New York Noise

So, it seems like New York baseball has been making a lot of noise lately. Both the Yankees and Mets have had tumultuous seasons so far and expectedly, there's been a lot of talk coming out of the Bronx and Queens. We'll start with the lesser story from my Yanks...

The big news out of Yankee camp is the loss of Chien-Ming Wang for over 2 months due to an injury he suffered running the bases in Houston. Reacting to the loss, Hank Steinbrenner let off quip in a gem of a rant:

"My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century."

"Am I [mad] about it? Yes," Steinbrenner added. "I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

Ok, so I guess I understand why a lot of people were turned off by that quote, but I honestly think it's hilarious, both in its dumbness and trueness. The first part of his quote, I totally agree with. Being a Yankee fan and mainly following the AL for many years, I do think that the NL should adopt the DH. Pitchers (generally) can't hit and I'm a fan of giving a position player more opportunities to play.

Now the second part of that rant is a little stupid. Wang's injury was pretty much a fluke. It's not like he strained a muscle running the bases, he totally messed up his foot in a way that I don't even get. For him to go say that they need to address it now because one of his guys goes down is pretty stupid. The Baseball Tonight crew was dead on when (I think it was Kruk) said that you wouldn't hear a peep out of him if that was Josh Beckett that messed up his foot. Was it a rule from the 1800's, yes it was. However, the DH spot has only been around for a little more than 30 years. So all in all, I relatively dumb rant, but an entertaining one.


Now, on to the bigger news out of Queens, the firing of Willie Randolph. The Mets couldn't have handled this any worse than they did. Did Randolph deserve to be fired? He absolutely did. Personally, I though he was great as a 3rd base/bench coach for the Yankees but really did question his capabilities of being a manager. He came through early (he has the second best winning % of any Mets manager) but really faded off of late. The team just didn't respond to his low key demeanor and it showed. Late inning mental lapses plagued this team over the past calendar year. It's really amazing that Randolph wasn't fired sooner. This team needs a guy that will light a fire. Now, the way he got fired was ridiculous.

3am eastern time with a press release? For what they put Randolph through, he deserved a bit more respect than that. Not only that, but it was after a win. What were they waiting for? Just put him out of his misery. Mets GM Omar Minaya showed a complete lack of guts for dragging this out the way he did. He has also pieced together a heck of a shoddy team that can't score runs. Ok, I honestly think I just stopped caring in the middle of writing this post but the point remains. I'll leave it in middle-school terms. Minaya is retarded and should be fired alongside Willie.

lol

Courtesy of cbs.sportsline.com:

I know it's kinda hard to avoid it with his last name being Wang and all....but it's still funny. Plus it's automatically funnier for me because it has to do with owning the BoSox.

Yankees/Rays saga

I know I'm a little late on this but I was on vacation last week with minimal computer access so forgive me. As I'm sure many of you saw, there was a nice little scuffle between the Yanks and Rays last week after a hard slide by my boy, Shelley Duncan (as an aside, I used to work at a 'food institution' that I will not name and Shelley Duncan came in once and I chatted with him for a little...he was playing for the Trenton Thunder at the time and a lot of the players there lived around the place I worked at and came in).

All the tension started a few days before the Duncan slide because no name Rays minor leaguer Elliot Johnson crashed into no name Yankees minor leaguer Francisco Crivelli, breaking the wrist of the young Yankees catcher. Now, just as Rays manager Joe Maddon said, it was a "hardball" play and it was not a dirty play at all. I just wanted to make that clear. However, I do believe that Yankees manager Joe Girardi was also correct in saying that the play was "uncalled for." To put it in perspective, the play occurred in the top of the ninth and the Rays were already winning. Bowling over a catcher in a clean, yet dangerous play is completely unnecessary. Players routinely get hurt during such plays and spring training is not the time for that.

The two teams played a few days later and this all went down. The game actually began with a Yankee pitcher being ejected after hitting a Ray but that was a little lame...even the Ray batter said he didn't think the pitcher was throwing at him. However, it was a later even that got things started. After a hit down the line, Shelley Duncan tried to stretch a single into a double and slid into second with a cleat in the air, nearly hitting Rays infielder, Akinori Iwamura in the groin. After doing that, Rays outfielder Johnny Gomes came flying in trying to take out Duncan and the whole scrum ensued. Now, Duncan to this day stands by the fact that the slide was clean. While I understand his point (he said he was going to the glove to knock the ball out), it was obviously done with a little bit of malicious intent. And I don't have a problem with that.

Go Shelley!

He was sticking up for his own guy who was subject to an unnecessarily rough play days earlier. I don't blame him at all for telling the Rays that wasn't cool. The teams are division rivals and if you think the other guy was out of line, you tell them. It's not like Duncan was trying to ninja kick the guy with his metal cleats to destroy Iwamura's leg...he was trying to give him a nice little clip to send a message. Elliot Johnson presumably ruined a Yankee prospect's season (and perhaps career) by engaging in an unnecessary dangerous play. While I understand some people might consider Duncan's slide to be bush league, Elliot Johnson deciding to bowl over a catcher during spring training is flat out bulls***. I look forward to a tense season series with the Rays. They're actually somewhat decent this year so a little spice to the rivalry will be nice, especially since half of Tampa is Yankee fans.

Santana to Yanks? Not at that price...

The Yankees better not trade Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera and another top prospect for Johan Santana. Yes, having Santana would be amazing, but that's just too high of a price to pay. On the other hand, the Yankees' goal must be to block Boston from making a deal because they're offering the Twins peanuts compared to the Yanks. A one-two punch of Beckett and Santana would be insane and not something I'd look forward to.

Hooray not Nittany Lions!

While the Nittany Lions have done nothing but frustrate the hell out of me in a plethora of ways, my favorite 4 professional sport teams have done nothing but help alleviate that stress.

New Orleans Hornets: I already gave you a full post on these guys but they're still looking good at 9-3. Yeah, Paul twisted his ankle the night I wrote that post and now Tyson Chandler is a little gimpy but things don't look too bad...yet.

New Jersey Devils: Ok, on the whole, they've been incredibly unimpressive. The offense has been anemic and the defense is spotty but hey, we're tied with the Penguins. However, Martin Brodeur just got his 500th career win the other night, which is cause for celebration. He joins only Patrick Roy in that elite category. If Martin can go full throttle for another few years, he should easily overtake Roy's career win record. If everything goes right, 700 wins is a possibility.

New York Yankees: It was only a few weeks ago that it seemed like the sky was falling in the Bronx. Torre departed town in a not-so-good fashion and Alex Rodriguez, pardon me, Scott Boras opted out of the richest contract in baseball. Today, Girardi seems like a solid pick for coach and Rodriguez wants to remain a Yankee after all. The best part about Rodriguez coming back was that he did it without Boras. Boras was handing the situation with the Yankees like a complete moron (surprise, surprise) and A-Rod realized that, going to none other than Warren Buffet for advice. Buffet told him to forget about Boras and contact the Yankees without him. He did and now A-Rod remains in the Bronx. All is well. Posada and Rivera even resigned too which is huge.

New York Jets: Heading into last weekend, I wanted two more things out of this NFL season. For the Jets to beat the Patriots and the Steelers. Kind of odd considering I root for the Steelers if they're not playing the Colts or Jets but whatever. Either way, it has been a while since the Jets did anything worth cheering about but that changed Sunday with a victory over the Steelers. I could have told you before the game that the Jets would win (I predicted 17-16...19-16 was pretty damn close). It had all the makings for a trap. The Steelers see 1-8 and think easy win, especially considering how they've easily dismantled many teams so far this year. In the words of Lee Corso, "not so fast, my friend." The Jets have been in every game that they've played with the exception of the opener against the Pats (but that's only because New England cheated). They've basically just shot themselves in the foot in every game this year. Whether it be a huge defensive lapse or a poor decision by Pennington (does that not sound like the PSU D and Morelli?), the Jets couldn't pull one off. However, coming off a bye and catching the Steelers off-guard proved to work well for the Jets. Their blitzing packages were incredibly impressive as they sacked Roethlisberger 7 times. Thomas Jones had his best game a a Jet, dancing around the Steeler D-Line for over 100 yards, something that hasn't happened in nearly 3 full seasons. While I will admit, Santonio Holmes going down for Pittsburgh greatly impacted the Steeler offense, the same thing happened to the Jets with Coles. Did you not see the 9038093475 passes dropped by Brad Smith? Either way, the Jets sat back and let the Steelers do the screwing up (via penalties) and it paid off. Nugent came through in the clutch (unlike his predecessor Doug Brien) and the rest is history. The amount of coke consumed by Steely McDonati would have had no effect.

Now if only the Jets can beat the Patriots in December, this NFL season will have been worth it. Never doubt the Man-Genius....he may be 2-8, but he's still one heck of a smart 2-8 coach, especially against his old boss that he despises. That win might even be enough to help me forget about this utterly unimpressive Nittany Lion season.

Stay-Rod??

While many reports are only now surfacing that A-Rod has reached out to the Yankees about returning, apparently it is old hat for some people. According to my dad, John Sterling (the radio voice of the Yankees who was being interviewed on NY Sports Radio) says that he has known for 2 days now (via an anonymous source) that A-Rod has talked to the Steinbrenners. Apparently, that anonymous source told Sterling today that staying was basically a done deal. A-Rod reaching out to the Yankees without Boras involved meant a lot to the Steinbrenners (and it means a lot to me as a fan too). That might have been all it took...that and the fact LAA was the only team slightly interested in signing him.

Either way, A-Rod would be wise to stay. He can break Bonds' record in pinstripes (can't wait for that day) and he can be the face of the new stadium, along with Jeter, when it opens in 2009. Not only that, but he's a lock to be considered a Yankee legend for years to come.

Let's just hope Boras doesn't stick his head in the middle of this again.

New York, New York

Oh my Yankees. Things have been crazy for the past couple weeks in the Bronx. Hopefully order will soon be restored but in the meantime, here's my take on what has gone down.

As I had hoped/predicted, the new Yankee manager is another former catcher of Italian decent named Joe: Joe Girardi. To me, it seemed like the easy choice. I really don't know where everyone was getting off thinking Mattingly was the favorite in all of this. When Hank Steinbrenner said there was an inital favorite, I truly think he meant Girardi but the media took that favorite to be Mattingly. I love Mattingly, as does the rest of Yankee Nation but he is just not ready for the job. People were already giving Torre a tough time when he first came to manage and he already had some experience under his belt. Mattingly has been a staple on the bench the past few years serving as a bench and hitting coach but he's never been under that spotlight the Yankee manager gets (or any manager for that manner). He's a smart guy, no question about it, but how can he deal with all the additional crap that comes with being the Yankee manager.

Girardi just has the experience. He managed a bunch of rookies/guys that would be playing AA in any other organization to a very respectable 78-84 record in 2006, winning the NL Manager of the Year Award. The fact that he parted ways with the Marlins because he and upper management couldn't get along doesn't really bother me. He would not take the Yankee job if he felt that the management in New York would deal with him the same. He's a solid, knowledgeable who will be a great guy for the Yankees. He can deal with the New York media and is very likable. In the end, I'm not saying Mattingly isn't any of those things, it is just that Girardi already has some experience and proved he can be a high quality manager.

Now to the topic of A-Rod. What a moron. Scott Boras too. It's very classy to text message Yankee GM Brian Cashman to say that Rodriguez is opting out. It was even more classy to announce it during the Red Sox World Series clinching victory. When I sat back and thought about this, I originally thought 'hahaha Boston is getting overshadowed by some idiot ex-Yankee' but then realized 'wait, these idiots are stomping on the integrity of the game.' The integrity of the game outweighs my hatred of Boston in the end (which is quite significant). Him and Boras seriously could not wait a day or two extra to announce this? A-Rod already acted like a classless baby by refusing to even come to the table to negotiate with the Yankees. This obviously signifies that he had no intent whatsoever to return to New York and he should have just let it be known after the Yankees were ousted by Cleveland. Just get it over with. Good riddance.

Too fill in for him, the Yanks need to get another Red Sock (how do you say it singularly?), Mike Lowell. The ex-Yankee farmhand had a stellar season, and we need a new 3B. Perfect fit. Getting him to go to New York from Boston might be difficult but if we got Damon from there, we can get anyone that becomes a FA there. If Mariano leaves, I will be sad. Then I will remember we have Joba Chamberlain. They say they want to make him a starter. I say, no. He'd be as good as any closer in the league and the Yanks already have a plethora of youth pitching coming up through the ranks. Catcher might not be so easy. The Yankees need to resign Posada badly. He's coming off a career year and we don't get him, the second best FA catcher is Paul Lo Duca. Ouch.

In the end, it seems that things are finally starting to calm down in the Bronx...to a degree. Things could certainly pick up once the free agent market opens but for now, I'll enjoy this brief peace in baseball.

A-Rod's New Destination

Now that A-Rod and Scott Boras have hit a new low (who knew that was possible with Boras), we can only look forward to where A-Rod will go. I believe the answer is simple.

San Francisco.

I'll give you a few simple answers as to why.

1) He'll probably only have to travel to the Bronx one or two more times in his career. A must for a schizophrenic like A-Rod.
2) San Francisco media? He won't have a thing to worry about there.
3) The scenery. I mean, A-Rod seems like a sentimental, sensitive kinda guy, right? I've been to San Fran. Some nice views.
4) Who else plays for them? He's a cocky guy and wants to be the toast of the town. No issues there. 49ers still suck.
5) He's in the NL West. The Rockies were a fluke. A guy like A-Rod in that division could change a heck of a lot.

and the main reason is...

6) San Francisco loves Barry Bonds. If a town can love Barry Bonds, they can love anybody.

Those things being said, A-Rod's bat in the lineup will certainly be missed...a lot. Everything else about him, not so much. I'd obviously rather have him on my team than not but oh well. He's an ass. Peace out A-Rod...and don't ever come back to the Bronx.

Bye, bye Joe

I'll have something more elaborate on this later but I just wanted to say that I'm not surprised, especially after this being the 2nd year the Yankees have jerked his chain in the offseason. For all he's done, he doesn't deserve to be treated like that. He's the best manager this team has ever had, period. I know people are saying Mattingly is the heir apparent but I really hope the job goes to Joe Girardi. The guy has managed for one season, and won a coach of the year award. Currently he works up in the booth for the YES Network and would probably love the job. Plus, I feel like he's more manager material than Mattingly. Either way, I'm certain the job will go to one or the other. Either that or the Yankees pull a rabbit out of their hats and nab Bobby Valentine. Now that would be something...

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Joe. Just make sure it doesn't involve Pittsburgh in any way :)

The Latest: Torre Turns Down Yankees, Out As Manager

Joe Torre turned down a one year deal from the Yankees and will not be returning as manager of the Evil Empire. The deal was reportedly worth a minimum of $5 million and could have escalated as high as $8 million. With Torre out, who will manage in NY? Mattingly? LaRussa? Bowa? Someone else? Crazy. I think this is ridiculous. Torre has done a lot for that organization. Was he the brightest coach that made the best baseball decisions? No, not always. But he got what he needed from his players.

Where will Torre go next, if anywhere? Will Steely McDonati's dream come true...could Joe be in Pittsburgh!?!?

I won't say much else about this. I'm sure E will have a large post on this later.

All Hail King James

LeBron James is at Jacobs Field tonight. Wearing a Yankee hat. I love that guy.

Other random observations...

Does anyone else always notice the camera guy that chases a home run hitter down the third base line? Whoever is doing the chasing always looks like he is struggling to keep up with a guy doing a light jog down the line.

The play-by-play guy for the NYY-CLE game apparently loves the work 'spank.' Anything that's not a pop up is a ball 'spanked' by the hitter.

Ohlendorf??

I must admit, I haven't been following the Yankees too closely through the past month but when they brought in some guy named Ross Ohlendorf to relieve the utterly ineffective Chien-Ming Wang, I thought I was watching a soccer substitution in a game with Bayern Munich and Hanover 96. While he came in and didn't totally implode in relief, he did give up an ER while letting a few more of Wang's batters LOB cross the plate. I don't know where Torre is getting off pitching a guy who has 6 career MLB appearances in a tough spot, on the road, in the playoffs. You have no idea how he'll react and unfortunately in this case, it wasn't too well. If anything, at least the Yanks worked the heck out of Sabathia so the Indians have to dip into their pen early too. A 6 run comeback for this lineup is certainly doable.

Money in the bank

That's what I feel about the Yankees chances of beating the Indians. Before you pass me off as an arrogant Yankee fan and ignore the rest of this column, check out the following numbers about the Cleveland "Big 3".

Sabathia's Career Stats against the Yankees: 1-7, 7.13 ERA, 9 HR, 30 BB, 24 K
Carmona (In 2 starts): 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 2 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
Westbrook: 2-4, 5.29 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 8 HR, 22 BB, 27 K

As a Yankee fan (especially looking at C.C.'s numbers), I'm not too concerned. Pitching is the one thing that Cleveland has hung their hat on all season. Their offense is mediocre, as the Yankees have scored 157 more runs this season. That's roughly a run more per game. Plus, the Yankees didn't only sweep the season series, they dominated it by outscoring Cleveland 49-11. I know Sabathia didn't face the Yankees this year but looking at his stats lifetime against them, that's probably a good thing for the Indians.

Watch out.

2.5

That's how close the Yankees currently are to the top of the AL East. Just thought I'd share.

Farewell Scooter

Today I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Yankee and baseball Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto. Though his playing days were certainly far, far before my time, he has always been one of the first players that come to mind when listing famous Yankees. While his career numbers were not jaw dropping by any stretch (though he did win the AL MVP in 1950 and participate in 5 All-Star games), the way he carried himself on and off the field as well as in the press box as an announcer commanded plenty of respect. My earliest memories of watching Yankee games consist of Phil Rizzuto shouting "Holy cow!" after a great play. Unfortunately, nobody will hear him speak those famous words again. George Steinbrenner put it best saying "I guess heaven needed a shortstop." Heaven could not have found a better person to put on their team.

Yankees continue to roll

First and foremost, I would like to thank the person that has clicked reload 100+ times on our blog page. Definitely makes me feel good that someone wants me to feel like there are many others out there that care about what I have to say about sports. Also, I would like to thank Tottenham for choking 1-0 on the road in their EPL opener Saturday morning.

Now to the main point. Back at the All-Star Break, the Yankees were 43-43, 9.5 back of Boston and 8.5 games away from the Wild Card lead. Fast forward a month and the Yankees are now 66-51, tied for the Wild Card lead and only 4 games behind Boston. Until this weekend, a lot of people were still a little bit skeptical about the Yankees, and rightfully so. Before traveling to Cleveland this weekend, they had only played 3 games since the break against teams above .500. However, after this weekend, it is safe to say that the Yanks are back and here to stay. While Cleveland has been slumping a bit, sweeping a division rival on the road (well, they were leading the Central at the beginning of the series) is no small task and the Yankees did it with ease. The even more impressive part is that they were only trailing in this series for 1 inning. If you are a Yankee fan, you especially have to love this series because of the solid outings you got from Phil Hughes, Mussina and Pettitte along with Joba Chamberlain pitching strong in relief.

Following this successful 5-1 road trip, the Bombers head home to take on Baltimore and Detroit. Maybe it is just me but I feel like this Yankee team could take it all. In the past, the Yankees have dominated from wire to wire before collapsing in the post-season (Florida, Anaheim, Boston, etc.) but this year, things just feel different. They have not dominated all year (being wrote off as dead by some as early as May) and seem to have a chip on their shoulders, something that I feel they have lacked in the past. It seems like they want to prove all the doubters out there. I sure hope they can.

Stupid Suspensions

Upon hearing that Clemens was suspended 5 games for hitting Alex Rios in the back the other day, I wasn't terribly surprised but nonetheless irritated. Josh Towers (who hit A-Rod) and Jesse Litsch (who threw behind him) did not get ejected from their games, but you would have to be a complete fool to think that they were not throwing at Rodriguez. After Towers hit A-Rod on Tuesday, warnings were issued, and then Clemens preceded to drill Alex Rios in the back, as he should have. In baseball, its almost standard procedure to hit the opposing team's star player if they hit/throw at yours. As a result, Clemens got suspended 5 games. Rightful punishment? I think not. Apparently the umpires did not have enough foresight after the Litsch incident on Monday to issue warnings or at least say 'hey, if it looks like you're throwing at A-Rod, you're outta here' prior to Tuesday's game. Clemens was virtually forced to police the situation himself by throwing at Rios, sending a clear message to his former team to cut the crap. Since the umpires weren't working to protect and defend A-Rod, Clemens made sure to do so himself.

The Jays were downright petty by throwing at A-Rod for something that happened at the end of May. The incident I'm referring to of course is when he ran behind the Toronto 3B and yelled "mine," causing him to drop it. The Jays came into the Bronx a couple of weeks ago but they were too scared to do anything about it then, probably because they know they would have a difficult time getting out of the Stadium alive. Instead, the Jays waited to get back in their yard to act like immature little leaguers. The thing that really gets me too is how Joe Torre gets suspended for a game. I know it is common to do that in these situations but I feel its really stupid to suspend the manager when his pitcher is defending a teammate.

Basically my point is, common sense and logic should be used when dishing out suspensions. The reason Clemens got the suspension was because he threw at somebody after warnings were issued but Towers and Litsch are just as, if not more guilty. Either suspend them all, or don't suspend any of them. Kudos to Roger for sticking up for a teammate as he did.