MLB Talk: The Brew Crew...an All Star joke...and other random thoughts

Brewers looking for a taste

It is here, in July of 2008, with their acquisition of C.C Sabathia to their already formidable roster that I would officially like to welcome the Milwaukee Brewers back to relevancy in Major League Baseball.

Sure, it took a long time. From bad personnel decisions to a lack of available funds, there were many reasons why the team was more familiar with the term “cellar" than "competitive". However, in the last four years since owner Mark Attanasio took over the team, the organization has undertaken major philosophy shift.

I remember back in 2005 meeting him at Miller Park before the Yankees were playing the Brewers in interleague play. He took the time to sign autographs for the fans and chat with them about the team for minutes on hand. At the time, I did not think much of it. In reflection, the fans started to put their belief in their plan that is now being executed.

No longer would they stay dormant and allow their neighbors in Chicago and St. Louis dominant the spotlight. Utilizing their funds into player development, the Brewers have been a team went from rebuilding from the bottom up to nearly finishing the house.

With youngsters Prince Fielder, J.J Hardy, Corey Hart and Ryan Braun on offense, the nucleus was forming. Ben Sheets, often injury riddled, was the anchor of their rotation. On his best days, he performs as one of the league's elite and on his worst, spending more time on the disabled list. Blue chip level players are galore in the AA and AAA systems ready to produce when needed.

After leading the NL Central for most of season, injuries to their rotation and inconsistent play in August and September prevented them from making the postseason for the first time since 1982. This year, Sheets has been 100 percent and the team picking up where they left off 12 months ago. With the superb play of both Chicago and St. Louis, Milwaukee feared getting too far behind the pack in the race for a playoff spot.

They needed to do something bold. An idea that was completely outside of the team’s realm of thinking. Several years of good drafting had provided them with assets. Attendance had risen each of the last four seasons giving the team financial backing. Now would be the time when they would make their big play: to be the ones at Hold 'em table saying "All in".

Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro would hear his phone ring and it was the Brewers on the other line inquiring about of all players, C.C Sabathia. Surely, for a player of his quality, teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers would be in Shapiro's "Fave 5" in terms of trading partners. Not this time. The Brewers were talking and the Indians were listening.

They listened so much and agreed to be trading partners. Sabathia would go to Milwaukee and the Indians would get back several young players that could play immediately. However, the trade comes with this "Buyer Beware" tag. The big lefty is a free agent after this season and stated that he would not negotiate any deals during the season. Knowing those parameters, the Brewers chose to make the trade anyway and risk the possibility of losing both him and free agent Ben Sheets after this season.

As it sits, the Brewers are one game behind St. Louis for the NL Wild Card and five games behind Chicago in the Central division. Putting Sabathia with Sheets at the front of the rotation creates the most dominant "one-two punch" in the National League, if not baseball. With the weakness that is the NL, the Brewers figure that if they can get into the "tournament", their chances of getting to the World Series will be as good as any other team. Who can blame them?

Last week, I knocked NL executives for their lack of creativity and willingness to settle for mediocrity. Here are the Brewers, putting their resources to use and taking a chance. Whether the trade works or not in the end is irrelevant. It is the simple fact that they are sending a message to their fans that not only do they care, but also they are going to go to this extreme to try to win. Rarely does a team that plays in the size of Milwaukee's market ever make a move like this.

It is a welcome sight. Good for you Milwaukee. Hope it works out well.

All Star Sham

If you are popular, happen to hit .216, have a bat as slow as honey coming out of bottle and showing no signs of being any type of offensive contributor...you can be an All Star too!

No other justifiable reason can explain how Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox was named to the American League All Star team. Try coming up one and I will simply reply by calling you an idiot.

Varitek, who was doing slightly above average before running into the month on the calendar called June, has been swooning badly. However, that news did not get to the players who used their percentage of the vote to include him on to the team as a catcher along with the Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer and the Tampa Bay Rays Dioner Navarro.

The ability for the players to create such in an injustice just adds to ridiculousness that is All-Star voting. Considering that it bill as “This One Counts” (meaning that the League that wins the game gets home field advantage for the World Series), the best players are not being represented. When each team needs to be represented, regardless of whether a team has a deserving candidate or not, that is a problem. This provision, added with the players ability to vote for undeserving players and fans able to stuff the ballots for international players makes the entire game less than legitimate.

Kosuke Fukudome, as good as he has been with the Cubs, is not an All Star. No way. No how. The same goes for Manny Ramirez, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano. This forced deserving players such as Evan Longoria, Jason Giambi and Jermaine Dye to be forced into “Final Vote’ where fans can choose the final player to be named to the squad.

I never watch the All Star Game for more than a few minutes. However, with this game taking place at Yankee Stadium, I have far more interest. The site of seeing white Red Sox uniforms permeating the Bronx is sickening just to think it. Adding in the rest of this nonsense and it confirms why I usually find other forms of entertainment on this night.

Just make sure Mariano Rivera pitches the ninth to close the game and I will be happy.

Random Thoughts from around the League

Now that A-Rod and his wife Cynthia have decided to separate, I wonder if he will come crawling back to her a few weeks from now and say he was ill advised by his agent Scott Boras.

Perhaps, as a method of being charitable, for every home run A-Rod hits, he will donate $250,000 to the Cynthia Foundation.

The only thing I am concerned about is seeing signs on the road that say, “Alex – You must be my lucky star.”

Look at all the top quality starting pitching that has infected the National League in the last year. First it was Dan Haren to the Diamondbacks. Johan Santana followed to the Mets. CC Sabathia goes to the Brewers. Now Rich Harden to the Cubs.

Erik Bedard and A.J Burnett are likely to be the next to follow. I wonder how much fun they are going to have when the see the 7-8-9 hitters in these lineups? These guys must be salivating. All it will take is half a season before they say, "What the hell have I been doing in the AL all these years?"

Barry Zito on the other hand, has not seen any real difference. The 84 MPH stuff is getting hit hard in the NL too.

Does Jonathan Papelbon think he is intimidating his opponents with that look on his face before he throws a pitch?

On a nightly basis, only three teams in baseball throw out a competent starting pitcher that gives their team a chance to win:

Boston Red Sox
Los Angeles Angels
Chicago White Sox

Everyone else after that puts their hands together, looks up at the sky and hopes for the best.

Billy Wagner is an English way of saying Armando Benitez.

You don’t believe? Then why does it seem his blown saves come in key games the Mets play? That cant be a coincidence. Benitez had save rate of near 90% during his time in Flushing. However, you could count on your fingers the specific blown saves that he had against high profile teams.

Someone is going to give Mark Teixeira nearly 20 million a year at the end of this season for the next seven years. They will not get a happy return on that investment.

Investing in Manny Ramirez for two seasons though will bring positive results.

The Mariners decided to use their backup catcher Jamie Burke as a relief pitcher in the 15th inning of a game against Detroit. Not a terrible idea. If they would have considered Ichiro for that situation, I may have decided to tune in.

Coco Crisp, Jason Varitek and Julio Lugo at the bottom of the Red Sox lineup have formed a new group titled “Trio of Suck”.

Kevin Youkilis is not Paul O’Neill. Youkilis, is simply doing acting like a nut for the camera as a method of looking intense. It is fraudulent.

Yankee Talk: Girardi finding that battling media, old players and Torre a lot to overcome

You never know much "change" can do for you until it’s seen. As of right now, that “change” is looking like a lot of the same.

The last three seasons of watching the Yankees have been unfulfilling, but never lacking for drama. When we weren't seeing a 200 million roster filled with more holes than that of Swiss cheese, it became a near daily soap opera as fans would criticize former manager Joe Torre for making managerial moves and pitching decisions that seemed to escalate the fact the man, in his own mind, was fighting to keep his job. It appeared to be a fight Torre was battling yearly, monthly, and sometimes nightly. Every game being scrutinized to the point of exhaustion. Almost as if people were trying to squeeze more juice out of a lemon than would be possible.

You would hear the refrain on a nightly basis in different forums:

"(Fill in relief pitcher) again? WTF? He's already pitched 3 times this week! You are going to ruin him!"

"Why is he resting (fill in starting player)? We need to win TODAY!"

"Clueless Joe! J4R (Joey Four Rings) gets a pass for everything. We need a new voice. Something."

After Game 4 of last year's Division Series, a segment of the fans, media, and some in the organization got their wish. Torre's time would be over. The Yankees would offer him a pay cut and an incentive based contract that was made public in an effort to portray him as greedy when he would reject it. Torre kept his dignity and chose to end his tenure.

The fans were clamoring for a better tactician. Someone who was younger. A manager that would rally the troops as if it was football, thinking a full head of steam was somehow needed to jumpstart a predominantly stagnant veteran team.

Settling on Joe Girardi, who's only previous managerial experience was one season with the Florida Marlins, met all the requirements on the “checklist” with a large percentage of the fan base. Girardi was young, exuberant and with the mind of superior baseball expertise. Surely, he was going to press the right buttons that Torre did not and lead the Yankees back to another world championship.

What was promised was a different type of Yankee team. A team that would be more "aggressive". One can infer that he meant taking more chances on the base paths as opposed to the prevailing theory that the offense had become too plodding and dormant. Waiting too much for the ball to go out of the park after drawing a base on balls as opposed to more hitting and running. Taking the approach that along with that was a better “managerialization” of the team’s bullpen leading up to Mariano Rivera. Either relievers were used to frequently, or they were used too infrequently, thus leading to subpar performance under Torre.

The proverbial "Bill of Goods" had been sold to the Yankee public. Now it was time to see if it could be put into action.

Just over half way into the season, consider me unimpressed.

Over the first 25 games of the year, when the team lost, it was decisive. The wins in that time followed a very simple formula:

Great start by a pitcher for six or seven innings.
Joba for the eighth.
Mo for the ninth.

Not very difficult, right? Any manager with a wired brain that has played MLB for XBOX probably could have managed the team on those nights.

Suddenly, Joe began to realize that the same problems that "The Other Joe" had with the Yankees:

-The roster would be as inflexible as it looked on paper.

-The starting pitching was not consistent.

-The offense would turn off and on like a light bulb.

-All the conditioning drills in the world still cannot prevent injuries.

New manager. Same old problems. It was not as if they were going to go away with a magic wand. There was some (ridiculous) belief that he was going to cure most, if not all of these ills.

The other thing that has surfaced is his tenseness when being pressed by the media on certain topics. Trying to get answers from Girardi on is like trying to outrun a car on foot. His media relations have a work in progress and tenuous at best.

It is not the fact that he is being evasive when answering questions; it is his combativeness in doing so when the questions become repetitive. He sounds frustrated that the media is simply not believing his answers when he giving them. This is exacerbated by the fact that Girardi has been less then truthful when explaining his answers, which in turn has led to more intrusive questioning.

One of Torre’s strengths was portraying a sense on control in dire moments in an effort not to project weakness. Girardi, by his own nature, carries every loss on his sleeve and it is bleeding into his press conferences.

The most glaring evidence came after Thursday’s loss to the Red Sox. Losing 7-0 and yielding a complete game shutout to left-hander Jon Lester, Girardi closed the clubhouse for 30 minutes and team held a private meeting. When asked by New York Post baseball columnist Joel Sherman on the details of the meeting, Girardi stated the meeting was private and the information would be kept between him and the team. Smelling blood, Sherman pressed further and finally Joe cracked publicly.

Girardi is finding out this is not the Miami media. Staging a battle against the press in New York on a day-to-day basis is not going to yield positive results. While his lack of communication skills may not get much attention down South, it does play well against the horde of the New York press that covers the Yankees daily. The problem is that he is under the impression that he could “Belichick” the press by treating the media like peasants and eluding questions. Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs is very similar. What is the difference between them and Girardi? Those coaches have won multiple championships, which allow them to act ornery when questioned and dismissive when answering.

No track record of success on that level as a manager is and was listed on Girardi’s resume. Thus, it is his job to not make us skeptical. When he makes a move that may be deemed as questionable, it is incumbent on him to give his paying consumers confidence that what he is doing is correct. To this point, three games the Yankees have lost based on decisions he chose to make ended up playing a role in defeat.

April 12 at BOS – With the Yankees leading 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning and runners on 2nd and 3rd base, Girardi allowed Mike Mussina to pitch to Manny Ramirez with first base open. Ramirez in his prior at bat had parked a pitch out of Fenway Park on to the street. This time, Ramirez would drill the first pitch into right center field for a two-run double. Boston would go on to win the game 4-3. After the game, Girardi would say that Mussina asked him to pitch to Manny as opposed to on deck hitter Kevin Youkilis. This should not have been Mussina’s decision to make consider the recent history #24 has against the Yankees.

June 29 at NYM – After defeating Johan Santana the previous day, Girardi elected to start a lineup against nemesis Oliver Perez that did not include Robinson Cano, Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi. He would rest them all in exchange for lesser right-handed hitters who are pedestrian at best. Granted, left handers were hitting only .167 against Perez. But did he have to sit all of them? In essence, he would start a four-man lineup despite having nine men in the order (factoring in the pitcher). The Yankees would lose the game 3-1.

July 1 vs. TEX – After a leadoff walk to Wilson Betemit, the Yankees had Melky Cabrera at the plate who had been struggling the most in the lineup (0 for 17). Rather than bunting the runner into scoring position with one out, Girardi allowed Cabrera to swing away. A double play groundout ensued, effectively ending the game. He would not give his team two chances to either tie or win the game against a closer who was not above average. The explanation given was that he was concerned about a “lefty-lefty” matchup with the closer and Johnny Damon, thus electing to have his worst hitter swing away.

Perhaps Girardi really believes that he is smarter than the rest of us watching these games. Maybe he is under the impression that there is information that only he knows that everyone else is blind to. Who knows? At this point, he is not fooling many in the Yankee public. Each game that passes by puts more of a microscope on the manager. As the days pass and the losses continue to mount, it becomes clearer that Girardi is not Einstein. No secret potion exists to make players hit better or pitchers pitch better. All the statistics in the world at your disposal do not make you smarter than the next manager. In the end, the talent still wins out.

Many people wanted “Life without Torre” and they have it now. It turns out that new “Life” isn’t bringing any newfound success.

I guess things weren’t so bad before. At least people know now where the real blame lies.

This is where it should have been all along. Girardi though is not helping his own cause.

On The Road: Enjoying the Yankees and myself in Pittsburgh

Leave it up to me to find fun and enjoyment in a city that I did not expect much out of going into it.

Lucky me, huh.

Last Wednesday, my Yankees version of the 2008 road trip found myself in Pittsburgh as they were visiting PNC Park to take on the Pirates. This specific trip had been on my radar for two years when I knew they were going to be making an appearance there. On television, I would look at the stadium and say to myself, “I have to go there and check the place out.”

Got to the ballpark at five and decided I was going to make my tour around PNC to get a feel of the area. Greeting you is a strip of bars that are adjoined to downtown and the ballpark. Across the street, several more places existed that make PNC Park not only a place to go to for a game, but a total event to explore the area both before and after games. It provides a boom for any city that can put a stadium next to these types of places.

In Pittsburgh, it is different. The team has fallen on hard times the last 15 years and is one of baseball’s worst. Despite a new stadium, they have among the lowest attendance in MLB. A great concept and what should be a thriving area is depressed on most nights with nightly crowds of less than 15,000. With our Yankees in town, all three games are sold out. A lot of us traveling fans of NY have taken over the town and have money to burn. We are providing the city with our version of a stimulus payment.

Inside the park, I made my way to my seat in right center field Section 140. I checked out Mariano Rivera shagging flies. Michael Kay always says that if he were not a pitcher, he would make a great center fielder. He is also the best athlete on the team.

Took a visit to Manny’s BBQ that I heard Ken Singleton mention during the game the previous night. The problem was the line was ridiculously long. Easily, it was going to take 30 minutes to get food. Joba Chamberlain was going to warm up in the bullpen and I was not going to miss that for the world. Biting the bullet, I choose to wait in the line. The grill had what looked to be the largest hamburgers ever served at a park. These had to be ten ounces of beef on a bun. One look at the price showed it was only $7.25. What a deal! And I get baked beans and coleslaw? Sign me up. 30 minutes later, the food was in my possession and Joba had yet to warm up. Everything was lined up perfectly.

I got to the Yankees bullpen and just in time to see The Chamberlain Dynasty up close. The kid still has a baby face at his young age. Give him two or three years before the mustache grows.

The game itself was an exciting bore. It was domination by the Yankees offense and great pitching from Joba. Maybe the lack of sleep or the Manny’s BBQ was doing me in. For about 3 innings, I was going in and out of sleep. After the 6th inning, I went to search out some ice cream if it existed. Towards left field, there was a vendor selling ice cream called “Dots”. This was not normal stuff. He explained to me that they make the ice cream is processed to where each piece will melt in your mouth as you eat it. It was worth a shot. Oreo’s Cookies and Cream never tasted better on this night. It was the perfect pick-me-up. How comes no other city has this?

When I came back to my seat, I met this really cute girl named Kelly. She was a Pirates fan. We started talking, got to know each other and decided that we were going to hang out after the game. A 10-0 Yankees win, and it was time to enjoy the night.

Turns out, the place we went to was a common place for me. Pittsburgh has a bar called “Mullen’s Bar and Grill.” I thought this was only a Chicago thing, but no. The logo and design looked the same. Her brother was cool and told me that she thought I was cute (odd word coming from another man) and he gave me the green light. It was great time with her. I officially have a reason for going back now.

(SIDE NOTE: This is why I do not mind doing road trips solo. For me at least, making new friends is easy. You have your Yankees gear on so that is an instant conversation starter. If you have a wingman and you are on the road, you are at the mercy of that person. If he is not getting the eye of the ladies and you happen to be that night, what can you do? You both are sharing a hotel room, so it is not as if you can tell them to sleep out in the lobby. "Hey bro, do you mind? I have to take care of some business". At least I am in control and this all being done on my terms.)

Since I did not do any sightseeing Wednesday, I was going to make Thursday my day to check this stuff out. My friend Nicole instructed me that Mount Washington and Station Square were the two places to check out so I was going to make this happen. She was in effect, my de-facto ghost tour guide.

Station Square had a strip of many different places. I had always wanted to get one of those Terrible Towels that the Steelers fans have been waving for years. Five minutes and $13.99 later at a place called Hometown Sports, it was mine.

Hard Rock Cafe, Bar Louie and other trendy spots were around and I met and chatted with other Yankees fans. Word I was getting that this was the main hangout place to come to on weekends as its called “Southside”. A problem for me since I was leaving Friday. Turns out, the beer at a place called Fathead’s is $2.25 and wings for a quarter. $20 can do it for me in one night. Are they promoting alcohol here? They cannot be serious can they? Going back just got more enticing.

Mount Washington was the next stop. I saw the view earlier when I was heading down to the Square. Now I was going to make the trip up the Duquesne Incline to see the city myself. For $2, the incline takes you up there and the view is spectacular. My camera was set to work overtime today (without pay). It is a small observatory area that you can see the beautiful skyline of the city. Nicole and everyone else obviously knew what they were talking about.

I walked to the ferry and decided to travel to the game. Best part was that they sold beer on the way. How great is that? On top of the water, and going through a city and seeing the sights with a brew.

Near drama ensued when I got up to my section. The Pittsburgh Baseball Club, where I was sitting on this night, had a private entrance. I took out my ticket, and the wind blew it out of my hand and carried it about ten feet to my left close to the railing where it almost fell over. OMFG! I would have been screwed, but I was lucky enough to recover it.

The club level is tremendous. Air-conditioned, private bathrooms and different food selections. I saw some chocolate cake and ice cream that was sure to reach my mouth at some point. I reached section 221, and the nice older usher whom I gave my ticket to greeted me and showed me personally to my seat. He even used his towel to wipe the seat and asked me if I needed anything. Wow!

(SIDE NOTE – Two things I was disappointed with was no waiter service. I personally do not like it when I have to get up for food because I have to wait in line and it takes me away from the game. Does that sound uppity? Sure, I guess. The section also did not have a protective covering for rain. This made zero sense. Club seats are for your premier customers. I know we can go into a private room, but why must I have to take the chance of getting wet first?)

The Yankees were leading 3-1 until I started looking up at the sky. It sure did not look like last night. Rain was coming, but the word was that it would be a small shower. It came down, and a group of four people that I just got to know and myself made a beeline for the exit.

Waiting for the rain to play out, I took a walk along the level to see what it had. Sure enough, I ran into guys playing Shuffleboard. Shuffleboard? Where do you find this? A little further up were some kids playing arcade air hockey. Old school! I was six years old in day camp the last time I played it. The closest I had gotten to this machine was the Sky Mall magazine three weeks ago.

It was like Dave and Buster’s infiltrated the level and established business right there. Golden Tee was around. NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat must not have been available. Hell, they could have broken out the old “Simpson’s” arcade circa 1991 and I would have approved. The new Yankee Stadium had better take note of this. Sure you can have great bars and a Hard Rock Café, but mix in some Golden Tee into the mix and during rain delay’s you will hold my attention.

After two and half hours and watching the 1971 and 1979 World Series, and an episode of Abbott and Costello (you know programming is short when you get to that), the PA announcer stated the game would be postponed and made up on July 10th. This sucked. My road trip was going to end with only seeing one game and two-ninth’s of another. It was time to hit the bars.

Being a Yankee fan apparently has some benefits. Within about 10 minutes of me settling in to Mullen’s, I had some people coming to say hello and we chatted. Suddenly, they were asking me I wanted a drink. One drink became two, and we were off to the races. I pulled out a $20 to pay and say thanks but they told me not to worry about it. This was a treat for being brave enough to wear his gear with no fear. I mean, this was Pittsburgh. It wasn’t as if I was in Philadelphia wearing Giants gear. That is risky business.

It was great night on the town even though I was hoping for more baseball than alcohol. At most (I think), I got two hours of sleep that night before heading to the airport. This trip exceeded all of my expectations.

Giants vs. Steelers, October 26 is my return. Something tells me I will get a much chillier reception when I go back for that trip than I did for this one.

Yankee Talk: As July looms, just how good are the Yankees?

Several weeks ago, I glanced at the schedule and spotted 23 games the Yankees had between June 6 and June 29. My conclusion was that if the team in that period went 18-5, it would vault them in a prime spot for an American League playoff berth.

I did not get the desired result I was intending, but instead a record of 14-8 with one game that is to be made up because of a rain out. Since when should one quarrel with a near .640 winning percentage? There is reason to nit-pick if I wanted to. Because of the lack of starting pitching depth and the untimely injury of ace Chien Ming-Wang, the run was going to be altered in some way.

What does Wang’s injury mean to the Yankees? Consider the fact he has had the most wins in baseball of any Major League pitcher since the start of 2006, and after a rough month of May, was rebounding into the form that was putting him on track for a 20-win season. To this point, his replacements have been Dan Giese and Sidney Ponson, whom the team had to claim off waivers from the Texas Rangers after he had an alleged incident with a member of the organization. It was amazing that he was reclaimed by the team that released him after five starts and an ERA that hovered over 10 two years ago. Add that up, and players whom you probably could not pick out of a team photo are anchoring two-fifths of the starting rotation.

That leaves the following question:

How good are the Yankees?

That is a very difficult question to answer. It is always difficult to judge a team when their key players are injured. Much as it was hard to determine how good the team was when Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada were missing from the lineup for an extended time, it is hard to gauge the team when it does not its complete pitching staff.

All that is needed for the next month is for the team to tread watch and use Band-Aid’s until reinforcements are (hopefully) brought in. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are scheduled for an August return. Wang is tentatively set for return in September, though his season might very well be over.

In discussions with other Yankee fans over the past several weeks, there seems to be this spoiled impression that General Manager Brian Cashman needs to get a top pitcher into pinstripes immediately before the season slips away. This type of talk is nonsense.

To be clear, those clamoring for soon to be Cleveland Indians free agent C.C Sabathia have to realize the landscape of the situation. The Indiana are not going to trade him right now. The AL Central, despite their horrific play to this point, is still not of reach. For whatever reason, the team that was one win away from the World Series last year has fallen on hard times. Injuries in their lineup and rotation have limited them. But with the White Sox still only a handful of games ahead, there is no reason to trade Sabathia for the near future. Now, if one month from today, the Indians are 10 games out of first and they know that Sabathia will walk; at that point, they can entertain trade discussions.

My personal suggestion is for the Yankees to contact the Seattle Mariners about Erik Bedard. He was traded to what has become ‘Hell on Earth” in the city of Starbucks. The team is in last place by 20 games and no realistic future outside of Felix Hernandez and Brandon Morrow. Bedard is a free agent after next season, so by acquiring him, you in effect are renting him for two seasons before choosing to sign him long term if you had not done so already. Last season, he was on track to win the Cy Young before missing the final month of the season with an injury. This year, he has not pitched as well, but considering the team, there is a myriad of factors working against him there. He is left handed and 29 years old. He has prospered in the American League East. Add to that, his success specifically against Boston Red Sox hitters has been off the charts.

Because you are getting him for a longer period than Sabathia, more quality prospects are going to be required. Based on some of the reports about him, he may not “love baseball”, “gut games out”, or throw more than 100 pitches. Personally, I feel most of these emotions that he is showing is based primarily due to the losing he has had to endure every year of his career. Every person is wired differently. If you were to give him a good team and a chance to win every time he took the mound, you would completely uncover his talent that we have seen.

Aside from that, no much has to be altered. The additions to the bullpen are going to come from within the minor leagues where several players have been progressing well. Adding a left-hander for the ‘pen would be ideal and Brian Fuentes of the Colorado Rockies fits that description. He makes five million this year and is a free agent, leaving the Rockies with a chance to dump his salary.

Besides that, nothing else is needed. Starting Monday, 22 of the next 28 games are going to be at home. The Yankees are always a much better offensive team at home than on the road, so this will give them a chance to flex a bit. If they can use this time at home to their advantage and go 19-9, they can surge into the trading deadline with the ability to tweak their team just enough to make another playoff appearance.

The conclusion: the team is still a work in progress trying to find itself. It appears to be a situation where if they can stay in contention into the middle of September, the full potential of the team will be uncovered.

Random Yankee Thoughts

Seeing Joba Chamberlain for the first time as a starter in person was an absolute treat. I saw him out in the bullpen warming up and he still has the baby face look to him. Barring injury, I may be watching another one of baseball’s best for years to come.

How can one not admire Jason Giambi’s mustache? Originally, it was not looking too good, but since he dyed it to black, it is a must see. Mario and Luigi have been replaced for good. Does not hurt that this has coincided with his recent hitting surge.

LaTroy Hawkins may need to find a new number to wear soon. #21 had to be changed to #22. No truth to the rumor he was consider a change to number 911.

Why do I get the feeling that Robinson Cano is the left-handed version of Alfonso Soriano? All-Star team when he is on. All-Ice Cold team when he is not. He’s been in the league for years now and I cannot figure him out. It seems as if I have the least confidence in him with there are two outs and runners on base.

I thought it was a joke when I saw the lineup that Joe Girardi was throwing out against the Mets on Sunday. When I found out it was not, I figured he was just punting the game. No way were they going to score runs with arguably the worst Yankee lineup I have seen in at least 15 years. Girardi could have gotten Matt Nokes, Randy Velarde and Kevin Maas out of retirement, they would have scraped out the same three hits the team ended up getting that day.

The market correction for Darrell Rasner is taking place now. I’m glad I praised him in advance of his impending implosion.

Perhaps Kyle Farnsworth would look more intimidating if he wore the old Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) glasses from the movie Major League. The rims he is wearing now are not cutting it.

Jose Reyes should never be compared in the same breath as Derek Jeter. Not then. Not now. Not ever. For those that even considered such a thought, smack yourself in the face and dip your head in cold water. Then come back to reality and admit how wrong you were.

Listening to games without hearing the voice of Michael Kay or John Sterling is just not the same. Perhaps because I know exactly what they are going to say before they even say it. My sister says that they need to get new material.

You know the fans have completely turned in your favor when we felt good about A-Rod coming to the plate in the 9th inning against Billy Wagner Sunday. We all thought the ball was gone with it left his bat. However, the ball died at the track. No boos given. It was a sight where even failure is met with approval. He has come a long way.

Andy Pettitte is a warrior. How did the Yankees ever let him go? I still contend they would not blown that 3-0 lead to Boston in 2004 had he been on the staff.

Jose Veras is impressing me. I will leave it at that.

Melky Cabrera is disappointing me. I will leave it that.

Mariano Rivera never ceases to amaze me. I am grateful for that.

MLB Talk: The rise of the Cardinals…and the downfall of the National League

Redbirds Rising

For all of the talk about how great the Chicago Cubs have been as we reach the midway point of the baseball season, what has gone under-reported is that there actually is a race going on in that division.

The second place team, the St. Louis Cardinals as of Monday June 30 is only two games behind Chicago in the National League Central loss column.

How could this be? In a season where the national media has been infatuated with all things Cubs, it has been the surprise of the Cardinals that has caught the division and league off guard.

What are they doing correctly? Starting pitching. However, not how the team drew it up at the beginning of the season. The team has been besieged by injuries to their top three pitchers. This has left them with a rotation consisting mostly of castoffs and failed relief pitchers that have been able to convert and become serviceable starters.

Kyle Lohse was wanted by no Major League team when spring training started. The Cardinals, who were simply looking for enough pitchers to fill out their staff, took the chance on Lohse and hoped he could be able to provide innings and be a #4 or #5 starter. They are waiting for veterans Chris Carpenter (ligament replacement) and Mark Mulder (shoulder) to return from injuries that have kept them out for most of the last 365 days. What they have gotten was much more than they ever could have expected. Now, Lohse is 10-2 with a 3.67 ERA. He has established himself as one of the primary anchors of the staff and a prime candidate for an All Star Game appearance in New York.

Whatever pitching coach Dave Duncan is doing, it is working. He is the best at his craft. The ability that he has turn pitchers that have played the role of indentured servants in baseball and turn them into success stories. One the most memorable of all was his ability to unlock the potential that Jeff Weaver always had, but never showed. In 2006, Weaver was struggling with the Los Angeles Angels and his younger brother Jered, replaced him. The Cardinals picked him up and showed slight improvement toward the end of the season. It was in the postseason where he would shine. Helping the Cardinals to a surprise trip to the World Series, Weaver pitched two outstanding games, including the clinching Game 5 to give the Cardinals their tenth world championship.

This time, with Lohse, converted relievers Braden Looper and Todd Wellemeyer, youngster Mitchell Boggs, and another journeyman, Joel Pineiro, the Cardinals have done more than stay afloat. Adam Wainwright is due to return in late July, and once all of them are healthy and pitching, they will appear to be in prime position to challenge for another World Series berth.

Offensively, they survived the loss of Albert Pujols. Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel have picked up the offensive slack creating a formidable 3-4-5 trio. Ludwick is among the NL leaders in OPS (.940), while Pujols was on his way to another “Typical Pujols year” before injuring himself two weeks ago. Also, young Skip Schumaker has made a positive contribution.

The problem currently is the bullpen. 18 times the starting staff has handed the bullpen a lead only to have it lost. It can be argued that if only half of those saves were converted, they would be in first place right now. As it stands, getting the final nine of outs of the ballgame have proved to be difficult to navigate.

Ryan Franklin has stepped up to be one of the leaders as Jason Isringhausen works through a knee injury that will appear to put him on the DL. The Cardinals feel they have people in the minors who can come up and fill the role. We will find out as the summer plays out.

As the rest of the National League flounders, it appears likely that the Cardinals and Cubs will the only two teams standing at the finish line. These two longtime rivals have never been very good at the same time to make their rivalry meaningful (which is why they should never be compared with Yankees-Red Sox), now have a chance to do just that.

Perhaps this year we will see the first Cardinals-Cubs playoff series with a World Series berth at stake.

The National League…pass the air freshener

Maybe I should ask MLB for some of my money back.

Over the last five years, I have slowly been watching the deterioration of National League baseball on my MLB Extra Innings package with the satellite.

Before, being able to watch good teams like the Cardinals, Braves, Giants, and on occasion the Astros, Mets and Dodgers, would make a night a baseball must see viewing when the Yankees game was either not on or the game was over and I needed something to watch before heading to sleep at night.

Unfortunately, over the last few years, most of the teams I mentioned are filled with mediocrity. Unable to get out of their own way on the field and littered with incompetence off it. Now when I come home and look at the schedule for the night and there is very little in terms of interesting games.

My simple conclusion is that these teams are just not any good. Perhaps that is just a knee-jerk reaction. But it is difficult not to notice the quality of play has not been the same as in recent years.

Translation: These teams stink.

The standings in the National League point that out. The Arizona Diamondbacks as of today lead their division by two and a half games despite being 41-41. In the NL East, the Phillies, who should be at least seven to ten games ahead of their nearest competitor are only one game ahead of the Florida Marlins and are only five games over .500 themselves. At least the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals have brought some respectability to the league with their records, but the rest of these teams are borderline unwatchable.

How did this happen? Where did a once competitive league turn into the competition for the tallest midget?

My theory is that it has been a combination of the financial advantage that American League teams have and a lack of ingenuity and intelligence from National League executives.

When the Yankees were dominating baseball in the late 1990’s and early into the 2000 decade, they forced competing teams to spend more money in order to compete. The Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles decided to go toe-to-toe with the men from The Bronx and failed miserably. Both of those teams would spend large sums of money on premium free agents and in the end would barely see 80 wins.

The Boston Red Sox decided they would use their resources to their advantage and started to spend, starting with dealing out 160 million for Manny Ramirez. By 2004, the Red Sox had the second highest payroll in the league.

With two teams on top, the Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners decided to get in on the fun. Suddenly, the American League had seven of the top 10 payrolls in the league. Add to it, the ability of the Minnesota Twins and Oakland A’s to use their funds wisely and develop their farm systems began to tilt that advantage even further.

While this going on, teams as Atlanta and San Francisco slowly began to break down. The New York Mets would spend money, but would find themselves in the same boat the housed Texas and Baltimore years before. The Philadelphia Phillies were simply devoid of intelligence. Other major market clubs like the L.A Dodgers and Chicago Cubs chose not to spend their money despite making high revenues each season.

Only the St. Louis Cardinals have been the most consistent winning team in the NL over the last eight years. They have reached the playoffs six times. Participated in the League Championship Series five times and the World Series twice.

Because of the watered down nature of the last few years, the National League has opted not to spend big sums of money because outside of the Mets and now the Cubs, no one else is. If 85 wins can get you into the playoffs, what is the purpose in spending 125 million in payroll when you can spend 90 and take your chances on the result? This is why the NL has not won an All Star Game in the last 10 years.

The spending discrepancy shows up in the lineups that these teams present when interleague play takes place. The lack of good lower place hitters is magnified and exploited in such a way that most of the League cannot effectively compete.

If NL GM’s were smart, they would take the model from the AL and construct their lineup “one through eight” instead of “one through six”. With the lack of good offenses, it has inflated the numbers of most pitchers making them better than what they are. Because of the lack of spending, you see lesser quality players in lineups therefore making these games and teams unappealing and force you to look for other programming.

One would hope that they would eventually figure this out. Do not count on it. Adaptation is often hard for some baseball teams. It is especially true when money is involved.

Call me when the National League playoffs start. I might be interested then.

Yankee Talk: Welcome back offense...who is Darrell Rasner...and the indomitable Mariano

Knock, Knock. Who’s there? The offense.

It was funny through the first two months of the season, as the Yankees offense on most nights resembled a frozen block of ice, the idea that the team needed to acquire an additional bat to help the lineup.

What? Are you crazy?

Scoring runs was not going to be a problem on this season's team. It never has been. The last four years has seen its share of slow starts, but fast forward the calendar to around June and that is when things begin to pick up.

Why has that been happening? No one really has an answer for that. However, at the end of the season, the team ends producing at least 900 runs. Sure there is some inconsistency mixed in with those results, but that will happen with any offensive team. When you score as many runs as this team does, the percentages are that they are having more good days than bad.

The problem is that we as consumers of this stuff treat baseball games as if it were football. Excessive scrutinies of individual games do not relate to big picture and marathon that is the 162 game schedule. One player's 0 for 4 on a Monday night when he is hitting .250 becomes a referendum on overall ability.

As the last 30 games have shown, patience is a virtue. In addition, having Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada back in the lineup again makes a tremendous difference.

It was amusing to hear the idea thrown out there that the team was still supposed to produce runs at their normal clip even without those two in the order.

Again...are you insane?

You cannot take the Most Valuable Player in baseball, along with the best hitting catcher in the league and expect the same production. It is impossible. Replacing those hitters with the likes of Jose Molina and Morgan Ensberg is essentially giving up five to six outs per night in a game. This only magnifies when the other hitters in the lineup are not producing. It makes for a massive offensive shutdown.

The Yankees are 20-9 since the MVP's return to the lineup. In the month of June, he is hitting .440. Let me repeat that...440! Posada is hitting .330. They each have OPS averages of over 1.100.

Their return has allowed other hitters to flourish. Johnny Damon has reassumed his role of sparkplug. His patience at the plate and his legs on the bases has reemerged. Jason Giambi has seen as revival of his past hitting ways. After struggling and hitting .170, he has turned it on. His average is up near .270 and his OPS average is .02 shy of 1.000 as of Friday.

Currently, the team possesses four hitters in the lineup that are batting over .320. All of this is being done while Derek Jeter has yet to find his stroke at the plate as battles through some early season injuries.

With interleague play and a heavy dose of home games in the month of July, the hot bats should continue. As the pitching staff battles through some injuries and transitions, the team’s constant, which has always been its offense over the last five years, will appear to rise once again.

The Evolution of Ras

Injuries and underperformance by youngsters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy had the Yankees scrambling for a replacement starter that could maybe provide some stability. Perhaps while he was at it, get a couple of wins and stay in the rotation for as long as possible.

Enter Darrell Rasner.

Rasner came along in the first week of May for what looked to be a simple spot start against the Seattle Mariners. Over the last two years, Rasner has been used in a dual role of long reliever and occasional spot starter. His season was cut short last May in a game at Shea Stadium against the New York Mets where he was spot starting. A line drive hit him on the leg and sidelined him indefinitely.

He was back again this time, determined to make the most of his opportunity. In AAA before being called up, he was 4-0 with and 0.87 ERA. In his first start, he could continue his good pitching. Six innings and two earned runs later and Rasner’s performance would good enough to earn him another start.

What became one good start became two in Detroit. That was followed by another great outing against Baltimore.

Suddenly, this was looking like no fluke. Considering his minor league success and giving the Yankees a much-needed boost. As of Friday, he is 3-3 with a more than respectable 3.64 ERA. The consistency he has shown throwing strikes and not walking hitters has allowed him to pitch in very few high-drama situations.

How can long can he last? We may have seen a forecaster of a market-correction take shape. On Wednesday night in his start against the San Diego Padres. Facing arguably the worst hitting team in the league, Rasner walked five batters and worked into and out of trouble the entire night in his five innings of work. He was able to get the win, but it may just be only a matter of time before his limited stuff is hit hard due to overexposure.

However long it last, the Yankees have gotten more out of Darrell Rasner than they ever could have hoped.

Mariano = Damn Near Automatic

It is amazingly that I have watched the career of Mariano Rivera.

I saw his first ever game in 1995 in a game against the Chicago White Sox as a starting pitcher. No way would I have ever thought that 13 years later I would continue to watch undoubtedly the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball.

Even at the age of 38, Rivera might be having his season of his career. His cutter has been so accurately pinpoint it defies explanation. Pounding inside to right-handed hitters and breaking the bats of left-handed hitters with ease, his ERA this season stands at 0.70. Even more amazing than that is his WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings pitched) is 0.52. At the rate he is going, Rivera might possibly have the greatest season in the history of relief pitching.

In a world where other teams have to rely on the likes of Billy Wagner, Trevor Hoffman and Todd Jones to close games. The nightly roller coaster that you see on a night to night basis with relief pitchers having the inability to get those final three outs pales in comparison to watching The Great Mariano when he comes into the ballgame.

The opposing team 99 times out of 100 knows that when Rivera comes into the game with a lead, it is over. The Yankees players are reassured when he comes into the game. Despite having other relief pitchers that may be effective, it rises to a much different level when he comes into the game for the final three outs.

Some day very soon, we will no longer have Mariano to watch pitch and will be forced to go back to the days where getting the final outs will be heart pumping. For now, I will continue to enjoy watching number 42 in pinstripes with the interlocking “NY” on the jersey continue to pitch his way into the Hall of Fame.

It has been an honor and a privilege. We will never see another pitcher like this in our lives.

MLB Talk: The New York Mess/Mets

Very little usually takes place at three o’clock in the morning. The late night bars close and folks head home. People that have been sleeping in their beds are making that middle of the night trip to the bathroom.

Other times, teams are firing their managers and have to alert their outside world of the news. It is enough to remove the crust from the eyes in quick fashion.

The announcement of Willie Randolph dismissal as manager of the New York Mets was a culmination of a botched scheme planned to take place days prior, but put on hold when the Mets happened to win a few more games than they lost that week. The firing came after Randolph had flown with the team to Anaheim for a three game series with the Los Angeles Angels. The Mets won that night. It was not until after the game, as he had returned to his hotel room, did Minaya break the news.

Why now? There were several opportunities where this firing could have taken place. What ended up happening was a three-week charade that leaves the organization looking more foolish than they started.

On Memorial Day, the team held a press conference in to announce that they were not firing Randolph. This came after a stretch in which they went 1-6 on a road trip that featured a four game sweep to their rival Atlanta Braves and losing two of three games to the Colorado Rockies.

The second opportunity they had to let him go was last Thursday after the Mets blew a 4-0 lead to the Arizona Diamondbacks and lost in 10 innings. It was their worst loss of the season to date in a year of heartbreaking defeats. This capped another bad stretch of losing six of seven games. First, being swept four games by the San Diego Padres. Followed by losing two of three to Arizona.

The Mets brass, had they wanted to could have fired Randolph after that game and reaction would not have been brutal. However, nothing took place and he was allowed to remain in his position through the weekend.

Leaks were already coming out from sources inside the Mets stating how the situation was going to go down and who was getting The Soprano's version of the "whack". , Minaya continued to deny, going as far as to give him a vote of confidence before last weekend home series against the Texas Rangers.

Two chances were given and none of them used. What could they possibly be waiting for? Either you get rid of him then, or you do not get rid of him at all. Each day for two weeks produced nothing but "Will-ie stay or Will-ie Go" discussion. Each loss pondering the question of "Was this it?"

It certainly did not help that mixed in with all that losing was that on three occasions, closer Billy Wagner was called on to close out games and handed multiple run leads at that.

In the first game against Colorado, Wagner was nursing a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and gave it back with one pitch when Matt Holliday drilled his 99 MPH fastball to dead-center field to tie the game. The Mets would end up losing in 13 innings.

The second came in the final game of the San Diego series. Having already dropped the first three games at Petco Park, Wagner was called to get the final four outs nursing a two-run lead. Facing long time journeyman Tony Clark (who has more gray hair than hits); Wagner would yield a grand slam that was the difference in an 8-6 Mets defeat.

The final one came at home on a Thursday afternoon. Wagner had already blown a three-run lead on Tuesday, giving up another homerun. His awful inning would be covered up by the team winning in 11 innings. This time, after Johan Santana had pitched seven shutout innings, Wagner was brought in for the ninth with lead that was once four, but now two. True to form, Wagner would give up the lead once again. Arizona scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to win the game 5-4 and put the wheels in motion for the events that would unfold over the next 96 hours.

What makes it ironic is that Wagner has had the biggest mouth on the team since he arrived three years ago. Yet, he has come up very small in the biggest of situations. From the 2006 League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. A key blown save late last season against Philadelphia that boosted the Phillies confidence and allowed them to entertain thoughts over their eventual September comeback.

Early in the season, Wagner called out teammate Oliver Perez for his poor performance. Several weeks ago, he was alleged to call out teammates Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran for their lack of media availability after losses. Now, three blown saves in the course of three weeks put his manager's employment in peril.

The rumors were rising like a forest fire and the Mets were having a hard time putting it out. Word had gotten out that not only Randolph would be terminated, but also his pitching coach Rick Peterson and first base coach Tom Neito. The organization would give the baseball equivalent of the unintentional-intentional walk by never addressing the topic when asked directly.

The question to Minaya is this: Why not say one way or the other that Willie Randolph was going to be your manager for the remainder of the season if you support him?

It was obvious that he did not support him enough to give him that type of support. Leaving just enough room to cut the cord if needed.

After winning on Friday, their Saturday game would be postponed by rain. This left the Mets hierarchy with a problem. They either would face public degradation firing him on Father's Day in their own city, or be forced to fire him at some point during the road trip to avoid maximum ridicule. It was going to have been done as soon as possible now because public opinion was not going to be in their favor if the team went on a mini-streak. It was with that in mind that Minaya had come to his decision.

Before getting on the cross-country flight, both Minaya and Randolph had a conversation. In that dialogue, Willie would ask Omar that if he was going to make the change to do so now to avoid what would be personal humiliation of being fired 3000 miles away when it just be done in New York. Minaya would tell him that he had not made a decision, again leaving Randolph to twist and walk on eggshells.

Suddenly, Omar reconsidered the next day. He would fly out to the left coast to give him the news. What happened between Sunday night and Monday? Who knows?

The news was given to the three rumored parties at 11 PM Pacific time. When word of the dismissal was finally generated and dispersed to members of the media, it was 3:15 AM local time in New York. Past deadline for all newspapers, and past time for television stations to break in with news and non-stop coverage.

Coincidence?

Why not just fire him in the morning? Was it so urgent that it had to be done at that time? Surely, everyone in the Mets organization had to realize that the timing of such a move would be criticized severely.

Or did they?

Apparently not. It took nearly 14 hours for the Team Turmoil to get their story straight in enough time to hold a press conference to explain themselves if they could.

For the Mets, it would be another incident bringing about more mockery. Added shame for a franchise that seems to pride itself on it. Already playing the role of "second dog" in their city battle with the Yankees, they continue to find ways to look foolish. It is very odd when you consider that owner Fred Wilpon is a very intelligent man who is always trying to do the best thing for his fans and team.

However, the decisions that have been made over the last 22 years have caused more agita and embarrassment than anything else has. Perhaps he is just snake bit. How else can one explain the 1992 Mets? The Anthony Young Era? Todd Hundley in left field? The Mo Vaughn days? Art Howe? Trading Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano? Now this.

With nearly half a season remaining before moving in their new home Citi Field just yards away, the Mets appear to be in a difficult situation. They are trying to win now with a team that is most are finding to be structurally flawed, aging, and with no clear direction whatsoever.

Perhaps it was best that Willie escaped this mess. As we may soon find out, their problems go much deeper than just the manager.