I'm sure we each had a story written for how it would happen-

The great man would throw one last strike as the stands unleash a wave of camera flashes and cheers. It would come at the end of a long season of cheers. At stadium after stadium, as he is called to the mound for the last time in that city, fans- other team's fans- might stand and offer the polite applause given to a bitter, but not hated, rival. There might even be ticker tape involved, in the finale.

Isn't baseball cruel?

Baseball does this to me in some way every season: changes something I considered immutable, dashes my daydreams.

The human body is a magnificent thing. The grace necessary to turn a double play, to catch a curveball on the fat of the bat and rifle it into the opposite corner, to slide into home around the catcher's tag when just the tips of the fingers graze the plate- that grace is the old fashioned kind of grace, the manifestation of the divine among us.

But we have poured our devotion into human beings, and bodies break. One terrible torque of knee, and ligaments give.

I see the irony of Rivera's injury during batting practice. For years we've regaled each other with stories of Rivera as the supreme athlete, and we've pointed to his flawless outfield performances as proof. Somewhere within Buster Olney's Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty a player says he's sure Rivera would have reached the majors as a center fielder if he hadn't been the greatest closer of all time.

if he hadn't been. We can use the past tense now, can't we?

This is where baseball is cruelest: the story doesn't ever end. We add Rivera to a collection of stories. To Cobb and Ruth and DiMaggio and Musial and Williams and Mantle and Aaron and Rose and Schmidt and Griffey and, now, Rivera. Because we are fans and because this is baseball, we never get to forget; we never get to let the moment's hype obliterate our view of the past.

But this morning, someone new is learning to fall in love with baseball, like we all did. And that means that this morning we are all a little older, because now we are the ones who must say, "If you had only seen the great Rivera."

You might say the Rays have the Yankees' number: the Bronx Bombers are 0-6 for the teams' last 6 meetings.

But the truth is that this Yankee team just doesn't want it enough. They don't have the heart to win tight ball games.

The Rays, a young team with a ton of young talent signed to long term deals and a deep pipeline of talent, are really showing the Yankees what a well run organization look like. Evan Longoria is signed through 2016, James Shield through 2014, Ben Zobrist through 2015, Wade Davis through 2017; and all those players are signed for an entire amount of $130M, or less that the amount the Yankees owe Alex Rodriguez through the end of his deal in 2017.

Are you taking notes Brian Cashman? Robinson Cano has practically already signed with the Angels, while Curtis Granderson will shift to left to play beside Matt Kemp on the Dodgers. While you were watching the two pitchers you signed this offseason tied to a post and beaten, (CC Sabathia looks like a smart $150M investment and Kuroda is lined up to be the third Japanese pitcher to fail in the Bronx) you should have been working on extensions for the only halfway decent hitters in the lineup.

The Yankees are old! Father Time has sucked the magic out of Rivera's arm, Arod can't field his position, and Jeter's already so nicked up that he couldn't play the field on the second day of the season. Mark Teixeira's new "use the whole field" approach at the plate is producing a remarkable .111 batting average to go with his .222 slugging percentage.

And you know who didn't make an impact on this series? Jesus Montero. Might have been useful to have his bat in the lineup as rally after rally fell short. Oh right, he's not available because he was traded for a young fireballer with a burnt out right shoulder. Nice work, Cash.

This team can't handle 2012! Hopefully '13 will be a lucky year. At least this opening series let the whole world in on the joke. For now, just sit back, grab a beer and enjoy the train-wreck. The fun's just started.

Our pitchers:

All of our guys throw their fastballs a lot (and with Kuroda the soft-tosser at 92 mph, it's not hard to understand why).

Only Sabathia is a lefty, so handedness isn't really a factor.

Sabathia, Kuroda and Pineda all use their slider as their #2 pitch. Sabathia and Pineda follow that with the change as their #3, though of course Pineda was nearly a 2 pitch pitcher last season. Regardless, I wouldn't let Sabathia and Pineda pitch back to back.

Similarly, Hughes and Nova both rely on their curveballs as their follow up pitches. I'd keep them apart.

The question, for me, revolves around whether or not Kuroda should pitch in the #2 spot. All three of the young guys depend (or will depend) on their change up to keep hitters honest. How similar are these pitches? Pineda and Nova's speeds are similar with their change, but I can't speak to the drop or fade of either pitch. Pitch fx will give you some of the data, but I think the ultimate decision needs to be made by someone who can evaluate the pitches from inside the batter's box.

It may be that the Yankees would be better served by Sabathia, Nova, Kuroda, Pineda, Hughes, rather than Sabathia, Kuroda, Nova, Pineda, Hughes. Either way seems acceptable to baseball etiquette- with Nova in the #2 spot, you recognize his breakout work with the team last season and his team first mentality following his midseason demotion and return; with Kuroda in the #2 spot, you show deference to the veteran.

Ultimately, I think questions like this are more interesting in the playoffs or in a short series- the regular season will smooth over most of the advantages or disadvantages of one choice or the other.

Also published at my blog.

The New York Yankees have been surprisingly quiet this offseason. This is likely the convergence of all the imaginable factors: the age and composition of the roster, this specific moment in the midst of the Yankees' expiring contracts, the new CBA and the lowering boom of the payroll tax.

But I wonder if the biggest reason for the front office's seeming complacency is just what it seems: from 1995-2011, the Yankees made the playoffs every year but one, usually while leading the league in dollar spent; but starting in 2012, the Yankees no longer need to be the best team in baseball, nor the best team in the AL East, nor the second best- thanks to the shiny new second wildcard, the Yankees trust that they no longer need to push so hard to make the playoffs.

So, maybe just maybe, the Yankees figure they can afford to jettison some talent now in exchange for cheaper future roster options. The trade here is a mild deal; my blockbuster idea is over at my blog.

Continue reading this post »

What number will Montero wear?
It's a question I'm sure we all ponder from time to time.

Well according to this, under the new collective bargaining agreement, any player who wants to change his number has to give the league 8 months notice so that the league's stores and manufacturers have time to empty out their inventory. If a player doesn't give adequate notice, he's stuck holding the bill for all the unsold merchandise.

I'm guessing that means that very few players will be getting new numbers soon.

Thanks to last night's rainout, the baseball season stretches on for one more tantalizing day. One more day of anticipation; ninth inning heroics, an immortal performance from this generation's greatest hitter, tense pitching duels.

But I have a different anticipation. This is my last week as manager at Pinstripe Alley.

Continue reading this post »

I've seen this show and it's happening again, but I don't know how to stop it.

When the Twins dangled Johan Santana in 2007, the Yankees declined to spend prospects and money on the lefty. They figured they'd cull from the rich free agent class of 2008. They missed the playoffs in 2008, and were by then so desperate for pitching that they signed AJ Burnett for 5 years and gave CC Sabathia an opt out clause.

There was talk that 2010 would feature "the greatest free agent pitching class ever," Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Brandon Webb and Josh Beckett would be available. A rich team could build a superstar rotation from nothing. That's sort of what happened when the Phillies traded Lee for Halladay and signed Halladay to an extention, then re-signed Lee. Beckett never tested free agency, staying in Boston on his own extension. Webb's arm never bounced back from a string of injuries.

So before we get too excited about waiting for the 2013 free agent class (free agents after the 2012 season), let's remember that there's almost no way that Matt Cain, Jon Danks, Zach Greinke, Cole Hamels, Dan Haren, and Shaun Marcum will hit free agency. If history is a guide, half of them will sign extensions, 1 in 3 will lose effectiveness to age and injury, and the couple pitchers who hit the open market will have so much leverage that they will win too many years and too many perks.

The Yankees need to fix their pitching rotation, either through the pitchers currently available by sale or trade or through their own farm. We can't wait for a solution to come to us.

Actually, realignment won't happen until at least 2013, according to The Bud. I'm well past knowing what I think about realignment. Two 15 team leagues in the current system is ridiculous. But I'd be on board if you move the schedules closer to balance and fix playoff seeding, or if abolish or reform the divisions.

Joel Sherman has the first word I've heard from within the organization suggesting that Jesus Montero will do significant catching next season,

The Pirates have prioritized finding a catcher this offseason, which could make them a match with the Yankees. The Yankees are expected to keep Russell Martin, who cannot be a free agent until after the 2012 season, and try to make Jesus Montero his primary backup.

The Yankees can dangle Austin Romine, but they would like to put him at Triple-A as an option in case Montero cannot handle major league catching.

Continue reading this post »

I keep hearing that CJ Wilson is the second best (after Sabathia) free agent to be on the market.

This flabbergasts me.

This 32 year old left handed pitcher has thrown 200+ innings for 11 consecutive seasons.

This 27 year old left handed pitcher has averaged 195 innings the last four years, with a 1.26 WHIP.

Continue reading this post »

Game 1 was everything I hoped it would be: tense and down to the wire.

Can Game 2 live up to those expectations?

Here's your open thread.

I'm sick of thinking about the starting rotation, about CC and AJ, about C.J. Wilson and Yu Darvish.

So, instead, let's thinking about fixing the offense.

This year, for the first time since 2008 (when they were so injury racked they missed the playoffs) and only the second time in 5 years, the Yankees did not lead the league in runs scored.

This problem, unlike the rotation, seems fixable. By position-

C: .241/.321/.398

Solution: Less Martin, more Montero. If Montero is half as good as his September call up leads me to dream, then he'll help the Yankees by playing half of his games as a DH and half as a C. He has to play at least 140 games next season for the Yankees to improve.

1B: .246/.338/.474

Solution: These numbers aren't really a problem (not a far cry from the .279/.348/.488 Tino produced while in the Bronx), but since Tex hit .302/.380/.587 against lefties and .224/.325/.453 against righties, maybe it's Tex who should be platooned.

I wonder if someone like Nick Punto or Jerry Hairston Jr. wouldn't come to the Bronx to play shortstop twice a week, third base twice a week? This would allow Jeter and Arod to spend significant time at DH (Arod especially) and keep ABs from being thrown away on the likes of Ramiro Pena. I know that was basically the plan with Eric Chavez, but Chavez was on the DL when the Yankees needed him most.

No more Marte: The Yankees have declined his 2012 option. One dead weight lefty gone, Pedro Feliciano to go.

From the same article: Former Mets GM Omar Minaya has interviewed from the Angels position; that would be a double win for the Yankees because they could keep Damon Oppenheimer and Billy Eppler, while Minaya could create a lost decade for another big market rival.

Joel Sherman see all kinds of ways the Yankees could lose CC Sabathia to his impending free agency, mainly by playing hardball with the big lefty a la the Jeter negotiation, then watching a team like the Angels (who play near Sabathia's home) swoop in with a big offer.

Here's the difference, as I see. The Yankees determined, rightly, that Derek Jeter needed the Yankees more than the Yankees needed their 35 year old short stop. There is no one available in baseball that the Yankees need more than CC Sabathia. CC wants to have the biggest per year average of any pitcher in history (top Cliff Lee's $24M/Y)? He's got it. He wants a season where he's paid more than any player in history (Roger Clemens $28M)? He's got it.

Dave Cameron tries to compare the '11 Rangers with the '98 Yankees.

I think it's fair to say he's stretching to make the two teams appear to be equals. I think he's right to say that the main difference between the two teams is that the '98 Yankees hit phenomenally well (luckily) in those close and late situations that make the difference between 114 wins and 97 wins. But I think this is wrong -

...it’s not overly hard to believe that they were similarly effective defensively, though an eyeball test may suggest that the Rangers roster (with Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus especially) looks better on paper than the Yankees roster that featured Derek Jeter at shortstop and Bernie Williams in center field.

What Dave is forgetting is that Jeter was a much better fielder early in his career, and with Brosius covering most of the left side, Jeter was able to shade up the middle and hide some of his deficiencies. Bernie Williams in 1998 was the third or fourth best center fielder in the game- before his legs slowed down and his shoulder gave out, he covered plenty of ground to make up for a (then) average arm.

Oh yeah, the Cardinals beat the Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series. Just sayin'.

NYTimes Bats Blog:

Speculation About Where Albert Pujols Will Play Next Year:

Oh, please, can we let him play the World Series first? No more free-agent speculation until a player’s team is eliminated, folks. People who look past an exciting postseason run that should provide a lifetime’s worth of fan memories to talk about gloomy financial matters are also the sort of people who spend gorgeous autumn afternoons bracing for the arrival of winter. Life passes those people by, and we should not stand with them while it happens.

It's a glorious autumn day on the Eastern Shore, and I hope it's nice wherever you are, too.

Discuss 2011 for the Yankees and for baseball, or use this as an open thread. Enjoy your night, and be excellent to each other.

I watch baseball until the end of the season, every season. The winter is long, and I need the last days of summer to linger as deep into the chill of October as possible.

This year though, I can't really choose sides.

I'm still angry about the Yankees' loss to the Rangers in the ALCS last year, more upset than I am about this year's ALDS Game 5.

So I can't root for the Rangers.

And on the NL side, I'm faced again by Tony LaRussa's Cardinals. I don't mind LaRussa as a manager; he's not a genius, but he's good, and he assembles a coaching staff that seems to get the most out of their players. But I also think LaRussa was one of the Steroid Era's great enablers (maybe he's no different than every other manager who chose to turn a blind eye, but as manager of '80s A's, he was in a unique position to call out guys like Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; he abdicated that opportunity).

So I can't root for the Cardinals.

The Rangers have great players like Michael Young, whose work ethic and dedication to the team, I admire.

The Cardinals have great players like Albert Pujols, whose talent and perseverance through pain, I admire.

I have to choose sides. Who should I root for?

When the Rangers chose to intentionally walk Miguel Cabrera last night in the 8th inning with the score tied and the bases empty, he became only the 7th player in LCS history to be accorded such respect. The last was Alex Rodriguez in the 2009 ALCS against the Angels.

Would Brian Cashman consider a life in Fenway? The Yankees have every reason to negotiate and announce his contract extension as soon as possible. I believe MLB has a gag order on the teams during the postseason, so the media attention is on the teams on the field, but the day after the World Series wouldn't be too for me.

On the other hand, I consider this to be bad news:

Two of Cashman’s staff members have been granted permission by the Yankees to talk to the Angels about their GM opening.

Billy Eppler, the head of Yankees’ pro scouting, and Damon Oppenheimer, the head of amateur scouting, will interview for the job, Cashman said. No dates have been set for the interviews.

Also, Yankees assistant professional scouting director Will Kuntz interviewed for the Phillies’ minor league director job, but didn’t get it.

Will Nick Swisher (and his 8 figure team option) take the blame for the middle of the order (Arod, Tex and Swish) hitting .164 against the Tigers?

Everyone hates the Yankees. That's the fun of being a Yankee fan, isn't it? There's no sympathy from fellow sports fans.

Say, "I root for the Bills, the Knicks, the Orangemen, the whoevers," at some point in time those words would induce an
understanding nod from sports fans. Every team knows the misery of a lost year, a missed chance for greatness, and a dream fallen tantalizingly short.

Unless you are the Yankees, and that's the fun.

We're the center of attention wherever we go, the biggest road draw, the insignia that is more than brand, and the day after the World Series, we'll be the lead in on half the baseball programs around the country. Everyone hates us for it, and that's the fun.

But to be hated is one thing- fans boo Yankees at All Star Games from Boston to San Diego. But for one of those teams to be the Yankees' rivals is something else. What does it mean to be a giant-killer if the giant never noticed you?

It was part of the joke of the "rivalry" between the Yankees and Red Sox before 2004; nothing that one sided could be a rivalry. For me, the Red Sox still top the list because (despite their recent collapse) they have money and a smart front office; Boston has staying power.

The Rays are worthy rivals, and we see them often. The Angels spent time as our rivals, but when we beat them in 2009 it also seems to have marked the close of their championship window. The Athletics were rivals for a few years before that. The Twins missed their chance at a rivalry. If the Rangers' current attendance boom holds up and their farm system produces a few big players, they could be rivals through the rest of the decade.

But if you ask me today, which team has the right combination of pitching, hitting, and playoff pain to be a rival, I have to think Detroit sits atop the list.

If you missed the NLDS Game 5s last night, you missed baseball at its best.

Roy Halladay, the best pitcher in baseball, my favorite pitcher to watch work, pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball and lost because Chris Carpenter threw a complete game 3 hit shutout.

Suddenly, the Phillies with their overwhelming rotation and the best record in baseball, are home for the winter.

The Brewers-Diamondbacks game was even more exciting, with a safety squeeze in the top of the ninth to keep the Diamondbacks' season alive, before a walk-off single. They'll meet the Cardinals in the NLCS; the last time they won a postseason series (in 1982) they were an American League team, and they played the Cardinals in the World Series.

Are the Yankees hesitant to add more than a year or two to CC Sabathia's deal? They should be; a Cliff Lee deal ($125M/5Y) would take Sabathia to age 36, mark a $2M/Y raise and a year extension.

After solving the Sabathia question, is CJ Wilson the Yankees' top target?

Is the only way for the Yankees to make the ALCS to play the Twins in the Division Series?

1) Ivan Nova has to shut down the Tigers for 5+ innings, then pass the ball to David Robertson for 2, and Mariano Rivera for 2.

2) Keep the ball away from Rafael Soriano.

3) Arod and Tex have been solid defensively, but we're waiting for them to make an impact at the plate.

4) Curtis Granderson and Robbie Cano need to continue to set the pace for the offense.

5) Swisher, Gardner and Martin have to grind out at bats, driving up the pitch count. No first pitch pop outs.

6) No sacrifice bunts. Play for the big inning and then tack on.

7) No sign of the scrubs just because we're down a run. This is the Yankee offense at Yankee Stadium, we can make up any deficit.

8) Don't let Miguel Cabrera beat you.

9) No bad breaks. No Gary Sheffield and Bubba Crosby colliding in the outfield. No leaving AJ Burnett in the game one batter too long.

10) Make the big play. Every great game has at least one. Mantle outran a line drive to keep Don Larsen perfect. Graig Nettles put on a clinic at third. Jeter made a shovel pass and he went into the stands.

The Yankees are 1-7 in their last three playoff series when they score fewer than 6 runs. Fire Joe Girardi?

Should Jorge Posada and Brett Gardner be batting the 3 and 4 holes? They're hitting .400/.600/.600 and .385/.429/.462, respectively.

The much maligned Russell Martin (.231/.412/.308) is out hitting Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira.

Jeter's 7 Ks is more than any other player in the playoffs. He's recorded more Ks than any pitcher in the Yankees-Tigers series other than Sabathia (7) and Verlander (12).

The Yankees drafted Tigers' Game 5 starter Doug Fister in 2005, but the righty declined to sign; he signed the next year with the Mariners.

6 different Yankees have .300+ batting averages against Fister (Granderson, Jeter, Posada, Cano, Tex and Martin), but they have almost as many strikeouts as hits (19-26).

You tell me: Who will be the hero on Thursday night?

Write tonight's recap in advance:

Must use words:

AJ Burnett, redemption, opportunity, heart, focus, devastating, dominate, clutch.

Go!

Can I get a strike?

Caption contest!

Let's go Yankees!