Yanks = Wild Card??
The Yankees dropped a 4-3 decision to the Oakland A's yesterday dropping them 3 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. Unless something changes soon, Boston will be AL East champions. So it's looking like the Yankees entry into the post season will once again be as a wild card. But can they hold on??
As we know there are 2 sides to a baseball team, offense and pitching. Offensively, the Yankees have some problems. The designated hitter is suppose to provide offense. Jorge Posada is not doing that. He needs to be replaced. The problem is that on the current roster there is no one who is going to give the team the offense they need. Mark Texiera is in a horrible slump. The grand slam on Friday notwithstanding, he is not providing the Yanks with what they need particularly with ARod out. You could live with your catcher hitting .220 if your DH and first baseman were carrying their weight.
The pitching staff is not playoff ready. The Yankees do not have a number 2 starter that can match up with the Angels, Red Sox and the Phillies. The bullpen has been ok but who do they have to get out the big lefty bats of the Red Sox. It's not Boone Logan as evidenced by Hideki Matsui's blast yesterday.
So far Cashman's response has been to claim JC Romero and Marcus Thames off waivers. These moves coupled with the bargain basement signings of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon makes one think that the Yankees are on par with small market teams like the Royals. The difference is though that the Royals are going with youth and buildiing for the future. The Yankees are bringing in oldies to win this year. The problem is that these oldies aren't good enough to win in October.
Some are saying that Cashman is right for not trading away top end prospects for help before July 31st. Normally I would agree with that. But I have 2 problems with this now. First, these are the Yankees who measure success only by winning the World Series. This roster is not built to win the World Series. Secondly, when will we see these kids and how good are they??? How come other teams can bring up young players and have them excel while the Yankees baby them only to have them falter??
The Yankees need to do something now. They either make a trade blowing away a rival GM with a package to get a top of the line starter or they bring up some of these top prospects and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. It's time for bold action. It's time to stop playing it safe. It's time for Brian Cashman to show some guts.
The NCAA Is A Disgrace
http://eye-on-collegefootball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/30798279
The NCAA has found that there was no institutional wrongdoing on behalf of Ohio State University in the memorabilia-for-sale scheme that involved a number of players over a multi-year period. According to the NCAA, all the blame falls on Jim Tressel. Give me a break!!!
From everything that has been brought to light since this all came out back in December, it appears that various administrative types at OSU knew exactly what was going on. It is just unfathomable that no one but Tressel knew that players were selling or trading jerseys and other memorabilia for tattoos and cars. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, it was reported that the OSU AD before Gene Smith notified Tressel of problems pertaining to players selling items. I believe this was in 2005-2006. The article above does a great job of describing the inconsistencies of the Ohio State story.
There appears to be selective justice on the part of the NCAA. But what we also see is that the NCAA has some significant ethics problems. USC is on probation. Georgia Tech has given up their 2009 ACC title and been fined. Tennessee has self-imposed penalties and is awaiting an NCAA ruling. LSU is under investigation. Who will be happen next?
The NCAA is a disgrace. It talks about protecting student athletes. It talks about the importance of competition. Yet, it turns a blind-eye to a Big Ten institution and football powerhouse out of control. The yahoos in Columbus must all be happy. Tressel must be viewed as a martyr. And the Ohio High School Football Association will go on with their opening day tribute to him. Because at the end of the day its all about winning no matter how many rules you break. I can tell you one thing: I would never recommend a young man to go to OSU for any sport. It's nothing more than a meat factory. So much for protecting student athletes.
The NFL Remains Closed For Now
Yesterday with much fanfare, every talking head who's job is dependent upon the NFL was trumpeting the end of the lockout when the owners voted 31-0 to approve a collective bargaining agreement with the players. But the players put an end to the party by not taking a vote and in fact some claimed that the owners were trying to pull a fast one. Is it hard to believe that Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder wouldn't try to pull one over on the players??
From what I have been able to find out, the terms of what the owners approved requires that the players recertify the union by July 26th and that the terms and conditions of the old collective bargaining agreement would be in effect. The parties would have until July 30th to agree to any changes. If they cannot come to an agreement, then the terms of the old agreement would remain in effect for the next 10 years. I have been involved in plenty of labor contract negotiations and I cannot imagine a labor union ever agreeing to something like this.
Since the rookie cap, revenue split and retiree benefits supposedly have been agreed to, unless these terms of the old CBA are inconsequential, I find it hard to believe that DeMaurice Smith would agree to only a 4 day period to renegotiate. I have to laugh when I hear people say that the players are greedy. The players have reduced their share of the revenue split. They have agreed to a salary cap for rookies. So who is greedy??
What people need to remember is the NFL is the players. They are the product. People don't go to the games to see Jerry Jones on the sidelines. They go to see Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson and Larry Fitzgerald. NFL players have the shortest career span of any of the 4 major sports. By the time they hit their late 20's and early 30's many of these guys are done physically. Do they make a good buck?? You bet they do. But, they physically and mentally pay for it.
This deal will ultimately get done. But the owners shameless attempt to embarass and pressure the players is a disgrace. In case they don't realize it, it's the players who are putting people in the seats, getting fans to buy jerseys, caps and hats, and paying for the outlandishly priced NFL Sunday Ticket.
Yanks Win: What Does It Mean For October??
Freddy Garcia answered the bell last night going 6 2/3 innings and allowing no runs or walks while striking out 9 as the Yankees defeated the Rays 4-0. While Garcia joined his late 30-something pitcher Bartolo Colon in bouncing back from a bad start in Toronto, what does this all mean for the Yankees chances to win the World Series. That's right I'm talking about winning the World Series not just simply making the playoffs because isn't that the organization's mission statement??
Since George Steinbrenner took over the Yankees back in the early 70's, the Yankees were never satisfied with just making the playoffs. It took roughly 3 years for the Yankees to make the World Series after Steinbrenner took ownership of the team. After being swept by the Reds in 1976, The Boss went out and brought in Reggie Jackson, Mike Torrez and Bucky Dent as he was determined to win it all. And they did in 1977 and 1978. This is where the definition of a "successful season was only when you won the World Series" became the Yankee mission statement.
With this back drop I bring you to the 2011 edition of the New York Yankees. Will this team have a successful season based on the organization's mission statement? I've followed baseball for nearly 50 years, all of them as a Yankee fan and I'm hear to tell you that the answer is NO!! While Colon and Garcia have pitched well this week in Tampa, are you comfortable with a playoff rotation that includes AJ Burnett, Colon and Garcia?? I'm not. There are recent examples of aging pitchers who didn't have it in the playoffs. Does Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown ring a bell??
With the Red Sox and Tigers looking for pitching help, the Yankees might have a difficult time matching up against a duo of Beckett/Lester or Verlander/Jimenez (the Tigers are interested). If the Angels win the AL West, can the Yanks match up with the duo of Weaver/Haren?? Where I'm sitting its Sabathia and then hold your breathe. But the Yanks are selling to their fans that the current roster can take them to a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
Offensively, the Yankee lineup is not as lethal as one may think. While there has been an incredible amount of focus on what Derek Jeter is doing, there are bigger problems to be concerned about. With ARod out until mid to late August, the Yankee lineup is seriously shortened. While Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner have stepped up, three players have not: Mark Texiera, Jorge Posada and Russell Martin.
While Texiera has hit 25 home runs, his batting average is .242. This is unacceptable particularly since I can't remember the last time he has hit a home run. Kevin Long has worked magic in the past with Robinson Cano, ARod and Curtis Granderson. What's he doing with Texiera?? This is a guy who has consistently hit .300 and for the last 2 seasons hasn't come close to that. Your best hitter bats third. Has Texiera been the Yankees best hitter?? Hardly.
Jorge Posada as the DH is a disaster. Posada is hitting .229 with 9 HRS and 29 RBI's. Flat out terrible. The Yankees cannot afford this type of production. While I sided with Posada in his dust up with Cashman in May, I'm questioning now his commitment to the team. He has to know that he is struggling. He has to know that his production is terrible. Wouldn't it make it easier on Girardi if Posada went to him and said, "I have no problem becoming more of a bench player". Somehow I don't see that happening but in the meantime Posada is almost an automatic out.
Which brings us to Russell Martin. After a hot April, Martin is hitting .217 with 10 HRs and 38 RBIs. While his defense is very good, the Yankees cannot afford such putrid production when Texiera and Posada are also struggling. Which begs the question, why not bring up Jesus Montero?? Bringing up Montero and playing him 2 or 3 games a week would be reminiscent of when Posada was brought up in 1997 and was teamed up with Joe Girardi. Montero would have an excellent tutor in Martin, along with having Posada around.
But the Yankees don't see that as being necessary. My question is Why?? Brian Cashman continues to say that he will not trade away top Yankee prospects to acquire a quality pitcher. Montero is one of those prospects. So if you are not going to trade him and your starting catcher is hitting .217 then why won't you bring up your supposed top offensive prospect??
Which brings me back to the whole notion of the Yankees only considering a season to be a success when you win the World Series. If that is the case, then why won't you trade propsects to acquire a top line pitcher?? You can't say you want to build up the farm system and then say its only a success when you win the World Series unless you believe that the team that you have in the Bronx can win it all. I think you have to be delusional to think that the 2011 Yankees will win it all.
I'm all for building up the farm system. In fact, the Yankees success in the Joe Torre era was built around the core 4 and Bernie Williams. But at some point those kids were given an opportunity. But since Cashman has been given total control, we have yet to see the fruits of the farm system. There are generations of Yankee fans who have bought into the Yankee mission statement. They don't know what its like to see an aging team regress. They don't know what its like seeing Horace Clarke, Jerry Kenney, Steve Whitaker, and Dooley Womack in pinstripes. They don't know what its like to have only one Yankee on the All-Star team. That's why the Yankees continue to sell that they are going all out to win the World Series. But if they are going all out, then use your young prospects to bring in players to win it all now. If you are committed to the farm system then have the courage to tell the fans that we are building for the future. I can accept that living through the mid to late 60's, early 70's and the joyless decade of the 80's. But tell a 20 or 30 something Yankee fan that and they will tell you something different.
Yanks Drop One For Colon & Ryan Malone a Leaf??
Bartolo Colon bounced back from two bad starts with a strong game last night but the Yankees gave the game away with a 3-2 loss to Tampa. Colon's line score was impressive: 6.1 innings 5 hits 3 runs 2 earned 2 walks and 9 strike outs. However, a disasterous 7th inning that saw Curtis Granderson lose a ball in centerfield and Boone Logan botch a certain inning ending double play gave the Rays the go ahead runs and tagged Colon with the loss.
Colon's start was impressive as his fastball was consistently in the 90's and he didn't exhibit any problems with his hamstrings. Colon will probably have 2 more starts before the end of the month as the Yankees consider making a move for a starting pitcher. Tonight it's Freddy Garcia's turn to try to bounce back from a bad outing against the Blue Jays. Whether these two aging pitchers bounce back or not, I still think the Yankees need to make a move for a pitcher. Again it was reported in the NY Post that they had scouts at Ubaldo Jimenez's game last night against Atlanta. Jimenez had a strong start once again and would certainly look good in pinstripes. The key is trading prospects. While I am all in favor of building through the system, the problem is when do we see these kids play???
Russell Martin is hitting .220, why not call up Jesus Montero? How come other teams bring up young pitchers and they excel but the Yankees can't seem to do that?? Jimenez is only 27 years old and has an unbelievably inexpensive contract. It's not like your trading for a 34 year old.
2 other notes on the Yanks: Boone Logan takes a lot of heat and I'm at the front of the line as far as being critical. However, last night he pitched well. If the Yankees were playing in a major league ball park last night, Granderson catches that ball and Logan just needs to go to first to end the inning. The other item, the Yankee offense has been brutal. Mark Texiera needs to step it up. Hitting around .240 is unacceptable especially without ARod. The lineup is really shortened with Jorge Posada and Russell Martin hitting around .220. I'm not sure how much longer the Yanks can go with Posada as the everyday DH.
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There were plenty of reports that the Leafs and Lightning are talking about a possible trade that would bring Ryan Malone to the Maple Leafs with the Lightning getting Jussi Rynnas and a 3rd round pick. The Leafs have plenty of goaltending prospects so trading Rynnas would not be a bad move. Malone would certainly bring a tough, trucculent forward to the team who knows what it takes to win. One report I saw had Malone slotted in with Tim Connolly and Phil Kessel on the ist line. Malone would certainly clear space for the two smaller forwards. It would also help the power play as Malone can be a force in front of the net as evidenced by his play in Pittsburgh and Tampa. This would also strengthen the 3rd line with Joffrey Lupul teamed up with Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak. It will be interesting to see if there is anything to this in the upcoming weeks but it would certainly improve the Leaf roster without weakening their developing farm system.
Tuesday’s Thoughts
While enjoying the July heat, here's what I'm thinking about today:
* Sunday's outing by Phil Hughes was certainly encouraging as he gave the Yankees 6 solid innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5. Hughes' fast ball was clocked in the low 90's but was most impressive was the command on his curve which gave him the perfect strike out pitch. Last year when he enjoyed success, Hughes had command of his curve which really augments his fast ball. Hopefully, he can continue on this path in his next start Friday at home against the A's.
* Tonight Bartolo Colon faces a critical start as he tries to recover from two bad outings. If Colon gets roughed up again tonight, the pressure will really be on Mr. Cashman to get some help for the rotation. The next two days will be real interesting with Colon going today and Freddy Garcia going on Wednesday. In my opinion, bring up Ivan Nova and make a deal.
* The Yankee bullpen did a great job bailing out AJ Burnett last night. Hector Noesi, David Robertson and the incomparable Mariano Rivera shut the door on the Rays while the Yankees fought back to win 5-4. Burnett was awful last night yet kept the damage down to 4 runs. However, this type of start won't cut it in the post season.
* In today's NY Post George King is reporting that the Yankees continue to scout other starting pitchers. While Brian Cashman says that he's happy with his pitching staff, its clear that the Yankees have to make a move if they want to have a legitimate shot of going to the World Series. To me the two guys who I would be going after are Ubaldo Jimenez or Matt Garza.
* The ratings came out last week for this year's All-Star Game and the numbers were not good. In fact, less people watched the game than they did last year and last year's ratings were bad. The excuse being given was that there were too many players who didn't go to the game or didn't play. This is all nonsense. The ratings are down because of interleague play. There is no reason to get excited when I may see Roy Halladay face David Ortiz in May. It was once called the Mid-Summer Classic. It should now be called the Mid Summer Farce.
* As you know in an attempt to get people involved, MLB allows people to vote on the internet up to 25 times for their favorite players to make the all-star team. This I believe also makes the game more of a popularity contest than ever before. I can remember as a kid my friend and I walking down to the local single A team's offices and voting. We could only take a few ballots at a time before the lady in the office asked us to leave.
* It's looking like the NFL lockout should be coming to an end and the free agent period is going to be real interesting. I guess teams will have 3 days to have exclusive rights to sign their own free agents before free agent frenzy will really begin.
* Sure would like to see the Browns go after a running back and possibly a safety. How about Ahmad Bradshaw to complement Peyton Hillis and Donte Whitner paired with TJ Ward?
* Reports out of Columbus that Jim Tressel was not reporting violations to the Ohio State compliance office in 2005-06 should not be a surprise. What is interesting that the previous AD did confront Tressel about it which would lead one to believe that the current administration knew what was going on. The revelation also makes the Ohio High School Football Association's attempt to honor Tressel at all Ohio high school football season openers this year a complete and total joke.
* And finally, I hope you enjoy the new site. The blog now has its own twitter account so feel free to comment either here or on Twitter @tonytalkssports.
We Are Up On Twitter
Testing it out as Tonytalkssportsblog's twitter account should be up. tonytalkssports
Welcome To The New & Improved Tonytalkssports Blog
I hope you enjoy the new look as I will hope to add different features like pictures and you tube feeds. Tomorrow's Tuesdays Thoughts will appear right here. I'm also working on a new twitter feed for the blog. Please follow along and don't be afraid to comment.
CC To The Rescue Again!!
Yesterday I mistakenly said that Phil Hughes was going to pitch. He's pitching today and I will stand by what I said that it might just be the biggest game of the year so far. But Saturday CC Sabathia showed why he is the Yankees most valuable player this year as he shut down the Blue Jays to snap a 2 game losing streak with a 4-1 win. In his last seven starts, Sabathia is 7-0 with a 1.68 ERA. Yesterday's win makes CC the first 14 game winner in the big leagues.
Where would the Yanks be without Sabathia. He is stopped losing streaks many times this year. The only hiccups he has had was with the Red Sox. If the Yanks were able to get another top end starter it would be a great 1-2 punch with Sabathia. It is imperative that Cashman make a move. If he doesn't, a Cy Young season from CC will have gone to waste.
The Clock Strikes 12 For Garcia & Colon
When the Yankees signed Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to minor league contracts it was a flyer worth taking on 2 aging 30-somethings. From the beginning of the season to the All-Star break, it looked like Brian Cashman had truly found bargains at the Dollar Store. Unfortunately, as with Cinderella, the clock as struck 12 and it looks like this fairy tale is coming to an end as Freddy Garcia coughed up 6 runs in 5 innings and the Yanks dropped their second straight to the Blue Jays by the score of 7-1. The Pinstripers didn't lose any ground as the Red Sox lost to the Rays 9-6.
The last two nights have been very painful as both pitchers looked awful, Colon more so than Garcia. The team has also played terrible behind them but its hardly the reason why the Yanks have lost 2 since they have been outscored 22-8. We all know that in order to be successful in post season baseball you need good pitching and what the Yankees have received the last two nights won't cut it now let alone in October. Today may be the biggest game of the second half as Phil Hughes will start for the Yankees. A good start from Hughes would certainly calm the nerves of Yankee fans and probably mean that the Yanks would only need to be looking for one starter, as they could also bring up Ivan Nova. Hughes really has an opportunity to step up in the rotation and there is no question he has the ability to do it.
While the Yankees will anxiously await to see how Hughes performs this afternoon, they have scouts in different major league ball parks looking at starting pitchers. According to George King of the NY Post, the Yanks have scouts watching Matt Garza, Anibal Sanchez, Jeremy Guthrie, Francisco Liriano, Ubaldo Jimenez and Heath Bell. There are a number of teams that are looking at Jimenez who has picked up his game the last 4 starts and is only 27 years old. King indicates that the Rockies are looking for high end prospects and the Yanks have them to deal. This is a clear indication that the Yankee high command realize that they need to do something to upgrade the rotation if they are to be playing baseball in October. Garza certainly knows what it takes to pitch in the NL East but Jimenez might be the best of the group. However, either Garza or Jimenez would be great to see in Yankee pinstripes. Cashman can't be timid as both the Red Sox and Tigers are in the hunt for pitching. The next couple of weeks will be real interesting!!!!
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