A lost weekend: I am positively peeved at the state of the Yankees these days

Behind the scenes at Squawkers headquarters

Last week, I was talking with a fellow blogger about writing. And I mentioned about how sometimes I struggle to write and spend a long time on one piece. Other times, when I have a topic I feel very strongly about, I want to get to a computer as soon as possible to bang out an impassioned blog entry in a really short time.

Well, after this horrible weekend in Yankeeland, where the Yanks got swept by the Toronto Blue Jays and now only have a 1 1/2 game lead in the division, I am about to type like Kermit the Frog at the keyboard!

First of all, we have Joe Girardi's mismanagement of the Yankees' pitching. (An aside: does anybody ever use the phrase "first of all" to say something good? Like "First of all, I'm taking you to Per Se for dinner -- my treat!")

On Friday, Andrew Miller only threw six pitches in the ninth inning of a 1-1 tie game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He certainly could have pitched a second inning. But Joe instead goes to rookie Branden Pinder, who promptly blows the game, giving up a solo home run to Jose Bautista.

Then on Saturday, in what the Yankees' fan blog Pinstripe Alley called "Joe Girardi gave away the game 2: Electric Boogaloo," Joe leaves in Ivan Nova, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and who complained of a "tired arm" just a few weeks ago, even though Nova went over 100 pitches for the first time since before that surgery. It was clear Nova was done Saturday in the sixth, after he gave up two walks and a single. And Adam Warren was fully warmed up. So why the heck didn't Girardi take Nova out with the bases loaded? Instead, he leaves him in, Nova gives up a grand slam in a scoreless game to Justin Smoak, and the game is lost. Good grief.

Second, we have the immortal Stephen Drew getting crucial at-bats this weekend and not being pinch-hit for. It happened on Friday and on Sunday. Sounds like a perfect opportunity for Garrett Jones, but instead Girardi keeps his faith in Drew. When is the Stephen Drew Experience going to end? He must have really incriminating photos of both Girardi and Brian Cashman; it's the only thing that explains why he still has a job on this team! Enough! This team has gone 26 innings now without scoring. Why does Drew still have a spot in this lineup? Is this more of what Joe calls "strategy"?

To top it all of, we had multiple dumb fan moves. First, some knuckleheaded Yankee fan tossed back Yankee-killer Bautista's Sunday home run, and hit Brett Gardner in the head. The "throwing the ball back on the field" tradition should be left with the Cubs, where it started. It's just dumb. What are the fans proving? As Yankee analyst Jack Curry astutely pointed out when it comes to what he calls an "idiotic" thing to do, all that happens when a fan throws the ball back is that the ball boy gives it to another fan. And what I would like to add is this: Joey Bats isn't losing a moment of sleep over the home run ball being thrown back. The only thing this dumb maneuver proves is that the fan who tossed back the ball is a tool.

Also, Mark Teixeira got into it with a fan over a foul ball in the ninth. (Fans also need to know not to interfere when their team is trying to catch the ball!) Tex talked in the postgame about how fans should "insult not assault." Curry made a joke about that sounding like a great name for a punk rock band. I agree!

Anyhow, I am very irate over the state of the Yankees. They need to make up ground in Cleveland this week. Or I am going to be even more cranky than I am now!

Shocker! One of the Squawkers correctly guesses a John Sterling home run call!

I didn't get to watch any of the Yankee games this weekend, but I do have some opinions on a few Yankee-related things. More on that in a sec.

Instead, I ran in two road races, went out to dinner with friends, checked out the Morrison Hotel art gallery, visited the new location of the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Meatpacking District, and walked the entire High Line, including the new section. For once in my life, I actually had a life this weekend!

By the way, the Whitney is a must-see. Not only is there some remarkable art worth checking out, but the views from the building's terraces are just breathtaking. It is absolutely stunning. I will be back here. Soon!

And the new High Line section, which goes up to 34th Street towards the Hudson River, is also amazing. I used to work in that neighborhood when I was at the Daily News, and it is rapidly changing. (It was pretty much a dump when I was there!) I will also be back there. Soon!

Oh, and I saw the Staten Island leash lady with my own eyes! I was walking on Midland Avenue when I saw a man walking his dog -- and his girlfriend. And yes, she was wearing a dog collar. This was at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning! To which Squawker Jon asked 1) did I throw her a bone, and 2) if this were really the leash couple, or shameless copycats!

Anyhow, now that I have completed the "Lisa's weekend" portion of this Squawk, I can talk about two amazing things.

Jose Pirela hit his first career homer this weekend. Every time a new Yankee hits their first homer, Squawker Jon and I try to figure out what the call will be. Last night, I heard what Sterling's call was, so I made Jon guess. And after a few tries, he actually got it! It is: "Jose Pirela! The Most Happy Fella!" Jon figured given Jon's (and Suzyn)'s love of show tunes, it would be a natural! However, he is a little disgusted with himself that he could actually channel Sterling's mind here. Hang your head in shame, Jon!

Oh, and how about CC Sabathia showing such passion? Check out the clip below before somebody pulls it. You can hear a slew of curses unleashed, including the F-bomb! I was tremendously entertained by this.

I'm calling it now: A-Rod will hit HR No. 660 against Matt Harvey and the Mets this weekend!

Squawker Jon and I were getting a bite to eat on Friday night when we heard that Alex Rodriguez had hit home run No. 657. It was almost as if the homer were a statement against Joe Girardi batting him sixth (!) that night, even though Alex was the hottest hitter on the team. I quickly did the math in my head and declared: "A-Rod's gonna hit 660 off Matt Harvey!" in the Subway Series next weekend. I also posted my declaration on social media for posterity.

Later on that evening, A-Rod hit No. 658, and it seemed, given him hitting four home runs in 10 days, as if he could get two more homers this weekend. No matter. Given how much A-Rod has a flair for the dramatic, I just couldn't see him matching Willie Mays when the Yankees were on the road. No, I think he is going to do it at home, most likely in the Subway Series, and most likely against Matt Harvey, the biggest name on the New York Mets. And now that the Mets are the hottest team in baseball, with 10 wins in a row, this will make him setting the record even sweeter! Of course, I could be wrong, and A-Rod could go hitless for the weekend (and Squawker Jon could mock me mercilessly!), but I am still sticking to my prediction!

In this morning's New York Post, Ken Davidoff had some conflicting "inside details" about what will happen when Alex hits 660.

According to two sources familiar with the situation, when Rodriguez goes deep with number 660, the Yankees will have a precise period of time — two weeks, as per one of the sources — to declare this as a marketable milestone. If they were to do this, then Rodriguez would sign over the rights to his image and associated branding for the price of $6 million. 

I don't buy this, and here's why: If you were to be selling branded stuff revolving around this, you would need it ready to go at the time that people would buy the items. That would mean having it made up at the time A-Rod hits #660. Remember how Derek Jeter wore a hat and t-shirt with a logo of himself honoring his hitting #3000 in the post-game press conference after he got his 3000th hit? Remember how Steiner Sports was selling autographed merchandise before that milestone, which Jeter signed when he skipped the All-Star Game? Two weeks after #660 is ancient history.

Brian Cashman (l.) and Randy Levine spotted
visiting their attorney to discuss the
A-Rod milestone controversy.

Davidoff also writes that "another person involved in the dispute claims Rodriguez is entitled to his $6 million bonus money immediately upon hitting home run 660." This seems much more likely. The rest of this stuff is Yankee spin, like the way that they think that not mentioning the home run milestone in their press materials will keep it from being a milestone. Who is advising the Yankees -- Lionel Hutz?

Another leak to Davidoff concerns the idea that the Yankees could bring up in the arbitration hearing "past transgressions, including some that have yet to be affirmed," like A-Rod's relationship with Anthony Galea. But couldn't A-Rod's people bring up stuff on the Yankees, like the likelihood that they knew that he (and other players) were juicing? Or bring up the fact that the Yankees are marketing Andy Pettitte, an admitted PED user, even giving him a retired number, a plaque in Monument Park, and his own day?

Aside from A-Rod's flair for the dramatic, I think Alex will hit 660 at home, whether against Matt Harvey or some other pitcher, because of the fact that he will get a huge ovation and a curtain call when he does so. And it is going to be hard for the Yankees to claim that they cannot market his home run milestone if a big crowd, many of them wearing A-Rod shirts, roar in approval of his achievement! Not to mention if A-Rod's teammates celebrate it on the field.

But then again, the leadership of this team is known to talk out of both sides of their mouth. Like this gem in today's paper from Girardi to George King of the Post about A-Rod's steroid suspension: "He paid the consequences and we had to struggle through it because we didn’t have him."

Let me get this straight: Girardi and Cashman and Levine and Hal Steinbrenner have been trying to marginalize A-Rod and get him off the team for years now, but they are somehow the victims here, struggling through the 2014 season without Rodriguez? The same A-Rod that Girardi has had bat sixth and seventh this season, while he had the washed-up Carlos Beltran bat third? Really? Good grief.

In other news, did you see ESPN's Andrew Marchand's entertaining recap of A-Rod sparring with an out-of-town writer? The reporter kept on asking Alex over and over about A-Rod being a "villain" and being booed on the road, to which he finally responded:

A-Rod: I've been booed for 15 years, buddy. I don't know if you haven't been around. It's been one long boo for 15 years.

Love it -- especially his use of "buddy." I do the same thing! If I have called you "buddy" or dude" when I'm talking to you, it is not a compliment!

Joe Girardi makes it clear: Managing Derek Jeter's retirement tour is more important than trying to make the playoffs

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi actually used to be unafraid to make the right decision for the good of the team, even if it ruffled some feathers. Remember, he batted the struggling Jorge Posada ninth against the Boston Red Sox, causing the catcher to have his sitdown snit and refuse to play. Of course, Girardi also pulled and benched Alex Rodriguez in the 2012 playoffs multiple times, to the point where he even chose playing the struggling Eric Chavez (!) over A-Rod.

But when it comes to Derek Jeter, it is clear that despite Girardi saying back in April that "I wasn’t hired to put on a farewell tour,” that is exactly what he is doing right now. Why else would he keep Jeter in the No. 2 spot, even though the captain had, as the New York Post's Joel Sherman notes, "the AL’s worst OPS in August at .487" for hitters with more than 100 plate appearances? (Jeter hit all of .207 in August, with a measly .226 on-base percentage.) Why would Girardi be so defensive with the media yesterday for them daring to question his lineup choices?

Girardi defends himself

As ESPN New York reported, Girardi accused the media of picking on Jeter and singling him out, and then complained, "So I move him? Who am I going to put there? That's my question." He also argued that Jeter should be batting second, saying, according the Daily News, that "I consider us kind of to be in playoff mode right now, because we obviously need to win games,” because "throughout his career, [Jeter's] been clutch in the playoffs." Note: Paul O'Neill was clutch in the playoffs, too. Is he going to start in right field now?

Sure, Jeter is not the only problem with this team, but Girardi getting so defensive and insistent that the Captain should stay in his No. 2 spot, even though his numbers over the past month have been horrible, is troubling. Most players with stats like that wouldn't even be starting, let alone getting the second-most at-bats of anybody on the team.

I go back and forth on this issue. A few weeks ago, I was asked by Syracuse radio show host Mike Lindsley whether Jeter should be moved down, and I didn't think it would make a difference. But since then, Martin Prado has been the hottest hitter on the team, and Jeter has struggled even more. So it would have made sense to put Prado (who batted seventh last night) further up in the lineup, and Jeter further down. But because Girardi is indeed managing Jeter's retirement tour now, not for a playoff run, the captain stays where he is. (I know Prado may be injured after last night's game, but he still should have been higher in the lineup.)

Look, I don't think the Yankees are making the playoffs anyway. But the fact is that the team isn't hitting, and moving the players around the lineup couldn't hurt. Girardi complains that the media is singling Jeter out, but the manager is, as Newsday's David Lennon points out, singling Jeter out himself by refusing to even consider moving him.

Yankee beat writer defends Girardi

Sportswriter Brendan Kuty of the Newark Star-Ledger defended Girardi's lineup choices, writing:

"Dropping Jeter would be a bigger distraction than not dropping him has been to date. Because what if his replacement isn't much better? Or, worse, what if it at all damages the relationship between Jeter and the Yankees?"

Kuty also writes that the Yankees should worry more about protecting "Jeter's pristine legacy" than "any false playoff hopes."

Hmmm. I thought the Captain was the ultimate team-first guy. So why wouldn't he want what is best for the team? Why would doing what is best for the team damage things? Come to think of it, why wouldn't Jeter himself suggest that it was time to move him down the lineup, and take the heat off his manager for doing so?

On that crazy retirement patch

Speaking of that selfless, team-first player, how about the fact that a team that doesn't even put names on the back of the uniforms is putting Jeter's name on patches on their hats and jerseys for the last month of the season? (Who needs tradition when you can make even more money?) And how creepy is it going to be when Jeter himself wears patches honoring himself? Even more creepy than Jeter starring in a commercial with everybody kissing his tuchis, or wearing shoes calling himself the King of New York. (Cue the Jeter defenders writing in to say sexist things. But guess what? That doesn't make the Jeter patch and the Jeter cleats and the Jeter Re2pect commercial  any less self-aggrandizing or obnoxious. And guess what else? Jeter agreed to all of this nonsense.)

Of course, Jeter and Steiner Sports and the Yankees will make a mint selling these special hats and jerseys, particularly the game-used ones.  ESPN's Darren Rovell reported yesterday that Jeter game-used jerseys currently go for $25,000 (!) each. Undoubtedly the ones with the special patch will go for even more. But at what cost?

It's funny how so much of what purportedly made Jeter special -- his humility, his team-first attitude, his supposed desire not to draw attention to himself -- have been completely obliterated over the last few years, culminating in this debacle of a retirement tour. "At what point is the Jeter worship enough?" I asked last month "When does it end?" I guess it never ends, not until the team becomes the New York Jeters, who play at Jeter Stadium. Good grief indeed.

Brian Cashman makes bizarre claim in Masahiro Tanaka's Tommy John story

Oh, great. One of the only reasons to have hope with the Yanks this year, Masahiro Tanaka, is injured with a small tear on his ulnar collateral ligament on his pitching elbow. And the three doctors he saw in Seattle yesterday all recommend rest and Platelet-Rich-Plasma injections -- a six-week plan that potentially could get him back on the mound in September, without Tommy John surgery.

But call me skeptical that this will work -- rest didn't work for Matt Harvey or most of the pitchers who ultimately needed Tommy John surgery. As ESPN's Wally Matthews points out, if Tanaka were to get the surgery now, he would be ready by next year's All-Star break. If he doesn't, he won't be back until 2016. As Matthews writes:

It's not my money, my player or my team, but if it was, I'd seek a fourth opinion on Tanaka's torn UCL, and then offer one of my own. Do the surgery now. Get it over with, get the rehab started, and get Tanaka back on the mound as quickly and as safely as possible.

I agree -- I think this is just prolonging the inevitable.

But Brian (Supergenius) Cashman contends that this program has worked for lots of Yankee pitchers, although he refused to name a single one, saying "I wouldn't say" who was able to stave off TJS by rest and rehab.

Brendan Kuty of NJ.com writes about Cashman's bizarre assertion:

But it might already be hard for fans to remain confident in Tanaka's plan. That's because neither Cashman nor Girardi offered examples of previous success stories. In Cashman's case, he didn't want to discuss them. "Some of which are pitching elsewhere," he said. "Some of which have pitched for us in the past and now retired. Some of which, you know, we have in the minors."

Okay, Brian. Name one! Is that too much to ask for? You would think that if multiple Yankees in the organization had been able to successfully rehab a torn UCL by rest and rehab, that Cashman would be pleased to reveal their names, especially given that the track record on this issue in MLB isn't good -- virtually everybody with a torn UCL ends up needing Tommy John surgery. Yes, Adam Wainwright was able to put off the surgery for a few years, but he still needed it.

Or maybe Cashman is, you know, full of it. Shocker.

And so much for that tough New York media. Kuty is the only one I could find who questioned Cashman's ridiculous claims. He writes regarding Cashman and Joe Girardi contending that this had worked for others (but Girardi, unlike Cashman, never contended they were people in the Yankee organization):

But the way showing your work earned you extra points on an elementary school mat test, dropping a few names might instill confidence in those paying for seats and beers and hot dogs at Yankee Stadium when they feel like their team's playoff hopes are hanging by a partially torn ligament.

Yeah, like that will ever happen. Cashman is the Teflon GM in this town, and the next time he is confronted on his nonsense by the NYC media will be the first time! No, we're just all supposed to believe his lies about all those successful Yankee pitchers who miraculously avoided Tommy John surgery by rest and rehab. Good grief.

On Michael Pineda and his strange addiction to pine tar

As longtime Squawker readers know, I opposed trading for Michael Pineda from Day One. And even though, two years later, it turns out that Jesus Montero hasn't turned out as planned, I still have some real doubts about Pineda.

Sure, he has pitched well this season. But he also has some strange addiction to pine tar, something that maybe could be featured on that TLC show. How self-destructive do you have to be to 1) lie the first time you are caught with pine tar, claiming it was "dirt," and 2) when you have to know the Red Sox are watching your every move, go put the pine tar on again in the second inning against your team's toughest rivals. And 3) do it so blatantly, too -- how is it I could see from watching the TV at the gym that he had pine tar on his neck, but apparently Joe Girardi didn't (or didn't care)?

After all, baseball isn't just about having strong skills; it is about being mentally strong. And about keeping your team in the game. And while I did actually feel a little sorry for Pineda after the game, when he seemed overwhelmed by the crush of reporters, I don't ultimately have a heck of a lot of sympathy for him.

Nor do I have much sympathy for the Yankees organization as a whole. Either they didn't know Pineda has the pine tar on his neck, which shows that they are not paying attention, or they did know, and they didn't care. Or perhaps they were dumb enough to think that John Farrell wouldn't do anything this time, even though he didn't have a pine tar using pitcher on the mound this time. (It is hard to swallow, though, that Farrell is so concerned about this issue, given how some of his own pitchers cheat the same way. Not to mention David Ortiz. But I digress.)

Here's the thing that most concerns me. I have no idea whether the pine tar somehow actually does something to make Pineda pitch better this year. But I think he thinks it does. So after he got rocked in the first inning, he went back to it. And that addiction to it should be very concerning to those in Yankeeland.

What's up with Hal Steinbrenner's magical mystery tour?

So I see that Hal Steinbrenner made the media rounds yesterday, telling reporters and sports yakkers gems like "I think Brian [Cashman] did a great job" as general manager. (What high standards, eh? If Cashman did a great job this year, then I would hate to think what Hal considers a bad job?) I wonder what took Hal so long to finally speak out about the season. After all, it ended 10 days ago. (And it ended pretty much exactly like I predicted in March -- I said the team would not finish higher than third place, or win more than 86 games, and that is virtually what happened.)

 After all, Mariano Rivera tributes aside, this season was a debacle. And Hal, while giving lip service to the team's goals about a championship, sounded pretty blase about the whole thing. He seems to think that if you clap your hands and believe in fairies, that is enough. He told Joel Sherman this about the quotes about his father posted around Yankeeland:

“My favorite is Churchill who said: A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity and an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty,” Hal said, leaning forward for the kind of emphasis that would make his old man proud. “My job is to be an optimist.”

Hal, here are a few other Winston Churchill quotes you ought to pay attention to:

“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.”

"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often."

"It's time for Brian Cashman, Randy Levine, and Lonn Trost to go." (Okay, Churchill didn't really say that, but I bet he would have if he were still alive!)

Anyhow, the whole reason, it seems to me, for Steinbrenner's magical mystery tour yesterday is to put pressure on Joe Girardi to re-up as manager ASAP. I think Joe has less than a 50-50 chance of returning, though -- that's what I said on Facebook on the final game of the year.

The Yanks want him to re-sign without hearing what other teams have to say, though -- they have refused to give him permission to talk to other teams. I have to agree with Wally Matthews of ESPN in wondering what the Yanks are afraid of here. Matthews writes:

If it's fair for them to ask Girardi to make up his mind before the end of the month, then it is fair to grant him permission to talk to whoever else might be interested in him. That is what constitutes a good-faith negotiation. And you would think that the New York Yankees, who drink from the richest font of sports revenue in the world, would have nothing to fear from going up against smaller-market clubs like the Cubs and Nationals. 

Run, Joe, run! Away from this team. The Yanks are going nowhere next year.

It's about time: Yankees are really ready to rumble

Are the New York Yankees really in it to win it? Finally, this team is acting like a playoff one – and so is Joe Girardi, who is finally making the moves you need to make if you want to see this team make it into October.

Aside from the Yankees’ great play as of late (they should have won all six games in this homestand so far if it weren’t for that bullpen implosion) a few other things give me hope:

Phil Hughes is knocked out of the starting rotation

Fortunately, the Phil Hughes Experience is coming to an end, which is good news for Yankee fans who actually want to see their team win and not be knocked out of the game by the second or third inning. Hughes is leading the league in one thing this season – the most games where he was knocked out before the end of the fifth inning!

It was shocking to me that Girardi had him start the game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, given that pretty much every game is a must-win these days. Why put your team out of it by putting Hughes as the starting pitcher? Fortunately, the rain cooperated, and kept Hughes from finishing his start, which gave the Yankees the chance to put up that epic eight-run inning, the inning White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson said was the worst he had ever announced.

Anyhow, David  (I nearly wrote Aubrey) Huff is starting against Boston this weekend, which at least gives the Yanks as good a chance as any to win. Hooray!

Mariano Rivera pitching in the eighth

I was also pleased last night to see that Mo was brought into the game in the eighth inning when David Robertson couldn’t get out of a jam. With so few games left, every single one is a must-win, and I am glad Girardi took action instead of watching the lead totally disappear. Besides, it’s not like the Yanks have to keep Rivera fresh for next year – this is it.

Joba Chamberlain being banished to Never-Never Land

I try to find good in every Yankee, but it is very hard with Joba these days. IMHO, he should have been DFAed after his trampoline disaster. You know what you need to know about Chamberlain as a person? Pretty much every single team and opposing player to face the Yankees this year has said or done something to honor Mariano Rivera, from all the gifts he had received, to the reaction of the players on both teams at the All-Star Game. Even Squawker Jon was on his feet when Mo came into a Yankee game we attended earlier this year as a sign of respect. 

Yet Joba gets into a squabble with Rivera in front of reporters, telling him not to shush him when he was being a loudmouth. It takes a special kind of jerk to be against Rivera, but that’s our Joba!

Anyhow, after Sunday’s debacle, when Joe Girardi actually thought it was a good idea to pitch him in a close game, I never want to see Chamberlain in a game for the Yankees again. Enough already. At the very least, it appears now that Girardi will not ever put him in an important situation again. Nor  should he.

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I will be at the game tonight, to see the first of the four Yankees-Red Sox games in the Bronx this weekend -- will watch the other three games on TV. This is the first time in a while that the games have any real buzz – partly due to the standings, and partly due to Ryan Dempster. Incidentally, if the Yanks win the World Series this year, should they cut Dempster a playoff share?

I am wondering if David Ortiz will gets plunked tonight. It will be interesting to see what happens!

Denial is not just a river in Egypt -- It's the state of the Yankees

History's greatest unexplained mysteries include Easter Island, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, and why the Yankees got swept in the ALCS. At least that's what Yankees president Randy Levine seems to be claiming. He told the New York Times that "there was a total collapse in the A.L.C.S. that was very surprising. Why did that happen? Nobody will ever know." Really? We will never be able to figure this out, no matter how many sabermaticians and baseball historians pore over the numbers? Ridiculous.

Brian Cashman also treated this debacle as some sort of great mystery. He told Ian O'Connor on ESPN Radio that "I'm not sure if I can ever give you a tangible, realistic, honest, this-is-what-I-know from (what) CSI New York has provided. ... I just don't know." Are you kidding me? It's not that complicated, Brian!

Cashman also said this:

"It was kind of like a Yankee flu went through five of our guys in the lineup. ... I do think there is a mental component that really crept in on us, and all of a sudden & you hear our players talking about passing the baton. Well, I wonder if the baton that was passed was one of pressure and tightness and it started going throughout our entire lineup, that, 'Oh jeez, he didn't get it done; I've got to get it done.' And they started getting us out of our game.

Gee, you'd almost think that Joe Girardi's indefensible panic in the playoffs, where his only answer to any dilemma seemed to involve somehow benching/humiliating a player, whether it be Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, or Curtis Granderson, may have had a ripple effect. And that instead of projecting calm, Girardi projected instability and lack of trust in the players who got him to October in the first place by putting up a spring training-style lineup in a postseason game. Nah, that's too out there, right? Who would ever think that a manager showing such lack of faith in his players would have such consequences?

It is interesting that Cashman used the term "Yankee flu." Because there is a term called "blue flu," which describes when police officers, who are not allowed to go on strike, call in sick en masse to express their displeasure with their contract and work situation. Is Cashman suggesting that the Yankee bats deliberately went on strike?

Of course, Cashman still refuses to acknowledge that there is anything wrong with the team he assembled as far as having a season-long inability to hit with runners in scoring position, as well as generally only winning when they hit homers. Mix in some angry boos from the hometown crowd, and add a little missing leadership on the team thanks to Derek Jeter getting hurt in Game 1 of the ALCS, throw in the lack of faith Girardi and Cashman showed in their team, which led to tightness and panic, and it shouldn't really be a big mystery as to why the Yankees lost.

I do have to ask this: have Cashman or Girardi ever read a modern management book? Ever given some thought about how to motivate people? For that matter, reading a classic book like Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" would have served them better than what they did. Because their actions in the postseason seem to show not just lack of baseball skills (sorry, Joe, Derek Lowe is not a good option when the game is on the line!), but a lack of people skills. At this point, I wouldn't trust either of them to plan a one-car funeral, let alone run a baseball team.

Unfortunately, they work for the Steinbrenner kids, who are just as unaware of good management as they are. So they will all pretend that this was just some big mystery as to why the Yankees lost in the postseason. Heaven forbid anybody actually be held accountable for this disaster.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Yankees lose in humiliating fashion, and the recriminations begin

I missed seeing most of yesterday's game live due to work projects. This was a blessing in disguise, of course. From what I saw later, heard about and read, it doesn't sound like the Yankees even showed up. I was angry before the game, and furious after it, and I'm still ticked off now.

When I saw the first part of Joe Girardi's postgame interview, when he talked about "life goes on" and "moving on," I was more than a little annoyed -- he sounded like Tom Glavine, circa 2007, talking about not being devastated by killing the Mets season. Towards the end, though, Girardi got very emotional, especially when thanking the media for the way they handled his father's death. (I lost my own father five years ago in a similar way to Girardi's dad, so I understand a little of what he's feeling.)

At any rate, Girardi did the worst managerial job of his five-year tenure with the team with all of his panicky moves. I actually agree with Michael Kay about his assessment of the postseason -- that after Girardi pinch hit for A-Rod in Game 3, which provided the playoff's best moments, the two Raul Ibanez home runs, things went downhill, causing what Kay called a "toxic atmosphere" that surrounded the entire team. Girardi went from doing a gutsy but understandable move, to scapegoating Rodriguez by having Eric Chavez, who never even got one hit in the postseason, going 0 for 16, continually fill in for him. There was nothing "gutsy" about having Chavez start in ALDS Game 5, or in having him start Games 3 and 4 of the ALCS. It just smacked of scapegoating. To top it all off, Girardi ended up having journeyman Jayson Nix bat in Chavez' place yesterday! So much for that.

Ironically, Brian Cashman was still patting himself on the back for constructing this team. And I'm sick of his stupid "big, hairy monsters" nonsense and his ridiculous assertions that this team is Gene Michaelesque, and similar to the late 90s teams. Yet the NYC media is so in the tank for him, that nobody has the guts to point out these obvious lies -- for one thing, the late 90s championship teams never had one hitter who had more than 30 homers in a season.

Now Cashman won't even acknowledge that maybe hitting coach Kevin Long should go -- he says he'll be back next year! This is why I think the nonsense this team talks about how winning is all that matters, and that any season without a World Series title is a failure, is just sanctimonious blather. Joe Girardi will be back next season. So will Brian Cashman, and Kevin Long, and everybody else. Cashman has been GM since 1998, one of the longest tenures in baseball history, and he has one ring since 2000. I guess they will designate A-Rod as the scapegoat, and will try to trade him, but he is only one part of the problem.

Cashman also said one of the more infuriating things I heard yesterday, saying "Unfortunately, a bad spell hit us right now," and that “The perfect storm hit us, where a collection of the opponents’ pitching made great pitches and also our guys were getting themselves out and getting away from their DNA a little bit.” What self-serving waddle. No, Bri, this was your team -- a one-dimensional one that can hit a lot of homers, mostly against mediocre pitching, but that utterly failed in the postseason. Knock off the passive voice, and take some frigging ownership already.

The way Girardi and Cashman changed the lineup made little sense, and helped psychologically take the team out of the game before the series was over. You cannot say that the Yankees put the best lineup on the field in this series. It was more about settling personal scores than about winning. Because if moving people around the lineup and benching them was solely due to their numbers, and not scapegoating people, then why didn't Robinson Cano, by far the biggest goat of the series, ever get such treatment? (And no, don't tell me it's because of lack of great options as backup. As if Chavez and having Brett Gardner bat leadoff when he hasn't played since April made sense!)
A lot of fans are very upset with the quotes from an anonymous player in today's Daily News, which the headlines suggest are blaming the fans for the loss. But that's not exactly what the player said. Here are the actual quotes:

“I really think the booing spooked a lot of guys," the player said. “A lot of guys hadn’t been booed before, and they couldn’t believe how nasty it got in the stands."

“A lot of guys were talking about it in the clubhouse," he said. “I was surprised by how much it bothered them. I really don’t think they ever recovered."

Yeah, yeah, I know, according to a lot of fans, they should just suck it up. But it is bizarre to me, that fans will wear lucky socks, or sit in certain places, or do all sorts of superstitions that they think will help the team. Yet they seem completely unable to grasp that booing their own players on the field may actually have negative effects. Forget the lucky hat, folks -- how about not booing your own team when you're at the game, when they can actually hear you!

CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel wrote an article the other day calling the fans "unforgiving jerks." As he wrote, "Booing a baseball player isn't going to make him better -- but it sure could make him worse. The Yankees fans who booed their own players, they don't get it -- or they just don't care." That's about the size of it. These fans think they're awesome, though! They pat themselves on the back about as much as Cashman does!

I was okay with last year's loss to the Tigers. This season, not so much.

Why are the Yankee playoff games not selling out?

The dirty little secret about the Yankees this postseason is that these games are not sellouts. Not only that, but according to Yahoo Sports, Yankee fans were being moved to better seats last night to cover this up.

There are a variety of reasons for this, of course -- the original ticket prices were too high (although StubHub has pushed the prices down; on both Friday or Saturday, I saw tickets for as low as $21, and I'm sure they went even lower), people can watch the games on big-screen TVs and get arguably a better view than they would at the ballgame, going to a playoff game can be a big time commitment, Friday's game was at a weird time, and Saturday's was scheduled at the last minute, etc.

But I have to wonder if the fan atmosphere, or lack thereof, is a turnoff. I have watched a lot of baseball over the past week, and Yankee Stadium appears to be the only place where fans boo their own players. Not only that, but the atmosphere, at least from what I have seen on TV, has mostly been pretty bad. With the exception of Game 3 of the ALDS, when Raul Ibanez made history, the crowd doesn't seem all that into it when it comes to rooting for the home team. Oakland and St. Louis and Washington and Baltimore and San Francisco and Detroit and Cincinnati had raucous crowds really into every pitch. New York, not so much.

Look at last night. A-Rod, of course, was booed repeatedly. But Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano also got some boos, too. What was up with that? I get the frustration that fans feel -- I feel it myself -- but the booing is not helping. And when the Tigers went ahead, 4-0, many of the fans fled the ballpark and went home.

I have to wonder if part of the reason for the crummy attendance is the lousy fan atmosphere. I have some non-baseball related work assignments I am doing this weekend, but even if I didn't, do I really want to sit next to somebody who is yelling anti-A-Rod stuff the whole evening, or booing other players? That's not exactly a spirit of fun. And I'm the type of person who will say something in response, so it's not going to end well!

Where is the Eric Winston of the Yankees? Who is going to step up and say that it's counterproductive to boo your own players? I'm not saying that people should cheer strikeouts, but just don't say anything then. Sure, we're all disappointed in the hitting. But booing A-Rod or Grandy or Swisher will not make any of them magically play better. It could make them press, though, and be even worse! It's not that complicated!

* * *

Speaking of pressing players, I am really tired of what Joe Girardi is doing with Alex Rodriguez these days. He is basically putting a target on A-Rod's back and making him the scapegoat for the Yankee failures.

Look, before you think I am reflexively defending A-Rod here, hear me out. I wrote before Girardi moved A-Rod down the lineup that he should be batting sixth, behind Ibanez. I also thought that pinch-hitting him with Raul Ibanez was the right move. How could it not be? Ibanez had two homers in the spot! I was even okay with benching A-Rod Friday, assuming that Granderson and/or Swisher would also be benched.

That being said, what Girardi is doing to A-Rod now is unfair. First of all, he was the only one benched in Game 5, which is singling him out in a time where his teammates have played just as poorly, if not poorer. Robinson Cano, who is supposed to be the best player on the team at this point,  is now hitting worse than Rodriguez, batting just .071, and going 0 for 22. Swisher isn't just hitting poorly; he also helped cost the Yanks the game with his poor fielding last night.

Second, it's not like Eric Chavez is setting the world on fire. He is 0 for 11 with six strikeouts in the postseason. Yet he is replaciing A-Rod over and over? It's ridiculous.

Third, the only way A-Rod is going to bust out of the slump is to get some playing time. Pinch-hitting for him when the Yankees are losing 4-0 is silly, especially when it's with Chavez. (Oh, and lost in the shuffle in last night's loss is that Girardi did one of his dumbest moves of the year in bringing in Derek Lowe with a 2-0 deficit to face the heart of the lineup. And guess what? The game became 4-0 in a hurry!)

Cal Ripken Jr. was saying that A-Rod needs to get mad about this. But aside from the fact that Rodriguez is trying to be a good team player here (something Cal should have done by taking a day off here and there), A-Rod getting ticked off will just reinforce some people's reputation that he's a diva.

More to the point, somebody in Yankeeland, whether it be a player, a coach, Brian Cashman, or a Steinbrenner, needs to tell Girardi to stop jerking A-Rod around like he's a yo-yo. Put him in the lineup in the same spot every day and leave him alone already. (This is what happened in 1977, when Billy Martin tried to get cute with moving Reggie around the lineup and benching him. It took several Yankee leaders to go to Billy and tell him to knock it off. What will happen now?)

Oh, and no, I don't think Rodriguez should fill in for Jeter at shortstop. He hasn't played the position since 2003, he has a bad hip, and, as a friend pointed out on Facebook, he's not built the same way as he was then, and he's old. And the haters will boo him the moment he makes an error. This would be a good idea why, exactly? Because the Yankees must have a former All-Star at shortstop? I don't get it.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Joel Sherman and Joe Girardi brouhaha: Why I am on Girardi's side

I was as peeved as anybody about the way the Yankee game ended Saturday night -- clearly Mark Teixeira was safe, although the umpire didn't see it that way. However, CC Sabathia also needs to be the CC of old; your ace can't be giving up five runs in a start.

Anyhow, I just wanted to weigh in on the hissy fit Joel Sherman had in the post-game presser. He asked Girardi if CC was hurt, acknowledging that this question may have been asked before. Girardi snapped back about it being the third time he was asked that question. Sherman sassed that it was "part of the game."

Then Girardi sez, "I know, but I was asked three times," to which Sherman says that it's "still part of the game." To which Girardi says,"I’m not lying. One time is sufficient." Then Sherman goes about how Girardi "gets the big money" as Yankee manager, and such questioning is all part of the game. (Really? Reporters needing to ask the same questions multiple times is part of the game? And having to put up with an  insufferable clown is part of the game, too? Who knew?)

You can listen to the exchange here, starting at about 3:30 into it. Reportedly, the two continued the conversation in Girardi's office, and supposedly nearly came to blows, with security needing to intervene.

Here's the thing -- I pretty much agree with Sherman's take on the Yankees in the Sunday papers here and here. But I also think that Sherman was completely out of line with the Yankee manager. You didn't hear the answer to the first two times Girardi answered the question? Tough. Listen to your tape recorder, ask one of your colleagues, or watch the YES clip later. What gives you the right to monopolize the press conference and make it about yourself, because Girardi had the nerve to point out that he had already answered the question?

Besides, I've heard Sherman do this over and over, either asking the interview subject a question that has been asked multiple times, or asking the person three or four variations on the same question. It's grandstanding, based on his position as a sports columnist. A rookie writer who asked Girardi to answer a question he had already answered would be lambasted by his colleagues for not paying attention. But since Sherman is a baseball columnist for the New York Post, he gets away with it.

As for this "part of the game" stuff, Sherman makes a lot of money, too. Does that give him the right to make the presser all about him? How does Sherman acting like Veruca Salt in "Willy Wonka" help the readers -- you know, the people he is ostensibly writing his columns for?  What did they learn from that exchange? It seemed like Sherman was picking a fight and claiming the high ground, simply so that people could say how unhinged Girardi is over losing, a la Bobby Valentine losing his mind in Boston.

Perhaps Girardi should have gritted his teeth and not said anything snappy in response. But I don't think it would have made any difference. Sherman was like a dog with a bone, and he wasn't going to let go, no matter what. That's part of Sherman's game!


What do you think? Tell us about it!

Meet the Mets (and Yankees) managers

I had a chance to go to an event this morning featuring Terry Collins and Joe Girardi, who took questions for half an hour at the Audi Club in Yankee Stadium. The event was hosted by Dunkin' Donuts in conjunction with their new commercial starring Collins and Girardi.

Both managers seemed a lot more friendly and relaxed than they often come across in their post-game interviews. Girardi asked Collins why his roster had 26 players at the moment and Collins told him it was because someone (Chris Young) was on paternity leave. Then Collins added, "When we play you, we need 26!"

Someone said they saw a tweet that injured Yankee prospect Austin Romine is cleared to resume baseball activities and Girardi quipped that it was amazing how many things he learns through tweets.

Later, someone mentioned blogging to Girardi, who said, "Me blog? Oh no. Tweet? No."

Collins was asked about how the Mets' farm system has helped out the big club this season and he smiled and said they were going to "run out of shortstops."

Both managers praised hard-working veterans (David Wright and Andy Pettitte) for setting examples for the younger players. Girardi noted that the whole rotation has improved since Pettitte came back, though also noted that along with inspiring his colleagues, perhaps the other starters were also now afraid of losing their jobs. 

Girardi had an interesting observation about the Subway Series. When asked about what it was like to play at Yankee Stadium with a lot of Met fans in attendance, Girardi said that now he sees what other teams feel like when the Yankees go on the road.

After the Q and A, I had a chance to shake hands with both managers. (No, Lisa, I did not get a chance to shake hands with Cuppy, the Dunkin' Donuts mascot, who was also present.)

*

Tonight, I'll be returning to Yankee Stadium for the second time in one day for the first game of the Subway Series. Lisa has had far more memorable Subway Series moments that I have (at least positive ones), so I'm hoping that I can be her jinx tonight for a change.

Joe Girardi, Scott Proctor Help Save the Sox's Season

I really wanted the Yankees to sweep this series. I wanted the Yankees to tramp the dirt down, put the nail in the coffin, and destroy the Red Sox's season. A.J. Burnett did his part in the first game to smash the Sox. But alas, thanks to Joe Girardi and Scott Proctor, Boston gets to live again, with a huge victory that could be a momentum-changer to their season. If the Yanks face the Red Sox in the ALCS and lose, I will rue tonight even more.

I subscribe to the Conan the Barbarian belief that what is best in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. But now I am the one doing the lamenting!

I blame Joe Girardi for making several critical mistakes that helped cost the Bombers the game:

* The first was keeping Ivan Nova in for too long when the Sox were clearly getting to him. Nova should have been pulled by the sixth, not in the seventh when the damage was done, with the game tied.

* The second was Girardi refusing to use most of his bench to get a big hit to win the game. Leaving Austin Romine in to face Jonathan Papelbon with the bases loaded in the ninth inning was inexcusable. Romine has all of 15 at-bats in the majors, with exactly three hits, and you leave him in there to face Papelbon? Joe could have used Russell Martin, Alex Rodriguez, or Derek Jeter instead in that spot. Then he let Romine bat again with runners on base, only to have his strike out. Good grief.

Not pinch-hitting for Greg Golson with Andruw Jones made no sense, either. Or letting Eduardo Nunez go 0-for-6, bat in extra innings with Derek Jeter in the house. Why Girardi let the kids get so many at-bats when there were several people on the bench who could have ended the game with one swing makes no sense. What good did it do to give the veterans "rest" when if one of them had gotten to hit in the ninth, or even the tenth, the Yanks would have been resting on the plane much earlier, after most likely winning the game. Who needs the stars refreshed for Tampa, anyway? Tonight was the night to play them.

* And the third was going to Scott Proctor (yeah, I know Girardi was out of the game then, but I'm sure he helped make the decision) in the 14th. Why would you rely on a guy who is best known for having his arm blown out, and setting his equipment on fire, for anything? Proctor is horrible. He shouldn't even be on this team. (BTW, funny how when Brian Cashman was patting himself on the back the other day for all the moves he made this year, he didn't talk about picking up Proctor. Gee, I wonder why.) As soon as I saw that Proctor in, I knew the Yankees would lose. Thanks for nothing, Scottie.

One other note on Proctor. The media's revisionist history on him amuses me. Back when St. Joe Torre was blowing out his arm as a Yankee, it was bloggers like yours truly who pointed out how Joe ruined so many arms. The media mostly ignored the issue. It really wasn't until the whole Joba Rules thing that the press finally started to acknowledge that Joe was a bullpen-killer.

Anyhow, I was hoping to be jubilant over the Yanks sweeping the series, but I am disgusted that the Bombers let the BoSox escape with a win. Yikes!

That Boy Ain't Right: A.J. Burnett Throws a Hissy Fit, Shows Up Joe Girardi

Squawker Jon and I went to Asbury Park for a day of fun in the sun at the beach, so I missed most of last night's game. When I got into the car to head home, I heard John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman talk about the 9-1 score, and how Aaron Laffey did a good job after the game was out of reach. They went on and on about Laffey, without ever mentioning who put the Yankees in the hole in the first place -- A.J. Burnett!

Anyhow, when I got home, I looked up what happened, and made a snarky remark on Facebook referencing Brian Cashman's Objective Pipe, I wondered how he would insist that A.J. really had a good game, even though he gave up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings. Then I heard from Facebook friends about A.J.'s hissy fit -- how he cursed at Joe Girardi when taken out of the game, saying "That's B*llsh*t," and stormed into the clubhouse after being removed. Then Girardi followed him into the clubhouse, with the body language of an angry father. A.J. came back into the dugout, then left again, after the runs scored, before the inning was over.

I couldn't quite believe Burnett would be so outrageous, but sure enough, the clips shown in the postgame showed exactly that. To their credit, YES analysts Ken Singleton and Bob Lorenz were very critical of what A.J. did, and called it like they saw it. My thoughts after seeing Burnett in action was to channel a Hank Hill line, about how "That boy ain't right."



But then, in the postgame, Joe Girardi came up with a ridiculous story about how Burnett was really upset with the umpire, not him, and was really cursing at the ump calling that pitch to Joe Mauer Strike Three, and not Ball Four. Girardi was very confrontational with YES' Jack Curry, one of the most respected voices in baseball. Joe blamed the media for making something out of nothing, and trying to make a problem with Burnett and Girardi when there was none. Basically, Girardi said to the press, "Who are you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes?" (Read the transcript of the conversation, and watch the exchange here.)

Look, there are plenty of times when the media makes something out of nothing -- like Mark Feinsand's absolutely shameful attempt to link Alex Rodriguez to the University of Miami football scandal because A-Rod is on the school's Board of Trustees, even though there isn't a shred of evidence linking A-Rod to it.  But the Burnett issue isn't one of them. For one thing, Burnett was looking at Girardi, not the ump, when he cursed. Second, according to Burnett, Girardi asked him if the comment was directed at him. And finally, Burnett has a history of losing his cool like this -- it wasn't reported much at the time, but Burnett started taking off his uniform in the dugout after being taken out of a White Sox game a few weeks ago. Also, remember how he cut up his hands after slamming them on the clubhouse door last year?

And I find myself agreeing with ESPN New York's Wally Matthews, of all people, in his very critical assessment of Girardi's coddling of Burnett:

Either Joe Girardi is one of the staunchest managerial defenders of any and all players who have ever worn a Yankee uniform or he is a lot more afraid of his own players than he is of looking foolish and untruthful on live television.

There really is no third choice.

You know, for all the grief the media has given A-Rod for being "bush league," I don't remember him ever showing up his manager, even when the manager showed him up by batting him eighth. Yet A.J. gets away with it. Why? As Matthews writes:

"A.J. was angry at himself," Girardi said afterward.

Well, it's about time someone other than A.J. got angry at A.J. Someone like the manager, who turns the other cheek each time he gets his face publicly spat on, or the GM who signed Burnett to the five-year, $82.5 million deal and now admonishes fans to "smoke the objective pipe" and see A.J. through pinstriped glasses.

I completely agree. Enough is enough. Burnett needs to be taken out of the rotation. Now. How can there be any justification for keeping him in, when Phil Hughes is pitching his heart out these days -- and acting a heck of a lot mature, to boot.

As for Burnett, that boy ain't right. And somebody needs to be a grownup in Yankeeland and hold him accountable until he gets right.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Sorry, But I'm Okay With Joe Girardi Going to Mariano Rivera

I went to sleep around the 12th inning or so last night (I tried to stay up, but I was exhausted from a long day), so I missed the Yankees four-run 15th inning, Robinson Cano's big hit, and the Bombers' eventual victory. At least I got to see Bartolo Colon's great night, and I saw Hector Noesi finally make it into a Yankee game after 16 days sitting around the bullpen. It's cool the Yankees gave him the lineup card for the win.

And best wishes to Chris Dickerson, who had to go to the hospital last night after getting hit in the head by Michael Gonzales.

I was looking at the CBS Sports recap of the game. Looks like every position player made it into the game except for Jorge Posada. And A.J. Burnett (!) pinch ran for Dickerson!

Anyhow, I missed the last few innings. But prior to that, I did see Yankee fans online flipping out over Joe Girardi taking out Colon after eight innings to bring in Mariano Rivera to pitch the ninth.. Twitter and Facebook and Yankee message boards practically blew up with outrage over it, with a lot of fans furious that Colon didn't get to finish the game. And when Mo coughed up the save, fans were ever more unhappy.

I didn't second-guess Girardi on this, for several reasons. First of all, it is not like he went to Boone Logan here. Girardi went to The Greatest Closer of All Time to protect a one-run lead. Are Yankee fans now suggesting that they don't trust in Rivera anymore? If the Yankees can't count on Mo in such situations, then this team is in big, big trouble.

Second, if Colon had given up a run or two in the ninth, you know that Yankee fans would be griping about Girardi not going to The Greatest Closer of All Time instead. 

Third, Colon is no spring chicken -- he's going to be 38 years old this month, and is coming off surgery from last year. Yes, he only threw 87 pitches, but I am okay with Girardi taking him out there. 

* * *

Is it just me who did a double-take seeing the headlines about how A-Rod was going to get his hip examined, and thought he was getting his head examined? Just saying.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Where Is the Leadership? Thoughts on Last Night's Game

I really had a feeling on impending doom with last night's game, despite Curtis Granderson hitting yet another home run to help the Yankees. Despite a 5-1 lead, the game felt like the ALCS last year, where you just knew the other team would rally to win. (Incidentally, Granderson was the only Yankee to really sparkle last postseason. Kind of like now.)

And, like last year's ALCS, Joe Girardi left A.J. Burnett in a little too long in the sixth. Note to Joe: When A.J. has given up a homer, two wild pitches, and two singles, as he did in that inning, it's just a matter of time before he gives up the lead, too. Is there anybody, other than Girardi himself, who was surprised by the B.J. Upton home run?

And that was just one of the issues facing the Yankees Monday. First of all, Buster Olney reported, that the Yankees were unhappy with Derek Jeter giving such an impassioned defense of Jorge Posada, and saying that Posada didn't need to apologize to anybody. I can't say I blame them on that, given that, as I noted yesterday, Jeter had a very different reaction to Jason Giambi "needing a day." It took a conference call to put everybody "on the same page," the phrase Jeter uttered about 50 times in pre-game interviews.

Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes that "Jeter didn't stick around Saturday to offer his captain's take on the situation, explained a day later that he didn't realize there was a controversy brewing."


Really? That was his excuse, that he didn't know that there was a situation involving his best friend and teammate? Who's the Yankee captain again -- Derek Jeter or Mr. Magoo? I hadn't heard this Jeter excuse before, but it's a doozy. What did he think all the hundreds of reporters gathered around Posada's locker were there for -- to find out who Jorge thought would win "Celebrity Apprentice"?

But let's pretend that we have no concept of the real world, and pretend Jeter really didn't know about the Jorge brouhaha. Saturday's defeat meant that the Yankees had lost four in a row at home, and two games in a row against the Boston Red Sox. Isn't it, um, part of the captain's job to stick around and talk to the media about it?  And isn't it also part of the captain's job to know what the heck is going on in his own clubhouse?

And guess what? The captain wasn't around to talk about last night's loss, either! Wally Matthews writes that most of the Yankees "with the exception of Burnett, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano and Rafael Soriano, who was headed back to New York for an examination by Dr. Chris Ahmad after his bullpen session was cut short by recurring elbow stiffness -- had fled the premises before the clubhouse was opened to reporters." Russell Martin also spoke to the press, according to MLB.com. But no Jeter.


As great a player as Jeter has been for his career, you cannot say he is a great captain, without putting on some Yankee-colored glasses. He's no Jason Varitek (as much as it pains me to say something nice about the Red Sox captain.)  And yeah, before anybody brings it up, I noticed that A-Rod was gone last night as well. But Jeter is the one who is supposed to be the team leader, supposed to be the team spokesman, supposed to have something to say when his team has lost six in a row. Why wasn't he there?

And obviously, there was the whole to-do regarding revelations on Jorge Posada wanting off the Yankees, which makes Jeter's insistence that Posada just needed a day look even more ludicrous. I will write my thoughts on the Posada kerfuffle later this morning.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Quit, Quit, Jorge: Yankee Fans Cheer Jorge Posada's Selfish Behavior

Watching the Yankees get swept by the Red Sox Sunday night left a bad taste in my mouth. And the fact that Jorge Posada received two salutes during the evening -- one from the Bleacher Creatures, and then a standing ovation when he pinch-hit for Andruw Jones, made it even worse. Not to mention the dopey "We stand behind Jorge" sign shown on ESPN a gazillion times last night.

Look, I am not a fan of booing your own players. But vociferously cheering Posada was flat-out ridiculous. What, exactly, was he being hailed for? Was it for quitting on his own team? Insubordination? Pretending to be injured, when he really wasn't? Getting his wife to spread that phony story on Facebook and Twitter? Making a rather lame -- and late -- apology the next day? Sitting in the dugout making the Nomar face? Sorry, but there is nothing Posada did this weekend that was worth giving him a standing ovation for.

I don't often use the money card, as all the players, even the rookies, make more than the rest of us. That being said, I don't really have a whole lot of sympathy for somebody making $13.1 million this year (around $81,000 a game) whose .165 average is the worst in the league among hitters who have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, begging out of a game because he was put as No. 9 in the lineup. Boo bleeding hoo.

The fact is, Posada should have been moved to that spot weeks ago. But Joe Girardi has been way too deferential in keeping the "core" guys happy, looking fearful of starting a media firestorm. Derek Jeter gets to stay in the leadoff spot, no matter what his stats show. Incidentally, after all the "Jeter's back" stories last Monday, Jeter's back, alright -- back to hitting poorly. He's just 3 for his last 23. And Posada's 9 for his last 62.

Posada has hit mostly in the No. 7 and the No. 6 spots this year, even though, other than the first week of the season, he's been hitting terribly. He's only been in the No. 8 spot once. Meanwhile, Curtis Granderson, the team's MVP so far, has hit in the No. 9 spot four times, and eighth in the order three times. And Russell Martin, who has done a seamless job at replacing Posada as catcher this year, and hit well to boot, has hit 17 times in the No. 8 spot, and 11 times as ninth in the order.

It's funny, Joe Girardi gets such grief about being Joey Looseleafs, the manager obsessed with the stats binder. But can anybody really say that the Yankees' lineup is based on statistics? No, it's based on keeping certain people happy, no matter what their numbers are. And the one time Girardi actually tried to put the .165 hitter where he belongs, in the No. 9 spot, he gets grief for somehow, in the words of Posada, disrespecting him. Puh-lease. (And yes, before anybody brings it up, if it makes sense to move A-Rod further down in the lineup, I'm fine with it.)

I heard a lot yesterday on Facebook that we fans should give Posada a pass, because he's been on the team a long time, and has five rings (he actually has four, but I digress.) No, him being a veteran Yankee makes it even worse. All these years on the team, and he hasn't figured out that it's not cool to throw a hissy fit and refuse to play because he doesn't like his spot in the lineup? Spare me.

But we're all supposed to hail Jorge as some hero because he mouthed a few words of supposed remorse, perhaps because he could be facing a suspension if he didn't do so. Let's talk about that pseudo-apology a bit:

“It’s just one of those days that you wish you could have back,” Posada said. “I talked to Girardi and kind of apologized to him. I had a bad day. Reflecting on it, everything, all the frustration came out. I’m trying to move on.”

No, A-Rod had a bad day, when the ball went through his legs, Bill Buckner-style, last night. Quitting on your team a la Manny Ramirez isn't a bad day; it shows some bad character. And isn't it nice Posada is trying to move on. Whoo-hoo. Also, nothing shows sincerity like saying he "kind of apologized" to his manager for being insubordinate.

In addition, Jorge said, "I did tweak my back a little bit. And I took that as an excuse to tell you the truth. I just needed a day." What a weird coincidence, that he would hurt his back, and need a day, the very night he happened to be penciled in the lineup at No. 9? What, exactly, did he need a day for -- to recover from a bruised ego?

Posada also said, "Everything happens for a reason. You learn from it." But this didn't just happen to him. He is the one who pulled himself from the lineup less than an hour before the game because he felt disrespected. If he hasn't figured out that this isn't a good thing to do, then I don't really know what to say.

And how about the Yankee captain's defense of his best friend? First, he was MIA after Saturday's game, not talking to the press at all. Then, he defended Posada's behavior, saying:

My reaction was that I didn't think it was that big a deal," Jeter said about the Posada incident. "If you need a day, you need a day.


"It's over. It's done," Jeter said. "It's not the first time a player asked out of a lineup. Joe says if you feel like you need a day, let him know. It's understandable."

Of course, the fact that Posada is Jeter's best friend had nothing to do with his reaction, right? 

Jeter is right that this isn't the first time a Yankee has asked out of a game. But when it involved another player, he didn't have quite so blase a response. Page 241 of Ian O'Connor's book "The Captain" details how angry the captain was when Jason Giambi asked out of Game 5 of the 2003 World Series, with Jason telling Joe Torre that his knee was bothering him.

The book characterizes Jeter as "furious Giambi had begged out of the lineup on a night he was healthy enough to hit a home run." O'Connor writes, "Asked if players were upset with Giambi, one Yankee said, "It was more like rage, and Jeter was hotter than anyone. It was like, 'Are you [bleeping] kidding me?'"

Anyhow, I can get that the Yankees want to sweep this brouhaha under the rug and move on. And I get that Posada is only part of the team's problems. But sorry, I am not going to join the mob cheering like Jorge Posada cured cancer or something. What he did Saturday was completely unacceptable, and should not be celebrated, no matter how many rings Posada has.

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Jorge Posada Pulls a Manny Ramirez After Joe Girardi Bats Him Ninth

As soon as I heard the news that not only had Jorge Posada had pulled himself out of the lineup last night, two hours after he got the news that he would be batting ninth, but that he had reportedly thrown a fit over the situation, another player came to mind -- Manny Ramirez. And it wasn't exactly a positive comparison.

Remember in late July 2008, when Manny asked out of the lineup before the start of a Yankees-Red Sox series? He claimed his knee was bothering, then couldn't seem to remember which knee it was that hurting? The Red Sox ran MRIs on both knees that night, found nothing, and traded him to the Dodgers a few weeks later.

Granted, Posada doesn't have Manny's track record, but he quit on his team last night, before a Yankees-Red Sox game, because his ego couldn't take the humiliation of being batted ninth. And it's just as unacceptable, in my view, as what Ramirez pulled that time. Sorry, Yankee fans, but it's true. 

And here's another comparison to make your skin crawl -- what is the difference between Posada glowering on the bench last night, and Nomar Garciaparra glowering on the bench in the July 1, 2004 "Jeter dives into the stands" game? 

On the other hand, I don't remember A-Rod throwing a "hissy fit," as Jack Curry said a Yankee official told him Posada did, after Joe Torre humiliated him by batting him eighth in the 2006 ALDS. Or begging out of the game, either.

Anyhow, Squawker Jon and I were hoping a reporter would ask Posada, "Where do you think a batter with a .165 average should hit in the lineup, Jorge?" Because frankly, Posada should have been moved down weeks ago. He hasn't hit a homer since April 23. Since then, he is nine for his last 62. He doesn't have a single hit against left-handed pitchers this year. 

Yet despite all the deference Girardi has shown him (he only had him bat eighth once this year), it still wasn't enough. Posada pulls the "disrespected" act last night and had about five different reasons why he didn't play.  I haven't heard so many lame excuses thrown out at once since John Belushi's "Blues Brother" character rattled off all the reasons he stood up Carrie Fisher's character at their wedding! Oh, and Posada had to get his wife -- and his father -- running interference for him. Please. Posada needs a mental health day before Yankees-Red Sox? Are you flipping kidding me?

The thing is, Posada has always gotten away with a bit of an inflated opinion of himself. Even though he wasn't really part of the 1996 championship team (he only played four games that season), he still gets the credit for that ring. As Squawker Jon always sez, Georgie is the Ringo Starr of the Core Four, without the self-deprecating personality. Has there ever been a catcher who has fought with as many pitchers? Roger Clemens. Andy Pettitte. Orlando Hernandez.  Randy Johnson. Mike Mussina. A.J. Burnett, etc. etc. But the Yankees (mostly) put up with Posada pulling the diva act behind the plate, because of his bat. Now he can't hit, and he can't catch anymore, although he still thinks he's aces at both.

And, thanks to Omar Minaya taking Georgie to that Le Cirque lunch in 2007, and the Yanks giving him a fourth year on his contract afterwards, Posada's got 13 million reasons this year to put on a happy face.

Here's what Jorge Posada should have said last night, instead of throwing daggers at Brian Cashman about having the nerve to tell the media that he begged out of the game, and insinuating that Girardi disrespected him:

"It's been a frustrating season, and I let my ego get the best of me. This is unacceptable, and the Yankees have the right to be angry over me begging out of the lineup. I had my wife spin this 'back spasms' story because I panicked over how I would look after Cashman said I asked out of the game. I'm angry with myself for missing the big picture, and putting my ego above the team. I am deeply sorry, and this will never happen again."

My first thought last night, when I heard that Posada had asked out of the game, but before the hissy fit details came out, was that he was going to retire. Come to think of it, maybe Posada ought to think about doing that now, and leave with at least a shred of dignity, before playing out the year griping about how he's being disrespected.

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New York Sportswriters Take Aim at Rafael Soriano, Joe Girardi

Grrrrrrrrrr. Not only did the weather last night cause a rainout for the Yankees, but it meant another day of media pontificating and self-righteousness about Rafael Soriano and Joe Girardi.

The press makes such a big stink if a player doesn't talk to them. Look, I get that it makes their job harder, but sometimes they take their complaints a little too far. For example, ESPN NY's Wally Matthews said what Soriano "did was wrong, to his teammates, to the media and to the fans who depend upon the media as their pipeline into the clubhouse." Spare me. The Soriano kerfuffle was completely media-created. I don't think any fans lost any sleep over it.

As for the teammate issue, that's another media-created thing -- they make a big story about a player not talking, harangue the player's teammates over it to the point of annoyance, then complain "ooh, the teammates are annoyed." Wheeeee!

An aside -- the thing a lot of fans wanted to see the media ask more questions on was to A.J. Burnett last year. He stunk up the joint from June on, shows up and pitches a game with a black eye, then politely says he's not going to talk about how he got said black eye, and the press just drops it? Sorry, when you've won just four games in four months, and you show up for a game looking like you went 15 rounds beforehand, the fans do have a right to know what going on. And the fact that the media essentially gave Burnett a pass is mind-boggling. 

Anyhow, Rafael Soriano did apologize to the media for not speaking after Tuesday's game. But because of the rainout, there were a whole slew of columns going after Joe Girardi for what they perceived as blunders in Tuesday's game. I think it's second-guessing, myself. There are plenty of times I thought Girardi made bad decisions with the bullpen, most notably his terrible job in the ALCS last year. Tuesday's game was not one of them. And I was there, freezing in the cold, so if I thought he messed up, I would be squawking bigtime about it.

But the press is flipping out over the game like it's a playoff one. Kevin Kernan of the New York Post wrote, "The new-math Yankees are so locked into pitch counts that they put the freeze on Sabathia. That tells me they are so concerned about their starting pitching that they are babying Sabathia, and that cost them a game Tuesday night." CC had thrown 104 pitches on a bitterly cold night on his second start of the year. If Girardi had pitched him into the eighth, and he had faltered, we would be hearing from the press about how the tightly-wound manager was riding his best pitching arm too hard.

And the media has mocked Girardi for saying yesterday that Soriano was his eighth-inning guy. But if he hadn't used him Monday, and the rest of the bullpen had faltered, you just know we would hear about how Girardi had lost confidence in his $35 million setup guy. Joe just can't win.

Anyhow, I'm hoping the weather holds up, so we see actual baseball today, so that there is something for the media to write about other than the As the Bullpen Turns drama!

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