Babe Ruth Award

Alex Rodriguez received this award the other day and it brought him to tears.

What is that award you ask. It is the Babe Ruth Award otherwise known as the postseason MVP. The announcement that Arod won this award produced two different emotions in me; empathy and redemption. For years I have defended Arod. Many people close to me have, for lack of a better term, shit on Arod and without fail I would come to his defense and attempt to redeem him in their eyes. Just because I defended the man does not mean I have any personal attachment to him. He plays for the Yankees and therefore I feel it is my duty as a Yankee fan to support him regardless of performance or lack there of. So come this postseason I had heard every possible slight against Arod imaginable. It was great for him and me, although something tells me it was better for him, to have him produce so greatly in the postseason. Finally people will stop talking about how he has never hit in the postseason and will continue to drag the team down. In fact this year without Arod I contest that the Yankees would not have won the World Series. Therefore I feel redeemed that Arod finally came through and proved that maybe hate and booing isn't the way to go. Arod was brought to tears when they presented him with the award. Clearly it hit him. What do I mean by "it"? The World Series victory, the silencing of critics, his validation as a great player, being embraced by the fans, and just that his past is finally behind him. And that is what I empathize with.

Roy Halladay News

Okay so I lied. It's yet another post on RHP Roy Halladay

So according to www.mlbtraderumors.com the Yankees offered C Jesus Montero for Roy Halladay straight up. I wish I would have known this months ago. This is truly a revealing look into how serious the Yankees were about acquiring Roy Halladay. Anyone worth their weight knew that the Blue Jays were looking for more than just a catcher of the future, especially from the Yankees. When it came to the Yankees, the Blue Jays seemed to really want the farm... almost literally. Now I know that Cashman was not pursuing Halladay seriously at all. He was clearly appeasing the Steinbrenner boys and making an offer and if he could pull the trigger great, if not that is fine as well. Offering a minor league catcher for arguably the best pitcher in the majors today implies that Cashman either wanted to steal Halladay or never felt he was in the running.

I am at ease with this whole situation now.

Abscence

So normally I post regularly on this little venting machine I call a blog. However I have taken a small sabbatical from posting because I got a little discouraged by the general lack of knowledge about this little blog. Sometimes I question myself for reasons I don't quite understand. Which leads to a certain state of uncertainty. What it comes down to is that this is what I would love to do with my life. My life's goal is to become a sports writer and without some sort of genuine practice I will never achieve that goal. So I am back and willing to appease the public... be it only 1 fan at this point.

Sergio Mitre

Sergio Mitre is coming back to the Yankees. He avoided arbitration and has signed for $850K. From what I have heard he can make a run at the 5th starter or could just be used as trade bait.

This is hard to see because I was not overly impressed with what I saw from Mitre during the season. When I look back I realize that Mitre is young and coming off Tommy John surgery. Although when I look back I also see someone who served a 50 game suspension for PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs). I know he was decent with the Yankees and could be someone who draws interest from another team. As a sinkerballer he plays well with the New Yankee Stadium. However He has always had a high E.R.A. and that is bad news out of the pen or as trade bait. This guy is questionable and I'm not a huge fan of this signing considering that players like Doug Davis (lefty who eats up innings) still available.

Randy Johnson

Today we saw the end of an era. The Big Unit retired today after 22 seasons in the Major Leagues. It was clear that Johnson was hanging around to get his 300th win and he finally accomplished that feat this season. I for one am glad for Johnson. He will be the first Diamondback in the Hall of Fame and should be the first number they retire. He deserves it and could be the last 300 game winner for 10 or so years.

John Kruk might attest that Randy Johnson was the scariest pitcher of this era. Johnson threw a pitch over the head of John Kruk in the all-star game just to intimidate him. The Big Unit is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and is five short years away from that phone call. Johnson had a brief stint in the Bronx and only further enhanced his scary persona when he attacked the news crews that bombarded him upon his arrival in New York:

Eric Hinske

I'm gonna be honest. I didn't even know that Eric Hinske was a free agent. Apparently he was because he just signed with the Braves. The Yankees acquired Hinske from the Pirates, they're Major League affiliate, mid-season and he was pretty good. The role Hinske played on the Yankees was that guy who we should be using more but for some reason Girardi wasn't. At the time A-Rod was needing time off for his hip and Hinske was not being used for some reason. Jerry Hairston Jr., who is also a free agent, was filling in for A-Rod when he got days off. However I liked Hinske but I'm not terribly sad he's gone. Unfortunately for Hinske he has won 2 World Series but it was a moment in the World Series he didn't win that he will be most remembered for:

Jason Bay

As of today, the Mets have signed Jason Bay to a 4 year deal for $66 MM deal. Now this is not really Yankee news, but it affects the Yankees so it is worth mentioning.

First let my start by saying that I am not one of those Yankee fans who hates on the Mets just because they are in New York. That has never made sense to me. Nor do I feel that the Yankees should ever do anything in response to a Mets signing or trade. The reason Jason Bay signing with the Mets is note worthy to Yankee fans is because this:

looks a whole lot better than this:

Jason Bay being of the Red Sox roster brings me immense joy. Usually it takes some time for me to start hating a Red Sox player. With Jason Bay, only playing a season and a half with the Red Sox, not much time passed at all before I began to hate this guy. He was a thorn in our side and that is evident when the Yankees went to Fenway and he hit a walkoff homer against Mariano early in the '09 season. Bay played well and was a perfect fit in Fenway Park. The pressure of a big market, like Boston, didn't get to him and that made him an even bigger threat. When the stakes where their highest Bay thrived and produced. Now that Bay is back in the National League I don't have to worry about him beating us. So I say good riddance.

Ps. Good signing for the Mets, solid player and will be better than Angel Pagan.

Brett Gardner

Admittedly I have been a bit hard on Brett Gardner lately. I apologize.

Actually I really like Brett Gardner. As a Yankee fan it is easy to forget that young players actually develop. Gardner is young and still learning to play as a big leaguer. I like a lot of what he brings to the table and I'm glad Cashman is making the decisions and not me. I always knew Melky wasn't really a life-long Yankee like Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera. Brett Gardner has a ton of upside if he can learn to hit. His speed is remarkable which he can make him a huge threat on the basepads. His speed carries over into the field and he can cover a lot of ground out in center or left whichever the Yankees decide is best for him. I believe it will be left field because Granderson's arm may be a bit better than Gardner's. One last thing about Gardner that should be noted is that he is a throwback player. He gets dirty and he plays the game hard and I love that about him.

My only hangup on Brett Gardner is that his flaws are aspects of his game he desperately needs to improve upon. In particular I am talking about baserunning and hitting. First his baserunning has been subpar to put it lightly. He gets picked off a lot and makes a lot of baserunning mistakes. Hopefully this is in large part due to him feeling out the competition. Which pitchers have good moves, which fielders have good arms, or which catchers have arms he can run on. I can only hope he is just trying to gain his bearings in the big leagues and it will all start to click because right now he is relegated to a pinch-runner/defensive sub type player. Next is his hitting. Last year Kevin Long, the hitting coach, told Gardner to become more aggressive particularly on the first pitch. I remembered hearing this and not seeing it acted out. Gardner tends to look for that perfect pitch and often times the big league hitters don't give you a perfect pitch. Maybe Gardner should pick Jeter's brain about how it is to hit early in the lineup or work with Kevin Long extensively but Gardner's hitting problems are something that needs to be fixed. After all what good is a base stealing threat if they are not on the bases.