I thought I was ARod's biggest fan ...

It appears otherwise:

"In baseball, we love our numbers. And we love our heroes. And that brings us to Alex Rodriguez, a man who has committed a crime he doesn't even understand:

A crime against the once-proud history of his sport."

This history is prouder than ever. Aaron and Maris were booed by their contemporaries, but now they're more popular than ever.


"But they knew what the number 60 meant. They knew what 61 meant. They knew who Babe Ruth was. And they knew this was a phenomenon that linked Mark McGwire to the Bambino, that linked now to then, that linked this America to that America.

That's what the home run record used to mean in our land.

That's what baseball used to mean.

But not anymore.

And that's the crime here. That's the tragedy. That's what we've lost.

We've lost the opportunity for Alex Rodriguez to restore that: the meaning. The relevance. The power. The romance.

He held that opportunity in his hands. And now it's gone.

He was the one man on the planet with the chance to resuscitate the greatest record in sports. He was the one man on the planet with the chance to rebuild his sport's sacred bridge to the glory days."

What the heck is the matter with you people?

If it bothers you so much, then hitch your hopes and dreams to Albert Pujols. Or Ryan Howard. Or Evan Longoria.

Maybe Josh Hamilton will ... what is it he's going to do? ... he's going to "rebuild the sport's sacred bridge to the glory days."

If he takes enough amphetamines to help him get the competitive edge. Since steroids are illegal.

Let's suppose one of these players breaks Bonds's record and does it without steroids.

So freakin' what? What does that prove? Steroids were never used in baseball? Or we just can conveniently ignore their existence?

Contempt of court.

Should we complain about Valerie Plame, you putz?:

"Don't forget that the most important informant in American history -- W. Mark Felt, aka Deep Throat -- took down a president in part because he didn't receive the promotion he wanted. Nobody complained then, because the information he leaked was legitimate.

For the same reasons, nobody should complain now."

Deep Throat was violating a court order? I was unaware of that.


MLB players clearly use steroids and have cheated for decades. A relatively small segment of the population is wringing their hands because their preferred form of entertainment has been tainted or because they want to protect Aaron's HR record or because children have lost another role model.

It's worse when lawyers cheat. That affects all of us. Nice lesson for the kids.

Bonds, Clemens, ARod, McGwire are all unpunished in the real courts.

Unable to get the desired results, the lawyers respond by cheating, by trying their case anonymously in the Court of Public Opinion.

Somehow, when weighed about the Constitution of the United States, Aaron's precious HR record seems a bit unimportant.

I'm guessing he said the same thing about Giambi.

I'm more convinced than ever that ARod hits 40/120 this year and 6 HRs in the World Series:

"Now that A-Rod's pursuit looks as counterfeit as Bonds', they should do what's best for the organization:

Cut him loose - no matter the cost.

As difficult as it is to imagine eating $270 million, the Bombers will be making a statement, not just for the Yankee brand but for baseball as a whole.

They will be applauded for it."

They will be applauded the most by the team who picks up ARod on the cheap.

How have the Giants done since ridding themselves of Barry Bonds? The Giants won 72 games last year. The players really responded well without the distraction.


"The Yankees operate under two basic tenets: The relentless pursuit of championships and the fierce protection of their brand. If they are going to remain true to both, then they have no choice but to sever ties with Rodriguez."

Get rid of 120 RBIs because that will help you win the championship.


As for the Yankee brand, I like how ARod is the last straw, but Giambi, Pettitte, Sheffield, Clemens, Stanton, Canseco, IRod, and Matt Lawton were not.


I can't wait for ARod to win the World Series MVP.

Richard Justice makes it too easy.

Richard Justice on ARod:

"In the end, it doesn't matter how much he cheated or even when he cheated. That's the thing about cheating. When you're caught cheating one time, you're a cheat for all-time. So you say you used steroids just a couple of times? Really? Until you got caught, you said you'd never used steroids. Why should we believe anything you say now?"


Richard Justice a year ago on Pettitte:

"Andy Pettitte did the honorable thing. He didn't do it willingly, but he did do it. Good for him.

He's about to find out that he's living in a forgiving country and that fans want to move on from steroids and human growth hormone. That's going to be difficult to do as long as some players hide behind lawyers and owners play dumb.

Those who know Pettitte aren't surprised that he did what he did Saturday afternoon. He may never get all of his reputation back, but he took a small step in the right direction.

Here's hoping others are paying attention. If Pettitte had denied using performance-enhancing substances, it would have been virtually impossible not to believe him."


Richard Justice is not the decider. It's just that this sort of hypocrisy is not uncommon. If Bonds and ARod are defensive and paranoid, it's because they should be.

Lean muscle.

Maybe this explains why ARod doesn't really look like a steroid user:

"Primobolan is known by the chemical name methenolone. It is taken orally or through injection and is considered 'safe' because it has relatively few side effects. It is also considered one of the most expensive steroids. It improves strength and maintains lean muscle without developing excess bulk."

ARod's body has changed since 1996. Everybody's body has changed since 1996, especially if you're continually hitting the gym. Personally, I don't perceive any kind of freakish change.


Was ARod still using steroids in 2007 when he hit 54 HRs?

Is it possible he was still using in 2007?

I don't see how it's possible, but he already fooled me.


It's not a small point. If he completely collapses and becomes Edgardo Alfonzo or Miguel Tejada or Brady Anderson, then his career will be dismissed. If he cranks out 40/120 this year when he's (presumably) clean, then his reputation can certainly be salvaged.

My personal nightmare is not the damage to ARod's reputation or MLB's reputation. My personal nightmare is a 3B making $27.5M while hitting 14 HRs.

Jim Rice was mean to the sportswriters and claims that's why it took him so long to get into the Hall of Fame.

"If you ask me, A-Rod was probably going to have problems with a lot of the writers on the character and sportsmanship issues, but his numbers would be just too overwhelming to deny him election to the Hall."

Gee, ya think his numbers get him into the Hall of Fame?

Even though us writers really dislike ARod, I guess we'd have no choice but to put him into the Hall of Fame. Because he hit 800 homeruns. Shucks. Kind of makes us feel powerless.


"Now, however, in light of the report that he tested positive for steroids in 2003, those numbers can no longer be believed, and it comes down to the matter of integrity. Until now, only A-Rod's persona wreaked of insincerity, and that wasn't enough to deny him a place in Cooperstown. Having his record suddenly deemed invalid is something else entirely."

I'm happy to hear that his persona of insincerity wasn't quite enough to deny him a place in Cooperstown.

That's really amazing to me.

Jeter is insincere.

Ripken is insincere.

Torre is as insincere as a person can possibly be, contradicting himself four times in the course of one sentence. Writing a book with Tom Verducci and then going on a promotional tour claiming that the book was written on Opposite Day, so everything he said to Verducci was the opposite of what he really meant (that joke courtesy of Steve Somers).


Do you know how many cheaters are in the freakin' Hall of Fame?

You writers are all cowards, I'm serious.

If Nolan Ryan threw one spitball, I want his plaque taken down.


"Even if the Sports Illustrated report is not further substantiated and denied by all the parties involved in baseball, A-Rod - who already had enough character and sincerity issues - has been irrevocably tarnished for life. He can continue to amass Hall-of-Fame caliber numbers, but he's not going there anymore than McGwire, Bonds, Clemens and the rest of the cheats who stained the game are going there."

That makes no sense.

If the SI report is unsubstantiated, then ... well, use logic to figure out the new conclusion.


Look, MLB will never have its Day of Reckoning.

The writers will never get the clean break they're looking for.

Madden is claiming that ARod's baseball achievements have been "irrevocably tarnished for life" and Madden is basing this claim on anonymous sources. I don't necessarily doubt the sources, but I know for a fact that their actions were illegal and I don't know if they had any particular axe to grind.

Madden's stance is quite absurd, and it's also quite lazy.

You're a HOF voter and your responsibility is sort through the conflicting data and try to determine whether a player is worthy.

I could be completely wrong about ARod, but I truly don't believe his career is built on steroids. I'd put him into the HOF without hesitation. Of course, he'd take his rightful place among many other cheaters who were also great ballplayers.

I was surprised.

"Were you shocked? Was anybody? Rodriguez will never completely get back his clean image - he has no one to blame but himself for that - but coming clean is a good place to start."

I was surprised for three reasons:

1) His power numbers are consistent.

2) His body and face don't look particularly pumped up.

3) His body hasn't suddenly broken down like Garciaparra, Giambi, and others.


Assuming he's guilty, then contrition doesn't make him any less guilty.

I am not quite sure the Pettitte strategy would work for ARod. People don't generally like ARod and people generally like Pettitte.

If you can remember as far back as yesterday, then you should remember that his image was already shot.

(103 others.)

I'm only kidding, I'm only kidding. I know we only care about the cheaters who actually perform well on the field.

One overrated fraud sticks up for another.

"But Torre is not less a Yankee because of this book, he has not somehow diminished his own Yankee legend, he hasn't changed his status as someone who became more the face of the New York Yankees than any manager in the history of the team."

I don't know about that last part.


"There was a morning a few years ago when I sat with him in the visiting manager's office at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., before a spring training game. He had been telling stories that day about Warren Spahn, and talking about a dinner he'd had the night before at a restaurant we both knew in Jupiter, called Carmine's."

Torre is a legend, this is true. A figment of the collective imagination. A myth.

The man who is still "classy" and "gentlemanly," even though the existence of this book proves otherwise. Its content also proves that he wasn't even a very good manager.

Nice Warren Spahn stories, though, I'm quite sure.

"That day the subject came back around to something people had said about Joe Torre for a long time, even after his team had stopped winning the World Series, about how he made it harder than it had ever been for people to be Yankee haters.

'I don't think it was just me,' Torre said that day. 'I think we made it harder for people to hate the Yankees.' "

Yuck.

Lots of speculation that you didn't bunt on an injured Schilling because you didn't want people to hate you. Or maybe that's why you didn't pull the team off the field when they were attacked by bugs in Cleveland.

If your opponents don't hate you, you're doing something wrong.

Maybe you lost sight of the prize.

Of course Torre belongs in the Hall of Fame because he got four rings. Does anybody really care about the manager's wing? Peter Gammons is in the sportswriter's wing and they may as well put Freddie Sez in the fan's wing.


Of course the Yankees should retire Torre's number in Monument Park. He's very popular, and that's the most important determinant.

As for Torre's importance in winning those four rings, he's far behind lots of other people: Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, David Wells, David Cone, Orlando Hernandez, Jim Leyritz, and forgotten World Series MVP John Wetteland.

Basically, if you threw a pitch or hit a ball, you were actually more important than Joe Torre.

I'd retire all of their numbers.

Why not?

Monument Park is already watered down enough with Billy Martin, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Roger Maris, etc.

You've got to wonder what Graig Nettles, Roy White, Willie Randolph, Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, and Bob Lemon are thinking.

For the first time, I'm in favor of a salary cap in baseball.

The follow-up questions that will never be asked.

Torre: "I always tried to make Alex [Rodriguez] feel comfortable in New York."

Felz: "Then why did you bat him 8th in a playoff game?"


Torre: "I thought Bernie could have been an effective pinch-hitting presence off the bench."

Felz: "Are you aware that Bernie Williams is one of the worst pinch-hitters ever? I think he batted well under .200 as a pinch-hitter."

1996-2001.

The Yankees lost the World Series in 2001. They almost won, but they lost. Kind of like the Yankees in 2003, when the team consisted of selfish, lazy mercenaries like Giambi, Sierra, and Contreras leading the way.

When people talk about the success and toughness of the Torre-era Yankees, why is 2001 included?

Just for accuracy's sake, it should be the 1996-2000 Yankees, even though the 2001 Yankee roster included O'Neill, Tino, and Brosius.

Four Ring Club.

" 'I think his ego's gotten so big that he thinks he can do no wrong,' a Yankees source said. 'And the Dodgers winning the division was the last straw. I think he truly believed he had the Midas touch, that he could do no wrong.'

Instead, Torre may have committed the one sin the Yankees find virtually impossible to forgive.

'The same thing he was so upset with Wells and Jose Canseco about, he did himself,' the source said. 'He violated the sanctity of the organization, the sanctity of the clubhouse. He broke the trust we had in him.' "

One of the weirdest defenses of Torre's book is that everybody knew this information already. Well, if that's the case, then why write a book, and why would anybody bother buying the book?

Also, the source is everything. I can make fun of my brother, but you can't.

Also, he's currently the manager of the Dodgers.

Torre definitely has the "right" to say whatever he wants. Nobody is suing him or putting him in jail. But, just like he has the "right" to say whatever he wants, everyone else has the right to call him a fraud and a punk.

Here's a guy who likes to dish it out, but sure isn't used to taking it.

Joel Sherman takes off the gloves.

My only gripe is that this sort of negative analysis is years late.

I sort of understand why writers don't criticize their subject. They need access. But the price they pay for that access is credibility.

To be fair, it's quite possible that Sherman has mentioned this stuff in the past and it just seems more harsh because it's all concentrated in one place.

But my guess is that the writers are all pouncing on Torre now because Torre is in LA.

I'm not actually keeping score ...

... but I think Lupica is the last pro-Torre holdout.

Even Peter Abraham has joined the Winning Team:

"When the smoke clears, the supposedly gory details of The Yankee Years will prove not so gory. Book publicists are good at what they do and some reporters are only too glad to take a baited hook. It beats actually doing any work.

But Torre clearly traded some secrets for money. Nobody wanted to read another warm tale about his brother in surgery or Don Zimmer cracking jokes, so Joe and Tom Verducci threw a few players and team executives into the fire.

...

It just never ends well. Maybe it’s the money that saps them of their dignity. For others it’s the attention or the lifestyle. But our heroes so rarely walk away at the right time. They kick and scream and claw.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking it will change. It could get very ugly when Derek Jeter’s contract expires. Or if Mo decides he want to keep pitching in 2011. You want to be the guy who tells Posada he can’t catch anymore? Wear his mask when you break that news.

Torre is not the best person I ever covered. I had more pleasant one-on-one conversations with Joe Girardi in a month last season than I had with Torre in a year But Torre understood how his job related to my job better than anybody else. Readers benefited from that. Once again, he is showing how well he knows the media landscape. Torre picked a great writer and served up the details that will sell books by the truckload. The convertible he drives around in those commercials couldn’t stay on the high road."

I know it's the off-season, but shouldn't the manager of the Dodgers be doing Dodger-Managery stuff?

Talk about a phony.

Mr. Torre, I will give you $100 right now if you can name the teams in the NL West:

" 'I don't think I said anything about A-Rod that I didn't say already.' Torre is the co-author of the book, but it contains both his thoughts and independent reporting, according to Verducci.

Torre told the Times that 'knowing that my name is on it, I know I'm going to have to answer for it.'

He later told the Times: 'I'm comfortable with what I contributed to the book, even though I'm probably going to get more credit or more blame than I deserve, whichever way you want to look at it.' "

I must say, for a man who didn't throw one pitch or get one hit during the Yankees' late-'90s success, I think you know from getting more credit than you deserve.

I am not worried about Mariano Rivera's shoulder.

"The Yankees are a sure thing to win it all, the way they have been in a lot of baseball winters, unless you are worried about Jorge Posada's shoulder, Mo Rivera's shoulder, the outfield defense and no center fielder."

Hey, Mr. Snooty, the Yankees never said they were a sure thing.

Also, I'd like to point out that you have expressed concern about Mariano Rivera every single season since 1996.

Every year, I take the opposite view and every year I am right and you are wrong.

One year, you will be right.

It won't count.

Put his face on Mount Rushmore.

He's still the classiest person in the history of the world.

If "classy" means childish, petty, hypocritical, self-absorbed punk.

They ought to get Grady Sizemore.

"Playing center field for the Yankees is one of the most hallowed jobs in sports, sort of like being the tailback at USC or linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers."

I always think of Dave Collins and Omar Moreno. But that's just me.


"Multiple Hall of Famers, including two of the biggest names in baseball history in Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, have roamed center in pinstripes, and All-Stars such as Bernie Williams, Bobby Murcer and Mickey Rivers once owned the position, too."

Mickey Rivers was an All Star one time. He was often replaced by Paul Blair for defensive reasons.


"But in 2009 - if team executives are to be believed - the Yankees will take a different approach. Rather than filling center with a star, Brett Gardner, an unproven rookie, and Melky Cabrera, last season’s flop, will compete for the job when spring training opens next month. "

Different approach compared to what?

Melky Cabrera has been the Yankees' starting center fielder for almost three full seasons. Last year, he was benched and replaced by Brett Gardner. Bernie Williams hasn't played a lot of CF since 2002.

So, the hallowed ground has showcased Charles Gipson, Karim Garcia, Kenny Lofton, Bubba Crosby, and my personal favorite, Tony Womack.

Put another way: Bernie Williams is certainly a worthy successor to the Yankee CF greats. Bernie is a very strong HOF candidate. But he stopped putting up HOF numbers after the 2002 season.

The Yankees have not had a premier CFer since 2002.

What exactly is different in 2009?


"And, historically, high-level talent in center has been an integral part of Yankee success.

The last time the Yankees won the World Series without a big-name player as their primary center fielder was 1943 - DiMaggio was in the Army Air Forces that year because of World War II and Roy Weatherly (68 games), Johnny Lindell (55 games) and Tuck Stainback (43 games) split the position."

Well, okay, if you insist. It sure can't hurt to have players like Mickey Mantle and Joe Dimaggio.

I adored Mick the Quick. I even twirled my wiffle bat when I hit a foul ball. But he was absolutely not a superstar CFer.


In any case, the entire argument is moot.

Let's say the Yankees really need a superstar in CF. How are they going to get a superstar CFer?

I mean, the only replacement who is even mentioned is Mike Cameron, who pretty much stinks.

Middle Infielders.

"Not sure if you saw it, but former Met great Jeff Kent retired yesterday. Now we ask, is he a Hall of Famer?

There’s a guy who works here at The Daily News who insists Kent is Cooperstown bound. No doubt about it, he says. I hear the same sentiment on radio and TV. Believe it or not, I disagree."

I don't believe it.


"Kent has 74 more homers than Ryne Sandberg, a Hall of Famer, who, until Kent broke it, held the record for HRs by a second baseman. If you judge him solely as a second baseman, he’s in, no questions asked."

He should be judged as a second baseman because never regularly played any other position. But he's hardly a definitive HOFer, "no questions asked."

This is a very odd argument.

I don't know where this is heading.


"But I say Kent cannot be looked at as a second baseman, especially in this day and age where middle infielders all over baseball are putting up numbers usually posted by outfielders and third baseman."

Thirty teams, two middle infielders per team. That's sixty middle infielders, more or less. I can think of three who put up big power numbers: Ramirez, Utley, and Uggla.

ARod doesn't play shortstop anymore. Tejada and Garciaparra used to put up big numbers.

You know how many shortstops had 100 RBIs last year? Zero.


"We have to start judging players - other than catchers - as all part of the same pool. Is Nomar Garciaparra a Hall of Famer because he put up big numbers at shortstop?"

Unbelievable. He's actually comparing Kent to Garciaparra.

The precise reason Kent is a HOFer and Garciaparra is not is because Kent did it for a long time. Kent is a second baseman who accumulated 1,500 RBIs. Garciaparra only has 920 RBIs, maybe 700 as a shortstop.


"Kent was never a great fielder. He had to hide somewhere and most teams chose to put him at second base."

That makes no sense at all. That is completely illogical and uninformed.


"Albert Belle has more homers (381) than Kent. Is he a Hall of Famer?"

I think Belle is a HOFer, but you can't compare him to Kent, because he played OF while Kent played 2B.


"Gary Sheffield has more homers (499), hits (2,615) and RBIs (1,633) than Kent. Is he a Hall of Famer?"

Yes, of course Sheffield is a HOFer. But again, you're comparing and OFer to a 2B. It's not a fair comparison and you keep saying it is and every time you do it you are wrong.


"Andres Gallarraga (399), Dale Murphy (398), Joe Carter (396), Jason Giambi (396), Vlad Guerrero (392), Graig Nettles (390), Dwight Evans (385), Harold Baines (384), Larry Walker (383) and Matt Williams (378) all have more homers than Kent. Only Guerrero has a legit shot to make it to Cooperstown."

Zero second baseman in the list.

Oh, and Larry Walker will probably make the HOF. Jeff Kent, too.

I know it was cold, but ...

"One year ago, this weekend, Eli Manning had one of the greatest performances by a quarterback I’ve ever seen, in miserable conditions in Green Bay in the NFC championship game."

21-for-40, 254 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.

That is one of the greatest performances by a quarterback that Ralph Vacchiano has ever seen.


"The Giants are going to have little choice here. Prices go up and a year ago the Steelers made Ben Roethlisberger the seventh member of the Million Dollar Quarterback Club when they handed him an eight-year, $102 million deal with $36 million in guarantees."

I think you mean "seventh member of the Hundred Million Dollar Quarterback Club."

But it's funny that you wrote "seventh member of the Million Dollar Quarterback Club."

As if only six NFL QBs make a million dollars.


As for your NFL QB observances: I think Jim Kelly played about 300 regular season games, and if he ever went 21-for-40 for 254 yards, he would have quite football on the spot.


I remember a game where Jim Harbaugh and the Colts beat the Dolphins 41-0. I remember Harbaugh had over ten yards per attempt. It was one of the greatest physical achievements by a human being ever in the history of human achievement. Which is probably why I can remember it so well.

I just think you don't like the Yankees.

Lupica transcribes Brodsky:

"You may want a new Yankee Stadium, or you may not. But whatever side you come down on, remember that it's your money that's going to build it. The Yankees are alone in insisting that it's Yankee money. Even NYC officials now admit the truth of what we've been saying, that taxpayer dollars are tearing down The House That Ruth Built, and replacing it with The House That You Built.

Here's how they do it. The city sends the Yankees a property tax bill like everyone else gets. The Yankees write a check (about $70 million a year) to the city for that amount, just like everyone else. But next, unlike you or I, the city winks and sends that check to the Yankees' bankers to pay off the $1.4 billion mortgage, plus the $1.4 billion in interest on the new Stadium. You or I can't get that deal, but the Yankees did."

See, if you're saying the taxpayers are paying for it, and then you're saying that taxpayer is the Yankees ...

"And they got a lot more. The [sic] got an additional $575 million directly to build parking garages and sewers and other stuff for the new Stadium. They don't have to pay sales tax and mortgage recording taxes that every other taxpayer pays, and they get interest rate subsidies. That's an additional taxpayer subsidy of about $350 million."

I still don't believe that's the same thing as a subsidy.

Even though, obviously, the Yankees are asking for sweet deals from the government because the government is expecting a major return for this investment, economic and otherwise.


Like, what's an "interest rate subsidy"?

A NYC resident's tax rates are increasing because of the new Yankee Stadium? No.

The Yankees are paying taxes, just at a reduced rate.

I guess the argument is whether or not the Yankees are paying their fair share, and perhaps that's a fair argument. But this is not free money.


When I contend that this is simply another example of anti-Yankee hysteria, consider this as Exhibit A:

"The Mets’ request for $82.3 million in tax-exempt bonds to complete Citi Field was approved unanimously with little debate."

Really?

What about the straphanger and the fairness and the unwillingness to recognize the pain that New Yorkers are now undergoing?


You know what's weird? I don't recall a single demand for a salary cap when the Angels offered Teixeira $160 million.

MLB needs a salary cap.

On the same day that Circuit City closes, the Red Sox pay Kevin Youkilis almost $100 million.

Kevin Youkilis is nothing more than a monument to greed and avarice.

I am disgusted that the Red Sox can keep spending money while the rest of the world is tightening their collective belts.

My understanding of tax-exempt bonds.

The Yankees borrow money from a government entity, repay it with interest, and the interest that the investors accumulate is not subject to taxes.

These bonds are sold to public investors seeking a low-risk investment.

There's a lot more going on here in terms of politics, etc.

But tax-exempt bonds are an easy way for a government to make a little money. Not a lot of money in the scheme of government entities, but a little bit of money.

I don't know if the new Stadium is worth the cost. The Yankees will profit; the Bronx probably will not profit too much. More of a pride thing than an economic thing.

Seriously, though, what the heck is Richard Brodsky even talking about? Does he not have a basic understanding of how bonds work?

Or maybe I don't. I thought I did.

They're like stocks except they're lower risk and lower return. Lower risk because, basically, a government entity can never truly run out of money (it's exceedingly unlikely). Worse comes to worse, they'll just print more money or, you know, raise the cost of a parking ticket rather than default.

So, the bond is issued, maybe it's a 5% annual return over 10 years (I'm making that up) and, you know, your IRA has tanked 49% this calendar year, so you opt for municipal bonds instead.

This is not a subsidy. A subsidy is different. Stop calling a bond a subsidy.

Living in the past is a good way to run a baseball team.

"The Yankees can find nearly a half-billion dollars to pay three players who, as brilliant as they've performed elsewhere, have yet to do a thing for this franchise."

Hi, I think $420 million is almost $500 million.

But I'm not paid to be smart.


"After blowing their bankroll on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, the Bankees now claim that $10 million - a pretty damn good paycheck for anyone these days but still, a $6-million pay cut for Pettitte from last season - is as high as they are willing to go for a pitcher who won some of the most important postseason games in their recent history."

1) I don't think they blew their bankroll.

2) If they really blew their bankroll, then that explains why they don't have additional funds for Andy Pettitte.

3) 2003 was the last time Andy Pettitte won a postseason game for the Yankees. That's not "recent."


"(Pettitte went 13-8 in the postseason for the Yankees, who never lost an ALCS game he started. But because they haven't been to the ALCS in quite a while, it's possible they forgot that stat.)"

Exactly. It's ancient history.


"Plus, it would be a tremendous PR coup for the Mets, who frankly have looked like jerks the past few years watching the Yankees rescue their castoffs (Gooden, Strawberry, Cone, Nady) but now have the opportunity to return the favor."

Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and David Cone?

Gooden last pitched for the Yankees in 2000; Strawberry last played for the Yankees in 1999; Cone last pitched in 2000 for the Yankees and last pitched in 2003 for the Mets.

"The past few years" is a decade ago if you're Wallace Matthews.

Wallace Matthews is talking about the 1986 Mets. But it's 2008 and this is supposed to be a discussion about Andy Pettitte.


"And best of all, Pettitte doesn't cost you all that much, in money or years. One year at $12 million to $14 million, maybe with an option, probably gets it done, and that's perfect. No long-term entanglements with a head case like Perez, or a hospital case like Sheets. No five-innings-and-out, at best, like you'd get from Pedro.

What you get is a low-maintenance, no-drama professional who's here for one reason only: To help you win now, this year, not promise you things down the road that he will likely never deliver."

Ha ha.

Let's not mention the "no-drama" cheating or the injury history.

That's just weird.

I'd take him.

With friends like this ...

"I have voted for Rice annually on my Hall of Fame ballot. I always understood that he was a borderline candidate."

Ummm, okay.


"Believe me, I understand the demerits people want to give him about his home/road splits, the times grounding into double plays, the shortcomings as a baserunner and a fielder, and the fact that he essentially was finished as an impact player at age 34."

"Pay attention to nothing they say and everything they do."

I like how Andy Pettitte is a loyal Yankee except for the time he wasn't. Try that logic with your girlfriend:

"By the way, every time a guy like Mark Teixeira signs for more money than anybody else is offering, you can make book that there was some Yankee hero he had as a boy and that he's going to want to tell us all about it.

Or, in Jason Giambi's case, it's a dad who was a Mantle guy.

The money is always just a side issue, of course."

Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking about Andy Pettitte.

I wish I had $10 million of nickels and dimes.

Likes Eli Manning, doesn't like Yankee management:

"The Yankees aren't trying to nickel-and-dime Andy Pettitte because they think he deserves to have his 2008 salary nearly cut in half.

That is just a shell game.

The Yankees, who spent all that money on Sabathia and Burnett and Teixeira, are desperate to somehow come in at around $200 million in payroll or even under it so they can tell everybody how frugal they are.

So this isn't about what's right with an old Yankee hero like Pettitte.

It's about how things look."

I agree with one thing: Andy Pettitte is old.

My first post of 2009.

Probably sounds a lot like my first post of 2004:

"But Pettitte is not like other players, and the Yankees are not like other teams. Pettitte has pledged his loyalty to the Yankees, and the Yankees have spent lavishly this winter at a time when many clubs are scaling back."

A pledge from a disloyal cheater and liar, huh?


"A reunion seemed inevitable at the start of the off-season, but now it is uncertain."

A reunion seemed so unlikely, that I started deducting Pettitte's salary from the payroll last August.


"Pettitte might wonder why the Yankees offered a pay cut at a time when they spent a combined $243.5 million on C. C. Sabathia and A. J. Burnett. If he is, though, Pettitte has not said so. Reached by The New York Times on Dec. 3, he said he wanted to return but was leaving the matter to his agent, Randy Hendricks, who did not respond to e-mail messages Monday."

Well, I'm not sure if reporting what Pettitte might be thinking even qualifies as reporting.

Pettitte didn't return any of my emails or phone calls, either. He also hasn't accepted my friend request on Facebook.

If he did, I could easily explain why the Yankees offered a pay cut at a time when they spent a combined $243.5 million on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

14 wins and 14 losses is why.

in 1996, the Yankees had the highest payroll.

In 1999, the Yankees had the highest payroll.

In 2000, the Yankees had the highest payroll:

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

And you want to know what the best part is?

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

No, sir, that is not the best part.

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

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


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

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

Not that anyone was asking until you brought it up.



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

True.


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

Also, writing checks.

Boggs, Fielder, Key, Wetteland for starters.


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

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

Is that so?

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

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

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

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


The Yankees have been very successful since the 2000 season.

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

The investment in payroll has paid off big time.

Unless you only care about winning the World Series.

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

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

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

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

The time value of money.

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

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

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

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

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

It's 84% of $500 million.

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

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

Yankees cut payroll, part 2.

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

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

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

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


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


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

For the better part of ten decades.


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

Right.

So why is everybody shocked?

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

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

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

Each dollar they spend is going to have diminishing return.

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

If you are shocked, you are a fool.

Yankees cut payroll.

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

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

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

The annual fake outrage is a bit tiring.


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

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

Wheee!

Go Yankees!


Timely Eddie Gaedel reference, by the way.

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

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


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

...

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

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

What an odd thing to say.

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

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


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


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

I'm someone, and I imagined this.

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


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

They have won nothing since."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Could that hole be filled indirectly by Manny Ramirez?"

No.

Because Manny Ramirez doesn't play center field.

Thanks for asking.

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

A GM said ...

Good news for Yankee fans:

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

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

Sixteen years and $800 million.

Sportswriting reaches its nadir.

Peter Abraham gets a chance to reunite with his daddy:

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

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

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

I understand.

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

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

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

I've got an offer for you ...

$9.50 an hour to wash Joba's towels.

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

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

Yeah, but ...

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

...

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

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

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

Olney somehow concludes that October failures eventually destroyed Knoblauch.


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

The next year, Clemens won the Cy Young Award.

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Hey, everybody! A sportswriter says something stupid!

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

A lot worse than ARod, you mean.

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


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

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

Of course.


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

Attention to detail is the foundation of journalism

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

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

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

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

So I voted twice.

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

The biggest fraud in baseball.

Cash in with a stupid GM while you can:

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

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

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

The End of Logic.

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

Took you long enough.

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

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

Good article, but it's five years late.

Awww, shucks.

This guy's a trip:

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

...

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

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

Did Roger Clemens give you permission to do this?

2008 AL MVP.

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

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

Fielding Statistics.

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

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

314 feet compared to 590 feet.

It was Pettitte or me.

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

I think Pedroia will win AL MVP.

I think Youkilis will be second.

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

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

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

As for the lunacy of Rodriguez's MVP qualifications:

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

Pedroia scored 118 runs and played in almost every game.


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

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

Statistical fluke.


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

No mention of the blown saves or the losses.


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

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

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

True.

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

2008 NL MVP.

Wow.

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

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

Peter Gammons uses the word "juxtapose."

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

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

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

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

My bold prediction.

CC will sign with the Yankees.

2008 AL Cy Young.

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

2008 NL Cy Young.

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

Compare and Contrast, Election Edition.

Harry Carson, Giants Hall of Famer:

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

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

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

Errr ...

How about no?

Teams that got rid of Bob Abreu: 1.

Teams with Bob Abreu: 0.

Best Player in Baseball 0-for-Series.

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

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

They lost one game, and they even almost won:

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

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

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

It was like Marciano vs. Schmeling.

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

A knockout punch.

A jab here, an uppercut there.

Finally, a knockout punch.


Dear Lord, that was awful.

Expect to see it in a Lupica article tomorrow morning.

Manny Ramirez is a good baseball player.

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

As if Lupica watches baseball games.

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

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

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

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

Jason Bay is good. Manny Ramirez is better.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In fact, those teams never gave up 7 runs.

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

I think about it a lot.

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

But you need to be more specific. When?

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

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

Personally, I will miss you.

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

No problem, he said."

He will not answer one question directly.


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

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


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

Right.

So why did you take out Derek Lowe so early?


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

Still waiting for you to answer.


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

You still haven't answered the question.

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


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

Nice.

Lesson learned.

Never second-guess yourself.

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

Current Events.

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

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


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

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

Torre loves Manny Ramirez more than he loves Derek Jeter.

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

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

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

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

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


So, Torre finally grows a pair.

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

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

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

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

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

What's wrong with intimidation and retaliation?


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

I'll give you three guesses:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nothing."

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


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

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

...

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

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

Hint, hint."

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

Torre is too classy, don't you know?

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

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

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

No more steroids = no more clutch.

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

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

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

But he ought to."

No, he ought not.

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

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


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

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

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

6-4-3 DP.

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

Torre, I get ...

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

Hardball.

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

Torre won't retaliate -- he never does.

Manny won't retaliate -- we know that.

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

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

Torre should run for President.

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

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

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


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

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

Now we're getting somewhere.

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

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

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

Who needs it?"

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

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

Right.

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


Kriegel brings up an interesting observation, however.

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

Not the foundation of sports success.

Not the foundation of enjoyable sports viewing.

Just the foundation for hack writers looking for a storyline.

Are you being serious?

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

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

Or does he mean recent Yankee free agent pitchers only?

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

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

Mike Lupica writes about politics in America!:

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

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

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


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

Kind of like Boom Boom Mancini.


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

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

That is really, really, really gosh darned scary.

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

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

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

Can you imagine such a scary thing?

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

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

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

My goodness.

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

A modern-day Poe if there ever was one.

Tough Crowd.

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

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

Not the Anaheim Angels, of course."

I said, not the Anaheim Angels, of course.

Sheesh, tough crowd.

How about a boxing metaphor?:

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

Michael Spinks?

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

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

Spinks retired that night.

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

Good work.

Klap on, Klap off.

Very cool to name your awards the Klappies.

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

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

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

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

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

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


"WEASEL OF THE YEAR: Hank Steinbrenner

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

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

All the while stealing $17 million from the Steinbrenners.

Of course, my vision extends beyond Joe Torre.


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

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

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

So, Giradi is on the way up.

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


"LAST LAUGH AWARD: Joe Torre.

For all the obvious reasons."

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

Bottom line.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How many games would the Yankees have won?

I say 89.

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

Just because Brian Cashman says so?

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

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

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

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


Mussina had 20 wins, Pettitte had 14.

You know who was third on the Yankees?

Wang ... with 8 whole wins.

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


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

$ales pitch is vital for deep CC fishing.

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

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



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

How the heck do you know?


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

How the heck do you know?


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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

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