Abreu's an awful RF

I just happened upon this ESPN "Insider" article that was last updated 1/12/09, so it's got a few days of stubble on it, but I wanted to bring out some things which were surprising. First, it goes to show just how statistically awful Abreu was last year in RF. Second, I happened to have a pretty strong posting about the game the author references, though I unfortunately did not discuss Abreu's miscue.

About those defensive stats:

Among right fielders who qualified for the batting title last season, Abreu was worst in the American League with a UZR of -25.2. Yes, you read that correctly. UZR says Abreu was more than 25 runs worse than your average right fielder, and the Rockies Brad Hawpe (-37.2, oof) was the only right fielder in the majors below him.
[...]
But 2008 was not an anomaly. Abreu's UZR in 2007 was -4.2, and it was -15.6 the year before that. In fact, he hasn't had an above-average UZR since 2002. And it isn't just UZR that says Abreu is clueless in right. The Hardball Times' Revised Zone Rating measures the percentage of balls hit into a player's zone that are converted into outs, and Bobby Abreu (.872) was 12th out of 15 qualified right fielders by that metric in 2008.

Some of my comments, back on May 2, 2008, following another Yanks loss are both prophetic and amusing:

I woke up still feeling that way, but, I can't help but wonder if we're watching the onset of a slow motion train wreck. The chart below summarizes my confidence in the team making the playoffs as well as it tracks the Yanks chances of winning last night's game [see: FanGraphs chart]
[...]
But how is this team going to make the playoffs? The short answer is, unless Pettitte, Moose and Wang are going to win 3 out of every 5 games, at least, from here on out, we're not. Joba riding in to "save" the team as a starter is an unfair burden.
[...]
So now what? It's May 2nd. Let's not throw our future out in the garbage by trashing them. They are just young kids, Hughes being the youngest starter in the Majors. Give them a chance. Take a deep breath. And if this year passes and we're home in October, so be it. Next year, the albatross contracts are gone. We become a leaner organization with fiscal flexibility to make the strategic signing (hear me, CC? You too, Teix!). And hopefully, we become younger and more fun.

Except that we DID get CC and Teix and their new albatross contracts replace the expiring ones. But we'll be younger and more fun.

Under no circumstances...

If I were Lord Theo, I'd get Papi on the phone and make it more than clear: Under no circumstances will we permit you to play in the WBC coming off your lingering wrist injury.

"I have been swinging some and my injured wrist has not bothered me since last year," he told The Associated Press by e-mail on Thursday. "Just as I promised, if I'm healthy, I will join the team."

Ortiz was on the disabled list twice last season with a partially torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Doctors had told him to rest over the offseason.

This guy is way to important to your team to have him put himself at continued risk by playing in the WBC.

As a Yanks fan, I'd say: Go for it, Papi!

Signing Youk a good move

The latest in a string of good moves (that conveniently excludes Julio Lugo and Bartolo Colon and Eric Gagne), the Sox signed Kevin Youkilis to a multi-year extension, avoiding arbitration.

Multiple baseball sources confirmed today that the Red Sox and first baseman Kevin Youkilis reached agreement on a four-year, $41 million contract extension through 2012, a deal that also includes a $13 million club option for 2013 that could bring the deal to $53 million over five seasons.

This is a win-win for both sides. The genius of Theo is often overstated, but that's a fair deal for a solid corner player in the prime of his career.


**Thanks to the guys at FackYouk for the picture!

Follow-up on Romero

Worth noting: The laboratory that produced the nutritional supplement that the left-hander claimed was tainted and caused him to falsely test positive has been raided by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Ergopharm’s lab, located in Champ, Ill., and owned by chemist Patrick Arnold who was part of the BALCO steroids scandal, was raided by the DEA on Thursday, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be identified. Ergopharm produces 6-OXO, which Romero said he purchased at a General Nutrition Center in Cherry Hill, N.J. Romero also said he believed 6-OXO was not banned by MLB.

Romero tested positive twice last season, on Aug. 26 and Sept. 19.

An oxymoron: A quick, smart move by MLB

Whaddya know, a swift, logical, amicable move by MLB today:

All postseason games will be played to their conclusion under a change to the major league rules approved Thursday by baseball owners.

Owners also voted to use head-to-head records to replace coin flips when determining home-field advantage for tiebreaker games in division and wild-card races.

Good move, Bud.

More dumb kneejerk reactions

Crying for parity is a joke. It just is. Hate the Yanks for overpaying for their inability to develop their own cheap talent all you want, but to cry for salary cap --with NO mention of a salary floor-- is ridiculous. It's also so anti-Labor that only in the context of MLB would outsiders/fans want this to happen.

And just for the record, there is MORE parity RIGHT NOW in baseball than their is in the other salary cap laden sports like football or basketball.

The Yankees' offseason spending spree has sparked renewed talk of a cap, an issue owners haven't brought up in negotiations since the disastrous 1994-95 strike that wiped out the World Series for the first time in 90 years. But not all owners are critical of the Yankees' acquisition of pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and infielder Mark Teixeira.

"I have no problem with what they've done," Kenney said. "They've done it within the rules, within the confines of our agreement.

"And if you look at the reality there, they've got a $1.3 billion stadium coming online," [Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney] said. "They were probably relying on Wall Street to fill a lot of those seats. And they missed the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. So their reaction is probably similar to what I would do, which is, you've got to put a compelling product on the field when you open the doors of that new ballpark, and that's what they did."

Number of times the Yanks have won the World Series the last 7 years: Zero.
Number of times the Yanks have been TO the WS in the last 7 years: One.
Number of teams in MLB who haven't made the WS in the last 30 years: Four.
Number of NFL teams who haven't made the SuperBowl in the last 30 years: Eleven.
Since 1984, only seven different teams have won the NBA Championship (Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Spurs, Heat).

In MLB, 2o of 3o teams have made the playoffs since 2003.

From Joe Pos:
20 teams have won a World Series in the last 30 years.
Only 14 teams have won the Super Bowl over the last 30 years.
Only 14 different men have won Wimbledon over the last 30 years.
Only 13 teams have won the Stanley Cup over the last 30 years.
Only nine teams have won an NBA title over the last 30 years.

You set a salary floor at (arbitrarily) $70 million and you will have teams going bankrupt. And there ain't no ceiling without no floor. So set a salary cap/ceiling at some number $125-$150 million, but put a floor out there, too. Then we can all hate owners for raking all the money into their pockets and out of the players' pockets.

Teams with payrolls below $70m in 2008 (payroll rank, team, payroll, average):

• 20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596
• 21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088
• 22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883
• 23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383
• 24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311
• 25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212
• 26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207
• 27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665
• 28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112
• 29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687
• 30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

Hmmmm, the AL Champs are #29. The Twins are consistently competitive. As are the A's. The Marlins are re-emerging. The D'backs have a good squad. The Rockies were the NL Champs in 2007. Where will these teams pick up the revenues to boost their payrolls to meet the salary floor? Won't be from a luxury tax since that would be eliminated with salary cap. The idea that the largest revenue clubs (Yanks, Boston, Mets, Angels, Cubs) will simply hand over all that cash that they generate to help Florida add $50m in payroll is flat out preposterous.

And don't forget this doozy of a "parity" fact: The top THREE payroll teams MISSED THE 2008 PLAYOFFS!!!!

• 1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567
• 2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840
• 3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

I'm just too Pro-Labor to want to make old billionaires richer instead of giving the money the guys who are putting the product on the field. And that's what a cap will do.

I need an Exedrin right now. Ridiculously cold temperatures, snow and a crappy drive into work. And whiny owners asking for a salary cap in the name of "parity".

Other "MLB Parity" articles/blogs worth reading:

• MLB Has a Split Personality When it Comes to Parity
• Think MLB is without parity? Just look at these amazing stats ...
• I Hate Parity
• Parity the name of the game in 2008
• The Myth Of MLB Parity From a Market Perspective, 2000-2008
• Enough talk about parity, please
• Has MLB Reached Parity?

4BR in DMB, concierge, marble w/vus galore!

Subpoenaed Yanks President Randy Levine has enlisted uber real estate firm Pru Douglas Elliman to help sell the highest priced seats and luxury boxes in the new Stadium.

Levine said that hiring Prudential Douglas Elliman was not an indication of a slow sales pace on high-end seats at the $1.3 billion stadium. Seven luxury suites remained to be sold, out of 59, and about 1,000 of 4,000 premium seats were available.

No, of course it's not, Randy. Ummm, except that in the following paragraph or two, the president of PDE had this to say:

“Just like everything else, in different economic times, they probably wouldn’t have needed our help,” Sroka said. He added, “We believe we can add value to what they’re doing.” His firm is receiving a consulting fee from the Yankees.

Let them play pay!

So the Canadian tax authority (the CRA) is coming down hard on Little League Baseball Canada and it's charitable tax status**. Turns out those donations to LLBC are no longer considered deductible under Canadian law, meaning the costs of the league will have to be passed along to the families of the players rather than being mitigated by donations. Booooooooooo!

“The funds received through these tax shelter donation programs were extremely valuable for us, as it allowed us to keep costs borne by the children and their families to the absolute minimum,” said [LLBC president Roy] Bergerman.

Little League Baseball Canada has only two full-time employees, according to its web site, and serves more than 40,000 Canadian youngsters playing baseball and softball.

**Thanks to foreign baseball desk chief Ron Rollins for this one. If you have any interest in baseball outside the US, I recommend a visit to Ron's site. He does a wonderful job showing us how the game is developing and thriving around the world.

Randy Levine subpoenaed

It was inevitable. This had to happen. And I am not the least bit surprised.

I have mentioned many times how I feel about and view Yanks President Randy Levine. His back-and-forths between being a NYC government insider and a MLB insider have had me wondering for some time how his fingerprints must be all over the new Stadium (mostly the ugly, business side of it).

And now Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat from Westchester County, has his committee issuing a subpoena for Levine (as well as city Industrial Development Agency Chairman Seth Pinsky).

Brodsky said the subpoenas compel the officials to appear for questioning at a hearing Wednesday, and to provide documents the committee wants for its investigation into whether public money should be used for the new stadium in
the Bronx.
[...]
Both teams have given long lists of reasons why they want more public bonds, including construction delays, government requirements such as security and fireproofing, and design changes such as enhanced scoreboards and bigger food service areas.

The Yankees are asking for another $259 million in tax-exempt bonds and $111 million in taxable bonds, on top of $940 million in tax-exempt bonds and $25 million in taxable bonds already granted for the $1.3 billion Bronx stadium.
[...]
Last week, the Bloomberg administration said it would forgo luxury boxes, valued at as much as $850,000 for the new Yankee Stadium and up to $500,000 at the new Mets ballpark, following months of criticism about its handling of the projects.

I had this to say about good old Randy just last week:

I'm on record here saying that I don't trust Randy Levine OR any of the dealings with NYC. Levine is an ex-NYC government insider [Before joining the Yankees, Levine served as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Planning and Administration. He also served as New York City’s Labor Commissioner. Prior to joining the mayor's office, he served as the chief labor negotiator for Major League Baseball and negotiated the 1996 MLB labor agreement]. We've seen some of the ugly details come out over the last year about some of the back-office deals and wink-wink, nod-nod agreements. I think Levine is the force behind all of this.

We like to joke about the Yanks being the Evil Empire. That might be true, but I don't think the guy behind the black mask and cap is a Steinbrenner; I think it's Levine. The Steinbrenners might push to control the on-field decisions, but it's Levine who is manning the helm with some of these other, more sketchy, dealings.

And from early December:

In a particularly brief but scathing exchange that doesn't look good for Yanks President Randy Levine:

The Economic Development Corporation's Seth Pinsky wrote to Doctoroff that Yankees President Levine "said he would give his word" (Click to see e-mails) that if parking spaces hurt the city's rent arrangement, the Yankees would "work with us to figure out how to fix the problem."

In minutes, Doctoroff responded, "Let's not give. I don't trust [Levine]."

We, the fans, know we're being screwed in this whole ballpark thing. We know, deep down, that there's blatant corruption going on behind the scenes (mostly). But when it becomes public, that's when we can bark and yell "SEE!?!?" Except the only thing we, the fans, can do in protest is not go to the Stadium. Which will never happen. So there's little deterrent for the politicians and Yankee execs to treat us, the fans, properly.

So go enjoy the new Stadium, pay thru the nose to sit there and behold the holy temple of awesome.

It just sucks knowing you're being screwed while they smile at you, patting you on the back with one hand, emptying your wallet with the other. I think we'd rather be blissfully unaware of the corruption than knowing what's gone (or is going) on.

A Tour of New Yankee Stadium

A blog called Diamond Hoggers has a bunch of new pictures of the New Yankee Stadium. The comments below each ooze homerism, so be forewarned. The kind of dribble that gives Yanks fans their sparkling reputation.

That being said, the place looks nice. The upper and mezz levels are still too "bowl-ish" for me; they were closer to the field/steeper in the old Stadium. It's easy to hate on this Stadium due to the financing snafu's, the opulence, the swagger, the seating prices, etc.... but strip that all away and it looks really good.

Quick shots on the HOF

Now that the nation's long nightmare appears to be over with Jim Rice being elected, we can look at those still on the ballot and a peek at those coming. I'm not a major HOF ranting guy --I just find ranting about who gets into a museum out of my scope-- so I will defer to those who do a far better job than I ever could.

On XM #175 this morning, they were discussing the four-some of Rice, Dave Parker, Dale Murphy and Andre Dawson. Joel Sherman (granted a NY-based writer) believes that Rice was the 4th best overall player of this group. Very interesting. He left Tim Raines out since the other four were power OF, not lead-off guys. I think Rock deserves a closer look and a boatload more votes than he got yesterday. Rice getting into the HOF because your peers refered to you as "the most feared" hitter of his day doesn't do it for me. Sorry. This has nothing --I repeat: NOTHING-- to do with his career-long team. But what makes Rice that much "better" than his peers?

I get it that Kirby Puckett carried his team to two WS titles and Mattingly only got to the playoffs once, and that might be the reason why Kirby's in and Donnie's out. Both had their careers cut short due to injury/disease. And I'm not clamoring for Donnie to get it, but I understand why he's not there.

A couple of things from Joe Posnanski:

Greg Maddux. That’s my next choice for unanimous. I simply cannot imagine how ANYONE will be able to vote against Greg Maddux. He has the core accomplishments — 355 wins, four Cy Young awards, 3,371 strikeouts, a terrific (for his time) 3.16 ERA. He has the intangibles — everyone loves what Maddux represented on the mound, and he seems utterly unblemished by scandal (with Maddux there never even seemed a motive for him to use steroids). His Hall of Fame call is five years away, but I’m already making the prediction: Greg Maddux will finish with the highest percentage in baseball history. And he has a shot at unanimous — I say he gets within five votes of unanimous.
[...]
[Robbie] Alomar is a 10-time Gold Glove second baseman with a .300 lifetime batting average — he scored a monstrous 193.5 on the Hall of Fame Monitor (100 is a likely Hall of Famer). I’m not saying these are the numbers that make him Hall of Fame worthy — you know how about I feel about Gold Gloves and batting average. Alomar has all sorts of great statistics. No, what I’m saying is … there’s no way a 10-time Gold Glove second baseman who hit .300 for his career is not a slam-dunk Hall of Famer.
[...]
So, let me kickoff the new “Project Shutout” by putting it this way:

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Bob Gibson. He has more shutouts than Juan Marichal. He has more shutouts than Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson — a lot more than either of them. He has more shutouts than Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Fergie Jenkins or Robin Roberts. He, of course, has more shutouts than Koufax, who had his career shortened, and he has more shutouts than Phil Niekro who pitched forever. He has more shutouts than Three Finger Brown, more than Five Finger And Some Sandpaper Don Sutton, more than Early Wynn, who threw at batter’s fingers.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Lefty Grove, Lefty Gomez, Lefty Hoerst, Lefty Tyler, lefty Hopper, Lefty Williams, Lefty Stewart and any other pitcher named Lefty including Steve Carlton, who was nicknamed Lefty.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Bob Lemon and Jack Morris combined.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina combined.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Whitey Ford and Don Gullett combined.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Bob Feller PLUS Roy Halladay.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Tom Glavine PLUS John Smoltz and you could throw Babe Ruth’s 18 shutouts on top of that and still not get there.

Bert Blyleven has more shutouts than Curt Schilling PLUS Pedro Martinez PLUS Johnny Sain PLUS Two Days of Rain PLUS Roy Oswalt.

Bert Blyleven had more shutouts in 1973 than Johan Santana has in his career.

Let’s put it this way: Since 1920 — the beginning of the lively ball era — Bert Blyleven ranks fourth in shutouts. Only Warren Spahn, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver have thrown more shutouts. Spahn has three more. Ryan and Seaver each have one more. They are all in the Hall of Fame, first-ballot, never a doubt. I’m just not sure what we are waiting for.

Don’t make me do this same exercise with strikeouts. Because I will.

Yawn, more merchandising

Pete Abe has the new patch the Yanks will be sporting in honor of their new stadium, a tribute to excess, graft and political skid-greasing. Says Petey:

Yankees.com has a few shirts with the logo available already. It’s a nice patch and if you look closely you can see a team official asking the city of New York for more money.

And Pete also rightfully mocks the Mets' feeble attempt at a patch:

You have to love the Mets, the only team that would design a patch for their new stadium that doesn’t mention the stadium or show any images of it.

Zing!

UPDATE: The SportsHernia has some awesome "other Mets logo ideas" that are worth laughing over. Trust me. Such as:

UPDATE #2 from SportsHernia.com, a real picture of the 2009 Mets jersey with the subtle, inconspicuous inaugural patch:

In, In, Not In

I didn't expect it, not sure he deserves it, but man-oh-man, I sure wish he was in:

In honor of Rickey

So Rickey's in. In honor of it all, here are some of the ESPN writers "favorite Rickey moment", including one from Steve Phillips:

During that 1999 season, we unfortunately fired some coaches in June. The day after the firings, a writer approached Henderson and asked him what he thought about Tom Robson (the fired hitting coach). Henderson's response was, "Who is that?" The writer explained it was the hitting coach, and Henderson said, "Oh, was that his name?"

Better yet, Jim Caple debunks one of the greater Rickey stories:

Olerud, of course, always wore a helmet on the field because of a past brain aneurysm, and according to the story, Henderson supposedly went up to him and said, "You know, there was a guy on my last team who wore a helmet all the time, too." And Olerud supposedly replied, "Yeah, that was me." It's a great story, except it never happened. It was started as a joke by a Mets clubhouse employee and just spread from there. Repeat: It never happened. But the beauty of the story, as Olerud said when I asked him about it, is that it sure sounded like something Henderson would say.

Chass on loyalty

Former newspaper fixture Murray Chass has a blog entry on loyalty in the Majors, particularly surrounding the Smoltz/RedSox/Braves affair and leads off with this Tom Glavine quote:

“When you get in a situation in negotiations when a player who’s been there a long time winds up leaving, it’s the player who is greedy and not loyal,” said Tom Glavine, who based his observations on 22 years in the major leagues. “But when the player wants to stay and the club doesn’t keep him it’s a business decision. You can’t have it both ways. Either it’s loyalty or not. You can’t blame a player when he makes a business decision and not say the same thing about the team.”

I like that. Might not be totally true in this case (the Braves DID offer a contract, but it wasn't as rich as what the Sox offered), however.

Teams DO have to make special exceptions for the special players. But a team is not required to give any long term employ their final contract. If the Braves felt that Smoltz's 2009 season was not worth the financial risk (during a period of great economic uncertainty), they should not over-extend to keep him. Should they go higher than they otherwise would if that player wasn't "John Smoltz, Hall of Famer and All-Around Good Guy and Atlanta Fixture"? Probably, if for no other reason but to appease the fanbase.

But steering this back at Andy Pettitte. He's a Yankee with a wonderful legacy, or at least mostly wonderful (last Spring's revelations not withstanding). However, he's already left the organization once for three years in Houston. It's not like he's spent his entire career in pinstripes. If that $10m offer is to unseemly, he's welcome to go anywhere else. Remember, it was Andy who made it clear that it wouldn't be about the money this year, that he only wanted to finish his career on the Yanks and pitch in the new ballpark. But that's apparently not the case any longer, as his agents have wrested control of his fate.

And then there will be the mother of all loyalty battles, with the clouds forming in the distant horizon: what to do with Jeter when his deal expires. Will the Yanks pay him for in-the-prime production when he's no longer in his prime? Will they be too intimidated to bump him out of SS? Will Jeter force the issue by coming forward with a suggestion/willingness to change positions (to where, I have no idea any longer)? Will Jeter hold onto the idea that he's a shortstop and only a shortstop? Will the Yanks look to replace Jeter with a gloveman first/offensive threat second? How will this turn out, besides ugly?

Minor league pitching prospects update

Some good nibbles on the minor league names who have been growing, rehabbing, prehabbing down on the Yanks farm:

Andrew Brackman:

"His velocity was between 94-97 [mph], so he had no problems and he's ready to go for Major League camp," said Mark Newman, the Yankees' senior vice president of baseball operations. "His stuff is outstanding, and he's getting a feel for his delivery and throwing strikes. But first and foremost, he was healthy and, at times, dominant."

The delivery and mechanics are definitely the biggest challenge for Brackman, and not just because he has had so little mound time. For a pitcher of his size, there are both benefits and challenges.
[...]
"To watch him run, he looks like he's 6-foot-2," Newman said of the young man who offsets that explosive heat with a knuckle curve and a developing changeup.

So while it's impossible at this point to make a prediction on Brackman's ETA to the big leagues, it's equally impossible not to dream about his upside.

Humberto Sanchez:

Acquired in the '06 trade for Gary Sheffield, Sanchez underwent his [Tommy John] surgery in April '07, and after a second operation to remove calcified bone spurs in his elbow, he began his comeback in the Gulf Coast League with two-thirds of an inning of work June 24.

"I feel pretty good, but honestly, I forgot what 100 percent feels like," he joked from Arizona, where he was enjoying a few hours off watching his beloved New York Giants. "I feel as good as I can going into Spring Training, and being out here has helped a lot. Along with the conditioning and fitness work, we've also been doing what we call 'prehab' to try to prevent injuries."

Mark Melancon:

But whether he starts the spring in New York or in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Melancon is probably the Yankees' most promising heir to the throne of Mariano Rivera, both thanks to his stuff and his mound makeup.

His '08 campaign proved that stuff -- a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s, a power curve and a newly added changeup -- are all present and accounted for. All he needs now are more reps.

Now, if the Yanks only had an emerging SS talent who might be ready in two years...

CNBC's interview with Randy Levine

Canadian Information Minister Pete Toms was kind enough to zip me the link to an interview that CNBC's Darren Rovell conducted with Yankees President Randy Levine. Of note:

Darren: A lot of talk as well about the tax-exempt bonds that the Yankees and Mets have asked for. The Yankees, in total, asking for more than $1 billion worth of bonds. You used to work in the Mayor's office. How does this make sense to the taxpayer?

Levine: We'll, I'd like to make this very clear. The way this stadium is being constructed and financed, every single penny, every single penny, is going to be paid for by the New York Yankees. There are no taxpayer funds that are being used to fund this stadium, which is different from 99.9 percent of stadiums all over the world. No taxpayer money will be used to fund this stadium. The Yankees are funding the entire bill of the construction and, unlike today, the maintenance and operation of the stadium. The Yankees are on the hook, there's no liability for the city or any governmental agency. So this is a $1.3 billion investment in the poorest congressional district in the country. It's the largest investment in the Bronx and, in these hard times, this has generated over 6,000 construction jobs by moving us across the street from the old Yankee Stadium to the new Yankee Stadium, we're going to create approximately 1,000 new jobs. So this is a good thing.

This explanation isn't exactly black-and-white, I believe. The team is using their status to avoid paying taxes to the City. So while he might be 100% correct in that "No taxpayer money will be used to fund this stadium", the City isn't collecting tax revenues where it should have been. I'm not a bond guy, so I welcome a more experienced voice out there to email me and either correct me or add some details.

I'm on record here saying that I don't trust Randy Levine OR any of the dealings with NYC. Levine is an ex-NYC government insider [Before joining the Yankees, Levine served as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Planning and Administration. He also served as New York City’s Labor Commissioner. Prior to joining the mayor's office, he served as the chief labor negotiator for Major League Baseball and negotiated the 1996 MLB labor agreement]. We've seen some of the ugly details come out over the last year about some of the back-office deals and wink-wink, nod-nod agreements. I think Levine is the force behind all of this.

We like to joke about the Yanks being the Evil Empire. That might be true, but I don't think the guy behind the black mask and cap is a Steinbrenner; I think it's Levine. The Steinbrenners might push to control the on-field decisions, but it's Levine who is manning the helm with some of these other, more sketchy, dealings. Not to delve into a political debate, but here is my analogy, in SAT format:

Steinbrenners : Bush#43 :: Levine : Dick Cheney

UPDATE (1/9/09, 12:05pm): Got this email from friend-of-the-blog Zoolander:

The tax issue is mostly about the interest income paid to bondholders, not the Yankees. If you buy a tax-exempt bond, a/k/a a municipal bond, you do not have to pay income tax on the interest income you get from the bonds. NYC would issue these bonds to pay for roads, sewers etc. The IRS grants tax-exempt status to projects which are "public" in nature. If you buy a taxable bond, a/k/a a corporate bond, you report your interest income from the bond on your tax return. Corporations would issue these bonds to pay for new factories etc. The new Stadium is a hybrid project. The Stadium is public in nature but you have a private company financing it. In this case, the city is extending its non taxable borrower status to the Yankees via the NYC Industrial Development Agency. The IRS signed off on it. The Yankees benefit via a lower interest rate they pay on tax exempt bonds vs. what they would pay on taxable bonds. The city benefits by having the Yankees pay back the interest and principal on the debt and they will collect a ton of sales and income taxes. The cost to the City and State is they can not collect income tax on the interest paid to the bondholders.

Did you really want Rickey to be the first anyways?

I've tried to stay out of the "bashing Corky Simpson" fray for leaving Rickey Henderson off his HOF vote. No one's going to be unanimous anyways, so why get all wrapped up in a retired BBWAA voter now writing for a retirement village who made a mistake in his ballot?

Corky Simpson, a retired Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen columnist, told the Bay Area News Group Thursday that unlike the bold stand he took in the 1992 AP college football poll, he "simply goofed'' leaving Henderson off his Hall of Fame ballot and wishes he had a chance to do it all over again.

"Rickey deserves to be in the Hall of Fame and if I had my ballot back, he'd have a shot at unanimity -- and I wouldn't be hated by quite so many people,'' Simpson said.

I honestly feel bad for the guy. Everyone goes bonkers for the HOF voting processes and sometimes I get animated about it, too, but in this case, I don't care as much. Rickey's getting in no matter what. And if asked, I'm happy that Rickey won't be the first unanimously selection to the HOF anyways. If Cal and Gwynn, Babe and Christie, Joe D and Mickey, Ted and Stan, and Jackie and Sandy can't be unanimous, why should Rickey stand above them all?

All that said, shouldn't the BBWAA have term limits or expire once a writer retires? Seems like Corky's BBWAA card should have either expired or been revoked. Once a writer hits 70, maybe he should have to take a test to maintain his standing. Sorta like how I feel about drivers, especially old men in hats.

Screw sentimentality

First, Smoltz leaves his cozy Atlanta home for Boston after 20 years of incredible service. Then all-time saves leader and 9th inning Hells Bells fixture Trevor Hoffman is leaving the gorgeous SoCal area for the greener confines of Milwaukee. What a momentous day in baseball history with two HOF'ers changing uniforms after incredible careers spent in one uniform (after the minor league trades that landed them in their locales).

And Angry Andy's feelings are hurt.

Clearly, sentimentality is just sooooo 2007. 2009 is shaping up to be quite cold and heartless. Wonderful.

Pettitte's sounding petty

Andy's sounding a bit too emotional these days. Frankly, it's pathetic. He's trying to use his legacy to justify getting more money than he deserves and thinks his 2008 season wasn't as bad as the Yanks are making it out to be. Andy, you sound like McCain saying the economy's solid when really it's cratering.

The 36-year-old's grievances with the Yankees feature, most prominently, these three sentiments, according to people familiar with his thinking:

1. Pettitte believes that the Yankees should display more appreciation for all that he has done for them.

2. While the Yankees are asking that Pettitte take a pay cut, the team clearly is not hurting financially, given its large investments in Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.

3. Pettitte thinks that his 2008 season wasn't as bad as the Yankees are making it out to be.

Let's review his "issues", shall we? I'll keep it brief:

On wanting more appreciation:
The Yanks have paid Andy $77,654,000 over his 12 seasons. That doesn't count as being appreciative? The Yanks signed him to his contracts and he fulfilled his side to the best of his ability. That's all either side owes each other. We'll shower him with love and affection on Old Timer's Day, but spare me the "they aren't showing me the love" crap, Andy, will ya?

On not hurting financially:
Correct, the Yanks are printing cash and also fleecing the taxpayers. Quite the double-dip. But, those other investments are for the future of the Yanks and even the Yanks have a year-to-year budget. They are also probably keenly aware of their 2008 payroll and doing whatever it takes to be even a dollar lower, so they can maintain their "we have a lower payroll than last year" argument, no matter how hollow it is. Just because they have the cash doesn't me you get to claim it as rightfully yours.

On 2008 not being as bad as the Yanks are making it look:
Andy, you were 14-14 last year with a 4.54 ERA and a 98 ERA+ (that's slightly below league average). You had an ugly 1.412 WHIP. Your second half was particularly bad, with a 5.35 ERA over 13 starts. Essentially, you are now a league average pitcher and league average pitchers do not earn $10m or more per year. Especially those with sketchy elbow histories.


Andy's story is not dissimilar to the way Bernie was phased out. It's what the Yanks need to do, acting with the mind more than the heart. {Of course, the biggest test will come after 2010 when Jeter's deal is done. All bets off.}

Andy, please stop the whining. Either take the offer or don't. Just stop grousing in public about it. Telling the public that $10m isn't showing you the love enough has no audience these days. No one wants to hear it.