The Magic Carpet

Hiya Kiddies!
Missed all of you this past week or so.

In November, I wrote that the Yankees should move on without Andy Pettitte, pointing out the group of MLB ready arms they have to sort out for the #5 slot in their rotation (Phil Hughes, Alfredo Alceves, Phil Coke, Ian Kennedy) and limited space to find those needed innings if another veteran arm is signed.

On December 11, I posted on my Facebook Wall, an incentive laden contract idea that attempted to bridge the gap between the two, who OBVIOUSLY wanted to continue the relationship.

Today, we get the news that Andy HAS signed such a contract, for a $5.5M base and easily achievable incentives based upon Innings Pitched and Days on the Roster if he remains healthy and effective.

This is a good day for the Yankees, who have essentially the same low-risk deal with Andy that the Sox have with the man he defeated in the legendary Game Five of the 1996 World Series, John Smoltz. The hero of that game, besides Andy and his 8 Shutout innings, being Prince Fielder's daddy, Cecil, who had 3 of the 4 hits and only RBI surrendered by the brilliant Smoltz. The next game, #6, featured a heroic 3B by Andy's Manager, Joe Girardi. The guy from Deer Park, Texas and the man from Chicago are BOTH Yankee family and it's exciting to know they will be able to make new memories in the new yard in the Bronx.

ON the field, the contrast of Pettitte's LH cutters and finesse approach should mark a stylistic contrast for New York, the way Tim Wakefield's floaters do for the Red Sox. With RH fire from AJ Burnett and Joba Chamberlain, Mid '90s RH sinkers from Chien-Ming Wang and LH Gas from CC Sabathia, Andy's 89 MPH cutters and wicked sweeping curve should find the success it usually has. Also, facing #5 starters, instead of the #1 and #2's he's been facing all his career can only help him be more competitive.

Nice job by Brian and Andy, putting egos aside and pens to work.

As for the young Yankee arms displaced by the move. There is still a role and still plenty of time for the 22 year old Hughes, 23 year old Kennedy and 25 year old Alceves and 26 year old Phil Coke, who, with his 96 MPH LH heat will fit beautifully back in the bullpen, where he made such a brilliant debut in September. AJ has had health issues more often than not and Joba wants to avoid piling on too many innings this season, the kids will get starts and the Yankees get variety and depth.

Nice.

Only the Nady/Swisher potential trades and the subsequent specter of Manny lurk as unfinished business before Spring Training. Melky and Gardner will fight it out for CF and 5th OF and Cody Ransom and former (2003) AL Rookie of the Year, Angel Berroa will compete for the utility Infield role, behind Alex, Derek and Robinson.

Guru likes it.

A lot!

As we cruise towards one month until Spring Training, the American League East has seen several signings that alter the rosters of main contenders.

In Tampa Bay, the AL Champion Rays have added a reliable power hitter in DH Pat Burrell, to their roster of young, homegrown Stars (3B Evan Longoria, LF Carl Crawford, CF BJ Upton), savvy Star (1B Carlos Pena) and role players (SS Jason Barrett , C Dioner Navarro, RF Gabe Gross/Matt Joyce, 2B Akinori Iwamura) and secured OF Gabe Kapler to be the 4th or 5th OF. C Shawn Riggans will continue to get plenty of reps.IF Willie Aybar and OF/IF Ben Zobrist will again supply utility innings.

On the hill…RH James Shields/LH Scott Kazmir/RH Matt Garza will be joined by LH David Price, they let RH Edwin Jackson and his 98 mph go to the Detroit Tigers for Joyce. That noise you heard is a huge celebration for AL East RH hitters losing Jackson and menacing RH Daniel Cabrera and HIS 98 mph from the Orioles, just ask Derek Jeter who had his hand absolutely CRUSHED by Cabrera mid-season, an injury that took him six weeks and 30 points of average to recover from, only to get plunked AGAIN in the last week of the season. RH finesse pitcher, Andy Sonnanstine and a cast from the minor leagues look to compete for the #5 slot in the rotation.

In the bullpen, stud RH Grant Balfour and his nasty stuff is the key performer, seemingly headed towards a closer role when and if, RH Troy Percival relinquishes the role. It will be interesting to see if soft-tossing sensation, JP Howell is able to duplicate his breakout season from ’08, if not, they will need more LH bullpen help

In Boston, the Red Sox have filled out their roster with a series of signings that seem to move their homegrown call-ups from late ’08 without a role in ’09.

To LF Jason Bay (career slugging .516), CF Jacoby Ellsbury (SLG.413, 50 SB’s in ’08 and RF JD Drew (SLG .502) the Sox have added OF Rocco Baldelli (SLG .443) and holdover OF/1B Mark Kotsay (.SLG 414) after trading away Defensive stalwart, Coco Crisp.

In the Infield, homegrown 2B Dustin Pedroia (SLG .459), 1B Kevin Youkilis (SLG .472) and SS Jed Lowrie (SLG .400) will once again be joined by 3B Mike Lowell (SLG .467), Kotsay will back up at 1B and, as of this writing, the Catching will be handled by Josh Bard (SLG .395), although Sox are in serious talks with Diamondbacks (Miguel Montero) and Rangers (Jarod Saltamacchia) over acquiring another young catcher, with veteran leader (and Captain, just see the ‘C’!) Jason Varitek, perhaps lurking in the picture as Andy Pettitte does with New York. Bad contract, Julio Lugo sits in the Utility role until someone can be enticed to take him off the Sox hands.

The KEY for the Sox offense will be the status of DH David Ortiz (SLG .554) the serious thumper who, along with Manny Ramirez, was the fulcrum that drove the Sox bus these past several years. The Sox need Big Papi to be healthy and hungry and have to hope to generate enough thump around him to avoid a Barry Bonds like situation where teams simply choose to clog the bases with Papi and let the others beat them.

Of all the signings, the ONE Free Agent who opponents fear is the one who drove this club, Manny. The Red Sox may eventually be better off without him, but they will do so beating teams who will have lost the ‘fear factor’ that a healthy Papi and Manny created. For all the ‘career’ years the Sox have seen from their RH role players, Lowell (’07), Youkilis (’08 and Pedroia (’08 ALL exceeding widely held beliefs about their potential upside numbers, the fact remains that Pedroia’s MVP season (17/83/.376/.493/.326) looks a lot like Manny’s WORST Boston year (’07 – 20/88/.388/.493/.296) and his career SLG of .593, dwarfs any other slugger in the AL East, including Papi (who has never been healthy in Boston when Manny was not there, so we don’t know what the ‘Manny Factor’ meant to him, other than the obvious alteration in his career path that occurred when it began), Alex, Tex, Pena, Longoria…he simply cannot be replaced.

The Sox will have plenty of baserunners and score runs once again, how they will hold up in terms of raw POWER will be hard to know until the status of Papi, Lowell and Baldelli becomes clear.

On the Fenway hill, Ace RH Josh Beckett, RH Daisuke Matsusaka and LH Jon Lester, are joined by perennial rotation performer RH Tim Wakefield, kid RH Clay Buchholz and new acquisitions, Veteran stud RH Brad Penny and HOF RH John Smoltz. The presence of tireless Wakefield should allow young Buchholz time to settle in and rehabbing Penny time to heal, as well as a light innings role for Smoltz, who, like Schilling in ’07 is targeted for September/October games rather than a 200 Inning workload.

In the Bullpen, Sox signed another veteran with proven ability from the Dodgers (tough to understand the plan in Los Angeles, wonder if Torre is wondering the same thing?) in RH Takaishi Saito who will join RH Justin Masterson, LH Hideki Okajima, RH Manny Del Carmen in setting up stud RH closer, Jonathan Papelbon.

In the Bronx, no updates to our recent re-caps. They continue to shop RH Xavier Nady (SLG .458 and SH OF/1B Nick Swisher (SLG .551), the results of which will determine the OF mix and the backup situation at 1B. If only ONE goes, look for him to start in RF alongside CF Melky Cabrera (SLG .374, 35 OF assists last 3 years) and LF Johnny Damon (SLG .435), if that one is Swisher, he’s take double duty behind Teixeira. If it is Nady, look to the Yankees to keep 1B Juan Miranda (SLG .400). If BOTH go, as we discussed, the Yankees are likely gunning to add Manny and rotate him with Damon and DH Hideki Matsui (SLG .478 at LF/DH, allowing each of the 35-36 year olds plenty of rest for the wheels, while insuring their vast Offensive skills man at least 2 slots each day. LH Brett Gardner will be the designated Speed Demon (DSD) and compete with Cabrera for CF, with Cabrera playing plenty of RF in a Manny scenario.

Teixeira will be joined in the Infield by 2B Robinson Cano (SLG .468, SS Derek Jeter (SLG .458 and 3B Alex Rodriguez (SLG .578, Jorge Posada , hopes to be back from his ’08 Shoulder injury and resume the bulk of Catching, Jose Molina and Francisco Cervelli will vie for backup AB’s behind the plate and utility man Cody Ransom will compete with former Rookie of the Year (’03, under Yankee coach, Tony Pena in KC) Angel Berroa for the last roster spot.

For New York, the key is Posada. The Switch Hitting Catcher was a different player in 2007, with the longtime Cranial problems for his son finally behind his family, he looked more relaxed and went an entire season without a streak of more than 9 hitless at-bats. Even the average Posada year would be a huge upgrade over the brutal Offense they received from Molina, Pudge and Chad Moeller in ’08. The shortfall in runs scored between the barrage of ’07 and the disappointment of ’08 came at 4 spots, 3B, where Alex fell dramatically from his MVP form to simply all-star levels, 2B, where Cano gave back 23 of his 97 RBI’s in ’07, CF where Melky dropped half of his 73 RBI’s and C, where Posada was hurt. Alex will be better with the divorce behind him and the addition of Teixeira’s thump, Jeter and Cano will be better with health (for Derek) and focus (Cano) in place. To field their best Defense, the Yankees need to play their kids in the OF and this is easier if Posada is thumping at C, too often in ’08, the bottom of the order featured slumping players from three spots.

The Bronx hill will have LH CC, RH AJ, RH Chien-Ming Wang (100% recovered from Lisfranc fracture), RH Joba Chamberlain and RH Phil Hughes, RH Alfredo Alceves and LH Phil Coke have been told to prepare as Starters, for a rotation role at #5 or as spot-starter/long-man, Coke was a revelation with his velocity surge to 96 and, if he maintains that form, will be hard to deny. 6’10” RH Andrew Brackman was back up to 97 in his second year back from Tommy John surgery and will be nurtured slowly in the minors, if he dominates and holds health, would seem to be a candidate for mid-season entry into the mix. LH Damaso Marte, RH Jose Veras, RH Edwar Ramirez, RH David Robertson and RH Brian Bruney all feature Strikeout stuff that, with Coke and Marte give the Yankees an entire pen of more K’s than Innings pitched, on the way to RH Closer, FBHOF Mariano Rivera, off a season for the ages (77 K/6 BB/0.67 WHIP). RH Jonathan Albaledejo, RH Mark Melancon, RH JB Cox and RH Ian Kennedy look for a spot to grab.

That’s all for now…

Did you notice?

First the Yankees traded a bit-part for an undervalued asset named Nick Swisher, a switch-hitter with big power and high on-base ability who can play either corner Outfield spot or 1B. That made sense as long as Swisher was penciled in to play mostly 1B, with perhaps Yankee rookie, Juan Miranda, getting the rest of 1B at-bats.

Then they signed Mark Teixeira. Swisher moves into the corner OF mix with Xavier Nady, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and, perhaps, the loser of the CF derby between Yankee kids Melky Cabrera (big arm) and Brett Gardner (wicked speed). Juan Miranda moves into limbo.

Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are proven Offensive players, both of whom were at their best when healthy in 2008, but whose Defensive skills are questionable. Matsui, because of his knee issues and the value of his bat and Damon, an excellent ball-tracker, for his near worthless arm, a liability that has the potential to create a game-losing play in LF in any given game. These deficiencies are the only reason ANY team would consider the displacement of such Offensive talents, but both guys are 35 and in the final year of their Yankee contracts. Matsui seems like a likely candidate to retire or return in a DH role to a Japanese team in 2010 and Johnny Damon will continue to be an offensive sparkplug somewhere in MLB, although for less money than his current $13M deal.

Nady, is a RH power hitter, a coveted clubhouse professional and a solid Defender who hustles and can throw. His only drawback is his propensity for large strikeout totals.

Swisher, is a Switch-Hitting power hitter with a better eye than Nady but even MORE vulnerable to the strikeout and less adept as a hitter for average. He is an agile, competent Defender.

With six players in the shuffle, the Yankees have enough coverage. Melky has the gun, Gardner has the legs, Damon is a leadoff terror, Matsui a reliable RBI machine, Nady and Swisher solid, but there do not appear to be enough at-bats for all of them and, in asking around about Nady and Swisher (Damon and Matsui, due to age, contract and health, cannot be traded), the Yankees have discovered that a market exists for BOTH of them. Swisher is 28, well liked (even Ozzie Guillen admitted it was circumstance in Chicago) and could be a middle of the order answer for many teams and SO COULD NADY. Damon and Matsui are going to get their at-bats at DH and in LF, regardless and if the Yankees trade only ONE guy, the remaining one will play RF.

Or...

It seems like the Yankees have been lurking on Manny and blocked by the numbers game in their OF, with Nady and Swisher going for depth and payroll relief, that may open up room in the overall budget and at-bats that can go to Manny Ramirez. Even at 4 years, the Yankees have Z-E-R-O fear of Manny or doubts about his impact and commitment, the evidence of his time in Boston and the ringing endorsement of Joe Torre and Don Mattingly do all the talking that might be required. Manny at 36-37-38-39-40 will continue to be a masher and his Defensive shortcomings are GROSSLY overstated, given the limitations of Damon's arm and Matsui's knees - he would be fine and be helped by the range of both/either Yankee kids in CF (Manny knows all about Melky, from watching him climb the wall and pull back Manny rockets headed for bleacher seats). Manny might be happy to come home, play in a clubhouse full of players in his orbit and feed off the sheer star power surrounding him in the lineup, he would be a THRILLING presence for young Dominican Yankees Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera and could coast into Spring Training with his DR teammate Alex Rodriguez, who might hit 75 HR's hitting between Teixeira and Ramirez in the lineup.

How about this lineup:

DH Johnny Damon LH (ideal #1)
SS Derek Jeter RH (ideal #2)
1B Mark Teixeira SH (ideal #3)
3B Alex Rodriguez RH (ideal #4)
LF Manny Ramirez RH (ideal anywhere)
2B Robinson Cano LH (as skilled as any #6 in Baseball, no excuses in '09)
C Jorge Posada SH (healthy, he is capable of .300/20/90 routinely)
RF Melky Cabrera SH (Defensive plus with the range and big arm to dominate in short RF, SH offense +)
CF Brett Gardner LH (probably only a .275 MLB hitter, but 50-75 SB ability and a defensive plus)

With this much Offense, the Yankees could afford the growing pains on Offense for Cabrera and Gardner while providing their deep staff with a tremendous Defensive upgrade in the OF, Melky will throw runners out and cut down runs and Gardner will steal a ton of bases and scamper home behind booming XBH power from 3-7 slots.

Matsui is a LH balance for Manny when Manny needs time off and can be shuffled enough into the mix to provide Damon rest for his legs. If Healthy, Matsui can play some RF since his arm is efficient if not booming/Melky style. With Austin Jackson looming for CF in 2010 or 2011, the kids would be playing to stay in the mix and Manny would be able to move more At-Bats into the DH slot with each successive season in Pinstripes. Yankees would take on more money with Manny, but that would be partially be offset by the elimination of Nady/Swisher (25M combined) and the 26M coming off the payroll with Matsui and Damon in '10. This would leave them with potentially 3 young homegrown Defensive stalwarts who bring desperately needed niche skills like athleticism, arm strength and stolen bases.

This move would ELECTRIFY the Bronx in a way that would dwarf every other thrilling move they've made and the team would almost need to build an additional pavilion in the old Yankee stadium across the street where they can sell beer and hot dogs to crazed Yankee fans to let them watch the game on the big screen, they could fill it with Washington Heights alone if they sign Manny Ramirez and put him in this lineup along side his fellow First Ballot Hall of Famers.

Fucking Ned Colletti, fucking Omar Minay...don't want THE Force you both need in the middle of the lineup?

We'll take him, just have to make some room, first.

First, a bit of follow-up to my last column 'The Unbridled Bigotry Beyond the Manny Situation', I got a ton of important responses and constructive criticism from you folks and will follow up on the topic and the discussion in my next posting.

Nobody prefers talking about the GAME to talking culture more than Guru, it is what I love about my Yankees - the blending of Pinstripers into the whole and the lack of opinion relating to matters other than Baseball that eminate from their clubhouse...it is a stance that gets CRITICIZED in the New York Press as reporters openly COMPLAIN about the Yankees 'relentless professionalism' (William Rhoden, New York Times) and the lack of newsworthy quotes supplied by Captain, Derek Jeter.

Modern sportswriting/reporting has two schools, that of Legendary Turf Writer, Joe Hirsch (2/27/28-1/9/09) who kept his insight on the sport and shone his insight into people's lives only upon their request or their notable worthiness (his use of language, knowledge and graceful way of removing himself from the work was the finest column work I ever had the pleasure of reading and he inspired me in everything I attempt, you may not be a Horse Racing fan, but if you are someone who puts keyboards to work - you owe it to yourself to google up samples and then, you'll know...). Sadly, the Hirsch (or Blackie Sherrod of the Dallas Morning News) methods did not translate well to tabloid coverage or cross-promotional gossip/culture war...the man who started that school, the DOMINANT one in American media, circa, 2009, was Dick Young (10/17/18-10/30/87) of whom it was said "With all the subtlety of a knee in the groin, Dick Young made people gasp... He could be vicious, ignorant, trivial and callous, but for many years he was the epitome of the brash, unyielding yet sentimental Damon Runyon sportswriter". Young was the first reporter to go into the locker room and consider players lives and backgrounds fodder for his opinions, every time you hear a reporter demonize a guy (Jim Rice, Barry Bonds) for being surly with media, rather than simply judging him on his ABILITY and PERFORMANCE, that is thanks to Dick Young. The combination of this change and his open bigotry and conservatism single-handedly changed The New York Daily News coverage into what it remains today, a pugnacious, xenophobic, lily-white enclave and it contaminated mainstream outlets like TSN - when you read Richard Justice, you are reading a Young-disciple.

When you read Guru, you are getting a guy who aspires to Hirsch, but is not immune to the Young-like tenaciousness that is part of him. My politics and outlook may be 180 degrees opposed to Young's, but I am capable of losing my cool in his manner - and I regret that. My plea contains the caveat that I feel I MUST respond to monolithic coverage, particularly that leveled upon minority athletes. Reading these pages, as we all do, it would be EASY to come to the conclusion that there are no divergent opinions relating to Manny, to Barry, to T.O...and FACTS don't seem to intrude upon those opinions. Manny goes to LA, lights up a city, gains the admiration of men like Don Mattingly...and Joe Magrane still feel empowered to say that bit about him needing 'adult supervision' on NATIONAL TELEVISION.

We ALL need to understand what is behind that and how corrosive it is to American discourse. Their is no wiggle room left, we either come FULLY and UNAPOLOGETICALLY into the 21st Century, embrace our diversity and move BEYOND the differences between us or start to watch entire portions of the USA devolve into wastelands, the way old mining towns in the West have.

Take a look at Michigan. Take a look at Kansas. Ask yourself, what happened here? Every time a person in one of those places tells themselves it's 'because the hispanics took my job or the companies shipped my job away', they are building a crutch, the same way the Nativists who tried to fight off the Irish, the Italians, the Germans, the Jews did. Those people disappeared over time and the newcomers are now some of the same people complaining about the brown or the gay or the female or the 'immigrant' - in the ultimate irony. Every minute you spend thinking about what a 'great world this would be' if more people were JUST LIKE YOU, is a minute wasted and builds a likelihood that you will be left behind. Don't do it, let's ALL move forward and challenge ourselves to do better.

I am. I will. I do.

Onward...

Guru is a Cowboy fan. You know that. Guru had critical parts of his youth reduced to agony because of one franchise, a team that denied my Cowboys in two historic Super Bowls ('76 21-17, '80 35-31) by a total of EIGHT POINTS on their way to FOUR Super Bowl Championships in my formative decade, the 1970's. Later, as I grew up (a little!), I looked back in awe at that team - The Pittsburgh Steelers (in my archives is a column devoted to that illustrious squad, but there are so MANY columns that I can't locate it---just re-read them ALL, then tell me which one it was!). When a team places NINE of its twenty-two starters in the Hall of Fame and at least one of them from every position group on an NF team, it becomes easy to go from feeling bad about losing those two Super Bowls to being PROUD to have competed with their like and hung around. That the Cowboys got a measure of revenge when the talent equation was in their decisive favor ('96 27-17) would probably have provided a measure of solace, if it wasn't the LAST playoff game the Cowboys have won, a thirteen year stretch that would have been unimaginable to even the creepiest Cowboy-hater in those days, but then again, in 1996, if you said Dubya would be a two-time President, folks would have medicated you - and not the fun way!

While the Cowboys fell on hard times and then fell over themselves even as they restored the talent, the Steelers kept on doing what they have done since Chuck Noll walked in the door and took the historic losing, threw it aside and ushered in the marquee franchise.

Make no mistake. The Steelers are THAT franchise. The Cowboys have had distinct periods of success in every decade of their existence, and won Five Super Bowls...the 49'ers built their own horde of HOF types and won their own Five Super Bowls, but those Cowboy teams in the '70s and '90s were better 1than the 49'ers and those Steeler teams were better than Dallas. San Francisco was irrelevant for years before Walsh and for years after him, the New York Giants have had periods of greatness, but long stretches of pathetic play...the Patriots were awful for decades and have only the recent era to point to, the Green Bay Packers were the dominant club in the 1960's and had that brief shining moment in '97...

The Steelers, under just THREE coaches and one ownership group, in 40 seasons, are the best franchise in the sport. The Rooney Family, who started the franchise in 1933 and had to wait decades to see their investment come to the fore, have handled the ensuing decades of success to perfection. Of the pre-cap dynasties, ONLY the Steelers have remained in the mix of NFL elite and claimed a Super Bowl Championship under the different systems. Whether it was Noll (1969-1991), Bill Cowher (1992-2006) and now, Mike Tomlin, the Steeler way is a winning way. You have to tip your cap in admiration, even if you are a Cleveland Browns fan - ESPECIALLY if you are a Browns fan, who know only too well what bad management results in, having lost their historic franchise for several years.

One only needs to look at the fortunes of the Steelers (or the Penguins) or to Pittsburgh's renaissance as a new-economy model after being buried in the collapse of the Steel Industry (see Red Sox Steve's work on VagabondGuru.com or the New York Times article relating to Pittsburgh, sorry for lack of links...) to put the lie to claims by Pirate management that they 'can't compete'. Pittsburgh is and was a big time place with a can-do attitude and 'can't compete' should be taken in another way - SELL! Not as a siren call to change the scope on the game. Winners win. The Steelers are winners.

Which brings us to this season's playoffs.

I asked a friend of mine, a Washington Redskin fan (tolerant Guru!), what he would say to someone who invited him over to watch a game between the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, he laughed in my face and said 'I'd rather work in the yard or sleep!'. When I asked him about a potential 'Ravens' Cardinals' Super Bowl, he said 'who would watch that?'.

Who. indeed.

Obviously, if you are an Arizona Cardinal, Baltimore Raven, Tennessee Titan, Philadelphia Eagle fan, you are or were, enjoying this year's playoffs. The teams have taken care of their business on the field and have every right to be proud.

In Arizona, the 'Steeler' way taught by former coaches Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, a Pittsburgh boy who played for Joe Gibbs, on Redskin champions has provided tough to blend with the flash of their wide receivers and the big arm of Kurt Warner. They are an 8-8 team from an awful division who gave up FIFTY-SIX points to the Jets. A GREAT team is not on the list of possibilities for them.

BUT..Warner is one of the NFL's dreariest personalities and was seemingly 'washed-up' just a few years ago...he will always be a hero in St. Louis and they are behind him in Arizona, but to the National fan - he's a turn-off on a team that is both the OLDEST franchise in the NFL and one of six to never play in a Super Bowl. Impossible to care for, about or root for, at least in the Aerie.

In Baltimore, the expansion Ravens have had a serious competitive history, winning the Super Bowl during the trough of post-Cap football that almost killed the sport, the dreary years from 1997-2004 that saw many of THIS year's Playoff heroes have their best moments (Warner, '99, Kerry Collins, '99, Ray Lewis, '00, Donovan McNabb, '03, Jake Delhomme, '04). The Ravens have played solid Defense, as always, and gotten decent play from their rookie QB, Joe Flacco, but Joe is a Delaware grad (air rushes from the Aerie...) and the team is one only a Marylander could love...they have no national profile and no chance at being a GREAT team.

Like Warner, the hope is that Lewis (as with Collins and Delhomme and, hopefully, McNabb) will be eliminated at SOME point...although with McNabb and Warner facing off in the NFC Title Game, some dreariness is assured.

The Eagles have been on a terrific tear, but they are also the team that tied with Cinncinatti, they are a testament to coaching, resilience and their mercurial leader, Donovan McNabb, what they are NOT is an interesting story or a GREAT football team.

Which leaves only ONE team standing that can truly claim the mantle of GREAT and provide the non-represented fan with a rooting interest in these festivities.

We'll examine the games themselves later this week, but needless to say...the Aerie and the Magic Carpet are rooting HARD for Mike Tomlin, Big Ben Roethilisberger, Troy Polamalu, Willie Parker, Hines Ward...big names, big talent, team history, recognizable fan base and uniform...

GO STEELERS! Save America from the Dreariness of the 2008 Season by winning impressively and sending the ghosts of the NFL's worst years to sleep.

I thought that the world of Sports media could not POSSIBLY get any worse...

Then the MLB Network opened for business.

Admittedly, the bar has been set pretty low...

First, ESPN sets up shop in a Wasteland called Bristol, Connecticut, where it would be difficult to locate sentient life, builds their on-air team around frat boy style and openly fails to recruit NYC talent...

TSN, of course, is Middle-America, St. Louis, a place with an arch, where nothing has ever happened and nothing ever will and recruited the typical assortment of small minded, small market creeps and Nation types to handle their baseball coverage...

FOX, features Joe Buck, Arch Conservative scion of the St. Louis Bucks and Tim McCarver, former Cardinal, Red Sox, Philie and arch-enemy of the Yankees...

MLB builds it's FRANCHISE around Harold Reynolds, who does not have a biased bone in his body, but is just not VERY SMART...for NYC coverage? Do they pick an actual New Yorker?

They chose Al Leiter, a Jersey boy, the arch-Conservative, language challenged throw-away who lives around the corner from me and who I regularly subject to blistering verbal barrages for his work on behalf of Conservative causes...a less qualified puke would be difficult to find and his lack of judgement is matched by his lack of faculty with language or decisiveness. He IS good talking about the ONE thing he DOES understand - Pitching.

Somehow, in a game that has been dominated by NYC since the dawn of the 20th Century and in the Media business, which is centered around NYC, ALL the Baseball networks lack NYC perspectives and Latino representation in line with the Latino presence in the game itself.

There is a word for that.

Tonight, on MLB Network, the topic was Manny Ramirez...

Did they go for a feed from Johnny Damon?

Nope...they had the excretable Kevin Millar, perhaps the biggest jackass in MLB over the past decade in Baseball and a member of the Schilling clique in the Sox split clubhouse of 2005, who played it straight, basically saying Manny is a good teammate to those he TRUSTS and the hardest worker on the team, gym before anyone on the road, batting cage, video room, gametime...blah...blah...blah, stuff that we ALL know.

Then Joe Magrane, from Des Moines, Iowa (I kid you not!) stepped up and said this;

'Manny needs adult supervision'

And many of you wonder why Black and Hispanic Americans don't necessarily think the USA has moved past its issues with race and culture?

Excuse me?

Magrane, and ERA champion and stud arm before an injury ruined him, has serious cred as a PLAYER, but this was not a discussion of play...he felt entitled to volunteer his opinion the same way Iowa
Senator, Chuck Grassley, felt entitled to demean Rudy Giuliani about his 'lifestyle' last year on the campaign trail.

For once and for all, if you are from Iowa, you have ZERO right to try and PUBLICLY discern the lifestyle of someone from NYC, who lives a life that might as well be 300 years beyond your comprehension.

For a piece of (expletive) like Magrane to comment in that manner about a Husband and a Father, Magrane speaks English, badly, Manny, his wife and kids are Tri-Lingual, speaking English, Spanish and Portuguese...Manny has made $150 Million Dollars before turning 40 years old and created a life for his family that Medieval Kings once aspired to, all while NEVER being in trouble with the law, NEVER having any issue with substance abuse or speaking ill of an opposing player in the press.

Sure SEEMS like he is pretty capable of being an ADULT without any supervision whatsoever.

So, why would a nobody like Magrane feel empowered to say such things (or Grassley, for that matter!), because, in their world, culture has RULES and the way you wear your hair, the way you treat authority, the way you blend in with the group, the way you wear your clothes and even the tone of your skin and the lint of your accent are all 'indicators' of 'Adult' behavior. The idea, widely held by those born outside of East (expletive), Iowa, that Manny is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the stale air created by the Seligs, Gammons, Lasordas, Kruks, Bucks, McCarvers of the Baseball world...a FBHOF stud of epic ability who understands his place in the game, works on his craft, doesn't throw his teammates under the bus and doesn't take (expletive) from anyone and somehow managed, in his supposed 'tan king' period with the Red Sox in June and July to outperform his replacement, a white-boy Canadian kid with no discernible personality named Jason Bay, who was widely reported by similar hued media to be 'busting it' in his time with the Red Sox.

Don't believe me?

Here are the numbers;

Manny

Career .411 (on-Base) .593 (Slugging, 8th MLB HISTORY) .314 (Average)
2nd only to Alex in RBI since '95

June '08

394 .536 .286

Solid All-Star level numbers after a poor May, during a time when he was confronted by all-time scumbag, Kevin Youkilis, the Evangelical creep from Cincinnatti and badgered by some lackey in the Red Sox clerical staff...why is it that Yankees never have problems with underlings? Could it be because Yankee staff understand that the talent is the PRODUCT and is to be treated with absolute attention and deference and the Red Sox staff feel they are part of the 'Nation' and thus, part of the team?

July 2008, the controversy smolders...meanwhile;

473 .587 .347

Check those out! That is the month that Manny gave the Red Sox as they were smearing him all over Baseball for wanting out of Boston, something he had been saying since 2003.

In Baseball, ELITE play is defined by .400 On-Base (29 players)/.500 Slugging (77 players)/.300 Average (136 players). The numbers Manny put up in Boston, on his way out the door, are HOF quality.

The numbers put up by his replacement?

Jason Bay, Red Sox

.370 .527 .293

The SUM of his issues in Boston?

He didn't like the place, where strangers (like the club official) felt comfortable interacting with him away from the ballpark, something that will get you KILLED in NYC.

He didn't hustle on 100% of his ground-outs or fly-balls.

He treated the Left Field area like his workplace and as if he was comfortable enough to step away for a bathroom break, clown around with fans or have a laugh on himself. Did Joe Magrane ever watch a Dominican League game, or Dominicans play in Washington Heights? They take it light in moments when taking it light makes SENSE and they play it deadly serious when it MATTERS.

Sound like any player you know? Guru played in the DR and has played serious ball with Dominican ballplayers since the '70s. So has Magrane. Guru paid attention and learned. Magrane asked himself why they didn't do it the way folks in Iowa do. Adult folks in Iowa, apparently.

Lastly, this is Manny, the MAN, the same guy who Magrane thinks needs 'Adult (White) Supervision'

*"My biggest dream is not to hit 500 home runs or 600 or 700," says Ramirez, who turns 36 on May 30. "My dream is for God to give me enough health to watch my kids grow up, have a beer with them, watch them graduate. That's my Hall of Fame.

"You might hit a home run or whatever, but getting home and having your kid tell you, 'Daddy, I love you,' that's priceless."

*Ramirez exudes inner peace, even though he's been more vocal in expressing dissatisfaction with umpires' calls. He was ejected from a game for only the fourth time in his career when he argued a strike-three call with home-plate umpire Paul Emmel on April 20.

Afterward, Ramirez watched a replay that showed the pitch was indeed a strike, so he sought out Emmel and apologized.

"I try to be myself," Ramirez says. "I can't worry about what other people say. I control my own life. I can't let anybody upset me, throw me off course. I have to keep my energies focused on what I do, because there are going to be a lot of obstacles and you have to keep going."

Does that sound like a guy who need 'adult' supervision?

Manny Ramirez is a certifiable ROLE MODEL for TENS of millions of Americans, his ability to call the fans out in the '07 Playoffs (it isn't the end of the world) and then go out and MASH to lead his team to victory is epic and his life story inspires people in Washington Heights and the DR. When Pedro left the Sox, you saw a lot fewer Hispanic heads with Boston hats, when Manny left, they dried up, overnight.

People, be there here on TSN, in Boston, or Iowa, who make comments along the lines of Magranes, are certifiable bigots who should be SHUNNED, INSULTED and BALKANIZED by those of you who care about such things. Why is it that high-strung types who act out and have pale skin, like Schilling, Youkilis and Pedroia are ICONS in Boston, but FBHOF types with Spanish accents end up being shunted out of town under a cloud? Take a look at the Sox on opening day, in a game that is now 40% Latino, the Cuban at 3B is the only hint on the field and the Dominican in the DH role has lost all his friends, meanwhile the team that fields essentially an all-white ballclub just signed four players;

Brad Penny

John Smoltz

Rocco Baldelli

Mark Kotsay

Wonder if any of THEM will have to hear an analyst, who looks like them, say they require 'Adult Supervision'?

"We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him, after hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor."

Red Sox owner John Henry

This quote was almost universally reported as an example of the Red Sox 'calling Scott Boras and Mark Teixeira bluff', just as in 2005 with Johnny Damon....just as Manny/Youkilis in Boston was reported solely from the Red Sox perspective (Manny is ALWAYS the bad guy...why? Because he doesn't love being here!).

Of course, Teixeira was not bluffing and today made it clear that he and Brian Cashman hit if off in Washington and started the process rolling towards seeing Mark join his childhood hero, Don Mattingly, in the pantheon of Yankee First Basemen...which now reads this way since I was 10 years old...(and will be in place when I am 54).

Chris Chambliss (#10)...Don Mattingly (#23)...Tino Martinez (#24)...Jason Giambi (#25)...

Mark Teixeira (#25, shouldn't it be #26? Code-breaker Guru!)

Back on November 7, Guru played Yankee GM and noted;

'1B Mark Texeira is the only Free Agent position player that makes real sense for the Yankee roster. BUT, he makes TOTAL sense! A High On-Base percentage, Gold Glove quality power hitter from both sides of the plate who will be 29 in '09, if he is NOT going to sign with the Angels (and I expect he WILL) then he is target #1 for the Yankees, perhaps 7 years @ $25M (175M)'

8 Years for $180, but close!

Listening to Mark speaking about wearing his Yankee hat in Baltimore and rooting for his idol, Don Mattingly, taking abuse from his hometown crowd...I couldn't help thinking about the 10 year old sitting somewhere in the World, who will watch Mark play and wear a Yankee hat in enemy territory, become a special player and someday, somehow walk up the dais at some future Yankee ceremony and replay those words.

For those angry Oriole fans, Red Sox fans, Yankee-Haters everywhere...let me show you something...

95, 98, 94, 98, 89, 69, 91, 110, 101, 88, 86, 94, 107, 91, 94, 89, 102, 102,99 ,106 , 88, 101, 103, 98, 83, 81, 87, 97, 94, 97, 98, 98, 95, 99, 103, 96, 97, 98, 92, 79, 97, 109, 96, 104, 99, 77, 70, 72, 83, 80, 93, 82, 79, 80, 89, 83, 97, 100, 100, 89, 103, 59 (Strike year, went to World Series),79, 91, 87, 97, 90, 89, 85, 74, 67, 71, 76, 88, 70 (Strike year, best record in Baseball),79 (Strike shortened, Wild Card), 92 ,96 ,114 ,98 ,87,95 ,103 ,101 ,101 ,95 ,97,94 and 89.

That is 89 years worth of Yankee Win totals, from 1920-2008.

53 Seasons of 90 Wins (17 Seasons of 100 wins).

39 AL Pennants.

26 World Series.

11 Losing seasons. 1925, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992

In the 1920's - Yankees won 60% of AL Pennants

In the 1930's - Yankees won 50% of AL Pennants

In the 1940's - Yankees won 50% of AL Pennants

In the 1950's - Yankees won 80% of AL Pennants

In the 1960's - Yankees won 50% of AL Pennants

In the 1970's - Yankees won 30% of AL Pennants

In the 1980's - Yankees won 10% of AL Pennants

In the 1990's - Yankees won 30% of AL Pennants

In the 2000's - Yankees (so far) have won 30% of AL Pennants

So, my question to you Yankee-Haters who claim Yankee dominance of the Baseball world will ruin the game...why didn't it 'ruin' the game over most of the HISTORY of the game?

Instead of being 'angry', why not be appreciative?

But, if you just can't get past it...there IS an Entertainment option!



This production was in 1955, ask your Grandparents - it was worse than anything you have to deal with today, just look at the statistics...80% in the 50's and 30-40% today. Half or less!

Fifty years from now, they might only win TWENTY PERCENT of the AL Pennants.

So, relax!

And enjoy the show...

Whichever one you choose.