Cisco Kid Was a Friend of Mine: Yankees Option Francisco Cervelli

I guess I knew something was amiss when I saw Jose Molina at the game this afternoon.

I guess I had already become keenly aware of the fact that Molina's 15-day DL stint had been going on several months now; and I had read several articles where he seemed quite unhappy.

I guess it doesn't take a genius to realize that the money the Yankees organization had shelled out to Molina wasn't going to simply be squandered while he sat on his thumb in Scranton for the remainder of the season...

(But then, again...Who knows? I mean, I guess I had reason to think nothing might change, and Molina could learn to be happy...?)

Major League franchises don't just waste money however, so why would I think Molina might never return?

I dunno. Ask Brian Cashman.

Better yet, ask Carl Pavano.

Francisco Cervelli was optioned by the Yankees today. Jose Molina has returned to the roster. I would theorize a few people are relieved...and I theorize a few of those people might actually see the move of Cervelli back to the minors as reasonable and responsible.

Whatever for them....

Sure, I like Molina. He's a fine catcher and I can win the Name-that-Molina game when playing along on SportsCenter because of him.

But...I like Francisco Cervelli heaps better than either Molina or Jorge.

Sacrilege, I know. But, the honest-to-God-truth.

I guess the first time I can honestly recall coming to the realization that there was a person on the planet by the name of Francisco Cervelli, was a year and some change ago...a couple of seasons ago...when I used to peruse the Minor rosters and crunch the stats and play the game of hunt-and-seek-the-next-rookie-Yankee-phenom with myself.

(It was a short-lived game due to the fact that:

a: We have no draft picks to develop-- as we are idiots with regard to trades and really don't give much of a shit for saving our draft picks; and

b: what we really want is a win NOW-- Not in 3 years or 4 years--NOW. We only develop our "prospects," so we can trade them off, usually for some broken- down, ego-centered asshole who will contribute absolutely nothing for our team, aside from a controversial headline or two and perhaps an arrest or sordidly slanderous book, eventually.)

(Makes me wonder if Randy Johnson's shoulder is feeling better this week...)

(And I guess Roger Clemens isn't in prison yet?)

I digress.


I had seen his name, but never really opted to invest interest in the lad, as he was merely in the AA and hadn't really had much experience prior to that. Or so I thought. I was sorely mistaken, and his experience is vast.

Francisco Cervelli (born March 6, 1986, in Valencia, Venezuela) was an international signee by the Yankees in 2003 and played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for Team Italy. He is a Venezuelan of Italian descent.

In Venezuela, Cervelli played shortstop, second base, and sometimes pitched. The Yankees signed him as an international free agent on the stipulation that he would try catching.

Cervelli played in the Dominican Summer League in 2003. He arrived as a switch hitter, but was encouraged to bat right-handed. After struggling to adjust in 2004 and 2005, Cervelli batted .309 for the Single-A Staten Island Yankees in 2006. In 2007, he played for the Tampa Yankees, where he batted .279 with an OBP of .387 and two home runs. Baseball America rated him the 23rd-best prospect on the Yankees prior to the 2008 season.

On March 8, 2008, he fractured his wrist on a controversial play during a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays, when a Rays infielder collided with him at home plate in the ninth inning. He didn't return until June 2008. Cervelli was called up to the Yankees where he made his major league debut on September 18, 2008, as a defensive replacement.

He began the 2009 season with the Double-A Trenton Thunder, until he was called up by the Yankees on May 5, 2009, when Jorge was placed on the 15-day DL. Cervelli made his first major league start on May 7, after Molina injured his quad. He had 3 major league games of experience prior to this call up, and had never played Triple-A. He recorded his first major league hit, a single, on May 8, against Baltimore, while also catching for C.C. Sabathia during a complete game shutout. Cervelli is hitting .269 since his call-up.

The Yankees are 15-8 in games with Cervelli catching.

The Yankees were a game over .500 and 3 1/2 games out of first place when Cervelli arrived. They are now 15 games over and one game out.

Another Yankee prospect sent back to a field where idiots like Kei Igawa rule. Another season of allowing complacent veterans to reside on a field, in a game, during a season where: it really doesn't matter how it all comes out in the end. The contracts are set, the money is guaranteed.

The infield liners are glanced at, the pitches are always called for fastballs, and the latest sunglasses and hairstyles are of chief import.

Again: Whatever...

I'm not going to go into all the stats over our boy Francisco. Quite frankly, I'm too tired and it will only feed my frustration. Suffice it to say: He was beyond impressive. Google it. Discover what I know. And to what conclusion might you arrive? Just another ball player...just another team...just another year...

It's only a game...

Yeah. It is. But...beyond the typical stupid Wednesday I've spent gassing my car and chasing down dental vendors over missing products...Francisco Cervelli was a spark of enthusiasm that I eagerly looked forward to beholding on a daily basis.

The Kid mesmerized me with his natural ability. His composure and stealth against opponents...his knack for drawing the pitcher into a place of confidence...calling pitches with the greatest of ease...opining to flow against the current effectively.

And his bat wasn't all too bad either.

It was Cervelli who ended the 14 inning hit less streak moments after Girardi's ejection against the Braves...


It was Cervelli who suffered a broken wrist during Spring Training against the evil Tampa Bay faction early last season which lead to an everlasting hatred of all things Tampa Bay in my heart and mind...

It was Cervelli who came in when both Posada and Molina fell...having only 3 major league games under his belt at the time...

...from the first moment he appeared until even this present moment, I am grateful and proud to have supported, prayed, laughed, and enjoyed what this phenomenal young man has brought to this team I love...

Heroism.

The Yankee heads say they can see a "place for him in the majors, someday." Inasmuch as I appreciate their well-wishing as they scoot the lad onto the first outgoing bus, I have to wonder: WHO'S TEAM?

Forgive my cynicism. But, I've endured many years as a Yankee fan. I've seen the flavors of the month come and go. I've seen "losers," like Ohlendorf traded away like chattel and re-discovered their thriving lives in places like Pittsburgh...

Hell. Who hasn't once been with us? Mike Lowell, Carlos Pena, the list is endless. I hate it. I hate the way we shell out money for names. I hate the lack of passion and hunger for the game. I hate the smugness based on numbers from a season that never amounted to one damned thing...but a fat worthless paycheck.

Oh...whatever. I'm tired. The Yankees will do what the Yankees will do...and I will stand behind them, even if that means that I don't always agree with what they do...and I will become frustrated when they once again settle for second best...or third...or worse...settle for having the names...having the money...

...but crumbling in the first round...

...if we even get that far.

and...in between it all...I will have the opportunity to see the kids sneak in...when a fat-paid vet gets an ingrown toenail and is on the DL for a month...


then...I will get to see the Ramiro Pena's and the Cody Ransoms and the Francisco Cervelli's of the world...I will get to see them come up and play like unleashed lightning bolts, who will sizzle the world, and dazzle their onlookers...and they will engrave a smile deep into my heart of hearts...then I shall be satisfied...then I shall remember what makes this game so amazing to me...

the hunger...

and the heroes.

"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy." -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Is Josh Beckett Immune from Being Ejected?

"God d-mn it! That was a f---ing ball?!"

This is the story about Todd Tichenor's first four ejections of 2009.

I was outside on my patio yesterday morning...talking on the phone about the game...sipping a Red Bull...watching through the glass door...when I beheld a rukus...

It appeared that Jason Varitek was having an issue with the strike zone NOT being called in his favor, which I found amusing.

Inasmuch as Varitek has been exceedingly brilliant in calling for outside pitches which no batter in their right mind would swing at, Varitek has also mastered the feat of framing said pitches to the exact "sweet spot," of the strike zone (within nano-seconds of catching them) thus causing the umpires to call them for strikes.

Sometimes this framing-effect requires a readjustment of several inches...but Varitek is an ace...a Master of the Grand Illusion...In fact, I'm fairly certain Jason Varitek was a zillionairre pick-pocket in another life...where he was probably also a cross-dresser...but I digress...

"God d-mn it! That was a f---ing ball?!"

One would think if Jason Varitek uttered these words at the officiating umpire, he would be ejected. Well, he was ejected. But Jason Varitek didn't utter these words...

One would think if Terry Francona uttered these words at the officiating umpire, he would be ejected. Well, he was also ejected. But he, also, did not utter these words...

In fact, let's just haul off and toss in a couple of them guys from the Minnesota Twins and eject them, too.

Let's say one of those guys could be Mike Redmond, catcher for the Twins, and let's just say Redmond opted to toss out a few choice words at the officiating umpire...

Words like "I got his arm."

OUT.

And let's wrap it all up neatly into a neat little package of Redmond's manager, Ron Gardenhire, simply inquiring why his catcher was ejected, by asking "Why did you eject him?"

OUT.

It all really started off with Dustin Pedroia. "Mr. Woodland, California," hit a fly ball to right fielder Jason Kubel, who immediately threw it home. Redmond caught the ball and clearly tagged Jeff Bailey, who attempted to slide his arm in at the last second. Tichenor called Bailey safe.

Crew chief Jerry Layne: "I just looked at our replay and it's inconclusive."

Jeff Bailey: "There's no question a tag was made. Did I get my hand in there first? I really can't tell."

Mike Redmond: "I thought I got him at home and that's it. I just said, 'I got his arm.' I didn't swear at him or anything. In 11 years in the big leagues, I've done a lot worse out there and stayed in the game. I didn't expect to get thrown out. I didn't touch him or anything."

Vice president of umpiring Mike Port said he watched some of the game at his office in New York, but he did not feel comfortable commenting on Tichenor's performance until he was able to watch the events, then read Tichenor's report and review the ejections.

Uh huh.

Well then...you may ask...who the hell uttered the words:
"God d-mn it! That was a f---ing ball?!"

Why, I reply:

Mister Josh You-Can't-Eject-Me-Cause-Clearly-I-Have-Diplomatic-Immunity-From-Ever-Being-Ejected-Even-If-I-Curse-The-Very-God-You-Refer-To-On-Your-Printed-Currency-and-Whom-You-Pray-To-When-The-Chips-Are-Down-In-Fact-I-Can-Take-Head-Shots-To-Bobby-Abreu-Whenever-The-Hell-I-Want-And-Still-Stay-In-The-Game Beckett, himself.

All four ejections occured in the seventh inning of the Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins game yesterday, at the discretion of Home Plate Umpire Todd Tichenor.

These are the 48th, 49th, 50th, and 51st ejections within MLB for 2009. There have been roughly 48 games played this year.

a quick muse and thought--

...like fingernails to a chalk board...

...like the slip of your knife while slicing lemons...

...like the explosive burst of a midsummer's moth on your newly waxed windshield...

...chewing foil...a thorn in your sock...sand in your eye...a dead battery...that one driver who cannot figure out what to do when the light turns green...

josh beckett is all of this to me. all of this


and so much more.

yankees / red sox begins again tonight at fenway.

i hold no opinions, whatsoever, for it's outcome. no predictions. no forecasts.

i hold my breath.

if joba hurls one high and inside upon youk, all hell will break loose.

we know this.

if lester hauls off and drills our boy jorge in the shoulder, it will be considered unintentional, however.

thus...i theorize the one who will drill jorge in the shoulder will be javier lopez.

i theorize they'll go after jorge for obvious reasons. THAT, and he's the best producer, relatively speaking. THE MOST DAMAGE.

who would OUR target be? (insert appropriate explanation that bean-ball wars are offensive and immoral and the american league does not conduct itself like those heathen national league anti-heroes.)

our targer will most likely be jason bay.

it might be lowell due to his rbi contributions...

but bay is just open season.

mind you: i abhore HBPS. i hate them. i think they're more inhumane than being forced to watch jonathon papelbon exhale right before he stares down the batter while pursing his lips for 3 minutes.

but

this is the yankees v. boston.

this isn't necessarily emotion and intellect free baseball.

in conclusion...as i actually must show up at work today---

i've seen joba "lights-out," at fenway. i've seen lester melt within 2 innings. i've seen them ALL blow it...i've seen them all seemingly possessed by sandy koufax.

anything can and will happen.

but this ain't september.

if the red sox present with the same demeanor and skill that was displayed in anaheim...we will sweep them.

key to today's win for the yankees: lay low. fly under the radar. work lester's count and get to the bullpen.

ttfn. ~kat

oh good god...

Uhm...yeah.

The post-season.

I mean the really post post-season. The post-season of even football post-season.

19 Days til Opening Day...and...can it get any worse?

yes it can.

(...and why the hell does he have an old tire next to his bed? And NO SHEETS? The guy is a zillionairre and he can't afford sheets?)

In closing, let me state my exhausted efforts at trying to understand this man beyond his contribution to the sport. As stated, my efforts are exhausted. (Thus, I am at liberty to ridicule the bitch.) From all of my perusing of quotes by Alex Rodriguez, I am reduced to using one that might actually make sense to the average reader. Enjoy.

“When you think small and up the middle, good things happen." ~Alex Rodriguez

Yeahoooooookay....I think these words are far more apt:

"Marky got with Sharon, Sharon got Sheriee...She was sharin' Sharon's outlook on the topic of disease. Mikey had a facial scar and Bobby was a racist, they were all in love dyin',

they were doin' it in Texas...

Tommy played piano like a kid out in the rain, then he lost his leg in Dallas he was dancin' with a train. They were all in love with dyin', they were drinkin' from a fountain, that is pouring like an avalanche coming down the mountain. I don't mind the sun sometimes the images it shows...

I can taste you on my lips and smell you in my clothes... Cinnamon and sugary and softly spoken lies, you never know just how you look through other people's eyes..."

Heaven help the 2009 Yankees...

...with my good eye closed...

“Can I buy you a drink?” He repeated, this time his face beginning to blush.

My betting line was taking much longer than usual. I wasn’t so sure who to hate more. The woman at the counter, with her orange-pink hair that matched her pink-orange press-on fingernails…or each fat, balding, cigar-smoking better clogging up the line. Two minutes until post time, the man directly in front of me, spending an eternity on placing his bet, continued to wave his stubby arms while adjusting his thick glasses and reinserting his non-lit cigar nub back into his mouth every 3 seconds.

I found myself drowning my thoughts with the guitar solo from Soundgarden’s “Good Eye Closed.” When the music flows from my mp3 player, into my ears, into my brain, and throughout my bloodstream, it’s a drug I enjoy.

I enjoy riding away from reality…envisioning scenarios of absolute absurdity. Motion Picture Epic clips…the ceiling collapsing, perhaps.

I check the rafters. Steel. Pity. Steel is faily firm.

Refocus, Fat man still waving…cigar still unlit...

A flood. All the money floating from the cash registers…coins sinking…the unaware, and drunk, lingering on the bottom…me, floating and pocketing wet hundreds at the top…

He appeared out of nowhere, tapping me on the shoulder, saying something.

I rip out my headphones, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Can I buy you a drink?” He repeated, this time his face beginning to blush.

“No, thanks. I never touch the shit.” I replied automatically, while turning back to see it was finally my turn to bet. Miss Orange-pink waiting almost impatiently, “Thanks, anyhow.” I said while I took a step forward, “I’ll take $10 on the 1 to win.”

As I reached the last set of double doors at the racetrack, a thought hit me. Like a Mac Truck to a Chevy Luv on the freeway a midnight. In the rain. Going downhill without brakes on black ice.

He asked to buy me a drink. I’ve never so much as talked with the guy a day in my life. Why would I? He was this zillionaire horse owner, trainer, driver…I was just a handicapper. I mean, it was cool and everything, that he was trying to talk with me…but why would he care if I was thirsty or not?

A photo finish. Damn it! Why would there have to be so many photo finishes when it’s 2 degrees outside, pouring down rain? As I watched the instant replay of the finish, I clearly saw I won. I opted to return to Soundgarden and images of catastrophic fun. Looking around for structural weaknesses or other causes for calamity, I saw him through one of the windows. Smiling and raising his glass at me, I wondered how long I had been staring in his direction without noticing him. Instantly I was aware of the contrast, him sitting amidst all of the beautiful women and successful men…the skimpy dresses and 3 piece suits…the ambient lighting and energy-efficient heaters…HDTV’s and booming house music…

Me: blinking in the misty rain while wiping my nose with my glove. I waved back.

“It’s official,” is echoed on the steely speakers overlooking the winner’s circle…myself and a couple of fat, balding men slowly walk back to our eternal line from before. Miss Orange-Pink has been replaced by an elderly woman with a wig so black, it could be imagined a black cat fell asleep on her head, having been drawn to her from an uncontrollable attraction to her blinking fake gold lucky dice earrings.

“With my good eye closed,”…the realization of his encounter resurfacing to my puzzled mind…escaping again…I see the building fill with water…coins and drunks to the bottom…hundreds and me, scrambling atop…

but this time…also afloat...atop…smiling…warm…him…waving me over…

The New York Yankees 2009 Spending Spree: The Quintessential Duct Tape Mouth Gag Response to Lack of MLB Parity

You gotta love the fights within Major League Baseball. I mean, hell, this ain't hockey. No one expects a professional ballplayer to just haul off and deck some mouthy batsman. Then again, we relish the moment it happens...

....You could always count on Kyle to flex some muscle...after all...when you can't find the strike zone with a 100+mph fastball...people begin to get edgy...fastballs whiffin past their heads...I dunno...kinda rude. But hell. That's why they wear helmets, right?

PARITY WITHIN MLB.

Ohdearjesus.

If i hear ONE MORE whining band-wagoner of the Pittsburgh Pirates scream FOUL over the Yankees' recent spending, I will literally hurl.

Now, we all know, the actual term isn't to be referred to. Not in recent days. Yes, yesteryear the term "parity," was used...but...as of the SELIG REGIME, one must appropriately apply the words "competitive balance," to any conversation, written or otherwise, when talking parity.

So, the shite hit the fan. The Yankees bought every single last free agent on the planet and spent a zillion dollars and are thereby destroying major league baseball via their big pockets, monopolizing, and extortion...causing "poorer," teams to disintegrate into a quad-rillion chunks of molten metal, flying through the atmosphere, never to be heard from again...



The evil empire attacking poor Alderaan.

Well, i submit to you: get over your personal hate of the Yankees for just long enough to be intelligent. Inasmuch as I enjoy a passionate argument just like the next guy, an unintelligent-passionate argument is just plain stupid. If you're going to have passion, apply it aptly. Keep your wits about you.

The concept that the New York Yankees have been successful in buying championships has long since been disproved. Thank God. As a Yankee fan, witnessing year after year after year, the mismanagement of the acquisitions, the whittling away of our possible prospects, and the collection of has-been free agents; I wholeheartedly applaud Tampa Bay for demonstrating: THE LITTLE GUY CAN FLOURISH.

(yeah. when you lose eternally, you get HELLA TIGHT DRAFT PICKS, HONEY, and can make the post-season, eventually.)

I digress.

PARITY.

IS THE SPENDING OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES EQUATING TO A DIMINISHED EQUALITY OF COMPETITIVENESS WITHIN MLB?

let's review some of the facts together, shall we?

Since 1995, ALL BUT 6 TEAMS HAVE MADE IT BEYOND THE ALDS/NLDS AND HAVE APPEARED IN EITHER THE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES OR THE WORLD SERIES.

ALL BUT 6.

In the ENTIRE LEAGUE.

Of those 6...many issues revolved around team ownership, or management...but...money, or lack of money by no means was the PRIMARY REASON for failure-to-thrive.

What other sport can declare that nearly every team within their entire league has made a post-season appearance within 13 seasons?

There is only 1 World Series winner who had a payroll over $100 MILLION DOLLARS:

THE BOSTON RED SOX.

Twice.

Clearly...there is more than 1 team who has spent over $100 MILLION DOLLARS, in order to make the playoffs and/or win the World Series.

Fact is: there are 7.

NYY: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07
BOS: 04, 05, 07, 08
LAA: 04, 05, 07, 08
CHI: 08
NYM: 06
LAD: 08
CHC: 08

TEAMS WHO SPENT OVER $100 MILLION DOLLARS AND DID NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IN THE YEAR THEY SPENT OVER $100 MILLION DOLLARS:

BOS: 01,02
ATL: 08
NYM: 03, 05, 07, 08
SEA: 07, 08
LAD: 01, 03, 07
CHI: 06, 07
DET: 08

TEAMS WHO SPENT OVER $200 MILLION DOLLARS AND DID NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IN THE YEAR THEY SPENT OVER $200 MILLION DOLLARS:

NYY: 08

TEAMS WHO NEVER, IN THE HISTORY OF THEIR TEAM PAYROLL, EVER SPENT $100 MILLION DOLLARS AND, IN FACT, DID MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS:

STL: 00, 01, 02, 04, 05, 06
ARI: 99, 01, 02, 07
CLE: 99, 01, 07
FLA: 03
HOU: 99, 01, 04, 05
MIL: 08
MIN: 02, 03, 04, 06
OAK: 00, 01, 02, 03, 06
PHI: 07, 08
SDP: 05, 06
SFG: 00, 02, 03
COL: 07
TBR: 08

Wow..based on this evidence...OUTSPENDING BY NO MEANS IS OUT-COMPETING.

...And, we ARE talking about "competitive balance within the MLB," right?

Because we certainly cannot simply be espousing some emotional anti-Yankee TOO MUCH SPENDING/DESTROYING THE LEAGUE diatribe to the whole world in response to the Yankees' acquiring Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira, right?

(A cute little side note to the Yankee-haters: uh...even IF the Yankees hauled off and picked up Manny, they'd STILL be SPENDING LESS IN 2009 THAN THEY SPENT IN 2008.)

I submit to you, the pesky Oakland Athletics have opted to NEVER raise their payroll to $100 MILLION DOLLARS,and they have made the playoffs 5 times. Those pesky Cardinals have also showed up in Ooctober 6 times in 9 years; without spending even half of what the Yankees spend.

IF the contention of all the Yankee-hatin' NO-PARITY-IN-MLB-OH-GOOD-GOD-GIVE-US-A-SALARY-CAP-LORD-SELIG is correct...and spending increases competitive imbalance...then please explain to me HOW the St. Louis Cardinals have managed to appear in the playoffs WITHOUT EVER SPENDING $100 MILLION DOLLARS, EVER, ON THEIR PAYROLL---> 6 TIMES in the last 10 years?

Please show me the clear evidence that exists to differentiate SPENDING=COMPETITIVE IMBALANCE when the mean differential between SPENDING divided by PLAYOFF APPEARANCES between a NON-SPENDER and the HIGHEST SPENDER is 1.

Since 1999: St. Louis spent less than $100 MILLION DOLLARS and made 6 playoff appearances.

The Yankees have repeatedly out-spent the entire league every year since 1999, and have made merely 7 playoff appearances, by contrast.

There are 7 teams who have spent over $100 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, who amassed 14 failed seasons, never even securing a position within the post season.

Conversely, there are 13 teams who have NEVER SPENT OVER $100 MILLION DOLLARS, EVER, who, over the last 10 years, amassed 37 playoff appearances.

It is an unintelligent argument to contend that consistent competitiveness and spending are related.

I would suggest, based on the overwhelming evidence, that the opposite be true. In order to be consistently competitive within the MLB and to secure a post season position, NEVER SPEND OVER $100 MILLION DOLLARS.

...Then again...I could be wrong...

A salary cap is NOT the answer for the MLB. The Players Association would NEVER allow it, we'd have a strike, and Selig knows full well how much money would be on the line.

I don't believe the league is unequally competitive, based on the achievements of nearly all teams. I do, however, believe many team owners and/or CEO'S are highly irresponsible, apathetic, and greedy, when it comes to seeking further growth and profit for their team and it's players.

If I were to suggest any remedy for teams with less financial aptitude: I would suggest an adjustment of the revenue sharing and luxury taxes, HOWEVER: it would only make sense to do so with an enforced stipulation from team owners and management, that they be held accountable for re-investing those monies back into draft bonuses, player development, and payroll. And NOT to be used to line their own pockets while their team remains in ruin and ineffectuality.

“Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.” - Fulton J. Sheen.

to CC? or NOT to CC? that is the question...

it never ceases to amaze me...the twists and turns, the seeming activty and/or LACK of activity in the off-season...

last year, we had the whole a-rod bullshit. hank all espousing how a-rod can just haul off and DIE if he so chose to...yankee fans all up in arms about their beloved Hall of Famer to be...a-rod wandering home, traversing the lonely path like some prodigal son...telling the world his tales of demented turmoil suffered at the hands of scott boras. poor, misunderstood a-rod...

somehow, some way, deals are made. people are acquired, people are traded, or people are acquired for their future trade value, people are offered arbitration, people file for free agency, arbitration hearings occur...rule 5 draft happens...

hotstove.

i don't do rumors. that's just me. i really don't have the time nor interest in crunching the possibilities.

just like the virus that invaded one of our computers at work last week...or it was a trojan horse, which someone told me is really just a virus, or whatthehellever...THE DEAL WAS: the anti-viral software saw EVERYTHING as "potentially dangerous."

ummmm? POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS? well, forgive me if i'm wrong (and i don't think i am) but...what in life isn't POTENTIALLY dangerous? i mean, really. given the right circumstances, EVERYTHING is lethal. a feather in a tornado could shoot into your skull and kill you. waking up is POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS with reference to all the ill-fated occurances of DANGER whilst being awake. falling asleep is POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS with reference to all the ill-fated occurances of danger while asleep. so yeah. POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IS CHICKENSHIT.

i say, something like EMPERICALLY PROVEN TO BE LETHAL is good. you got solid stuff there.

or something like KISS YOUR HARD DRIVE GOODBYE, ALREADY would suffice.

POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS is just about as annoying as mlb rumors, hot stove, and the like.

i want to know the bottom line. is the bitch on board, with a contract, and for how long, is there a trade clause, are there incentives and why?

that's all.

this whole SO-AND-SO SAID THEY MIGHT ENJOY PLAYING ON THE EAST COAST thing is beyond stupid. why would anyone take the time to write, print and distribute this?

this question was answered by a friend not long ago...who said their favorite time of the entire season revolved around the off season. (the fact that this friend's favorite team pretty much clears LAST PLACE in the entire league every year may have something to do with it...) he explained it was an opportunity to muse on the possibilities...to survey possible impacts with rival teams and to dream of what a perfect scenario would be.

wake up, fool. this is the real world.

when your team offers some dude $140 million to pitch for them, and he doesn't so much as acknowledge their existence,

i say: LET HIM POUND SAND.

as hank said of a-rod last year: IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO PLAY FOR US, THEN WE DON'T WANT HIM.

but cashman isn't quite that scientific. abstracts must be involved. look at the success of pursuing big tickets like pavano, johnson, wright...back in 2005.

we neeeeeeded big ticket pitchers. forget player development. let's glean the free agent market and take back our rightful position of ABSOLUTE EMPOWERMENT within mlb...after all, one cannot have the boston red sox winning the world series AGAIN, can we?

so we leveraged. we pimped. we bartered. but mostly WE BOUGHT. pavano, wright, johnson.

for a 4 year contract on carl pavano, we received 145 innings of service in 26 games. period. in 4 years. (randy johnson, by contrast, covered 225 innings in 34 games in 2005, alone.) fortunately for the yankees, jaret wright became a black hole vacuum for all flying objects and was allowed to benefit the team by remaining on the bench. safety first.

To CC? Or not to CC? That is the question...

i say, withdrawl the offer.

i say remember the fall out of pursuing those players who have been ambivalent about being pursued. when it gets to the point where the object of your affection and conquest is ramming his porsche into a tractor just to avoid being near you (but still getting paid)...you have a problem.

i agree with hank. with what hank said LAST YEAR: (when hank was speaking for the yankees and hal hadn't arrived to the place where he and the rest of the free world had realized that hank should remain quiet and hal should be talking...)

yeah...i agree with hank today. let hank get on the horn with cc. cause you know what? i sure as shit will NOT sit idly by for 4 more years listening to some deadbeat athlete complain of his lack of empathy for the unhappiness he is so sorely enduring, being on a team he never had an interest in, and raking in the fat paychecks that enable him to buy warehouses to store his own lifetime supply of aloe-vera-kleenex.

“If you don’t want to be a Yankee and paid what you’re being paid, we don’t want you, that’s the bottom line. You’d be hard-pressed to argue that point...you don’t understand the magnitude of being a Yankee and understand what that means..I think it’s pretty obvious.” -Hank Steinbrenner

In parting with this "to CC, or not to CC," thought...i'd also like to inject a little image of today's reality. as of today...we have 3 or 4 starting pitchers. i say this loosely, as one's definition of a starting pitching may involve a player who has the ability to pitch somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 innings a season, has had the experience of carrying the entire weight of a game on his shoulders, and has the ability to ensure a possible victory via the utilization of his skills at pitching against particular players effectively.

THAT being the case, we really have 1 starting pitcher. as of today. this would be wang.

joba, hughes, and aceves have not had the mlb experience to qualify within the scope suggested above. however, inasmuch as andy pettitte may offer us a 5. era if he were to be sought to return to the yankees, he would also gobble up 200+ innings. now look. i'm not saying i'm down with 5. era pitchers...but someone who will consistently eat up innings would be nice. as things stand, the only options for possible work-horses involve kennedy, britton, and a handful of others. fact dictates these possibilities are EMPERICALLY PROVEN TO BE LETHAL. kiss your post-season goodbye...

thus. as we sit by the phone with our hearts a-skippin' and our breath held...waiting for "MISTER 250-PLUS-POUNDS / 222 INNINGS PITCHED OVER THE LAST 8 YEARS MESSIAH," to return our call...
andy pettitte has been sitting on hold, at a corner phone booth, in the middle of the night, rain falling, hearing "your business is important to us, please continue to hold, someone will be with you shortly..."

"Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."