N.Y. Yankees: Brian Cashman Reclaims The High Ground

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

I Think We Need A Bigger Park

New York Yankees: Brian Cashman acquires outfield slugger Giancarlo Stanton along with $30 million dollars from Derek Jeter Miami Marlins in exchange for Starlin Castro, prospects, and a complimentary bag of NYC bagels.

I left off in my previous post saying ... 

Make no mistake.  The energy of the old Evil Empire is not dead.  

It is merely being transformed.  This is Brian Cashman's New Bronx Order.

😲

When you think about it, the Death Star Bronx County is indeed the logical landing spot, but only because Sith Lord Brian Cashman made it so.

Cashman had already started whittling down payroll since before Derek Jeter's retirement.  And as luck would have it, the Empire Yankees wound up being the lone team presently capable of absorbing Giancarlo's mega contract in which he is still owed $295 million dollars.

Derek Jeter's options were clearly limited due to Stanton's full no-trade clause, making it no wonder Jeter also kicked in $30 million as part of the trade agreement.

Even more amazing is the fact the Yankees are able to accommodate the balance of their $265 million obligation, and still satisfy Emperor Hal Steinbrenner's desire for being under the luxury tax.

Giancarlo Stanton, the 2017 National League MVP, batted .281 with a .376 OBP.  He led all of baseball with 59 home runs and 132 RBI, and led the National League with a .631 slugging average.

Aaron Judge, the 2017 American League Rookie of the Year, slashed .284/.422/.627, and led the A.L. with 52 home runs, 128 runs scored, 127 walks, drove in 114 runs, and finished second in voting for American League MVP.

Combined, they hit 111 home runs and posted 246 RBI in 2017 (with 371 strikeouts in 1,139 regular season at-bats for a rate of 32.5 percent.., just saying).

With a line-up also featuring Didi Gregorious, Gary Sanchez, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, et al, you can forget about Mos Isley Cantina Coors Field, as Yankee Stadium suddenly becomes the nation's wretched hive of scum and villainy largest pinball machine.

Perhaps the Yankees should consider installing overhead netting in order to protect the Judge's Chamber and Bleacher Creatures, or at the very least make them all wear Storm Trooper helmets.

There's no denying Christmas arrived early for Yankee droids fans.  What an absolutely stunning off-season this has been for Yankees brass as well, between the hiring of new Imperial Guard field manager Aaron Boone, and now this.

But wait, there's more.  As Brian Cashman continues expressing his desire to rule the galaxy sign a starting pitcher, be it resigning C.C. Sabathia, or otherwise.

In fact, he foresees it.

Upon the conclusion of a whirlwind week in December, Brian Cashman has no doubt seized the attention of every member of the Senate general manager in baseball.  Every front office, field manager, Jedi, and player, from Los Angeles to Houston, Anaheim to Chicago, from Boston, and closer to home in Tatooine Queens, realize the Sith Yankees have once more altered the landscape of baseball.

R2 says the chances of A.L. East survival are 3,720 ... to one.

Here we go again.

N.Y. Yankees: My View of Derek Jeter Day

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

From the archives..

2011

2008

N.Y. Yankees: A-Rod Should Quietly Exit Stage Left And Disappear

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Don't look now, but Dumb And Dumber-2 suddenly has competition at the box office.  

Loosey Goosey-2 has just been released, once again featuring Stupid as the main character.

New York Yankees: The best part of Derek Jeter's final season and triumphant send-off was that Alex Rodriguez was nowhere around to pollute the atmosphere.

My father called it cara sin sangre, or, face without blood - the ability to shamelessly lie through your face with the greatest of ease.  A very pretty face in Alex's case and the ability to speak well made him the perfect actor.

Attention shoppers, this is just my opinion:

First, an unfortunate refresher:

2009 (ding! ding! ding!) - Remember when A-Rod took us all for a lighthearted trip down memory lane?  How he was made to revisit those loosey goosey times had with Cousin Yuri during his playing days in hot Texas; when they were both young and inexperienced and stupid....

And that for all they knew they, weren't even administering the juice correctly...?  That's comical.

• By the way, the Spanish translation for cousin, is primo,  and it just so happens that Primobolan (in addition to testosterone) is the stuff he got caught using (then).

After lying to Katie Couric on TV, he got outed by Sports Illustrated, and had no choice but to admit steroid use between the years 2001-2003.

Now, here's the punchline - It was during Alex Rodriguez' apology that he begged all to judge him by what he did from that moment forward.

Remember?

Therefore, today, he's a complete joke.

At this point, how can the tabloids, TV, talkies, or otherwise, in right mind concern themselves with how A-Rod (the player formerly known as Alex Rodriguez) can redeem himself?

Are we really that forgiving a society?  Yeah, well, I hope so.  But in A-Rod's case, what's wrong with him spending a little time in the town stockade?  He still gets to walk away a very rich man, not that locking up his head and hands for a while makes it right.  But.....

Redemption?  I read where having a good season in 2015 and getting the Yanks back in the playoffs were good ways to start.

How insulting!  Do they really believe that?

Even in the Land of the Free (Press), his situation (depressing really, yet highly laughable) is extremely toxic.  The blatant disregard and disrespect he exhibited towards Major League Baseball, the Yankees organization and team mates, his Union, its members, and the fans, is extraordinary.

The fans?  Yes, because prior to his arrival, it was quite easy to call on the spur of the moment, and buy a pair of main level seats at Yankee Stadium behind home plate for $100 (total) for my son (the Yankee fan) and me.  That summertime pleasure effectively ended once the Yankees acquired him, and ever since fans were instead made to pay a ridiculously inflated premium to watch him cheat.

So, I can't help but ask why, WHY, why protect (or enable) him further?

C'mon, he's earned over well $300 million dollars over his career, and will never have to work another day in his life.  No one is taking that away from him. God Bless America, ya know.  So what's the harm in some old fashion Pilgrim style finger pointing and ridicule?  After all, Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Barry Bonds was made to testify under oath, and admitted that he perhaps unknowingly administered himself with steroids "thinking" it was flax-seed oil, etc.  Riiiigght!  Outside of that, where was Bonds' counter measure slander/libel lawsuit in response to the book Game of Shadows and the BALCO discoveries?  Precisely.

It's the same type fraud Alex perpetrated by going on The Fan/Mike Francesca, threatening MLB and the Yankees with lawsuits.  He continued to lie throughout the process of MLB rediscovering his appetite for FOOD and GUM from Chef Anthony Bosch's Biogenesis kitchen, yet accepted a 1-year ban (because innocent people do that).  Bottom line is Alex never followed through with the lawsuits because he couldn't risk testifying under oath.

That no longer matters.  The truth is out.  Turns out he's been outed yet again, this time through leaked DEA testimony, so says the Miami Herald.

He apparently never stopped taking steroids/HGH.

Let's assume the Yankees must still pay A-Rod even after this latest still-developing episode.  In my perfect world, Hal Steinbrenner would hand Alex a check for the remaining money owed him, and advise him to stay as far away from Yankee Stadium as physically possible, or risk arrest for trespassing.  I would also ban him for life from ever speaking about his days in pinstripes, and from ever uttering the Yankee name.

And I'm not even a Yankee fan, but unlike Alex Rodriguez, I respect what they've accomplished in well over a century of baseball in the Bronx.

In fact, looking back, the best part of Derek Jeter's final season and triumphant send-off was that Alex Rodriguez was nowhere around to pollute the atmosphere.

Three Bronx jeers then, for A-Rod.....



Mike

N.Y. Yankees: So Long Mr. November

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Jeter's final series at Yankee Stadium against Baltimore

New York Yankees: At night, mild mannered Derek Jeter turned into the notorious Gotham Hitman.

The 20-year playing career of Derek Jeter has ended.

It goes without saying, Derek was a professional on and off the field - always in total control of his affairs.  He stayed humble, but more importantly remained his own man, which in NYC can be difficult to do.  When GM Brian Cashman chose to callously negotiate Jeter's final extension through the media, the Captain chastised the organization for it.  In a blue collar town, that was endearing.

Derek Jeter was my son's favorite.  He's all my son has ever known.  I was saddened for him upon Jeter's final game.

Me?  I'm more practiced at seeing players come and go.  Being older and a little more jaded, it's rare I get attached to singular players anymore.  As a younger man, the advent of free agency helped ruin things somewhat.  Some players have come close in my adult years, but I always knew Jeter was different from most players in my life as a New Yorker.

Suffice to say, my son had better luck with his childhood hero than I did with mine.

He was different - a throwback.  His class stood out.

He transcends 3 different centuries of baseball. Jeter would have been as supremely respected in the Murray Hill clubhouse of the 1840s New York Knickerbockers as he was in modern day Yankee Stadium.

In New York City, obviously steeped in baseball history since its earliest day, rich with legendary teams and players of all eras, Derek Jeter will go down as one of its titans.

If you remember, there was a time Derek Jeter placed behind contemporary shortstops Nomar Garciapara, Alex Rodriguez, and Miguel Tejada, on statistical, as well as popularity lists.  He may not have been the best to ever play shortstop, but Jeter was great throughout.

That said, let Derek Jeter be a lesson and reminder of what it really takes to be a Hall of Famer.

The entirety of his career was a relentless storm of hits, right through his 18th season when he led the American League with the second highest mark of his career.  In the post-season, in short series competition, Mr. November's bat flashed with lightning and roared with thunder.

In the 139 years of professional baseball, only 5 players have more hits than Derek Jeter.

No other Yankee, no Met player, Giant or Dodger - no other New York City player even comes remotely close; not Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Zack Wheat, Mel Ott, DiMaggio or Gehrig, the Duke of Flatbush, Pee Wee, the Scooter, et al...  no one has more hits in this city than Jeter.

If you're old enough to have seen his whole career, like I did, then you had the opportunity to watch, listen or witness all 3,465 of them.

I only caught the 2nd half of Pete Rose's career, and the tail of Hank Aaron's career.  So, in my life as a baseball fan, Derek Jeter is indeed the hit king.

At the time Derek Jeter signed his final contract extension, he owned a career .314 batting average. Going forward, my worry was that he would jeopardize his average, and fall below .300 like Mickey Mantle did.

Missing most of the 2013 regular season with an injury turned out to be a mixed bag of goods.  In the end, Jeter started 2014 with a ,312 average, and finished the season with a career .310 batting average.  I feel that adds much more polish to a career, than say a .307 average would have.

We'll never know what type of 2013 season he could have produced, but we do know it cost him an opportunity at finishing 5th on the all-time hit list.  Only 2 American Leaguers have more.  Tris Speaker ended his career with 3,515 hits. Jeter was just 50 hits away.

He'll go down as one of the city's elite: with Jim Creighton Jr., Christy Mathewson, Jackie Robinson, Tom Seaver, and numerous others including Lou Gehrig and the Highlander/Yankee legends of the last 100+ years.



Mike

NYC Subway Series: First Stop, 161st Street and River Avenue

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

GAME ONE

NEW YORK METS

vs.

NEW YORK YANKEES

FROM

THE HOUSE THAT GEORGE BUILT

With A Parking Lot That Cost A Fortune To Build,

But Is Too Expensive To Park In, And Thus Remains Mostly Empty.

161st Street and River Avenue

BRONX

Entering the opener of this year's Subway Series, the Yankees own a 19-17 record, and the Mets own a 17-19 record.  Not much separates them, right?

One team spent $500 million dollars during the off season to refortify their roster, while the other team in town remains upwards of $850+ million dollars in debt.

One team will be retiring the number of a former manager, and adding three more plaques to Monument Park.  However, the other team in town severed ties with the first all-star the organization ever produced, for still unexplained reasons, nor have they made a motion, or entertained the thought of retiring the number of a HOF catcher, who recently passed away as perhaps the classiest member of the Mets last championship team.

Yes, it Subwayy Series time again, only one team might be showing up to Yankee Stadium this evening in Pedi-Cabs.

As a Mets fan, yes indeed, this was all pretty deliberate.  I'm in that kind of mood today.  But, it is an expression nonetheless, of my frustration with the disparity between New York City's American and National League clubs, that for all intent and purpose, should not exist.

Am I am a disgruntled Mets fan?  No, I am not.  Rather, I am a pissed off Mets fan.

*          *          *          *

Like everything else this season, this will be Derek Jeter's last Subway Series.  I've stated many times in this blog, that I do not want to see Derek Jeter ruin his career .300 batting average. He is presently batting .250, with 29 hits in 116 at-bats.  Derek started the season with a .314 lifetime mark, but has dropped 2 points, and presently owns a career .312 average.

*          *          *          *

My greatest Subway Series moment/game?

Carlos Delgado's Nine RBI @ Yankee Stadium

June 27, 2008

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Yankees: On Derek Jeter's Retirement

From the desk of:   BLAME CARLOS MAY

Number

2

New York Yankees: The Captain - Derek Jeter Says The 2014 Season Will Be His Last.

By 1974, I was a young five tool fanchild.  I was born a very secure Mets fan, entertained my pop's love for the Yankees, been to both stadiums, knew how to keep score, and started collecting baseball cards on my own.

Fleeting are the summers.  Forty have passed in my life as a baseball fan.  But, much like the snow piling ever higher outside my house, the passage of time is chilling to ponder.

I spent the years 1974 and 1975 taking mental snapshots of the massive renovations taking place at historic Yankee Stadium.  In the interim, the team played its games at my house, Shea Stadium.  Nevertheless, routine trips to visit relatives meant taking the F.D.R. uptown to the George Washington Bridge, which provided me with an ongoing account of progress.  I was always alert with anticipation, waiting for the moment we drove by.

In 1976, the year of Yankee Stadium's grand reopening, my pop closed out the season by taking me to Game Five of the ALCS - you know, the insane Chris Chambliss home run game.  The images of that night, and watching the transformation of the old stadium, stay with me today.  As an adult, and father myself, I caught chills the day I positioned myself across the river, at that exact point of view, for a final series of photos just prior to her demolition.

The House That Ruth Built was gone.  The loss was great, but my memories, I knew would last forever. Among them, I include the playing days of Thurman Munson, the exploits of Reggie Jackson, and the careers of Dave Winfield and Don Mattingly when they shared a field together.

You can now add the cast of recent Core players, and in particular, the career of Derek Jeter.  The Yankees shortstop of the last 18+ years, the man dubbed Mr. November, announced Wednesday he will retire at season's end.  The 11th team captain in Yankees history decided it's time to leave the game.

In my lifetime, there has perhaps been no athlete in New York City, who has gotten IT more right, than him. The Boss was never more spot on, than when he named Derek captain of the Yankees, just as he was correct in naming Thurman Munson.  I understand more each day why those two were so perfectly suited for the role.  I mean no slight towards Mattingly, but I was a bigger Winfield fan.  That said, Munson, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter, are whom I would define as the modern ideal of a Yankee.  In the Steinbrenner era, I believe no players brought more balance, and commanded genuine league wide, or even cross-town respect, despite the club's prevailing early Bronx Zoo, and later Evil Empire personas, than those three.

*    *    *    *

As part of my own personal Hall of Fame criteria, a player's late years, should rate similarly to those of, say, his prime years.  Loosely stated, I feel a player's 17th season, should somewhat resemble, say, his 7th year in the league. I believe one or two late, great seasons, serves as a punctuation mark to a potential HOF career.  It's a statement saying - I stayed great to the end.

For example, Dave Winfield did that in 1992, by posting 108 RBI at age 40, for the eighth 100+ RBI season of his career - a prestigious level of production by any measure.  Seven times?  Not so much.  Winfield additionally amassed 75 home runs in his final three full seasons.  He then only managed another 123 games over the next two seasons, and retired.  Had Dave Winfield not lost all of 1989 to injury, 500 home runs, and 2,000 RBI were very distinct possibilities.

Derek Jeter's 2012 regular season qualifies as one of those punctuation marks.  And like Winfield, Derek was sidelined for an entire season, all except for 17 games last year.  I'm not sure, however, if that helped or harmed his career numbers.  It just makes this season all the more intriguing.

*    *    *    *

There is also much about Derek Jeter that reminds me of Pete Rose.  Why bring Rose into this?  They shared an unrelenting, rabid determination, and thirst for competition at the highest level, and, because Derek Jeter could conceivably wind up 5th, 6th, or 7th on baseball's all-time hits list.  Currently in 6th place, is Tris Speaker, with 3,514 hits.  Derek needs 198 hits to match Speaker.

Pete Rose's last great season came at age 40, during the 1981 strike-shortened campaign, in which he led the N.L. in hits, and batted .325 for the season.  That's a punctuation mark.  He retired five years later, after passing Ty Cobb for 1st place on the all-time hits list.  Of course, Pete Rose held on till age 45, with the sole intention of chasing down Ty Cobb's record, so naturally, there was an expected drop in Charlie Hustle's production.  But had Rose retired after the 1981 season at age 40, he would still have amassed 3,697 hits. Derek Jeter currently sits at 3,316 and counting.  That's a difference of only 381 hits before a single pitch gets thrown in 2014.

Derek Jeter will turn 40 years old this June, and his bounce back 2012 season is right up there with Pete Rose's 1981 campaign.  Derek once again surpassed 200 hits, and in fact, led the league with 216, and batted .316 for the season.  That's punctuation.

Baseball's all-time hit king averaged 639 at-bats a season over his 24 year career.  Entering his 20th campaign, Jeter has averaged 661 at-bats a season.  Pete Rose eclipsed 200 hits in a season ten times, while Jeter has done so eight times.

*    *    *    *

Upon completion of Derek's final game as a Yankee, the Core FIVE era will officially come to an end. Despite arriving in the Bronx a few years earlier, I will always include Bernie Williams among the core, along with Andy, Mo, and Jorge Posada.

Bernie's enduring legacy could have been further enhanced, but he never provided that punctuating season at the end of his career.  He, in effect, ruined his .300 career batting average with four final pedestrian seasons before Brian Cashman unceremoniously pushed him out the door.  He batted above .300 for eight straight seasons, but (unofficially) retired after 16 seasons with the Yankees, owning a .297 batting average.

Like Bernie, the great Mickey Mantle probably held on too long, and likewise ruined his career batting average.  The Mick retired with a .299 mark.  In his mind, and with his words, Mickey was defiant to the end, insisting he was a .300 hitter.  Unfortunately, his baseball card disagreed by a fraction, and he always regretted that.

When Derek Jeter signed his current contract, his lifetime batting average stood at .314, which means he's lost two points over the last three years.  That's been my main concern regarding Jeter's latter years - I want him to retire with a career batting average above the .310 mark.  Over a 20 year career, I would view that as a majestic baseball achievement.  With the hopeful completion of a healthy, and even mildly productive 2014 season, his lifetime average will likely rank 15th all-time for players with 20 or more years of service.

Pete Rose was far from being a home run hitter, but remains one of the greatest players I ever saw - period! Home runs do not a Hall of Famer make.  Rose retired with a .303 career batting average, and holds a considerable advantage in doubles, while Derek Jeter easily beats Rose in home runs, and was an overall higher slugger.

Derek currently has 256 home runs, and with any luck, can reach 270+ before he retires, if, he sticks to his career average of 16 per season.  Keeping in mind that he has primarily been a lead-off, or number two hitter, here are other milestones within reach this season:

39 more RBI for 1,300
24 runs scored for 1,900
2 stolen bases for 350
25 more doubles for 550

*    *    *    *

It wasn't too long ago that Derek Jeter was being ranked behind contemporaries such as the beleaguered Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, and other various shortstops of the day.  Of the former shortstops mentioned, two have been established as cheaters of the game, and the third couldn't withstand the test of time.

Not coincidentally, Nomar Garciaparra also owns a .312 career batting average, but only lasted 14 years before injuries forced him into retirement.  It was ironic that during the 2004 season, then Red Sox GM Theo Epstein traded then face of the franchise, Nomar Garciaparra.  The Sox went on to win their first World Series in 86 years without him, and two more for good measure.  In 2009, Derek Jeter earned his fifth ring as a Yankee.

Derek Jeter's Hall of Fame career needs no championing from me.  His career spans two decades of sustained excellence that speaks for itself.  He not only outlasted, and outclassed his contemporaries, he will retire as one of baseball's all-time titans.

How about that....



Mike.BTB
Mets fan

N.Y. Yankees: Why Derek Should Retire Now

From the desk of:   BLAME CARLOS MAY

NEW YORK YANKEES: Avoid The Same Mistake Mickey Mantle Made.  Do Not Detract From A Brilliant Career.

Number Two just couldn't stay on the field.  Lingering effects of a broken foot hampered repeated comeback attempts, and so, Derek Jeter's 2013 season is over.  But it is a broken foot issue after all, which by most accounts seems something he can still fully recover from.  With a proper off-season, Derek Jeter can in fact return next season.  And as he led the league in hits in 2012, a major drop-off doesn't seem too likely.  But if I had my way, his illustrious career would be ending as well.  For his own sake - for his legacy, I'd prefer he retire post-haste.

My whole premise is based on one item - his lifetime batting average.  When he signed his current deal, his lifetime average stood at .314, but three years later, it has dropped to a .312 mark. The  decision to return next season is wholly his, not that of the Yankees.  Derek Jeter holds the option in his contract.

For me, it's all about maintaining regal numbers.  In baseball, isn't that what we cherish?  Look what happened to Mickey Mantle.  He held on too long, underperformed, and ruined his lifetime .300 batting average.  When asked, The Mick would tell you he was a .300 hitter, but the reality is that he ruined it, and rued the day he did.

Derek Jeter would have to endure a god-awful season next year in order to ruin his .300 average, but I would like for him to stay above the .310 mark.  I just feel there is more glitz and significance to it, considering how he outlasted all his former contemporaries such as Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, and even Alex Rodriguez, who all never finished their careers at shortstop.

At this very moment, his lifetime numbers are stellar; great all-time Hall of Fame statistics.  But from this moment on, the only category which can negatively be affected is his lifetime batting average.  Anything else he does with a bat in his hands only adds to a great career.  He has over 1800 runs scored, over 3,300 hits, over 500 doubles, over 300 stolen bases, over 250 home runs, over 1,200 runs batted in, a lifetime .381 OBP, and as it currently stands, a batting average above the .310 mark.  How does a .307 average strike you?  I'm sorry.  For me there is a measure of luster lost.  The only way to end this career is with the .312 batting average he already has in hand.



Mike.BTB

N.Y. Mets ~ Bombers' Bullpen Slams Door on Game Two

From the desks of:   HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET  and  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Roosevelt Avenue Showdown

SUBWAY SERIES ~ FLUSHING

I  -  NYM 6; NYY 4

II  -  NYY 4; NYM 3

III  -  Sunday Evening

NEW YORK METS:  Bomber Subs Dump On Chris Young's Effort.  Mets Strand Too Many Runners as Yankees' Bullpen Slams Door on Game Two.

Mike Pelfrey's replacement pitched scoreless baseball through five innings.  The Mets staked Chris Young to a two run lead.  Kirk Nieuwenhuis homered in the third inning off Ivan Nova, and Josh Thole's fielder's choice brought home Scott Hairston in the fourth.


In the sixth, Chris Young faced Alex Rodriguez with one out and Curtis Granderson on first.  Young induced a pop-up to short.  Granderson went on to steal second base.  Then Robinson Cano followed with an inning ending pop-up, this time to David Wright at third.  The Yankees remained scoreless.


In the home sixth, Daniel Murphy led off by lacing a double to left-center.  Scott Hairston did a great job laying off some nasty breaking balls, but struck out on an Ivan Nova fastball right down the middle.  Omar Quintanilla moved Murphy to third on a topper to Derek Jeter at short.  The Yankees then intentionally walked Josh Thole so as to face the pitcher, Chris Young, with two outs.  Coach Terry let his starter bat.  And the Mets' starter rewarded his manager by promptly serving Ivan Nova's first pitch; a fastball; very cleanly to right field, scoring Murphy from third.


With Chris Young helping his own cause, the Mets picked up their much needed insurance run and chased Ivan Nova from the game.  In came Clay Rapada from the Yankees' bullpen to face Kirk Nieuwenhuis.  Rapada got Nieuwenhuis swinging to end the Mets' threat, and hold the Mets to a 3-0 lead.


Out came Chris Young for the seventh inning.  He issued his third walk of the evening to Mark Teixiera leading off.  Nick Swisher then served a liner to right which Lucas Duda misplayed, but was backed up by Nieuwenhuis to keep runners at first and third.  With no move to the bullpen, Raul Ibanez then stepped up and hooked Chris Young's first pitch just inside the right field foul pole for a three run home run, and a tie game.


With Chris Young's night finished, Jon Rauch entered the game to face Russell Martin.  Rauch caught Martin looking.  Pinch hitting for Clay Rapada, Eric Chavez then drove a high fastball just inside the left field foul pole this time, for a go ahead home run.


Cody Eppley came in from the Yankees' pen to face the Mets in the home seventh.  Jodany Valdespin led off with a floater to left, where Raul Ibanez couldn't make a catch.  The ball got away some, and Valdespin made it safely to second.  David Wright moved Valdespin to third on a grounder to Cano.
Joe Girardi then opted to bring Boone Logan into the game to face Lucas Duda.  Lucas swung at a breaking ball, looked at a breaking ball, then swung at another breaking ball, before making his way back to the dugout.  Daniel Murphy followed, and struck out on three pitches as well.


Still leading 4-3 in the eighth, the Yankees turned the ball over to David Robertson.  After striking out Hairston, he walked Omar Quintanilla, and Josh Thole.  With one out, Justin Turner stepped in and looked at strike three on the inside corner.  With two on, Kirk Nieuwenhuis took his turn with two outs.  After Robertson blew a couple of fastballs by him, the teams headed into the ninth.


Jeremy Hefner pitched a scoreless frame, setting up the Mets' last licks against Rafael Soriano in the home ninth.  Jodany Valdespin swung through a strike three fastball for out number one.  David Wright finally punched through with a single; his first hit of the game.  Lucas Duda then stepped in with one out and struck out on a series of nasty breaking balls.  Daniel Murphy came up and lofted a long, hopeful fly to the right field corner.  But it wasn't enough.  Nick Swisher made the catch, and whooped it up in the corner with a Yankee fan.  Game over.  Thuuugh Yankees win.


Ponderous!  There is nothing to be happy about when you lose to Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez.  The largest crowd in Citi Field's brief history watched the Mets knock Ivan Nova out of the box, then let one get away.  And what a shame Chris Young's effort went down the toilet.  He was cruising along until the 7-train got derailed with four runs in the seventh.  Overall, the Mets left eleven men on base, and batted 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position. So it's not like the Mets weren't without chances. They had plenty.


On the other side, what a job the Yankees' bullpen turned in.  In 3.1 innings, five relivers combined to allow two hits, no runs, they walked two, and struck out eight Mets.  It was quite a formidible display.


The Mets suffered their first loss in their last five games.  The Yankees snapped their three game losing streak.  Sunday night will be the Roosevelt Avenue showdown everyone has been waiting for; C.C. Sabathia versus R.A. Dickey in the rubber game.





Mike.BTB

N.Y. Mets ~ Subway Series; A Bronx Fail

From the desks of:

HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET  and  BLAME CARLOS MAY

YANKEES WIN SUBWAY SERIES - I

Old School Mural ~ Williamsburg

YANKEES WIN SERIES 3-0 

I  -  NYY 9; NYM 1

II  -  NYY 4; NYM 3

III  -  NYY 5; NYM 4

Mets Suffer A Bronx Beat-Down

"The Yankees draw Johan Santana tonight in his first game since tossing a no-hitter at Citi Field. Johan has now tossed two consecutive complete game victories. After tossing 134 pitches during his no-no, tonight we'll see the effects of him either over extending himself last time out, or whether giving Johan extra time off between starts was beneficial, or leaves him flat."  -  That's what I said Friday prior to Game One.

If I didn't come right out and say it, I certainly sensed it.  Johan Santana's start was going to be a bomb.  We all know what happened FRIDAY.  I'm not saying I'm smart.  I'm just saying, that's Baseball.  That's the way pitchers go in the modern age.  There is a very fine line to walk between managing muscle recovery, and foiling muscle memory.  The Mets toyed with both, but are not to be blamed.  Throwing no-hittters are an exception to the rule of traditional in-game management.  Post game management, in this case, the decision to give Johan extra rest, was probably necessary, but it's also called biting the bullet for such occasions as Johan's 134 pitch gem.  In Game One, he only walked one, and struck out five Yankees.  So control wasn't the issue.  He was flat, and hittable, as evidenced by six hits, but four home runs allowed, in five innings.  Three of those came back, to back, to back.  As Mets fans, it is just a game we have to ignore.

What I'm not OK with, was the offensive rigamortis that set in against Hiroki Kuroda.  Thank you Omar Quintanilla for breaking up a potential no-hitter in the sixth.  Kuroda struck out seven Mets in the process.  Only Lucas Duda continued his steady hitting, finally connecting for a double in the ninth to score Quintanilla, and ruining the Yankees' shut-out.  But that's all the Mets would get; two hits and one run.

The other point of contention would be the performance of Elvin Ramirez.  All three of his appearances so far, have gone very wrong since his call-up from Buffalo.  He dazzled in eight appearances in Binghampton, and then ten more with the Bisons this season before Sandy Alderson summoned him up to the big club.  Since arriving, the twenty-four year old has fizzled miserably.



SATURDAY'S GAME was lost on two pitches.  Dillon Gee served-up a home run pitch to Mark Teixeira; a little payback for getting plunked by Gee in the first; and Bobby Parnell issued one to Curtis Grandrson.  As number four starters go, Gee and Phil Hughes actually engaged in a nice pitching duel through the first five innings.  But Hughes had a better sixth inning.  And well, there ya go.  Game Two went to the Yankees again.

The Mets actually out-hit the Yankees eight to six.  And David Wright and Omar Quintanilla both homered for the Amazins.  But when you cancel out the four combined home runs hit in this game, Alex Rodriguez' RBI single to drive in Derek Jeter was the difference.  It gave the Yankees a first inning lead that had strong enough legs to allow the Bomber's bullpen a chance at finishing off the Mets over the final 2.2 innings.

Saturday's was a decent start for Dillon Gee, and as with several of his other previous starts, he certainly could have used more help.



SUNDAY, the Mets set about trying to gain victory in the final game of this series by scoring early off Andy Pettitte.  Vinny Rottino had an RBI single, and Jordany Valdespin doubled home two more, for a three run second inning.  The Mets left the bases loaded however, as Andy struck out Jason Bay and David Wright consecutively, to end the Amazin's threat.

Jon Niese cruised through the first five innings.  In the sixth he got into trouble.  Derek Jeter led off by beating out an infield hit, and Granderson followed with a single.  Teixeira then grounded into a fielder's choice, on a nice play by Valdespin at short.  With runners now on first and third, and one out, up came Alex Rodriguez to face Jon Niese.  The Mets' starter escaped the inning when he got A-Rod to ground into an inning ending double play.

Andy Pettitte fielded a come-backer in the sixth with his bare pitching hand, but stayed in and completed the frame.  However, he did not return to the mound for the seventh.  Andy was clearly feeling discomfort in his hand, and gave way to Pinstripe neophyte, Clay Rapada.

Jon Niese came out for his half of the seventh, and immediately gave up a lead-off single to Robinson Cano.  The Mets then went around the horn on Nick Swisher's grounder to Wright, and turned their second double-play in two innings for a quick two outs.  An E-5 allowed Andrew Jones to reach first when Vinny Rottino, playing first base for Ike Davis, couldn't dig a ball out of the dirt.  So naturally, with two outs, Russell Martin lined a short Yankee-Porch home run to right to bring the Yankees within a run.

After getting the third out, Jon Niese's afternoon was through.  He pitched seven full innings, gave up seven hits and one walk.  He allowed two runs, but both were unearned.  Jon struck out six and threw exactly 100 pitches.

In came Bobby Parnell for the eighth.  His first batter was Derek Jeter, who topped a bouncer to short. Quintanilla misplayed the hop, and Derek Jeter advanced to second as the ball dribbled away.  Curtis Granderson singled to left and Jeter got held up at third.  Up came Teixeira, who singled in Jeter to tie the game at three.  And there went Jon Niese's start.

Alex Rodriguez took his turn against Parnell and popped a ball up that fell between Ike Davis (in as a defensive replacement), Jordany Valdespin from second base, and Scott Hairston coming from right.  Granderson scored.  There went the Mets' lead, and off went Bobby Parnell to the showers, without so much as retiring a batter.

Tim Byrdak was summoned, and set down the next two Yankees in order.  Then Coach Collins made another move for Jon Rauch, who struck out Raul Ibanez to end the inning.

In the Mets' ninth, they faced de-facto closer, Rafael Soriano.  Lucas Duda led off, and unleashed a laser to center and over Granderson's head for a double.  Then up came Ike Davis for the first time in the game, and promptly mashed a double to right center, delivering Duda for a tie game.  Quintanilla hit a grounder to short, that Ike Davis tried advancing to third on, and was thrown out.

Daniel Murphy batted with Quintanilla on first.  On a 3-2 pitch, Murphy pulled a pitch between first and second, putting Quintanilla on third, which spelled the end of Rafael Soriano's day.  Joe Girardi then called upon his fourth reliever of the afternoon, Boone Logan to put a stop to the Mets' rally.  He'd face Josh Thole, who was sent up as a pinch-hitter with one out, and the go ahead runner at third. In a little catcher-on-catcher crime, Josh fouled one off Russell Martin's mask, then got JOBBED on a called strike three a few pitches later!  Rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis then stepped up and grounded out to Cano for the third out.

In the bottom of the ninth, lead-off batter, Russell Martin, launched a Jon Rauch slider deep, about eight rows back into the left field seats, for his second home run of the afternoon, a walk-off win, and a Yankees' sweep of the Mets in the Bronx.

Thuugh Mets lose.  Thuu-uugh, Mets Lose.  Why you ask?  An E-5 and an E-6 will go down as the Mets' ruin in Game Three.



The Mets lost this series in a near no-hitter/slash/blow-out, two ill-fated pitches in Game Two, and two killer errors.  Everything else is academic. All except the prodigious number of home runs the Yankees hit, compared to the Mets, that is.  For every home run the Mets hit this series, the Yankees hit four.  More about that..., later.

Drive safely.  Pay attention to the signs on your way home.

*Grand St. Graffiti - Old School Mural - W'burg, B'klyn
Mike.BTB

SUBWAY SERIES ~ Battle In The Bronx - I

From the desks of:

HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET  and  BLAME CARLOS MAY

2012

New York City

SUBWAY SERIES

BATTLE IN THE BRONX

GAME ONE

NEW YORK METS

32-26  .552

vs.

NEW YORK YANKEES

31-25  .554

From

THE HOUSE THAT GEORGE BUILT

161st Street and River Avenue

BRONX

Bronx Bombers:  Derek Jeter Continues Along a Very Straight Line.

After fifty-five games this season, Derek Jeter is tied for the American League lead in hits with seventy-five.  That makes a total of 3,163 for his career and still climbing.  Twenty-one more will tie him with Cal Ripken for 13th all-time.

Derek Jeter is currently batting .319 this season.  That has neither enhanced nor decreased from the .313 career batting average he came into the 2012 season with.  However, he ended 2010 with a .314 batting average.

Derek Jeter started this season so unlike the manner in which he started last season, when so many wanted to write him off.  But Jeter gathered himself, and finished the 2011 season strong.  I just want him to protect his career .300 batting average.  He has two years left on his deal after this season.  I just hope he doesn't ruin it.  I wrote about this before in, Derek Jeter's Rectangular Cardboard Player Summary

Andy Pettitte:  The Swan Song.

Based on the way he is pitching this season, if Andy hadn't taken last season off, we might be having a very, very different conversation regarding Andy Pettitte's Hall of Fame credentials; very different indeed from the conversations that have already circulated over the last two season's of his career.

He now stands at three wins, with a week shy of four months left in the 2012 season.  Since his rookie season in 1995, Andy Pettitte has failed to achieve double-digit wins only once over his entire career.  In 2004 with Houston, Andy only managed to win six games while battling an injury.  He has double digit wins in every one of his seasons as a Yankee starting pitcher.  On the other side of his ledger, Andy has suffered two losses so far this season.  He has incurred double-digit losses over his career a mere five times.  Only two of those seasons came during his five prior campaigns.

NEW YORK METS:  Lucas Duda Is Cranking Up The Power.

The Dude is heating up.  Over the last week, Lucas Duda has wracked up nine RBI, and three home runs, while batting .299 over his last seven games.  He has five home runs in his last ten games. His ten home runs and thirty-five RBI lead the team.  As a matter of fact, half his RBI this season have come within the last ten days.  His six game hitting streak was stopped by Washington on Wednesday evening.  But he came back to go 2 for 4 in Thursday's game.

DH Jason Bay = Don't Hit; Not At Kirk Nieuwenhuis' Expense!

With the return of Jason Bay to active duty (maybe...), the Subway Series only offers the Mets a temporary solution to their suddenly crowded outfield situation.  Playing in Yankee Stadium gives the Mets an opportunity to utilize Bay as the DH, and ease him back into action.  But many, if not most fans, are against taking playing time away from Kirk Nieuwenhuis in order to fit Jason Bay in again. 

Demoting Ike Davis to AAA-Buffalo, and thereby creating room for Bay that way, is not exactly the ideal scenario either.  Plain and simple, we need Ike, and we need him soon.  But Jason Bay clearly represents a far costlier dilemma for this team.  And I'm hoping, like with many matters so far regarding Sandy Alderson's handling's, I hope the Mets do not base Jason Bay's playing time according to his salary.  If he warrants sitting, so be it.  If his play warrants more innings, again, so be it then.  But at this point, there is no reasonable justification to stifle Kirk Neiwenhuis' season now - not the way Kirk continues to play since being called up.

The Yankees draw Johan Santana tonight in his first game since tossing a no-hitter at Citi Field.  Johan has now tossed two consecutive complete game victories.  After tossing 134 pitches during his no-no, tonight we'll see the effects of him either over extending himself last time out, or whether giving Johan extra time off between starts was beneficial, or leaves him flat.

LET'S GO METS!

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Yankees ~ Derek Jeter's Rectangular Cardboard Player Summary

From the desk of:   BLAME CARLOS MAY




New York YANKEES:   Derek Jeter; Resurrecting What it Means to be a 1 in 100 Hall of Fame Player.



In a nostalgic, if not a literal sense, the back of Derek Jeter's baseball card is a throwback to those circa the 1974 Topps era; the first season I personally started buying baseball cards.  Where when you flipped it over, there were orderly columns headed by lettered abbreviations, with neatly detailed statistics below them, detailing a player's history spent with ONE TEAM.



The cards red like ancient tablets decipherable by only the most astute baseballologist or a grade school kid.  But once in the hands of either, one instantly knew how to read one, and exactly what all the information and values meant.  Somehow, we inherently understood the parameters of greatness, and interpreted baseball cards accordingly.



Some red like Epics.  Some read like a bumper sticker.  Back then more so than today, you could literally spend hours with a stack of Topps, and not just ingest, but retain every statistic of every player in the pile.  That's why for generations of kids, they became the scourge of grade school teachers across the nation and got locked up in the top draws of their desks, never to be returned again.  Where if teachers had just printed lesson plans on baseball cards, countless more American kids might have become geniuses today; not to mention stayed in possession of their long stolen treasure.



In those mid-70's days for kids my age, there was either going to the game with Pop, watching games on TV, and This Week In Baseball.  Before the days of the Internet, ESPN and cable TV, and this nine year old's willingness to hit the newsstand for some hard copy, after the game itself, reading the backs of baseball cards was still the number one way to learn about not only your favorite players, but the game's stars, and just about everyone else.



Derek Jeter's card is like that.  His is a throw-back card indeed and a template becoming increasingly more rare by the season.  The movement of players these days lends to the uniqueness of what Derek Jeter has done in Pinstripes.  For all his seventeen years in the Bigs have been spent with the Yankees. His career numbers fall uniformly into perfect columns chronicling his greatness.  And so the eye-catching sense of order which dominates the back of his card is right in line with the self-control he maintains as a person off the field, and a player on it.



The more I look at his numbers, the more impressed I am with them.  At some point in the 2012 season; health permitting; DEREK JETER should:

* Exceed 10,000 at-bats
* Close-in on 1,900 runs scored
* Surpass 3,200 hits
* Surpass 500 doubles
* Surpass 1,200 rbi
* Surpass 1,000 walks
* Possibly hit his 250th home run
* Possibly steal his 350th base



Then there is the matter of his career .313 batting average.



Last off-season, the Yankee icon and his General Manager publicly clashed over a new contract extension.  It was a classic confrontation between a Yankees legend and organizational pragmatism.  In the end, Jeter won the day with a new four year deal.



Many wondered at the time of the signing, as well as still wondering a year later, if in his twilight years, Derek Jeter will be able to fulfill this contract playing at the Hall of Fame level fans and Derek Jeter himself, are accustomed to.  Personally, that is more a matter for Yankee Fans, than for myself.  But for a Mets Fan like me, and at this stage of Jeter's career, there is only one issue regarding the future Hall of Fame shortstop that intrigues me.  Can he keep his career .300 batting average in tact?



Last season was year one of what everyone understands to be his last player contract with the Yankees.  Suffice to say he did not get off to a JETERian start.  Instead he struggled mightily early in the season, and was mired with a .260-some batting average at the plate.  He only played in 131 games which was the second lowest total of his full-time playing career.  And it marked the first time in eight seasons he didn't play in at least 150 games.



He did however, recapture his old form in time enough to finish the season with a deceivingly strong .297 batting average.  But it was still the second consecutive season in which he did not hit above the .300 mark.  Of course, nothing was going to detract attention away from Derek Jeter's chase for 3,000 hits.  And he got it in grand fashion; with a home run in new Yankee Stadium on a day he went 5 for 5 at the plate.  Yeah.., cause days like that are liable to happen to every guy named Mr. November, any given time of year.



No Highlander or Yankee player had ever amassed 3,000 hits in a Yankee uniform before.  On this 1st day of April 2012,  -  Babe Ruth, the Iron Horse, Joe D, The Mick, Yogi;  -  none of them have as many hits for the New York Yankees than does Derek Jeter.  He is the first to reach the golden plateau.



Derek Jeter is keenly aware of his place in Yankee history.  It's rather unavoidable in today's age of mass media.  He will also be thirty-eight years old this summer.  By the end of his first season in his final contract, he more than proved he wasn't washed up, yet.  But no, he didn't hit above .300 for only the fifth time in his full-time playing career.  Two of those sub-par seasons have come in the last two years, and the last before those came in the 2004 season.



Before passing away, Mickey Mantle expressed a few regrets he had along the way.  One of his biggest, was ruining his career .300 batting average by sticking around too long.  Right to the very end, The Mick swore he was a .300 hitter.  But the record books sadly reflect otherwise.



Derek Jeter entered the 2011 season with a lifetime .314 batting average.  When the Yankees walked off the field after their final regular season game last year, Derek Jeter's career batting average had dropped; albeit by a seemingly trivial percentage; to a .313 mark.  That's where he will pick up this season.



He has three years left on his current contract.  As it stands right now, the back of his baseball card, with a career .300 career batting average complimenting his 3,000 hits; among the other numbers highlighted above; read as one of the more glorious rectangular cardboard player summaries in Baseball History.  In Third-Grader speak, the back of his card looks like the one of those old guys from the nineteen thirty-whatevers.



I simply want to say this - the day - the game - or the at-bat, in which his career batting average lies exposed and winds up in jeopardy of falling below .300, should be the day - game - or moment he declares his intent to retire from the grand game of Baseball, post haste.



For now, the back of his baseball card still truly reads like the distinctively unique, one in a hundred, Hall of Fame type player's card should; or at least used to in a bygone century.  Derek Jeter's career numbers reach out like a hand rekindling a connection with the game's glorious past.  He can join the ranks of Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron, and Pete Rose, and Honus Wagner, and Ty Cobb, and George Brett, and Tony Gwynn; and a very short list of others, as the only players to retire with 3,000 hits, and a .300 career batting average.  Or, not.



Not all 28 players to achieve 3,000 hits in a career retired batting over the .300 mark, just as not all of them accomplished the feat with one club.  Considering the team and city for which Derek Jeter played; the same sacred plots where Ruth, Gehrig; Joltin' Joe; and other Bronx baseball deities made their names, makes Derek Jeter's case so infinitesimally majestic, if not historically significant.



Every so often, a player comes along and transcends the game.  In 1847, the New York Knickerbockers planted the seeds of Baseball in Manhattan, and are credited with playing what is regarded to be the first baseball match on the Elysian Fields, in Hoboken.  Since then, many amateur and professional teams, and mythical players have graced the city's various ball fields through the different eras.  Among the storied players that stood out over the last 167 years of NYC baseball; and even through the days of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, and the New York Giants, and even former Yankee greats themselves; Derek Jeter can, and will stand, like a titan among them, ...if, he keeps his .300 status in tact.



Why is that so?  Because Time makes it so.  Ten and fifteen years after his retirement, like in most instances, the legend of Derek Jeter will have multiplied many times over.  To the greats, and even near greats of the game, revisionist history is often very generous in that respect.  And when it comes to baseball, it's History the Fanatics and Bugs of the game want.



There are many ghosts of the game's past willing to tip a brown derby in appreciation of the modern day player they call Captain Clutch.  But Derek Jeter says not yet.  So, we'll just have to wait and see how he choses to go out.







Mike.BTB

n.y. Yankees ~ Jorge Forged His Pinstripes With Fire

From the desk of:   BLAME CARLOS MAY

new york YANKEES:  ADIOS JORGE; The Feistiest of the Core.


And then there were two.


Faced and charged with the most unenviable task of putting an Era to pasture, Brian Cashman effectively did to Jorge Posada what he did in similarly cold fashion to Bernie Williams and began instigating with Derek Jeter during last year's off-season.  It's official now; Jorge Posada will play Major League Baseball no more.


Only Andy Pettitte remained ahead of Simon Bar Sinister's plots ever since the Yanks unceremoniously let the lefty mosey-on back home to play for Houston.  Andy came back as shrewed towards Cashman, as the GM himself, and exited the game on his own terms.  Mariano Rivera appears destined to do the same.


Ultimately however, The Core is No More.  The modern day River Avenue Legends are increasingly being raided and signed by the Retirement Club.  Like Andy and Bernie before him, Jorge Posada has turned in his Pinstripes for civilian life again.


I have long stated my high regard for Jorge Posada.  I went through the BTB archives and pulled these two posts:


ONE: - was just a post of appreciation for the Yankee catcher and about his Hall of Fame potential.  January 30, 2010 - Jorge Posada; the Jack Morris of Catchers


TWO: - came on the heels of the infamous day Jorge "called-in sick".  Looking back on that incident now gets me to thinking Jorge left this game in perfect Posada fashion; ever resistive and defiantly. - May 15, 2011 - Posada Deserves a Free Pass




Brought to you by the magic of copy-and-paste, and with some minor editing, here's a summary:

ONE:  Jorge Posada will never get the true credit for being, in a most literal sense, the Yankees Back Bone.   Jorge has always been willing to stick his neck out for his team mates, when so many of them over the last 8 years have not.   He was always willing to do what needed to be done when so many wouldn't.  Even if it meant going against the Yankee way.   Who else I ask you, Who? - took it upon himself to send an occasional message to the American League, - Don't Mistake Yankee Kindness For Our Weakness!  I defy you to compile that list for me.   Jorge always had his team mates backs!   So many would never step their game up and bring to the game what, at times, the situation dictated.

Because he's in the shadow of Jete and ARod, and other players and contracts of yore..(Giambi et-al), Jorge is made to simmer inside.   Sometimes the criticisms leveled against him are warranted where it concerns defense, but I'm not here to speak of that today.


Casey Stengel used to say of Yogi Berra, "I never play without my Guy".   Whether Yogi was behind the dish, left field or first base, Casey always played with his Guy.  Torre treated Jorge much the same way with little outward conveyance.  But you knew it.  For long the Yanks remained reliant on their Guy's bat in spite of so many "other" significant players on the field.


He gets knocked, disrespected, barreled over, nicked and under appreciated for all of it.   Pitchers and their own issues with Jorge were no less guilty contributing to this phenomena.   But I will tell you those same pitchers loved him when he connected in clutch moments.   WHO'S Knocking Jorge Then?  And I'm Not Even A Yankee Friendly.


No catcher has more RBI over the last 10 years in baseball.   Championships?   He's moving on to the next hand.  As it stands today, no he is not a Hall of Famer.  He's kind of like the Jack Morris of Catchers for his work over a decade.   He's close...Real close.   He should be able to solidify opinions over the next 2 years if hopefully Father Time is good to him.   Let's see.




TWO:   The distasteful wrangling and public debate involved in determining when a career should end sort of becomes a pseudo-arbitration hearing that takes place in the last three to four years of a player's career. A player's waining years similarly engages player and club into a contentious confrontation.   A player sets out to justify his continued value to the team, while the club sometimes is looking for his career, or just their time together, to end.


Jorge Posada was wrong ("calling in sick") Saturday.   There's no getting around that.   But I'm not about to start bashing Jorge's actions prior to game time nor for his post-game follow-up.   If you have an understanding that most careers do not end on the greatest of terms, Saturday's incident would preclude you from criticizing Jorge.  Additionally, you're a Yankee Fan, a New Yorker, an astute baseball fan, or a Mets Fan like myself, we all know Jorge is a really, really proud guy.


There is a constant in sports and with players; - athletes almost never go out on top.   They're usually forced into retirement because a replacement arrived on the scene, or they don't heal/recover from injuries as well as they once did, or, their skills have eroded to the point where the club is forced to take action against said player.   Those are just a few of many reasons why careers end on less than positive notes and we see it more and more all the time.


Players rarely take the initiative and alleviate clubs from having to make unpopular decisions against them.   Millions of modern day dollars make players even more reluctant to exercise pragmatism when their skills, stature, and role on the team all come into question.   But when a team is ultimately compelled to take action, it's almost always a contentious situation.   Many times the player takes it as a slight and views it as a form of disrespect.   How much they decide to wear their emotions on their sleeves and share their displeasure with the Media is another matter.   But this is not a posting regarding Jorge Posada's issues of comportment.


In Baseball, retirement is now more often than not, an ugly, unsympathetic, adversarial process. Modern Baseball has made the decision to, retire or release, much more cut-throat because of the money involved.   It used to be, the waining days of a career were times fans as well as owners and their GM's knowingly looked the other way out of respect for their years of hometown play.   But with that accorded respect, a return of favor was somewhat expected.   A silent acknowledgement by the player often set in motion a plan to set a Date of Announcement.  Then on-field and on-going celebrations of appreciation could be properly planned.  An opportunity for the player to leave the game with dignity while in front of adoring fans and in a setting that also gave Clubs an honest and genuine opportunity to share their own warm sentiments and regard, used to be standard; once.


Bad Karma is brewing in the Bronx.  Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi, and Jorge Posada are three converging forces and it's not good.   Only Posada runs the risk of getting subducted.   Cashman is intent on being a schmuck the rest of his time in the Bronx.  Girardi still has a job to do and this will not be the last time Girardi and Posada bump heads this season.   There is no love between the two. Girardi has slighted Jorge once too many times as manager for his catching.   More of this is definitely on the way should Posada continue to struggle and chose not to retire.


Jorge Posada: His Pinstripes Didn't Bend.


Allow me to introduce you to whom I thought was your real/unofficial/un-named Yankee Captain; all along - Jorge Posada. 
 

Derek Jeter was named Captain of the Yankees because The Boss thought he exuded Yankee Class, Winning, the confident Yankee Stoicism in a hot bed like NYC, and a belief Jeter would never embarrass the organization.  That's cool with me.  I'm not going there.


But sorry, Jorge Posada was the Yankees' back-bone in a most literal sense.   For all his fire, passion, and grit, he never received his full share of respect.   He wasn't the best or flashiest player in Pinstripes.   He had flaws.., like fans; like regular people; like us!   But he provided the Yankees with something very few of his team mates over the years couldn't or wouldn't provide; - like I said - A Back-Bone, and a Response.
 

Over his years, Jorge Posada above all Yankee regulars was the one player who consistently relished facing the more dastardly aspects of Baseball head-on.   I simply remind you of the playoffs versus Boston and the verbal/visual exchange Jorge and Pedro Martinez engaged in.   That would probably be the most famous instance, but Jorge's edgy spirit was a nightly attribute.   During those Torre Years, the book was out on the Yankees.   They were capable of being PUNKED-Out.   If no one else, Jorge Posada was always the first to step up and make known that Wouldn't Fly.


Back in the days of the heated Mariners/Yankees Rivalries, tempers often flared-up causing both teams to empty dugouts and bullpens numerous times.   When A-Rod still played in Seattle, Derek Jeter was infamously criticized many times for conveniently finding Alex Rodriguez in the crowd and therefore, cancelling each other out, while also smiling and laughing along the way.


Once upon a time, a left fielder named Chad Curtis dared criticize the Captain for such cowardly acts. He was disappeared to the Island of Misfit and Outspoken Yankees.   Jorge Posada wouldn't have thrown Jeter under the bus like Curtis did to the Media.   But Jorge's actions on the field speak loud and clear.   Then after a game with the Media, he'd be the one to say what everyone was thinking, but speaking loudly so as to be heard.   That was Jorge.  And Hip Hip to that.


But here's something I'm not so Hip on.


I never did subscribe to the Big Brother-Little Brother cow-chip the Media always tried to throw at us in the late 1990's when discussing the relationship between Jorge Posada and Joe Girardi.   That's over-rated.   I remember Jorge chomping at the bit, dying to get Girardi out of the way so as to become the everyday starter.   And I'm just guessing and stabbing here - but why wouldn't Jorge be somewhat puzzled as to why Girardi received so much credit for Jorge's early successes?   Hmmm?   How ponderous is it Girardi gets too much credit for training his understudy and now finds himself as the guy trying to take him out?


It would seem to me Joe Girardi has been more of a hindrance to Jorge's early and late career like a recurring bout of herpes.   I remember Joe Girardi being signed to be their catcher to great ridicule.  And today, all Posada knows is that he just can't make him totally go away.  During the years Girardi spent out of Pinstripes, Jorge Posada went on to total more RBI than any other catcher in Baseball during the 2000's.   Ever since Joe flared back into Jorge's life a few years ago as manager, things have been going down hill for the embattled "ex-present-catcher" ever since.

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Today, I just wish him well.  I'll leave the retiring his number thing up to Yankee Fans.

Mike.BTB