The Boras Factor May Point to Even Bigger Trouble on the Horizon

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."
-Babe Ruth

Players and agents take notice, in today's market there is a cap on what teams are willing to spend and/ or give up to acquire a single player. That hasn't always been the case, but given the disastrous effect of the Stienbrenner model of the early part of this decade and last months A-Rod debacle, it seems that general managers and owners are finally starting to see the forest for the trees. Even the teams that can afford to spend exorbitant amounts of money on top talent are becoming more and more hesitant to give up the farm and the keys to the safe. I say this because it seems that Santana is in danger of pricing himself out of the market. That's bad for him, but I'm afraid that it could be indicative of an even greater problem that may be once again looming the horizon for baseball, another round of disputes between the players union and the owners over market share.

For all of his greediness Boras made a good point, baseball revenues are at a historical high and are continuing to go up every year as the game experiences a renaissance in popularity. The players should see a part of that increased revenue. But how much is enough? On the one side the owners argument is true that while revenues are up as a whole, to own a baseball franchise is not a truly lucrative endeavor (albeit you have to be pretty rich to own one in the first place). Profit shares are relatively small and for those teams that are profitable there is the luxury tax issue to deal with. On the flip side the players make the game what it is. People don't go to the ballpark to see Hank Stienbrenner put up a power point presentation about market share and revenue versus the price of the Yen. What I fear from all of this is a whole new round of cat fights between the players union and the owners about who should get what percentage in the form of salaries. Any fan who remembers 1994 and the subsequent clashes between the two parties will tell you that baseball just can't sustain another strike, especially right after dealing with the steroids issue.

In a perfect world baseball would share a higher percentage of the revenues and give smaller market teams a bigger cut and better access to top prospects similar to football's model. In this imaginary Utopia MLB would also give players a percentage of the profit based on performance in exchange for......dare I say it....a salary cap. I'm no mathematician but it seems that a reasonable cap could be figured out by creating some sort of algorithm that keeps the market competitive for even the most cash strapped team. Unfortunately if the owners were even to realistically hint at a salary cap the players union would chase them down the streets with torches and pitchforks, but even more baseball is a business, not a socialist entity. So for the foreseeable nothing is going to change much and the teams with thin purses will be forced to trade off top talent for whatever they can get. Nothing proves that point more than yesterday's deal between the Marlins and the Tigers. It's really a shame, you would thing that MLB would realize that as teams other than the usual suspects make it deep into the post season, interest in the game and in turn revenues go up. Well, that's just my two cents anyway....in the meantime go Yankees go.

Hughes Thrown in the Pot For Santana

The Yankees have decided to offer up Phil Hughes for Santana. The deal would also include Melkey Cabrera and probably between 20 - 25 million dollars a year. If a decision doesn't come later today from the Twins the Yankees have threatened to pull the offer. As much as I would hate to see Phil Hughes go, aside from the boat load of cash that we would be paying for Santana it would be a pretty good deal for both sides. Santana is a two time Cy Young winner, and that was with the Twins. Imagine how lights out he could be if he had a solid defense and run support to help him out! Hughes has already had two injuries since he was called up earlier this year. I don't think that is indicative of his future, but his fastball never seemed to break the low 90s after he came back from the sprained ankle. Really though I am just trying to justify losing Hughes. I think that he is going to be an ace no matter where he plays. In fact he may shine even brighter for a smaller market team. It will be a shame to lose him, but if you have an opportunity to get the best pitcher in the game while he is still in his prime then you have to make some sacrifices. Santana is a known commodity, and while I think eventually Hughes will be a number 1 starter, he still has some things left to prove.

It seems as though we are seeing a lot of the same from the Stienbrenner sons in terms of spending. However they are not subscribing, or at least haven't yet subscribed, to the old Stienbrenner philosophy of selling the farm to acquire old veterans past their prime. The Santana deal is a must for the the organization, regardless of if Pettitte returns or not. Without Santana the rotation only has one sure fire ace, Wang. For all of the hype Kennedy is still unproven and it remains to be seen if Chamberlin can be as effective as a starter as he was as a set up man. Including Santana as the number 1 starter ensures that the rookies have some time to settle into their roles as a starting pitcher, while also taking some of the pressure off Wang. Should Pettitte return I wouldn't be surprised if the rotation looked like this:

Santana
Pettitte **
Wang
Kennedy
Mussina

With both Pettitte and Santana I think you keep Chamberlin right where he is until the inevitable collapse of Mussina. Although it may be difficult to switch from a set up role to a starter mid season if anyone can do it I think Chamberlin can.

Not to be conceded here, but if we do get Santana I would like to point out that I have been saying he would be in New York next year for months. But until I can officially pat myself on the back we will just have to wait and see.

**After posting I just found out that Pettitte will return next season. YES!!!

On Posada, Tejada, and Crede

Jorge Posada and the Yankees have agreed to a 4 year, 52.4 million dollar deal. That's a relief, it seemed as though for a while there Posada might actually be switching to the number 7 train to Queens next year. It's a good contract for Posada and he was smart to stick to his guns for the extra year and money. The Mets would have been a good fit for a year or two, but his career stats would have suffered in the National league assuming that the last year of his contract will most likely be a DH role.

Posada is one hole that needed plugging, now we need to finish up with resigning Rivera so we can work on figuring out who is going to play third. On the issue of third base, the other day I commented that I would take Tejada over Crede hands down. I think I spoke too soon. Let's compare the numbers over the past four seasons:

Miguel Tejada
2004 – OPS 131, RBI 150, HR 34
2005 – OPS 128, RBI 98, HR 26
2006 – OPS 126, RBI 100, HR 24
2007 – OPS 109, RBI 81, HR 18

Joe Crede
2004 – OPS 83, RBI 69, HR 21
2005 – OPS 96, RBI 62, HR 22
2006 – OPS, 107 RBI 94, HR 30
2007 – OPS, 49 RBI 22, HR 4


I put in the 2007 stats to round out the numbers, but considering Crede only played in 47 games versus 133 for Tejada you can't really count use 2007 as a good reference. Clearly Tejada is the better player, but its also pretty obvious that his numbers are significantly declining every year while Crede's are getting better. Over the course of each of their careers there is no question that Tejada will be the overall better player, but in terms of making a smart decision financially you have to take this flip flop into account. The Yankees could most likely steal Crede away at this point, not to mention the fact that he wont need time to readjust to the position. While Tejada is historically better, we would be paying a lot of money for someone who is quickly becoming nothing more than just an average player. So at this juncture I think Crede makes more sense than any of the other options available.

In case you haven't heard, Derek Jeter made some pretty telling comments to the press the other day with regards to Posada, Rivera, and Pettitte. He predicted that Posada would resign (which of course he now has), Mo would be back (I'm willing to bet that he will too), but that he wasn't sure about Pettitte. You have to think that Jeter is giving us an inside tip here. Based on that the best bet is to count out Pettitte for next year.

On a completely unrelated note, for my regular readers you are about to notice a drought in my posts. That is because I am going on vacation to the Virgin Islands for some much needed R&R starting tomorrow. I'll be back next Monday to catch up on everything that I've missed, but in the meantime have a good week everyone!

Could It Be Tejada?

This post is dedicated to Abbott, a fan of all Baltimore teams through thick and thin....but recently predominantly thin.

Miguel Tejada has resisted moving from short stop to third base in Baltimore, but considering how sick he is of playing for a glorified minor league team that attitude may be subject to change. The prospect of Tejada working the corner in New York may just be our best option. Tejada doesn't come without baggage though. The former AL MVP is starting to get older and it will take some time for him to adjust from short, especially after suffering a broken wrist last season (the first injury of his career). Not to mention the whole thing may be a moot point if Palmero's accusations of Tejada using steroids are true. On the other hand he still has power, and most likely will be able to produce another four seasons of .290 and above hitting. Add that to the fact that the Yankees wouldn't have to give up a whole lot to get him. In a two way race between Crede and Tejada I think you have to go with Miguel. I'd rather take Cabrera over either of them, but the Marlins want Kennedy, Hughes, or Chamberlin and that just isn't going to happen. Or at least it had better not.

Tejada's time with the Orioles is really a shame. In fact the Orioles as a whole are really a shame. Rewind to the early and mid 90's and the Orioles had just built a brand new and beautiful ball park with a team who was beating up the American League east like Mike Tyson in his early 20's. Cal Ripkin, who may be a future candidate for King of Maryland, broke the continuous game record. The stadium was always filled. Then Angelos decided to destroy the team. Baltimore fans would say that the Yankees hired Jeffrey Maier, but I wouldn't be surprised if Angelos had a hand in that too. After that season everything just came unglued. The O's kept losing, their best players were traded or sold away, and then Ripkin retired. Baltimore hasn't put up a winning season since. It's gotten so bad that Orioles fans openly revolted at Camden Yards. Angelos has sold off everything he could get his hands on, and made bad trades in the process (Sammy Sosa I'm looking in your direction). All of Baltimore, and anyone who likes baseball for that matter should grab their pitchforks and run Angelos out of town. Not only has he single handily de-feathered the Orioles, but also thanks to him Nationals fans hardly ever get to see live games on MASN.

Instant Replay and Arbitration

It has been brushed aside with all the hoopla surrounding A-Rod, Torre, and Steroids, but in case you haven't noticed baseball is considering implementing instant replay. I'm on the fence about this. On the one hand I think that it is about time, but only for instances involving home runs and foul balls. Anyone who watched the post season this year would agree that the calls were just awful. On the other hand what we don't need is managers asking for an instant replay everytime there is a questionable ball or strike. I love baseball, but frankly the game is long enough as it is. If they were to review every call a game would take longer than an 8 part TV miniseries about paint peeling. Plus instant replay takes away the human element to the game. There is something that just feels right about seeing a call, knowig the umpire got it wrong, and calling him an idiot for it. To put it plainly, Baseball isn't football. Although this quote is talking about batters, I think that it also applies to umpires and gets to the heart of why instant replay in baseball seems so sterile and industrial to me:

What is both surprising and delightful is that spectators are allowed, and even expected, to join in the vocal part of the game.... There is no reason why the field should not try to put the batsman off his stroke at the critical moment by neatly timed disparagements of his wife's fidelity and his mother's respectability. ~George Bernard Shaw

So fine, we'll test out the replay in situations that don't delay the game and don't call into question every single pitch. I reserve the right to change my mind on this after it is implemented.

In other news the Yankees are going to offer A-Rod arbitration. I love this! Sure there is a slight risk that A-Rod will come back for one year and make more money, but I don't think anyone in their right mind actually believes that will happen. It's a really smart move when you consider that the Yankees will be able to pick up a first-round draft pick and a sandwich pick. In fact that is how we aquired Chamberlin and Kennedy two years ago.

It's Official...and A Few Housekeeping Items

It's official, Joe Girardi is the new manager of the Yankees. Anyone who reads this page knows my feelings on this decision so I don't want to sound like a broken record. What I will say is that straight out of the gate I am impressed with this ambition. Hank Stienbrenner seemed to be giving him an out just in case he didn't make it happen next year by asking for patience. But Girardi, who is no stranger to New York, had this to say:

"I expect to be playing in the Fall Classic next October," Girardi said. "I think that's every one's expectation. You do everything you possibly can to get there and then you see where you are."

Your damn right Joe, I like your moxie!

As predicted Torre seems headed for LA. I think that this will be a huge test for him. For the last 6 years he has pretty much been on cruise control with the Yankees. His players were a well known commodity and he knew for the most part who he could count on and when. It will be interesting to see how he readjusts to the National League. In fact it will probably be a much bigger challenge for him than New York ever was.

Interestingly enough a friend of mine was cleaning out his old room in his parents house and found a treasure chest of old baseball and sports memorabilia which he sent to me and another friend. One of the items that he sent was Sport Magazine from July of 1984 which contains an article by Bill James ranking the baseball managers. One of the managers ranked happens to be none other than Joe Torre who was with The Braves at that point. The contents of the article don't go into too much detail on Torre, but the cover pretty much says it all "Torre, Not Brave Enough, Second Division." Let's hope that Joe can continue to prove him wrong 24 years later.

I would like to switch gears here and take a moment to respond to an anonymous comment from yesterday's post. Normally I wouldn't do this but since I am pretty sure that I know who the commenter is I thought I would formally respond. Here is what he wrote:

"It's hard to face facts but the Red Sox are now the new Yankees. I don't think the Yankees will win a world series for a long, long time with all of these changes and shake ups. And what the hell are they building a new fricking stadium for?!?!? You don't tear down the House that Ruth Built!!!!!! That's probably what is going on!!! Babe Ruth is mad and has reversed the curse!!!"

Wow, the irony of this comment is so thick you could almost cut it with a knife. So now the Sox fans are comparing themselves to the Yankees. It's like a little brother trying to one up his older brother, or Canada saying that it is the new United States. Should we expect to see t-shirts that say "Boston - the New New York?" What does this mean for the future of the Yankee Suck chant if in fact the Sox are the new Yankees? The fact of the matter is that while yes, the Sox are well positioned for the next couple of years it is too early to start throwing around the word dynasty. Let's not forget that the Sox failed to even make the post season last year and have yet to mirror the Yankees success of the late 90's with multiple World Series wins, and even more appearances. I'm not saying that it can't happen, I'm just saying that it hasn't happened yet. It's absurd to think that the Yankees are out of it already. I'm not going to go into too much detail on this because I wrote about it yesterday, but consider all of the young stars coming through the Yankees system right now. New York is well positioned for another few years based on those rookies alone. You bring up superstition. While I agree that I think that it is blasphemy to tear down Yankee Stadium, I think that you have to attribute the Yankees recent down turn with poor acquisitions and trades rather than the ire of the Ghost of Babe Ruth. Bad moves like Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, and Randy Johnson have much more to do with the drought than banshees.

Now a Few Housekeeping Items

I'm sure that by now my regular readers have noticed the countdown clock and the addition of a poll. I'll be trying to spice some things up in the off season to keep it interesting for you all. Any comments and suggestions (or criticisms) are welcome.

I would also like to say thank you to all my regulars. I've had 1,000 hits in just over a month which at least makes me feel as though I'm doing a better job of analyzing the game than I did when I started this. I even got a shout out on DCblogs...thanks guys!

Red Sox beat blah blah blah

Game 1 prediction - Sox 6 Rockies 2, actual score Red Sox 13 Rockies 1.

The game started off pretty much as I predicted. The sox struck early, the Rockies looked rusty, and frankly Jeff Francis looked terrified. It wasn't a fun game to watch. It was almost like watching your little brother get beat up by the high school bully but there is nothing you can do about it. Even the sports commentator on cnn headline news (I have a massive crush on Robin Meade) said he shut the game off after the fifth inning. It's too bad, but no one should really be surprised at all by this. Facing a team like Boston at Fenway against the best pitcher in the majors in your first World Series appearance ever isn't exactly a routine game. It's not over until the gravitationally challenged lady sings, but if the Rockies are going to have any hope at all they are going to need to figure out a way to put the ash to the leather. Unfortunately I expect more of the same tonight.

Since the World Series is painful to watch, but even more painful to write about I am going to switch gears.

Anyone who even thinks about baseball is chiming in on who they think is the best pick to be the Yankees new manager. I've already voiced my opinion on that, but what I haven't gone into a lot of detail about is why I think that Don Mattingly SHOULDN'T be the next manager. We all know the biggest argument, that he has never managed in the majors. But there are some other factors that should be considered as well. For example his performance or rather the Yankees performance under Mattingly as a hitting coach. Lets take a look at some numbers.

Before Mattingly:
2002 - Yankees average .275
2003 -Yankees average .271

With Mattingly:
2004 - Yankees average .268
2005 - Yankees average .276
2006 - Yankees average .285

And what about this year after leaving the batting cage for the bench coach position?
2007 - Yankees average .290

These numbers are inconclusive at best. Obviously the team has changed over the past five years but you have to notice that the average drops when he takes over and then rises when he is promoted. There is a consistent climb throughout his tenure, but keep in mind that in those three years the Yankees had a massive drought of big post season hits. I'm going out on a limb here to an extent, but since he has no stats to back up his application for manager we have to look at what we have.

There is another factor at play here, his legacy. I don't need to tell anyone that Don Mattingly was the saving grace of the Yankees throughout the 80's and the first half of the 90's. From the mid 80's until Jeter's ascension he was the only player to even come close to deserving the title of captain (no offense to Paul O'Niel, but he was a bit of a cry baby). So what happens when he takes the reins of a transitional team and he fails? Does that change what he did for us as a player? No, but it does take away some of his mystique as "Donny Baseball." It also brings back awful memories of all of those years when the Yankees stunk...and I mean really stunk. Plus what happens to his employment status if the Yankees don't make the playoffs? Would the Stiennbrenners run Don Mattingly out of town? It sounds crazy, but after what happened with Torre anyone looking to fill his shoes had better be ready for some rough waters ahead. Mattingly just isn't the guy for the job right now. Oh and by the way, I was wrong about Giardi not wanting to manage NY.....Joe Girardi sees Yankees job as 'honor.'

So Now What?

With all of this talk about Torre in the past few days there hasn't been a whole lot of time to talk about anyone else. So today I give my thoughts about the free agents and what we should do. Cashman, I hope you are listening.

Jorge Posada
2007 season Stats
G - 144 (not too bad for a 36 year old catcher)

R- 91

HR - 20

RBI - 90

BA - .338

OBP - .426

SLG - .543

Jorge just had a career season. Amazing when you consider that Posada has been the every day catcher for years and is 36 years old. It's unlikely that he can keep this pace up for too much longer, however I would expect similar numbers over the next season and probably even the next two. But the real reason the Yankees need to resign Posada is that there are really are no good catching prospects on the free agent market right now. So what should we do? Well all know that all of the Yankee free agents have a lot of leverage right now given the way the Steinbrenners screwed Torre, but in a perfect world I'd say give him a two year deal that has a club option for a third.

Alex Rodriguez
2007 Season Stats
G - 158

R - 143

HR - 54

RBI - 156

BA - .314

OBP - .422

SLG - .645

3B - 0

Sure, A-Rod's season statistics are incredible....but did you know that he didn't hit one triple all season!?!?! How can we honestly expect to spend 30 million a year on a guy that can't even hit a triple? Obviously I am kidding (although that really is the only stat he scored a goose egg in). Here comes the dilemma. Can you justify spending 30 million a year for up to 6 years for one player, even if he is the best player in the game? Keep in mind the Yankees wouldn't have made the post season if it wasn't for his amazing numbers this season. Also keep in mind that A-Rod brings a lot of baggage with him. Not too many players seem to like him, he is a serious postseason question mark, and for that price you could buy yourself two farms worth of prospects. At this point in his career A-Rod shouldn't be focusing on the money, he should be concerned with a ring. It's crap if A-Rod tries to use Torre's departure as a catalyst for opting out. Torre and A-Rod never seemed that close. If he opts out he'll really show his true colors, plus the Rangers would no longer subsidise his contract. I just can't see anyone paying him what he wants, but some team probably will and as a result will carry a heavy burden for years. So unless he decides to show some loyalty to a team for once instead of the almighty dollar I say good riddance. We will certainly miss his numbers but at that price he just isn't worth it. Plus he can't hit triples.

Mariano Rivera

2007 Season Stats

G - 67

SV - 30

WHIP - 1.12

ERA - 3.15

There is no question that Mo is getting older. At 37 his numbers have declined slightly and he has blown more saves in the past few years than I care to remember. But he is still the greatest closer in the history of the game and has two more years of cutters left in the tank. Like Posada, Rivera is going to have a lot of leverage to renegotiate his contract, but the question is does he want to come back to the Bronx? Mo's relationship with Torre was probablysecond only to Jeter's, and we all know Rivera's thoughts on the subject. So if the Yankees are going to make a move for him they are going to have to give him some cash, and a lot of it, otherwise there are plenty of other teams who will pick up the slack in a heartbeat. At this point he's earned it and should be allowed to pitch at least one season in the new stadium. Heaven forbid they screw this one up too and Enter Sandman is blasting over the PA system at Fenway. I shudder at the thought. So the only real option here is a two year contract with a player option for the third. That is assuming he even accepts that.

Roger Clemens

Wait....are you kidding me? If he comes back next year I'm going to scream. I'm not even going to analyse his stats because they suck. He basically stole 18 million dollars from the Yankees this year. Enjoy your money Rocket, maybe you can use it to buy yourself a soul.

Of course there are other question marks, Pettitte, management, rookies etc. I would love to see Pettitte come back for one more season, but I really think he is done. I've written pretty extensively on who I think should and shouldn't manage next year but we will just have to wait for the answer to that. As for the rookies they are the only silver lining in the grey cloud that is over the stadium right now. But you know what, I don't want to jinx anything so I am just going to leave it at that.

In other new...further proof that Vermont is the best state in the nation
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21409672/

Good Luck Joe, We'll Miss You!

I've given Torre's departure a lot of thought and I think that I have finally come to the conclusion that it is a good thing for everyone except the Steinbrenners. By waiting as long as they did and throwing a half assed offer at Torre they come out of this looking like unprofessional cry babies who have no loyalty except to their own clan.

I think that the main reason Joe turned them down was pride. If Georgie hadn't made his ridiculous ultimatum and then waited a week before finally offering Torre a deal he probably would have come back for a thirteenth season. Add to that the fact that the contract he was offered was contingent on how far the Yankees went in the post season next year. How do you tie a contract to post season performance when there are so many question marks about returning veterans and when you have so many rookies? Basically I think it boiled down to the fact that no one likes to be jerked around, especially someone who has preformed year after year and given you and the city so much. Torre has simply had enough of the Steinbrenner mentality and I think the thought of working for his sons just added insult to injury. Honestly though, I have come to the realization that as much as I love Joe Torre, it is time for a change.

Matt commented yesterday on Torre's options. I just can't see him managing somewhere else, mostly for personal reasons, but also because I don't think any of the available jobs would be appealing to Joe. I don't see him going to Baltimore (hell I wouldn't even manage the O's) since he would be dealing with a whole new Stienbrenner there with Angelos. He didn't have that much success in St. Louis the last time he managed the Cardinals, although the thought of returning to the team he played for may have some appeal to him. Really though I think Torre's age is the determining factor here. He is 67 years old, I don't see him picking up and moving to a new city for only two or maybe three years. My guess would be he decides to retire to the broadcast booth.

So the next question of course is the much speculated who is next? I would be willing to bet the farm that it's Mattingly, I of course love the guy, but I think he is a dangerous selection. This is going to be a important year for the Yankees. Joba's role is uncertain, Hughes has some issues to work out, and the other young players still need time to grow into their positions. Yet Mattingly has never managed in the big leagues. You wouldn't throw an untested pitcher into game 7 of the world series, so why would you throw a rookie manager in to lead a team at a critical time? Girardi would be a better choice, but I have heard rumors that he doesn't want the job. So that leaves us with Don.

There are so many unanswered questions it's hard to really speculate on next year with any semblance of accuracy. For example, even if Rivera does come back next year he has never been managed by anyone other than Torre. How would that affect his performance? Same for Posada and Jeter. What if Mattingly decides to switch things up and throw Jeter at third and A-Rod (assuming he returns, but I think he will) back to short? It's an unlikely scenario but who knows? One thing is for sure, next year will be a season of serious change for the Yankees. The Yankees family we have all watched and loved for the last 12 years will never be the same. Change is never easy or seamless but it's time to start ushering in the next generation and hope for the best. Good luck Joe, you will always be welcome in the Bronx.

To make it in the major leagues takes a fierce competitive spirit, strong ambition, and superior athletic ability. The post season magnifies all of that and players strive to be the best of the best. Then there is Manny Ramirez who would telecommute to left field if he could. When asked about trailing 3-1 in the ALCS he had this to say:

"Why should we panic? We've got a great team. ... It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."
--Manny Ramirez

I'm sure that Boston collectively gasped this morning when they read that. If Joe Torre had made a comment like that he would have been fired before he finished even saying it. Maybe Manny's still not 100% and wants time to recover, maybe his naps out in left field aren't giving him enough rest, or maybe his junk is still sore from the little grab he took in the picture I posted today (courtesy of INPY). The fact is that Manny never seems to care about anything. If he wasn't such a damn good hitter I would have more to say, the fact is that I have to give the guy some respect for what he can do with a bat....but that's about it.

Hopefully I'll have an update later today regarding Torre, but in the meantime I'll be refreshing my Internet browser with the ferocity of a kid tearing open presents on Christmas morning.

Still No Word On Torre....Sox Lose Again...And a Few Other Things

We are still waiting to hear about the fate of Joe Torre. Some say that is a good sign, others a bad. I tend to think it is good because at least it means that they are actually having a debate about this and not making one of George's hot headed, rage fueled decisions. At the same time it is almost criminal to make Joe wait so long for a decision. Here is a guy who has given you 4 rings, countless wins, and a trip to the post season every season he's been in charge. If you are going to can him just do it, but don't make the poor guy wait much longer, he deserves better than that.

Of course the big story of the day is that Cleveland is a win away from the World Series. Now don't get me wrong, nothing will make me happier than the Indians putting the nail in Boston's season. But as my buddy Matt pointed out, even though no one really thought Cleveland would do this well, they are not the Cinderella story that Colorado is. They have been good all year and have some of the best pitchers in the league. They are getting a lot of attention in the postseason because they faced the Yankees and now the Sox, but they deserve some credit for their regular season accomplishments too.

This is a little off topic, but part of being a Yankees fan, or even a Red Sox fan for that matter, is knowing who is on the other team. Earlier in the season I wrote a post about my predictions for Dice-K. I predicted that he wouldn't be worth the paper his $50 million negotiation fee was printed on. Well, I wasn't spot on with that prediction but I wasn't that far off either. Sure, he won 15 games but who would have thought that he would run into so many problems late in the year and especially in the postseason. Let me qualify that by saying he hasn't pitched poorly, he just isn't effective without more rest than a bear gets in the winter. Because of that he is not the type of pitcher that you can rely on in the playoffs when you may be called on to pitch with minimal rest at best. Beckett is the Sox only true post season pitcher at this point when you consider that Schilling also needs a lot of rest and Wakefield is unpredictable. With Beckett taking the mound on Thursday the Sox will be relying on him more than ever. If he fails to give them six innings they will be in for a whole world of trouble should the series goes any further, or should they advance.

Again, off topic but a quick word of the Nats if I may. My brother hates the Nationals, primarily because when we were kids we would often go to Montreal to watch the Expos. Sure, I liked the Expos, but I was always a Yankees fan first. When MLB was looking to relocate the team he was steadfastly against Washington. His only real argument being that DC has lost teams in the past and Montreal has a rich history of baseball (minor league yes, major league no). I think that is horse sh**. Granted, I lived in DC at the time and I may have been a little biased as to where they should relocate, but one thing was for sure MLB was not working in Montreal and the team needed to go somewhere else. The first few seasons of have been pretty decent for the Nats, but with the new stadium opening for next season baseball in DC is going to be great. The pictures I have seen of the park, and the surrounding areas will help solidify the teams presence in the city and help to revitalize that area in much the way the Verizon center did for Chinatown. There is talk of water taxis from the Anacostia waterfront to Georgetown, sports bars and memorabilia shops around the stadium (something that is desperately lacking around RFK), and new housing developments that will utilize the forgotten views of the river. It's also exciting to see young players like Zimmerman and hear about all of the prospects that are working their way through the farm system. Anyone who thinks that baseball isn't here to stay in DC is delusional.

Keep Your Friends Close But Keep Your Enemies Closer

We wont find out the future of Joe Torre until sometime next week. Rumors abound as to who could, would or should take over if the axe falls. There is talk of Donny Baseball taking over the helm. I support that idea but not yet, he needs more experience. But in the meantime it seems everyone in baseball has Joe Torre's back, even in the most unlikely of places. By that I mean David Ortiz, Terry Francona, and pretty much the rest of the Red Sox roster.

It is strange for me to be grateful for a comment by a red sox player, its kind of like when Darth Vader suddenly had a change of heart and threw the Emperor down that chute. But in my opinion Ortiz hits the nail on the head when he says:

"Every organization is like a human body. It has a head that if you mess with it, it just goes down," said Ortiz, "Joe Torre is the head of that organization. He's one of the best managers in baseball. You've got to have a good head to keep the body together like that."

"Even if they got knocked out, you've got to give him credit for that," Ortiz said. "You've definitely got to give the man respect. If he doesn't go back to the Yankees, they're going to feel that next year somewhere. This guy knows what he's doing."

Francona had this to say:

"I have a lot of respect for how Joe does things," Francona said. "It's one of those things where I've talked to Joe a lot actually this year, before series and after series - never out on the field because people don't want to see that.

"We've spoken quite a few times. Just about the chaos of our series, you know, how it's tough on everybody. I have a lot of respect for Joe."

So everyone in baseball seems to think Torre has done a good job, even the Yankees arch enemies. What's wrong with this picture?

In other news Mr. Clemens isn't sure about his plans for next year yet. Mrs. Clemens isn't so up in the air. If she has anything to say about it he'll be throwing ribs on the grill next year instead of fast balls from the mound. I mean honestly Roger, I know that you have a fierce competitive spirit, but you by no means earned your 18 million this year. We brought you in to win big games for us and what did we get? A 6-6 record and three innings pitched in the ALDS. What team in their right mind would waste more money on you? Sit back, relax, crack open a beer and wait for the call from Cooperstown. If you get bored I'm sure that there are plenty of opportunities in sports broadcasting, or even working as a pitching coach. But the time has come to know when to say when.

*Something is screwed up with the post today so sorry if it is a bit hard to read.

The Morning After

Well that's it, the season is over for the Yankees. Chances are Torre is going to get fired, but is it really all his fault? In my opinion everyone deserves some of the blame. You certainly can't put it all on A-Rod, he wasn't great but he did get a few hits. The offense as a whole only showed up for a game and a half this series. The pitching stunk worse than the Coleslaw I put in my co-workers desk last Friday. Wang was terrible, Mussina flopped, and Roger wouldn't have pitched another game even if we had gone deeper into the postseason.

But there were other factors at play here aside from the biblical plague of bugs. I think that we can all agree when I say that I hate it when George drops his ultimatums. It is distracting and it doesn't help the focus any when you are concerned about losing your job. Especially in a game in which your team faces elimination. Because of that I think you have to chalk up some of what happened to the Stien. Regardless, here we are at the end of the Joe Torre era. I think that he has a chance to save his job, but only if he really wants it. The players would have his back, but that probably isn't enough to quell the fire up in the front office.

At least we have things to look forward to next season. Chamberlin should continue to improve, as well as Melkey, Duncan, Hughes and Kennedy. Cashmans plan does seem to be working. It still just doesn't seem to help take away the sting though. It will be especially painful if Torre doesn't get to manage the last season in one of baseball's last shrines.

So now I have to figure out what to write about until next April, but in the meantime I will be entering my post loss depression for a few days. It sucks more than I can tell you, but it is all part of being a fan. Next year is a whole new season, and you can bet I'll be watching and writing about it with no less enthusiasm. We lost, but I still love this game and especially this team!

It's Only One....LUCKY GET IN HERE!

When your starting pitcher gets in trouble early in the first game of the playoffs what do you do? Do you take him out risking over using your bullpen in what could be a long series? Or do you keep him in knowing that its only one game and maybe the offense can make up the difference? If you answered C, its a combination of both you answered correctly. I think Torre left Wang in a little too long last night. He just couldn't find his stuff. Then again fast forward to game three and you get a Roger Clemens who will be starting with a HUGE question mark over his head. So maybe that is what Torre was thinking? Save the boys for game three in case Clemens arm falls off or his hamstring rips to shreds. Either way the Yankees shouldn't have been beat up as badly as they were last night. The offense seemed dormant, and the pitching...well I have already covered that.

I admit that I thought Cleveland would pretty much roll over and die in the face of the Yankees. You have to give CC Sabathia credit though. He pitched a solid 5 innings and set the momentum for the tribe for the entire game.

A-Rod oh A-Rod

It's the post season so that means everyone will be staring at A-Rod with x-ray eyes. The question is if Alex doesn't preform in the post season was his MVP year all for nothing? Of course not. It is well documented that I have a love hate relationship with the man, but the fact is that the Yankees wouldn't be in the playoffs in the first place if it weren't for his superhuman contributions this year. Critics are going to say that even though he walked twice last night he didn't contribute all that much to the game. Honestly neither did the rest of the offense. One more game with no hit and I'm sure there will be a story on ESPN.

Pettitte starts his 35th post season game today. Let's get this thing going Andy. What a disappointment it would be to come all this way and not even get out of the ALDS. It is by no means time to panic...yet...but I'm calling in Lucky just to make sure.

Tonight It Begins

162 games later here we are....playoff time baby! Wang takes the mound and as I suspected Torre is going to go with the veterans. Sorry Duncan, sorry Ian. I'm tempted to use Lucky today, but I don't want to wear him out unless we need him.

They Got Hosed Tommy, They Got Hosed...But Oh What a Season

Whatever you call them, referees, line judges, or umpires they all have one thing in common....they can drastically effect the outcome of a game with one mistake. Usually it only goes as far as creating outrage on PTI or Mike and Mike in the Morning, but when a missed call ends a teams season and keeps them out of the playoffs, well that is another thing all together. In short, San Diego got hosed last night.

Aside from the short falls of the officials, what a season we had this year. The game saw so many milestones. Glavine won his 300th, Biggio hit 3,000, and A-Rod became the youngest player to join the 500 club. Something else happened in San Francisco, but it is the policy of this page not to comment on ongoing investigations. (ahem 756*)

I don't watch the National league very often unless I am going to a Nat's game, but in the words of the immortal Hary Caray, HOLY COW!!! What a way to finish up, right down to the wire. The Mets choked, the Phillies won, and the Cubs and Rockies worked their way in too.

The American league didn't disappoint either. Detroit should have been in the post season, but similar to the Mets (although not as dramatic) they fell apart late in the season. Meanwhile after threatening for weeks on end Seattle just disappeared all together. Toronto looks as though they will be a promising club in the near future, but their feathered cousins the Orioles have a lot that they need to figure out. It pains me but the Sox managed to lead from wire to wire and ended up with the division, barely. But of course there is no question that the story of the year is the Yankees miraculous comeback from 14.5 games out to capture the AL wild card.

All of the teams have proved that they deserve the right to play in October. After a season like this I just can't see the playoffs disappointing....that is unless the Sox win it all.

What are the Odds?

Attached are some of the pictures I took of the Yankees at Baltimore last night. If you want to check out the full set just click the link to my flickr page.

By now you are all aware that the Yankees lost last night in the 10th inning which means that the dream of winning the division is officially over. It sucks, I had really hoped that they would magically pull it off, but in the end I'm fine with it. We made it to the post season which has never been a guarantee this year.

Last night it seemed like Torre was testing out his post season squad. Damon was in Center, Giambi was DH, and Mussina was on the mound. Unfortunately Moose didn't look very good, and Rivera blew a save. After last night I don't see Mussina starting in the post season short of Clemens arm falling off.

That brings me to the title of my post. Even though the the Yankees didn't get the division and lost the game I am a happy man today. If you haven't figured it out yet that picture of a baseball in a case is my first true foul ball which I caught last night courtesy of Jason Giambi. I've relayed this story many times before on this page, but once more can't hurt. Shortly after Giambi came to New York he was slumping and was booed like there was no tomorrow. I was living in Boston at the time and the Yankees were in town for the first series of the season. I found out that he was at a bar next to where I was so I ran in and said to him (through his wall of body guards) that I was happy to have him in New York and wished him luck. He cleared the fortress of bounces, got up, shook my hand and gave me his autograph. I asked him if I could buy him a beer but he said no, instead he bought me one. So fast forward a few years and here we are again. He didn't get me a beer, but he did give me my first true foul ball.* Thanks Jason, just to let you know I was wearing your shirt underneath my Jeter Jersey.

My girlfriend was at the game with me last night. She isn't a huge baseball fan but she is used to enduring all of my baseball superstitions and f-bombs when the Yankees aren't doing well. I tried to describe to her what it was like to catch that foul ball, but I guess it is just something that you can't explain. You have to go to game after game every summer since you can remember. You have to bring your glove to a game and just miss, but you still keep trying. And then when you finally do catch that ball you just can't believe it. I'm still smiling this morning. But that is me, I love this game. Always have, always will, no matter how old I get or how many games I've been to. Someone said Baseball is about where we were and where we are going, its true.

*I kind of caught another foul ball of Nick Johnson last year, but that one was actually tossed to me by the Nationals Bat boy. He tossed me another one shortly after that but I gave that to a little kid.

Going To See The Yankees Tonight

That's right, tonight I'll actually get the watch the game live rather than constantly refreshing MLB gamecast or hunting for a bar that has the MLB package. I'm fricken giddy right now because.....I HAVE FIELD SEATS!!! My Giambi shirt, Jeter Jersey, and Hat are all laid out on my desk right now as a reminder. I'll update tomorrow with pictures from the game and hopefully a souvenir or two!

YANKEES CLINCH POSTSEASON APPEARANCE

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It may have been somewhat of a foregone conclusion over the past few days, but that doesn't change the fact that I am as excited as hell this morning!!! I have admitted this time and time again, but if you had asked me before the all-star break if the Yankees were going to make the playoffs I would have said yes, but I wouldn't have been confident about it. Especially since we were 9 1/2 games out of the wild card in July looking ahead at some solid teams. Well today post season dreams have become realities.

So now we turn to the post season and what to expect. The wild card means that we face off against Cleveland who I feel more comfortable with. I expect Torre to go with Wang and Pettitte as number one and two. But number three, arguably the most important game, is up in the air as Clemens struggles with hamstring problems. Personally I would rather stick Ian Kennedy in assuming that his stiff back issues are resolved, but I know that Torre will go with Clemens assuming he is close to 100%.

I would like to write more on this, but I am pretty busy today so I will leave it up to the commenters to help me out with the post season predictions. I will say this though, I have a feeling that the Yanks are going to go to the October classic and take another ring.

(oh and thanks to Lucky, yet again)

Sigh

Well, we can pretty much kiss the division dreams goodbye but I am really fine with that. What we need to do is clinch our position in the playoffs!!! Giving up a grandslam home runs is not what we should be doing right now. I hate to overwork the poor guy but I am sending in Lucky yet again. Simply put we just need to do this thing.