MONUMENTAL DECISIONS

This week, the Yankees finally designated a date (8/23) in which Joe Torre will receive his honored plaque and have his #6 retired.  For 2014, they also announced that they will be honoring and presenting an individualized plaque for Tino Martinez (on 6/21), Goose Gossage (on 6/22), and Paul O’Neill (on 8/9) in Monument Park, presumably without their respective numbers (24, 54, and 21) being retired.  Lastly, they additionally announced that Bernie Williams will also be honored with a plaque, but not until next season; also, without mention of his #51 possibly being retired.

The choosing of a separate year for Bernie is interesting and mysterious.  My hunch is that Tino, Goose, and Paul were grouped for this year because, while they were World Series heroes, none of them originated from the Yankees’ farm system, like Bernie did.  Hence, perhaps next year they will also add Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte to the 2015 grouping.

Maybe they’ll eventually designate a special Core 4 plague, bringing each of the 4 back for an additional Monument Park recognition.  Of course, that could only happen after Derek’s #2 is officially retired.  I don’t know how or when they can acknowledge and honor Jeter because no one knows for sure if they’ll make the playoffs or not, especially since they’re playing in the toughest division in all of baseball.  Last year, ironically, because of their failure to make the playoffs, it was actually easy and appropriate for them to have had the maneuverability to schedule Mariano’s honor and retirement of his special #42 to join Jackie Robinson’s commonly retired #42.

There’s one thing that will surely come out of these designated celebrations…disputes.  Some folks will undoubtedly argue that the Yankees have been honoring too many with a plaque and/or a retired number in Monument Park.  Of course, no other MLB team has had so many championships and All-Star champion players, making it hard for non-Yankees’ fans to be objective in their arguments.  Even most of the Yankees’ fans have had, and will certainly continue to have, debates over the overload issue and the choices made, especially when it comes to the prestigious retirement of the Yankees’ numbers. 

Thus far, the Yankees have retired numbers for Billy Martin (#1), Babe Ruth (#3), Lou Gehrig (#4), Joe DiMaggio (#5), Mickey Mantle (#7), Yogi Berra & Bill Dickey (#8), Roger Maris (#9), Phil Rizzuto (#10), Thurman Munson (#15), Whitey Ford (#16), Don Mattingly (#23), Elston Howard (#32), Casey Stengel (#37), Mariano Rivera & Jackie Robinson (#42), Reggie Jackson (#44), and Ron Guidry (#49).  That’s 16 numbers representing 18 players before Joe Torre’s upcoming #6 & Derek Jeter’s inevitable #2.

No one in their right mind could dispute Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, Dickey, Ford, Howard, Stengel, or Rivera for their contributions.  Nor could they dispute the eventual retiring of #2 for Jeter.  The others are far more debatable. In fact, I’ve already heard arguments for and against the others (Martin, Maris, Rizzuto, Munson, Mattingly, Robinson, Jackson, and Guidry).  Not many have disputed Torre’s upcoming #6 retirement, but many are questioning the deservingness of possible future retired number candidates O’Neill (#21), Martinez (#24), Williams (#51), Gossage (#54), and, possibly Jorge Posada (#20) and Andy Pettitte (#46) - two players the Yankees haven’t even mentioned yet.

It is my opinion that they should not retire all contributing players with multiple championships.  Otherwise, they’d have to backtrack to the 1920s, 30s, 40s, & 50s where many players contributed towards several championships.  Generally, I believe that the non-Hall of Fame caliber players don’t deserve to have their numbers retired in Monument Park with the exception of Thurman Munson and Ron Guidry.  The severe tragedy of Munson obviously shortened his career, but his Rookie of the Year, All-Star numbers, impressive defensive stats, and his deserving Captain title and leadership clearly qualified him as one of the greatest Yankees, even with his tragically shortened career.  Ron Guidry was one of the most dominating starters the Yankees ever had.  In fact, his 1978 Cy Young record of 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA was considered one of the greatest years by any pitcher in MLB history.  He had other years in which he won 16, 18, 17, 21, & 22 games from the mid-70s through the mid-80s.  Guidry also had another qualification that I consider; he played his whole career with the Yankees.

For me, if a player is either a Hall of Famer or a borderline Hall of Famer and has played most or his entire career with the Yankees, then I believe he generally qualifies for a retired number in Monument Park.  Hence, I also support their past retired number selection of Don Mattingly and a possible selection of Goose Gossage, but I wouldn’t support retiring the numbers for O’Neill, Martinez, or Williams.  I don’t even support them receiving plaques just because they each have 4 championship rings, although I respect each of them and am very grateful for their past contributions.  Again, the Yankees have many players that have won multiple championships throughout the team’s long existence.  For them, the Yankees should have plaques representing the decades with these key types of players designated on the plaques collectively.  For instance, they could create a plaque for the 1990s decade with an inscription representing Joe Torre as the manager, each Core 4 member, and perhaps an inclusion of the teams’ other All-Star players which would include Tino Martinez and Paul O’Neill.  I think that would be a great solution, while offering a compromise and adding key names that deserve recognition.  That would also help fans realize the importance of other key contributors towards multiple championships including deserving names such as Lefty Gomez, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Hank Bauer, Bob Meusel, and manager Joe McCarthy.

IT’S "PINE"DA!

Well, Michael Pineda has done it again - he’s embarrassed himself, his team, Yankees’ fans, and the NYY’s organization.  The Yankees’ young, surgery-recovered starting pitcher was caught with obvious pine tar along his neck, only one week after TV cameras had caught the same substance on his hand (both games against the most ignored cheater’s team, David Ortiz’ Boston Red Sox).  Still, two wrongs don’t make a right.  Pineda admitted utilizing the pine tar to help his cold fingers have control over non-fastball pitches.  The next day, he was suspended for 10 games.  As a Yankees’ fan, I personally feel humiliated and disappointed.

My humiliation stems from the prestigious expectations of the Yankees dating back from the early 90s to today’s Yankees.  Throughout those years, the Steinbrenners have worked hard at creating an overall classy persona for the organization, with players such as Jeter and Rivera leading the way.  Yes, they've had some bumps (mainly A-Rod), but no other team during those years has proven themselves with so many distinguished players (including Don Mattingly) and future hall of fame players (Jeter, Rivera), while accomplishing 5 world championships.  That’s why whenever one player goes outside the boundaries it gets magnified so much.

I’m disappointed because Pineda was already reprimanded after his last start by his manager, Joe Girardi and his pitching coach, Larry Rothschild.  Additionally, both Joe and Larry should have ensured that a full understanding was absorbed by Mike after they delivered their lecture.  The second usage of the pine tar proved otherwise!

Ironically, shortly after Pineda was ejected, baseball fans began to learn that almost ALL pitchers in the Major Leagues have been using pine tar for many, many years, according to several former players and managers!  Not only did former pitchers such as Rick Sutcliffe, David Cone, and Al Leiter admit to using it in their past, but former Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Roy Smith estimated through his professional experience that 75% of the pitchers typically use it.  No one in MLB insinuated otherwise.

That common inside-baseball knowledge was one reason why the Red Sox manager, John Farrell hesitated the last time to officially object to Pineda’s pine tar usage.  Even in Pineda’s second usage, Farrell didn't act vehemently mad, but instead focused his objection towards Pineda’s blatant display of the substance.  His own players, Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia, had supported pitchers using it for better grip just as hitters similarly used it on their bats.  Farrell also knew his own pitchers were using it (but concealed their usage).  Not surprisingly, the next game’s starter for the Red Sox, Jon Lester, “coincidentally” had absolutely no control of his breaking ball and sinker pitches and got hammered by the NYY hitters for an eventual lopsided loss. 

Pine tar’s offense usage was even a bigger deal back in 1983 when George Brett used a bat exceeding the allowed amount (18” from the bat’s barrel) of pine tar.  Billy Martin knew Brett was using an exceeding amount for approximately one year!  He waited that whole time for an opportune moment to capitalize on Brett’s rule-breaking usage.  When Brett hit a 3-run homer in the top of the 9^th inning in Yankee Stadium against Goose Gossage to put his Kansas City Royal’s team ahead 5-4, Billy came out to protest the bat and the umpires threw Brett out of the game while disqualifying the home run.  Four days later, the American League President, Lee MacPhail, determined that they would allow the home run from Brett’s “illegal” pine tar usage, bringing the game back to a Royals lead with a 5-4 score and scheduling a later date (25 days later) for the Royals to play their one-third remaining inning and the Yankees to play their unfinished half-inning.  Neither team scored another run.  Thus, the Yankees ended up with a loss.  George Brett’s whining and temper tantrum were unfortunately rewarded.  It’s just another instance in which favoritism rarely seems to “favor” the Yankees.

My main take on this whole Pineda incident is that it has now opened up Pandora’s box - not only related to pine tar, but to the fact that MLB is still hiding potential cheating from its fans.  It’s time for MLB to stop concealing things from the public.  They should have learned their lesson from the whole steroids issue!  With today’s TV coverage, anything physical can be detected, including non-blatant pine tar or any other substance.  MLB claims they’ll review the whole pine tar usage after this season, but why wait?  Procrastination rarely results into anything positive.  MLB should immediately review the need of pine tar by both pitchers and batters.  You can’t let one use it for an advantage and not the other.  Perhaps a compromise of allowance such as certain game-playing temperatures, a limited amount on a ball (susceptible to an umpire’s inspection at any given moment), a gripping glove (partial or whole) for a pitcher, etc. could resolve the issue.  In any case, stop the ignorance.  Let’s get this and any other upcoming surprises upfront and resolved!

2014 SEASON FORECAST (NYY & NYM)

How exciting is it that baseball is back?  I’m very excited because it’s absolutely my favorite sport.  In New York, we’ve already had one game played for each NY team - both teams lost.

The Mets’ loss was a tearjerker for their fans.  They had an early 3-0 lead at their own ballpark and retained a lead until the 9^th inning before the game was blown (tied in the 9^th & lost in the 10^th).  Most of their issues came from their pathetic bullpen and the result of their batters striking out 18 times (I thought they were swatting at gnats from the dampness of the day’s earlier snow in New York).  There is no way their bullpen can help them compete, as they are downright awful!  I was recently disputing Bobby Parnell’s (their closer) performance during spring training, stating that he looked overly ineffective.  The Mets’ fan (a friend of mine) that argued with me insisted that Parnell looked great.  Well, lo-and-behold it ended up that Parnell totally blew the lead in the 9^th inning giving up the tying run, with 2 outs.  Not only did he demonstrate ineffectiveness, but he was later diagnosed with an MCL tear in his elbow, which may lead to surgery.  Of course, Parnell is only one member of that pitiful bullpen.  So, no matter how they replace him, their bullpen as a whole will remain dismal.

The Yankees’ loss (in Houston) was no bargain, either.  CC Sabathia was ineffective during the first 2 innings.  While he later found the lower portion of the strike zone with less velocity than 2 years ago, the score was already 6-0.  The Yankees began to gain some momentum, but it was too late.  Unlike the Mets, I love the Yankees’ bullpen as a whole.  David Robertson (the best bullpen pitcher on either team) still has to prove he can close games, but even if he winds up back as the 8^th inning guy, I believe there are enough arms and strong personalities in their bullpen.  The latter sounds unrelated, but it’s a HUGE factor for success, especially as a bullpen pitcher.  Dellin Betances was throwing around 99 MPH and may finally shine this year.  If so, he can close games, if needed, or become the 8^th inning guy.  Time will tell if he is truly a force to be reckoned with as this season continues.

Here are summaries of my NY teams’ predictions:

Mets - 78 Wins/84 Losses

Overall Weaknesses:

- Bullpen
- Infield defense
- Lack of any shortstop
- Hitting
- Bartolo Colon avoiding a 2nd suspension (150-game-suspension would result)

Overall Strengths:

- Wright’s bat
- Murphy’s bat
- Granderson’s attitude/persona

Overall Comments:
- As a NY team, they need to spend at least some of the money the Wilpon family got back from their crooked deals.
- Their farm system is overrated.
- We all know about Matt Harvey, but with Parnell & Harvey both incurring elbow injuries within a short time, the Mets had better pay attention to their conditioning & medical staff (and Jonathon Niese’s medical complaints).
- Players like Murphy & Duda can hit, but too many of these “developed” players keep coming up from the Mets’ farm system without any impressive defensive abilities (add Ruben Tejada to that list).
- The Mets keep bragging about their young pitchers, but haven’t developed any pitchers that qualify as true aces or even number two starters, other than Harvey over a very long period.  Wheeler has yet to prove anything close to what Harvey had shown!

Yankees - 91 Wins/71 Losses

Overall Weaknesses:

- Aging & health of Jeter & Teixeira
- Lack of power from current infielders
- Mediocrity of CC

Overall Strengths:

- Starting Pitching (other than CC)
- Bullpen
- Outfield Offense

Overall Comments:

- The NYY still need to attain a power-hitting infielder.
- No one will ever replace Mariano, but David Robertson’s Houdini act may help him prove to be suitable and, if not, other quality arms exist.
- Their farm system (with a few upgrades in the offseason) has potential players ready to contribute, even though all of baseball refuses to admit it.  Last year, some of the farmhands had health issues, but this year’s major league team consists of more than one third of their 25-man roster (new or now-healthy) who came from or played on their 2013 AAA team!  (Ivan Nova, Dean Anna, Michael Pineda, David Phelps, Adam Warren, Yangervis Solarte, Francisco Cervelli, Vidal Nuño, & Dellin Betances).

Of course, these predictions are based on the current NYY & NYM teams.  Injuries, trades, and many other factors will “come to play”, but most baseball fans (including me) love to offer their seasonal predictions.  It’ll be fun to review at the end of the season.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF

Could this be the final 10-year deal for a player who will reach his 40s during the term?  Probably not!  Two days ago, the Detroit Tigers signed Miguel Cabrera to an eight-year extension giving Miguel a complete 10-year contract collectively worth $292 million.  That total value currently exceeds all other MLB multi-year contracts, including these:
 
Alex Rodriguez/$275 million/10 years/Yankees
Albert Pujols/$240 million/10 years/Angels
Robinson Cano/$240 million/10 years/Mariners
Joey Votto/$225 million/10 years/Reds
Clayton Kershaw/$215/7 years/Dodgers
Prince Fielder/$214 million/9 years/Rangers (but, was with the Tigers the first few seasons during the contract)
Michael Trout/$144.5 million/6 years (extension)/Angels

The last player from the list above (Michael Trout) just received his contract extension today.  That extension brings him to the age of 29, which is still considered young in baseball.  He and Clayton Kershaw are the only 2 players of the 7 that will not be anywhere near or over the age of 40 like the rest.  Simply put, both of their contracts make sense to me; but, the others are ridiculous.

What’s even worse is that all baseball fans, owners, general managers, and just about everyone who reads a newspaper or watches the news just finished experiencing the ramifications of what everyone had characterized as the worst sports contract of all time - the contract of Alex Rodriguez.  As he rounded near the age of 40, his health and offensive numbers proved to diminish - even with the aid of Biogenesis drugs.  The Yankees will still be stuck with his contract through 2017.

Getting back to the Tigers - they seemingly realized the original mistake they made a few years ago when they signed Prince Fielder to a $214 million contact by recently trading him to the Rangers; but, within just a few months of dumping his salary, they went ballistic by overspending on Cabrera.  Not only will he be in his 40s, but they already had him contracted for 2 more years.  Hence, they clearly bid against themselves with such a high amount at this stage of Cabrera’s career.  They also lessened their spending abilities towards extending the contract of their soon-to-be free agent, Max Scherzer.  He’s younger and had an expiring contract, which required more immediate attention!  Somebody in Detroit, either their owner (Mike Ilitch) or their General Manager (Dave Dombrowski) just made a “costly” mistake!!

Will they or any of the other owners (who claim to have spending restrictions) ever prove to have learned their lessons?  Will players such as Cabrera, Pujols, Cano, Votto, and Fielder show their worth as they get near the end of their contracts?  Will some of them end up like A-Rod in relation to cheating?

Of course some of the questions above will ultimately have the answer “Yes” because of one main reason (one that most baseball team owners haven’t learned yet):  history repeats itself.

INSTANT REPLAY…INSTANT REPLAY

I am ecstatic that MLB, along with its teams, players, owners, and the Players' Union have all agreed to implement instant replays beyond just the homerun calls this upcoming season.  Some baseball purists are against it, but I believe that they shouldn't deny the usage of today’s available technologies.  In fact, by utilizing these technologies, we can actually have the “purest” results because instant replays will help alleviate human error and enable the game to gain more integrity for its history and fans.  We all know people make mistakes and that’s what makes us human; but, why do we have to continually consent to avoidable mistakes when there is technology that “people” made to reduce them?  Besides, ironically most of the umpires encourage its usage, as they want their own calls to be correct!

Like the majority of today’s baseball fans, I have been frustrated with many erroneous calls by umpires over the years.  We’ve had too many (probably thousands) of such calls that have caused games and changed baseball history.  Here are just three that involved New York and one standout that involved Detroit:

1955 World Series - Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson supposedly stole home and Yogi Berra went ballistic.  This play is still argued in today’s era.  (Umpire Bill Summers)

1996 ALCS - Yankees’ Derek Jeter’s called homerun with Jeffrey Maier reaching over the wall & coercing the ball into his grasp.  (Umpire Rich Garcia)

2010 Non-Perfect Game - Tigers’ Armando Galarraga seemingly achieves a perfect game on the last supposed out of the game with a standard groundout to first baseman Miguel Cabrera and the throw to Armando with the runner out by at least a foot.  (Umpire Jim Joyce - who later apologized & admitted he made a mistake)

2012 Mets’ 1^st No-Hitter - Mets’ Johan Santana gives the team its first no-hitter in over 50 years, although a missed call in the 6^th inning whereby a ball hit by ex-Met Carlos Beltran clearly hit the leftfield chalk, as the chalk chopped into the air.  (Umpire Adrian Johnson)

Umpires' miscalls have stood out even more in recent years because of today's TV technologies.  Slow motion from numerous angles has visually magnified most miscalls.  This has given TV viewers an advantage over fans physically at the games, while also emphasizing umpires' mistakes.  I know, for me, it usually causes such frustrations (especially when the call is against the Yankees) that I end up screaming at my television set, almost believing the umpire can hear me through the television!

It’s hard enough to commit approximately 3 hours to watch a game, without having to see unjust calls change the outcome in many cases.  It’s become way too frustrating over time - even the umpires are humiliated, especially later when others definitively point out their flaws with televised replays as supporting proof.  That's one of the reasons why most of the umpires are in favor of the utilization of instant replay being used at the ballparks.  In the end, it lessens their chances of being called many names including "blind" and "idiot" - just a couple of the clean common adjectives used.

It is refreshing to know that MLB is persistent towards improving the integrity of the game that I love so much.  Game-used instant replay usage clearly demonstrates that to me.  This first phase of most instant replays will begin in just a couple of weeks.  Spring training games have already included the testing of it and helped prove that it's a very useful tool, without much disruption to the game's time.  As the season progresses, MLB will continually evaluate possible enhancements – another sign of common sense demonstrated by MLB.

Here's an outline of this whole new instant replay incentive:

Each manager can request for one obligatory instant replay per game within the first 6 innings, but must dispute the call quickly and before the next official game occurrence, while emphasizing the portion of the evidence he wants reviewed.  Additionally, each manager can earn just one other appeal within the first 6 innings if their first requested appeal was an overturned call – proving that he was right.  From the 7^th inning on, the umpires can still utilize the replay system if they, themselves, are in doubt or if a manager disputes it, but the umpires are no longer obligated in either instance. 

All applicable replay requests will be reviewed by a dedicated umpire in MLB’s New York Command Center.  If that umpire feels that the replay conclusively shows the original call as being incorrect, he will then communicate the irrefutable change or retained call to the on-field crew chief umpire to officially declare.  The umpire in the Command Center will also advise of any repositioning of applicable base-runners.  The same video replays will be available to the home team's stadium personnel and can separately be communicated to both teams' managers via the dugout phone.  Replays are also allowed to be shown on the stadium's monitor to the fans (close plays were forbidden to be shown in the past).  The Command Center's decisions are considered final.

Umpire calls that can be disputed with a replay to conclude:

Homeruns (which were already implemented in 2008); outfield trapped balls; ground-rule doubles; outfield fair/foul balls; batters hit-by-pitch; timing plays such as tag-ups versus the ball’s official catch; runners touching a base (with an appeal throw); trailing runners passing other lead runners; tag plays; fan interference; force plays (other than a double plays’ portion at second base); stadium’s boundary determinations; and any record-keeping, such as total strikes/balls.

Umpire calls that cannot be disputed with a replay:

Strike zone (balls & strikes); checked swings; second base outs via double play attempts (a.k.a. neighborhood plays); and potential trapped balls within the infield; or interference calls (such as a catcher's glove touching the batter's swinging bat).

Each dispute is expected to take less than 90 seconds collectively to review and declare.

SELECTIVE DYSLEXIA?

This past week, the Mets General Manager, Sandy Alderson predicted that the Mets should win 90 games this season - this is not a misprint on my part!  Now, I certainly know he couldn’t have accidently reversed the numbers from 09 (zero-nine) from his notes because even the Mets have never won that few during a season - although they still own the MLB record for least amount of wins (42) in a season.

Presuming he has some common sense, he must have a brain disorder I’m calling, “Selective Dyslexia” whereby he’s reading a 2014 notation with the standard two columns showing wins/losses.  That is logical because most folks with common sense know the 2014 Mets could win 72 games and lose 90.  I happen to like Sandy and am choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he couldn’t possibly be so gullible.

On the other hand, when the Mets owner, Fred Wilpon followed with, “We better win 90.” I had no doubt there wasn’t any form of Dyslexia from his statement - just pure brain stupidity and harshness towards blaming others.  After all, Fred was the owner who argued with (then) partnering owner Nelson Doubleday against acquiring Mike Piazza.  At that time he continuously blamed his partner for the Mets’ failures.  It’s a shame that the Mets’ ownership split up with wrong owner leaving the organization.

Years later, Fred was also the one who supposedly believed that Bernie Madoff was the only person in America who could produce investment returns of $300 million, with very little to invest and at a time in America when no one was profiting much at all from any investments.  Fred still enjoys enough profits to sit tight without much investment in his team.  He’s truly proved to be an arrogant owner who selfishly cares about himself well beyond caring about any of the dedicated Mets’ fans.  With that, how dare he throw such a threat to the media when he is the main culprit for blockading such a hope of winning 90 when they’d be lucky to even win 80!

So, for now, I am not choosing to hold Sandy accountable as some ailments are forgivingly unavoidable.  So, I’ll just claim he has Selective Dyslexia.  As for the Mets’ owner, I just hope Fred (or as Sandy calls him, “Derf”) speedily chooses to sell the team to possibly and finally soon offer a 90-win season the only way he can offer it, selfishly collecting money for himself through a sale, not an honest investment.

THE CAPTAIN’S BOW - JETER’S LAST SEASON

 

Picture taken by The NYY Writer

It was no shock, for me, to have heard Derek Jeter announcing his retirement after this one last season; however, I was shocked that he announced it before the season as opposed to the end.  He has continuously averted the spotlight from himself and solely concentrated on the bottom line of a win versus a loss.

By announcing his retirement prior to the first game of the season, it definitely draws more-than-usual personal attention directly to him.  His genuine love for his family, the NY Yankees, the game, and the fans may be the collective primary reasons why he’s chosen this early-announcement route:

- His father has stated to the media several times that he’s told Derek to enjoy the moments and the journey. 

- Derek continually spoke of his gratefulness for the Yankees’ organization, especially George.
- His respect for the game of baseball, no matter what team, has been portrayed with class throughout his career, even his respect for the Mets & Red Sox.
- Derek has an unbelievable genuine respect for the fans and we all feel it when we’re sitting there rooting for the Yankees.

Again, I believe these collective attributes of Derek contributed to his thought process.  Anybody who believes that Derek did this early announcement to get any accolades really hasn’t been watching the last 19 years of leadership and aura this “Captain” has demonstrated each day we’ve see him.

I will write another blog/article when his last season ends, along with the unbelievable numbers Derek has collected; but, like Mo, there’s a lot more to him than the baseball numbers we’re so accustomed to weighing.  For Derek, it’s never been about him, but for once, it really is.

DISMISSALS:  A-ROD & MIKE FRANCESA

Isn’t it ironic that the only two people who thought that A-Rod’s lawsuit cases against MLB & the Player’s Union had a chance are now without a voice to be heard or seen on the YES Network again?  Basically, in the same week, A-Rod withdrew both lawsuits, submitting to his 162-game suspension and Mike Francesa was withdrawn by the YES Network, ending his 12-year on-air broadcast with them.

Both dismissals give Yankees’ fans quite the opposite - affirmation and declaration!  It is now affirmed that we don’t have to deal with anymore court drama, while we can relate to the Declaration of Independence from both morons.

A-Rod may never play another game in a Yankee uniform, which is what most NYY fans hope.  That soap opera is still lingering, but it’s thankfully losing its storylines.  Perhaps the Yankees will make a compromising offer that will lessen the $61 million owed for the final two seasons (2015 & 2016).  At least in this coming season, we don’t have to deal with the saga.

Mike Francesa is only getting what he has deserved for a long time - someone to put him in his place and disconnect him!  The man has progressively gotten worse each year since his bitter loss of his “dog”.  Ever since Chris Russo (the Mad Dog) was dismissed from WFAN, Francesa has begun to act more and more like a brat. It’s bad enough listening to him on the radio waves rudely hanging up on his callers, but watching his expressions and temper tantrums on TV is even more humiliating.

He claims that the YES Network wanted sportscasters that only spoke on a lopsided sway to their liking.  Well, talk about calling the kettle black, he determinedly only listened to callers that saw things from his close-minded perspective.  Others were rudely hung up on by the world’s cockiest and rudest man.  Many of those callers were even ridiculed more, after their disconnections!

Sadly, Mike Francesa has a lot of knowledge in baseball, football, basketball and even horse racing; but, his knowledge has been increasingly fading to the back of his reputation with his rudeness moving to the forefront of his career.  Many guests have reportedly resisted wanting to be on his show anymore because of it, and many callers continue to call others who are more open-minded, who might at least give them a chance to opinionate!  Ironically, the radio station advertises itself as the “Fan” but it’s the “fan” that Francesa filters and selectively ignores.  Without fans, he’s sportscasting to himself.  Maybe this could help him realize this?  Nah, he’s too cocky and thinks the world revolves around him.

Rumors evolve that Francesa may soon be aired on another TV cable channel and A-Rod still has a contract that will pay him a very handsome amount whether or not he plays another MLB game; but, for this week’s dismissals, I bluntly state that the Yankees are currently disconnected from both...“Yes”!!!

YANKS SIGN MASAHIRO TANAKA

Banzai, Banzai, Banzai / 万歳, 万歳, 万歳 / Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah

 
Finally, the NYY fans have some very hopeful news as the New York Yankees signed Masahiro Tanaka this past week.  The acquisition offers two major positives:  pitching and no more restricted spending for the upcoming season.  We now potentially have a number one or two starting pitcher to help boost a not-so-old starting rotation.  Furthermore, the whole attempt for luxury tax savings for 2013-2014 has officially ended as the $155 million contract for seven years (with an annual average of $22 million for the first 6 years and the final year amounting to $23 million) clearly hits the ball out of the park for this upcoming season’s tax restriction goal.

Of course, NYY fans can’t help but reflect upon the pain still lingering from our past non-MLB experienced Japanese pitching acquisitions - Kei Igawa and the late Hideki Irabu; but, the Yanks have revamped their whole Japanese (and overall) international scouting system since those baseball “errors” and have also added many more scouts to offer multiple opinions to help offer variant analyses.  Plus, we’re not the only ones who feel strong about Tanaka’s potential - although we’re the only ones who have fully scouted him for seven years!  There were allegedly many teams that bid the mandated $20 million fee to negotiate with Tanaka.  If this signing somehow (although doubtful) doesn’t amount to a successful signing, the other teams would be hypocritical to point their fingers at the Yankees, especially the Dodgers, Cubs, and Diamondbacks, who each supposedly offered contracts similar enough to what the Yankees proposed.

Additionally, Tanaka’s signing didn’t cost the Yankees any draft picks or require them to lose any players in a trade.   For the Yankees, it just cost them money, which is something that’s never been an obstacle during the Steinbrenner era.  I happily state “never” because this transaction clearly proves that the young Steinbrenners have definitively demonstrated what they’ve stated all along - they will continue building the team with the desire their father had - to win at all costs.

So, as we continue to anticipate this upcoming season with a lot of new key players added to our roster, we now have further hope of at least making the playoffs, with a lot of finger-crossing for health this year.  We also still have to continue waiting  a little longer to see the final 2014 season blueprint for our weak infield and weakened bullpen, both of  which Brian Cashman has already acknowledged.  Thus, time will eventually show us a clearer picture in each of those areas, too.

For now, it’s exciting to know we have added another huge piece to the puzzle - a young, 25-year-old phenom from Japan with a superb split-finger fastball and an excellent slider.  If he can initially convert his overly impressive Japanese League record of 24-0/1.27 ERA into at least 16 wins and an ERA below 3.50 during his first MLB season, then we will have enough ace-like pitching hope for years to come.  Banzai, Banzai, Banzai!!!

THE A-ROD SOAP OPERA SAGA

Are there many level-headed Yankees’ fans out there that are not relieved that A-Rod will not be playing in 2014 (barring a very unlikely Federal Court decision, based on the official MLB/Players Association's Collective Bargaining Arbitration Hearing)?  I, for one, am soooooo tired of all of this!!! 

For years, I have tried to respect his past abilities.  He, like Barry Bonds, was a superstar that never needed to cheat to achieve a great career.  Players like Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa apparently chose to cheat to become undeserving superstars during their final years, while A-Rod, and Bonds apparently chose to cheat to remain superstars during their final years.

Here are the numbers surrounding today’s outcome:

162 games (full 2014 season) suspension (reduced from 211 games originally suspended)

$22,131,148 salary suspension for A-Rod / savings for Yankees during the 2014 season

$6,000,000 additional savings for the Yankees during the 2014 season (assuming A-Rod would have hit 6 homers to attain a career total of 660 homers) activating a contracted bonus

Although, in this country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, it is evident (for those who have paid attention to the MLB’s Players Association since their existence) that the union has persistently fought and stood by all of their accused players...until they saw the evidence against A-Rod!  That, in itself, is beyond the obvious.  Hence, there's enough for me to believe since I am not privy to the supposed confidential evidence.

 
Now, once again, we have another major step taken towards helping us evaluate the Yankees’ spending and possible attainment of the avoidance of the 2014 luxury tax penalty for exceeding $189 million.  Our next analysis will have to wait until the Tanaka outcome.  Will he sign with the Yankees or one of the many other MLB teams that have bid for his services?  If he does sign with the Yankees, will the Yankees have any leftover money?  If he doesn’t sign, will the Yankees try to contract one or more of the remaining free agents?

There are so many questions that I can’t wait to see answered during the upcoming week/months for this crazy offseason!  I believe that the failed television soap opera writers and the Soap Network should have followed the Yankees’ scripts over the years.  Perhaps, then, they'd both still be in business.  At least we know ratings and bottom-line dollars are drawn to the unscripted Yankees and, for the last decade, A-Rod.  Stay tuned for more episodes!

BRIAN CASHMAN'S FAULT

Brian Cashman was named Senior Vice-President (SVP) and General Manager (GM) of the New York Yankees back in 1998 and continues to service both of those roles.  For a very long time I have supported and continue to support most of the related transactions Brian Cashman has made during that span; however, I have one major issue related to his GM responsibilities which I will divulge that later in this blogged article.

I'd first like to begin, though, by evaluating the standard performance of today’s GMs in MLB.  Obviously, no GM can claim perfection any more than any of us can for our own professional responsibilities.  Even the supposedly best GMs rarely achieve a credible success rate regarding either player transactions or team wins that are essentially attributed to them.  A prime example would be the recently famous GM from the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane.  He gained his fame from the book and movie, "Money Ball".  Both illustrate Billy Beane as a brilliant GM who has figured out the best strategies to win without too much money to spend.  Yet, if you really examine his record and you believe (like most Yankees’ fans) that the ultimate goal is winning a World Series, then you will recognize that Billy Beane has never accomplished the ultimate prize - making him a failure under those expectations.

Of course, achieving a World Series with very little money to spend in comparison to higher market teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and even the cheap Wilpon-owned Mets is not an easy accomplishment; however, the Florida Marlins have proven to be better with the same financial restraints.  While they were only formed in 1993 (7 years prior to Beane's management of the A's), they've achieved 2 championships (1997 & 2003) – which is, by the way, the same amount of championships the New York market Mets have won in their 52 seasons of existence!  So, although the A's have successfully made it to the AL Division Playoffs five times during Billy Beane’s current 14-year tenure, they've also failed to win any of the five AL Division Playoffs!  Again, not many general managers have true success, not even the famous ones.

As for Brian Cashman, I feel he qualifies as one of the best-proven GMs, even though he has the financial advantage by his side.  The aforementioned high-salaried Yankees have won 4 World Series titles with him enacting his GM responsibilities.  Aside from having a lot of money at his disposal, Brian has also helped build winning teams through talent retention and overall smart free-agent signings.  For retention, he’s fought to keep players such as Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada.  For some smart free agent signings, he’s helped persuade the Steinbrenners to offer competitive deals to some key free agents that have helped the Yankees win championships.  Such free agents include “El” Duque, David Wells, Johnny Damon, Tino Martinez, Hideki Matsui, Raul Ibanez, Hiroki Kuroda, Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and Nick Swisher.  Of course, he’s also signed some free agents that most Yankees’ fans cringe over, such as Carl Pavano and A.J. Burnett, just to name two.

Other teams have failed to attain championships with decent money to spend, perhaps because they don’t have the same (overall) successful wit and shrewdness as Brian Cashman.  Such examples include the Atlanta Braves who only achieved one championship since 1958 and even the pre-Cashman Yankees of the 1980’s, who failed to win any championships.  So bravo to Brian’s key contributions, which I feel should certainly be considered a contributing factor to the Yankees’ last four championships. 

Well, now that I've ranked on Billy Beane, added some sarcastic remarks about the Mets as I “sometimes” do, and given decent credit to Brian Cashman, I'll continue onto my main concerning criticism of Brian Cashman:

While his trading skills have mostly been weak, I feel that his largest detriment as a general manager revolves around his stubbornness towards expiring player contracts.  Now, I'm not complaining about any of the lengthy contracts because most players can be traded in their later years to lessen some of the whole spend anyway (such as the Tigers' Prince Fielder).  I'm also not complaining about A-Rod's ridiculous contract because that was all "Hank" Steinbrenner's doing.  My major gripe is that Cashman stubbornly avoids contract extensions to players already wearing pinstripes!  He has even rolled the dice by allowing the contracts of Yankees’ greats like Mariano, Jeter, and Pettitte expire more than once.  Thankfully, Mariano and Jeter have always proven their loyalty to remaining a Yankee, even while other teams have been known to make higher or lengthier contract offers.  Yankees’ fans are also grateful that Andy Pettitte came back after Brian’s first contract debacle convinced Pettitte to leave for Houston.

This year, with Cano reaching free agency, Cashman's failure to negotiate contracts a year or two prior to their expiration was magnified.  Cano would not have had any conversation with the Mariners if Cashman had offered a true extension before last season even began.  There’s going to be another Cano instance if Cashman doesn’t change his contract strategies for quality-proven players already wearing pinstripes.  I have cringed way too many times over the last 16 seasons whenever such players have gotten to free agency; it’s too risky!  The Steinbrenners need to recognize Cashman's main weakness and correct it.  Maybe Brian can even recognize and fix it on his own.  In either case, it's time to sign these critical players to contracts before other teams get a chance to make offers.  Let's sign David Robertson and, if they're not trading him before the 2014 season begins, also Brett Gardner.  Otherwise, it will once again be “BRIAN CASHMAN’S FAULT”.