The announced bullpen is: Mo, Joba, Hawkins, Farnsworth, Traber, Ohlendorf, Bruney and Albaladejo. 

It seems Joey G. is discarding his desire for a long reliever (do we take back his demerit?).  I like this group but wanted Patterson instead of Bruney.  Glad to see Ohlendorf and Traber. 

 

 

 

 

Are we reading Summer of '49 or no?

We were voting and discussing and then nothing.  

The minimum for a PA diary is 300 characters but I can't think of anything else to say.

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It's hard to believe that listening to Arod and watching some clips from his 500 chase last summer was the highlight of the baseball week but it was.

I think that he addressed everything, Boras, the blonde, steroids, Yankee fans, etc.  It was fairly well edited, but he seems like he wants to put everything in back of him and be an extraordinary Yankee in the next 10 years and I welcome that.

Mean batting cage he's got there.  He says it simulates a major league baseball field and he imagines himself at the plate at Yankee Stadium, 2 outs, bottom of the ninth.  And he homers.

He said he works out there every day of the off-season and he is in incredible shape.

Katie Couric probably knew, for her own reputation, that she had to ask him some hard questions and she did, but he handled them okay.  He's still not terribly charismatic but he's more relaxed, it seems.

He would probably go further with fans if he talked more about growing up with a single mom who worked 2 jobs.  

All in all, a good interview.  I'm really burnt out from the Mitchell Report thing and the newest challenge to being a Yankee fan so it was good to feel good about it.

Thanks Arod for the positive vibe.  Welcome back to the Yankees.  

NY Daily News reports that after a spirited debate, Yankee front office is ready to package Hughes, Melky and one other minor league pitcher for Santana.  Apparently one person, presumably Cashman, had to be convinced but they were ready to pull the trigger.

The Yanks had declared Joba Chamberlain off limits, and the Twins told them that Ian Kennedy, the third of their three prized righthanders, wouldn't be enough. According to the club source, there was spirited internal debate in the organization via conference calls about whether to make Hughes available.

Among the prominent people on the calls were GM Brian Cashman in New York, and owner Hank Steinbrenner and superscout Gene Michael in Tampa. Though the club source wouldn't say who needed to be convinced, it is no secret that Cashman has wanted to build the team around young, homegrown players, and saw the three pitchers as the centerpiece.

In any case, the club finally agreed to put Hughes in a package that includes center fielder Melky Cabrera and at least one other lesser pitching prospect still to be negotiated, as of Friday night. And by doing so they believe they are the front-runners to land Santana, the two-time Cy Young winner.

With that development, the Yankees are the front runners in the Santana sweepstakes.  

I'm not happy about giving up Philly.  I'm really not.  I'm sorta on the fence about getting Santana only because so many big names have blown up in our faces before.  I'd rather lose giving the kids a chance than watch another bloated salary come in and not perform.  Hopefully I'm wrong and that doesn't happen.

There's a post over at RAB about how the boys (as in Hank and Hal) are handling things.  The poster over there likes Hank's blathering.  Some agree, some think the boys (especially Hank) have mishandled things.

When the season ended it was "OMG!" time...they "fired" Torre (as the story goes) and Donnie Baseball, a Yankee icon is in Dodger Blue, they brought in young and tough Joe Girardi who has no experience with a bunch of veteran superstars, Arod opted out, Mo, Po and Pet were FA's, Bowa, arguably the best 3rd base coach in baseball was also LA bound.

THE YANKEES WERE IN SHAMBLES!!!  Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

And Hank just wouldn't shut up.  

Well we all know how things have gone and most Yankee fans seem to be breathing a sigh of relief and not even that worked up over Mo and Pettitte not being re-signed yet.  In fact, most Yankee fans are kinda on the boys' side where Mariano is concerned and overall everyone likes how they handled the Arod optout and crawl back or the Boras stare down.

There was an article in the NY Daily News today about Arod's displeasure with Boras because Boras convinced him that Big Stein would never let him go...but they never banked on Hank saying, "We don't want anyone who doesn't want to be a Yankee." They say that stung him as well as their pursuit of Lowell because Arod didn't want to be in Boston and who else would need him/afford him?
Apparently Hank rattled them pretty good.  Does anyone think he didn't mean it?  I think he did.

Some people think they overpaid Posada.  I don't.  I think he was THE MOST IMPORTANT of the 3 FA's (Mo, Po, Pet) to resign.  Jose Molina, bless his heart, is a great backup catcher but not good enough to be the Yankee every day catcher...so we got the deal done.

Andy may or may not come back...and Mo is being not Mo (I don't know who he is) but I don't fault the boys for this non-signing.  I'm blaming Mo.  No one is going to match the Yankee offer and no one should.  If he goes to LA (though I don't know why he would), that would be terrible but we can and will survive it.

So what does everyone think now?  I'm sleeping better at night and have the old "off season Yankee optimism" again.

I am not about to throw my arms around the boys yet...I'm sure they have plenty of F up opportunities to come...and Hank will undoubtedly shoot his mouth again at the wrong time...but right now I'm actually happy with how things are shaking out.  

Thoughts?

According to the Daily News they are trying to work out how to compensate/share revenue with Arod in the event he breaks the HR record and that, plus some minor language, and a physical is all that is standing in the way of the agreement being finalized.  Milestone clauses are not allowed so they're trying to figure out how to construct it so that he gets some percentage of what the Yankees stand to make from Arod's quest to bring the HR record back to the Bronx.

Boras is working on the contract (as we all knew he would be) and keeping a low profile in Miami.

If we get through the weekend without a public announcemet, Arod will be officially reintroduced on Monday.

Breaking news from the Daily News:

THANK GOODNESS!!! The one of the "old" trinity (Mo, Po, Pet) we can't replace has signed for FOUR MORE YEARS!

Jorge Posada, the 36-year-old free agent catcher, will remain a Yankee, sources familiar with the negotiations told the Daily News Monday night. After being schmoozed by Mets general manager Omar Minaya Monday afternoon during a lengthy lunch at Le Cirque, Posada and his agents finally received the offer from the Yankees they had been hoping for all along. The Yankees offered Posada a four-year, $52 million contract - the same deal they gave both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui two years ago - to remain in pinstripes. The deal will become official pending a physicial and final contract language being ironed out. Lets hear a big hip and a hip!

The Broadway stage hands strike went into day 3 without any budging from either side.

Among the "human interest" stories that the local news has run in the past few days were the couple from Scotland who bought tickets to TEN Broadway shows this week, hoping to see everything they could get tickets for.  While they have tickets to one or two that are still playing, most of the trip, that took much planning and saving, is a bust.

Another story is how children have come from far and near to see the Grinch Who Stole Christmas to find that the grinch really did steal Christmas.  Almost every NYC news station has had some footage of children crying as well as bad puns about the grinch producers.  

Although the stagehands have the support of most people in theater, except for the highest paid actors, most people working in the theater are feeling a tremendous financial pinch.

NYC is losing millions of dollars a day.

The Broadway stagehand strike is having a tremendous impact on the NY holiday season, it is a financial nightmare and is breaking hearts everywhere.  

But, have no fear that this story has NOTHING to do with baseball.  You didn't think this had ANYTHING to do with baseball did you?  

WRONG.

The NY Daily News interviewed a couple from Massachusetts who had to return to MA on Sunday without seeing whatever it was they came to see over the weekend.  As they boarded their Amtrak train they reported that they were very angry and were sure it was revenge for the Red Sox winning the World Series.

Excuse me:  WHAT?????????????????

Do those people in Boston have nothing else to freaking talk about????

NEWSFREAKINGFLASH:  THE BROADWAY STAGEHAND STRIKE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RED SOX.

Get a life Massholes!

I'm sorry but this just made me CRAZY.

When we were winning World Series, the Boston Red Sux fans said to me, over and OVER again, "Oh, I see you bought another championship."  which boiled me completely.  It's about not getting props you deserve but as the highest paid baseball team, it's hard to refute.

I have been listening to Rockie fans over at Purple Row whine about how their whole team doesn't make what Dice-K makes and that is why they are in the predictament they are in.  They say, "Economics dictates we won't be here again any time soon."  (nice to have faith boys).

WTF?  I HATE being in any kind of position to defend the Sux against this kind of hating (esp since it was their argument about us for years) but if that formula ALWAYS holds up, then the Yankees should win every single year and teams like the Rockies should have NO chance of being in the World Series EVER.  

The other thing is that when I've been in other parks around the country to see other teams play the Yankees and heard that argument from those fans (esp when the Yankees were administering a beating), but the stadium was half empty and the owners weren't spending money on the team (that they had to spend).  And I'd be thinking, well you don't have the money because the fans are lame and don't show up unless they wind up in a playoff (and then the bandwagoners come out) and the owner has the money and won't spend it.  There's no ad revenue because no one seems to care about your stupid team.  That's not our fault.

I can't even throw it in the RS face, "Oh the Rockies won't give you your due because they say you BOUGHT the championship." because I think I hate that argument more than I hate the RS.  Which means I REALLY hate that argument.  Plus if the RS say "Well if that's true, why aren't YOU in the WS?" they would be right.  So I don't go there.  

I KNOW that economics play a role but it's not the only role and you can't fall back on that when you're losing to a better team who has a bigger payroll.

Someone mentioned it in another thread or on another board but it's weird how the Yankees are part and parcel of baseball even when they're not even playing.  

When I eavesdropped on Let's Go Tribe during the Tribe/Sux series, the Yankees came up in every single game.  They were ticked off that Torre was the big news and not their playoff game but they also mentioned the players and the fans (not favorably of course but WHY were they thinking about the Yankees when they were PLAYING the Red Sox???)

Then I eavesdropped on Purple Row (the Rockies blog) for the first two WS games and they constantly made comparisons to Jeter, Arod, Matsui (mostly not favorable, but why our players?).  They even noted that the longest regular season 9 inning games in history were Yankee-Red Sox (noting the patience of the RS batters).

I'm always lost in a Yankees world so I am used to Yankee fans and Mets fans and RS fans talking Yankees and I "sorta" understood the diaTribe from Cleveland, but the Rockies fans?  I didn't even know, up until this week, who even played for the Rockies yet they know all about us.

I don't think that if the Sux weren't in the WS people would be talking about them.  Why is everyone always talking about us?   Let it go people.

or should this thing be wrapped up already?  This postseason is about ratings and revenue.  It's ridiculous.  Even if the Yankees were in it, I can't take agita from April to November.  That's just too long.  I was reading over at Let's Go Tribe last night and I could only think I was glad it wasn't me having those conniptions.  But still and all, this post season is simply too damn long.

Poll

What Should We Do To Make The Season Shorter?

10%

Nothing it's fine the way it is.

2 votes

50%

End the regular season earlier.

10 votes

10%

Get rid of the division series

2 votes

30%

Get rid of some of the off days

6 votes

20 votes | Poll has closed

He's trying to tie a percentage of YES profits to Arod's contract.  He thinks there will be more YES subscribers if Arod is on the team and chasing the HR record (and some others).

To NYers this makes no sense.  YES is lucrative and profitable (to the tune of millions) and comes as part of any basic cable package in the tri-state area.  You're not going to get many new viewers just because Arod is on the Yankees.  People who watch the Yankees have YES.  Even people who don't watch the Yankees have YES.  It's pretty much part and parcel of the NY cable scene.  I get the Mets station and I don't care about them but everyone has it.  

Maybe in a small market or on a bad team this might make sense.  Maybe having a record smashing superstar will attract viewers to a flegling cable station dedicated to that team, but in NY?  Not so much.

I think Boras should just say give us boatloads of money and we'll stay and stop this other nonsense.  His flash of genius is not too genius.  He's starting to froth at the mouth.

Yesterday's NY Post reported that he hasn't been told for sure that he will be a starter next year though Hank Steinbrenner said he will be.   Joba says he sees advantages in both roles but especially likes 55,000 people going crazy when he walks out of the bullpen.  But, he added that he doesn't think one is better than the other but wants to know soon so he can prepare mentally.  He said his physical training over the winter will be the same no matter what but there is a different mentality to being a starter versus being a reliever.  

He also says he doesn't blame his Game 2 performance on the bugs.  He said it hasn't crossed his mind (obviously he didn't read the ranting FOR DAYS afterwards by everyone else).

He said if he becomes a starter he needs to work on his changeup.  He said he has no preference to being a starter or reliever.

Interesting.

Goose Gossage thinks that Joba should stay a setup man eventually replacing Mariano as the Yankees closer.  

Today in the New York Times Gossage states that he likes what he sees in Joba and thinks that
Joba will be utilized best in the future as a relief pitcher.  

Gossage told the New York Times, "I really don't see how they can think about making him a starter after what we've seen."  Gossage thinks that setup guys are much harder to find.  He said, "How are you going to find another character like him? How are you going to replace him? Before he came up, those setup guys were killing them."

He also liked the throw at Youk in Boston.  
"I saw him throw those two pitchers over Kevin Youkilis's head when they played Boston," he said. "I loved it. The same thing used to happen with me when I tried to get it inside. When I missed, my body would get out front, my arm would lag and the ball would fly.

"And guess what? It was a great purpose pitch, only now they're protecting these hitters every chance they get. It makes me sick. I went crazy when they tossed the kid that day. I screamed, `What the heck is this game coming to?' "

The Times reported that Goose was a little more colorful in his disdain of the Joba ejection (Goose?  Really?  ;)).

But Goose is convinced, according to the article, that setup men will start to infiltrate the Hall of Fame and relief pitchers will gain more and more respect(and I am one person hoping this year is Goose's year for the Hall.) and that they are becoming more and more indispensible.  

He thinks Joba should stay in relief position.  I wonder if the Yankees are having thoughts along the same lines.  

Thoughts from PA?

Several area websites and papers are reporting that Arod and Mrs. Rod have been shopping for NYC-area real estate including a $25 million estate in Greenwich CT and a Manhattan townhouse.  (I think Pedro lives in Greenwich).  

The real estate hunt is being read as a signal that Arod plans to stay in NY and stay married to Cynthia who reportedly loves being in NY.  

Continue reading this post »

My issue with this article is that it lays all the blame squarely on the players and none on management/coaching.  

NY Times Sports Thursday says that that Yankess would need "a fabulous 55-26 finish for a 94-68 record" and that the most the Yankees ever won in the second half was 53 in 2005, 2002 and 1998.

The Times writes that those 3 teams had consistent pitching and consistent hitting but this team with its "shoddy bullpen" and "spotty hitting" cannot do better than those 3 teams.

The Times laments, "As presently constituted, the Yankees simply are what they are--a 39-42 team with starting pitchers that can't be trust past six innings, a bullpen that blows too many late-inning leads, and several hitters that aren't producing statistics anywhere near their career numbers."  

"If only this Yankee team was good enough to rally for a 55-26 finish that may or may not salvage the wild card.  But it's nowhere near that good.  Do the math."

A friend sent me yesterday's sports section from the Worcester (MA) paper.  Article entitled "Rodriguez would be worth Boston's bucks" by Bill Ballou

Highlights:

1.  Wouldn't Arod look great in a Red Sox uniform?
   
2.  A change of scenery would do him good.
   
3.  Arod is the most talented player in baseball and would tranform the Red Sox into the absolute best in the game.
   
4.  New York is great when you are in first place but the Yankess won't be this year and haven't been to the World Series since A-rod joined them.
   
5.  His controversies get less play in Boston.
   
6.  Play Arod at short stop and move Lugo to CF.
   
7.  Unload Coco Crisp.
   
8.  Any team who can get A-rod and doesn't (and Ballou said that the Red Sox demonstrated this past winter they will spend the money) is insane.

Thoughts?

Last summer a friend and RS fan and I had a summer-long smash mouth contest going until the Boston massacre and then I stopped.  They were hurting and it turned into an Ortiz/Jeter friendly argument but I stayed clear of rubbing the injured and tumbling RS in her face.

Again last year, another close friend, Mets fan, did not hesitate to call gleefully about the Yankees exiting the playoffs when the Mets were victorious.  However, when the Mets folded later, I never called to gloat.

This year they are both in my face all the time.  Is it that they can't help themselves or perhaps we just have more class?  

A third friend is a RS fan and a Nascar fan.  He hates Jeff Gordon.  He said, "Gordon's having a good year.  I wish he would break his leg."  I said, "That's how I feel about the Red Sox." and he said, "You couldn't wait for a chance to say that, could you?"  

WHAT?  I didn't bring it up.  He did.  Sheesh.  Bombas fans cannot catch a break.  No one ever feels our pain.  

I grew up in the Bronx and I went to the games as a kid with my (now passed) father.  I grew up a Yankee fan because they were the home town team not because they were the BIG BAD Yankees.  I loved the history of the Babe, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Yogi, Whitey, Mantle, Maris etc etc.  I just love the storied history and the feeling of Yankee Stadium.  I love Old Timers Day and I love giveaways.  I love it all.  

I've suffered through anemic seasons...bad seasons, but a lot of them are a blur to me since they occurred before the late 90s...then we took off until we nose dived.  Then it started to hurt...it wasn't "just baseball" for some of those losses...2002 and 2003 I was okay with it, it was what it was...but it took me months to get over both 2001 and 2004.  In 2001 I woke up in a cold sweat and it was always the 9th inning of the 7th game.  The city was devastated after 9/11 and we needed a win.  I was simply unprepared for the loss after Mo took the mound that game.  For months I kept wanting to go back and replay the game.

In 2006 we were hurt out of the gate, Matsui went down, Sheffield went down...we were reeling..but the boys came back and played their hearts out...it was wonderful...and then we folded in Detroit in a completely unexpected way. It was as if everything - pitching, hitting...fell silent at once.  It was hard and it hurt for a couple of days but not devastating.  When the Cardinals won it was like, "What?"  Too ridiculous to even think about.  A screwball year.

I pined for baseball over the winter.  Andy was back...Sheffield was gone...let's go!!!!  When A-rod lit up, I thought this is the missing piece of the puzzle.  We need A-rod to march us through to the World Series and all will be right with the world.

I'm not counting them out, but I'm simply not enjoying this season. It's frustrating.  I'm simply ticked at them all the time it seems.  I turn off games.  I forget to turn them on.  

I have many RS fans as friends.  I never liked them pre-2004 because they counted them out so fast.  Early in the season they'd be saying "Oh they suck." and I'd be like, you are such fair weather fans...Yankee fans love their Yanks no matter what...but this year I'm mumbling under my breath, early in the season, "you guys suck."  I don't want to be this way. I'm a lifetime kid-from-the-Bronx Yankee fan.  I bleed pinstripes.  

But I'm frustrated.  

The All Star voting is upon us.  Normally the team looks great but there are clear All Star performances going on.  This year they've been struggling but some of the players are clearly breaking out.   Right now, if I were to vote, off the top of my head, I would probably go with Arod, Georgie and Sanderson.  Thoughts?

Poll

Who Are You Voting for the All Star Game?

4%

Wang

1 votes

57%

Arod

12 votes

0%

Matsui

0 votes

9%

Posada

2 votes

4%

Damon

1 votes

14%

Jeter

3 votes

0%

Abreu

0 votes

0%

Giambi

0 votes

9%

Melky

2 votes

0%

Cano

0 votes

21 votes | Poll has closed