Hank on Hank

"I just want to win. That's all I give a crap about, is winning. And that's all I want my players to care about. I'm like my dad in that respect, I guess. But I'm more patient than he was. That's for sure."
- Hank Steinbrenner, July 10, 2008

Well, we'll see, won't we? Hard to read it without coming away thinking this guy has a singluar focus but a warped sense of entitlement. It IS good for all of MLB when the Yanks are doing well, from a financial point of view, but sometimes Hank, it's better to leave that unsaid. It just comes across as a condescending bully.

Anyways, here's some of the lyrical stylings of Hank...


Hank on the Torre "situation":

"Despite what people think, or were misled to believe, I wasn't real sure about making a change," he says. "There was one point early in the season where I considered extending Torre's contract because there was so much speculation in the press.

"In the end," Steinbrenner says, "it was time for change."

Hank on the Rays and their fans:

"There's a lot of excitement around here from the Rays fans, but almost to a point of arrogance," he says. "They better be careful. They'll learn this (expletive) can change real quick."

The Yankees have been subsidizing the Rays and other teams with their revenue-sharing and luxury-tax payments, Steinbrenner says, so they should be thanking the Yankees.

"People in baseball know it, whether they want to admit it or not," Steinbrenner says. "It helps everyone when the Yankees are good. The Red Sox, whether they're good or not, doesn't necessarily matter, nationally. … Let's face it: The Yankees are baseball history. You're talking about 26 championships."

Hank on TNYS:

"It's beautiful," Hank says. "It actually looks more like the old Yankee Stadium from the outside, and has a more classic feel, than the present one. You've got to remember, we renovated Yankee Stadium in '74 and '75. So like Yogi (Berra) says, it really isn't there anymore, anyways."

Hank on The Boss:

"I'm not my father"

Hank on his legacy:

"I'm not worried about developing a legacy"

Quit yer whining

With a big thanks to Shysterball for the tipoff, I just felt I had to post something about Posada. Seems he's a tad bit upset about not starting the last few games. I can summarize my thoughts this easily:

BOO HOO. Get over it. Think about the team first, please.

Now, I am a Posada fan but I detest this sorta "I am defined by my position/place in the batting order" stuff. Jorge, you have had a bum shoulder all year. You were on the DL for it. Other teams drool when they see you back there as they know they can steal almost at will.

Jose Molina can't hit a damn, but he sure can gun down runners.

Posada, 36, has struggled to throw out runners since he returned from the shoulder injury that kept him out of action from April 28-June 3, catching just one of 17 base stealers. Molina, meanwhile, has been the best in the majors, throwing out 24 of 50 runners.

Hurmmm, 1-17 (5.9%) versus 24-50 (48.0%). With Damon and Matsui on the DL and not requiring the DH slot for themselves, this is a perfectly acceptable decision by Girardi and I think Posada's looking foolish for arguing about it.

Let's keep the focus on the team, please. Jorge, you are still in the lineup, a very valuable piece of this team. But if your shoulder isn't up to snuff right now, let someone else handle it. It will probably keep your legs fresher than usual, too.

"I like to catch. Okay?" Posada said. "I'm in the lineup and I'm happy that I'm in the lineup, but I like to catch. I'm a catcher. I'm not a first baseman and I'm not a DH. I like to catch, so I'm looking forward to catching (today)."

The thing is, at some point, we're going to have this issue with Jeter, too. And that's gonna be a whole lotta ugly. But we can table that for another day.

This is Gerrit Cole

For those of you with an insatiable appetite for all things prospects/draft-related, here is some great dish from the talented Alex Eisenberg at The Hardball Times. For those less tuned in to the draft, Cole was the first round pick of the Yanks at #28 overall. He slid thiat low due to both "signability concerns" as well as "makeup concerns" and "mechanics". I'll skip most of that stuff and just point out a few things that Alex noted:

My initial thought on Cole was this: If Justin Smoak was the draft's best pick, Cole was a very close second. Cole profiles as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, and to get a player of that sort with the 28th pick in the draft is a coup for the Yankees.

Stuff

Cole has the best raw stuff of any pitcher in this draft.

Fastball - He has two fastballs: a four-seamer, which comes in between 95-97 with plenty of movement, and a two-seamer, which he throws between 91-93 and which has a great deal of sink to generate a lot of ground balls. Both profile as plus pitches, though I like the four-seamer a little more because of its better velocity and movement.

Curveball - This pitch comes in on a similar plane as his two-seam fastball, only about 17 mph slower. The pitch looks faster than the radar gun would indicate, and it has a late-breaking action, though the break isn't as big as that of other power curves.

Change-up - This pitch has good fading action, and once again it is difficult to discern from a fastball (this time, his two-seamer).

Quickly about his mechanics:

So we have a pitcher with tremendous stuff but some questionable mechanics. How much should he change mechanically, if at all? That's up to the New York player development team and Cole himself. Every pitcher has a wind-up that works for him. You must also look at the reputation of the organization in terms of the success they've had in changing a pitcher's mechanics. With Joba, the Yankees did quite well; with Phil Hughes, not so much.

The title of the Hughes article at the link is "If It Ain't Broke." The same concept applies to Cole: Why fix something that ain't broke? The answer is, They shouldn't. For now, the focus should be on simply letting Cole pitch. If needed, tweak his mechanics to make his current mechanics more efficient (such as shortening his arm action just a little bit, which I think would help solve a couple other problems as well). But let him pitch.

Munson auction

My affection for all things Thurman borders on the silly. I was just a young kid, about same age as my older son is now, when Thurman died. I remember where I was (Wildwood Crest, NJ). Yet, I remain a tremendous fan to this day. Which is why somehow it pains me to see that his wife is auctioning off his stuff, even though the cause (his grandchildren) is completely worthwhile.

I got a Thurman replica bat from Bat Day (I think the year he died). Not a little twig like they give away now; but a real bat. It's in my office at home, barely a scratch as I never used it as a kid. We used my brother's Mickey Rivers' model until the knob damn near wore off, though. I also have a beaten up Thurman Munson model catcher's mit in my office, too. The gold stencil of his name is still barely visible, but that's good enough for me. And if you see me wear a jersey to a game, it will be my #15 away jersey more often than not. Every time I wear it to the Stadium, people come over just to quietly say that they "love that jersey". It's a silent classic that affects anyone old enough to know how much Thurman meant to that team. Real fans get it. And no, there is no name on it.

I joked yesterday about buying stuff from the Stadium, but I'd prefer to buy something from Thurman's auction. He embodies my fandom as much as anything or anyone. I don't know if I will be able to even bid, much less afford anything, but I'll certainly be interested.

Here is the link to some of the stuff to be auctioned.

I want that glove.

We're NY, we deserve it, dammit

I can't stress enough how much I think Hank Hal is off-base here (in bold).

"This is New York, and the fans deserve a team with marquee players," Steinbrenner said. "Where we want to end up is a tremendous mix of young talent
and veterans. And the veterans, the free agents, they cost money. And we realize that. We are going to have a lot of money come off the payroll, and that's going to give us some options. But believe me, we're going to use a good portion of it to get this city the team it deserves."

What really bugs me, REALLY BUGS ME, is how he uses the word DESERVES, like we're somehow more deserving than any other city. Again, I'd bet most Yanks fans don't hold this belief. We want to win every year but in no way do the level-headed fans think we're more deserving than others.

I know he's simply pandering to the fans, but NY doesn't deserve a team of marquee players. Heck, I bet most fans recognize that you need exactly what he says in his second sentence: a blend of youth and veterans. That doesn't mean an all-star in every position.

I caught some (largely justifiable) grief by bashing Sawx fans since they had a lunkhead represent their Nation by attacking a guy in a car with NY plates on it. That lunkhead no more represents the collective thoughts/beliefs/values of the RSN than does Hank Hal for the Yanks fan base. Again, we all want to win all the time. But no one has a right to claim that they "deserve" to win merely due to geography.

That's akin to someone saying the USA deserves to pay less for gas because, well, we're the USA.


UPDATE: I realized that this was the mild-mannered Hal uttering those Hank-isms. My apologies for the gaff.

Bummer: Voice of God still silenced

Unfortunately Bob Sheppard, the Voice of God, is not yet feeling up to announcing. I was hoping he'd make it to the ASG on Tuesday.

"I am not going to be physically able to perform my duties during the All-Star activities," Sheppard told The Star-Ledger from his home in Baldwin, N.Y. "I notified the Yankees that my back-up, Jim Hall - H-A-L-L - will be filling in for me."

Hope he's doing better and will be well enough to welcome the Yanks to the new Stadium next year.

Sheppard, who Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson once described as "the Voice of God," is a living link to the stadium's past. His first game behind the microphone was April 16, 1951 - which also was the first game for a young outfielder named Mickey Mantle.

My wish list

I've got a great spot in my house that is begging for a Babe Ruth monument. Or a few chairs from the Stadium to watch the game from. I wouldn't mind a piece of the façade, either, for those of you pondering a gift for me.

1. The Babe Ruth Monument. Price Range: $250,000 - $2,000,000
2. The bronzed Lou Gehrig bat atop the flag pole in center field. (Legend has it that Gehrig's wife gave it to the stadium after he passed) Price Range: $150,00 - $300,000
3. The "I'd like to thank the good lord for making me a Yankee" Joe DiMaggio sign in the clubhouse. Price Range: $5,000 - $25,000
4. Home plate. Price Range: $10,000 - $20,000
5. The "Lead, Follow, or get out of the way!" sign that sits up on Steinbrenner's desk. Price Range: $3,000 - $20,000
6. The Eddie Layton Hammond organ. Price Range: $5,000 - $15,000
7. The scale used in the locker room to weigh Yankees as far back as the 50's. Price Range: $2,000 - $10,000
8. A stadium seat. Price Range: $300 - $2,500
9. A piece of that famous white façade. Price Range: $100 - $ 2,000
10. Dirt from the field. Price Range: $200 - $500
    

Remember when: Heaven Help Marge Schott

One of the best things SI.com did was open their vast history to us online, via their Vault section. I got totally sucked into sifting through the old baseball articles. I'll share a few over the next few days or weeks, depending if you guys like 'em or not. Just let me know.


This one about Marge Schott, back in 1996, was just awesome in its depth and insider view of one of the most hated, loathed, misunderstood, and feared owners in MLB history. It's a very long read (9 pages using their "print this" button) but it's fascinating. I could give a hundred samples but here are a mere few:

Marge sees [Chris] Sabo. "Hi, honey."
"Hi, Mrs. Schott."
"Tell Schottzie you're going to win for her tonight."
Sabo looks around uncomfortably, then mutters at the ground, "Uh, we're going to win for you tonight...Schottzie."
.....
In the sixth inning Schott moves down to her box seats behind the Reds' dugout to chain-sign autographs, hardly looking up except after loud cracks of the bat. She hates it when the bats break, but she does not lose money on them. She has an employee take them to the gift shop at a downtown Cincinnati hotel and sell them. (To show their undying love for her, some Cincinnati players smash their cracked bats into two pieces so they're in no condition to be sold.)
......
Marge Vision is set on the 1950s, and she sees it clear as a bell. She often feels like speaking out for what she believes, and it hasn't hurt her much. While Al Campanis , Jimmy the Greek and Ben Wright lost their jobs for saying one fiftieth of what Schott
has said, she got only a one-year suspension from baseball in 1993 for making racial and ethnic slurs. A sensitivity-training course was thrown in for good measure. The course didn't really take. Sending Schott to sensitivity training is like sending a pickpocket to a Rolex convention.
......
At the start of the [1996] season the Reds weren't providing fans with scores from other games on the Riverfront scoreboard. "Why do they care about one game when they're watching another?" argued Schott , who had stopped paying her bill for the service (it costs $350 a month) during last season.

Following the sixth home game, after being raked over the coals by the media for her stinginess, she reversed her scoreboard decision and blamed it on her employees, saying in front of a roomful of reporters, "I've got to have the worst public relations staff in America!" Now those employees have to track the scores by calling to other ballparks and listening to the radio.
......
Even though Cincinnati won the 1990 World Series and was the NL Central champion last year, anybody in baseball will tell you privately that the Reds are leaking oil three lanes wide. They routinely lose their best scouts to better-paying clubs. Attendance is down for the second straight year. In the playoffs last year there were more than 12,000 unsold seats for one game at Riverfront and more than 8,000 for another. For some reason, aside from Bowden , who is considered one of the best young executives in the game, top-notch baseball minds aren't inclined to come to work in an office chilled to 55 [degrees] for substantially less than what other teams are paying, bringing their own tissues to the office and wondering who else is listening to their phone messages.

Signs that it's a slow news day

After the fawning over Jeter and Pettitte from last night, it got slow around the Post's news room:

YANKEES radio announcer John Sterling is being called out for foul behavior in the stadium's press dining room. "Sterling has made a habit of walking over to the dessert table and dipping his finger into the ice cream barrel," one stadium worker told us, adding that the play-by-play vet has also used the same tablespoon to repeatedly take samples. During the Boston series, "He wandered over to the cake and pie section, broke off a piece of a cake slice, ate it and wiped his grimy hands on the linen tablecloth, leaving the remainder of the slice for someone else to eat - which indeed happened," our spy continued. A rep for WCBS Radio declined to comment, and a team spokesman said the Yankees "know nothing about it."

Gross, but does it really need to be a separate story? Who interviews dining room help anyways?

...And starting for the AL All Stars...

It might not be the Voice of God making the opening call (it will likely be Jim Hall, his long time understudy and virtual sound-alike), but there seems to be some groundswell to have the Yanks closer, Mo Rivera, start the All Star Game on Tuesday night as a tribute to his success.

I first thought it was a hairbrained idea --maybe it still is-- but I am warming to it. I didn't discuss it yesterday when I first heard about it, but after giving it some time to marinate, I think it would be great.

Unorthodox? You betchya, but with Tito Francona selecting 6 relief pitchers, who cares about convention. Of course, it'd have to be Tito's "call" to honor a Yankee in Yankee Stadium. It would be a magnanamous move. I like Klapish's take:

...the real way to commemorate Yankee Stadium in what could be its final marquee event is to let Rivera start the game: Allow him to bask in the thunderous standing ovation, and let him know what it feels like to have a million flashbulbs go off in his face upon delivery of that first cut fastball.

Unconventional? It's almost surreal. But Rivera himself says, "I'm sure the fans would love it. They'd go crazy."

The theory behind this heresy goes like this: The 2008 All-Star Game isn't your typical Midsummer Classic. The very reason it's being staged in the Bronx is to bid an official farewell to Yankee Stadium, which is being replaced by a new structure in 2009.

I say: DO IT! I'm all for the wild, crazy, great moments in sports. Let's see it happen!

Will they ever learn?

I guess I am not surprised the Cubs traded for Rich Harden. He can be as dominant as any pitcher today. He is also among the most fragile.

Given the Cubs very recent history with Mark Prior, though, I was surprised that they were willing to take this sort of risk. How many heartaches did that team suffer through with Prior, waiting for him to be healthy enough to recapture the brilliance he showed in 2003? Every year, every Spring, the mantra was "if healthy, the Cubs rotation..." but since 2003, there's been nothing to show for it. Heck, there's nothing to show for the Cubs for 100 years, so what's a little bit of injury history, I guess.

Amazingly, Kerry Wood has been healthy this year, finally. Prior remains out all year.

I hope Harden remains healthy and as effective as he's been thus far. He's amazing to watch. But if Vegas posts odds, I'll take the under.

UPDATE: I just found Jayson Stark's article, toeing a similar line:

But the bigger news was over in a different column on Harden's stat sheet -- the all-important Games Started column.

That's because he has made it through 11 starts in a row over the past two months without missing a single turn. And that, unfortunately, has been a phenomenon no one has seen much. Kind of like Comet Kohoutek.

It was the first time Harden had made that many starts in succession since 2005. And it's that injury history that already is making those ever-edgy North Siders nervous, after way too many injury-rehab updates on their previous saviors, Mark
Prior and Kerry Wood, the past few years.

In fact, one baseball man called Oakland's decision to trade Harden now -- while he's pitching great and the A's are still in a race -- a "serious red flag." Meanwhile, in a potentially related development, a scout we surveyed reported that Harden's velocity hasn't been quite the same in his most recent couple of starts, since his eight-inning, 11-strikeout two-hitter against the Phillies on June 26.

Consider yourselves warned, Cubbies fans.

But the Cubs understood that, too. Understood exactly what they were dealing for in Harden. He might miss a turn or two. Or 10. But at this point in the life of their quasi-tragic franchise, they weren't interested in playing it safe. Not anymore.

OK, Sawx fans: Defend THIS

See, I can't get more than 15 minutes past complimenting the Sox organization before I stumble upon this:

Police said Robert Correia of Falmouth and several others attacked a driver with a baseball bat Friday night after spotting New York license plates on the man's vehicle and believing he was a Yankees fan.

The victim, whose name was not released yesterday, was stuck in traffic with children in his car as he left the Falmouth fireworks at 153 Worcester Court.

Correia and others approached the vehicle at about 10 p.m., police said. According to police, members of the group accused the driver of supporting the New York baseball team and proceeded to attack him and vandalize his car.

The victim was transported to Falmouth Hospital with injuries that were not considered life threatening, police said.

He sustained injuries to his head and his body, police said.

Nice work, Sox Nation. Beat a guy with his kids in the car. Good job. You should be proud.

SOSH, I know this is not representative of the 'Nation, but boy oh boy, this doesn't help the image, does it? And yes, I know there are equally lunkheaded Yanks fans, but this is today's news. When our crap-for-brains guys do something similarly pathetic and dangerous, I'll call them out in the same way!

How to handle high-ceiling pitching prospects

Yesterday, I enjoyed a laugh at the expense of the zealous Sawx fans. Today, I give major props to the Sox front office for their smart handling of their high-ceiling pitching talent. Namely, Clay Buchholz. The same kid who tossed a no-hitter in his 2nd start ever, last season.

On May 15th this season, Buchholz was put on the DL for what was called a "cracked fingernail". He was sent to AAA once his DL stint expired.

Now, Buchholz was only mediocre in his brief 2008 before the DL, going just 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA and 1.63 WHIP. He finished an abbreviated 2007 with a 3-1 record but a sparkling 1.54 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. Even more importantly, the Sox held this phenom OFF their post-season roster to manage his innings.

He pitched 125.1 IP in the minors last year, with an additional 22.2 IP in the majors. that's 148 IP. Going by the current rule of thumb, teams don't want to increase the workload over 30 innings over their previous high water marks. This year, he pitched 38.2 IP in the minors and 42.1 IP in the majors. With half the season yet to go, Buchholz is now fresh and ready to pitch another 100 IP with the big club and should be fresh for the post-season.

Rob Neyer noted this:

Buchholz is simply too good for the minors. In nine starts with Pawtucket, he's 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 17 walks in 44 innings. As a major leaguer -- yes, including that no-hitter last season -- he's 5-4 with a 4.15 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 30 walks in 65 innings.

Tom Verducci had this to say about Clay BEFORE the year started:

Keep in mind what the Boston Red Sox did with Clay Buchholz last year. The kid, who turned 23 in August, threw a no-hitter in his second big league start. As the Red Sox scrambled down the stretch to fortify their bullpen (Eric Gagne, anybody?), Buchholz looked like a perfect option in front of Jonathan Papelbon. But the Red Sox resisted pushing Buchholz and shut him down in September and the postseason. His innings increase in 2007? They shut him down right at +29, just under the YAE [Year After Effect] threshold.

Also from Verducci, who looks awfully precient these days, are his top 7 "at risk" players, identified in February 2008 and their current results:

• Ian Kennedy, Yankees, 23 (+61 IP): 7.41 ERA, 8 starts, 0-3 record, injured/ineffective
• Fausto Carmona, Indians, 23 (+56.1): 3.10 ERA but a 1.59 WHIP, 10 starts, 23:38 K:BB ratio, injured
• Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies, 24 (+41 2/3): 4.21 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 86:57 K:BB ratio, 4-8 record
• Tom Gorzelanny, Pirates, 25 (+40 1/3): 6.57 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 6-7 record
• Dustin McGowan, Blue Jays, 25 (+38 2/3) : 4.36 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 6-7 record
• Chad Gaudin, Athletics, 24 (+36): 3.59 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, removed from rotation after May 3rd start
• Yovani Gallardo, Brewers, 21 (+33): 1.80 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, was scintillating until torn ACL (had knee surgery in off-season)

So I can kid and have fun with my Sox buddies up North, but at the same time, we must respect and admire their management's ability to keep the big picture in perspective. Something that I don't think Hank does so well.


UPDATE: McGowan on the DL with a tear in his rotator cuff. 7/10/08

Mawk da Sawx

All in fun, my Boston friends:

All-Star game mess

I don't care about the snubs or those selected who have no business being there. I don't get overly upset or happy. The reason is pretty simple: the All-Star game selections are a joke. It's not solely the managers' faults; it's the silly rules that continue to operate in obvious conflict that make it impossible to select a team of the best players.

I noted this not that long ago, saying, in essence:

If I were Commish for a day, I'd do the following about the All Star Game (note the OR between the 2nd and 3rd points):

• Eliminate the World Series home field advantage gimmick. PERIOD. Let the overall records decide who EARNED the home field advantage.


• Eliminate mandatory representation by every club. It was one thing when there just twenty-something teams, but with 32, too many inferior players are being named at the expense of more qualified players. OR:


• Expand the roster sizes to accomodate the expansion in the number of teams. If you do this, you can keep mandatory representation. Open the rosters to 35 and eliminate the handwringing.

ESPN's Keith Law has a great take on the game, the snub and the selection of SIX relief pitchers to the AL team. Thanks to ESPN for making it a free preview of what's usually Insider-only content. What I really enjoyed seeing:

This reliever fetish is getting completely out of control.

The American League has six relievers among the 12 pitchers on its staff, which seems to imply that a top-quality reliever is as valuable as a top-quality starter, when nothing could be further from the truth. With relievers typically throwing 70-80 innings -- often fewer for capital-C closers who are sequestered in a ninth-inning role and only called upon when Jerome Holtzman approves -- it is almost impossible for a reliever to equal the value of a top-10, 200-inning starter.

(H/T to Shysterball)

As if Ponson wasn't bad enough

I'll continue to yell to anyone within earshot: Sidney Ponson has no business being on the Yanks, much less any major league team. But that's not as bad as this: Yanks to check out Victor Zambrano.

Zambrano, who went 10-14 over three seasons with the Mets, pitched for Toronto and Baltimore last season, but hasn't pitched in the majors this year. After being designated for assignment by Colorado at the end of spring training, Zambrano went 0-6 with a 9.45 ERA for the Rockies' Triple-A club.

Please tell me this is a joke, but if it isn't, we might as well wave the white flag and trade off any FA-to-be for any help we can get.

The mouth that roared

A bit of a rant, ramble and brain-dump here. It's been a very busy week and I haven't been able to post as often as I'd normally like. My apologies. I'll be working to get more interviews since the response was so positive. Glad you liked 'em.

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Here's the problem: There's been an 'effect' to every Hank 'cause'. He dissed Moose. Moose has been very good since then. He barked the other day that the Yanks offense needs to wake up. How's 18 runs sound, Hank?

If you started making random predictions or proclaimations and they all came true, wouldn't you feel emboldened to make more? That's what I am fearing. I fear that Hank feels too smart right now, when I actually think he's just lucky.

What I fear is that he starts having organizational meetings and begins to act like the GM and manager AND ownership. He's just crazy enough to scuttle all of Cashman's building efforts to overpay for 3 months of Sabathia, only to have him bolt after the season.

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It's OK if the Yanks miss the playoffs. Not preferred, obviously, but the world won't end. The Sox missed the playoffs in 2005 and won it again in 2007. The playoffs are not a birthright, though many of my fellow fans seem to think so. We're spoiled. But if the team is doing the right things to ensure the longer term health of the club, we should remain calm about this season. It's when the club starts dumping it's youth for aging stars or FA's-to-be who don't have any intention of re-signing with the team that would begin to really worry me. Right now, I am strangely calm about the rest of the 2008 season.

Big kudos to the Rays. We all knew it was coming, just not THIS year. Maybe next year, but to see this in 2008 surprised me. And, they are not going away. They have a great farm system and lots of talent on the way. So long as they don't get hamstrung by players in their arbitration years.... but they can get around it by signing the Longoria-like deals for their special players.

The Sox are still a team ticketed to the playoffs, but if I were them, I would be very concerned about the offense minus-Papi. Anytime I see wrist or back injuries with sluggers, I get worried. They have an incredible farm system that could be used to heal some wounds if they chose, though it seems they have zero interest in tapping into that well. They could get Sabathia, Holliday, Teixiera and/or Harden if they wanted. Would take about 4 minutes, max. They have been super smart with their handling of Buchholz, who seems to be readying for a return to the big club, possibly as early as Saturday in NY. Beckett & Dice-K remain upper echelon starters, though those two can be very up-and-down during the regular season. Post-season, they have that extra gear. Yeah, they are a damn good team.

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Johnny Damon might be the most valuable player the Yanks have. No, he's not the best offensive player, but the team is just a different team when he's leading off and getting on base. When he's out, hurt, struggling, the team follows. When he's on, the offense just hums.

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Sidney Ponson has no place on ANY team with playoff aspirations. I would also say that Ponson has no place on ANY MLB team who, you know, wants to win a game? I would like to see him sent packing in 5...4...3...

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Melky Cabrera is only a 4th outfielder. If any team (Cleveland, Oakland) is asking for Melky as part of any deal to get top starter, I'd send him in an instant. He's fun, energetic and a good defender. But we have more of those coming from the farm. His double-play the other night was just maddening. Maybe it was Girardi's fault for not asking him to bunt. You can always find a good fielding OF who can hit .250 with 12 HR a year. Not too hard to replace. I'd start Gardner out there right now. At least he has the speed to steal a few and make things happen on the bases.

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I'm not sure what to make of Giambi. He's been just great. Will he take another $5-8M on top of his $5M buyout to remain part of the team one more year? Does he even want to? Do the Yanks want him? Do I? Do you? Do you first wait to see if the team makes a strong move for Teixeira? Giambi's not as good as a DH.

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OK, A-Rod is separating from his wife. Yawn. Madonna. That body-building chick from Toronto. Who knows how many others? And his wife has been schtupping Lenny Kravitz (oh yeah, Madonna was with Kravitz years ago, too. Also, Kravitz, Madonna AND A-Rod share the same manager. Karma or cruel twist of fate?) His well-documented insecurities. His well-documented desire to be loved and adored by all. He's about to pass Mickey Mantle on the all-time HR list. Instead of doing all the "right things" off the field, he has chosen to head down another road. The Mick was able to do what he did because the media wasn't everywhere like it is now and even if they knew, they didn't want to damage his reputation. Today's media is unrelentless. There were no camera phones, no Internet, no TMZ.com. You know this. Yet, he still got caught with a beefy shemale-looking bodybuilder-type in Toronto and with a similarly married, man-arms-boasting Madonna. He has two, beautiful young daughters. I can't grasp this. Alex, how do you hold them in your arms and look into their innocent faces? You want to leave your wife? Fine. But there's a right way to handle things and I can't understand how you routinely chose the wrong way.

So how long until Cynthia's tell-all book comes out? The infidelities, the insecurities, the rumors of PED usage by Canseco. I feel ill.

/end rant

/enjoy long weekend

Much ado about nothing

It's an exhibition, friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

Would it be nice if A-Rod wanted to compete in the HR Derby during the All-Star break? Yeah. But the fact that he doesn't is totally fine with me. He wants to stay focused on the real task at hand: helping lift the team to the playoffs, which seems a real stretch at this point. He doesn't want to mess with his swing.

"I try to stay away from that," Rodriguez said, according to the New York Daily News. "My responsibility is to the New York Yankees. I need my swing to be at its best."

Remember who won the Derby last year (try it without cheating*)? Remember how badly the Derby affected Abreu and David Wright. Each suffered the 2nd half of the year after participating. Besides, if there's a player on the Yanks with a HR Derby-tailored swing, it's Giambi, not ARod. Let Giambi see if he can hack a few into the short porch. What, like he can screw up that swing? It's ugly but it's perfect for a HR Derby, since that's how he swings normally!

ARod's going to be the starting 3B in the actual game, a quasi-exhibition. We can celebrate him then, during the game. The Yanks need him at his sharpest if he is going to hoist them on his back and lead them back into the fray.

Besides, he can spend the night with Madonna. Ewwww. Man arms and old-lady claws. Canseco. Rodman. gaaak!

*(Answer: Vlad Guerrero)

Kids say the darnedest things

A quick story from last night...

I'm watching the Rangers/Yanks game last night with my boys, ages 8 and 5. They pan in closely to the back of Jarrod Saltalamacchia's jersey. I said "Look how his name wraps around the top of the jersey. He's got the longest name in the game with 14 letters" just before Michael Kay does the same thing. Naturally, the boys looked at me like I am some wizard. (I love that!)

A minute or so goes by and my older son turns to me and says "what about Doug Mientkiewicz*? Or Mark Grudzielanek*?" Smart ass. I spelled 'em both wrong to him, naturally, though I was close. Who knew he even knew who these guys were? He's eight! If he pulled out John Van Benschoten, I would have passed out.

*Yes, I had to check the spelling to make sure I had it right here.

Programming note

My apologies for the lack of postings the last day and a half. I'm in the midst of a very busy time at work. I will have some free time tonite so I'll be back at it. Thanks for coming by and the kind words about the Rasner interview. I'll try to get some other interviews over the coming weeks.