Morning Bits
Good morning everyone!
The Yankees put an end to their losing streak yesterday with a 6-5 win over the Angels.
Travis Hafner put the Yankees on top with a three-run homer in the third inning which was followed by RBI hits by Lyle Overbay and Justin Nix to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead.
CC Sabathia threw eight fantastic innings before getting into trouble in the ninth. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera almost blew the game for the Yankees in relief but managed to barely hang on to the lead.
The Yankees concluded their ridiculously scheduled ten game West Coast trip with a 4-6 record which has them back in third place in the Al East, three games behind the Red Sox and one-and-a-half games behind the Orioles.
The Yankees are off today and start a nine game home stand with a game against the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees have 26 games left before the All-Star break and 19 of those games will be in Yankee Stadium.
Now on to today’s news links:
David Waldstein of the New York Times has the story on Mark Teixeira’s wrist.
Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News has this recap of the top ten moments in Yankees-Dodgers history.
Wally Matthews of ESPNNY.com says not to expect the cavalry to come and save the Yankees.
Have a great day everyone!
Game 69 Lineup: Yankees @ Angels
It’s the series finale vs. the Angels and the West Coast Road-trip Today’s matchup doesn’t look so promising for the Yanks as they’ll face Jered Weaver. Here’s your lineup.
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Vernon Wells LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Jayson Nix 3B
Reid Brignac SS
Chris Stewart C
CC Sabathia LHP
Morning Bits
Good Morning Everyone!
The Yankees suffered their fifth straight loss last night at the hands of the Angels by a score of 6-2.
The Yankees managed only five hits while pitcher David Phelps allowed nine hits and four earned runs over six innings.
Today’s game concludes the Yankees’ marathon West Coast Trip. Game time is 3:35 ET and will be broadcast by YES.
Now on to today’s news links:
Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger writes about Mark Teixeira’s wrist and looming doctor visit.
Bill Baer of NBCSports.com has the facts and figures about the huge drops in ratings and attendance this year for the Yankees.
Scott Miller of CBSSPORTS.com says the Yankees are just another team now.
Have a great day everyone!
Game 68 Lineup: Yankees @ Angels
Lineup vs. Angels:
Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Lyle Overbay DH
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Thomas Neal LF
Reid Brignac SS
Chris Stewart C
RHP David Phelps
Morning Bits
Good morning everyone!
The Yankees lost their fourth straight game last night by a score of 5-2 to the Angels.
Andy Pettitte allowed four earned runs on eleven hits in a sub-par outing.
The Yankees offense was the culprit again, managing only six hits.
Tonight’s game begins at 7:15 ET and will be broadcast by Fox.
David Phelps(4-3, 3.90 ERA) will face Tommy Hanson(3-2, 4.12 ERA).
Now on to today’s news and links:
Wally Matthews of ESPNNY discusses Kevin Youkilis heading back to the DL
David Waldstein of the New York Times says the Yankees may need A-Rod back after all.
Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal wonders if Yankee fans just want star players.
Have a great day everyone!
Game 67 Lineup: Yankees @ Angels
It’s the first game of a three game set and the Yankees are sending Andy Pettitte out there to stop the Yanks three game skid. Here’s the starting lineup!
Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix 3B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano DH
Vernon Wells LF
Thomas Neal RF
David Adams 2B
Reid Brignac SS
Austin Romine C
Andy Pettitte LHP
Some Notes:
– There are quite a few notes going around today, most of the buzz coming from Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis was placed on the DL today with a lumbar strain (back strain). He also said that he felt numbness in his foot when he woke up this morning.
– Eduardo Nunez was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. He is eligible to come off the DL on July 5.
– The Yankees sent down Adam Warren to Scranton-Triple AAA for the next couple of days, mostly since he can’t start and won’t be much use to the Yankees this series after throwing 85 pitches last night.
– The Yankees purchased the contracts of RHP Chris Bootcheck and OF Thomas Neal, sending them to the majors.
– To add Bootcheck to the 40-man roster, Cesar Cabral was outrighted to Double-AA Trenton.
The time is now to trade Joba and Hughes
It still seems like yesterday when, in 2007, two Yankee mainstay pitchers of the past seven seasons made their first appearances in pinstripes.
First, there was 20-year old Phil Hughes, a hard throwing right-hander who drew comparisons to Roger Clemens as he advanced through the farm system. Drafted 23rd overall in the 2004 amateur draft, the Yankees had high hopes that finally, after a dry spell of All-Star caliber players emerging from the minors, that Hughes would become their ace for the next decade. Due to injuries to the pitching staff, he came up and made his debut on April 26th, 2007, finishing the year with 72.2 innings under his belt and a respectable 4.46 ERA for such a young starting pitcher in such a ferocious AL East division.
Then there was Joba Chamberlain, who was drafted 41st overall in 2006. Not even a full calendar year after signing his first contract, the then 21-year old Joba burst upon the scene when he pumped 100 mph fastballs past a dazed Blue Jays team in Toronto on August 7th. His pure dominance of each batter he faced allowed Joe Torre to entrust him with the eighth inning job, setting up Mariano Rivera. Like Mo had done years prior, it was the hope of the organization that Joba would start out as the bridge to a dominant closer, and then become one. Allowing one earned run in 24 innings surely reassured any of the doubters.
Since such promising starts to their careers in ’07, both Hughes and Chamberlain have endured injuries, moves into and out of the bullpen, and flat out inconsistent performances. There have certainly been bright spots along the way for both hurlers, however.
Hughes pitched to a 3.03 ERA in 2009, starting out as a starter and then filling the role of set-up man admirably. And after permanently being put back into the rotation in 2010, he won 18 games. Also, Joba was putting together a terrific 2011 season [2.83 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched] before he underwent Tommy John surgery.
Yet, to claim their Yankee careers to date have been successful ones would probably be a misguided belief. They are now in what are considered their “prime” years, and yet 2013 has been one of the ugliest for Joba and Phil. Of course, with the offense the pitching staff has to deal with or lack thereof, both are certainly under a lot of stress and any small mistakes they make are magnified like never before. But, there is no escaping the fact that both of them have underperformed, no matter the circumstances.
Yes, Hughes has had his share of good starts this season, but they are normally sandwiched in-between horrible outings. It is still fresh in this fan’s mind that he allowed 7 runs in the first inning to the Mariners, who in all respect have a better offense than last season, but certainly not good enough to put up rallies like that against even an average starter. But as I said, then he goes out the other night in Seattle against the very same team and throws seven shutout innings. It’s frustrating, bizarre, and as much potential as he has to be great every night, the times that he isn’t have really cost the Yankees so far this year.
At this point it really doesn’t matter what Joba Chamberlain does, because he is in the doghouse for eternity with Yankee fans. No matter how he “shushed” Mariano Rivera, all I care about is what happens on the field, and even still Joba has been disappointing. Granted, he did miss practically the whole month of May with a strained right oblique, but collectively in 2013 he has given up three more hits than innings pitched, a red flag right off the bat. Even when he has an “effective” outing, he still often gets into trouble by nibbling at the corners and forgetting that he boasts a 95 mph fastball that still has some bite left in it. He too has been such a streaky pitcher, and ultimately you’d have to hope it wouldn’t last long in New York. Right?
Well, that is why I strongly consider that the Yankees trade not just one of them, but both Joba and Phil. Like I started the article saying, these two guys have been here for a long time, and it certainly would be odd not seeing them in the dugout or on the mound every other day. But it’s been shown that when they are “on”, Chamberlain and Hughes can be two of the most dominating pitchers in the American League, and that potential alone attracts pitching-deprived teams.
With the way the Yankees lineup has fallen into its worst slump since likely before I was born, I am shocked there aren’t many rumors going around about the team trading some of its pitchers. The pitching has been tremendous, Hughes and Joba aside, so what is holding back Cashman from dumping them off for a bat? I’m not talking players. A literal bat.
Maybe I’m being too harsh, but the fact remains that the Yankees are not a better team with Joba and Hughes on the roster than they are with them off it. Now I have no specific players I would target, which may be where my argument falls a bit flat, but there has to be a match somewhere. There always is, if the Yankees want one. It would be bittersweet to trade Joba, and especially Hughes, but giving up on these guys in a trade would be a signal to me that the Yanks are not by any means ready to surrender their AL East crown, which is still very much in reach with the right reinforcements.
Get to work Cash. You too Joba and Phil.
Game 66 Lineup: Yankees @ Athletics
Can the Yankees take at least ONE of these games? Please? Anyway, here’s the lineup.
Brett Gardner CF
Jayson Nix SS
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Travis Hafner DH
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Vernon Wells LF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Stewart C
Yanks have missed the boat with talented IFAs
The IFA market is where the Yanks can find high upside talents like Yasiel Puig
Anyone watching Sportscenter for the last week or so has seen Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig put on a show, cracking opposite field HRs and gunning runners out from RF. He has jump-started the anemic Dodgers offense and energized their fan base while looking like a young Bo Jackson on the field. Watching Puig and being reminded of fellow Cuban OF Yoenis Cespedes while playing the A’s tonight, I couldn’t help but cringe when thinking that both of these talents were available to the Yankees a little more than a year ago. At a time when the Yankees offense is putrid and their corner OFs are the worst in baseball it is very frustrating
Puig was one of 3 talented Cuban OFs who were available to the highest bidder in 2012. Cespedes and highly regarded Cubs prospect Jorge Soler were the other 2. Many of us fans thought the Yankees would sign at least one of them and it’s beginning to look like they made a big mistake by passing on these talents. Under Brian Cashman’s leadership, the Yankees have become extremely conservative on the International Free Agent market. After being burned by the signings of Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa, the team has refused to spend significant money on any IFA. In an interview this winter with Drew Voros, Cashman said. “We have learned over time to be very conservative and cautious in acquiring pitching talent from Japan, for instance. It’s a different game there”
Cashman has been applying that conservative approach to all IFAs, signing only a few low-priced players like Adonis Garcia and Ronnier Mustelier. While it’s natural to be conservative, it seems the team has become gun-shy and is more afraid of making a mistake. When you have the largest payroll in MLB, you can afford to take some risks on high-upside talents. While it’s true you cannot expect success in Japan, Cuba, Korea or any other league to equate to success in MLB, talent plays anywhere. And that is where the Yankees are missing the boat. If a 20-yr old LHP in the U.S. was consistently throwing 98-100 MPH or when a trio of young OFs are displaying 4 out of 5 plus tools or a 6’5′ 225 pitcher is throwing 3 plus MLB pitches with great command and poise, you have to get involved! The Yanks let all of the above players pass them by when all they would cost was money….no draft picks, no players in trade. Where else can the Yankees obtain talent like that? The answer is no where. While I think the Yanks did well in this year’s amateur draft, they never have access to elite amateur talent picking at the end of the first round and the financial restraints put on them in the new CBA when it comes to signing amateur foreigners, they are going to have trouble finding high-end talent there also. Well, no problem, the Yankees have always just been able to buy Free Agents at the Major League level, right? Well that window has been closing also. Teams are locking up their young talented players before they become FAs and the small number of big talents that do hit the open market are able to command huge salaries since so many teams have money to spend.
The Yankees MUST become players on the IFA market again. They are paying $27 Million for washed up Vernon Wells and Ichiro to play LF and RF this year and next – approximately $6.5M per yr for each of them. Meanwhile, 22-yr old stud Yasiel Puig signed with LA for $6 Million a year for 7 years and the A’s 27-yr old slugging OF Yoenis Cespedes (36 HRs and .843 OPS in 181 games) is earning $9M per season over 4 years. And they aren’t the only IFA players doing well. Japanese OF Norichi Aoki had a strong year for Milwaukee last season hitting .288 with 10 HRs and 30 SBs and is hitting .300 with a .375 OBP this season while earning just $1.25 M per yr (plus a $2.5M posting fee for his rights). These are just some IFA OFs who were signed in the last year or2 but there are other IFAs all over MLB from Shin-Soo-Choo to Dayan Viciedo to Alexi Ramirez, etc.
There has also been a wave of talented foreign pitchers doing well in MLB the last year or 2 also. The 100-MPH lefty I mentioned of course is Reds closer Aroldis Chapman who has a 15.4 K/9. Texas Ace Yu Darvish was a guy I thought the Yanks should have been all over. He’s a true #1 type starter in his prime at just 26 and signed for the extremely reasonable 6 years @ $56M. An ace pitcher hitting the FA market would get nearly triple that. And make no mistake about it, Darvish is an Ace. He’s 7-2 with a 2.75 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 12.0 K/9 pitching in the offensive haven of Texas. And he’s not alone as a front-end starter, Korean LHP Ryu-Hyu Jin is 6-2 with a 2.89 era in his first year for the Dodgers, Japanese RHP Hisashi Iwakuma is 7-1 with a 1.89 ERA and 0.81 WHIP for Seattle in his 2nd season and 27-yr old Taiwanese LHP Wei-Yin Chen has been Baltimore’s best starter the last year and a half.
It’s time for the Yankees to dive back in to the IFA waters. George Steinbrenner was a trailblazer who was all over talented IFAs. While it worked brilliantly with Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez and Hideki Matsui, the failures of Irabu and Igawa seem to have the Yankee brass afraid today. It is poor reasoning to write off all big-ticket IFAs because of a couple of failures. This is the last market where the Yankees money can be used to acquire high-end talent. Amateur IFAs are subject to spending limits and penalties in the CBA but for veteran IFAs 23 and older, it’s still an open market and one which the Yankees must begin to capitalize on or they will have to continue to spend their money on the veteran has-beens like Wells and Ichiro.
Morning Bits
Good morning everyone!
The Yankees lost their second straight game to the A’s last night by a score of 5-2.
Phil Hughes had a bad outing, allowing 3 earned runs on four hits and five walks, lasting only 4 1/3 innings.
Joba Chamberlain struggled in relief, allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits in 1 1/3 innings.
The heart of the Yankees order was dreadful, with Mark Teixeira, Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells and Kevin Youkilis going a combined 0-13 in the 3-6 spots in the order.
The Yankees managed only four hits.
Brandon Moss homered twice to lead the A’s.
The Yankees fell to .500(3-3) on their brutal ten game West Coast trip and also fell three games behind the division leading Red Sox.
Hiroki Kuroda(6-5, 2.84 ERA) will face Jarrod Parker(5-6, 4.68 ERA) today in a game that starts at 3:35 ET. The game will be broadcast by YES.
Now on to today’s news links:
George King III of the New York Post has this article about Derek Jeter getting closer to resuming baseball activities.
Scott Miller of CBSSPORTS.com points out the inability of the Yankees to come from behind in games.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports that Mariano Rivera has gotten into the pizza delivery business!
Have a great day everyone!
Game 65 Lineup: Yankees @ Athletics
Lineup vs. A’s:
Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Travis Hafner DH
Vernon Wells LF
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Jayson Nix SS
Austin Romine C
RHP Phil Hughes
Some Notes:
– The Yankees have agreed to a contract with their top prospect 3B Eric Jagielo. They also signed SS Tyler Wade (fourth rd), RHP David Palladino (fifth), SS John Murphy (sixth), RHP Philip Walby (12th), RHP Cale Coshow (13th), LHP Caleb Smith (14th), CF Jordan Barnes (15th), 2B Derek Toadvine (22nd), RHP Sam Agnew-Wieland (24th), C Trent Garrison (28th), SS Kevin Cornelius (31) and 2B Hector Crespo (34th).
Pineda on the Rebound
Michael Pineda finally pitched in his first official game for the Yankees at Single-A Tampa on Saturday.
Pineda was very impressive, as he pitched 4 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. He only allowed two hits: a bunt and a bloop to right. Also, his fastball touched 95 MPH, he struck out four batters and only walked one.
“His fastball had life,” a scout told Anthony Rieber of Newsday. “His fastball had good life to it. Looks like the guy I saw in Tacoma a couple of years ago. . .Unfortunately for us.”
“I expected to see some red flags,” said the rival scout. “None that I saw. The arm action looked good. All the check marks you want to cross off for a guy’s first outing in a long time, the checkmarks were all there. He threw strikes, competed, held his velocity. Looked good. Looked good.”
This is great news for the Yankees, as they may finally see a return in their investment of Pineda when they traded Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi for him and Jose Campos on January 13th, 2012. After Pineda went down with a torn labrum in his right shoulder last season the Yankees were getting killed for the trade. However, Montero has been terrible for the Mariners (.208/.264/.327/.590 this season) and was sent down to Triple-A Tacoma on May 23rd. The Yankees still have a solid chance of winning the trade.
The Yankees were hoping that they acquired a top of the rotation starter in Pineda, and he still has the talent to be that guy. In 2011 in Seattle, Pineda was 9-10, with a 3.74 ERA, a 3.42 FIP and 9.11 K/9. Pineda wowed people with his blazing fastball (94.7 average MPH) and a devastating slider (19.27 Whiff %). The key in Pineda’s development was developing his changeup to keep hitters off balance.
Pineda was dominant in the first half of the 2011 season, as he was was 5-4 with a 2.92 ERA and made the AL All-Star team. However, he struggled in the second half going 4-6 with a 4.40 ERA. What those numbers don’t tell you is that Pineda was more unlucky in the second half than he was poor.
Opponents only hit .236/.298/.391/.688 against Pineda in the second half of the season and he struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings. His BABIP went from .247 in the first half to .286 in the second half. Also, his second half FIP was still a solid 3.78, so Pineda did not pitch as badly in the second half as his standard numbers would indicate.
Anything the Yankees get out of Pineda this year would have been considered a bonus at the beginning of the year, but they have to be pleased with his progress so far. Considering how much they gave up for Pineda, the Yankees are very likely to insert him into the rotation once he is ready to come up to the Bronx. Assuming there are no injuries- which is never a safe assumption with the Yankees- it will be very interesting to see who is the odd man out in the rotation. CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte are all safe, which leaves Phil Hughes and David Phelps.
Phelps has continued to prove me wrong this season and has done a great job since he has been inserted into the rotation. Phelps’ ERA as a starter this season is 3.38 and his overall FIP this season is 3.37. The most surprising thing about him is that he has averaged 9.10 K/9 this season without what you would call great stuff. His poise and confidence on the mound are also big for him.
While Phelps has gotten the most out of his talents this season, the opposite can be said for Hughes. Hughes has a 4.80 ERA this season and has been very inconsistent again. It has usually been either a very good game or a brutal game with no in between. Home runs have once again been an issue, as Hughes has allowed 12 long balls already this season. His fly ball percentage is 50.5%, which is a career high even for Hughes.
The Yankees should try and trade Hughes if Pineda comes back healthy, although he probably would not fetch much with him pitching poorly and being a free agent this upcoming winter. Hughes and Phelps both have bullpen experience so they can make the transition easily.
With Jayson Nix, Ichiro Suzuki, Vernon Wells and Chris Stewart as regulars in the Yankees lineup they need all the pitching help they can get. The Yankees already have one of the best starting pitching staffs in all of baseball, but a healthy Pineda would only make it better if he can perform like he did in Seattle.
The Yankees need to find out what they have for Pineda not only for this season, but for down the road since Sabathia is the only top of the line starting pitcher under contract for next season. With everybody talking about the offensive reinforcements Pineda has kind of been the forgotten man, but he can have a big impact and give the Yankees a great boost for the stretch run.
Morning Bits
Good morning everyone!
C.C. Sabathia had another bad outing and the Yankees lost to the A’s by a score of 6-4 last night.
Bartolo Colon threw six shutout innings and despite some late-inning life from the Yankee offense they were unable to overcome a six run deficit.
Sabathia gave up six earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs, while striking out only three batters in six innings. Sabathia’s record fell to 6-5 and his ERA is now 4.07 with his BAA at .270 as concerns continue about the Yankee ace who signed a lucrative contract extension over the Winter.
Sabathia hasn’t finished with an ERA over 4 since 2005 and his current BAA is 11 points higher than any BAA he has never finished a season with.
The Yankees squandered offensive chances all night long. Kevin Youkilis, Lyle Overbay, Travis Hafner and Ichiro Suzuki stranded a small army of runners on base.
Mark Teixeira and Vernon Wells drove in all four of the Yankee runs that were scored in the eighth and ninth innings, when most Yankee fans on the East Coast were already asleep.
Phil Hughes(3-4, 4.80 ERA) does battle with Dan Straily(3-2, 4.67 ERA) tonight. Game time is 10:05 ET and the game will be televised by YES.
Now on to today’s news and links:
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News has this article about Robinson Cano being chosen to be the captain for the AL squad in the home run derby along with his crosstown rival David Wright being chosen to head the NL squad.
David Waldstein of the New York Times has this piece about C.C. Sabathia getting shelled in his home region last night.
Have a great day everyone!
Game 64 Lineup: Yankees @ Athletics
It’s a brand new series…with two 1o p.m. games. Boo. Anyway, here is your lineup!
Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Mark Teixeira 1B
Travis Hafner DH
Kevin Youkilis 3B
Lyle Overbay RF
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Jayson Nix SS
Chris Stewart C
CC Sabathia LHP
Some Notes:
– Yesterday, Brett Gardner won the AL Player of the Week award. He was batting .520/.556/.840 throughout the week.
– Today, Robinson Cano was crowned the Captain of the AL HR Derby Team. He can’t get booed mercifully at Citi Field this year since the Mets are a National Team, so that’s a good thing.
Morning Bits
Good morning everyone!
The Yankees had a day off yesterday and sit two games in back of the Red Sox in the AL East as they begin a three game series today in Oakland against the A’s.
C.C. Sabathia(6-4, 3.74 ERA) will face Bartolo Colon(7-2, 3.14 ERA) tonight. Start time is 10:05 ET and it will be televised on YES.
Now on to today’s news and links:
Andrew Marchand breaks down Derek Jeter’s progress as he works his way back on to the field after his injuries.
Zack Meisel of MLB.com has this article about Brett Gardner being named AL Offensive Player Of The Week.
NESN reports that the Yankees had a picture hanging in their war room on draft day to remind them of what type of mental makeup they were looking for in a player.
Have a great day everyone!
Travel Day
The hottest race in the AL East in memory, the players finally see the light on PED use are the main topics this week.
Red Hot
When looking at the AL East standings this morning, there are three things which stand out to most people.
The first thing that stands out is that right now the standings in the AL East are in exact inverse order of what was widely expected before the year began. The Red Sox, picked to finish last by most pundits, are in the first place. The Yankees, widely expected to finish next to last, are in second place. The Rays are third, where most expected them to finish, followed by the Orioles and Blue Jays, who were expected to finish second and first respectively.
The second thing that stands out is the AL East continues to impose its will as the strongest division in baseball, despite many cries in the preseason that the NL East had assumed that title.
The AL East has four teams over .500 right, with all four of those teams in serious playoff contention.
The AL East has combined for 172 wins so far this year, 7 more than the teams in the NL Central who have won 165 games.
The AL East is the only division in baseball that has four teams with positive run differentials over their opponents.
By any measuring stick, the AL East is clearly still the beast of MLB.
The third thing that stands out when examining the AL East standings is the incredible battle between four teams fighting for the division title and potential wildcard playoff berths.
The spread between the first place Red Sox and fourth place Orioles is only four games.
It’s hard to recall the last time a MLB season was heading into mid-June and had four teams in the AL East all with a legitimate chance to win the division.Making this battle even more compelling is that in addition to the standings being so tight, not much separates these teams to the naked eye either. All four teams have injuries and/or prospects expected to return later on in the season as reinforcements, all four teams have very good pitching, and all four teams have defensive or offensive flaws. Because of these factors, fans should be prepared for this battle to carry on into the late stages of the season, which could make for one of the most exciting divisional races in the history of baseball.
MLB’s PED Problem
MLB’s disgraceful handling of the PED problem was, has been and is their own fault.
After the strike of 1994 that left fans out in the cold and unwilling to forgive the players and the league itself for cancelling the World Series, baseball was left in a vulnerable moral position.
When sluggers like McGwire, Sosa and Bonds started putting on home run hitting clinics night after night, MLB championed these stars and promoted them, despite the whispers that what they were doing was aided by something more than a good breakfast.
Whether or not Selig and the owners actually “knew” what so many players were doing to get these incredible results, they certainly had to have had serious suspicions.
The increase in attendance, ratings and media that these bashers brought was simply too great for MLB to disrupt. The outrageous offensive displays were pulling fans back to the seats and to their televisions and that was more important to the powers that be than anything else.
By now we’re all sick and tired of the admissions, apologies, denials and trials of players involved with the use of PED’s. MLB’s handling of the Mitchell Report and testing done prior to the Mitchell Report was a travesty best summed up by Ozzie Guillen in July of 2009 when he said:
“Can somebody in baseball, please, we’re all begging people, get that stupid list out and move on. This is ridiculous. This is embarrassing. This is a joke. Whoever is there is there; get them out and that’s it. We’re going to continue being alive, we’re going to continue playing the game. But sitting here every freaking day, every manager, every player, responding to the same question, it’s getting tired. It’s old. Come on. If you’re going to divorce me, divorce me right away. Don’t say you’re going to leave me. I’m serious. If you’re going to talk every night, ‘I’m going to divorce you,’ no, get out of my house. Every week we’ve got to come up with this thing.”
Since then we’ve had Manny Ramirez’ saga, Ryan Braun’s soap opera, and now the Biogenesis affair.
Throughout this saga the Players Union and the players themselves have shared in the blame of this sad situation by vigorously defending the accused or admitted cheats.
If what Buster Olney said this past week about the Biogenesis situation and the change in sentiment of the players themselves about cheats, we could be witnessing a major development in the way players will view cheating. Here is a quote from ESPN’s Olney courtesy of Kevin Dillon’s WEEI blog:
“I know some people who I work with have said this is a black eye for baseball,” Olney said. “Personally, I think it is a good moment for baseball because it shows how vigilant and diligent and aggressive they are being. I think we are going to see in the players’ reaction which I am hearing privately from guys — they want cheaters to go down. The change in the culture from 10-15 years ago is dramatic. You have guys now and after Ryan Braun got off and won his appeal, they wanted him to go down. They want him to go down now. I think that in general, that is sort of where the sport is on this. They are trying to deal with a problem and this is a sign that they are dealing with it and that they can.”
While A-Rod and Braun are the headliners of the latest soap opera, that doesn’t make the other 18 rumored offenders any less guilty than the two big stars. Let’s hope that all of the parties involved in MLB handle the latest PR mess for MLB properly for a change.
If The Playoffs Began Today
In the NL the Cincinnati Reds would play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a one game playoff that would take place in Pittsburgh to determine who the St.Louis Cardinals would host in a best-of-five series.
The Atlanta Braves would host the San Francisco Giants in the other best-of-five series.
In the AL, the New York Yankees would host the Oakland A’s in a one game playoff to determine who the Boston Red Sox would host in a best-of-five series.
The Texas Rangers would host the Detroit Tigers in the other best-of-five series.
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