good enough, I suppose.
Everyone else on this team is garbage.
"What they don't have" is a catcher, shorstop, third baseman, left fielder, and DH. They also don't have any bench depth.
"So why is Cashman seemingly tip-toeing through the A-Rod tulips when it comes to activating him for what the Yankees really need him for? The answer to that is twofold: For one thing, the Yankees do not want to put themselves in a position where it is perceived they don’t want A-Rod back and are deliberately keeping him away from the team, and so, if he says put me in coach, I’m ready to play' they have no choice but to take him up on it."
The team can't hit.
"At the same time, however, does anyone believe A-Rod can play regular third base at an even average level any more? The answer to that one is no — not even A-Rod himself."
No one expects a lot from ARod at third base.
"Of course, no one is going to come out and say so."
For all intents and purposes, Cashman just said so.
"The proof, as they say, will be in the playing — if and when that actually happens. Meanwhile, the long arm of Sheriff Rob Manfred and the MLB drug posse hangs heavily over A-Rod, only adding to the uncertainty of what’s left, if anything, of his career."
Congratulations to Bill Madden.
With the help of pristine MLB sources, a tireless editor, and an adament spell-checker, Madden has been able to uncover a secret Yankee plot.
A secret plot that was just detailed in public by the Yankee GM.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Career over? Still doesn't make sense to me.
The information seem so out of bounds, that I think Bill Madden is being duped by source who are anti-ARod:
"According to the sources, a 150-game suspension might be the best that could be expected for Rodriguez, who is rehabbing from hip surgery with high Single-A Tampa and was chastised by the Yankees Saturday for failing to report to the team’s complex for Friday night’s game following a four-and-a-half hour meeting with MLB officials who outlined their case against him."
Assuming these sources are accurate, it still doesn't explain Selig's particular animus towards ARod. That alone should be rejected by an arbitrator.
If MLB wants these cheaters out of the game, a lot of MLB's current rosters would be gutted.
"According to the sources, a 150-game suspension might be the best that could be expected for Rodriguez, who is rehabbing from hip surgery with high Single-A Tampa and was chastised by the Yankees Saturday for failing to report to the team’s complex for Friday night’s game following a four-and-a-half hour meeting with MLB officials who outlined their case against him."
Assuming these sources are accurate, it still doesn't explain Selig's particular animus towards ARod. That alone should be rejected by an arbitrator.
If MLB wants these cheaters out of the game, a lot of MLB's current rosters would be gutted.
What is the last time a right-handed Yankee batter hit a HR?
I think I found it.
Jayson Nix on June 25th vs. Texas.
Jayson Nix on June 25th vs. Texas.
ARod is everywhere, ARod is everything, ARod is everybody, ARod is still the king
I don't think they should discuss records before/after the All Star Break because it's not always the same number of games. Know what I mean? The records should just be judged on first 81 games and second 81 games.
Anyway, that is just about all I'm going to say about the All Star Game:
"The last time we had an All-Star Game in New York it went 15 innings and didn’t end until nearly two in the morning at the old Yankee Stadium and the longer the game went, the more it became this crazy baseball party, down where I sat with my sons in the stands and all over the ballpark, as everybody who stayed began to wonder how — and when — the game would ever end."
Anyway, that is just about all I'm going to say about the All Star Game:
"The last time we had an All-Star Game in New York it went 15 innings and didn’t end until nearly two in the morning at the old Yankee Stadium and the longer the game went, the more it became this crazy baseball party, down where I sat with my sons in the stands and all over the ballpark, as everybody who stayed began to wonder how — and when — the game would ever end."
Friday, July 12, 2013
I think Colin Quinn was the sidekick to Ken Ober on "Remote Control."
Lupica is a person who won't stop talking about ARod while complaining about the attention that ARod receives:
"In the real baseball summer of 2013, on the eve of the ’13 All-Star Game Tuesday night at Citi Field, who knew that the big story wouldn’t be Alex Rodriguez once again batting fourth for the New York Yankees, but perhaps becoming the latest Biogenesis All-Star to take baseball’s version of the Fifth with the MLB investigators working the case?"
2013? '13? ARod wears number 13? I think we can all see where this is going.
"To the end, Rodriguez — about to begin his 10th season with the Yankees if he gets the chance — is a baseball season all by himself. He is the center of attention that he has always craved to be, even playing alongside Jeter. Just not in a way he ever imagined for himself."
"In the real baseball summer of 2013, on the eve of the ’13 All-Star Game Tuesday night at Citi Field, who knew that the big story wouldn’t be Alex Rodriguez once again batting fourth for the New York Yankees, but perhaps becoming the latest Biogenesis All-Star to take baseball’s version of the Fifth with the MLB investigators working the case?"
2013? '13? ARod wears number 13? I think we can all see where this is going.
"To the end, Rodriguez — about to begin his 10th season with the Yankees if he gets the chance — is a baseball season all by himself. He is the center of attention that he has always craved to be, even playing alongside Jeter. Just not in a way he ever imagined for himself."
Thursday, July 11, 2013
I think everything Bill Madden is saying is wrong, but at least he is putting his prediction in writing.
I think exactly none of this is going to happen. I think ARod is out of shape and, yeah, out of sync. I also think he'll be DHing for the Yankees in a few weeks.
But, hey, it's not my job to know this stuff. At least Bill Madden is willing to put his reputation on the line. If he knows something I don't know, then he is actually doing his job:
"But as the Daily News reported June 26, A-Rod’s real mission is to get himself to the safe haven that will protect him from losing any of his money as a result of being suspended by baseball — and that place is the so-called 'unable to perform' list, where he and baseball doctors determine whether the severity of his hip condition is such that it precludes him from being able to perform.
But, hey, it's not my job to know this stuff. At least Bill Madden is willing to put his reputation on the line. If he knows something I don't know, then he is actually doing his job:
"But as the Daily News reported June 26, A-Rod’s real mission is to get himself to the safe haven that will protect him from losing any of his money as a result of being suspended by baseball — and that place is the so-called 'unable to perform' list, where he and baseball doctors determine whether the severity of his hip condition is such that it precludes him from being able to perform.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Perhaps Puig simply doesn't want to associate himself with steroid cheats.
"During batting practice before Monday's game at Chase Field, Puig
was approached by Luis Gonzalez. The former Diamondbacks star
introduced himself, and began relating how his family also had roots in
Cuba, just like Puig.
Except Puig wouldn't even look up or acknowledge his visitor. And for the record, Gonzalez was speaking Spanish, so nothing was lost in translation.
Gonzalez confirmed the one-sided conversation, but declined to elaborate or comment further.
But it's not all bad.
Dodgers coach Mark McGwire witnessed the awkward meeting, and allegedly jumped Puig pretty good. McGwire pointed out the man he was ignoring merely won a World Series with a hit off Mariano Rivera, and that Gonzalez's number happened to be hanging inside Chase Field."
Except Puig wouldn't even look up or acknowledge his visitor. And for the record, Gonzalez was speaking Spanish, so nothing was lost in translation.
Gonzalez confirmed the one-sided conversation, but declined to elaborate or comment further.
But it's not all bad.
Dodgers coach Mark McGwire witnessed the awkward meeting, and allegedly jumped Puig pretty good. McGwire pointed out the man he was ignoring merely won a World Series with a hit off Mariano Rivera, and that Gonzalez's number happened to be hanging inside Chase Field."
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
So last night's game was the breaking point.
Mark Feinsand complains about the Yankees' minor-league lineup and proposes Michael Young as a fix. Kevin Kernan complains about the Yankees' minor-league lineup and proposes no specific fix.
I want to talk about Brett Gardner.
On pace for a mere 20 stolen bases, 11 caught stealing, and a ridiculous 144 strikeouts.
What happened to this guy?
What happened to this guy?
Monday, July 08, 2013
Bartolo Colon makes All Star team.
I have yet to find anyone who condemns Colon's selection:
"It shows a ton of mental and physical toughness for Colon to come out this year and have this good of a showing. He has age against him and of course the little list of paper scandal in Florida where someone scribbled his name on a piece of paper. I’m not sure when that became probable cause for accusing anyone of anything but who cares. What matters is that he has 11 wins on the season.
What matters is that he has a 2.78 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP that are both better than the season he put up in 2005 when he was last elected to the All-Star team at the age of 32. How great is it that 8 years later he is elected once again and on pace to have an even better season than he had that year?"
Ummm ... boo?
"It shows a ton of mental and physical toughness for Colon to come out this year and have this good of a showing. He has age against him and of course the little list of paper scandal in Florida where someone scribbled his name on a piece of paper. I’m not sure when that became probable cause for accusing anyone of anything but who cares. What matters is that he has 11 wins on the season.
What matters is that he has a 2.78 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP that are both better than the season he put up in 2005 when he was last elected to the All-Star team at the age of 32. How great is it that 8 years later he is elected once again and on pace to have an even better season than he had that year?"
Ummm ... boo?
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Jeter 0-for-2.
"At the plate the Yankee captain walked, lined out and grounded out against ex-major leaguer Raul Valdez, a lefty whose fastball topped out at 85 mph. But the question isn’t so much if Jeter will hit again for the Yankees as whether he can play short at age 39, coming back from a broken ankle that he rebroke during spring training.
In Jeter’s mind, there are no questions to answer. He says he has pushed himself enough during workouts and simulated games in Tampa to believe he could play shortstop in the Bronx on Sunday if the Yankees would let him."
Of course, ARod's 0-for-2 was not greeted with the same general insouciance.
I get it by now, ARod has been unpopular for a very long time, largely for his off-field antics.
I mean, what kind of narcissistic prick poses nude in a sports magazine?
In Jeter’s mind, there are no questions to answer. He says he has pushed himself enough during workouts and simulated games in Tampa to believe he could play shortstop in the Bronx on Sunday if the Yankees would let him."
Of course, ARod's 0-for-2 was not greeted with the same general insouciance.
I get it by now, ARod has been unpopular for a very long time, largely for his off-field antics.
I mean, what kind of narcissistic prick poses nude in a sports magazine?
Just checking: Lupica is talking about the New York Mets? The professional baseball team that plays in Queens?
Mike Lupica's Sunday column focuses on Jay-Z.
I will skip that part:
"Ron Darling made a great point the other day, saying that one of the best things that has happened with the Mets this season, and not just with Ike Davis, is that none of them — with the exception of David Wright — is still allowed to think they have jobs for life."
"Say it again: The Mets are playing better and the Mets didn’t quit when it looked like the bottom was going to fall out of everything, and how can a lot of the credit for that not go to Terry Collins?"
The Mets are 36-48, .429 winning%, 12.5 games out of 1st place in their division (4th place) and 12.5 games out of the wild card (10th place).
The Mets have a worse record than the Cubs.
There are 4 teams in baseball who have a worse record than the Mets.
As for the supposed improvement of the Mets, here is their record by month:
Apr 10-15
May 12-15
Jun 11-15
Jul 3-3
I guess they have nowhere to go but up.
If that qualifies as praise, then I guess that's one backwards way to praise Terry Collins.
I will skip that part:
"Ron Darling made a great point the other day, saying that one of the best things that has happened with the Mets this season, and not just with Ike Davis, is that none of them — with the exception of David Wright — is still allowed to think they have jobs for life."
"Say it again: The Mets are playing better and the Mets didn’t quit when it looked like the bottom was going to fall out of everything, and how can a lot of the credit for that not go to Terry Collins?"
The Mets are 36-48, .429 winning%, 12.5 games out of 1st place in their division (4th place) and 12.5 games out of the wild card (10th place).
The Mets have a worse record than the Cubs.
There are 4 teams in baseball who have a worse record than the Mets.
As for the supposed improvement of the Mets, here is their record by month:
Apr 10-15
May 12-15
Jun 11-15
Jul 3-3
I guess they have nowhere to go but up.
If that qualifies as praise, then I guess that's one backwards way to praise Terry Collins.
Saturday, July 06, 2013
Golly, I sure hope Phelps gets better soon.
It sounds like he came down with a case of Nunez-need-a-roster-spot-itis.
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Monday, July 01, 2013
Yankees by month.
April 16 W, 10 L, 4.6R/G, +10 R Diff
May 15 W, 13 L, 3.6 R/G, +8R Diff
June 11 W, 16 L, 3.3 R/G, -34R Diff
Vernon Wells hit .300 in April, .220 in May, and .133 in June.
The Yankees don't need a .300 hitter for the second half, but can't you at least hit a measly .220 instead of a pitcher-esque .133?
Same goes for the team.
I don't think they can really be this bad, can they?
I think the answer is somewhere in between, which is why I think they still have a chance to make the playoffs.
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