The Yankees courted Carl Pavano? I am speechless

No... that isn't a headline from The Onion.
The Yankees actually considered bringing back Carl Pavano. Even typing that sentence made me laugh.

This off season for the Yankees, which is been bizarre at best and disastrous at worst, almost entered the realm of the unthinkable.

Imagine me saying this to a Yankee fan right after their team lost the 2010 ALCS:

You aren't going to get Cliff Lee...
nor Carl Crawford...
nor Zack Grienke...
you will bring back Derek Jeter but he will feel alienated...
you will bring back Mariano Rivera but only after HE called the Red Sox...
Andy Pettitte isn't signed...
the one big pick up is Rafael Soriano who has had 2 elbow surgeries in the last 5 seasons and is a fly ball pitcher in a home run park...
BUT the good news is they might bring back Carl Pavano.

You might start making a noose.


Brian Cashman might have made a move that even the offices of Bialystock and Bloom would consider to be too self destructive.

Carl Pavano, the man who took Ed Whitson off the hook for most disastrous Yankee free agent signing in George Steinbrenner's lifetime... the man who was openly mocked by not only the fans and media but HIS OWN TEAMMATES!... was on the Yankees radar.

And for $10 million?
Seriously?

I don't care if it was for $10 a year for the next million years, that is insane. Did they learn NOTHING from the Javier Vazquez fiasco?

Last season I jokingly egged on Carl Pavano's agent to call the Yankees and see if they were interested in having him come back.

In my tongue in cheek scenario, I had Brian Cashman hanging up the phone before Pavano's agent was done with the pitch. Little did I know that reality would be so much MORE absurd!

Lisa Swan at Subway Squawkers as usual hit it on the head by saying this has to do with Cashman "who so apparently so wants to prove that Pavano wasn't the worst free agent the Yankees ever signed that he's willing to sign him again."

This is insane.
What's next?
Are the Chargers going to reacquire Ryan Leaf?
Is NBC going to return Leno to 10PM?
Will Garth Brooks record another Chris Gaines album?
Battlefield Earth 2?
How about the Knicks keeping Isiah Thomas on the payroll?

Wait, that last one is real?

OK. That's messed up.

15 other passive aggressive things Cashman could have said at the press conference

- The Yankees have had a history of having needlessly expensive contracts blow up in our face, and it is wonderful to add Rafael Soriano to that list.

- Soriano is the wrong fit for this team. It is a mistake. We shouldn’t have made this move. But hey! Welcome to the team.

- I feel it is best to point out a player’s shortcomings and show as little confidence in him as possible before introducing him to the New York media. It’s how I roll.

- How much did I not want him? I tried to bring in Carl Pavano instead. No seriously I did.

- I am going to copyright the headline “Who’s SORI-a-NOW?” so when the New York Post uses it, I can get a royalty. Notice I didn’t say “if.”

- Well evidently some people think the team isn’t old enough and doesn’t have enough players who have had multiple surgeries.

- With such a thin rotation, we decided to shore up the bullpen so we could run their arms into the ground. The good news is if Soriano gets two more surgeries, the next one will be free.

- We listened to the scouts who all agree that an injury prone player who let’s up fly balls in this stadium was the route to go.

- I am looking forward to next year when we can try to trade this crappy contract for one of the Mets crappy contracts.

- We had differing ideas on what to do with $35 million. They wanted a 30 year old middle reliever with elbow issues. I wanted to throw it into the Hudson River.

- I’d like to thank you all for coming here today. I’d LIKE to do that, but I am waiting for Hank and Hal to give me permission to do that too.

- We are breaking new ground in giving middle relievers huge contracts. Do you know why no team has done that before? Because it is f*cking moronic. But what do I know? I’m just the GM of the New York Yankees.

- I don’t like to think we’ve lost that first round pick. I like to think that the Rays will use that pick and when he is older and more expensive, we’ll just sign him as a free agent.

- Of course we wouldn’t have needed to sign Soriano if we had let Joba Chamberlain develop into a solid reliever. Who’s idea was it to put him in the rotation? (Coughing) * Hank! *

- I would like to announce that I am printing out “Soriano Sucks” t-shirts and will be selling them on line. I might as well profit from this whole thing.

You NEVER want people to use Tony Danza titles to describe your situation

If things keep going this badly for Brian Cashman, they still have more possibilities.

If Cashman has a blow up at a reporter, the headline could be
CASHMAN GOING APE!

If Johnny Damon signs with the Angels, the headline could be
CASHMAN SEES ANOTHER ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD

If Jennifer Swindal, George Steinbrenner's daughter, gets involved and trashes Cashman publicly, the headline could be
SHE'S OUT OF CONTROL

If the team just goes into a spiral, the headline could be
CRASH

(Remember, Tony Danza played the racist TV director in Crash? Didn't think so.)

And of course if he gets fired, the headline could be
CALL CASHMAN A TAXI!

And probably he will be replaced by Tony Danza.

Jeff Francis got away from the Yankees too?

Hey Jeff Francis... congrats on the new contract with the Royals...but...
You DO know that the Yankees current starting rotation goes as follows:

Terrific ace in CC Sabathia.
Guy who had a good first half and a shaky second half in Phil Hughes.
A super talented guy who is slowly turning into Crispin Glover in A. J. Burnett.
A nice arm who could very well be another overrated Yankee prospect in Ivan Nova.

And evidently the 16th caller on WFAN.

There is at least 1 or maybe as many as 4 holes in the Yankee rotation.
And as we now enter mid January (and soon after that February) it is looking more and more like Andy Pettitte will be sitting on his porch, whittling, this season.

Before signing onto a rebuilding project keep in mind four things going in your favor.

1) The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching.
2) You are a starting pitcher.
3) You throw with your left hand.
4) You have a pulse.

I am assuming the fourth one is true.

But that is a combination that should bring about the expression "CHA-CHING!"

Did you REALLY exhaust any conversations you had with the Yankees?
Yeah you are going to make $2 million his year and that is $2 million more than a lot of us will make this year.

But man alive you could have squeezed a few million more.
Oh, did Cashman say "No way"?

You fool. He would have reversed himself a week later. It is his M.O. these days!

Brian Cashman... stop making public statements

It's not been a good off season for Brian Cashman, but I already covered that.

But while it is humiliating to see plan A, B and C go up in smoke, there is only so much control he has over other people's decisions.

He can throw lots and lots of money at players. If they want to take less money, he has no control over that.

But do you know what he DOES have control over? Making public statements.

You know when you talk about having Jeter test the open market to see if their offer was fair?

Jeter didn't test the market... and the Yankees upped the ante anyway.

Or maybe remember Cashman talking about NOT surrendering his first round picks?

He was quoted as saying:
“I will not lose our No. 1 draft pick,” Cashman said. “I would have for Cliff Lee. I won’t lose our No. 1 draft pick for anyone else.”

That was all the way back on January 7th.
Less than one week later, the Yankees gave a 3 year deal to Rafael Soriano making him the richest set up man in the world... giving up their pick to Tampa in the process.

Look, I get this move. He's a good reliever and having a very deep bullpen could help the Yankees... especially since Andy Pettitte could be sitting on his porch whittling all summer and A. J. Burnett is the Yankees #3 starter!

(The fact that he is letting up flyballs in a hitter's ballpark isn't good, but I digress.)

Just don't make pronouncements like that, Brian. You are already experiencing an off season where people think you are a little bit rudderless. Don't put fuel on the fire of contradicting yourself and making your moves look desperate.

I know you WANT to patiently build a team from the ground up... but you didn't take a patient organization.

Learn the art of not making promises.
You break a lot fewer when they don't exist.

Manny to the Yankees? Another Christmas gift for Red Sox Nation

Could it be?
Seriously... could the Yankees be finally saying to the world "WE ARE RUDDERLESS!"?

The Yankees are potentially thinking about bringing in Manny Ramirez?

Why not just tell Andy Pettitte to stay home?

Why not tell Derek Jeter "We think the clubhouse has been too peaceful"?

Could the Yankees be reverting back to all of their awful late 1980s, early 1990s habits of bringing in people that are recognizable instead of addressing their needs?

How can they POSSIBLY spin their interest in Manny Ramirez as anything other than "Hey! We got a player fans have heard of! And a former Red Sox player to boot! Hey! How about that? We're the Yankees and we get stars!"

The Steinbrenner Yankees have always had a mild obsession with bringing in players who have beaten them in October. From Don Gullett to Randy Johnson, the notion has always been "If you can't beat 'em, BUY em!"

And they thought that Cliff Lee was going to be the next name on the roster.
But he's gone. And so is every other potential big impact pitcher. (Unless you consider Joe Blanton to be awesome.)

The Yankees need pitching depth. BIG TIME. Yeah they can use outfield depth, but do you know what? There are never a shortage of outfielders looking for a job. Hell, Jermaine Dye has been looking for one for over a year. He's a former World Series MVP. And unlike Manny, he hasn't left a series of teams in his wake saying "It's just not worth dealing with this crap!"

But here we are. It could just be an internet rumor... but there's something about it that doesn't seem far fetched. That the need to make an off season splash to off set the Cliff Lee humiliation is there. And a move to counter act all of the "Red Sox have passed them" talk.

Bringing in Rafael Soriano would be a good solid move to upgrade their bullpen depth. But does bullpen depth put the Yankees on the back page?

Manny does.

The symbolism of taking ANOTHER 2004 Red Sox player and putting him in Pinstripes would have some allure. Alan Embree, Mark Bellhorn, Johnny Damon, Mike Myers and Doug Mientkiewicz all played with the Yankees after winning with the '04 Red Sox. (So did Ramiro Mendoza, but who are we kidding? He was a Yankee in Red Sox clothing!)

Why not Manny?
Well, first off 2004 was six years ago.
Manny was 32 then. He'll turn 39 in 2011. And the days of guys getting BETTER in their late 30s have ended. Manny has already been caught and guess what? His bat has slowed down.

I of course LOVED Manny when he was with the Red Sox, but as I wrote in my Dodgers piece for The Hardball Times, he is like a trip to Las Vegas. It is super fun at first but by the end you find yourself thinking "Oh God, this HAS to stop or else something terrible will happen."

So the Yankees will get all the headaches of Manny without his amazing bat.

And remember, Manny is a spoiled little kid who gets what he wants because his butt has been kissed. It was kissed by the Indians who wanted to develop a big star and get their team back to respectability.

It was initially kissed by the Red Sox because his signing was a counter reaction to the Yankees brining in Mike Mussina. So they had a new superstar to coddle. And later his butt was kissed because they knew they had a potential championship combo if only he stayed happy.

And the Dodgers kissed his butt because they had the first real draw to Chavez Ravine since Mike Piazza was traded.

So plop him into Jeter's clubhouse and see what happens.

You will get the symbolism of trying to erase the past while the problems of the present are left unchecked.

It's the whole bringing in Ken Phelps to a team where there is nowhere to play him all over again.

As I said before, it probably won't happen. But the fact that we have to say "probably" shows how bad the off season has been for the Yankees.

How great is this for Red Sox fans?
The idea that the Yankees could be doing essentially what Isiah Thomas did with the Knicks! Just bringing in big names for the sake of getting a headline.

OK, the Knicks are a harsh example. But what if they are the Mets? Bringing in recognizable names only to see it blow up in their face!

They won't be able to resist making a big move before spring training. And having Andy Pettitte come back isn't a big move. That's avoiding a loss.

Carl Pavano isn't coming back.

But there are no more big names left... except Manny.
No other names that would get anyone's attention... except Manny.

They may not be able to resist it.
And what a beautiful sight that would be.

It would be worth it to see if he would take a leak in Monument Park during the game. What wonderful symbolism that would be.

Brian Cashman is having a hell of an off season

On December 3rd of this year, Brian Cashman rappelled off of a 350 foot building in Stamford Connecticut. He did NOT fall to his death.

And that is probably the one positive thing that has happened to Cashman this off season.

As of this writing, Cashman's improvements to the team have been NOT losing two Yankee legends, signing a non tendered catcher from the Dodgers, an adequate lefty reliever from the Mets and a former ace in Mark Prior who, since 2006, is tied with ME for innings pitched in the major leagues.

The Yankees, the big bad Yankees who go and fill every need every off season with their deep pockets and make everyone scream how unfair it is, went into this winter with an obvious glaring need:

Pitching depth.
And the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2008 and the American League Cy Young Award winner for 2009 have both switched teams... yet neither will end up in the Bronx.

As of this writing, Andy Pettite is still unsigned, Phil Hughes is still questionable after a rotten second half, A. J. Burnett still stinks and C. C. Sabathia is still recovering from knee surgery.

Yeah yeah yeah, it is a minor surgery for Sabathia. But anytime a 300+ pound 30 year old man starts to have knee problems, it's hard to not at least be concerned.

Their bullpen depth is still questionable. And of course the stock of Joba Chamberlain has fallen to the point where he isn't considered to be a plus for the bullpen nor the rotation.

The pickings are slim in the free agent market (hey, they brought back Javy Vazquez last year. Why NOT Pavano?) And if they had the young talent to trade for a quality arm, that young talent would already be on the team.

Which brings us back to Cashman.
A few years ago, I wondered if his critics were wrong.

It turns out that picking on him that year was kind of foolish as the Yankees won it all in 2009. But some of my criticisms still seem valid.

Since taking more control of the team after the 2005 season, the Yankees have had the 2006 Division Series debacle against the Tigers where their lack of pitching depth was exposed... the 2007 Division Series midge infested ousting by the Indians where they relied on Chein Ming Wang as a #1 starter... the 2008 season where they missed the playoffs... the 2009 World Series Champs... and the 2010 ALCS where their lack of pitching depth was exposed badly.

Now for most GMs, a World Series title in a 5 year run would be enough.
But Cashman isn't in the situation that most GMs are in.
He never has to make a difficult rebuilding process decision.
He never has to consider moving a popular player because he is arbitration eligible.
He never has to ask "Which superstar can we afford to have?"

He can talk about setting a budget but then it will inevitably be blown up.
He can try to take a stance of not signing veterans to long term deals and going for youth, but then sign Derek Jeter to a 3 year deal when nobody else was offering 2.

So yeah, the standards are different.
And yes, I know that the Red Sox have a bottomless pit of money and since 2005, Theo has only bought one World Series himself.

But I don't see the Yankees having two homegrown aces like Lester and Buchholz, nor having the trade chips to pull the trigger on a deal for Adrian Gonzalez nor actually get someone to accept their money like Carl Crawford.

The Yankees are still a quality team, but it says a lot that when Cliff Lee wanted to go to the place where he is most likely to win a title, he chose Philadelphia.

There aren't any legit #1 or #2 starters left out on the market and Petitte might still decide to stay in Texas and count his millions and rings and play with his kids.

If this off season continues to go this badly for Cashman and it translates once again into a season where the lack of pitching bites the Yankees in the rear, he find himself hanging on by a much thinner rope than he was holding in Stamford.

Hey! The Yankees signed an ace! (In 2003)

The Yankees signed Mark Prior.
So is THIS their Plan B after losing out on Cliff Lee?

A rotation that needs durability and youth has been replenished with a guy who has thrown zero innings since 2006?

Why not just activate Whitey Ford?

File this under HOLY CRAP! Cliff Lee goes back to the Phillies

OK, who saw THIS coming?

Seriously... when I heard the Phillies were wandering in the mix for Cliff Lee I thought "They are still trying to make up for sticking Lee in the Roy Halladay trade. They are at least showing their fans that they knew they screwed that up."

It seemed like it was for show.
And I had asked Phillies fans to let their team off the hook for dealing Lee.

But obviously they weren't REALLY in the hunt.
We all read the articles. It was clear. It was either going to the Yankees for the big money or going to Texas to live a peaceful life, pay less taxes and murder deer.

It was like waiting for a new Pope. Black smoke meant Yankees. White smoke meant Rangers.

And napalm means EVERYONE ON THE PLANET EARTH WAS WRONG!

A night after the Dexter season finale disappointed with no big twist, Lee supplied one that has given shockwaves throughout baseball.


THE PHILLIES... they want to be the big bad monster of the National League and be included in the sentence with the Yankees and Red Sox as big ticket destinations.

Well it sure looks like they are that now. With a rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt... is 110 wins out of the question? Plus they can deal Blanton for relief help or a veteran outfielder.

And you don't have to wonder if he can handle it. He WANTS to be there.

It is World Series or bust in Philadelphia.



THE YANKEES... There are two gigantic slaps in the face to the Yankees in this signing.

First of all it destroys the idea that the Yankees can sign anyone they want. The whole "Just get him... he'll take our money" didn't fly with Cliff Lee. And why not? I don't think it had to do with anyone spitting on his wife. He's going to Philadelphia where they VOMIT on each other in the stands.

It is the idea that if you want a sure fire chance at a ring, you are better off going to Philadelphia and NOT New York. Seriously which team is more likely to make it to series now? Clearly Philadelphia. Their #4 starter would be an ace for a contender.

And now the Yankees have to pick up the pieces. Their off season has been NOT subtracting while the Red Sox have been adding. After Sabathia, who do you trust in the rotation? Hughes? Is Petitte even coming back? Ivan Nova? Is Ed Figueroa around?

Dare I say it? Carl Pavano? He's available.



THE RANGERS... Well, Cliff Lee's role in Rangers history will be that of a mercenary. A spectacular cameo but a cameo nonetheless. You can't blame the Rangers. They went all in to get him... finally got the World Series and bent over backwards to retain him.

Ironically it was the Rangers willingness to sign him that allowed Lee to not automatically take the Yankees money and gave the Phillies time to get into the chase.

The Rangers still have a ton of young talent and could win the West. Look for them to target Zack Greinke and offer him the same Cliff Lee money.

(I thought Lee resigning with the Rangers would be the last scene of my Clint Eastwood movie.)


THE RED SOX... The fabulous off season in Boston just got a little bit better. With Lester and Buchholz, the Sox have a solid 1-2 punch in their rotation. They just need either Beckett, Lackey or Dice-K to rebound. And oh yeah, they need Papelbon to pitch for a new contract.

The lineup is set provided Youk is back and they have some depth. And unlike the Yankees they actually IMPROVED in the off season.

With the Rays dismantled and the Yankees pitching uncertain after Sabathia, the Red Sox MUST be the favorites now!


THE GIANTS... the World Champions are still giddy over winning it all and with the Padres dismantling, the Dodgers a mess, the Rockies questionable and the Diamonbacks in transition, they remain the team to beat in the West.

If Jonathan Sanchez gets his act together and Madison Bumgarner pitches the whole season, they could have the SECOND best 1-2-3-4 rotation in baseball. And prepare for a rematch in the NLCS.

Of course you realize this means War! (Not W.A.R.)



THE BRAVES...They should be on full "Let's go for the Wild Card" mode. They have good pitching and some great young talent. And picking up Dan Uggla was a big move and Jason Heyward is the real deal. But any hope that the mighty Phillies were going to take a big step backwards this year just was flushed down the toilet.

Having Lowe, Hanson, Hudson and Jurrjens might not be as sexy as what they have in Philadelphia, but it could lead to a 95 win season and an October ticket.



THE MARLINS... Like the Braves, they have a rotation that can best be described as "Diet Phillies." Josh Johnson is a top pitcher. Anibal Sanchez and Ricky Nolasco are solid. Javier Vasquez should fit in well in Miami.

Plus if Chris Volstad, Alex Sanabia or Jhan Marin develop they'll be five deep. And there's some talent in the line up. But with the Phillies entering "Yankee/Red Sox land" the Marlins shouldn't even be paying attention to them. They are Wild Card hunters in 2011 and hoping for more when they move into their new part in a few years.


THE NATIONALS... they are not a good team. At ALL. They are a 90 loss team that will probably have another losing season next year.

But God Bless them for pretending that they are just a few pieces away from being a winner. They overpaid for Jayson Werth and put themselves in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. Now look for them to make a big push for Greinke.

Washington fans, you can't complain that your front office isn't TRYING, even though if EVERYTHING goes well in 2011 they will probably finish no higher than third.


THE METS... For Mets fans, tonight was the ultimate "I have good news and bad news" scenario. The good news? Cliff Lee isn't going to the Yankees. Take THAT arrogant Yankee fans.

The bad news? It is only going to get worse for the Mets and the Phillies are only going to get stronger.

If the Mets get off to a bad start in 2011, they have to consider dealing Johan Santana. A bad start could mean falling too far behind the Braves and Marlins in the Wild Card hunt and a meaningless season. The new brass can't be seduced by the "New York" in their name. They need to be realistic, something that was NOT Omar Minaya's strength.



So there you have it. One decision and suddenly all of baseball is turned sideways.
Man, do I have to wait this long to have it be more than "in theory"?

LET'S PLAY BALL ALREADY!

Carl Pavano and the American Dream

Has there ever been a player in baseball history with better timing than Carl Pavano? It’s staggering if you think about it from a certain point of view.

If I turned the clock back just two years and mentioned Carl Pavano’s name, it would be a baseball punchline.

He was the $39.95 million bust with the Yankees… the guy who pitched 9 games total in his last three years with the Yankees… the guy who the press dubbed “American Idle” because he didn’t seem to be in a rush to come back from injury… the guy who Jeter and Mussina openly mocked… the guy who didn’t tell the Yankees that he had an injury from a car accident.

He was a washed up bust who collected tens of millions of dollars while not even going to work.

His career was over and he was a disgrace.

Now look at him.

After reviving his career with the Indians and the Twins, he is currently the biggest pitching free agent NOT named Cliff Lee.

And if he waits until Cliff Lee signs, then he will be able to have a feeding frenzy from the other teams that need a starter.

He could EASILY command $10 million over 3 years… maybe even 4 years… based upon the market.

Now there is something very startling when you take a look at his stats. He has had two very good years in his 13 years in the bigs and a bunch of either mediocre or bad seasons.

He had a great season in 2004, his last with Florida. And he had a terrific season last year with Minnesota.

And he will probably parlay those two good seasons into two contracts of $30 million or more. He managed to time his first foray into free agency in 2004 when the Yankees and Red Sox were at the peak of their “take no prisoners” off seasons.

And Pavano, a New England native with Yankee fan parents, was one of the many prizes of free agent market. Both teams coveted him. The Yankees out bid the Sox and if Pavano ever has great grandchildren, their college tuition is already paid for.

And now a free agent again will have his value inflated by teams that need some consolation for not getting Cliff Lee.

(How awesome would it be if he rejoins the Yankees?)

So how about THIS for the American dream?

Carl Pavano got to play big league baseball.
He got to be an All Star.
He got to pitch in the World Series and win a ring with the 2003 Marlins.
He will earn more than $60 million playing baseball.

And for three of those years he sat home, didn’t go to work and deposit millions of dollars in the bank.

Isn’t that what most Americans want?
Work for a quick spurt and watch the money come in!

And Pavano adds two other twists to the whole dream life he is living.

He could have gone on a spending spree that would put Tony Montana, Montgomery Brewster and Navin Johnson to shame. He could have spent all $39 million of his contract and guess what? It’s being replenished!

It is safe to say that there will be a quality party at the Pavano home this off season.

And of yeah one other element to his American dream. He was involved with Alyssa Milano.

You may hate him, Yankee fans… but you’d trade lives with him in a heart beat.

Cue up “God Bless America.”

Cliff Lee... one the best post season pitchers ever? Not so sure about that.

The Cliff Lee sweepstakes keeps on rolling and I hear commentators and writers talk about how he is an All Time great post season pitcher.

Now I am not going to belittle his post season record but let's calm down for a little bit.

First of all, if I turned back the back the world a la Superman all the way back to 2008, Cliff Lee's career post season numbers would look like this:

0 Games.

So he went to 0 games to the second coming of Sandy Koufax in two years?

Now going into the 2010 World Series, his post season stats were indeed eye popping.
He was 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA in 8 career post season starts with the Phillies and Rangers.

He averaged more than 8 innings a start, throwing 3 complete games (and it could have been 5 complete games except he was lifted for a mop up man in both the 2009 NLCS and 2009 ALCS.)

So yes, he was outstanding.

Then came Game 1 of the 2010 World Series where he was more impressive as a hitter then a pitcher.

Look, any great pitcher can lose a pitchers duel. Even Bob Gibson lost a game 7 (mainly because Curt Flood tripped in a puddle.)

But here's the hand the Rangers dealt Lee in Game 1:

They were playing in a pitchers ballpark against a notoriously weak offense and they took an early 2 run lead off of Tim Lincecum, who couldn't make it out of the 6th and let up 4 runs.

Cliff Lee should win that game 101 times out of 100, not give up 6 earned runs in less than 5 innings to a bunch of banjo hitters.

And not to be harsh, but he lost again in the elimination Game 5. He didn't pitch badly, but he DID let up a 3 run homer to 80 year old Edgar Renteria while Lincecum was all but flawless.

His numbers for the World Series were ugly. REAL ugly.
It doesn't diminish what he did before, but it should put a damper on the hyperbole of where he ranks all time.

Lee's 2 years were damn good, save for the 2010 World Series... but he's no Dave Stewart. He's no Curt Schilling. He's no John Smoltz.

If he won that first game in San Francisco, chances are the Rangers would win the Series... and the whole "He just wants to win a ring" element of the negotiations would be off the table.

And as I pointed out in my OTHER post that references Superman, there are some red flags about his health and age that make me think that 7 years for him might be excessive.

But hey, he'll be paid as an All Time Great and if he leads either the Rangers or the Yankees to a World Series title than nobody will remember those 2 games in 2010.

Another Cliff Lee thought

Each day Cliff Lee doesn't sign, it seems like the Rangers, the Yankees and probably some other team add more money to the offer.

Each week that goes by it seems like another year is thrown onto the contract.

What if Cliff Lee waited until just before spring training?

Get the teams all sweating.

He could have a 15 year contract for $375 million.

Hey, it's worth a shot!

Aww... Wittle Derek's Feelings Got Hurt

Now before I get bombarded with Yankee fan e mails calling me a gutless, hating Red Sox fan, let me get a few things out of the way.

1) Derek Jeter is a great Yankee.

2) Derek Jeter has been a wonderful superstar.

3) Derek Jeter belongs in the Hall of Fame.

4) I would have loved to have seen Derek Jeter in a Red Sox uniform.

5) I have praised Jeter on this blog with this post, this post and this post. And I defended Jeter FROM Yankee fans on this post. So I've been as positive and fair minded as a lifelong Red Sox fan can be about #2.

Did you catch all of that?

Good.

Now let's get to the heart of this.
He went from winner to WHINER with that press conference.

Ooooo... free agency was so tough.

Listening to him complain through that press conference was a little startling because he's always played the media game so well. But this should have been the easiest press conference in history.

"All the business stuff aside, I am proud to be a Yankee and hammer this contract out. I know they wanted me back and I wanted to come back. It took a little bit of time but we're here and let's win number 28."

Boom. Easy. Simple. Totally forgettable.

Instead we have tripe like "I was more angry at the process and how I was being portrayed."

Really?
You mean being portrayed as someone asking WAY more than the open market would ever get you?

Because that's what happened.

"I heard greed."

It's funny. So did we. We heard a guy who had already been paid incredibly well for his services and clearly well into the last half of his career essentially being asked to be paid AGAIN for what he did in the past.

But the worst thing was when he said "When the organization says, ’go shop’ when I said I wasn’t going to, yeah, I wasn’t happy about it."

Sorry, but I have to call B.S. on this.

You weren't happy about being asked to find what your actual worth on the open market was? You weren't happy being told "Hey, before we keep shoveling more money to you, how's about seeing what OTHER PEOPLE think your price tag is"?

I wrote that that was the only fair thing to do. To truly find the REAL market value of Derek Jeter and see if the Yankees would match it.

Guess what Derek? The Yankees wanted to make a decision on whether or not to keep you based on reality, not on Yankee prices.

And do you know what? When other teams do that, Derek Jeter has benefitted.

Other teams make decisions of whether or not to keep a player based on the actual open market price. And many times those decisions lead to teams saying "We're not going to match the market price."

And lookee here!
Jeter, did you like playing with John Wetteland?
Jimmy Key?
David Cone?
David Wells?
Roger Clemens?
Chuck Knoblauch?
David Justice?
Mike Mussina?
Jason Giambi?
CC Sabathia?

The Yankees got all of them either through free agency or salary dumps because their original teams didn't ante up.

So you had no problem when OTHER teams made decisions based on costs.

But not when it came to you.
You had to be paid like an elite player, even though you are not anymore, for your intangibles, for which you've been made a millionaire nearly 200 times over.

And he STILL got paid at least twice what any other team would pay him. The Yankees raised the offer even though no other team was bidding on him.

If you ask me it sounds like an awesome process.

A quick question for whomever designed this Sports Illustrated cover

Looking for a pic of Steinbrenner for another post, I stumbled across this Sports Illustrated cover from 2003.

And the premise is clear for the 2003 Baseball preview... pitching wins and George Steinbrenner has paid to make sure he has the best staff.

Pettite, Mussina and Clemens all belong. (David Wells who was also on the team just released his book and I guess was persona non grata.)

And you have Contreras and Weaver... who would turn out to be busts in New York only to lead other teams to the World Series title soon after their Yankee stay ended.

That's all fine and good.
Quick question: WHERE THE HELL IS MARIANO RIVERA?

Remember him? The Hall of Famer in the bullpen? The lynchpin of championships?

Seriously, at no point during the photo shoot did Andy Pettite look around and say "Jeff, Jose... nice to see you. Um where the hell is Mo?"

It struck me as odd.

Vazquez won't flop as a fish

I’ve written some nasty things over the last few years about Javier Vazquez… and got an anonymous reader to lash out at me every time I did.

I got on his case when he was with the White Sox and I made the easy prediction that he was going to be a flop when he returned to the Yankees.

So you might think I am going to kill the Marlins for spending some of their revenue sharing by forking over $7 million to a guy who pitched himself out of a Yankees rotation that desperately needed an innings eater and off a playoff roster that screamed for bullpen depth.

It’s tough to get excited about someone who posted a 5.32 ERA for the season. A guy who posted a 5.96 ERA in August and a 8.84 ERA in September.

Yes, that first number was an 8… and yes he pitched in more than one game.

But truthfully, it is an ideal move for both the Marlins and Vazquez.

Florida should always be an ideal spot for pitchers to revive their reputations. Remember how Todd Jones became an All Star caliber closer in Miami?

Even the perennially awful Armando Benitez found his grove in the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie.

Every once in a while, Vazquez puts together a terrific season that makes everyone think he is an ace. He’s not. He’s a .500 pitcher who throws a lot of innings and lets up a run about every other inning he throws.

He’ll probably go 16-5 next year… his ERA will be in the mid 3’s… he’ll be among the league leaders in innings pitched.

And his one year contract will be up and a team like the Mets or the Angels will overpay him and they’ll be stunned when he doesn’t post those numbers again.

And the back of his baseball card will get more and more cluttered… and he’ll have made over $100 million over his career.

$7 million will be well spent by the Marlins.
Good luck (and thanks again for both of Johnny Damon’s ALCS homers in 2004.)

Will Cliff Lee's free agency be like the end of Superman 2?

There's a great scene in Superman 2 that I will spoil here.
If you haven't seen the movie... it came out nearly 30 years ago. Take your time.

In the scene, the evil Kryptonians led by General Zod have been obsessing over one thing: Capturing and defeating Superman.

And when they cornered him in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman was forced to go into that chamber that takes all of his powers away. When he was in there, Lois Lane was crying, Zod and his two lackies were smiling knowing that they were about to win.

And Lex Luthor, brilliantly played by Gene Hackman, was looking around puzzled. There was something odd happening and he was the only person who noticed (being the smartest character in the movie.)

When Superman came out of the chamber, Zod thought he had won. But actually Superman had reversed the process and all the evil Kryptonians were powerless and Superman crushed General Zod's hand in a moment that made a 10 year old Sully jump up and start cheering and STILL gives this 38 year old Sully goose bumps.

So why the hell am I going over that scene?
Beyond the fact that it is awesome... it kind of reminds me of the Yankees pursuit of Cliff Lee.

The Yankees have been obsessing over Lee since the 2009 World Series when he handed them their only 2 losses. And then this year, it looked like the Yankees were going to pry him loose from the Mariners... only to be outfoxed by the Rangers and have it haunt them in the ALCS when Texas and Lee man handled them for the pennant.

(Jesus Montero, the prospect the Yankees wouldn't part with to get Lee, had better turn out to be good!)

But now in the open market, it is assumed he will leave Texas for New York. Even Nolan Ryan thinks so.

So in this scenario, Cliff Lee is Superman and the Yankees are of course Zod.

Superman is about to kneel and swear his loyalty to Zod and the Yankees.

Lois Lane, crying, would be the Rangers... and frankly the rest of baseball seeing the Yankees get what they want.

In this one?
I'M Lex Luthor looking around, noticing something is wrong.

First of all, if the Yankees are looking to give Lee a seven year deal like they gave Lee's former teammate C. C. Sabathia... that is assuming he will be a premium pitcher in his late 30s.

That's not always a safe bet. Cy Young candidates can break down in an awful hurry. Don't believe me?

Take a look at the top 5 Cy Young finishers for 2007: Jake Peavy, Brandon Webb, Brad Penny, Aaron Harang and Carlos Zambrano.

3 years later you could get all five for a six pack of Sprite.

And before you think I am being just a gloomy glass is half empty guy, remember that at at age 31, he was having back issues.

His numbers in Texas were good but hardly the stellar stats he was piling up on a dreadful Seattle team.

Remember his stretch in mid August when he was getting clobbered?

Do things like "bad backs" tend to get better with age? If he was with the Yankees, he would probably turn to Andy Pettite and ask "Hey, when your back was messed up in your 30s, what did you use?"

And Pettite would reply "Sorry man, they test for that stuff now."

Imagine if injuries catch up with him like those 2007 Cy Young candidates. Isn't a bad back a red flag?

And of course there is the New York factor.
He needs to come up bigger than Clark Kent's alter ego in order to justify a huge contract.

Now Sabathia came up bigger than his waist size when he arrived in 2009. He won the ALCS MVP and looks like he'll be an ace stud for years to come.

He's been the exception.

It's easy to think of Kevin Brown as being the hot head, hand breaking bust blowing Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.

But remember when the Yankees acquired him, he was a stud who was coming off a solid year with the Dodgers and was going to take Roger Clemens spot in the rotation. I still can hear Charlie Steiner describing him as "a warrior."

Think his heroics in the 1997 NLCS and 1998 post season earned him any good will in New York?

How do you think Cliff Lee's Game 1 World Series clubbing this year would have gone over in New York?

How did A. J. Burnett fare? He won the GIGANTIC Game 2 of the 2009 World Series... and that bought him good will for almost 45 minutes.

And if Cliff Lee might not be a fit in New York, there's the question of New York not being the right fit for Cliff Lee.

Sometimes those warning signs of a guy not wanting to play in the big spotlight are not unfounded.

How did Randy Johnson, one of the best pitchers of the last quarter century, do in New York? He was miserable before he threw his first pitch.

Even the great Johan Santana has lost some of his luster since arriving in Queens.

And then there is the bizarre contract circus that's going on in New York.

With Prince Hank sounding off and the team playing the contract haggling with Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter in public, the once stable Yankee organization is slowly looking more and more like the old Bronx Zoo... remember the one where they kept signing big players and couldn't make the playoffs.

And I know this is sacrilege to say, but if things don't go well in the free agent season are the Yankees as big a lock to win a World Series as they used to be?

A team where Rivera isn't there... or only signed for a year?
A team where the veterans are tied up to huge unmovable contracts as they are rewarded for past seasons (when they ALSO made big bucks)?

And remember, this team is getting older and their young players aren't exactly challenging the veterans for playing time.

If their young players were any good, they would have been able to TRADE for Lee in the regular season.

So yeah, Cliff Lee is Superman this off season... but there is ample Kryptonite out there.

The Yankees might very well end up with a crushed hand.

And before any gives me grief for comparing the Yankees to evil General Zod, remember that in this scenario, I'M Lex Luthor!

Now enjoy the awesome scene by clicking here.

The Red Sox need to offer Mariano Rivera a three year contract

Wait a second! The Yankees are playing hardball with Mariano Rivera?

Um… wow.
That is the most staggeringly stupid thing I have ever heard in free agent history.
YES, stupider than the Cubs offering Milton Bradley a long term deal.
YES, stupider than the Rangers making Chan Ho Park one of the top paid pitchers in baseball.

If there is ever a lynch pin to the success of the Yankees since 1996, it has been the dazzling career of Mariano Rivera.

There are some people who think Rivera is overrated and there are some people who poo poo the importance of relievers. “They throw less than 100 innings a year. How much value do they have?”

People who say that about Mariano Rivera are idiots.
That’s not my opinion. I can PROVE they are idiots in a court of law.

Yes, many relievers are overrated. I have argued that Trevor Hoffman, while a terrific pitcher who has had a nice career, is overrated. He has compiled a lot of saves but also has come up short in an alarming number of big games.

The fact that there could be a statistical system that would put Armando Benitez in any form of elite reliever category is almost as mind boggling as that piece of crap Crash winning the Oscar for Best Picture.

But Rivera is different. Year in and year out he is automatic. Year in and year out he snuffs out rallies. Year in and year out he shortens close games to 8 innings.

AND he gives the Yankee line up the confidence knowing that if they just beat up the other team’s middle relief and hand the lead to Rivera, they’ll have a win.

Plus the starting pitchers know that they don’t have to go 9, and their win loss record will look good by the end of the year.

And in the unrelenting pressure cooker that is New York, Yankee fans haven’t REALLY had to worry about the 9th inning for nearly 15 years.

Seriously, right now what reliever would you rather have as your regular closer now?
Brian Wilson? Neftali Feliz? Brad Lidge? Jonathan Papelbon?

Put the stats away for a second (even though Rivera’s 2010 numbers are, as usual, awesome.)

Who puts the opposition on their heels more?
Who makes the other team think “If we don’t at least tie the game in the 8th, we’re DEAD” more than Rivera?

And let’s get down to brass tacks here.
Which Yankee star will be the hardest to replace?

You can find another solid shortstop.
You can find another slugger… you can find another starting pitcher.

But where else is there an immovable object on the mound for the ninth?
Who is going to fill in for him?

Whoever it is, he won’t be as good as Rivera.
And when he proves he isn’t as good as Rivera, EVERYONE in New York will remind him.

Think New York doesn’t eat young players up alive? Talk to Joba Chamberlain. He was supposed to be Joba’s heir apparent in 2007. Now it is 2010 and he’s already a mess and Rivera is still at the top of his game.

And the Yankees want to play hard ball?



I say let them.
But why can’t other teams make a run at him?

Seriously, why should other teams play some B.S. honor code about not bidding on Yankee superstars? It’s not like the Yankees ever say “Hey, we can’t bid on that player! He would never be identified as a Yankee. Let’s not even call his agent.”

NO! They try to gobble up the big players… as is their right.
But guess what? OTHER teams can make a bid on Rivera.

If the Yankees are only offering him a 1 year contract, another team should offer him 2.

And I think the Red Sox should offer him 3 years.

First of all it will give the Red Sox a bullpen going into 2011 of Bard, Papelbon and Rivera.

Are you kidding me? Games would be over in the 6th!

Secondly it will give the Red Sox some flexibility when Papelbon’s free agency comes about after the 2011 season.

And yeah, I think in three years Rivera will still be an elite reliever. Has he shown ANY signs of slowing down?

But most importantly not only will it improve the Red Sox, but it will put the Yankees in unfamiliar territory.

Can you imagine the Yankees moving ahead with a shaky closer? Or even a pretty good closer?

Yankee fans haven’t experienced having a subpar closer since before the 1994 strike… you know the era when they couldn’t make the post season.

Giardi already has suspect bullpen handling skills… let’s see how he does without the no brainer in the ninth!

Decimating the Yankees bullpen while the Rays are dismantling their division winner could make the Red Sox the favorite in the A.L. East.

It’s a great chance to give the Red Sox an all time bullpen to go with a rotation headed by Lester and Buchholz and give the Yankees an gut punch?

Isn’t it worth making the call?
Make the offer.

There’s no way it will happen if they DON’T make the offer.

And maybe it will bring other teams into the bidding. Seeing Rivera on another team can only help the Red Sox win the East.

Will it happen?

Probably not… but remember, when the Yankees played hardball with Andy Pettitte after the 2003 World Series, the Red Sox actually made the highest bid before he signed with Houston.

And 2004 ended up to be a good year for the Sox.

Rivera wants to be loyal to the Yankees?
Have him prove it.