Baseball cannot escape its drug problem

Major League Baseball just can’t get a break in its quest to rid itself of its drug problem.

Bartolo Colon becomes the latest baseball player to get caught cheating, earning a 50-game ban after testing positive for testosterone. It’s a major blow for a surprisingly competitive Oakland A’s team. But it’s not at all shocking that Colon was busted. There were suspicions about his turnaround performance going back to last year with the New York Yankees. (The suspension news is a vindication for the New York Times, which published an article last year that stopped short of accusing Colon of cheating, but investigated a questionable procedure that he had undergone without uncovering direct evidence of wrongdoing.)

Last week, it was Melky Cabrera being punished for using a banned substance. Both Colon and Cabrera are former members of the Yankees. It’s not a coincidence. To my great annoyance, the Yankees have become the poster child for performance-enhancing drug usage in baseball. It’s no surprise that two former Yankees have gotten busted. But it is a black mark, not just for these guys and the Yankees, but for all of Major League Baseball.

Neither player is as famous or infamous, as Roger Clemens, who is making a baseball comeback for an independent team. Clemens, who has already beaten government prosecutors trying to make an example out of him, could target MLB next by trying to return to the sport. A return to the big leagues could be a smart move on his part because it would restart the clock on his Hall of Fame candidacy, putting more distance between his alleged misdeeds and the time when the baseball writers have to cast their votes for or against him.

Not that I think many writers will forgive or forget the damage he has done. But a Clemens comeback would just rub MLB’s failure to control its drug problem right in the faces of Bud Selig & Co. Not that they need a reminder from Clemens. They’re getting plenty of reminders that their drug problem is not ancient history, no matter how much they wish it was, from the guys still trying to game their system.

Yankees right not to go crazy on Yu Darvish

I’m not at all upset about the New York Yankees losing out on Japanese phenom Yu Darvish.

Even though the Yankees could use some help in the starting rotation, I remain skittish about bringing a pitcher over from the Japanese leagues and expecting him to be a key member of a big-league starting staff. It’s impossible to know how his stuff will translate to a big-league mound and how he will adapt to living in the US. Unlike with minor leaguers or kids in high school and college, there are limited opportunities for a team like the Yankees to personally evaluate these pitchers. And we all know the Yankees have been burned before by Japanese pitchers that have not lived up to the hype, aka, Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa.


I don’t blame the Yankees for being skittish either. If there was a lot less money at stake, the Yankees could afford to take a chance on Darvish, who could have huge upside potential. But with the Yankees’ desire to get their bloated payroll under control before the new collective bargaining agreement’s penalties kick in, the Yankees are going to be extremely careful not to dive into another costly, long-term contract mistake.

The Texas Rangers obviously had no such hesitancy and plenty of dough to spend with their new television deal. It’s a good move for a team that just lost its ace to its division rivals and wanted to make a major countermove. But they have to pray that Darvish is as good as advertised. Otherwise, his contract, if the Rangers are able to sign him, will suffocate them for the next few years.

Regardless, I think the Yankees were right not to go crazy bidding on Yu Darvish. As of now, Brian Cashman & Co may have to be content trying to find the next Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon. That worked out pretty well for them in 2011. No reason they can’t try to catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Thanks to Neier via Wikipedia for the Yu Darvish photo.

Yankee kids will get chances to crack 2012 rotation

In his last press conference before he disappears for the winter, Joe Girardi talked about how starting pitching would be the key focus for the New York Yankees in the offseason. From what the Yankees manager said, it seems likely that several talented youngsters in the organization will have real chances to earn spots in the 2012 starting rotation.

Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova will likely be penciled into the Yankees rotation heading into next year, although they will have to prove that they deserve to stay there, according to Girardi. “I know that they are going to work hard,” Girardi said. “Nothing in life is ever given to you. You have to earn it.”

“I expect them to have good years, but I can’t tell you,” he added.

But other youngsters such as Hector Noesi and a couple of the Killer B’s, Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos, are going to get a chance to challenge Hughes and Nova for the chance to join rotation mainstays CC Sabathia (assuming he re-signs with the Yankees) and AJ Burnett (assuming the Yankees have absolutely no chance of moving him).

“The competition thing seemed to work well this year,” Girardi said. “It brought out the best in some people and I don’t think you can have too much depth in the starting rotation. I think the kids could start to challenge.”

It seems obvious that the Yankees are likely to part ways with either Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon (and probably both of them). If the Yankees do let Garcia and/or Colon leave, it should be with a firm handshake and a gracious thank you, not only for saving the rotation this year, but for bridging the gap while the Yankee kids took another year to develop.

This being the Yankees, I wouldn’t rule out a major offseason move for a more established big-league starter such as CJ Wilson. But the Yankees seem determined to give their kids a legitimate chance to win the available starting spots. I wouldn’t want to rely solely on these youngsters, no matter how talented they are, but they’ve shown enough to make me excited about the competition next spring.

Let the CC Sabathia opt-out talk commence

Back in May, I begged for a moratorium on talk of CC Sabathia opting out of his contract with the New York Yankees. Now that the Yankees have been bounced from the playoffs far earlier than expected, the talk will commence and gather momentum.

Of course, the most immediate issue for the Yankees is re-signing Brian Cashman or finding a general manager to replace him. Someone is going to have to handle what could be a difficult negotiation with Sabathia.

CC has all the leverage in the world despite his struggles in the last two months of the 2011 baseball season and in the American League Division Series. He is the ace of an already-thin starting pitching staff (unless you really believe that Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon can give the Yankees in 2012 what they gave them in 2011). None of the free-agent starters have anything close to CC’s track record and reputation as a horse.

But the general manager is going to have to figure out how much to push back on CC’s demands. I think the Yankees are well within their rights to add some type of weight clause to ensure Sabathia stays on track. Would the Yankees consider paying CC a lot more money per year instead of more guaranteed years? That’s probably the way I would go, but Sabathia and his agent will have something to say about that.

I wouldn’t blame CC if he used his leverage to squeeze every last nickel out of the Yankees, who have shown that they will use all their leverage to force a player to sign a deal to their liking, just as they did to their iconic shortstop Derek Jeter last offseason. I just hope that the negotiations don’t get as ugly with Sabathia as they did with Captain Jeter. But I wouldn’t rule out seeing a bunch of stories full of anonymous sources expressing concern about Sabathia’s health and highlighting his role in the Yankees’ too-quick playoff exit this year. That’s just the way the Yankees roll.

Yankees prove all the doubters wrong

The New York Yankees just won the American League East division title, proving that pre-season predictions mean absolutely nothing.

Before the start of the 2011 baseball season, many “experts” handed the AL division crown to the Boston Red Sox. Why? Because they had a good offseason, trading for young superstar Adrian Gonzalez and signing free agent Carl Crawford. In contrast, the Yankees were jilted by Cliff Lee, who took less money to join the Philadelphia Phillies’ super rotation. Brian Cashman’s response to that rejection was to sign Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. Though Cashman might still secretly wish Lee took the pile of dough the Yankees were offering him, he couldn’t be happier with the performances of Colon and Garcia, who deserve a lot of credit for helping to keep the Yankees rotation from falling apart.

What makes the Yankees ascension to the AL East division throne so impressive is the multitude of injuries and the way other players stepped up to fill the voids. Phil Hughes was projected as the #2 starter, but spent most of the first half on the disabled list with inflammation in that valuable pitching arm. But up stepped Ivan Nova, a candidate for the fifth starter spot who forced his way into the Rookie of the Year debate by unexpectedly going 16-4 with a 3.62 ERA in baseball’s toughest division. The Yankees also survived multiple injuries to Alex Rodriguez, their cleanup hitter who has been MIA for most of the second half, and a calf injury that sidelined their captain Derek Jeter, though that was probably a blessing in disguise as Jeter has been on fire since his return.

It’s like Mariano Rivera said yesterday, the Yankees overcame a lot of adversity to get where they are. Calling 2011 a challenging year would be a major understatement. But they never felt sorry for themselves or took their eyes off the prize.

However, the Yankees know this is merely a first step. Next on the agenda for Joe Girardi & Co is securing home-field advantage through the American League playoffs while at the same time resting his regulars during the last week of the season. Thanks to the early division clinch, Girardi can be very judicious in prepping his team for the postseason.

With the playoffs will come more doubts from the “experts.” Some will say that the Yankees will not survive October with their makeshift rotation, that there are too many questions about starters not named CC Sabathia. I say it’s a chance for the Yankees to once again prove all the doubters wrong. Bring it on!

Yankees unfairly drag out rotation decision

Instead of actually making a tough call, Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman have once again deferred a decision on trimming the New York Yankees six-man rotation down to five starters.

Girardi had pledged to make a decision after the series against the Boston Red Sox and claimed that one start would not make or break a pitcher’s chances of staying in the Yankees rotation. But he appears to have had a change of heart, largely because AJ Burnett’s decent outing against the Red Sox has given Girardi and Cashman cover to keep him in the rotation if he can come through with a solid start this week. They have seemingly been reluctant to pull Burnett, despite his consistently bad pitching, because of his enormous contract, his fragile ego and a concern that he will not be able to contribute out of the bullpen. Phil Hughes, on the other hand, has proven that he can be a successful reliever. Bartolo Colon, the other candidate for a seat in the bullpen, has pitched way more innings this season than he has in the previous three years combined and the thinking is that he could use the rest to be ready for October.

But the inability or unwillingness of Girardi and Cashman to make a firm decision is unfair to all the pitchers involved. Imagine having to pitch games in front of 40,000+ with this cloud hanging over your head, knowing one bad pitch could get you banished to the bullpen. Think about what a burden it is to constantly have to answer questions about the possibility of losing your job. I think that’s why we saw Hughes uncharacteristically testy following his start against the Red Sox. The uncertainty of the situation outweighs whatever relief they get from getting one more turn in the rotation.

Even CC Sabathia is adversely affected by the inability to trim the rotation because it is disruptive to his routine. Sabathia, being a good soldier, said he would take the ball whenever the Yankees hand it to him, but he has previously made his feelings known on this topic and can’t be happy about the lack of decisiveness by his manager and general manager.

Someone will be hurt by whatever decision they make, but at least it’s only that person who is affected by the move. Girardi and Cashman need to stop dragging this out. They are going to get criticized no matter who they send to the bullpen so they should simply make a decision, put it behind them and concentrate on winning the division and getting ready for the playoffs.