Kerry Wood proves you can go home again

Kerry Wood just proved you can go home again.

For the second time this week, a baseball player took a lot less money than he could have made elsewhere to sign with the team he actually wanted to play for. Wood rejoined the Chicago Cubs for one year at about $1.5 million. He spurned offers reportedly in the eight-figure range to go back to the team where he became a star only to have injuries wreck his promising career. I would say this looks like the start of a hopeful trend, except Jayson Werth did leave the perennially contending Philadelphia Phillies for the bags stuffed with cash being offered by the bottom-dwelling Washington Nationals.

The New York Yankees didn't want to overpay for another reliever, but Wood probably could have gotten at least twice what he signed for with the Cubs from the Bronx Bombers after his strong second half. Wood solidified what had been a very shaky bridge to Mariano Rivera and the Yankees, especially Joe Girardi, would have loved having him back. Now they have to go out and try to get another veteran guy to round out their bullpen.

Even though it seemed like a long shot, I was hoping the Yankees still had a chance at getting Wood back. Re-signing him would have eased concerns about the bullpen and allowed Brian Cashman to focus all of his attention and resources on other areas, namely his starting rotation. Now, the bullpen is just one more thing he has to worry about.

Pay up New York Yankees fans!

Here's a reality check for any fans who want the New York Yankees to get Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford AND Jayson Werth.

The Yankees are increasing ticket prices, ostensibly to help offset the cost of having baseball's highest payroll. Despite the still-sluggish economy, the team will raise the prices of field-level seats (which I don’t care much about since I can’t afford to sit there at current prices) by about $10 or $25 and for bleacher seats without blocked views (which I care deeply about since I often sit there) by $3.

I am often amazed when I travel to other cities how much cheaper game tickets are. My last trip to Toronto, I got three tickets for roughly the same price I paid for one ticket to my last home game. But then the Blue Jays are not paying their way into contention so that's to be expected.

But for the record, I don't have a big problem with the Yankees raising their prices. If we want them to keep putting a competitive team on the field, spending big is the way they are going to do it and we have to live with that. Do I wish the tickets were cheaper? Of course. But I don't relish paying $13 to see a movie either, which is why I usually wait for them to come out on DVD. It's the same reason I watch most Yankee games on television.

I would like to see Brian Cashman & Co make better investments with my money. The Yankees are usually the only team that can afford to eat bad contracts such as the one they gave to Chan Ho Park, who was eventually replaced with the more expensive and much-more effective Kerry Wood. It was an easy call to keep Javier Vazquez off the roster for the playoffs despite his $11.5 million salary, but he wasn't a bet Cashman should have made in the first place. Let's hope he learns from that experience.

Bottom line: You get what you pay for. And Yankees fans will be paying more if they want to personally watch the most coveted free agent on the market pitch in Yankee Stadium next year. Imagine how much ticket prices would have gone up if Yankee officials were targeting all three of the top guys available. Personally, I can live without Crawford or Werth since it probably saves me some dough.

Mariano Rivera flying under the radar

In the midst of all the speculation about Derek Jeter's next contract, it's easy to forget that Mariano Rivera, another iconic member of the New York Yankees, is also looking for a new deal.

It seems funny to me that the greatest closer in baseball history and a surefire Hall of Famer is flying under the radar, but that probably is a direct result of Mo's low-key, gentlemanly personality. He's not one to seek attention or participate in a war of words with anyone, particularly his employer. Rivera quietly and efficiently goes about his business during the season and then pretty much disappears for the winter, surfacing only for important charity events like former skipper Joe Torre’s annual Safe at Home Foundation dinner.

But we're starting to get some clues about what he's looking for. Initially it was thought that Mo would go year to year, much like Andy Pettitte is doing, because of the possibility of imminent retirement. But signs now point to Rivera wanting a two-year deal from the Yankees. I think that's completely reasonable.

Despite his rough September, Mo had another good year in 2010 and a great postseason. He would have to falter for a lengthy period of time before any of the young studs truly replace him as the guy you most want to hand the ball to with the game on the line.

Moreover, the Yankees have no one to replace him. Kerry Wood will likely seek a closer's gig somewhere else. Joba Chamberlain has not shown he can step up and be the 8th inning guy, let alone the man in the 9th inning. David Robertson has flashes of brilliance, but has been inconsistent in big spots.

For the Yankees, there is really little choice but to give Mo what he wants, which is pretty fair considering that there aren’t many questions about him aside from his age (granted that could be a big question but Mo has not shown any physical signs of slowing down). Since it seems like Mo is not quite ready for retirement, there should be nothing standing in the way of him returning to the Bronx to finish his career in pinstripes.

Cashman takes his share of blame for defeat

Brian Cashman rightfully took his share of the blame for the New York Yankees falling short of their goal of repeating as World Series champions.

He didn't take all the blame for the ugly defeat at the hands of the Texas Rangers and he shouldn't have because he put together a team that was more than capable of a long, successful run in the baseball playoffs. But he was honest about how some decisions he made in the offseason ended up hurting the team in the regular season and October.

The move that obviously hurt the most was thinking Javier Vazquez could be a key cog in the Yankee rotation. Because Vazquez was never able to put everything together in New York and lost the faith of his manager, he was never an option for the playoffs and that really limited Joe Girardi's choices. Cashman has been vocal about accepting complete responsibility for that move, leaving the pitcher off the postseason roster even though that made it clear the offseason trade was a bad decision on his part.

But Cashman made some moves that were sheer brilliance, namely picking up an injured Kerry Wood, who helped the Yankees secure a postseason berth with some solid set-up work for Mariano Rivera. He deserves a lot of credit for that one. He was also under a lot of pressure to trade Phil Hughes for Johan Santana a few years ago and his reluctance to do so paid big dividends when the kid became a key member of the bullpen last year. Despite his rough postseason, the Yankees wouldn’t have even made the playoffs this year if their fifth starter Hughes hadn’t won 18 games.

I look at the Curtis Granderson trade as a mixed bag with solid potential for next year as he showed in September and October the kind of player he is capable of being. Cashman’s pursuit of the younger, more athletic outfielder could prove to be a good move in the future.

Unlike Joe Girardi, you get the impression that Cashman is perfectly willing to take a hard look in the mirror and learn from his mistakes. So I expect no more signings of injury-plagued players, unless they are willing to sign for low-dollar, incentive-laden deals (So long, Nick Johnson!). No more expensive bullpen guys, unless Wood is willing to settle for being Rivera's set-up guy in exchange for another shot at the World Series.

Cashman has a lot of tough choices to make and is somewhat limited in revamping his roster, but the one thing we now know is that he will be the first guy to the microphone to take the blame when things don't work out.

Yankees can't fight to save their season

I would be mad about the Texas Rangers bouncing the New York Yankees right out of the playoffs, but the truth of the matter is the Yankees were never really in it.

It turns out the well-pitched, well-played games against the Minnesota Twins were just an illusion. In the American League Championship Series, the Yankees played more like the team they looked like in September. Perhaps that's the team they really are rather than the world beaters they looked like against the Twinkies. In the ALCS, they got outpitched, outhit and really out managed.

Game 6 was a clear example of how the Rangers played better than the Yankees in every way possible. Phil Hughes struggled right from the start, not that it really mattered. He held the Rangers to one run through the first four innings before imploding, but had to watch helplessly as the offense acted like Cliff Lee was on the mound instead of Colby Lewis. And when Joe Girardi pulled Hughes with the game on the line, the bullpen call went to David Robertson instead of Kerry Wood or Mariano Rivera. I know it was only the fifth inning, but that was the season right there and Girardi made the wrong call.

The Rangers earned the right to represent the American League in the World Series by playing like superstars. The Yankees couldn't put up a fight to save their season and that's why they are going home.

Thanks to Red3biggs via Wikipedia for the Colby Lewis photo.

Mariano Rivera back in fine October form

It turns out there was no need to worry about Mariano Rivera once the calendar page turned to October. This is his month and he is pitching like it.

Joe Girardi had his ace in the bullpen and used him perfectly. When Kerry Wood got into some trouble Wednesday night, Girardi brought in Mo to douse the rally with the tying runs in scoring position. Mo was his typical brilliant self, promptly inducing a weak grounder to end the threat. He gave up a faux single in the 9th inning of that game and sent at least four bats to the wood morgue. He gave up a solid hit last night, but that was all the Twins could muster against the great Rivera.

Mo had a rough September, blowing three saves and looking hittable. It was quite shocking for New York Yankees fans used to seeing him dominate the competition, particularly late in the year. But Mo made a mechanical tweak, worked out whatever issue was bothering him and found his comfort zone, which is really bad news for the rest of baseball.

In October, there is no pitcher that opposing managers worry about more than Mo. They know that if the Yankees go into the 8th or 9th inning with a lead, the game is practically over. In their heads, they might even start planning the lineup for the next game. But if Ron Gardenhire and the Twins don't keep Mo out of Game 3, there won't be a next game for them.

The Mr. October nickname has been reserved for Reggie Jackson, but I wonder if the slugger wouldn't mind sharing it with the great Mariano, who Jackson himself has said is one of the greatest Yankees of all time. Without a doubt, Mariano is the Mr. October of pitchers.

Time to worry about Mariano Rivera?

Is it time for the New York Yankees and their fans to worry about Mariano Rivera?

Given his history, that question seems ridiculous to even ask. But something just didn't seem right about Mo in yesterday's game. He wasn't his usual confident self. Mo seemed unnerved by the Boston Red Sox running wild on the base paths. Granted, that would probably unnerve most pitchers. But Mariano isn't most pitchers. He's the greatest closer in baseball history.

In past years, he would have simply shrugged off the base running and the first out of the inning that was driven to the wall and frozen the next few hitters at the plate to end the game. But he seemed to get rattled last night and let the game get away from him, as he has in several recent outings. I was at last Monday's game at the stadium when Mo came out with a three-run lead and even that game wasn't the easy save it should have been as the tying run made it to the batter's box.

The thing that worries me is that when Mo has had rough outings in the past, he's always been able to shrug them off and come back strong the next time out, but that doesn't seem to be true this time around.

The New York Post suggests that the Yankees are already worried about Mo. But if that's the case, why would Joe Girardi bring him into the 8th inning on a night the Yankees had to win for a four-out save when Kerry Wood has been so lights out? The simple answer is that Girardi still believes that Mo is the best pitcher in his bullpen and if he still has faith in his guy than so should we.

Yankees need better effort vs Rangers

So I struggled to stay up hours after my bedtime last night to watch the New York Yankees lose in 13 innings against the Texas Rangers. I'm not as young as I used to be so these late games are quite a challenge. But the most frustrating part, except for the loss itself, was that the Yankees had multiple chances to win that baseball game and couldn't take advantage.

Let's start with the starting pitcher. Unless he's pitching a shutout, I better not hear any complaining from Javier Vazquez the next time Joe Girardi goes to the mound to get him. His inability to hold a three-run lead or get through the sixth inning does not bode well for his chances to stay in the rotation once Andy Pettitte comes back.

Of course, Vazquez should have had a much bigger lead to work with. The futility of the Yankee offense was mind boggling, particularly with runners in scoring position. Brett Gardner was the biggest culprit, though he had plenty of company in stranding runners on base.

It wasn't all bad for the Yankees. Phil Hughes pitched a perfect inning in relief, which ordinarily could be taken as a sign that he could be slotted into the bullpen in the playoffs if the Yankees didn't desperately need him in the rotation. Kerry Wood and David Robertson were spotless out of the pen. Mariano Rivera was Mariano Rivera, mowing down batters for two innings with wonderfully boring efficiency after a leadoff hit. Of course, the extra innings wouldn't have happened if Joba Chamberlain hadn't given up the first home run to Nelson Cruz, but I can't bust him too much for that since the lead should have been more than one run.

The Rangers are a possible first-round opponent for the Yankees. Tonight I'd like to see the Yankees act like it with a much better effort than they put forward last night. Although with AJ Burnett on the mound, that might be too much to ask for.

Too soon for boos for Lance Berkman & Co

Fans of the New York Yankees are notoriously impatient, but the boos for Lance Berkman are premature.

Barely a week into his Yankees tenure, Berkman is hearing it from a small portion of the Yankee faithful. From a performance standpoint, it's somewhat understandable. Berkman has not played well since he put on the pinstripes. He is only 2 for 19 with one ribbie. Then, of course, was his disastrous play at first base when he filled in for Mark Teixeira and helped CC Sabathia bury the Yankees early against the rival Tampa Bay Rays last weekend. But Yankee fans should cut him some slack. Anyone can slump for a week. Plus, Berkman went from playing for a team with nothing to play for in Houston to the middle of a race for a division title with his first games coming against the team's toughest competition.

The fans will have a similarly short leash for Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns. Wood, coming off Cleveland's disabled list, has given up one run in 3 1/3 innings. He's somehow looked both impressive and shaky in the same performance, striking out one batter before walking or giving up a hit to the next guy. Kearns, who is supposed to challenge Curtis Granderson for playing time, has so far been a non-factor, going hitless in six at-bats.

But it's way too early to label any of them bums. Give them time to make the adjustment to a tight pennant race and life in the New York fast lane. With some patience, they might wind up surprising us.

Thanks dwhartwig and UCinternational via Wikipedia for the photo.

Yankees must quickly shake off series loss

At least the New York Yankees didn't get swept.

It could have been easy to forget that this was an important baseball series amid all the hoopla surrounding the Yankees trade acquisitions and the ongoing pursuit of Alex Rodriguez's 600th home run. But neither the Yankees nor the Tampa Bay Rays forgot. The Rays weren’t able to grab hold of first place, but they did prove just how formidable an opponent they are and will be for the rest of the season.

The Yankees won a thrilling game Saturday a day after they wasted a strong outing from Phil Hughes (before he got beat on one bad pitch). The Bronx Bombers lived up to their nickname in the middle game of the series, coming from behind several times with home runs and finally taking the lead when their Most Valuable Player Robinson Cano hit a monster shot in the 9th inning. I really liked their chances going into today's game with CC Sabathia on the mound. But the big lefty struggled for the second straight start and the offense disappeared against Rays starter James Shield. The Rays beat the Yankees at their own game, with great starting pitching and timely hitting. It was a disappointing series loss in what Cano himself described as a playoff-type atmosphere.

But the Yankees have to quickly move on. They are still in first place and now have qualified reinforcements in Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood and Austin Kearns. And the Bombers are coming back home for a long week of baseball, including four games against their archrival Boston Red Sox (remember them?). They are going to have to shake off whatever disappointment they have and get back to their winning ways.

Ghost of Steinbrenner lives on in trade deals

Somewhere, George Steinbrenner is looking on his team and loving what he's seeing.

Steinbrenner enjoyed making splashy deals almost as much as he enjoyed winning baseball games. He would have loved the frenzy of trade activity Brian Cashman engaged in during the last 36 hours. Beyond just making the deals, the Boss would have loved the big names coming to the New York Yankees: Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood. Both have their best days well behind them, but if they can help the Yankees win even one or two extra games, that could make all the difference in the world in the ultra-tight race with the Tampa Bay Rays.

I'm somewhat worried about Berkman's comments: he doesn't seem too happy about leaving the comfort of the team he spent his whole career with, even if the Houston Astros are scuffling in the National League Central. But it was his choice and he waved his no-trade clause, perhaps with an eye toward winning his first World Series championship.

And Wood is the pitcher's equivalent of Nick Johnson, a player who has consistently failed to live up to all the promise and hype because of numerous injuries. But the cost for these players doesn't appear to be too high, with the Yankees sending pitcher Mark Melancon and minor league infielder Jimmy Paredes to Houston for Berkman. And if they don't work out in New York, the Yankees can say goodbye at the end of the season.

Cashman is a man of his word, promising to look at options for his bullpen and bench. With Berkman, Wood and outfielder Austin Kearns, he has managed to plug all the holes on his team pretty quickly. These moves may not work out, but no one can accuse Cashman of not trying.

The Boss would be proud.

Thanks to dremiel and MissChatter/UCInternational via Wikipedia for the photos.