Don't Even Think About It!!

I can't believe the picture that I have chosen for today's post. Do you know how many times it has been sent to me over the years? Well today I think that it is appropriate:

"Alex wants the Yankees to be a part of this, because the opt-out was not done with the intention of saying goodbye to the Yankees," said the source. "Alex wants to see what his market value is, but that doesn't mean he necessarily wants to leave the Yankees."

Let me start by again giving a hearty F-YOU to both A-Rod and Boras. What this sounds like is that some of the negotiations with the other clubs A-Rod hoped to bank rob aren't going as well as he and Boras had hoped. I'm guessing that they are starting to realize that they screwed themselves by opting out before they even gave Cashman the courtesy of a face to face meeting and there may be a real possibility that A-Rod will actually end up making less than he did last year as a result. Oh how I would love that!

So that begs the question should the Yankees consider renegotiating with Stray-Rod? HELL NO!! I was actually trying to formulate an argument as to why it might not be a bad idea...that was before I read this:

The question posed to Boras was why Rodriguez's regular-season numbers haven't translated to postseason success.

"That's a characterization that, when you look at the data, is frankly inaccurate," Boras said. "If you look at Alex's first season in New York, I believe he was 7-for-16 with two home runs and five RBIs going into Game 4 in Boston.

"The brilliant Mariano Rivera, probably the only flaw he's made in a historic career over the postseason*, if he got those three outs (in the ninth inning of Game 4), Alex would have been in the World Series and he would have been held to have a great postseason.

Hold the phone there BorASS, are you actually trying to go after Mariano as an excuse for A-Rod? You have got to be kidding me! As Julie pointed out in the comments a few days ago, here are Choke-Rod's post season stats for the last few years:

2007 - .267
2006 - .071
2005 - .133
2004 - .258

You can compare other players post season statistics if you want, but its not relevant, we are strictly talking about Choke-Rod's performance. So what happened in 2005 and 2006? Did Rivera steal A-Rod's Teddy Bear or something? My point is not only is he not worth the money, he isn't worth the bad vibes he brings to the team.

From everything that I have read lately I get the impression that MLB is anxious to make Boras look like an idiot, and the players union probably isn't going to go to the mattresses to protect a guy like A-Rod. Honestly, who does Boras think he is? Where does he get off calling Selig and recommending switching the format of the World Series to 9 games, two of which would be in neutral cities? He wants to make the World Series into the Superbowl and the Homerun Derby into some sort of circus side show where the players make extra money for participating. He is an agent, not an owner or even a player. He is bad for the game and a public lynching would be good for all of us.

* I hate to say this but apparently he forgot what happened in game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

Hey A-Rod Son't Let The Door Hit You On The Ass On The Way Out

hyp·o·crite –noun
1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

"This feels like home," Rodriguez said after the champagne celebration.
"So much has happened to me here - adversity, some success - that I feel
like anything but New York feels weird to me now. ... I love New York."
Alex Rodriguez on Sept. 26 following the team's wild card
clincher"

You're asking me what my sincere feeling is. I want to 100 percent stay in
New York. Period. That's it. I don't know how many ways I can say it."-- Alex
Rodriguez, on WFAN-AM's "Mike and the Mad Dog."

In short....go to hell A-Rod. This represents everything that is wrong with professional sports, ALL SPORTS, not just baseball. Professional athletes who are motivated by money more than loyalty to a team or winning championships. Excuse my words here but his douche-baggery is further enforced by the fact that he used Torre's departure and the uncertainty about Posada and Rivera's return as an excuse. Not to mention the fact that they waited until the Red Sox won the Series to announce it all. Is there any higher level of insult to the Yankees and their fans? Screw you A-Rod, I would be willing to bet that none of those guys would even say bless you if you sneezed. What's more is that A-Rod's decision is going to ruin whichever team decides to pick him up for years to come. As my friend Matt correctly pointed out this morning, 30 million dollars is not a smart investment for one player. Think of all the development a team throws away. Sure, you get a player who probably has a couple more MVP seasons left in him, and there is some potential to increase revenue, but A-Rod isn't a Michael Jordan, a Babe Ruth, or even a Barry Bonds for that matter. You can’t win a World Series with one premadonna player. There is going to be backlash from this, not just amongst the players but with the fans too. What’s more this type of contract sets a horrible precedent and furthers to separate the wealthy teams from the smaller market teams. To put it less eloquently and to quote from Goodfella's Boras and A-Rod are staring in the face of Major League Baseball and saying Fuck you, pay me. It makes me sick. If I were A-Rod I would tread VERY carefully every time he sets foot in New York from now on. In fact he may want to helicopter it into Yankee Stadium the next time he plays there because I promise you there will be a lot of people waiting in the parking lot for...but not for his autograph.

As for the series my predictions weren't even close for games three and four. The Red Sox simply dominated and beat the Rockies by the greatest differential in World Series history. Frankly the Rockies had no business being there in the first place. They were at best a .500 team who just got lucky, just like most of the rest of the National league. But hey, a trip to the show is more than the Yankees were able to manage this year, so for that my hats off to you Colorado.

Tomorrow I'll write something more about the end of the season and what it means to me. Hopefully I'll be talking about Girardi as the new manager, but in the meantime I have some frustration to vent.

Damn it A-Rod

A-Rod, oh A-Rod.....why do you have to play the game like a little league bully? Is it beacuse the ladies of the night you frequent frustrate you? Is it because you get heckled so often from the other players you feel the need to fight back? Or is it just because your parents didn't love you enough. Regardless, that is not the type of crap that is consistent with wearing the pinstripes. Playing for the Yankees is about pride, respect, and history. We don't want to win games by cheating. Yes, there have been instances in the past where fan interferance has made a difference, but that was a little kid, not the highest paid player in baseball history on the most storied franchice in all of sports. Maybe A-Rod needs a lesson in sportsmanship, but in my opinion its disrespectful to the game to pull the kind of crap that he pulled last night. The last thing we need right now is a bench clearing brawl with Toronto that will knock out a few more of our players just as June starts. So quit the crap and start playing the game by the rules.

Now, I am happy to report that despite A-Rod's on the field and off the filed antics we won, and the red sox lost. We still have a lot of ground to make up but since I don't want to feel the wrath of "the girl from Jersey who can't play pool" I will say that it isn't impossible. The Yankees made up a 14 game deficit in 1978 to come back and win it, so why don't we just do the same thing this year.

Rough, But Not Terrible Weekend for the Yankees

Well, we dropped three to the dreaded Red Sox (and I am now down $15.00 as a result) but there are still things to be encouraged about despite falling 4 games behind in the AL east.

Here is my list of things for Yankee fans (or haters) to consider:

Injuries: The Yankees are not at full strength right now, but they still managed to keep each of the games close. Keep in mind that Cashman has hired an entirely new staff of personal trainers who have totally changed the players workouts. This could explain many of the injury problems, but that is also something that can be worked through and rectified over time. Regardless I would much rather have these injury hiccups happen now as opposed to later in the season.

Dice-K: I am standing by my belief that he will not live up to the hype. He has been pitching well so far, but with the exception of Matzui, the Yankees have never seen a pitch from this guy before (nor has most of MLB). Once the heavy hitters on the Yankees and in the rest of the league start to figure him out I am positive his effectiveness will decrease.

Rivera: It seems like every time Rivera has a bad outing sports writers are anxious to claim he isn't the closer he used to be. While it is true that he is getting older, every pitcher goes through a cold streak, even the Sandman. Cut him some slack, he'll be on top of his game this season just like he is every year. But if he does need to take a break for a while you can be sure that Joe Torre will give him all the rest and rehab he needs.

Run Support: So far this season the Yankees have already scored 108 runs, and there is no sign that the bats will go quiet anytime soon. Once injuries play themselves out it is going to be tough for any team to put up the kind of runs that the Yankees are capable of.

A-Rod: In short....WOW! He clearly has got his mojo back and I'm hoping that this isn't an April fluke. He already has more RBI's than a few MLB clubs, and 12 home runs! The question is can he keep his confidence and not let a cold streak get to his head. I get the feeling though that the possibility of free agency next year has let him relax a little bit and as a result he has finally figured out how to play in New York.

It's way too early in the season for anyone to be able to predict with any accuracy what lies ahead, but the Yankees seem hungry this year, hungrier and also more team oriented than they have been in years. Keeping all these points in mind I am confident that come October my boys in pin stripes won't be packing it up early.

Yankees Won't Give A-Rod More Money

Alex Rodriguez has a choice at the end of this season, stay in New York, or leave fast enough so that the door doesn't hit his back side on the way out. Either way he is not getting any extra money from the Yankees.

"Alex has a significant contract. The most significant in baseball history," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday. "He has a decision to make. It's in his contract. It's a right he's earned."

I suppose he has earned that right to some extent. He did win an MVP, and for all of the frustration with him he is far from wasting as much time and money as Carl Pavano. But the guy just can not preform in clutch situations, and he is no doubt the most over paid and over rated player in all of MLB. I think Yankees GM Brian Cashman agrees with me, even though he could never really say that publicly.

"He's under contract; he can opt out of it if he wants," Cashman said in a telephone interview with The New York Times on Wednesday. "That's really his decision. It has nothing to do with us. There's nothing we can do about it. It's something he negotiated. If it becomes a distraction, it's because it's part of his deal. He controls that and no one else."

It's nice to see Cashman preemptively thwart any public whining for a raise on the part of Rodriguez. It shows that the Yankees have learned from their mistakes and are no longer going to throw money at players who look good on paper but weep when faced with a game winning situation. Of course this new attitude wouldn't be possible if the big boss wasn't getting too old to interfere with the day to day.

Frankly, short of a miraculous turn around I can't see A-Rod staying in New York after this season. I may be contradicting my previous post on the subject, but it is going to take more than a ring for fans to embrace A-Rod. It's going to take consistent performance, a better attitude, and a constant (and honest) show of support and respect for his teammates. So far spring training has been good for A-Rod, but it's a long season.

Side Note:
(Andy Pettitte has back spasms and may miss his next scheduled start. This should be a big cause of concern for us all. I'll monitor the situation and report on it in a post to come in the near future)

A-Rod Wants to Stay in New York

A-Rod has indicated that he would like to retire a Yankee, if the fans will have them.

"It's a do or die situation," he said on WFAN-AM's "Mike and the Mad Dog" show. "Either New York is going to kick me out of New York this year, say 'I've had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here,' and we have an option. Or New York is going to say, 'Hey, we won a world championship, you had a big year, you were a part of it and we want you back."

With that I give you my ode to our tepid third baseman:

Alex Rodriguez please do not cry
We all know that you’re a pretty good guy
It’s just when you act like sad little baby
It makes us think keeping you is only a maybe
The thing is Alex, when you under perform
It makes us think your are no better than the norm
And as long as we still pay you so much for your bat
You better make us proud that you wear our hat
So stop giving them reasons to send pictures of you with a purse
So stop making it obvious that your relationship with Jeter is terse
Throw out your tissues, and away with your issues
Help us get a ring, with your bat make some contact
Then at the end of the year we can discuss your new contract
But without a win this year you’ll become a vagrant
But such is the life of a lesser paid free agent