Let's Meet Filip.

This is Filip. Filip Bondy. (..what?) Filip has some beliefs about the New York Yankees. Sometimes, Filip thinks things that aren't true! I have been told that my job description entails shouting needlessly at screw-ups like Filip until I'm blue in the face (what's the deal with that figure of speech anyway?). So let's get started.

Betting on young arms cost Yankees the season
Starting pitchers’ injuries leave Bombers scrambling for makeshift rotations

Well this seems pretty reasonable. This is kind of what screwed up the Yankees this season. Point: Filip. Score: pnoles: 0, Filip: 1

By Filip Bondy

Oh boy. That's your actual name isn't it. That doesn't really help your cause. Score: pnoles: 1, Filip: 1

The Yankees are dead. Long live the Mets.

To which I thrust the following label into your face. "More hyperbole than you can shake a stick at." All hail the 77-61 Mets. Can you imagine how the Mets' royal subjects would address them? "Would you like a glass of wine today, Your Above-Averageness?"

By the way: The difference between the "dead" Yankees and the "long-living" Mets is 3 wins. I'm taking 2 points for this one, because those were two equally stupid sentences. Score: pnoles: 3, Filip: 1

In New York, nobody has much patience for non-playoff baseball teams — even those with 26 world championships, a 13-year postseason streak and a new, grandiose stadium on the horizon.

All of this is pretty fair and valid. Score: pnoles: 3, Filip: 2

The Yankees are mired hopelessly in third place right now in the AL East, and all that’s left is a postmortem analysis and a jolting prescription for the future, which is actually quite simple. The Yanks must remember again that they are the Yanks, and not the Oakland A’s.

The Yankees spent $209,081,579 this year. I'm pretty sure they're aware of the whole Yanks/A's inequality. Although this sounds a little ridiculous, I haven't given you a chance to dig your way out of this one, so no points are awarded here.

It is no great mystery where things went wrong this season. General manager Brian Cashman decided he wanted to be Billy Beane.

Again, this sounds insane. Brian Cashman spent $209,081,579. It is nearly impossible for him to identify with Billy Beane. But fine, you still haven't made your point yet, so no score for this. I'm getting very impatient though! What are you going to (finally) tell me?

And while it’s a nice, feel-good notion to develop your own homegrown stars through the minor-league system, the Steinbrenner Yankees never did that before when it came to starting pitchers.

I'm sorry....have you....paid attention to anything that's happened in New York in the past few years? The Yankees have finished 8th, 7th, 9th, and 6th in the AL in ERA over the past 4 seasons. Their offense has been fucking carrying them into the postseason each year. Can you really blame Cashman for taking a different angle here, especially given that he had a glut of young, seemingly MLB-ready starters? No, no you cannot. Score: pnoles: 4, Filip: 2

From Catfish Hunter to David Cone to Roger Clemens, the club’s aces were traditionally mercenaries, imported to get the job done for two or three years before retiring or moving elsewhere.

And baseball is a business that never evolves or changes. The Yankees were in a situation that is prospect-wise exactly the same as all those years in the past, competing in a market that is exactly as intelligent as the ones from decades past. Never change or adjust to the way business is currently being carried out. I, personally, invested in Krispy Kreme back in 2000, when everyone said it was going to do well long-term. And since nobody got smarter and figured out that you can basically make Krispy Kreme doughnuts in your basement, and that the company isn't anything special, the stock is still probably doing really well (I haven't checked it in the past 4 years to make sure).

What the hell was I talking about? Oh well, I deserve a point for working Krispy Kreme into the equation. He said something pretty irrelevant anyway. Score: pnoles: 5, Filip: 2.

You're falling behind, Filip! Be careful!

Cashman, however, decided to change all that because he and the Tampa cabal experienced a troubled history recently while chasing outside talent pools. In direct competition with Theo Epstein of the Red Sox, Cashman signed the wrong former Marlin (Carl Pavano vs. Josh Beckett), the wrong former Japanese star (Kei Igawa vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka) and the wrong former Arizona Diamondback (Randy Johnson vs. Curt Schilling).

This is actually fairly interesting to see side by side. Score: pnoles: 5, Filip: 3

Having been burned so many times before, Cashman went the youth route. He turned his back on Johan Santana, refusing in a proposed deal to give up the quintessential mediocre prospect, outfielder Melky Cabrera.

What are you talking about? He was offering Phil Hughes and Cabrera in a package together! And we're talking about Phil Hughes the phenom, not whatever you want to call him today. There is absolutely no way that you can claim that he simply turned his back on Johan Santana. Score: pnoles: 6, Filip: 3

Instead he dived headlong into the 2008 season with a projected starting rotation that included young arms Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and swingman Joba Chamberlain.

All four of those pitchers projected to pitch very, very well. But you're right, the Yankees should have totally signed like, Carlos Silva or something this offseason.

What followed was an unmitigated disaster, and one that should not have been wholly unexpected. You place your chips on immature arms, no matter how promising, and a raft of injuries and setbacks are bound to follow.

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Filip! My goodness! That is simply not a good thing to say! It's wrong! Very very wrong! Thing B does not directly follow from Thing A! That is not a theory! That is just a non-truth!

Who's leading the AL East? Who pitches for that team? Were Matt Garza and James Shields considered "mature arms"? John Danks and Gavin Floyd...are they having decent-ish seasons? How about Nick Blackburn and Glen Perkins? Is Tim Lincecum experiencing "a raft of injuries and setbacks?" "A raft of injuries?" Raft? WHERE ARE YOU GETTING THESE UNITS OF MEASUREMENT????

Score: pnoles: 7, Filip: 3 (I resisted the urge to give myself a billion points)

In New York, fans witnessed this sort of meltdown a dozen years ago with the Mets, when that organization figured Bill Pulsipher, Paul Wilson and Jason Isringhausen were the starting rotation of the future.

Stephen Drew is a baseball player.
Stephen Drew is a shortstop.
Therefore, all baseball players are shortstops.

I like using your logic, Filip. It makes proving things way easier!

Score: pnoles: 8, Filip: 3

One by one, these young Yankee arms and tendons met similar fates. Each one went down for at least a large chunk of the season. And while Wang and Chamberlain retain substantial promise, nobody even knows whether Hughes (9.00 ERA in six starts) or Kennedy (8.17 in 10 appearances) owns enough talent to succeed at the major-league level.

OK, sure. You aren't acknowledging how devastatingly unlucky any of this was, but Hughes and Kennedy are definitely, at the very least, question marks right now. Score: pnoles: 8, Filip: 4

This has left the Yankees in the uncomfortable position of slapping together makeshift rotations throughout the season. Even the unexpected resurrection of Mike Mussina wasn’t sufficient to offset the disastrous starting situation. As of this writing, the Yankees owned a 4.33 ERA, 16th in the majors, despite mostly solid efforts out of the bullpen.

But...but that ERA and MLB ranking is totally not out of line with anything the Yankees have been doing hiring mercenaries in the past few years! You really aren't convincing me of much here.

You can talk about the offense underachieving, and you’d be right there too.

Oh okay. I was reallly worried that you wouldn't even acknowledge this.

The Bronx Bombers were batting .273, sixth best in the majors, but their run production was ranked 13th. Alex Rodriguez had regressed into familiar non-clutch performances. Injuries to Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui didn’t help, and this was a team with too many DHs, too few Golden Gloves.

Alex Rodriguez has been one of the best 5 hitters in the American League this year. But he's just such a fun punching bag!

Too many DHs, too few Golden Gloves......alright so if a team's defense is bad, don't you think that adversely affects how many runs the pitching staff allows? This is just taking too much away from your argument that betting on young arms was stupid. Even if you didn't say anything blatantly wrong in this paragraph, the way you worded and analyzed that entire thing has me 100% convinced that you know zero things about baseball. Score: pnoles: 9, Filip: 4

Yet those were not the reasons the Yankees have dropped so far, so fast.

WHAT??!?!??!?! You're making me fairly angry right now Filip! Here are things you have said. The offense has been mediocre, 13th in MLB. The pitching has been mediocre, 16th in MLB. Now you're telling me that only the pitching is the reason that the team has been mediocre this season? Your brain is a disaster zone. Score: pnoles: 10, Filip: 4. This is quickly turning into a blowout.

They were goners because the starters collapsed and because the Tampa Bay Rays emerged from nowhere.

By counting on young pitching, the Tampa Bay Rays emerged from nowhere to surpass the New York Yankees, who were completely and totally stupid for banking on young pitching. Score: pnoles: 11, Filip: 4

They failed because Cashman threw money at position players, but not at starters.

Because the market for purchasing starting pitching in this offseason were terrible. You could either 1) Trade for one year of Johan Santana, or 2) Sign Carlos Silva. That's. About. It. Score: pnoles: 12, Filip: 4

From here, then, there needs to be a radical change of philosophy and course. Hank Steinbrenner needs to sit down with Cashman and tell him, flat out: We are not the A’s. If you want to be general manager of a small market team, that can easily be arranged.

Wooo hoo! You tell 'em Hank! Give him hell! That's the last time you'll put any faith in some of the best pitching prospects in the game on my watch!

It’s time to chase some free-agent pitchers again, to start making deals, to fill a rotation with 30 year-olds instead of 22 year-olds. The Yankees have a new, expensive stadium to fill, demanding outrageous ticket prices. They can no longer be outbid for the Santanas and CC Sabathias of the world.

Oh yeah, because 30 year-olds are automatically better than 22 year-olds.

The Yankees’ dynasty of the late ‘90s was built around a largely homegrown cast of position players, and with talented temps on the mound. Somewhere along the way, things got reversed in the Bronx. The Yankees chased expensive sluggers, and fell in love with their starters in the farm system.

BECAUSE THE COMPOSITION OF THE FARM SYSTEM CHANGED! HOW IS THIS SO FUCKING HARD TO UNDERSTAND??

Score: pnoles: 13, Filip: 4

That romance has failed. The sooner the Yankees remember their bullying, big-market roots, the faster their recovery.

Now that ever blood vessel in my head has popped, you're finally done speaking. Wow. In re: big-market roots, I guess leading MLB in payroll wasn't enough. Just fuck off, Filip. By the way, you owe me $61,343.87 for surgeries to repair all the damage you just did to my brain.

I win. 13-4.

That Was One Hell of an All-Star Game, Wasn't It?

Too bad this post has very little to do with the game in question. It's more crap about A-Rod from Rick Morrissey.

Crede is no A-Rod ... thank goodness

Yeah, thank goodness. Because then the White Sox would have an absolute stranglehold on the AL Central and then baseball would be less exciting. That's what you're getting at, right?

No wait....you write for a Chicago newspaper. It has to be the other meaning. The stupid one.

Sitting at a table amid a gob of reporters and cameramen, Alex Rodriguez was talking about his life, which might or might not include Madonna, who, by the way, might be using Jewish mysticism to brainwash A-Rod into thinking the two are "soulmates," according to friends of Rodriguez's estranged wife, as reported by the New York Daily News, which keeps track of these things.

This is pretty much entirely the media's fault, when you think about it.

"Look, everyone has distractions, everyone goes through personal issues," Rodriguez was telling the gathered media Monday. "Mine are on the front page of the papers."

See? And you're making it worse. I saw the front page of the actual Chicago Tribune newspaper today, and these words of Rick Morrissey were written on it. It's like circular reasoning, man. "Thank God that Crede is no A-Rod, because A-Rod has widely publicized personal issues that are exacerbated by me writing this sentence on the front page of a newspaper."


A few minutes later and several tables away, Joe Crede was talking to five reporters about his distractions, which would be "A" material for the cover of Parenting magazine only if he came up with something like a revolutionary toilet-training method.

"The biggest excitement in my life are my two girls, 4 and 2," he said. "That's all the excitement I need right there.

Awwwwwww!

Alex Rodriguez, Joe Crede. I always get them mixed up.

This is sarcastic, I know. But what's your point?

They're both third basemen. They're both American League All-Stars. They used to be connected at the agent, Scott Boras, until Rodriguez decided to work out his own deal last year.

Uh huh....great.

That would pretty much sum up the similarities between the New York superstar and the White Sox's resurrected infielder.

This is interesting because......

This is Rodriguez's 12th All-Star Game, Crede's first.

::rereads and copies article title::

Crede is no A-Rod ... thank goodness

You serious, dude?

Rodriguez is the Yankee with the two-ton contract. Crede is the guy who would like a new contract from the Sox.

Again, true statements, but these have no relevance to any point you are trying to make.

The Sox didn't exactly leave him for dead in the off-season, but they were seen holding a stethoscope.

Are all the sports cartoonists in the room done laughing yet? The rest of us didn't find this one to be all that witty.

And they sure were talking a lot about an ascendant Josh Fields at third.

Maybe because he hit 23 HR in 373 AB last year?

Whether you believe they were furiously trying to trade Crede and his balky back depends on the person doing the talking.

No, it fucking doesn't. They were absolutely trying to dump him. They were showcasing him for a trade all spring and he played like Tomas Perez. Kenny Williams asked Brian Sabean for Fred Lewis, and even Sabean understood it was a ripoff and laughed in Kenny's face. Kenny Williams literally would have taken a vending machine in exchange for Joe Crede in spring training.

But it's indisputable that Crede is here at the All-Star Game.

Of course it's indisputable you fucking twat.

"Hi, I'm Rick Morrissey. It's indisputable that Joe Saunders is a pitcher."

Sometimes standing still — or being forced to stand still — is the best thing for a team.

God, that's great philosophy. Do you write books, sir? Maybe you should be a GM.

Forgive Crede for taking some pleasure in this. Thirteen months ago, he couldn't lift his children because of his back. Six months ago, as he rehabbed from back surgery, he was the subject of trade rumors.

Sure, of course he should be happy about his comeback. I don't think he should go around bragging about his .325 OBP or his .259 EqA though. Did I mention he in no way deserved to be on the All-Star team? Because if I didn't, let me declare this to the world.

Ahem.

Joe Crede in no way deserved to be on the All-Star team. If you are being generous, he has been the 7th best 3rd baseman in the American League this year, behind A-Rod, Lowell, Rolen, Longoria, Guillen, and ::gasp:: Adrian Beltre. He has 17 errors, which people with a fully functional brain would deem terrible. The fact that he made the All-Star team this year is living proof that you can't use All-Star game appearances at all to prove that a player has played well in a given season.

But yeah, I mean all that stuff about not being able to lift his kids and rehabs and back surgery and rainbows and lollipops and trade rumors and....shucks, you're probably right, Morrissey.

Now he's backing up A-Rod at the All-Star Game.

Which is an honor because A-Rod is great, but.....

Crede is no A-Rod ... thank goodness

So it's awesome, because Crede deserves a world of respect for his comeback, which you are epitomizing by saying he's backing up an awesome player at the All-Star game, an awesome player whom, as your title states, you are glad Crede is nothing like.

It has come to my attention that several readers have developed migraines upon reading these things Morrissey has said. Remember, friends, don't kill the messenger!

If the Sox are smart, they will work something out with Crede.

If the Sox are smart, they would realize that having a pretty good 3B prospect at AAA that has already proven he has a future at the big league level would merit passing on Crede, an overrated player that is guaranteed to demand more than he is worth as a free agent, no matter how much he is worth at season's end.

But I mean, he couldn't lift his kids 13 months ago, so eh, I dunno Morrissey, what do you think? The evidence in both directions is astounding!

The All-Star selection would seem to be proof that his formerly aching back isn't an issue.

Again, we've had this discussion. Jason Varitek was an All-Star. He is hitting .218/.299/.354. What. The. Fuck. Is. Your. Point. Question. Mark?

Aside from a first half uncharacteristically filled with errors, he has been a rock at third base.

::reads sentence again to make sure that he isn't dreaming.::

Aside from a first half uncharacteristically filled with errors, he has been a rock at third base.

This might be the stupidest sentence I have ever read.

Okay readers, I can't do this one justice. We'll turn this over to you. What would be the funniest line to write here? Make it in the form of "Aside from _______, (something) has been (phrase basically saying (something) has been good)."

Here's an example. "Aside from all the holes in the bottom, this plastic bag has been great for containing water." You guys are creative, I trust you'll make them good! FireJay bloggers, get in on this one as well!

My Mealticket: MLB.tv

Hello faithful readers of the 38th most successful Fire(Blank)(Blank) blog with a blogspot address! The big man upstairs, Larry B, thought this blog could use some fresh thoughts so he offered me a spot in the lineup. This was before Eriz came back with a vengeance today, so now it’s like you’re getting two new bloggers in one! It should be noted that LarryB and I go way back (hence my eagerness to make fun of his articles)-- he’s not just picking up riff-raff off the street to write here. I earned this spot through years of half-heartedly participating in his fantasy leagues and complaining about local sports teams with him. For those of you who follow the blog regularly, I’m also known as Chris Hart. Yes, I still hate this blog as much as I used to, but now I get to combine it with the rest of my self-hatred, so it works out.

I don’t consider myself to be a “stat” guy at all, probably just barely above the average fan’s knowledge of the game. So the things that jump out at me are usually going to be particularly annoying/egregious/lazy on the part of the journalist. Luckily for me, I have a job that allows me to listen to mlb.tv while working. It lets me listen in on April afternoon games between the Yankees and Royals, and catch a whiff of this type of thing: from Royals color man Paul Splittorff when the subject of A-Rod’s postseason struggles comes up--

“That goes back to his days with the Seattle Mariners.”

Ugh, come on man. You’re paid to pay attention to baseball. A-Fraud’s stats in three postseason series with the Mariners:

’97 ALDS: .313/.313/.563
’00 ALDS: .308/.308/.308
’00 ALCS: .409/.480/.773

As someone who watches about 10 total AL games a season (Bill Simmons League Bias Alert!) I even knew about Fillet-Rod’s success in Seattle and NY pre Game 4 ’04 ALCS. You’ve been the Royals color commentator since 1987 (according to wikipedia), you should know better than this.

I hope my posts don't become a running string of horrible announcing from local broadcast teams, but the first week of the season hasn't led me to think otherwise.

It's Almost Baseball Season!

So a friend mailed me a copy of Lindy's baseball preview. I've been reading it this morning. It's a terrible magazine. For every player, there's a little section where they fill you in on each player's "Significant Stats/Injuries". Here are a few of their SIGNIFICANT stats:

David Eckstein, SS, Blue Jays
Was successful on all eight steal attempts against righthanders.

Seriously?

Frank Thomas, DH, Blue Jays
Takes umbrage at every called strike on the inner part of the plate.

The Lindy's staff members must have been taking SAT classes - the only place in the world where anyone actually uses the word "umbrage".

Aaron Cook, RHP, Rockies
Tied for fourth in the NL with two complete games!

Tied with seven other guys!

Brad Hawpe, RF, Rockies
Had a streak of at least 26 games with at least one strikeout!

Next on ESPN: the HawpeWatch... CAN HE DO IT? We'll cut live to EVERY HAWPE AT BAT to see if he can break the ALL TIME RECORD.... which I am too lazy to look up.

Matt Lindstrom, RHP, Marlins
Spent time sleeping on the floor, then on a piece of plywood and egg crates to help his sore back, but still finished second on the staff with 71 appearances!

US Egg stock is up 4 points on this news. Marlins fans surge to the ballpark to see their new eggstraordinary closer-in-the-making!

Yovani Gallardo, RHP, Brewers
Became the third Brewers pitcher to hit multiple HRs in a season.

Sounds to me like he has his epitaph already written.

Moises Alou, LF, Mets
Can't throw.

Shit. He plays in the wrong league, I guess.

Jamie Moyer, LHP, Phillies
Has 230 career victories, 59th all-time.

Next on ESPN: MoyerWatch. Jamie is on pace to pass the immortal Frank Tanana by May 13th!

Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees
Became the first player since Roger Maris in 1961 to lead MLB in HRs, RBI and runs. Has a .159 BA in the playoffs over the past three years.

He sucks!

Kyle Farnsworth, RHP, Yankees
Easy to follow.

Next time you're driving to Yankee Stadium and you don't know how to get there, make sure you get behind Farnsworth. He's easy to follow.

Brad Ausmus, C, Astros
Had three 3Bs, matching his combined total from the three previous season.

Forecast: Brad Ausmus has a breakout 2008 where he hits SIX triples.

Paul Lo Duca, C, Nationals
Caught Tom Glavine's 300th career victory.

Wow.

Jermaine Dye, OF, White Sox
Thinks along with the pitcher.

This seems dangerous to me. Suppose he comes up in a crucial situation and Fausto Carmona is thinking about the hookers in his hotel room after the game. Poor Jermaine might get distracted. Hmm. Perhaps this explains Dye's shitty 2007. Pitchers caught on to this and deliberately thought about hot girls.

Strangely, Jermaine Dye has a 1.500 OPS against Kris Benson. Hmph. Go figure. I hate stats. Always disproving my theories.

Brendan Harris, 2B, Twins
Tends to grow on you.

Brendan Harris is like athlete's foot. Or a chia pet.

29 more days till the Reds kick it off against the D-Backs. Get excited!

More A-Rod Bullshit

Fuck America. Fuck money. Let's all just go Rick Reilly on people and complain about A-Rod's "image" when we really mean "I hate the fact that he plays by a system in which he can negotiate and explore different ways to make a great deal of money".

Gene Wdskjsdkgowski weighs in on the A-Rod saga

NEW YORK -- The "Wizard of Oz" was on TV a couple of nights ago. Dorothy tosses a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West and the green-faced hag melts like a scoop of sherbet dropped in a fry vat.

Weird, since that's exactly what's happening to the public image of Alex Rodriguez and to the mystique of his commission-conscious Doberman, Scott Boras. They got doused with a bucket of baseball reality and now they're melting. Melting!

Well, at least this time a writer referenced a movie that people have actually seen. That's good. Unfortunately, the reference sucks. This is because A-Rod's image was already so damaged from asshole writers who expect him to be a paragon of altruism, so it wouldn't matter how bad he got fried. Why the hell does a Wizard of Oz reference belong in this article?

Oh, what a world … what a world!

Gene, you sound like a hysterical teenage girl.

If ever two people deserved very large servings of humility it is Rodriguez and agent Boras. They spectacularly underestimated the blowback caused by their latest series of business miscalculations. The bumbling has further damaged A-Rod's credibility and left welt marks on Boras' carefully crafted persona of invincibility.

If ever a group of people deserved very large servings of humility it is the collective association of sportswriters who assault Alex Rodriguez. It's just fucking sour grapes: everyone hates him because he makes too much money. Whatever "credibility" or "persona" they claim is being damaged - that's a crock. They're just pissed because his paycheck is a lot bigger than anyone else's and he has the GALL to find ways to make it even bigger, which they would do if they dominated their field like he does. Or perhaps they're mad because their chosen field is less rewarded by society.

::shrug::

A-Rod can describe the situation any way he wants on his Web site (and by the way, thanks for finally updating the journal from 2006), but the simple truth is that he capitulated. Or in baseball terms, he's Yankee whipped.

Capitulated to what? He went out to test the market and he tested it. He discovered that the Yankees were still the best offerers. Since A-Rod values money (like 99% of Americans), he is more "money-whipped" than "Yankee-whipped".

What do they say in Texas about people who talk a big game, but can't deliver? "Big hat, no cattle.'' That's A-Rod and Boras. They thought the world would be lining up to sign the free-agent third baseman and it didn't happen.

Here's what they say in Texas:
"I sure wish we still had the best baseball player ever, except we signed him to a contract we couldn't afford and then traded him".

Rodriguez and Boras botched this thing from the very beginning. They alienated Yankees fans with their greed and indifference.

If Yankee fans were actually alienated by greed, the organization would've lost its fans years ago.

They angered the Steinbrenners with their arrogance (and that takes some doing, considering how the Steinbrenners handled the Joe Torre situation). And they created a scenario where absolutely no one would want to root for A-Rod's success. If anything, you rooted for the Yankees, which is like rooting for Lord Voldemort.

If anything, Gene, you are a fucking lame"Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for US Steel". That's a repeat of the old adage, except you cleverly modernized it with a cool reference to HARRY POTTER.

Honestly.

But sometimes enough is enough. The Yankees drew their line in the wet cement, and A-Rod and Boras left their footprints as they walked out of the Bronx. But before the cement has even hardened, A-Rod is back professing his supposed love for the pinstripes.

Note that Gene doesn't offer A-Rod's actual quote here - because I bet he didn't say it. In pnoles's writeup (below), A-Rod said a bunch of wishy-washy stuff about "dialogue" and crap. He isn't professing anything to the millions of jerks who crucify him for their own organization's inability to build a pitching staff.

Gene goes on to bitch about A-Rod's postseason, and his past history in Seattle and Texas. Blah blah blah. Standard fare.

Then he throws in this:

In short, the Yankees haven't reached a World Series during his watch. It isn't all A-Rod's fault, but bang for the buck? Not when it comes to ring ceremonies.

This is such a fucking gutless thing to say. It isn't A-Rod's fault, but it is A-Rod's fault. This is the same line every sportswriter in this country uses.

Yankees fans haven't forgotten those postseason stats and they won't forget the way he ditched and dissed their team.

Yeah - he should've had some kind of "loyalty" to the team that he "carried" to the playoffs by having a "fucking amazing year". Yankee fans don't give a shit about that.

*********************************************************************************
If the academy of baseball writers would like to take up arms against capitalist culture and excoriate players in general for seeking their market value, let them do so and do so openly and honestly.

If they academy of baseball writers wants to take cowardly potshots at the best player in baseball for doing so, let them expect to get excoriated on this blog.

Cogent Analysis of the Seattle Mariners Farm System and What a Weak Starting Pitching Market Means for Them

Fooled you. It's another "A-Rod's a stupid loser" article.

First let me briefly explain my absence recently. My mom's house was geting fumigated. That's right, fumigated. The giant tent and the toxic gases and everything. We had a serious insect infestation following an incident in which I dropped several foodstuffs behind the computer desk and forgot about them. Basically, my mom and I were put up in a hotel with no internet, and going to the library, of course, required going outside and walking for 5 minutes. Ummm....yeah. That's a no-go. So instead I enjoyed watching things such as the series finale of Full House (very anti-climactic!), about 8 episodes of That 70's Show (per day) and I, Robot for about the eleventy billionth time (does FX ever get sick of showing that?)

Anyway, back to the focus of this thing, courtesy of no-name (he should play for the Rockies!) George Vecsey of the New York Times.

Yanks Should Treat Rodriguez the Way He Treated Them

If by that you mean they should put A-Rod on their shoulders and carry him to the playoffs, then yes, I agree. Should A-Rod resign (and it certainly looks like he will!), the Yankees should sign billions of free agents so that if A-Rod morphs into a clone of this guy, he'll still make the playoffs. (What was the point of the Cubs giving up Jacque Jones for him, anyway?)

Even if Alex Rodriguez prostrates himself in front of the Yankees’ owners — which he just might have done yesterday — that does not mean they have to take him back.

Even if he fires his agent, Scott Boras, or plays him in a cage, that does not mean the Yankees should want A-Rod back.

These are pretty serious claims! Why, pray tell, does a baseball team with an essentially infinte payroll not want the best player in the universe who is on pace to shatter the (*DEBATABLY*) most interesting record in sports?

Rodriguez had a monster season, but the Yankees could not get out of the first round of the playoffs, yet again. He is an enigmatic figure in their clubhouse, clearly not a player who improves his team.

::phone rings::

George Steinbrenner: Hello?

Brian Cashman: George, it's Brian. I've just been doing a little reading in the New York Times, and.....there's absolutely no way we should re-sign A-Rod.

Steinbrenner: That's pretty fucking insane to say there's no way.....I mean he's the best player of this generation and all.....

Brian Cashman: Yes, well....did you know that Alex doesn't improve the Yankees?

Steinbrenner: He most certainly does! You'd better explain yourself...

Brian Cashman: Well....George Vecsey just pointed out to me that his figure in the clubhouse....well...it's a little enigmatic.

Steinbrenner: Enigmatic?

Brian Cashman: Enigmatic.

Steinbrenner: That funny-sounding word that means "perplexing" or "mysterious"? A-Rod isn't improving the Yankees because his clubhouse figure is mysterious? I mean he hits baseballs pretty well despite that....are you sure?

Brian Cashman: Positive. George Vecsey is a widely respected man. Lots of people have totally heard of who he is.

Steinbrenner: I guess....we have no choice then. He's out.

This is the Yankees’ big chance to take whatever money they had penciled in for him and spend it on pitching and power and first base and a reasonable approximation of Scott Brosius at third base.

ZOMG! This is the Yankees' BIG CHANCE! They have a shot at signing someone like Scott Brosius! Take this chance, Yankees. These things don't come around just any old year.

The Yankees’ management was cold-blooded about Joe Torre, making him twist for days, then finally forcing him to fly down to Florida to try to save his job. They should be no less cold-blooded toward Rodriguez.

Oh yeah, because making Torre "twist" was such a great decision that helped the Yankees in so many ways and gave them great publicity. Yep. They should totally repeat that for A-Rod.

He dumped on the Yankees and on his business by passively allowing Boras to drop An A-Bomb! From A-Rod!

Amidst Vecsey's fascination that both of those things begin with an "A" followed by a hyphen, he's talking about the World Series opt-out announcement. Note to all excellent journalists out there: it's okay to capitalize indefinite articles when there are a good amount of other words capitalized nearby.

That’s what agents are for. I remember a beautiful evening in Seattle, when Rodriguez was dumped at second base and crumpled down, holding his knee. A few rows from the field, a clearly distraught man leapt to his feet and made his way to the railing. Why, it was Scott Boras, no doubt worried that his client’s impending free agency had just caved in.

As it turned out, A-Rod missed a few games and resumed his slippery path out of town, telling people in Seattle it wasn’t about the money, a tale he has subsequently told people in Texas and now the Bronx.

There's a good chance A-Rod wanted to leave Texas because ummmm.....the team sucked.

The Steinbrenners graciously allowed Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, to pay a social call yesterday in Florida, with Boras nowhere in sight, unless he was driving the car, to amortize his percentage.

This was the same Mrs. A-Rod who wore a profane and probably expensive little white tank top to a Yankees game last July, an eye-opener for the kiddies, telling the world off quite graphically. Presumably, she did not wear that shirt yesterday for the conservative Steinbrenners.

The only reason that A-Rod's wife was even brought up was so that Vecsey could make a useless reference to that incident. Read it again. Hmmm...is that the sound of you agreeing with me?

In his own gauche way, A-Rod has offended the Yankees, which may only now be dawning on him.

Call me crazy, but several years of being an awesome baseball player being negated by a sub-par performance in a small subset of games in October(among many other sub-par performers) might be considered offensive to A-Rod. They batting him 8th once last year! EIGHTH! If that doesn't just say, in the immortal words of Red Forman, "my foot in your ass", then I don't know what does. A-Rod is unjustly unappreciated in New York, especially by assholes like you, Vecsey. He has no obligation to be kind to the team. Period.

The Yankees should imitate Vince Lombardi, when his Super Bowl-winning center, Jim Ringo, had the audacity to hire an agent for salary negotiations. According to legend, Lombardi left his office for a few minutes and came back and informed Ringo that he would have to negotiate with the Eagles, because he had just been traded. Ringo and Lombardi denied that scene, but Ringo did hire an agent, and he did get traded, in very short order.

www.pointlessandirrelevantanecdotes.org

Nowadays, of course, athletes have every right to hire an agent, but they need to be aware of the impact. Boras went too far, and Rodriguez did not seem to understand any of the implications of putting the squeeze on the Yankees. Whatever vision of El Dorado Boras painted, the response from other clubs has been underwhelming.

I assure you, Vecsey, A-Rod lives up to that image. Now look at a page full of MLB payrolls and ask yourself, "who is in a good position to offer $350M for any player?" It's a lot to pay for 11-14 wins at best per season (not to mention injury risk, etc). I guarantee you that there aren't any baseball teams that don't think A-Rod is the best player in the world (unless the Cardinals are really that obsessed with Albert Pujols).

This is a good sign. It shows that even baseball owners can learn.

No. It shows that they don't have bottomless wallets. It does not show that baseball owners think that A-Rod is a non-team-improving clubhouse disease.

Rodriguez has never justified himself to Yankees fans, having driven in nine runs in 24 postseason games since joining the Yankees with that huge contract in 2004

Probably the stupidest way that anyone has ever tried to prove A-Rod is a choker in the postseason. Ooh, lets cite a stat incredibly dependent on batters in front of A-Rod getting on base!

Even in the highly individualistic sport of baseball, there is a foxhole mentality. The players know Rodriguez works hard, but they also know he has not come through in the postseason.

Really? You want to blame A-Rod this year too, huh? Look here. Can you see anything that MIGHT have contributed more significantly to the Yankees losing in the ALDS than A-Rod's not-remotely-awful .267/.353/.467 performance? How'd Wang and Clemens pitch? Didn't Derek Jeter do something like .176/.176/.176 and ground into a few double plays? The team had a farking 5.89 ERA! I haven't looked it up, but I sincerely doubt that a team has ever had an ERA that high and won a postseason series.

Alex Rodriguez let his agent opt out for him, right during the World Series. Now the Yankees should opt out on him.

And...that's all? Great! Well Vecsey, I hope you enjoyed your first Fire Jay Mariotti experience. We hope to see you again real soon!

Jemele Hill Check...

Unfortunately she hasn't been fired, and to the joy of our five readers, she's still writing piece of shit throwaway garbage.

A-Fraud: Give me Kobe over A-Rod any day

Pay-Rod, Slappy McSlapperson, Me-Rod, Gay-Rod, and now this???? How did Hill come up with A-Fraud? I can just imagine her sitting at the typewriter:

"Pay-Rod? Nah that's been done before. What rhymes with 'A?' Hmmmmmmm. Play? Pay? Gay? Nay? Nope. Let's try two syllables. Cache? Dismay? Buffet? Dang. What about three syllables? Disarray? Fish Filet? Puppet Play? Well, Fuck. Oh I know! I'll keep the 'A' and Rhyme something with 'Rod.' Facade? Nah... let's see..... AHA! I'll call him A-Fraud because he's not the real deal!"

Say what you will about Kobe Bryant, but at least he's not a mercenary who wants all of the money, but none of the pressure, and doesn't perform in the playoffs.

In other words, at least he's not Alex Rodriguez.

According to this, last year Kobe Bryant made 17.7 million in salary, 16 million in endorsements, for a grand total of 33.7 million. In the same time frame, A-Rod made 22 million in salary and 6 million in endorsements, totalling 28 million. And that's not even considering that A-Rod plays in an uncapped league and plays in twice as many games per year as Kobe.

Both players are generally viewed as selfish, whiny divas. But as we approach the unusual sports phenomenon of having the best player in baseball head to a new team and arguably the best player in basketball also potentially on the move, understand that A-Rod and Kobe are two very different creatures.


I'll take this Ford F-450 work truck over that Yamaha Crotch Rocket any day. But am I a Construction Foreman or a Yakuza henchman? Who cares?

A-Rod's decision to opt-out of New York is far more self-absorbed than Kobe's finagling to get out of Los Angeles.

Here's where the comparison completely falls apart. Yes both players are guys who seem to be consumed with padding their stat lines. Kobe is notorious for throwing up low chance lopsided jumpshots while being tripled covered. Even if Kobe has a %50 chance of making said shot, he's hurting his team by shooting instead of passing to an open player with an opportunity to make a higher percentage shot. A-Rod just gets lots of walks, hits, and plays above average defense. When he makes a play (which happens A LOT), he's helping his team every single time.

Or to quote this anonymous internet poster:

Baseball is great partially because it's the only sport where, on the field, every single player can be completely greedy and do what maximizes their personal value every single play and it's to the team's best interest. Every other sport is a zero sum game, where every shot you take is one your teammate doesn't--in baseball, every hit you get provides another opportunity. There's no clock besides individual failure. If Ayn Rand and Adam Smith fucked, she'd give birth to a baseball

Despite Kobe's flaws, we at least know he is consumed with winning championships. A-Rod is consumed with being A-Rod.

Maybe A-Rod wants to get out of New York because they have an aging, below average pitching staff on a team who made the playoffs this season entirely because of the merits of A-Rod and his 14 wins above replacement.

And what the fuck does "A-Rod is consumed with being A-Rod" even mean?

Kobe doesn't always demonstrate his aspirations maturely. It also can't be ignored that a key aspect of his championship ambitions is that he has to be the guy in the lead role. But if the worst you can say about Kobe -- whose competitive streak was cloned from Michael Jordan's -- is he no longer wanted to play alongside a once-dominant, but injury-prone center, it's not exactly a sign of the apocalypse. And considering some of the things that Lakers owner Jerry Buss has said about Kobe in recent weeks, we've seen that Buss is his own man -- if he really wanted to keep Shaq, he would have kept him. Buss' main concern was dumping another $100 million into the fourth Fu-Schniken.

Are you serious? Last time I checked, Shaq went on to win another title with Miami. "Hey don't fault the guy because he drove the other player who was largely responsible for all those championships out of town. He just wants to win. And also sell Nutella"

But does anything in A-Rod's history or demeanor suggest he's remotely obsessed with winning the way Kobe is? A-Rod seems more obsessed with being loved than winning. He wants all the perks, but none of the responsibility. He wants 100-plus RBIs, and to eventually be the home run king. Just don't expect him to bring any of the necessary intangibles it takes to win something meaningful.

This argument has been beaten into the ground. A-Rod has shown up in the playoffs. Several times before. It's not him out there pitching meatballs to David Ortiz and Travis Hafner. Give me Yadir Molina or David Eckstien any day. They know how to win!

Sounds like a perfect fit for the Chicago Cubs.

Get it? Because they haven't won a World Series in a really long time. The Cubs and their 100+ million payroll also definitely don't care about winning it all. Just like Buffet-Rod!

A-Rod isn't a leader, comes off as insecure and teams mysteriously seem better off when he's gone.

I'll take a 177 OPS+ hitting infielder over a "clubhouse leader" any day.

Also no mystery here:

2000 Mariners: Lost in ALCS (with a 101 Team ERA+)
2001 (post A-Rod) Mariners: Lost in ALCS (with a 118 Team ERA+)

2003 Rangers: 69 wins (team ERA+ of 88)
2004 (post A-Rod) Rangers: 87 wins (team ERA+ of 111)

So I guess A-Rod causes pitchers on his team to suck. That means we should expect a 120 ERA+ season from the 2008 Yankees.

The only thing Jemele has proved here is that she is mystified by the impact pitchers have on the success of baseball teams.

Kobe? The three-time champion thrives under pressure and the low opinions some people have of him.

How many championships has Kobe won since the rape accusations? Oh, none?

Kobe was criticized for brutally assessing the Lakers' lack of progress. But when A-Rod was a Yankee, the only thing that seemed to bother him was his own personal slumps.

Wouldn't you prefer a player who gets upset about losing more than a player who seems fine with it as long as he can stare at his pretty statistics and pay stubs? Can you blame Kobe for complaining about any plan that included passing on a skilled player who could help the Lakers in the present in favor of the long-term coddling of Andrew Bynum? Has A-Rod ever exhibited that kind of passion and determination? Has he ever given answers that didn't sound rehearsed?

I thought A-Rod said he'd take a pay cut to play for a winner? Once again, maybe he's sick of playing on teams who cannot put together a competent pitching staff. I think he's a bit greedy when it comes to his salary, but isn't the same true of Kobe? They're both the highest paid players in their respective sports.

Even if A-Rod somehow wound up playing for the world champion Red Sox -- and if you're listening Boston, adding this guy to your clubhouse is akin to putting Britney Spears on "Nanny 911" -- it would be difficult to interpret A-Rod's actions as that of a man driven to win.

Jemele made it three quarters of the way through this column without making an awkward pop culture reference. Of course it wouldn't be a Jemele Hill column without at least a couple of FOX reality shows/pet rock/Celebrity DUI comparisons thrown in for good measure.

A-Rod, of course, has the right to chase as much money as he wants. It's not his fault if the market dictates he earn an astronomical figure. There's no denying there were times he was unfairly brutalized in New York. The stalking by the tabloids was unacceptable, as was the fascination with his personal life. But the problems he had there will follow him into his next clubhouse.

I can't wait for two things:

1) The yankees finish with 80 wins in 2008 and miss the playoffs
2) A-Rod is appreciated in his new city for his eye-popping, guaranteed to improve whatever team he plays on performance.

It's fair to accuse A-Rod and Kobe of being types who can't operate in a locker room unless they control it.

The difference is, there've been signs that Kobe has outgrown some of that. A-Rod doesn't seem like he ever will.

One thing I can assure you, dear reader, is that Jemele Hill will never make a well written argument based on real facts instead of baseless accusations.

Michael Wilbon, Please Don't Make Me

A mini-PTI during Monday Night Football. I really like Michael Wilbon. I think he's smarter than most people who work for ESPN. He's smart and has good reasons for thinking the things he does. Tonight, the question was pitched to him: "Are the Yankees better off without A-Rod?"

(quote not exact, but close)

Absolutely. It's simple, you just look back at what happened before he got there! The Yankees won 4 championships just before he arrived, and have won zero since. What does that tell you?

It tells me, Mike, that baseball is a game where you not only need good hitting to win a World Series, but also good pitching. A-Rod can't supernaturally transplant his greatness into Mike Mussina's body, Mike Mussina needs to learn how to get hitters out himself. It also tells me that the MLB playoffs unfold in such random ways that the best team probably doesn't even win it all 50% of the time.

It does not tell me that A-Rod is some sort of Yankee poison that causes them to double over and barf awful performances all over the baseball diamond when the month of October strikes.

The correct answer to the general form of that question: "Is any team better off without the best fucking baseball player in the world?" is "no".

Fall Class oh no Wait

There's no bigger stage in the baseball world than the World Series, and we saw a couple of really good games this year. Yes, this truly is a great ga... oh wait, there's a rumbling out of New York City... Joe Torre ripped his pants? No, wait, ARod opted out of his contract. Let's talk about it during the World Series! I link to SI.com because they were credited for breaking the story, which had it's coattails grabbed onto by FOX and ESPN.

Yes, it's a classless act by Scott Boras. What do you expect?

Easy solution for FOX and ESPN: Launch into your gigantic spiral of New York City coverage AFTER the game is over. In 2004, I would have loved to have been in that bar after my team lost to see some other news than Jimmy Fallon celebrating in my ballpark. Any distraction would have been welcome. Boston fans were out rioting last night anyways, so the rest of the country- - the 80% of America that despises New England - - could have waited to see what Scott Boras leaked after the game, the celebration, the presentation of corporate prizes, the interivews, and Jeanine Zelasko's 20 pounds of make up. You can blame ARod and Boras all you want, but some of the blame needs to be put on FOX and ESPN. SI.com broke the story online, and then ESPN and FOX talked about it. The channels lost the ability to claim they broke the story, so they should have waited until after the Rockies and Red Sox were done playing. But instead, I had to endure Joe Buck (who I like... it's a St. Louis thing) speculating where ARod won't be appreciated next year.

Really, I can only shake my head when I read what Buster Olney wrote:

The way this played out could not have been more apropos, because A-Rod needs to be bigger than the game; he needs to be more important than the Red Sox or the Rockies or any other team, or any other player. He is one of the greatest players in history at compiling statistics, the greatest ever at compiling wealth, and his next employer will have to buy into that. The World Series can't matter as much as A-Rod.

I know it wasn't Buster who was on TV talking about it, but give me a break. Who made this story bigger than the World Series? ARod, or those who talked about it during the game? "Reporting" this during the game's grandest spectacle isn't about journalism, so why bring it up?

[note: I came in late during the game when it was brought up, as I had to ask my parents to pick up more Doritos at the store. It seemed to me that FOX tried to legitimize the discussion of the story by having Ken Rosenthal and Joe Buck talk about it. I would have mentioned this, but I wasn't watching when it was initially mentioned on FOX and I would hate to have anonymous commenters flame away for incorrect information on this humble blog.]

no! you can't... how... nooooooo!

doesn't cbssportsline.com's scott miller understand that a-rod is the most unclutchiest unclutcher of all time? apparently not, because otherwise he wouldn't have written this monstrosity of an article. no one else comes close. two other very well paid guys with very similar postseason stats can't even compare. why not? because they didn't single handedly end the yankees' postseason chances, that's why. vlad guerrero and alfonso soriano play for the angels and cubs, respectively. therefore they're not chokers like choke-rod. only choke-rod is a postseason failure. no one else. i mean, let's be fair to soriano and vlad- they've both been under tremendous pressure to produce in the postseason. cut them a little bit of slack already! i think they've earned it. rodriguez? wah wah wah. cry me a river. i'll tell you what- i'll get in touch with you next april if and when i need a walk off grand slam. until then, just try to enjoy your piles and piles of money that you didn't earn. if only you had hit a HR in every at bat you had against the indians, as you're being paid to do, new york would be moving on to the ALCS. instead you decided to blow it because you're lazy and useless and horrible. and for that you should be shot. enjoy the canadian baseball league, fake-rod, because no MLB owner in his right is going to sign you when you opt out of your yankee contract! good riddance.

(note to anyone who might be new to this blog: i'm being sarcastic, miller's article is actually really good. go read it.)

If Anyone Knows Anything About Playoff Success, It' Reggie Jackson

You sure can't tag this article "anecdotal bullshit", because this is Reggie F'in Jackson talking. I realize that the baseball world is inundated with A-Rod and Yankees crap lately, but this article from the NY Post seems particularly egregious to me. So here goes:

"Meet the New Mr. October: Reggie Believes A-Rod Will Keep On Rollin"

"Rollin"?

October 3, 2007 -- The man who spit in the face of October pressure believes Alex Rodriguez won't be smothered by it for the third straight postseason.

“I think he will do super well," Reggie Jackson said yesterday ...

"SUPER" well, Reggie? Is that really what you meant to say? "I think he willl do SUPER well!"? Up until now, I thought Reggie Jackson was pretty manly; now I think he's a bit effeminate.

“Look at the year he had. You can't have a better year than he had. Who was the last guy to roll into the postseason with the kind of year he had this year?"

Albert Pujols, last year.

Jackson knows what makes Rodriguez tick;

Which is? A watch battery? Lime jello? Strippers? Boos? His Collector's Edition DVD of Mallrats?

Oh. You're not going to tell me. Darn.

understands that despite the MVP season, there are people waiting to empty their lungs with boos for the one guy who the spotlight will be on from beginning to end.
“They booed him from the start this year," said Jackson, who will be with the Yankees for today's workout at Jacobs Field.

Yawn.

Loudly booed when he dropped a foul pop in the first inning on Opening Day, Rodriguez turned the boos to a summer full of cheers, and chants of “MVP, MVP" and finished with 54 homers, 156 RBIs and a .314 average. Now, that success is something Jackson believes Rodriguez is going to lean on.

“He got off to a great start and never stopped," Jackson said. “And it wasn't all smooth. He couldn't have gone through anything tougher than what happened to him in Toronto and the family situation. It wasn't like he got a free pass."

Hyperbolic crap. He could've gone through something much worse. In fact, word has it that A-Rod and his wife are expecting another child. It could've been much tougher; he could've been hit by a bus. Except most bus drivers are better at driving buses than baseball writers are at writing about baseball.

Is Rodriguez's regular season enough for him to bounce back from an 0-for-4 effort in a Game 1 defeat?

This is quite the non sequitur Is he referring to the past or speculating about the future? The Yankees haven't even started playing their series yet!

Remember in 2005, Rodriguez was coming off a year in which he would be voted the MVP and soiled the bed in the ALDS against the Angels when he batted .133 (2-for-15) and set the record for the most inhales and exhales at the plate. The deeper the breath, the worse the at-bat.

I am good at remembering this because writers like you have mentioned it in every article this season.

Rodriguez promised in March this year was going to be different, and it was. Instead of his life being an open book,

huh?

what he said was measured and rarely in depth. Now, on the verge of his fourth - and possibly last - postseason as a Yankee, Rodriguez is poised to wash away the stench of 2005 and 2006 (1-for-14; .071 against the Tigers).

“I am focused on 2007," Rodriguez said following a brief workout at Yankee Stadium. “It's a whole new year. I am taking one pitch at a time."

I feel like sports stars have to give cliched bites to writers because that's all the feeble-brained writers can handle. I think it'd be funnier if A-Rod announced, "Fuck it. It's a whole new year. I am taking it TWO pitches at a time, and when I hit TWO home runs at a time maybe you goddamn writers will stop writing about those thirty goddamn at bats!"

Since Indians starter C.C. Sabathia is murder on lefties - they hit .203 (41-for-202) against him - a larger responsibility falls on Derek Jeter and Rodriguez, who are a combined 19-for-39 (.487) against the lefty they haven't seen since Sept. 1, 2004.

Poorly written. Sentence is too long; separate last clause into independent sentence. I will now stop picking on grammar.

And you know who will get the blame if Jeter and Rodriguez don't hit Sabathia and the Yankees lose, right? It won't be Jeter.

Which is a damn shame, because it seems to me that in your previous sentence, you said that Jeter and Rodriguez share the responsibility. It's too bad you asshole writers are willing to assign Jeter a share of the responsibility, but you know goddamn well that you won't assign Jeter a share of the blame.

“When you come to New York you get invited to the dance every year," Rodriguez said. “You keep getting chances."

Wow. This is competes with the opening quote for "Most Effeminate Thing Said By Current or Former Yankee Superstar". I wonder if A-Rod was sad about not getting invited to dances every year when he was in high school. Or maybe when he played in Texas.

With the right to opt out of the final three years of his contract, this could be Rodriguez's final chance to win a World Series in pinstripes. It's a chance Jackson believes Rodriguez will finally cash in on.

“He has got to be digging himself," Jackson said. “If that was me, I would be digging myself once a day. The year he had was unbelievable."

Digging himself? I don't think I even know what that means. Speak English, Reggie, or at least spit your candy bar out when you're talking.

Now we will see how it ends. Will it be a springboard or an albatross? The guy who had put Mr. in front of October is betting on the former.

YOU BE THE JUDGE!

If you think A-Rod is cool, turn to page 81, then buy this poster and send it to George King.

If you think A-Rod sucks, go back to page 1 and realize that this is what real baseball fans want to do to you.

It's Been Pointed Out Too Many Times Before...But

......when I've been waiting so long for Celizic to write again, and he's not even that wrong for most of the article, it's disappointing. So I have to point out the one majorly dumb thing he's said. It's a story we've all heard before.

I was all for trading A-Rod before the season began. My reasoning was that he was never going to thrive in New York, and the Yankees could get a lot of pitching for him.

Before the season began, Alex Rodriguez had played 3 seasons for your beloved Yankees, Mikey. Any idea what his collective WARP3 was for those years?

Forgive me for asking a question about a sabermetric stat to someone who can't even grasp OPS, but it was 30.3. Alex Rodriguez has been, by himself, worth approximately ten wins to the Yankees every full year there. 9 A-Rods and replacement level pitching would win the Yankees 110-115 games per year. That's not THRIVING? Didn't he win some sort of award in 2005 for being the thriviningest player to thrive in the thriving American League?

Mike Celizic: casual Yankee fan that got a job somehow.