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The Visible Spectrum
… Another year, another championship featuring a team from New York or Boston. Some years, if we’re lucky though, us spectators get the special benefit of watching two of America’s largest sport markets duke it out in the same championship game. When the right side of this coin flips, this media Supernova can leave us sport’s fans outside the market left behind in the massive glare of the oncoming media onslaught. Outside of the happenings of Upper East Side of the United States, time begins to crawl, in a unobservable manner where our attention slowly, but forcibly, approaches the day of the game. Minor news regarding team’s organizations, player’s injuries, fan reaction and strategic speculation may seem to stretch on for days. From their perspective, everything outside of their market’s big game comes to a stand-still, no passing news surrounding buzzer beaters, college upsets and player trades and signings can penetrate through the realms of their metropolitan pride. When these media Supernovas happen, we’re all subject to a cosmic censorship of the sport. Read More >>
Last of a Kind
Jorge Posada might or might not be a MLB Hall of Famer but with five years before he appears on the ballot, there will be plenty of time to ponder his case. No time is necessary, however, to conclude that a unique unit to which Posada belonged deserves a spot in Cooperstown.
That would be the Core Four, a great and fitting name for what was the longest-running quartet in American sports.
Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Posada all were signed and developed by the New York Yankees. All four debuted in the MLB in 1995. All four would be teammates for the next 16 years, except for a three-year stint Pettitte served with his hometown Houston Astros.
Theirs was an unprecedented alliance that included five World Series championships, seven AL pennants, 12 division titles and even more individual accolades.
Theirs was a run that might never be matched. Think about it. First, you’d need four players exceptional enough to play 16 years in the big leagues. They would need to come up at around the same age. They would need to play for a big-money club that would be able to afford them when they reached the free-agent market. And their team would need to win consistently in order to reduce the chances of annual makeovers.
Jeter Might Sit?
Derek Jeter might have to wait until Thursday to resume his pursuit of 3,000 career MLB hits.
The New York Yankees shortstop could get Wednesday off as New York completes a road series against the Cleveland Indians.
Derek Jeter is four hits shy of 3,000.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi has said he wants to give Jeter a breather sometime this week. Jeter has played four consecutive days, counting his two minor league rehab games, after missing 18 games with a calf strain.
Jeter Meter: The quest for 3,000
The Yankees are at home this weekend, and many observers believe the club wants to give Jeter an opportunity to reach the milestone in the Bronx. He is four hits away from 3,000 after going 2-for-6 on Tuesday.
Girardi insisted that location would have no bearing on when he sits Jeter.
Is Derek Jeter The Best Shortstop Ever?
This week’s MLB belief from AOL Sports: New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter, closing in on 3,000 career hits, is the greatest shortstop in MLB history.
Skeptic: Anthony Witrado
Why we don’t believe: This debate can be, and likely has been, held in every clubhouse, stadium, bar and baseball message board in America. In order to make a case for Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter as the best ever at his position, one has to quantify plenty of variables. For one, when Alex Rodriguez moved into the Yankee infield, he was considered the best shortstop in the game — a better defensive player and clearly a much better hitter than Jeter. ARod was moved to third base so he wouldn’t upset the balance of the Earth by displacing “The Captain.” Also, Jeter has long been a defensive liability at shortstop, putting up Defensive Runs Saved marks well below zero as well as negative Ultimate Zone Rating marks.
We believe this instead: While it is impossible to compare the two accurately considering they started their careers more than 100 years apart, Honus Wagner is considered one of the game’s best players. Ever. And he played the majority of career as a shortstop and was a better hitter than Jeter (Wagner led the NL in runs above replacement eight times). It is difficult to compare the two defensively, but it’s tough to imagine Wagner being as bad defensively as Jeter has been in recent years.
What else we believe: Jeter’s a Yankee. If he were a New York Met, with the same numbers but no championship rings, this would be less of a debate. The pinstripes, along with plays like “The Flip,” help create the legend. Jeter is great, without a doubt, and is an instant Hall of Famer once he retires. However, he came up in the era of the slugging shortstop, preventing him from being the best offensive player at his position until after guys like Rodriguez were moved from the position. And while he was a better hitter than the defensive magicians, he never came close to being a top defensive shortstop like Omar Vizquel, winning many of his Gold Gloves because of his popularity, again fueled by playing for the Yankees.
Believer: Stan McNeal
Why we believe: Only Honus Wagner, widely considered the greatest shortstop ever, put up numbers at the position to compare with Derek Jeter. Only Ozzie Smith, Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio and Mark Belanger won more Gold Gloves and combined, that foursome did not hit as many homers as Jeter. Add his off-the-chart intangibles to his on-the-field abilities and Jeter stands alone.
Slow Start? What Slow Start?
OK, time to stop the MLB nonsense about whether the Indians are for real.
They’re as real as Justin Masterson’s sinker, Shin-Soo Choo’s right arm, Carlos Santana’s batting eye, Orlando Cabrera’s experience and Asdrubal Cabrera’s talent.
Try this for real: The Indians own a majors-best 66 run differential and an MLB best 18-4 home record. They’ve scored the second-most runs in the A.L. and have the fourth-best ERA. They’re 7-2 against the A.L. East with the revived Red Sox returning to Cleveland looking for revenge after that three-game sweep they absorbed in the season’s first week.
Ron Washington knows they’re for real. Asked if he knew the Indians would be in first place when in spring training he asked Manny Acta to be an MLB All-Star coach, the Rangers managed replied, “I knew the Indians would be tough. They have some talent.”
Washington might have been one of the few to believe that two months ago. But he’s no longer alone. The Indians sit atop the MLB Power Poll for the fourth consecutive week. The Poll is convinced.
1. Indians (1). You can ask the Reds if the Tribe is for real. The Indians’ weekend sweep was first over Reds since 2004.
2. Cardinals (14). When talking about N.L. MVP candidates, Matt Holliday would be the place to start. Unless you started with Lance Berkman.
3. Red Sox (13). About that 2-10 start, perhaps the Red Sox just wanted to play fair and give the rest of the league a head start.
Adrian Gonzalez has provided the offensive punch the Red Sox were hoping for when they traded for him this offseason. (AP Photo)
4. Giants (6). Latest wrist injury to Mark DeRosa could be the end, making his the saddest in a season that has seen more than its share of injuries.
5. Phillies (4). Chase Utley is back in time for rematch of last year’s divisional series against the Reds. Time for the rest of the Phillies’ offense to return, too.
6. Yankees (15). What a debut: Right-hander Hector Noesi gives Yankees four scoreless innings to win 15-inning marathon in Baltimore, providing the difference between a so-so and a good week for the club.
Carrying A Big Stick
When the battle for the No. 5 starter’s job qualifies as a hot story, you know the Yankees are having a quiet MLB spring training.
One thing in camp has been very loud, though—and impressively so: The sound of the ball rocketing off Alex Rodriguez’s bat.
He slugged a home run and a double in three at-bats against the Phillies on Sunday, giving him four homers in his past five games, an RBI in seven straight and a hit in every game he has played. In his 13 games, he’s 16-for-37 (.432) with 13 extra-base hits. That’s been good for a 1.475 OPS, which is other-worldly. Yes, even for spring training.
“No, you can’t ignore (the stats),” manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s been good from Day 1, and he hasn’t stopped.”
“I don’t record spring training stats, but this is definitely a pretty nice spring, for sure,” Rodriguez said. “I feel more consistent, and more energized now that my body feels healthier.”
A year ago, Rodriguez said he spent 75 percent of his time in spring training rehabbing his hip. “If you’re spending that much time rehabbing, it’s less time to work on your game,” he said.
The past month has been a continuation from his offseason, when he was able to work without restrictions for the first time since before hip surgery in 2009. He dropped 10 pounds and reduced his body fat to 9 from 12.5 percent. “He lost weight and gained strength,” said hitting coach Kevin Long. “That’s scary.”
The training has increased the flexibility in his hips, which in turn has increased his power. “He has the freedom he needs in his hips,” Girardi said. “At times, we didn’t see it last year. At times, he fought it but he was going to continue to play.”
A-Rod learned two years ago that he’s better off letting his bat do the talking. He still lives the life of a man with a $275 million contract, including cameos with actress Cameron Diaz at the Super Bowl and during spring training. But instead of becoming defensive about TV cameras, he has learned to play along. At his first press conference this spring, he opened by asking if anyone had watched the Super Bowl.
Rodriguez attracted plenty of attention last week with his bat. He hit a home run over the batter’s eye at Steinbrenner Field, which is 408 feet from the plate. Long called that swing “one of the best I’ve seen him take in the six years I’ve been with them.”
If the Yankees could bottle this production until the games count, they would. In the meantime, Girardi will keep A-Rod on the same schedule as the rest of the regulars.
“Our players have not even played three days in a row yet,” Girardi said Sunday morning. “So it’s not like he’s played a ton. You want him to continue to get at-bats so he does feel good. I want to keep him going so you want to keep him playing, but I’m not going to play him too much.”
Girardi needs his 35-year-old slugger rested for the long season. A-Rod says not to worry.
Need a Job? The Yankees Are Hiring
Welcome to the Land of Opportunity, formerly known as George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“I felt like it was a good chance for me,” Mark Prior said Friday.
“I think I picked the right spot, man,” Freddy Garcia said a few minutes later.
“They gave me the opportunity to pitch again,” Bartolo Colon said.
It didn’t used to be this way. When a MLB veteran player had to go to camp as a non-roster invitee, Tampa was usually the last place he would want to be. The big-money Yankees would have superstars penciled in at every position and almost no roster spots up for grabs — at least, not significant ones.
But these are the 2011 Yankees, who for the moment have a Swiss cheese rotation. Which is why Prior, Garcia and Colon are here on minor-league contracts, with their combined 328-219 record, five All-Star appearances, four top-five finishes in Cy Young Award voting and 29 years of big-league service time.
The Yankees’ pitching predicament has been well-documented, caused by Cliff Lee’s decision to take less money from the Phillies and Andy Pettitte’s decision to take none.
So the Yankees were interested in assembling rotation candidates, and pitchers sensed a chance to land a spot on a contender.
“We have a big need in the rotation,” general manager Brian Cashman said, “and since pitching’s the name of the game, there’s more of an urgency than, ‘Eh, let’s take a flier on this guy who’s still on the job-seeking list.’ ”
It’s not just in the rotation. Prior is a bullpen candidate (although it will be hard for him to get a spot unless Sergio Mitre makes the rotation or Joba Chamberlain is so bad in spring training he gets sent to the minors). Eric Chavez and Ronnie Belliard — with 2,804 combined big-league games — are vying for backup-infield spots. And the Yankees grabbed a player non-tendered by the Dodgers to be their primary catcher, Russell Martin.
But the focus will be on the starting pitchers, since the Yankees have no idea who gets the ball after CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett.
It would surprise no one if the Yankees traded for an established starter any time between now and July 31. In the meantime, though, Garcia, Colon, Mitre and Ivan Nova are candidates for two rotation spots.
In A-Rod’s $hadow
Baseball has two superstars whose identities have become inseparable from their MLB team’s identity.
And this offseason, both Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter went through contract negotiations with their franchises that left everyone, player and team, taking criticism.
We can blame the Steinbrenner brothers for both.
Hank and Hal are the ones who gave Alex Rodriguez — at age 32, after their general manager said he would not re-sign A-Rod if he opted out and he opted out anyway — a 10-year, $275 million deal.
Jeter, rightfully, could feel he had done more for the Yankees than A-Rod and thus deserved to be richly rewarded.
Pujols, rightfully, could feel he is, right now, a better player than A-Rod and deserves a richer contract.
The Cardinals on Wednesday announced they could not reach a deal for a contract extension with Pujols, and at Pujols’ request will cease “negotiations” — we put that in quotes because the Cardinals acknowledged having made just one offer, about six weeks ago — until after the season.
It’s an unsatisfactory position for the team, its fans and perhaps their favorite player. Cardinal Nation is left to choose sides, feeling either Pujols is greedy or the Cards aren’t taking care of their icon.
In a statement, agent Dan Lozano said, “While both parties were hopeful that an agreement could be reached, a difference of opinion in determining Albert’s value simply could not be resolved. Albert’s production over the last 10 years is nothing short of historic. He is not only the best player in baseball, and on his way to having a Hall of Fame career, but an iconic figure in sports. The expiration of today’s deadline does not eliminate the possibility of Albert returning to the Cardinals in 2012, but simply delays negotiations until the conclusion of the Cardinals’ season.”
Asked to compare the Pujols talks with Jeter’s, St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said they have similar status in their cities but, “We’re not looking to position this in any way or start trying to negotiate points or sides via the media, so there’s a stark difference.”
Yes, at least this saga didn’t include a smear campaign by the team against the player, as the Yankees did with Jeter. But one element of the ugly back-and-forth between Jeter and the Yankees seems to apply here too: a taunt to test the open market.
Back in late November, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, knowing Jeter’s market value as a 36-year-old shortstop, told ESPNNewYork.com, “We’ve encouraged him to test the market and see if there’s something he would prefer other than this. If he can, fine. That’s the way it works.”
Pujols is closer to his prime, and St. Louis management has been more subtle.
Season of Discontent
When the Yankees move Derek Jeter to center field, they have to hope he backtracks as well as Brian Cashman has this winter.
Three times in the past few weeks, Cashman has had to come up with ways to explain away some quotes.
The MLB Yankees general manager said the New York Daily News misquoted him when it reported he said Andy Pettitte would not be able to pitch when the 2011 season opens but could come back midseason.
He declared he wouldn’t sign reliever Rafael Soriano as a setup man because it would cost the Yankees their first-round draft pick. Once the Yankees did indeed sign Soriano, Cashman made it known that he was overruled by ownership.
He was then quoted, at a fan function, as saying that he didn’t expect Jeter to last at shortstop for the entirety of his four-year contract extension, with a move to the outfield as the next step. Cashman played the “out of context” card on that one.
(Meanwhile, Rex Ryan didn’t back down from one thing he said.)
Cashman has made back pages for all the wrong reasons, and it almost hides the fact that the Yankees’ offseason has plummeted faster than Cashman rappelled down that Connecticut office building in December.
They unquestionably needed a starting pitcher and thought they could do what they did two years ago with CC Sabathia — pluck the top free agent by outbidding everyone else, whether or not he wanted to be in New York.
Oops.
The Yankees Are In Control of Their Destiny
Entering the series with the Minnesota Twins, all you heard about was the lackadaisical play of the Yankees down the stretch and the weakness of the starting rotation after CC Sabathia. Naturally that meant the Yankees overwhelmed the Twins in three straight games and got great starts from Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes in route to their fourth straight playoff series win without facing an elimination game.
The pitching was impressive, but the way the team won the games offensively was even more impressive. The Yankees fell behind in each of the first two games of the series and then wore down Twins pitchers to grab the lead late. It’s a recipe that we’ve seen the Yankees use through countless Octobers against some fine pitching staffs, and it is one that they’ll be using again in the ALCS. Patience is their biggest offensive weapon and it is in fine form right now. Read More >>
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