The motley crew of South Beach

Since reports of Alex Rodrigruez’s break up with Kate Hudson shortly after the end of last season the word on the gossip mill has been that A Rod has been running around all off season like a cat in heat, humping anything and everything.  Personally, I doubt he is going to do much better than Kate Hudson, but all the power to him.  He’s young, rich, famous, and single.  Who could blame him?  I for one certainly don’t care what kind of numbers A Rod is racking up as long he does it quietly like Jeter and keeps ripping it on the diamond when it counts. 

However, it is important to remember that last year was the first year in his whole career were A Rod wasn’t a complete and total freak on and off the field.  There are lots of possible explanations for this including the end of his marriage, the admission of steroid use, etc.  While all those explanations could make perfect sense, I am of the school of thought that Kate Hudson must have had some sort of magic that was able to somehow cast a spell of normalcy over A Rod.

When the news of their breakup first broke my immediate concern was that A Rod would revert to 2008 freak zone (tanning shirtless and kissing himself in mirrors).  Eeeesh neeesh, most certainly not for Reg.  Now the latest news is that A Rod was seen cavorting late night with Cameron Diaz in Miami at a Super Bowl celebration along with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  I once again have no problem with A Rod hangng out with Cameron Diaz.  She may be a downgrade from Kate Hudston, but regadless of recent debate there is no refuting that she is still top quality especially at the ripe age of 37.  What does concern me about this news though is the fact that A Rod is hanging out with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  As far as your main stream celebs go, they are pretty high up there on the freakness scale.  Not exactly the kind of company I want A Rod associating himself with when he is so easily influenced.

If there is any merit to this rumor let us hope that Cameron too has some magic about her and can help keep the freak in check during our quest for number 28 as well as Kate Hudson did.

Grady Sizemore

I’m pretty sure I’ve already used up my lifetime quota of male nudity discussions while talking about Greg Oden, but I must opine on Grady Sizemore for a moment so please indulge me.  For those of  you who didn’t see the story, Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians did the exact same thing that Greg Oden did less than a week ago.  Some hackers somehow stole nudey dudey pictures that Sizemore had taken for a girlfriend for those of you who haven’t seen.

Once again this is completely mind blowing to me.  It’s plain and simple, do not take pictures of your junk.  Especially if you are an athlete or celebrity.  No matter how careful or discreet you think you may be, people will somehow find the pictures and then they will leak.  Then you will be stuck giving a presser apologizing and explaining why embarrassing pictures of your hog are all over the internet.  Is that something you ever imagined doing or want to be doing?  I don’t think so, so cut it out, it’s that simple.

All this silliness just brings us back to the point about what a model athlete/celebrity Derek Jeter is.  I remember when Grady Sizemore was first coming up a lot of people compared him to Derek Jeter.  Not just because of his talent but because he was a personable and polite guy.  No chance, he is not fit to hold Derek Jeter’s Gatorade.  Jeter has been the biggest athlete in the media capital of the world for the past 15 years and he doesn’t have one scandal or stain on his legacy.  Jeter plows through more tail than any of could ever possibly imagine or hope to in our lifetime, but he does this while staying out of the spotlight and certainly without taking pictures of his piece.  So athletes and celebs everywhere, take a lesson from the Captain and keep your johnson out of our faces.

Steve Bisciotti

In yesterday’s Baltimore Sun, Steve Bisciotti, owner of the Baltimore Ravens, was quoted as saying the following:

“It certainly doesn’t show up in the standings,” Bisciotti said. “If I’m a Yankees fan, I’m upset we’re not winning 130 games with the roster that they have and the money that they pay out. I think it’s a disgrace they only beat the average team by 10 games in the standings with three times the money. I’d fire that GM. You don’t need a GM. All you have to do is buy the last Cy Young Award winner every year.”

I obviously understand the point that Bisciotti is trying to make here, but he couldn’t come off sounding any less informed.  For those of you who don’t get what he is trying to say, I will spell it out.  He is implying that there should be a salary cap in baseball.  An argument I don’t happen to agree with, but a fair one nevertheless.

My problem with this ignorant statement is two fold.  First of all, regardless of salary cap or no salary cap it just isn’t that simple.  There are still budgetary constraints even if you’re the Yankees and many other obvious issues that prevent you from assembling a team that can dominate to that degree.  Including-

1. First one is pretty obvious Steve.  The Cy Young winners and MVP’s and whatever else you may have been referring to aren’t free agents every year.  Even if they were free agents, signing them might not be in the budget and you have to worry about draft pick compensation for Type A and Type B free agents.
2. You can’t just go out and trade for every star player out there for the same reasons.  Budgetary constraints, roster limitations, not to mention you wouldn’t have a farm system to use in any trades if you gave up all your draft choices signing Type A and Type B free agents.

Second of all it is not the Yankee’s fault that there is no salary cap in baseball.  Every team in Major League Baseball operates by the same rules and regulations as the Yankees.  It is capitalism and it is no different than anything else in the business world.  The Yankees run the most successful business, therefore they have the most money to spend and just because they have that much money doesn’t mean that they are necessarily going to spend it wisely.  We all know the Yanks have made mistakes in the past, but they are now a very, very well run franchise.

So in closing, why don’t you stick with what you know Steve and keep the Yankees out of your mouth.

In an ideal world the Yanks would like to have both the Truth and Joba in the Pen.  The rationale behind this is that with 1-4 being so strong in the rotation they could certainly afford to have Gaudin, Mitre, or Aceves as the 5th start.  In fact in all likelihood either one of them would probably be able to post low double digit wins with the lineup being what it is and the bullpen being incredibly strong with the addition of Hughes and Joba.  This option would also provide the Yankees with insane rotational depth if anyone were to go down.  However, the Yanks have to think past 2010 and while Hughes and Joba are still young, if the rotation is Hughes’ eventual destination another year in the Pen could stunt his development beyond repair.

Sherman seems to believe that the only possible thing that could throw a wrench into this plan is if Hughes is a major flop or one of the first four starters go down in spring training/early in the season (Please knock on wood right now….seriously, right now).

As you may know by now if you’ve been following this site, I have what one might describe as a very strong “fanhood” for Phil Hughes.  In fact, I have even coined the nickname, the Truth, for Hughes (I’m still working on getting this some traction).  So, as you might imagine, I am very excited by this news and a strong supporter of this decision by the Yankee brass.

I’m a realist though, and I realize there will certainly be some bumps in the road.  In three years on and off in the Majors, Hughes has a 1.40 E.R.A as a reliever appearing in 44 games; compared to a lofty 5.22 E.R.A in 28 career starts.  Nevertheless, he is only 23 years old and has a dirty five pitch arsenal meant for a starter.  After spending a 1st round draft pick on Hughes, now is the time to throw him to the wolves and see whether there is feast or famine before it is too late.  I’m pretty confident that Hughes has put his work in during the offseason and is capable of honing the control on his changeup.  If so all I think it will take for him to be successful is for the Yanks and particularly Girardi to really commit to him in the 5th spot in the rotation.  With that mental assurance, a ridiculously potent offense, and the ridiculous rotational depth 1-4 and bullpen, I think we will all be pleasantly be surprised with what the Truth can do this year.  He might even blossom into a dominant young talent in the league, I for one would not be surprised.

With the NFL season officially over after Sunday (even though it has been dead to me for two weeks) could it be any more perfect timing that the equipment trucks are leaving Yankee Stadium on Monday for Tampa to prep for the beginning of Spring Training?  Opening day can not come soon enough…

You will be missed

Pretty damn livid about this one and not just because I love Johnny Damon.  I understand that the Yankees are showing fiscal responsibility in not spending more than $2M on a 3rd/4th outfielder, but Randy Effing Winn?  Give me a break.  I like being a Yankee fan, I like that we spend more money than anyone else by leaps and bounds, so why stop?  Cashman really couldn’t convince Hal to open up the purse strings for a few million more like he did with Teixera last year?  I don’t buy it for a second.

Ugh

When looking at Randy Winn’s numbers, they aren’t that bad.  He is a career .286 hitter with a .344 OBP.  He has some speed and plays pretty decent defense, but none of that is the point.  There is a lot of downside, though, as he is 35 and he hit .158 against lefties last season.  I thought Cashman was going after a righty bat? Completely unreal. As I have opined before, an outfield of Swisher, Granderson, and Gardner/Winn is not an upgrade over Swisher, Melky, and Damon. Sure, Granderson is an upgrade, but left field is an utter embarrassment.

If I were Johnny Damon, I would be on the verge of firing Boras. After turning down a 2 year $14M deal in the beginning of the offseason, Johnny effectively burnt his bridge with the Yankees. Now I can’t imagine Johnny will make more than $5M and it certainly won’t be as ideal a situation as the Yanks. Johnny will be sorely missed and I only hope Cashman and Steinbrenner know what they’re doing. I’m trying to remain positive by remembering the revolving door in left field during the dynasty in the late 90’s, but, jesus. It’s Randy “Effing” Winn, he looks like a dinosaur for christ’s sake. There is no name out there less sexy than Wynn, but let’s hope for the best.

Bet the Blazers wish it was Durant in this picture

Earlier this week nudey dudey pictures of the often injured Greg Oden were leaked by the website worldstarhiphop.com.  I would put the evidence up on our site, but I’m not big on man nudity so seek it out on your own if that floats your boat.

Oden apparently claimed that these were photos he took for a former girlfriend and they were for her viewing pleasure only.  It is unclear how these leaked, whether by her or by hacker on his computer, but still absolutely ridiculous.  The  most ridiculous part of this story to me is that I can’t understand when athletes will realize that it’s not a good idea to take pictures of your bits and pieces or video of you doing the naughty.  I’m not in the public eye, no one wants to see me nudey dudey, and I realize this so how do they not?  Athletes doing things like this will always get exposed, so cut it out, unless you’re a young attractive female.

It’s time Oden stops taking pictures of his junk and starts concentrating on getting less frail before he flames out as one of the biggest busts ever.  Bet the Blazers wish they had selected Durant now.

And it’s on to the weekend — and some quickie thoughts on subjects in the news:

Now that I'm done helping destroy NBC's prime-time schedule, I'll get back to putting you to sleep when I'm supposed to be doing it -- and not sooner

– Jay Leno is … the bad guy?  It’s certainly feeling like that these days.  In the sequel to the Late Night War that once saw Leno selected in a then-controversial decision over David Letterman to succeed the legendary Johnny Carson as the host of the Tonight Show, it looks like Leno’s disastrous foray into prime-time will be coming shortly to a merciful end.  This occurred after ratings for Leno’s five-night-a-week-suckfest cratered so badly (NBC was expected a ratings hit, but nothing of the magnitude that Leno “delivered”), that affiliates across the country — possibly as many as a quarter of them — were preparing to issue NBC an ultamatum of their own: lose Leno’s show, or be prepared to watch them abandon it themselves for reruns of Seinfeld and whatever else the local stations could program on their own.

Faced with an affiliate revolt, NBC had no choice but to pull the plug on the ill-conceived Leno vehicle — but the decision to shift Leno back into the 11:30 EST time slot — and to bump Conan back 30 minutes — has created more problems.  O’Brien has rejected the change in time for his own show, and now things are apparently headed for an ugly divorce between Leno’s heir and the network — which will possibly land Conan with upwards of $30 million, and should leave him free from his contract and available to pursue a show at a rival network, possibly FOX.

If nothing else, this drama has proven to be more entertaining already than anything Leno was throwing out there, and if early public sentiment is an indication, people are viewing Leno as the heavy (and NBC as the accomplice).  What does it mean for Leno’s ratings, if he returns as the host of the Tonight Show?  Probably not a whole lot, but if Conan ends up with a competing show, it’s almost certainly going to be pulling audience primarily from Leno; if you were watching Letterman or Jimmy Kimmel already, you’re likely not going to be watching Conan now — O’Brien’s audience will be what he takes with him from NBC.

The clear winner here so far is O’Brien, whose show has seen its ratings increase as this has played out.  Long-term, it may be Letterman who sees The Late Show cement itself as the top show in the late-night wars.  What can’t be disputed though, is that The Tonight Show isn’t what it once was, and the name doesn’t bring forth the feelings it used to (and hasn’t, even before O’Brien took over for Leno less than a year ago).  The Tonight Show that a lot of people grew up with ended when Johnny Carson stepped down — and now, after all of this current turmoil has passed, it’ll be a successor to Carson’s juggernaut in name only.

– For me, this week couldn’t have provided a bigger juxtaposition then that of the crisis that’s taking place in Haiti currently and the joke that was a number of Wall Street CEO’s in front of Congress defending, not only their massive irresponsibility in helping create the huge financial crisis we’re still in the middle of, but their own avarice in continuing to pay themselves massive salaries and bonuses, even when having their slimy hands picking the back pocket of the Amercian public that bailed them out.

As the horrors in Haiti unfoled, we saw poverty, despair, and destruction at a level that most of us have never seen before.  Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere — and that was before the massive earthquake of this past week.  After this tragedy which has left tens of thousands dead and a country’s infrastructure in complete ruin, Haiti is in desperate need of any assistance it can get from the international community, in a race where every dollar or supply is literally to save lives that are hanging precariously in the balance.

Maybe some of that aid could come from some of those Wall Street Rip-Off Artists who showed an amazing lack of remorse over their actions which have crippled a large portion of the U.S. economy.  One of those men was Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, who in an incredible understatement said, “We did make mistakes and there were things we could have done better.”  You think?  That’s on par with Lindsey Lohan saying she’s made some bad personal decisions over the last few years and “could have done better”.

Those in positions of power with these mammoth financial institutions — businesses that currently hold far too much influence and control over the lives of the average American citizen — continue to live in a world that has no relation to the one that real people, like you and I, live in — and it’s because of that insulation for the real world and its consequences that we should have no faith that any of them are going to do anything but what’s good for their own wallets — and to hell with the damages they might cause to the general public or the economy itself.  President Obama is looking into new taxes on these banking companies as an answer to the latest reports of obscene profits and bonuses paid, but that won’t be enough to change the climate of greed that permeates these companies to their rotten cores.

The direction for the new Spider-Man movie wasn't really what we were expecting

– The announcement came this week that Spider-Man 4 is DOA, and that in its place, we’ll be looking at a complete “reboot” of the franchise, sending director Sam Raimi and stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst to the curb.  Apparently, disagreements about the future of the film series between Sony and Raimi were too much to smooth over, and the studio has decided to go into a different direction (though still somehow intending to release the next film in the summer of 2012, as originally planned).

I’ve got mixed feelings about this news.  I’d already detailed some of the earlier squabbling between Sony and Raimi and my concerns that the franchise was headed for cinematical disaster.  While I blamed Sony initially, now that there’s more details leaking out about the take Raimi wanted to do with the film, it’s starting to look like taking the series away from Raimi wasn’t such a bad call after all.  The plot (if you want to call it that) sounded like a bad rehash of the 2nd Spider-Man movie, and it would have in all likelihood been worse than Spider-Man 3 was.

But even if you get a new director — and a new star (as Maguire had said he was only interested in returning to the role of Raimi was in the director’s chair) — is that any reason to start completely over again?  If that’s Sony’s approach, then it’s going to be a huge mistake; a reboot of a franchise is only necessary if it’s strayed completely away from its core (Batman and Robin) or if it’s been a suitably long time since the franchise began (rebooting Bond with Casino Royale).  Neither applies to the Spider-man franchise, which is barely a decade old and, the mediocrity of the third film aside, has stayed as true to the vision of Spider-Man as this huge Spidey fan could have hoped for from a big-screen adaptation.  Certainly, there were missed opportunities along the way — and continuity changes for the movies that I wouldn’t have gone with — but, all told, the first two movies were about as good as it gets for superhero fare, and there’s no reason that Sony can’t continue along where the 3rd movie left off.  Cast a new Spidey, go with a new villian (Dylan Baker and the Lizard, for example), bring Dunst back for a well-paid cameo and bump her off (paralleling the loss of Peter parker’s first love, Gwen Stacy, in the comics) — and you’re off and rolling.

Instead, if the early reports are to be believed, Sony looks to be headed on an ill-advised attempt to cash in on the Twlight-phase and turn Spider-Man into some sort of teen drama.  If that’s their approach — and it won’t be surprising, since most movie execs have no respect for the source material or its target audience (which is why Marvel Studios, which does, had such a critical and commercial hit with Iron Man), then they’re going to find themselves with a once-golden franchise that’s been run into the ground.

He's a frog, you say? I can't believe it!

– And finally, there’s Mark McGwire’s “stunning” revelation earlier in the week that he’d taken steroids during his career — an announcement that, as a friend of mine stated, was about as shocking as Kermit coming out and announcing that he’s a frog.

There’s already been a lot of talk about the subject and what it means to McGwire, baseball, and the steroid scandals that have rocked the sport — so there’s not a whole lot I have to add.  Suffice it to say, I’m not surprised he admitted it, as in his eyes, doing so represents the only way he can lessen the distraction he would cause the Cardinals this year as a member of their coaching staff — as well as the only way (he thinks) he might still find election to Baseball’s Hall of Fame someday.

But if I had a vote, it still wouldn’t be coming to him.  It’s my opinion that he still isn’t telling the whole truth about what he used and why he used it, and it’s still clear to me that the whole reason he’s a Hall candidate anyway — the home runs — were in some way fueled by his steroid usage, which makes his entire career output suspect since we’ll never be able to quantify what he would have done without them.  I don’t feel a bit sorry for McGwire — who seemed to be fishing for sympathy in his interviews this past week — since he knew the price of taking illegal steroids (or should have known it) when he did so.  You lived the life of an sports hero for several years because you cheated, Mark (whatever your excuses might be) — now, you’ve paid the price.  As it should be.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone — and we’ll see you on Monday for a look back at the NFL playoff games from this week.

BOMBSHELL!!

Mark McGwire used steroids!  Wow!  What a shocker!  As news, this revelation ranks right up there with the news flash that the  sun sets in the west.

Let me state from the onset that this post is not about McGwire getting in to the Hall of Fame.  If he gets in, fine.  If not, fine.  I have no feeling either way on the McGwire Hall candidacy. 

Sure, I understand that for years McGwire has danced around the steroid issue.  He repeatedly  told congress when asked about his usage in a 2005 hearing that he was

McGwire before congress in 2005

there to talk about the future, not the past.  But the innuendo had chased him from the game.  You knew that when St Louis Cardinal manager Tony Larussa hired McGwire as the Card’s hitting coach during the off-season that this day had to come.  Larussa wanted to bring his former (and some say fallen) star back to the game that he loved and that had defined him for most of his adult life.  Larussa had to know that this would ultimately force McGwire to go public with his past.  For his part, Larussa says that he did not know that McGwire had used steroids until he received a call from McGwire the morning of January 11, 2010.  All Larussa knew was that the Cardinals ran a clean strength and conditioning program.  Larussa also knows all the revelations that have come out from that era.  Larussa ’knew’ about McGwire, but he never asked the question, therefore he did not know.  Baseball ‘knew’ about steroids, but turned a blind eye and counted up riches beyound belief.  Heck even the fans ‘knew.’  Apparently the only people who did not know were the writers who watched players double and triple their home run output along with their size.  These writers kept their head in the sand, or turned a blind eye to what was happening, and now talk about how we all were fooled or cheated.  They were either incredibly obtuse, or were complicit to behavior they now condemn and distance themselves from. 

McGwire celebrater HR 62

As I have shared previously, I emotionally came  back to baseball during baseball’s summer of love.  I, like most fans, was disheartened during the work stoppage of  ‘94 and ‘95.  I still followed baseball when the game resumed in late April of ‘95, and the Rockies first ever playoff appearance at the end of that season made baseball easier for me to accept, but something was missing.  The magical home run chase in 1998 changed all that.  I was a season ticket holder in Colorado, and made sure to see every swing by Sosa and McGwire when the Cubs and Cards came to town.  In addition, Colorado had the good fortune to be the host of the All Star Game that season. The main attraction that year was the home run derby.  With both Sosa and McGwire locked on pace to break the single season HR total of 61, along with such luminaries Jim Thome, A Rod and Griffey, Jr., swinging in the thin air, it was going to be quite a show.  (Sosa came to Denver but had to withdraw from derby participation.)  I was sitting at Coors Field during the Derby with 3 buddies and we, as fans, talked about steroid usage as it related to the players we were watching.  We did not know, but we ‘knew.’  We were not sure who used, but we had our suspicion.  That assumption did not diminish the pleasure of the event, or of the great home run chase that season.  Both players involved that summer have been implicated in steroid usage.  One has now admitted it.  Still, baseball cashed in on the new popularity of the game, and writers covered every swing.   Many were apparently too blind to see what we saw.  Yet many of these same writers who enjoyed increased readership because of baseball’s returning popularity and thus cashed in themselves now feel that they must protect the integrity of the game.   They will not vote for anyone associated with steroids for the Hall of Fame.   They did not mind, however, when the ball bashing kept the parks full and therefore kept them employed.  In a very real sense, they owe their livelihood to the very people they covered and built up at the time, but now villafy.  We all ‘knew’ what was going on, yet these pundits did not?  These writers vote on Hall membership because they know better than we do.  They have access to locker rooms and travel with the teams.  They have more exposure to the game and players than the average fan, therefore they are better qualified to judge.  With all that access, they did not know at the time? 

Apparently the one of the biggest flaws of many players who used  steroids is that they have not admitted their usage nor been contrite for their transgression.  Is it not

Sosa and McGwire in '98

time that the same people calling for these acts of contrition make one of their own?  Many of the writers who now pontificate about how these players stained the game were in a position to know at the time, yet said nothing and thus were complicit in the era as well.  Perhaps it is time for these bloviators to ‘man up’ and come clean themselves.  Stop with the hypocrisy.  If the writers can not come clean and admit their complicity in keeping the story quiet within the steroid era, then it is time to take the writers out of the Hall selection process.  If these individuals did not have the moral fortitude to be honest about what was going on at the time, why should they now have the moral authority to sit in judgement on Hall membership?

No AIDS, but also no Hall of Fame for Robbie (not yet, at least)

Being enshrined in the hallowed Blue Jays Level of Excellence will have to suffice for Roberto Alomar for at least one more year — the greatest second baseman of this generation fell eight votes short of reaching the Hall of Fame yesterday in his first year of eligibility, finishing with 73.7 percent of the votes (with 75.0 the magic mark). Former Expo and Cub Andre Dawson was the only player to make the cut, finishing at 77.9 percent in his ninth year on the ballot.

Sure, Alomar’s omission this year is a bit of a disappointment, but considering players generally receive more and more support in the vote each year, he’s basically a shoe-in for 2011. I’ve never quite understood why it makes a difference from year-to-year — if a player is Hall of Fame caliber, then shouldn’t he be in in his first year of eligibility? If he’s not right away, then why so deserving the next (or in Dawson’s case, the ninth) time? Oh well, that’s the way it goes. Alomar will get his, that’s for sure.

Also of note, 287-game winner Bert Blyleven fell just shy in his 13th year on the ballot, finishing with a 74.2 percent favour and likely ensuring he’ll be enshrined with Alomar in 2011, assuming he doesn’t go and drop F-bombs while broacasting anytime between now and then.

Other former Jays receiving votes included Jack Morris (282 votes, 52.3 percent), Fred McGriff (116, 21.5 in his first year of eligibility), Dave Parker (82, 15.2), Pat Hentgen (one, 0.2) and David Segui (seriously?) (one, 0.2).

Javy is back in the glorious pinstripes once again

When the rumor mill on the internet first started up on the night of the 21st that the Yankees were finalizing trade talks for a starting pitcher my imagination was running wild. Thoughts of Josh Johnson were running through my mind and I was becoming giddy like a little school girl. I was so euphoric over the prospect of another season of domination that I became purely irrational. I somehow began to convince myself that a trade for Carlos Zambrano would be a good idea despite being Kevin Brownian (This is a newly coined term by Reg for borderline over the hill baseball players who are horrendous teammates with overly aggressive and borderline abusive attitudes. I’m pretty sure you have to either choke out a teammate or yourself to qualify for this glorious distinction). Let us not also forget Big Z’s obese physique, and overblown contract. What do you think is more bloated, by the way, Big Z’s contract or his gut?

However, the thought of Javier Vazquez never didn’t creep into my mind as it was working overtime on the Yanks. When we all awoke in the morning and the story began to materialize and it became apparent that the Yanks had acquired Javy Vazquez I didn’t know what to think. As you can probably tell by now my initial reaction was primarily one of negativity. In retrospect I know there was no good reason for this, but I had my reasons:

1. Vazquez wasn’t exactly the “sexiest” name on the market
2. I couldn’t get the painful memory of the Johnny Damon Grand Slam off of Vazquez in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS out of my head (In all fairness that was pretty much all Kevin Brown’s fault. Isn’t it funny how that one came full circle. I didn’t plan that I swear.)
3. Lastly, being a self proclaimed homer regardless of what the stats might say I was sad to see Melky go. The Melk Man was a quality Yankee with a ton of clutch hits over the last few years.

In any event when I finally calmed down and began to talk myself off the ledge and really do some research on this trade I had a reaction that I wasn’t initially expecting. I realized that this was another truly brilliant move by Brian Cashman. Granted there were some spare parts in this trade, but for the price of Melky Cabrera essentially, Cashman acquired a Number 4 (Toph thinks #2/3) starter that is better than a lot of teams’ aces. Best part of this trade is the fact that Javy is arguably better than Boston’s new $82.5 million dollar man (Too bad he looks more like a wino in rural texas). Is it just me or is this so called “arms race” between Red Sox Nation and The Evil Yankee Empire becoming a complete one sided joke? It’s getting to the point where Theo Epstein is so overmatched that this “arms race” more closely resembles a fictional arms race between the United States and the tiny African nation of Erertria.

Let’s take a quick look at this trade piece by piece first looking at the pros and cons of the pieces the Yankees surrendered.

Will Robinson Cano be alright without his man love by his side?

 

Melky Cabrera:

Pros-

1. As much as we may have romanticized the Melk Man mostly due to the fact that he was the Center Fielder for the New York Yankees, a position that is historically one of grandeur. Fact of the matter is Melky was never going to be a Mantle, a DiMaggio or a Bernie Williams. He is a career .269 hitter with very limited power and pretty decent range in the field. This means he was expendable and relatively easily replaceable. Cashman claims he is sticking to his approved budget for the year and Melky was due between $3M- $5M in arbitration and Cashman saw an opportunity to use the available funds to upgrade the rotation over the outfield. You can’t find any fault with that rationale.

2. These problems may have been less talked about last year amidst the winning, but do you remember the immaturity issues with Melky and Cano two years ago? I was partially joking before but don’t you think Cano might me more dedicated without his ambiguously gay buddy by his side constantly egging him on? It’s certainly possible. I’m not sure if you’ve had the pleasure of watching the Melky Cabrera you tube video in a hotel room with porn star Mary Carey. Check out this link and don’t worry it’s completely safe for work, just funny. Don’t know if it speaks to his immaturity, but I’m sure the Yanks don’t like things like this. More importantly it’s just priceless to know that Mary Carey is a proud alumna of Toph’s high school. What do you think the chances are that Toph broke her heart and sent her down a dark and dangerous life path?

Cons-

1. To preface this there really aren’t many cons to this trade as I’ve previously mentioned, but there is the flipside of the Robby Cano issue. What if the loss of his butt buddy causes him to go into a depressing funk and his production sinks to 2008 levels. Seriously though as I always am trying to explain you really can’t underestimate the importance of team chemistry. Melk Man despite his piss poor english was clearly one of the fun guys in the club house. We just have to hope that guys like Jeter, CC, AJ, and Swisher can keep that clubhouse loose regardless.

2. This is all for naught if Cashman doesn’t spend the remaining cash on a left fielder. Such as Johnny Damon!!!!!! Wake up and hear me Cash. An outfield of Granderson, Swisher, and Brett Gardner is not an upgrade over Melky, Swisher, and Damon. An outfield of Granderson, Swisher, and Damon is a major upgrade. Let’s try to remember that.

Mike Dunn:

Pros-

I’m sorry Mike Dunn, but I’m afraid your departure in exchange for Javy Vazquez is all pros in my book. Dunn a project guy with upside was a converted outfielder. Supposedly he has a power arm but his stat line from 2009 shows a 6.75 E.R.A in four appearances. Atlanta clearly feels his ceiling his high, but in Reg’s book no big loss.

Arodys Vizcaino:

Pros-

Vizcaino is an unproven commodity and is not one of the Yankees top tier of prospects i.e. Jesus Montero or The Truth (Phil Hughes) or Joba. At only 19 he was a long way from making his impact on the majors. So including him in the package for Vazquez is a no brainer especially since Vazquez projects to be a Type A free agent if he is not resigned next year.

Cons-

Vizcaino was 2-4 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts for Class A Staten Island last season. So he definitely does have upside and is considered a high level prospect in the Yankees system. While he is not in the upper echelon of Yankees’ prospects he was certainly not someone the Yanks were anxious to surrender.

Now for a quick look at the pros and cons of the Yankees’ new bounty…

Boone Logan:

Pros-

Logan at only 25 years old is a lefty with a live arm. Last season his numbers weren’t impressive appearing in 20 games going 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA. Nevertheless he has minor league options left and he serves a potential purpose, possibly replacing Phil Coke’s role in the Yankee bullpen.

Cons-

There are none, even if Logan’s just a throw in for the deal he doesn’t hurt the Yanks in any way shape or form.

Javier Vazquez:

Pros-

There are lots and lots of positive reasons for bringing Mr. Vazquez back to the Yanks. To list a few:

1. As Cashman explained and I alluded to above with minimal funds left to either upgrade left field or the rotation, Cashman elected to upgrade the rotation. I say well played sir, defense and pitching wins Championships. With a double digit win 4th starter who eats innings the Yanks will no longer have to rely on a three man rotation in the playoffs. Especially after CC, AJ, and Pettitte racked up a lot of innings in 2009.

2. Apparently a lot of the Yankee higher ups are finally realizing that Joba is better suited for the pen than the rotation after witnessing him during the 2009 playoff run. This means Cashman only wanted one vacant rotation spot for either The Truth or a minor league prospect such as Ivan Nova. So look for Joba to be back in the bullpen as the eight inning man and the protegé to Mo even if Mo claims to want to play another 15 years. Reg absolutely loves this move by the way.

3. A lot of Yankee fans have a tainted view of Vazquez from his days as a Yankee, but remember this. Before pink eye (What is he Vinny from the Jersey Shore?) and a tired shoulder did him in, in 2004, he was 10-5 and made the all star team. Furthermore, listen to some of these stats:

• One of only two pitchers with over a 1000 k’s and 1000 innings since 2004. The other? Johan Santana.
• Over 198 innings pitched every year since 2000.
• The most k’s in the National League last year.
• Not to mention he is a double digit win guy with a sub 4 ERA consistently year in and year out.

So tell me why you wouldn’t want this guy as a number 4 who at the least will eat innings and give you 10 or so wins? Exactly anyone would, that’s why it’s a brilliant move.

Cons-

There aren’t any as I alluded to, another brilliant move by Cashman that is assuming he goes out and resigns Johnny at our price or another left fielder who represents an upgrade over Brett Gardner. We also have to hope that Vazquez has better luck thriving as a number four this time around in New York rather than in his previous role as a young ace.

During this holiday season lets take a minute to thank Cashman for all his brilliant moves and hope for the best in 2010. Keep checking back for the latest news and analysis.

Doc shows some love

Doc may be gone, but he’ll never forget us, at least according to the full-page ad he took out in today’s Toronto Sun to express his gratitude to the city and its “incredible fans” (that includes you!) (well, if you’re from Toronto, that is). Hey, it’s only fitting for Halladay to go out on a classy note.

Been a crazy week in the world of baseball so figured I’d provide you with a quick recap and a little analysis about how all the moves effect the Yankees and their plans moving forward.

Roy Halladay being introduced by the Phillies

Roy Halladay to The Phillies & Cliff Lee to The Mariners-

Have to start any conversation regarding the Hot Stove with the blockbuster deal of the 0ff-season, even if it doesn’t involve the Yanks.  This whole deal frankly weirds me out.  I understand that the Phillies didn’t give up much and that Lee was being difficult about signing a long-term deal, but seems like a lot to go through after giving up the house for Lee a year ago even if Halladay is marginally better than Lee.

However, what really gets my blood going is the fact that the Jays gave up Halladay for practically nothing compared to what the Yanks were offering.  Many talent scouts are arguing that the Yanks offer was substantially better, not to mention the fact that the small market Jays are paying a portion of Halladay’s salary in 2010.  Even if the truth was that the Jays didnt’ want to trade Halladay in the division, I find it hard to believe that there was not a better deal out there?  Think about the haul the Mariners gave away for Bedard a few years ago.  Is there no one that dumb left out there?

Regardless, kudos to both the Phillies and the Mariners.  The Phillies continue to be willing to spend and look poised to return to the big stage and represent the National League next year.  However, they still do not scare me matching up against the Yanks.  They replaced one starter who couldn’t go three times against the Yanks with another starter who won’t be able to go up against the Yanks three times in the Series.  They still have miserable Cole Hamels as their number 2.  What would have been the real coup was if they somehow managed to obtain Halladay without giving up Lee.

The Mariners continue to impress me this offseason as well.  They are really open to spending money, signing Figgins, and acquiring Lee.  Let us not forget that they won 85 games last year in the American League West and they are closing the gap on the Angels by taking away Figgins and Lackey heading east to the Red Sox.  They also now have a formidable 1-2 punch atop their rotation with Felix Hernandez and Lee, which also happens to allow them to alternate Righty and Lefty in their rotation.  If the Mariners really want to seal the deal they need to lock up Lee and King Felix long-term and get a corner outfielder with some power for the middle of the order.  If they do that then they just may make some noise in 2010.  Nevertheless, neither of these moves make me nervous or really affect the Yanks on a day to day basis.

John Lackey & Mike Cameron to The Red Sox-

Toph already went into the John Lackey signing in some depth, so I won’t spend too much time on this move.  I’ll  just try to hit on a few key points.

Does this make me nervous? Not at all on face value, but if we dig a little deeper I’m starting to get nervous (not that I would ever admit it to a Sox fan).  There is no real explanation why pitching was a top priority for the Sox unless they were just looking to make any move to keep up with the Jones’ (a.k.a the Yankees) or if they were getting some chips ready for a trade.  If they are in fact keeping the pitchers they have on their roster now, their rotation is insane.  Maybe the best in the league with Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Buchholz, and some combination of Matsuzaka and Wakefield.  Not too shabby…

However, as Toph started to explain there is some reason to be concerned about Lackey if you’re a brutal sox fan:

• His career numbers at Fenway
• Career numbers against the Yanks
• His injury history
• He’s 31 years old

Nevertheless, Lackey’s career numbers and his contract are very similar to those of AJ Burnett.  Lackey is 31 years old and his career record is 102-71 with a 3.81 ERA compared to a 32 year old Burnett with a career record of 100-85 with a 3.84 ERA.  AJ in turn signed a a 5 year, $82.5M contract with the Yanks a year ago.   So if any Sox fan talks about what a steal this signing was for the same price as AJ even though Lackey is better, I may have to smack them.  In any event, they have eerily similar numbers and you have to wonder if it would have been worth it for the Yanks to jump into to the negotiations for at least the sake of driving up the price for the Sox.  We can only hope that Lackey’s heinous physical attributes and injuries catch up to him over the course of this long-term deal.  He certainly fits in with the rest of the Sox with his generally offensive demeanor.

As for Mike Cameron all I have to say is eh.  A platoon of Hermida/Cameron certainly isn’t going to make up for the

Nothing like a 37 year old outfielder with a .250 career BA to be a part of your everday lineup

loss of production from Bay.  Their outfield would be Hermida/Cameron in Left Field, Jacoby Ellsbury in Center Field, and J.D. (Nancy) Drew in Right Field.  What a joke this line up would be as Toph already explained.

Unfortunately, my paranoid tendencies are creeping up on me and I don’t believe the Sox are that dumb.  The little voices in my head combined with what I’m hearing from various sources is making me very very nervous that the Sox are on the verge of trading for Adrian Gonzalez.  Couldn’t you see the Sox signing Cameron and Lackey just so they could afford to give up Bucholz and Ellsbury in a trade?  Granted their outfield would still be absolute poo, but their rotation and lineup as a whole would be something to fear.  We can only wait and see how this shakes out…

One side note- if this were to happen I would be able to hold the moral high ground over every Sox fan I know who lambasted “the Evil Yankee Empire” over the years for buying free agents and trading for superstars while mortgaging our future.  Well Sox, say goodbye to Ellsbury and Buckholz and say hello to John Lackey’s contract when he is 35.  This may work out alright for the next couple of years, but pretty soon you will be the Yankees of the mid 2000’s and I will be on cloud 9.

Curtis Granderson to The Yankees-

Yankees welcome Curtis Granderson

Absolutely love this move, and in my opinion, there is absolutely no downside to making this trade.  The Yanks only had to give up Ian Kennedy, Phil Coke, and Austin Jackson to get this deal done and in turn we got a stud Centerfielder with very few flaws.

First lets look at the pieces the Yanks gave up.  Ian Kennedy’s ceiling is not very high, he is a back end rotation guy at best, and he has certainly fallen out of favor with the Yankee organization given his attitude and injury history.  His stuff certainly isn’t good enough for the AL East, but his stuff figures to translate better to a larger park in the inferior NL West.

Austin Jackson has long been touted as the stud of the Yankee’s farm system. However, time is running out.  He will be 23 at the start of the 2010 season and he has yet to break into the majors at any point.  He certainly hit for average in the minors, but last  year alone he had 123 k’s so his OBP is lacking.  Additionally, he only had 4 HR’s.  So if his power isn’t there at this point who is to say it would ever be there against big league pitching.  Lastly, he did have 24 stolen bases last year in the majors, but some are even beginning to question his speed.  Jackson may very well end up being a stud, but he will never be a superstar and his ceiling probably isn’t very different from Granderson’s performance now.

Phil Coke doesn’t deserve much content (no offense Phil).  Yankees fans fell in love with him from time to time over the course of the season, but truth be told he was a mid range reliever with a poor attitude who tailed off towards the end of the year.  So in short he is easily replaceable.

Now back to Granderson.  Granderson will be 29 at the start of the season and he is a versatile player with speed and power.  He has problems hitting for average only batting .249 last year with a .327 OBP.  His biggest problems are his strikeouts, 141 last year, and his .183 batting average against left handed pitching.  While these numbers might throw up some red flags you can’t ignore his 30 HR and 20 SB last year.  This adds needed speed to the lineup and its safe to say his lefty swing could translate to 35-40 HR playing predominantly with the short porch at Yankee Stadium.  His defense is also an upgrade as it allows the Yanks to move Melky to left, upgrading that position as well.  It remains to see where he will be slotted in the lineup and that largely depends on whether or not Damon returns.

A lot of lingering questions, but unreal trade and I’m very confident that Kevin Long and the whole team can work with Granderson to correct some of his problems against lefties and improve his pitch selection.

Sayonara Matsui

Hideki Matsui to The Angels-

 As a loyal and true fan, I will miss Matsui.  He was a stand up guy and a great Yankee, but business is business.  The Yanks are trying to get younger and more athletic and to employ someone who can only DH regardless of the production they can bring, was not in the Yankees plans.  His price tag was reasonable, but his knees continue to be an ongoing concern.  I wish him well on the Angels, he will be an adequate replacement for Vlad out there but all in all this move does not greatly affect the Yankees’ plans going forward.  Fortunately the Angels are the first home series of the year so Matsui will be their for the ring ceremony and the applause he rightfully deserves.

Nick Johnson to The Yankees -

No part of me is particularly happy about this signing.  I did used to like Nick Johnson when he came up with the Yanks, but he is overweight and injury prone.  The truth of the matter and why I’m really up in arms is that for all intensive purposes this means the end of Johnny Damon’s run on the Yanks.  With Nick Johnson on board to primarily fill the DH spot, the need for Johnny is not as great.  The Yanks most likely feel that they are better served to spend the rest of their alloted budget on a starting pitcher and a more versatile younger utility player such as Mark DeRosa.

Welcome back Nick Johnson

The only upside of Nick Johnson is that he is a great OBP guy.  Only Pujols and Mauer had a higher OBP that Johnson last year.  Last year his batting average was .291 and his OBP was .426 all very good.  Problem is he has basically no power with only 8 HR and no versatility.  He is basically obese and can only DH and play 1B.  Hopefully Cashman knows what he is doing and this will work out, after all its only a 1 year deal so I’m trying to think positively.

Where Do We Go From Here-

I pretty much summed my thoughts up above on where the Yanks need to go from here, but since I like to hear myself talk I will repeat it once again.  In my mind the Yanks priorities should be as follows:

1. Starting Pitching:

Right now our starting rotation is comprised of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, and potentially Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes in that 4th and 5th spot.

This is problematic for a number of reasons, first and foremost Joba belongs in the bullpen!!!!  I don’t know how that isn’t obvious to everyone in the Yankee organization by now.  He thrives in the high pressure 8th inning role and as a starter he is unimpressive.  He doesn’t have the make up or the mind set to be a starter so wake up and put him in the bullpen and sign a 4th starter.

With regards to Phil Hughes let me preface what I’m about to say with a little disclaimer on my feelings for P Hughes since this is the first time you are hearing me opine on him.  I absolutely love him, think he is going to be a stud, and a number 1 starter for years to come. He has amazing stuff and he is just a total beast.  In fact to take this one step further I must let it be known that I have had a customized Hughes #65 jersey since 2007 when he had just barely broken onto the roster and I even have coined my own nickname for Phil, I affectionately call him “The Truth”.  My good buddy even wrote an article for the Huffington Post detailing my love for the Truth and spreading the word about this illustrious nickname (See article).  But, I digress.  I think the Truth is better suited for the rotation and I think he will be a very serviceable 4th or 5th starter as he learns the ropes and deals with innings limitations that will be placed with him.  But as much as this pains me to say when you are the Yanks and your ultimate goal is a championship, you cannot be relying on unproven starters.  We need to go out and sign a low cost high reward starter i.e. Ben Sheets.  This will also free up a rotation spot and allow Joba to return to the pen.  Keep your fingers crossed…

2.     Johnny Damon:

We need to resign Johnny Damon!!!! Are you listening Cashman?  He is still super productive and would be a great part time DH and occasional Leftfielder.  Yes, his asking price is insane, but I believe it will come down.  I can’t believe there is actually a market for Johnny at $13M per year, he might have a rude awakening like Abreu last year.  I respect Cashman trying to get younger, but Johnny’s production is a lot to walk away from and chemistry is underrated.  He is a great clubhouse guy and the team wants him back so make it happen Brian!!!!

3.   Back Up Plans

If Johnny doesn’t end up happening, I’m a big advocate of signing Mark DeRosa.  He is versatile, could play LF when needed and all of the infield positions.  Always great to have a guy like that on your team and he’s a pretty good hitter as well. Otherwise we just need to add some arms to the bullpen and continue to make it rain as always.  Here is to number 28 and an era of the Red Sox in the dumps…

Are A Rod & Kate Hudson calling it quits?

According to recent reports by the New York post and other media outlets, Alex Rodriguez and Kate Hudson may have parted ways.  Apparently the Post has talked to numerous sources who saw A Rod out and about in Miami over the past week with multiple women and spitting sweet lines such as, “I’m definitely single.”

You may be asking yourself why do I give an f or not if A Rod is single?  As any diehard Yankee fan would know, it is very possible that Kate Hudson might have a magic beaver.  Yeah, A Rod had a lot of other major off the field issues this year that may have changed him for the better, but I’d like to believe that Kate Hudson helped make A Rod much less of a freak.  This in turn helped endear him to his teammates and helped his performance on the field, getting the monkey off his back and allowing A Rod to finally become clutch.

A Rod at this year's Ticker Tape Parade

Granted A Rod still had his moments of freakdom even with Kate Hudson in tow i.e. the picture above.  However, we can only hope that these rumors aren’t true or that Kate Hudson wasn’t really the catalyst for change.  Otherwise we may be heading back to inconsistent play when it counts and the freakdom demonstrated below.  Eeesh neeesh…

A Rod being a total freak

Lackey going East

John Lackey will be signing with the Boston Red Sox for upwards of $85 million over 5 years according to ESPN and SI.com.

This is an interesting move considering these numbers:

John Lackey career at Fenway Park:  2-5 w/ a 5.75 ERA in 9 starts

John Lackey career v. Yankees:  5-7 w/ a 4.66 ERA

Icing on the cake: 2009 Playoffs, all v. Yankees:  2 starts, 0-1, 12.1 innings , 15 hits, 7 runs, 10 Ks.

John Lackey is incredibly overrated.  He played in the ultra-competitive AL West and he has a long and distinguished injury history. Instead of spending money on their incredible dearth of hitting talent (see below), the Red Sox decided it would be a good idea to spend more money on a mediocre pitcher.  Goodbye Jason Bay, goodbye Matt Holliday.  Hello Adrian Beltre and his 6 home runs.  The Red Sox are crumbling right before our eyes, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

Theo Epstein is a genious…

From Boston.com, a projected current lineup for the 2010 Boston Red Sox (this is serious, I’m not kidding):

Lineup:

Ellsbury CF

Pedroia 2B

Youkilis 1B

Martinez C

Ortiz DH

Drew RF

Scutaro SS

Somebody 3B

Hermida/Somebody LF

Really?  They can have all the pitching they want…this lineup does NOT even scare the Kansas City Royals, let alone the New York Yankees.  My favorites would be their #s 7-9 hitters.

Halladay is reportedly heading to Philly

As long and hard as us Jays fans have prepared for this, I don’t think any of us knew exactly how we’d react when it actually happened. It’s pretty much official: Roy Halladay is gone. According to several sources, the Jays, Phillies and Mariners have a agreed to a three-team trade that will send Doc to Philadelphia and Cliff Lee to Seattle with Canadian pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont and catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud coming to Toronto. The deal isn’t yet finalized, but it’s looking pretty legit. Definitely more to come on this soon.

Red Sox Acquire Boof Bonser From Minnesota Twins – Boston Red Sox …
Red Sox Acquire Boof Bonser From Minnesota Twins – Boston Red Sox – NESN.com.

Red Sox Acquire Boof Bonser: MLB Rumors – MLBTradeRumors.com
8:28am: The Red Sox acquired pitcher Boof Bonser, according to the pitchers agency Reynolds Sports Management. Bonser was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Carl Pavano. The 28-year-old had labrum and rotator cuff …

Boof Bonser,Bostondirtdogs | TheNewsPk
Boof Bonser,Bostondirtdogs:The Red Sox [team stats] just announced that they have acquired right-hander Boof Bonser from the Twins for a player to be named later.

Red Sox sign SP Boof Bonser | The Bottom Line
MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Red Sox have signed starter Boof Bonser. The Red Sox acquired pitcher Boof Bonser, according to the pitchers.

Boof Bonser Designated For Assignment: MLB Rumors – MLBTradeRumors.com
TUESDAY, 1:32pm: The Twins designated pitcher Boof Bonser for assignment to make room for Carl Pavano, tweets Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 28-year-old Bonser had labrum and rotator cuff surgery in February. …

SoxProspects.com News: Red Sox acquire Boof Bonser
The Red Sox have acquired pitcher Boof Bonser from the Minnesota Twins, according to Bonsers agent Larry Reynolds. The Twins will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations in exchange for the big right-hander, …

Whats Hot & Buzzing in America ? | rule 5 draft | boof bonser …
Whats Hot & Buzzing in America ? | rule 5 draft | boof bonser | obama nobel peace prize speech | jamie hoffman | chris cuomo leaving gma | tiger woods women.

Sox sign Boof – Projo Sox Blog
INDIANAPOLIS _ The Red Sox have acquired pitcher Boof Bonser from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for a player to be named later. The 28-year-old right-hander missed the entire 2009 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair …

BostonHerald.com – Blogs: Clubhouse Insider Blog Archive Red …
Red Sox acquire Bonser from Twins. The Red Sox just announced that they have acquired right-hander Boof Bonser from the Twins for a player to be named later. Bonser was considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball after …

What are the necklaces the Minnesota twins pitchers wear around their necks?
Mike Napoli
(LAA – C
Derrek Lee
(ChC – 1B
Ian Kinsler
(Tex – 2B
Alex Gordon
(KC – 1B,3B
Cristian Guzman
(Was – SS)
Eric Byrnes
(Ari – OF
Ryan Church
(NYM – OF)
Casey Kotchman
(LAA – 1B
Brad Hawpe
(Col – OF)
Mike Lowell
(Bos – 3B
Todd Helton
(Col – 1B

Daisuke Matsuzaka
(Bos – SP
Brian Bannister
(KC – SP
Bobby Jenks
(CWS – RP
Dontrelle Willis
(Det – SP
Chris Young
(SD – SP
Sidney Ponson
(Tex – SP
Boof Bonser
(Min – SP
Jake Peavy
(SD – SP
Matt Albers
(Bal – SP,RP
Kevin Millwood
(Tex – SP
Scott Kazmir
(TB – SP
John Lackey
(LAA – Sp
Jon Lieber
(ChC – SP,RP
i made a trade a few days ago for Jake Peavy and Nick Swisher for Lance Berkman did i make a mistake by making this trade

looking at my tean should i trade Casey Kotchman for Travis Hafner and Brad Penny?
and make my team stronger
Mike Napoli
(LAA – C
Derrek Lee
(ChC – 1B
Ian Kinsler
(Tex – 2B
Alex Gordon
(KC – 1B,3B
Cristian Guzman
(Was – SS)
Eric Byrnes
(Ari – OF
Ryan Church
(NYM – OF)
Casey Kotchman
(LAA – 1B
Brad Hawpe
(Col – OF)
Mike Lowell
(Bos – 3B
Todd Helton
(Col – 1B

Daisuke Matsuzaka
(Bos – SP
Brian Bannister
(KC – SP
Bobby Jenks
(CWS – RP
Dontrelle Willis
(Det – SP
Chris Young
(SD – SP
Sidney Ponson
(Tex – SP
Boof Bonser
(Min – SP
Jake Peavy
(SD – SP
Matt Albers
(Bal – SP,RP
Kevin Millwood
(Tex – SP
Scott Kazmir
(TB – SP
John Lackey
(LAA – Sp
Jon Lieber
(ChC – SP,RP
i made a trade a few days ago for Jake Peavy and Nick Swisher for Lance Berkman did i make a mistake by making this trade

What do you think of my team 12 man league should i just trade jenks since i wont win with 1 closer anyway?
Available Pitchers on the Wire:
Ian Snell
Scott Olsen
Kevin Milwood
Garrett Olson
Bronson Arroyo
Bonderman
Gorzelanny
Jeff Francis
Mark Hendrickson
Greg Smith
Brian Burres
Mussina
Jesse Litsch
Matt Garza
Gil Meche
Jon Lester
Maddux
Boof Bonser

Gallardo out, who to pick up?
I’m looking for K’s but more importantly pitchers that wont get rocked…i havent won ERA yet..

Jeremy Bonderman

Bronson Arroyo

Boof Bonser

Miguel Batista

Justin Duchscherer

Andy Sonnanstine

Tim Redding

Nick Blackburn

Joel Pineiro

Todd Wellemeyer

Kevin Millwood

Odalis Perez

Choose the top 3 pitchers in this group?
Jeremy Bonderman

Bronson Arroyo

Boof Bonser

Miguel Batista

Justin Duchscherer

Andy Sonnanstine

Tim Redding

Nick Blackburn

Joel Pineiro

Todd Wellemeyer

Kevin Millwood

Odalis Perez

What pitchers do i add? choose 3?
12 Team Keeper League. Head to Head with 25 players and 2 DL spots.

C – Victor Martinez
1B – Justin Morneau
2B – Rickie Weeks
SS – Rafael Furcal
3B – Yunel Escobar
IF – Nick Swisher
OF – Matt Holliday
OF – Kosuke Fukudome
OF – Adam Dunn
OF – Michael Cuddyer (Picked up to replace Drew and Ellsbury)
UTIL – Evan Longoria
BN – Jacoby Ellsbury (sitting out with injury)
BN – JD Drew (“”)
Stats Are R, HR, RBI, SB, BB, AVG

SP – Taylor Buchholz (Fills in when SP spot not needed)
SP – Chad Durbin (“”)
SP – Johan Santana
RP – Jonathan Papelbon
RP – George Sherrill
P – Carlos Marmol
P – Heath Bell
P – Rafael Betancourt
P – Aquilino Lopez (filling in for Borowski)
BN – Hiroki Kuroda
BN – Daisuke Matsuzaka
BN – Boof Bonser
DL – John Smoltz (will return as closer)
DL – Joe Borowski (questionable on return)
Stats are W, SV, K, H, ERA, WHIP

Minimum of 45 innings pitched per week is why i have so many relievers.

I am currently in first by half a game after 4 weeks.

How would you rate my Hitters, SP, RP on scale of 1-10?Taylor Buchholz and Chad Durbin are both (SP,RP). I use them to fill in on days that my starters are not playing.

League is highly competitive. I missed out on both Cueto and Scherzer but now have a waiver priority of 1 so I am waiting for the next big name to drop.

Any Comments about my team would be appreciated.

How Would Your Rate My Fantasy Baseball Team?
Mike Napoli
(LAA – C
Derrek Lee
(ChC – 1B
Ian Kinsler
(Tex – 2B
Alex Gordon
(KC – 1B,3B
Jhonny Peralta
(Cle – SS
Eric Byrnes
(Ari – OF
Jeremy Hermida
(Fla – OF
Nick Swisher
(CWS – 1B,OF
Jeff Kent
(LAD – 2B
Brad Hawpe
(Col – OF)
J.J. Hardy
(Mil – SS

Daisuke Matsuzaka
(Bos – SP
Brian Bannister
(KC – SP
Bobby Jenks
(CWS – RP
Dontrelle Willis
(Det – SP
Chris Young
(SD – SP
Rich Hill
(ChC – SP
Boof Bonser
(Min – SP
Jake Peavy
(SD – SP
Barry Zito
(SF – SP
Kevin Millwood
(Tex – SP
Scott Kazmir
(TB – SP
John Lackey
(LAA – SP
Jason Schmidt
(LAD – SP
i made a trade a few days ago for Jake Peavy and Nick Swisher for Lance Berkman did i make a mistake by making this trade

What do you think of my team 12 man league? aloso do u think i should pick up s. rolen and if so who to drop?
Mike Napoli
(LAA – C
Derrek Lee
(ChC – 1B
Ian Kinsler
(Tex – 2B
Alex Gordon
(KC – 1B,3B
Jhonny Peralta
(Cle – SS
Eric Byrnes
(Ari – OF
Jeremy Hermida
(Fla – OF
Nick Swisher
(CWS – 1B,OF
Jeff Kent
(LAD – 2B
Brad Hawpe
(Col – OF)
J.J. Hardy
(Mil – SS

Daisuke Matsuzaka
(Bos – SP
Brian Bannister
(KC – SP
Bobby Jenks
(CWS – RP
Dontrelle Willis
(Det – SP
Chris Young
(SD – SP
Rich Hill
(ChC – SP
Boof Bonser
(Min – SP
Jake Peavy
(SD – SP
Barry Zito
(SF – SP
Kevin Millwood
(Tex – SP
Scott Kazmir
(TB – SP
John Lackey
(LAA – SP
Jason Schmidt
(LAD – SP
i made a trade a few days ago for Jake Peavy and Nick Swisher for Lance Berkman did i make a mistake by making this trade

What do you think of my team 12 man league?
Mike Napoli
(LAA – C
Derrek Lee
(ChC – 1B
Ian Kinsler
(Tex – 2B
Alex Gordon
(KC – 1B,3B
Jhonny Peralta
(Cle – SS
Eric Byrnes
(Ari – OF
Jeremy Hermida
(Fla – OF
Nick Swisher
(CWS – 1B,OF
Jeff Kent
(LAD – 2B
Brad Hawpe
(Col – OF)
J.J. Hardy
(Mil – SS

Daisuke Matsuzaka
(Bos – SP
Brian Bannister
(KC – SP
Bobby Jenks
(CWS – RP
Dontrelle Willis
(Det – SP
Chris Young
(SD – SP
Rich Hill
(ChC – SP
Boof Bonser
(Min – SP
Jake Peavy
(SD – SP
Barry Zito
(SF – SP
Kevin Millwood
(Tex – SP
Scott Kazmir
(TB – SP
John Lackey
(LAA – SP
Jason Schmidt
(LAD – SP
i made a trade a few days ago for Jake Peavy and Nick Swisher for Lance Berkman did i make a mistake by making

What you yhink of my team 12 team league?
I hav 2.76 ERA and 65 K…i only have 2 wins, which pisses me off

here is my rotation…

SP: Felix Hernandez
SP: Cole Hamels
RP: Bobby Jenks
RP: Todd Jones
P: Chris Young
P: Rich Hill
P: Shaun Marcum
BN: Brian Bannister
BN: Boof Bonser
BN: Jeremy Guthrie

King Felix has been lights out but the mariners dont give him any run support! Samething with Chris Young, although he has one win. Samething with Cole Hamels, what the heck is up??? should i be worried?

boof bonser real name, boof bonser pitcher, boof bonser cbs, boof bonser stats, boof bonser wikipedia, boof bonser scouting report, boof bonser bio, boof bonser mlb, boof bonser trade, boof bonser espn, Minnesota Twins, assignment, Carl Pavano, right-hander, RHP, starting pitcher, roster, Major League Baseball, MLB baseball, last season, free agent, minneapolis, twinsbaseball, shoulder, AAA, Target Field

Derek Jeter 2009 Sportsman of the Year

 Notable quote from Derek Jeter in his interview with SI accepting the Sportsman of the Year Award: 

“I just like the game,” he said. “I like competing. It’s hard to put into words, because it’s all I ever wanted to do. I only wanted to play baseball. I only wanted to play shortstop. I only wanted to play for the Yankees. My whole life. It wasn’t like I wanted to play for another team and ended up in New York. It wasn’t like I wanted to play another position and ended up at short. This has always been the dream of mine: to play shortstop for the New York Yankees. And I get a chance to do it.” 

Derek Jeter & Girlfriend Minka Kelly

 How can you not love this guy?  Obviously not even the best athlete on his own team, but the ultimate competitor and all he does is win.  Couldn’t be prouder to have him on my squad as long as he wants to wear the pinstripes.   He will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest Yankees of all time, if not the greatest, period.  

Not to mention, he is a total bro off the field and pulls more tail than any other major sports/pop icon (except maybe Tiger).  This all proves my point, and he does it all without ever being in the news for anything negative. 

Andy Pettitte, the Stopper, has indicated his interest in returning to the Yankees for a 16th season.  Now it’s just a matter of nailing down the specifics and getting him under contract.  This move marks the first piece falling into place en route to repeating and celebrating an unprecedented 28th World Championship.

We will continue to keep you posted as the hot stove develops at the Winter Meetings…

Toph’s Thoughts:

Petttitte key to #28?  I don’t think so…

Sorry Reg, but as a Marlins (#1) and Yankees (#2) fan, I have to say that I’m pretty indifferent about the Pettitte signing.  Sure, it’s great, he was great in the playoffs, he is sturdy, his heart is into it, he’s the stopper.  We know this.  Pettitte is not the key to #28, as nice as it would be to believe that.  The fact of the matter remains…the Yankees have to add more speed and versatility in their lineup.  Last year they got by because they had big bats throughout the lineup.  With the potential for Matsui to be gone, and an aging lineup, it is really important for the Yanks to go after some speed.  The reality is that adding speed to the outfield, but adding speed and obp to the outfield will only make Tex, A Rod and Co. that much more dangerous.  We all saw what happens when guys like Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Eric Aybar, etc. can do when they get on base.  They make pitchers nervous, thus giving the batters an edge.  They turn singles into stolen bases, and thus more RBI opportunities.  All in all, the Yankees MUST add a CF w/ speed who can get on base…power is not necessary in this lineup.

That, and of course, they could use a #3 starter (Pettitte should be a #4) and they need to put Joba back in the bullpen.

Reg’s Thoughts:

Toph, while your arguments have some merit. First and foremost I must question your Fanhood.  As a secondary fan of the New York Yankees your fanhood lacks the passion that you would have as a true fan (as I hope you do for the Marlins).  Your fanhood of the Yankees is purely based on the statistics and the bottom line.  What you fail to take into consideration, are the intangibles: Tte leadership, the clubhouse, the fact that Andy is a pure winner when it comes down to it.  These are completely over your head.

Otherwise you make valid points.  Joba should be back in the Pen and the rotation should be comprised of CC, AJ, Pettite, Hughes, and the fifth starter (TBD where they will be slotted) via trade or free agency.  I would also love to see some speed added to the lineup i.e. Curtis Granderson and move Melky to Left Field. 

Do I think Andy is the key to #28?  Absolutely not and I never alleged that I did.  However, this is just the first of many important pieces in the puzzle that will develop at the Winter Meetings. 

Looks like Johnny Mac is gonna be back for another go-round

Here’s some good news for Jays fans shocked and hurt by the imminent Roy Halladay trade: ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports the team is close to bringing back some standout shortstop named John McDonald on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million.

With contending out of the question for the next 47 years, re-signing Johnny Mac makes sense. With a host of young pitchers, why not get the best defensive shortstop in the world to make their lives easier? Of course, a Mac signing also makes it less likely Marco Scutaro won’t be back in black in 2010, leaving another team to grossly overpay him. Fine by me — I’ll take the draft picks (just make sure you sign them, Alex Anthopolous Ricciardi Jr.).

Meanwhile, in Halladay news, ESPN also reports the Red Sox are aggressively pushing for his services, saying they’re “putting on a full-court press” and hope to get a deal done before the winter meetings get rolling Dec. 7. Not sure if it’s the best idea to deal Doc within the decision, but a package including Clay Buchholz and Josh Bard might be the best we see. Let’s see what happens!