T-Minus: 1 Day

Ka-boom.

The proverbial shit hits the fan tomorrow. Alex Rodriguez descends on Tampa and will no doubt spend the day throwing more dirt on his own unmarked grave. The reporters, journalists, and media folk will revel in the moment as they pick apart his already eviscerated remains. Get ready. It should be nothing less than horrific.

The last week or so of baseball news has been dominated by one thing and one thing only. Mr. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez took steroids from 2001-2003. Gone in an instant was any remaining credibility A-Rod ever had. The prevailing thought has been more of a collection of emotions in all forms of media. Those emotions are little more than shock, outrage, and sanctimony.

I've been on mini-hiatus due to the frustration and contempt I have in regards to all forms of media and the way this story has been handled. The prevailing thought I'm left with is that it's nothing more than a sad commentary on the human condition and the modern world. That's a touch too deep for a baseball blog however, so I'll just leave you with my final thoughts in regard to the matter. There may or may not be one more post tomorrow, but after tomorrow, I will be on an A-Rod news blackout.

With that in mind here's my final say on the matter:

• Bud Selig is garbage. He's done more damage to the game than any other single entity. Why is a list of players who took illegal substances in 2003 still around in 2009? How long do you think it took Roger Goodell to destroy whatever he saw on those Spygate tapes? Why is something of that importance, something that's supposed to be a secret, just sitting in some lab in Arizona?
• And what does this say about court orders and the power of the press? I mean, if a court ordered a document sealed, how can someone publish second-hand information divulging the contents of said sealed document? How can they not reveal their sources to boot? I'm all for a free press, but what about privacy rights?
  
• Despite the fact that I pretty much expected this mess with A-Rod (he played with Pudge Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmerio, and Juan Gonzalez in Texas and averaged 40 HRs a season as a SS), I'm still very naive. For some reason, I thought that 103 other players would hold press conferences and make announcements of their own. Their silence speaks so much louder than any single admission.
• The media's inability to uncover any of those other names is more pathetic and twice as sad. My thoughts above notwithstanding, it's their job to get the story. It's their job to get those names -- especially now that one is already out there. I give Selina Roberts as much credit as I can because she broke a big-time story and got it right the first time. In fact, she got A-Rod so good, he fabricated some bullshit to try and spin her as a stalker and a psycho (just more evidence to the fact that A-Rod is a tremendous baseball player and a tremendous douchebag), and has publically apologized for it. But where are the other guys? Buster Olney has no problem with taking A-Rod's shot at the Hall of Fame away from him, that's great, Buster, but there's 103 other guys who you need to scowl and look down your nose at. So save up some of that self-righteous indignation, you might need it.
• Everyone's complicit. Guys in the lockeroom either participated or turned it down. The manager's had to know what was going on in their clubhouses and what was going on with their players. GM's had to know what and who they were offering contracts to. Fans chanted at Canseco in the late 80's and Ken Caminiti dies in 2004. Why did it take 20 years for someone to notice and some names to come out?
  
• Why do we care? Seriously. Is it the numbers? Does 61 and 755 mean that much? They're just numbers. I don't get it. Shawne Merriman could break the single season sack record or the all-time sack record at any point of his career. Will anyone moan over the fact that he's been suspended for HGH?
  
• Why is disillusioning children still one of the worst things you can do? In the big morality play that is American life, for some reason, when you let some snot-nosed kid down you're worse than Hitler. I never got that.

I dunno. It's a sick, sad world out there. Let's hope A-Rod gets knocked down another peg or two before we solve any of the big problems.

Well That Was Fun

Any hope of just getting through Spring Training without much distraction or hoop-la just left town. A-Rod tested positive for steroids in 2003. That's great. The one thing I've been looking forward to since September has just been tainted with the stench of scandal, sensationalism, and all the other fat, juicy, gossip-laced mass media-driven entertainment horseshit that sells papers, leads broadcasts, and stays in the public consciousness for eons.

Thanks, Alex. Thanks, Sports Illustrated. Thanks, MLB. Thanks, Players Union. Thanks, Federal Government.

What I want to know now is who else is on that list? There should be 103 more names to follow now that Alex Roidriguez (yeah, expect that and a ton of "A-Roid" chants this year) has been shoved into the spotlight. When are those 103 other shoes gonna fall?

Am I surprised? No. Once the Federal Government got involved I knew the sealed list of names would be opened. The Feds can't keep important military secrets concealed, keeping this collection of baseball cards out of the news would be impossible. Sports Illustrated is fighting for any sort of credibility in the world of new media and has no qualms with reporting a sensational story such as this despite any agreements in place between MLB and the Union. Major League Baseball knowingly allowed or blindly looked the other way for years as its players and marketable commodities bulked up and broke records. The Union made sure of it. And A-Rod averages like 120 and 40 hrs a season for his career as a SS, notoriously the least productive position the game has seen. This really shouldn't surprise anyone.

So what does this all amount to? More headaches for Yankee fans and more ammo for Yankee haters and little else. The players in the Yankee clubhouse have had to deal with such distractions before. They stood by Giambi's vague apology. They backed Pettite's admission. They're gonna have to embrace whatever A-Rod does too.

Third time's the charm?

Taking Aim at the Captain

I've wanted to write this one for a while now, but how do you even do it? I mean where do you start? He's all we've known for so long and he's done nothing but earn and deserve every NY Yankees fan's undying adoration, respect, and gratitude. Big plays? There' a library of them. I can close my eyes and see them. Key hits? Yeah, he's got 'em in spades. So many hits, really. More than any other Yankee -- at the old Stadium, to be sure.

Can you even imagine the New York Yankees without Derek Jeter?

I can. And I do. It's not that bad either.

The simplest way to state it is also the most obvious. In 2 short seasons, Derek Jeter's contract is up. One of the highest paid players in the league will run out of his multi-years and the Yankees' multi-millions. He will also be 37 years old in June that year. There is no plan, outside of silly daydream scenarios, in existence that actually addresses moving him from SS to any other position on the field. He's already, statistically speaking, the worst defensive shortstop in the game, and has been for a long, long time. See this, this, this, and this if you don't believe me. Something's got to give.

Forget for one second about who he is and what he's done. Instead, try to picture what he will be and will do, 2 years older and 2 years slower in all aspects of the game. Realize that over the past 4 years long-time Yankee mainstays we all thought we couldn't live without, Bernie, Torre, and Giambi, were all shown the door with little fanfare or remorse. Next year Damon, Matsui, and Pettite get little more than a pat on the butt for their service as their contracts run out.


Why should it be any different for Derek?

It shouldn't. Sentimentality has it's place. I want 90's grunge rock to come back, but it's not happening. Sooner or later you have to come to realize your heroes are human and the game has passed them by. No one wants to see Derek fall down rounding third a la Willie Mays in a Mets uniform, do they? I mean it's not even like Jeter provides pop or power to our lineup. His bat will be missed, no doubt, but how much? Last year he led the team in hitting into double plays and he hit second all year long. How many rallies did he kill? How many runs did that type of performance prevent?

Rob Neyer offers his perspective on the Jeter issue and comes to the conclusion that the Yankess would be wise to live through 2 more years of Jeter's ridiculous jump-turn-throw things and then let him walk in 2010. I have to agree across the board and on all accounts. I even think Jeter's performance last year was a major contribution to the team's overall failure and have given my reasons, see #6.

It's a tough decision to have to make and my dismissive attitude belies my overall appreciation of Mr. November. But you cannot hamstring the organization to avoid hurt feelings or uncomfortable conversations. My real hope is that Derek starts talking about calling it a career in 2010 by the All Star break this year. I hope he has enough of the "intangibles" we shower on him to understand that it's best to leave the stage before the curtain falls on your head.

Moving forward, replacement is obviously an issue. In hindsight, dealing Gonzalez for an arm last year was probably short-sighted as Angel Berrora is now the best in-house option in the event of Posada-esque injury. In the event of a Nady or Swisher trade, I fully expect a SS prospect or player to be in the deal. Unless of course Ramiro Pena advances his game in the next 2 seasons and lives up to his presence in last year's Futures Game.

Stay tuned to this situation though. More and more opinions, scenarios, and thoughts on Derek Jeter and his future with the New York Yankees will come out as the his contract comes to a close. You might even have the opportunity to take a peek into a crystal ball this Spring when Derek lines up in the opposite dugout when Team USA takes on the Yankees.

If I'm Davey Johnson though, I'm definitely going with Jimmy Rollins.

Payroll, Manny, and Future Considerations

The guys at River Avenue Blues went ahead and did my job for me again today and broke down the 2009 payroll and beyond. It's a nice and neat look at what the Yankees have commitment-wise well into the future. I definitely recommend taking a look at it if you have any interest whatsoever in figuring out what we've spent and what we can still get.

With that in mind, The New York Times has a key quote from Brian Cashman 1 day removed from Manny being Greedy and turning down, what?!, 25 million dollars from the LA Dodgers. (Doesn't he know Dunn and Hudson will basically give LA the same production at a fraction of the cost?)

Cashman had this to say in regards to the Yankees signing Manny:

“I fully expect to go to spring training with what we’ve got. And that’s a good thing. People expect us to get in on Manny, but it’s not going to happen. We’re in the nonroster invitee mode.”

So unless you expect Manny to go to Tampa as a non-roster invitee of the New York Yankees, competing for a spot on the team with no guarantees and playing purely out of his love for the game and the City of New York.... ah, I'll leave it at that, you get the point -- he's not coming.

Interestingly enough, or not interestingly enough at all, the author of that RAB article referenced above goes way out on a limb and just assumes the Yankees will target Matt Holiday at 5 years $85 mill going into 2010.

Why? I mean Matt Holiday in left just strikes me as another offense-first outfielder who is shuffled to a corner spot because of his bat and the fact that the DH spot will be used by our older players. The author even makes a few key points against his own Holiday projections when he says the Yanks 2010 payroll would be $177.35 for just 11 players and $146 million for nine players in 2011. He then says that things could clear up in 2012, but CC would have to opt out and the Yankees would have to hold options on Cano, Marte, and Swisher, but that’s still $85 million on four players.

Here's what I don't get. You're trying to write an article about payroll flexibility and you muck it all up by adding a guy who inflates the payroll to the same lofty heights we've all come to realize was our downfall circa 2001-2007. Why? Because he's got some neat offensive statistic that no one, outside of roto-geeks and stat nerds, has ever heard of? Why not project a homegrown product like Austin Jackson for 2010? He may not play left, but he helps you prove a point Cash has been trying to make for a year now. Younger, more athletic, payroll flexibility, have you guys even been paying attention?