Are ARod and Braun on baseball’s hit list?

Major League Baseball has its sights set on punishing Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun for their connections to a Miami clinic being investigated for distributing performance-enhancing drugs, according to a short Tweet from TJ Quinn of ESPN.  

It’s much easier to go after minor leaguers who don’t have the protection of baseball’s strong players union, but it seems that this first suspension related to the Miami scandal is a warning shot that MLB is completely committed to gathering the evidence needed to go after these alleged PED cheats.

A lot of news is broken on social media these days, but given that this is a Tweet limited to 140 characters, it is pretty short on specifics. We do not know how close Major League Baseball is to having enough evidence to punish ARod, an admitted steroid cheat, and Braun, who disrupted baseball’s entire testing system in an attempt to prove his innocence.

But I hope they have enough evidence to suspend both of them for a long time. Braun angered even fellow baseball players by his selfish attempt to bring down the whole system to get off the hook. ARod has pissed off many people inside and outside the New York Yankees organization with his unending drama, rapidly deteriorating health and onerous contract. I think the Yankees would be thrilled if ARod was suspended for baseball, even if it’s just for 50 games and not enough to void that contract, because it would get him out of their hair for a while. Notice how we have barely heard a peep out of ARod, who is not even rehabilitating with the team, and how that has limited much of the off-the-field drama for the Yankees. If it weren’t for all the injuries, the Yankees would be quite boring these days.  

Both ARod and Braun have the money and manpower to fight potential suspensions and we all know Braun will go to any lengths to avoid punishment. But if I was Braun, I wouldn’t count on getting off on a technicality this time. Major League Baseball will build an airtight case before it goes after either one of them. I really hope baseball officials can get there.

Random Yankees thoughts: spring training sequel

Despite what Joel Sherman says, I don’t think the New York Yankees are tired of Joba Chamberlain. I think Sherman is tired of Joba Chamberlain. The New York Post columnist launched a bizarre public attack criticizing Joba for acting childlike, which is a silly argument to me considering these guys are playing a game for a living. So what if Joba is loud in the clubhouse or expresses his preference to start or close baseball games? He is well within his right to express his opinions, just like the Yankees are well within their rights to ignore them, just as Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi did.

Sherman is a columnist these days, but it still seems strange that he would take such a personal shot at a baseball player he has to cover. It’s more of an attack on his character, not his pitching, and for no other reason than Sherman doesn’t like want he perceives as Joba’s act. Opposing players have never liked Joba’s antics on the mound, but I haven’t heard any of his teammates or bosses complain so I’m going to disregard Sherman’s criticisms, as should Joba.

·         Alex Rodriguez is a constant magnet for criticism so it was no surprise to see all the coverage of the Boston Globe report that listed him as one of the professional athletes whose charity didn’t give as much money away as it should. These types of stories gain traction simply because people hate ARod, but some things are just unfair. Granted, his charity was not as efficient as it should be, but it’s not like he was pocketing the money for himself. And when he realized it wasn’t working out, he shut down the charity and gave millions directly to good organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club. He should get credit for realizing that running his own charity wasn’t the right path for him and finding other ways to give back to the community.

 
·         Derek Jeter is spending a lot of his time this spring training trying to reassure the world that he is healthy and will be ready for Opening Day. He was a guest on the Mike Francesa show this week and the very first question he got from MF was about his health. The Yankees Captain said he immediately knew the injury was bad and the ankle was broken last October. But he quickly moved on to reassuring all of Yankee land that he will ready to man shortstop come April 1. Jeter has an extreme tolerance for pain and supreme confidence in his own abilities so I’m going to take him at his word that he will be ready to go.

 

Clean players sick of baseball cheaters

Mark Teixeira gave voice to the sentiments of hundreds of his fellow clean colleagues all around baseball when he expressed his disdain for and frustration with the players who still try to cheat the system.

Tex is clearly not alone in this sentiment as union boss Michael Weiner admitted that he is hearing from players who are sick of talking about the use of PEDs in baseball. It seems that the Miami clinic scandal in which New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli have been embroiled in is the final straw for many players, who are now exercising their First Amendment rights to speak up in favor of stiffer punishment. Until recently, the players’ union was dead set against such penalties, but if the vast majority of baseball players say they want tougher testing and penalties, the union’s continued resistance will be futile.

I do disagree with Tex in the sense that I think baseball definitely needs stiffer penalties. Players are clearly not deterred enough by the 50-game suspension penalty. Look at Melky Cabrera. He sat out his 50 games, gave up any right to the National League batting title (which I give him some credit for) and had to watch his team win another World Series without him. And yet he was still rewarded with a solid, two-year contract from the Toronto Blue Jays. That, to me, is a joke and perhaps the Jays would not have been so eager to sign him if he was still under suspension.

I’d like to see players forced to sit out, without pay of course, half a season for a first offense, a full year for the second offense and keep the lifetime ban if they get caught a third time. Tex is right that cheaters will always try to figure out a way to game the system, no matter what changes are made. But there has to be a greater financial incentive to try to keep them honest. 

Random Yankees thoughts: spring training edition

There can be only one Evil Empire.

I know the nickname was meant to insult the New York Yankees, but I have always loved it and many Yankee fans and the organization itself have embraced it. Now, even the law recognizes that the Yankees are in fact the Evil Empire and are entitled to legal protection for the nickname. I guess we should thank Boston Red Sox President Larry Lucchino for pinning the moniker on the Yankees (and for the profits that came with it).

·         I love Lady Gaga’s music although I’m not always crazy about her antics. Still, I was looking forward to going to her concert at the Barclays Center (my first time checking out the new arena) with my sister. Unfortunately, Gaga’s hip injury and subsequent surgery put the kibosh on those plans. Never to fear because Alex Rodriguez is on the case. The Yankees third baseman reportedly spoke to Gaga (an archenemy of ARod’s supposed one-time paramour Madonna) to reassure her about the procedure. I’m hoping Gaga makes a quick recovery and can resume her tour in 2013. But the best things come to those who wait. I attended a U2 concert almost exactly a year after it was first scheduled due to Bono’s back injury and it was definitely worth the wait.  

·         So a Core Four reunion is not in the cards. Jorge Posada has vowed that he will not pull an Andy Pettitte and un-retire after a year away from baseball. Not even the pull of another spring training with his best pal Derek Jeter could lure him away from the happy home life he is enjoying. If Posada was still capable of playing at his level, he would have a real shot at his old job with the Yankees, who will likely be desperate for offense and don’t really have a #1 catcher now that Russell Martin has joined AJ Burnett in Pittsburgh.   

 ·         I’m generally in favor of the planned switch of outfield positions for Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner as Gardy has more speed and is clearly the better fielder. I do worry that Granderson, in having to learn how to play a notoriously difficult left field at Yankee Stadium, will let any defensive challenges affect him at the plate, where he will be counted on to produce for the often offensively challenged Yankees. However, Mike Cameron raised a potential safety issue in making the switch, with Granderson having to relinquish his take-charge mentality in the outfield to avoid a collision similar to the one Cameron experienced with New York Mets teammate Carlos Beltran. I distinctly remember that terrifying accident and pray nothing even remotely close to it happens to Granderson and Gardner.  

Jeter’s recovery top baseball story for Yankees

Put aside the salacious revelations of the potential connections of Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli to a Miami clinic suspected of dispensing performance-enhancing drugs. Never mind the feud and subsequent burying of the hatchet between Joba Chamberlain and his new teammate Kevin Youkilis. The most important baseball story so far this spring training by far for the New York Yankees has been the recovery of Derek Jeter.

I can understand why the media is obsessing with the Yankee Captain’s every move on the field. With ARod down for at least half a season, Nick Swisher playing the outfield for the Cleveland Indians and Russell Martin catching his old pal AJ Burnett in Pittsburgh, the Yankees are going to have to squeeze offense out of every position. The Yankees will desperately need Jeter to have a season like he had last year before getting hurt, the kind of season in which he carries the team with his clutch hitting and defense while his teammates struggle mightily, which will no doubt happen again this year. Jeter has to be healthy and he has to be Derek Jeter or the Yankees don’t have a chance in 2013.

But I really worry about his health. I hope Derek learned a valuable lesson about not pushing himself too hard. He admitted he played the last two months of the 2012 regular season and into the playoffs on an injured ankle even though he probably shouldn’t have. Jeter is, in a sense, a hostage to his own toughness because he firmly believes that if a baseball player can walk, he should be out on the field. I’ve long admired his ability to ignore pain and man the shortstop position every day, but I think it leads to too many situations where he plays baseball when he shouldn’t. It finally cost him last October.

Jeter’s rehabilitation has gotten even more attention than Mariano Rivera’s comeback, perhaps because Mo’s injury happened way back in May of last year while the image of Jeter writhing on the ground in unbearable pain is fresh in our minds. Whatever the reason, no one on the Yankees is being watched more closely than Derek Jeter.

Cervelli doesn’t get benefit of the doubt on PEDs

Francisco Cervelli would like us to believe that he did not use performance-enhancing drugs. That would be a lot easier to do if he weren’t contradicting himself.

The candidate for the New York Yankees starting catcher job would have loved to come into spring training only getting questions about whether he would win the job. Instead, he spent most of a press conference yesterday answering inquiries about why he visited a Miami clinic that has now embroiled many baseball players in yet another PED scandal. Cervelli said he went to the clinic in the hopes of finding a cure for a foot injury, but walked away with nothing, not even the supplements he said he received in a previous statement. Talk about a contradiction.   

Cervelli doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt, at least not from me, because he can't keep his stories straight, he has been with the Yankees organization for years and because he is friends with Alex Rodriguez, a known cheater. To my great displeasure, the Yankees have become the poster team for PED use and the fact that so many current and former Yankees are on that Miami client list only solidifies that bad rep.

The catcher refused to give many details, including who recommended the clinic to him, although he denied that ARod sent him in that direction. We didn’t get the full story yesterday, not even close to it, so it’s hard to believe Cervelli at this point. And while Joe Girardi said he didn’t feel the need to speak to his catcher about the controversy, the whole mess could continue to be a major distraction for Cervelli and the Yankees.

Steinbrenner breaks silence on latest ARod drama

I was wondering when Hal Steinbrenner would finally come out of hiding to address the latest scandal linking Alex Rodriguez to performance-enhancing drugs.

Up until this point, Brian Cashman and ARod’s New York Yankees teammates have been left to do the heavy lifting in terms of feeding the hungry media beast with comments about ARod’s latest PED controversy. But since it was the Steinbrenners who re-signed ARod, it was their responsibility to answer some questions. Of course, Hal didn’t say much about the situation other than the team is cooperating with Major League Baseball, that the situation is concerning but out of the Yankees hands and that he doesn’t know much more about the situation than the rest of us (yeah, right).

But what Steinbrenner didn’t say was also noteworthy. He didn’t offer any show of support for his embattled third baseman, probably because the Yankees are working furiously behind the scenes to figure out a way to use this latest scandal to get rid of ARod once and for all. I can’t help but wonder if Steinbrenner’s apparent willingness to break tradition and sign Robinson Cano to an expensive, long-term deal this offseason is any indication that the Yankees think they can get out from under ARod’s onerous contract (probably wishful thinking on my part, but dare to dream).

There are a lot of people like Curt Schilling who believe ARod will never play another day with the New York Yankees, either because the team will void or settle his contract or because his injuries have diminished him to the point of retirement. I can’t see ARod just walking away from New York because his ego is too large to allow himself to be run out of town and the Yankees chances of getting out of that contract seem slim to none. Steinbrenner may simply have to adjust to the reality that he will be answering questions about ARod for a long time to come.   

Can the Yankees make a quick deal with Cano?

Hal Steinbrenner finally came out of his castle to address the latest Alex Rodriguez drama (more on that in another blog post), but far more interesting to me is his revelation that discussions have already started to make Robinson Cano a lifelong member of the New York Yankees.

I’ve been growing increasingly pessimistic about the Yankees chances to sign Cano to a long-term deal that works for both sides ever since the Yankees second baseman hired agent Scott Boras. A major reason for this pessimism has been the Yankees’ apparently firm commitment to get below that $189 million threshold. It’s going to be incredibly difficult for the Yankees to maintain that mindset if they want to sign Cano, one of the best young players in the game of baseball, given the dollar amount Boras is likely to demand. Unless the Yankees somehow free themselves from the grasp of ARod’s suffocating contract, I don’t see how they can sign Cano and still field a competitive team (sorry, Curtis Granderson).

But Steinbrenner seemed surprisingly optimistic about the ability to sign Cano, with the Yankees owner even revealing that the Yankees were willing to break their custom of waiting until their players hit free agency to agree to contract terms. The Yankees have stuck firm to this policy in recent years, even with their future Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. But I suspect Steinbrenner realizes that waiting while Cano has another big year in 2013 is going to drive the price even higher than it already is in Boras’ mind.

The two sides may still be very far apart in these negotiations and may not be able to reach a deal before Cano hits free agency. But the fact that they are talking gives me hope.

Cashman forced to navigate latest ARod drama

Brian Cashman would love to stop talking about Alex Rodriguez as much as I would love to stop writing about him. Unfortunately, ARod has made that impossible.

The latest twist in the ARod saga came via the Daily News, which reported that ARod is worried that the New York Yankees or Major League Baseball are conspiring against him following the Miami New Times report on his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. It’s not paranoia if they are really out to get you. It seems clear that the Yankees are looking for any possible loopholes to rid themselves of ARod once and for all and I’m sure Bud Selig & Co wouldn’t mind seeing him disappear from the game forever. But ARod isn’t helped by this report, which continues to add fuel to a fire that is burning out of control.

Now Cashman is no saint either, having exposed the Yankees and his family to scandal through his affair with a woman accused of stalking him. But Cashman shouldn’t have to shoulder the responsibility of answering questions about the latest PED accusations against ARod because it wasn’t his decision to rehire ARod after the Yankees third baseman opted out of his contract in 2007. That decision was made by his bosses, the Steinbrenner brothers, so they should be the ones with the cameras and recorders in their faces trying to explain the situation.

Unfortunately, the responsibility for answering these very legitimate questions has fallen on Cashman because he is the Yankees general manager. He has to walk a very fine line in providing enough information to feed the hungry press – a near impossible task because it’s clear the Yankees do not have all the facts – but not providing answers that could be seen as interfering with an ongoing investigation.

I bet Cashman wishes he was the general manager of any other Major League Baseball team right now. Except maybe the Mets.

Stand-up Tex admits his shortcomings

I’ve always liked Mark Teixeira and this weekend I got a good reminder of why.

 

Tex is a real stand-up guy, even when he struggles, so it’s easy to root for him. But my admiration grew after I read an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal where he freely admitted that he is overpaid and not the same player he was when he was younger. The article is a must read, if only because it is so unusual for a baseball player to be so blunt about his own shortcomings. But Tex shouldn’t be too hard on himself. He makes many valuable contributions to the New York Yankees, including driving in a lot of runs and making plays that few other first basemen can.

Unlike Alex Rodriguez, his colleague on the other side of the baseball diamond, Tex recognizes the absurdity of the mega-deal that pays him $20 million a year to play baseball while a superstar kid like Mike Trout earns considerably less. The fact that Tex is so honest about that and so willing to share his wealth deserves praise. In fact, he put $1 million of his own money toward a $10 million campaign on behalf of Harlem RBI and I was inspired to kick in a donation to the organization myself (well short of $1 million, but I’m sure it was appreciated).

Tex has heard his share of boos at Yankee Stadium, but he’s never been treated with an ARod-level of disdain despite being similarly wealthy and also struggling at times in the Bronx. But that’s because he’s a lot more likable and honest than ARod. And at a time when ARod finds himself yet again in the middle of a scandal, that honesty is refreshing.

Will the Yankees ever be rid of ARod drama?

Will the drama surrounding Alex Rodriguez and his history – and possibly his present – with performance-enhancing drugs ever cease? Perhaps the better question is whether the New York Yankees will ever be able to rid themselves of ARod and his drama before his contract officially ends in five years.

In a statement, Alex Rodriguez vehemently denied the latest revelations outlined extensively in a story by the Miami New Times that linked him and as many as 20 other Major League Baseball players to a clinic run by a man who allegedly dispensed PEDs. But ARod’s denials are not worth the paper they are printed on. He has lied far too many times to too many people to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to his past and possibly present use of PEDs.

To be fair, ARod is not the only well-known baseball player on the list. Melky Cabrera, who was busted by MLB and suspended in 2012 for using a banned substance, also made an appearance on the list. Shockingly, young stud pitcher Gio Gonzalez was also linked to the clinic (surprising only because I can’t remember ever hearing or seeing his name connected to PEDs before). But ARod is definitely the big kahuna of the group because of his paycheck and because, well, he’s ARod.

This is probably wishful thinking, but I wonder if ARod’s contract with the Yankees can be voided in any way if it’s proven he used PEDs again. Hal Steinbrenner & Co would love that. It would erase what was the costliest contract blunder in Yankees history, one the Steinbrenners have no one to blame on but themselves. And it’s a huge positive from a business perspective because it would immediately get the Yankees under the self-imposed $189 million cap and allow them to start spending money like the Yankees again.

But getting rid of ARod is likely nothing more than a pipe dream for the Yankee owners and legions of fans. We’re simply stuck waiting for the next ARod revelations and drama. This story just keeps getting uglier and uglier and there’s no end in sight.

Here it goes again for ARod in PED story

Not this again!

A Miami man connected to Alex Rodriguez and other baseball players is apparently under investigation for illegally distributing, you guessed it, performance-enhancing drugs.

I just don’t understand why the New York Yankees third baseman has so much trouble staying away from these questionable characters. How a man with so many resources, which could be used to pay for the best public relations advisors and lawyers, consistently finds himself connected to shady characters is beyond me. ARod invites the scorn and ridicule he receives on a regular basis with his sketchy associations. But more importantly, he invites the question about whether he is cheating again. And if he is doing so now, he is doing it under the more rigorous microscope of Major League Baseball, which apparently is aware of the situation and cooperating with authorities.  

The news comes just days after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman left open the possibility that ARod could miss the 2013 baseball season completely. While it seems unlikely, the fact that it’s even possible speaks to ARod’s precarious physical state, which many observers attribute to his PED usage. If he misses an entire season because of this injury, it’s something that ARod is probably not going to recover from in New York, not when he’s making more than $30 million a year to play baseball and so many people are struggling to pay their everyday bills.

ARod could be completely innocent in this matter, but he won’t get the benefit of the doubt because of his previous history with PEDs. The man really isn’t doing himself any favors.

Hopeful ARod wants another ring

Alex Rodriguez obviously misses the love he received from leading the New York Yankees to a World Series title in 2009, however fleeting that love was.

I’m not sure even a second World Series title would be enough for ARod to once and for all win the hearts and minds of Yankee fans. But it sure couldn’t hurt. And it would be a big step up from what he’s feeling now, which is anger from Yankee fans about his most recent postseason struggles and his enormous salary, which is now choking the Yankees so hard they couldn’t afford to bring back their #1 catcher Russell Martin.

But I feel badly for ARod because he does not get the benefit of the doubt even when he probably deserves it. Like with this most recent hip injury, the news of which came out of nowhere. I was at physical therapy today and I overheard two men discussing ARod and questioning why he didn’t have the surgery months ago to help him get ready for an earlier return in 2013. But I give ARod enough benefit of the doubt to believe that he really did not realize the extent of his injury and how long it would take to fix and heal from it. I don’t believe there is any ploy on his part to collect his millions and sit around relaxing at his Miami home. And I do believe he desperately wants to win another championship ring with the Yankees.

For the Yankees’ sake, I hope ARod’s pledge to come back strong from this injury and help his team win another World Series title comes to fruition. The Yankees need ARod to be a solid version of his old self if they are ever going to get back to the Promised Land.

Yankees injury news good for Jeter, bad for ARod

So Derek Jeter isn’t fat as the New York Post would have us believe, while Alex Rodriguez was more seriously hurt than any of us knew.

I must admit to finding the Post picture and headline absolutely hilarious and I’m glad the New York Yankees captain has a sense of humor about it too. Let’s face it: if Derek Jeter is out of shape, there is no hope for the rest of us. But Jeter, media savvy guy that he is, could have pulled a Charles Barkley and parlayed that photo into a Weight Watchers endorsement deal if the rumors of his overweight state had not been quickly dispelled by his pal Harold Reynolds on Twitter. I’m kind of disappointed by the quick debunking because I felt like Jeter and I had something in common as I myself have put on a few pounds since my back injury. So I guess this confirms that I have absolutely nothing in common with the Yankee captain, except our mutual love for the Bronx Bombers.

Besides laughing off the fun the Post editors had at his expense, Jeter came out of his offseason seclusion to proclaim that he will be ready for Opening Day 2013. Now when it comes to injuries, we have to take Jeter’s comments with a grain of salt because the captain, seemingly impervious to pain, always says he will play despite whatever injury he is contending with. But Jeter reported that his ankle is healing as expected and he only has a few more weeks to go in his walking boot. If so, that gives him enough time for the intensive rehab that will be needed to ensure that the ankle is in tip-top shape. And knowing Jeter’s discipline and work ethic, I have no doubt he will do whatever it takes to get ready for baseball.

The news was not as good for Alex Rodriguez. He will be out until at least June because of a needed surgery on his left hip, disturbing news considering he has already endured major pain and lost time due to his surgically-repaired right hip. His absence will force the Yankees to find a substitute for the first three months of the season at third base and in the middle of the Yankees lineup.

But I reject the argument that people criticizing ARod for his poor performance in the 2012 playoffs somehow now owe him an apology. We can only make decisions or judgments on performance based on the information at hand and news about this injury did not surface until more than a month after the postseason ended. And ARod is going to have to deal with the fresh round of speculation that his use of steroids has led to his deteriorating physical condition.  But given the chokehold ARod’s contract has on the Yankees payroll, the Yankees have to do everything they can to get him healthy and back on the field, even if he never reclaims his status as baseball’s best player.

Pettitte and Yankees back together again

Well, that was easy!


Less than a day after Andy Pettitte informed the New York Yankees that he has another year of baseball in him, the two sides reached a fair deal that will bring the lefty back to the Bronx.

The deal was easy to negotiate because both sides really wanted each other. Pettitte could have decided to call it quits with no regrets after his comeback this year (he had a good year that was unfortunately interrupted by that freak ankle injury). But when he decided he wanted to keep pitching, the Yankees were the only option for him, especially with Brian Cashman reaching out early in the offseason to make sure Pettitte knew how wide the door was open for a return to the Bronx.

The Yankees desperately needed Pettitte to round out their rotation again. With Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda back in the mix, the Yankees have a solid 1-4 starting rotation and will roll the dice that one of their internal candidates can win the 5^th man job. But without Pettitte, the Yankees would have had a gaping hole in the middle of their rotation that would have been costly to fill at a time when they are really trying to stick to a budget.

With the Yankees expected to reach a relatively painless agreement with Mariano Rivera soon, the Key Three (Pettitte, Rivera and Derek Jeter) will be back in the pinstripes together for at least one more year. And that’s critical if the Yankees hope for success in 2013. For all the talk about the Yankees trying to get younger and all the attention Alex Rodriguez and other players receive, the Yankees rely on their core, home-grown veterans more than ever.

ARod gets unfair share of the blame

Alex Rodriguez is taking the brunt of the criticism for the New York Yankees embarrassing collapse this season and while he deserves some of the blame, some things are just unfair.

ARod doesn’t help his cause by being clueless to the consequences of his actions, whether he is trying to hook up with a good-looking woman during a playoff game or waving to his mother on national television (never seen any Yankees bench players do that and they sit a hell of a lot more than ARod does). His obliviousness is part of the reason why silly stories about ARod gain so much traction, like the one about Yankees manager Joe Girardi calling the press box to avoid causing ARod further embarrassment after pinch hitting for him. It furthers the impression of ARod as a self-centered child who needs to be coddled by his bosses, something the Yankees would not even bother to do with any other player.

Don’t get me wrong. I think ARod should waive his no-trade clause and leave New York, not just for the New York Yankees sake, but for his own. But I don’t think everyone’s focus should be on him. How about directing some of that anger and vitriol toward Nick Swisher, who had yet another bad postseason and showed that he too, like ARod, has a pretty thin skin when he complained about the loud boos heaped upon the Yankees by a fan base tired of paying exorbitant prices to see the Yankees underachieve in October? Perhaps it’s because the free agent right fielder probably was destined for a one-way ticket out of New York anyway. So what about Curtis Granderson, who after years of claiming not to be a home run hitter, turned into exactly that, to the detriment of the rest of his game? Why aren’t they getting their fair share of the blame? Because ARod is the easiest, richest target, one that Yankee fans will continue to resent if they feel his diminishing skills and payroll-strangling salary will keep the Yankees from another World Series.

Hopefully ARod will take the extra time he has this offseason to decide he could use with a fresh start. It is time for ARod and the Yankees to part ways, but he’s not the only one the Yankees should bid goodbye.

Yankees absence from World Series depressing

The World Series will start tonight without the New York Yankees, which is pretty depressing.

I will watch some of the World Series and root for the San Francisco Giants to win it all, but I do not harbor much ill will toward the Detroit Tigers. It was not their fault that the Yankee hitters decided to sleep walk through the postseason. I like Detroit’s chances with Justin Verlander leading their rotation and their sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. But I can’t help but wonder if they are really that good of a team or if the ALCS sweep was mostly the result of the Yankees stinking up the joints in the Bronx and Motown.

So instead of preparing to represent the American League in baseball’s final showdown, manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman were busy the last few days sharing their thoughts on the state of the Yankees and their season with the media. We didn’t get much in the way of insight, but I suspect there will be some major changes this offseason.

However, despite how badly I and other Yankee fans want to get rid of Alex Rodriguez, I have serious doubts that Cashman can pull off a trade, even if ARod changes his mind about playing in New York, which he should. ARod is a small fraction of the player that he was once and other baseball officials would have to be blind to have missed that. I really believe that the only way the Yankees will be able to trade ARod is if they agree to pay all but a few million dollars a year on his remaining contract, which means that deal will continue to strangle the Yankees for years to come, even if ARod experiences an AJ Burnett-like resurgence somewhere else.  

But Cashman and Girardi will have plenty of time to ponder how to make things work with ARod at third base next year while they watch the Tigers battle for the World Series championship they could have had with a little more effort from the offense. Completely depressing, indeed.  

Yankees go out with barely a whimper

The New York Yankees couldn't put up a fight to save their season.

I was attending a networking event at a conference last night so fortunately I didn't have to sit through the nightmare that was Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. I don't blame CC Sabathia for the sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. He did everything he could to carry the Yankees to victory this postseason. Save for last night's game, he and his fellow Yankee starting pitchers were terrific, but their efforts were wasted by a non-existent offense. Alex Rodriguez will get the lion's share of the blame, but he has plenty of company, namely Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. It is finally time to say good-bye to some of these guys (more on who I think should go later), especially if they are so bothered by loud booing.

Truthfully, I knew the Yankees were done as soon as I saw Derek Jeter crumple to the ground in Game 1. It wasn't just the horrifying image of the tough-as-nails captain unable to get back on his feet as he usually does. It was the knowledge that the one regular in the Yankees lineup who was actually hitting was obviously done for the baseball postseason and that no one else in that lineup has the will to put the team on his back the way Jeter did this season.

Without Jeter, the Yankees simply had no fight in them. It's high time the Yankees organization returned to the philosophy that won them so many championships in the late 1990s: building a team of solid, but not superstar players who have the heart and soul to will themselves to victory. Can you imagine Paul O'Neill or Scott Brosius taking it on the chin from the Tigers or anyone else? Of course not, because it wouldn't happen. They may have lost, but they would never go down without a fight. The current Yankees went out with barely a whimper and they should be embarrassed.

Yankees may not recover from Jeter loss

Could the New York Yankees suffer a more crushing blow than the loss of their captain?

No. It's an easy question to answer. Not only was Derek Jeter the only regular in the Yankees lineup actually hitting the ball and getting on base, but he was an inspiration to his team, clearly playing at well below 100% (which may have contributed to his devastating injury). Jeter was trying to carry his team across the finish line with the sheer strength of his talent and personality, but he couldn't do the job by himself and now the Yankees will have to do the job without him.

Can the Yankees survive this loss? I have my doubts. The starting pitching has been tremendous, with strong outings by playoff veteran Andy Pettitte and Yankee newcomer Hiroki Kuroda in the first two games of the American League Championship Series, and Raul Ibanez providing the thump the Bronx Bombers have been missing. But the rest of the offense, with the exception of two innings in which they scored multiple runs, has completely vanished this postseason. Alex Rodriguez has been the main target of vitriol (despite a brief effort by Yankee fans to will him to get a base hit with their cheers), but there are plenty of culprits. Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher have been particularly frustrating with their numerous strikeouts and weak popups with runners on base. You can only fail a limited number of times in the postseason before the fans start to turn on you.

The Yankees have survived the devastating blow of losing Mariano Rivera. But that happened back in May, giving the Yankees plenty of time to adjust under less stressful circumstances and giving Rafael Soriano the chance to show that he could step into Mo's shoes to soften the blow. Losing Jeter in Game 1 of the ALCS, especially when the rest of the regular lineup can't manage a hit with men in scoring position, could knock the Yankees right out of the playoffs.

Jason Nix is a good player and he makes solid contact when given the chance to play. Eduardo Nunez has explosive power and speed. But neither of them are Derek Jeter. There is no other Derek Jeter. And the Yankees will have to figure out a way to win without their October magic man.

Girardi deserves kudos for gutsy move

I was lucky enough to be at last night’s game and I still don’t believe what happened.

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi looks like a gutsy genius for finally lifting a struggling Alex Rodriguez in favor of Raul Ibanez, who promptly launched a blast into the right field seats, followed by another blast into the same general area three innings later to lift the Yankees to victory. As Derek Jeter joked afterwards, Girardi obviously knew that Ibanez would hit the game tying and game-winning home runs. But in all seriousness, Girardi deserves a lot of credit because it was a daring move to pinch hit for a guy who could be heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The situation was ripe for such a bold decision. ARod has looked lost at the plate. Ibanez has come through in the clutch several times for the Yankees this year. And I was grateful to him, particularly for that second home run, because it was freezing at the ballpark in the Bronx last night and even one more inning in those windy conditions would have been brutal. But if I can describe the general sentiment of those lucky enough to be in the stands for such a fantastic ballgame, I would sum it up in one word: Wow!

So the Yankees have a chance to finish off the pesky Baltimore Orioles behind Phil Hughes. Let’s get it done guys.