Doing the math: 1 = 27
One more win culminates long and difficult season

It has been a long road to this point. The New York Yankees have had to overcome predictions, doubters and, yes, even themselves sometimes to put this team on the brink of bringing a 27th World Series trophy back to the Big Apple.

It hasn’t been an easy road. Going into Spring Training many so-called experts were split as to how well the Yankees would do in 2009. In Sports Illustrated 13 sportswriters predicted the AL East. Four predicted the Bombers would finish first, six chose the Boston Red Sox and three picked the Tampa Bay Rays. Six of the writers predicted the Yankees would be the wild card entry and only two felt New York would be crowned American League Champions.

Flip over to ESPN and only Tim Kurkjian selected the Yankees as the 2009 AL East Champs and the winners of the American League crown.

Then there was the whole Alex Rodriguez drama, which started just as Spring Training got underway. In January Joe Torre’s new book, “The Yankee Years,” had some derogatory things to say about A-Rod. Then in February, Rodriguez’s name was leaked out of a list of 104 players who had tested positive in 2003 for performance enhancing drugs during an MLB sanctioned screening in order to see how bad the steroid/HGH/PED problem was in baseball. There was no punishment attached to a positive test at the time. A-Rod came out and admitted his use.

Things continued to get worse for Rodriguez as an injury to his right hip was discovered and he learned he needed to undergo corrective surgery to remove a cyst and repair a partially torn labrum in the hip. The predictions were that A-Rod could miss up to 10 weeks of the regular season. On top of all of that a news story broke that Rodriguez was linked to New York madam Kristin Davis, who is allegedly the same peddler that supplied ex-governor Eliot Spitzer with hookers before his dalliances became public, causing him to resign from office.

The Yankees also had some damaged goods players they were worried about. Hideki Matsui was returning after having had surgery on both knees over the past couple of seasons and wasn’t projected to play the outfield until late June, early July. Jorge Posada was returning after a winter of recovering from having surgery performed on his throwing shoulder to repair a torn labrum. Lastly, Mariano Rivera had his throwing shoulder cleaned up and at nearly 40 everyone wondered how that would affect him.

The Yankees also started the new season with three new faces on the squad. In the off season New York signed pitchers CC Sabathia (FA – Milwaukee), AJ Burnett (FA – Toronto) and probably one of the best signings in recent years, first baseman Mark Teixeira (FA-Los Angeles Angels).

On paper the Yankees looked as formidable as any team, but the proof of their toughness would have to be established between the white lines.

The season began horribly for the Yankees. With Alex Rodriguez on the sidelines the Yankees staggered to a 13-15 record in their first 28 games. They failed their first major test of the season by getting swept in a 3-game series against the Red Sox in April (24-26).

Then on May 8 the fortunes of the Yankees turned around with the return of A-Rod to the lineup. The Yankees were facing the Baltimore Orioles and pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie was the same guy who outpitched Sabathia on opening day as the Orioles beat the Bombers 10-5.

Guthrie threw one pitch to Rodriguez and A-Rod knocked the ball out of the park. It was as if A-Rod was telling baseball, ‘I’m back and I’m on a mission.’ A-Rod’s return energized a struggling Teixeira who had had a rotten opening month. With A-Rod to protect him Teixeira’s home run and RBI production took a turn upward, as well as his batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage.

The Yankees looked like they were taking two steps forward and one step back. In their first meeting against the Angels, a club has always given New York fits; the Yankees took 2-of-3 at the Stadium. That euphoria quickly evaporated at the Red Sox came in for a two game set and took both games from the Yankees. The Rays also came in for two games following the Sox and they won both of their encounters.

Instead of getting down on themselves the Yankee players jump started their performance and began to climb out of the hole they had dug for themselves. After the Rays left town, saddling the Yankees with the aforementioned 13-15 record the Bombers went on a tear for the remainder of the month and after two months of play the Yankees were 29-21.

After June it was 44-32, but there were still some potholes in the Yankees’ road to the playoffs. They went to Boston for another 3-game series and the Red Sox continued their dominance by once again sweeping the Yankees out of town. New York’s 0-8 start against Boston was the worst start in franchise history. Until they could figure out their arch rivals winning the division, let alone making the playoffs, was going to an improbable task.

The Yankees ran into other glitches along the way. They dropped 2-of-3 against both the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins. However, after leaving Florida the Yankees won 14 of 16 games giving them a huge boost as they flew into Orange County to take on the Angels in a 3-game series that would end the first half of the season.

As everyone recalls the Angels continued their mastery over the Yankees by sweeping them out of Angel Stadium. It was a frustrating setback going into the all-star break.

Apparently, the break was exactly what the Yankees needed. After play resumed following the all-star game the Yankees ripped off eight straight wins, and 10 of 11 before running into a bump in Chicago as the White Sox took 3 of 4 from the Bombers.

That hardly slowed the Yankees down as they went 19-6 over their next 25 games including taking 5 out of 6 from the Red Sox. In fact the Yankees continued to steam roll through the American League. In their final 32 games the Yankees put up a record of 21-11, and in doing so they took 2-of-3 from the Angels in a return visit to Anaheim, and then flew home to sweep the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in their final regular season meeting. That series allowed the Yankees to split the season series at nine games apiece. That was an incredible feat for a team that started out 0-8. Additionally, the Yankees split the 10 games played against the Angels something that neither Yankee nor Angel fans had seen in quite a while.

The Yankees finished the season with the best record in baseball at 103-59 and won the AL East by eight games over 2nd place Boston. Going into the playoff rounds the Yankees were brimming with confidence.

In the divisional series against the Minnesota Twins the Yankees held it together to sweep the Twins 3-0. The series was a close match, but the Yankees pitching and timely hitting proved superior.

The championship series (no offense to the Phillies) the Yankees were pitted against the Angels. The Angels came into the series with a lot of confidence as well. They met the Red Sox, a team which had ousted the Angels from the playoffs 3 times this decade. However, in a ritual of exorcism the Angels swept the Red Sox into a early exit from the playoffs.

It was the Yankees turn to do the same with the Angels and in a great series the Bombers did just that taking the Angels out in 6 games behind the arms of CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, plus the bat of Alex Rodriguez.

That set up the 2009 Fall Classic against the Philadelphia Phillies, who many have called a mirror image of the Yankees. Good starting pitching and a powerful lineup.

The Yankees lost Game 1 facing Cliff Lee, who on that night was pitching like was from another planet. Sabathia took the hill for the Bombers, but wasn’t quite up to Lee’s standards. He made two mistake pitches to Chase Utley who knocked both of them over the wall. The Yankees lost 6-1 and in doing so dug themselves a hole. Of the last six World Series, the loser of Game 1 also lost the series. The Yankees had to right the ship.

Game 2 saw AJ Burnett starting for the Yankees and the Phillies countered with Pedro Martinez. Both pitchers were brilliant, but Burnett had just a little bit more as the Yankees nipped the Phillies 3-1.

Philadelphia was going home with a split, and had aspirations of a 3-game sweep over the Yankees. New York refused to cooperate, winning both Game 3, 8-5 and Game 4 with a dramatic 9th inning rally to drop the Phillies 7-4.

Tonight the Yankees have the opportunity to close out the Series and Philadelphia in order to take their first ride down the Canyon of Heroes in 9 seasons. The only thing standing in their way is Cliff Lee. If he pitches like he did in Game 1 the Yankees may have to wait a day. If AJ Burnett pitches like he did in Game 2 they may not. This game comes down to pitching and which team will be the first to blink.

If the Yankees can win just one more game they can rinse a lot of post season disappointment and history out of their mouths with some bubbly. In the immortal words of Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, “Just win, baby.”

1 = 27.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Andy scares up a Halloween victory
Lefty survives rough start to notch 17th post season win

Once again the Yankees turned to “Old Reliable.” In one of the linchpin games of the 2009 edition of the World Series Joe Girardi handed the ball to the elder statesman of his pitching staff.

Andy Pettitte has taken the hill in the post season more than any other Yankee pitcher not named Mariano Rivera. Whitey Ford has the major league record for most wins the World Series with 10, but Pettitte had the most victories in the post season with 16. Last night he was going for his 17th.

The Philadelphia Phillies countered with last year’s World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, and the Phillies were banking on the Hamels of 2008 showing up. As Game 3 unfolded it appeared that the boys from the City of Brotherly Love were going to get their wish.

In the first 3 innings Hamels completely shut down the Yankees. The only flaw in his game up that point was hitting Alex Rodriguez in the top of the second, but he quickly erased that situation by inducing catcher Jorge Posada to hit into a force at second, striking out Robinson Cano and getting Nick Swisher to fly out to right.

Pettitte also looked like he was ready for the evening. After giving up a leadoff single to shortstop Jimmy Rollins in the first Pettitte retired the Phillies big bats by popping out Shane Victorino, then striking out Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to end the inning.

The game appeared to be shaping up to another pitching duel, but things got dicey for Pettitte and the Yankees in the second. In a script tailor made for Halloween Pettitte served up a leadoff home run to Jason Werth before striking out Raul Ibanez. Catcher Pedro Feliz followed with a double to right and Carlos Ruiz walked. With runners at first and second Hamels laid down a bunt single to load the bases. Rollins walked to force in a run and then Victorino hit a sacrifice fly to left scoring Ruiz. Pettitte finally escaped further damage by striking out Utley for the second time to end the inning.

The teams traded zeros in the 3rd inning, but it wasn’t looking great for the Bombers as Hamels hadn’t given up a hit and appeared to be cruising through New York’s lineup.

That all changed in the top of the 4th.

Hamels started the inning like he had the entire game by getting Johnny Damon to fly out to right field. He walked Mark Teixeira and up to the plate strode Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who had had stellar division and league championship series performances was hitless in the Fall Classic. In eight official at bats A-Rod had recorded six strikeouts conjuring up memories of his preceding post season woes.

A-Rod put a charge into an 0-1 fastball and sent it down the right field line. Initially, it looked like the ball hit the top of the wall and came back onto the field, causing Rodriguez to stop at second and Teixeira at third. However, the strange way the ball bounced back onto the field caused Girardi to ask for a video review of the ball’s flight. All six umpires retreated to a viewing room and in a very quick reversal ruled that A-Rod’s shot had hit a FOX camera located just behind the wall in the right field corner of the park. It was now a 3-2 Phillies lead.

"I think it was a big hit," Rodriguez said to reporters after the game. "I think it woke our offense up a little bit. It felt really good."

Added Girardi about A-Rod’s breakout swing, "It was a big hit for us because it really got us going. He has been so good for us in the playoffs. He's a big reason we're at this point."

Pettitte pitched a scoreless 4th and then the Yankees went back to work in the top of the 5th inning.

Swisher finally got to the party by doubling to left to start the inning. After Melky Cabrera stuck out Pettitte helped his own cause by blooping a first pitch curveball into center as Swisher came around and beat the throw to home with a hard slide into Ruiz.

With the score tied Jeter singled to left, moving Pettitte to second. Johnny Damon doubled to right center scoring Pettitte and Jeter. Rapidly the game unraveled for Hamels and the Phillies. After walking Teixeira manager Charlie Manuel took his staggered starter out of the game.

J.A. Happ quickly restored order by getting A-Rod to line out to center and Posada to pop out to second to shut down the Yankee threat.

Leading 5-3 Pettitte faced the heart of the Phillies lineup. However, as he had done so many times in past post season games, Pettitte came up big getting Victorino to line out to center, followed by Utley grounding out to first and Howard popping out to short.

Both teams traded home runs in the 6th as Swisher recorded his first knock in the World Series and Werth hit a monster shot over the left field wall for his second round tripper of the game.

In the seventh with two on and two out Posada got on the ledger by hitting a soft single to left scoring Damon as the Yankees took a 7-4 lead.

Pinch hitter Hideki Matsui, substituting for reliever Joba Chamberlain (who pitched a scoreless 7th inning) finished up the Yankees scoring by hitting an opposite field home run off Brett Myers to make it an 8-4 ballgame.

With the Phillies down to their last 3 outs and the Yankees holding onto a 4-run lead Girardi elected to go with the erratic Phil Hughes to close out the game. Unfortunately for Hughes, after Feliz grounded out, Hughes threw a 1-1 four seamer to Ruiz over the plate and Ruiz launched it over the left center field wall. Girardi wasted little time finding his hook and pulling the beleaguered reliever out of the game.

For the third straight game closer Mariano Rivera was given the ball and asked to end the game. Rivera did so on 5 pitches. He induced pinch hitter Matt Stairs to ground out to second and Rollins to hit a soft pop up to Rodriguez at third. Ballgame over.

Losing Game 1, and knowing the last 6 World Series runner ups lost Game 1 the Yankees knew they had a steep, but not impossible mountain to climb.

"We feel like we've got a real strong team," Pettitte told reporters. "Obviously, losing that first game, we weren't happy with that. We were upset about it, but we feel real good about what we're doing and we felt good about coming in here."

Pettitte critiqued his pitching performance as a rough one. One that came after an 80-minute rain delay.

"It was a battle tonight -- I wasn't able to get ahead," Pettitte said in the clubhouse. "I wasn't able to get my breaking ball over. I was able to get some outs when I needed to get some, but it was a grind tonight for me."

More from Pettitte on Pettitte:

"You're out there and you're by yourself," Pettitte admitted to reporters. "There's not a whole lot of anything that can help you except just trying to just keep battling and keep trying to get it there and keep trying to get it there, and hopefully, it'll come around."

Luckily for the Yankees Pettitte did come around, and so did the Yankees offense. Although happy with the outcome the Yankees know the battle isn’t over.

"We feel good about being up, 2-1," Pettitte mused afterward. "But we know there's a lot of work left to do."

New York hopes to put the Phillies on the brink of elimination today in Game 4 as their ace CC Sabathia takes the hill on three days’ rest. The Phillies counter with RHP Joe Blanton. Game time is 8:20 pm EST. As usual the broadcast will be carried by FOX and anchored by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

2 to 27.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

The 800 lb. gorilla has left the room
A-Rod’s playoff woes quickly becoming a memory

Everybody is asking who is that masked man wearing number 13 in New York Yankee pinstripes? That can’t be Alex Rodriguez can it? Isn’t he the guy who has proverbially choked in the playoffs since coming to the Bronx?

Well look again. It is a new A-Rod. One who is delivering timely hits in run scoring situations.

Ever since Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees became the first team in sports history to blow a 3-0 series lead losing to the Boston Red Sox in 7 games A-Rod’s numbers had dwindled in the post season to microscopic proportions unfitting for a talented player of his magnitude.

Since signing on with the Yankees in 2004 Rodriguez has been a player of two seasons. In the regular season A-Rod has been a tiger. From 2004 – 2007 Rodriguez averaged a .303 BA, 42 HR and 123 RBI. His average on base percentage was .4004 and his slugging percentage was .5736. Add those two figures together and Rodriguez’s on base + slugging was .974. Lofty numbers indeed. Those numbers helped Rodriguez secure two MVP trophies in 2005 and 2007 to become only one of six players in Yankees’ history to win the MVP trophy. The others were Joe DiMaggio (3), Yogi Berra (3), Mickey Mantle (3), Lou Gehrig (2) and Roger Maris (2).

However, once the regular season ended and the calendar flipped to October those regular season heroics didn’t translate into post season magic.

In the 2004 ALDS against the Minnesota Twins Rodriguez amassed a .421 BA, a .476 OBP, and a .737 SLG%. He hit one home run and drove in 3 RBI. In the first three games of the ALCS, against the Red Sox, A-Rod hit .428 with one home run and 3 RBI. The Yankees won Game 3 19-8 with the offense collecting whopping 22 hits along the way. What flew under the radar at the time was the fact the Sox scored 9 runs of their own, next to 15 hits. Not exactly a pitching gem by the Yankees pitching staff either.

The roof caved in on the Yankees after that. It was like the well suddenly dried up and no more water was to be found. This was especially true in A-Rod’s case.

In the next 4 games Rodriguez batted a dismal .118 with one home run and two RBI. He wasn’t the only one. It was a total team collapse. It began back in Game 4 when the Yankees, leading the game 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning, brought in Mariano Rivera to shut down the Sox and lead the Yankees to their 40th World Series appearance.

Rivera did the unthinkable. He walked Kevin Millar to open the frame. Sox manager Terry Francona immediately sent in Dave Roberts to pinch run for Millar. Roberts then stole second to put the tying run into scoring position. The next batter, Bill Mueller, hit the first pitch he saw from Rivera into center field, scoring Roberts, and forever changing the course of baseball in Boston and the Bronx. Three innings later, after Manny Ramirez singled, David Ortiz sent a 2-1 pitch from Paul Quantrill into the night securing a 6-4 Red Sox victory in front of the Fenway faithful. Three nights later the Red Sox exorcised the so-called “Curse of the Babe” by beating the Yankees at Yankee Stadium 10-3 before a stunned home crowd of 56,129.

After that series things went totally wrong for A-Rod. Not the most liked person in the press or in the dugout A-Rod always tried to give the answer he thought people wanted to hear. He tried to say the right things, but often times it came out the wrong way, which just gave the press more fodder to write about. Rodriguez quickly became his own worst enemy. Both on and off the field, drama followed him everywhere.

During the next 3 season’s A-Rod’s individual numbers continued to flourish. Between 2005 and 2007 Rodriguez hit .321, .290. and .314 respectively. He knocked in 407 runs and sent baseballs over the wall 137 times. However, one of the continual knocks on A-Rod was, yeah he got his numbers, but rarely in key situations. He’d hit home runs if the Yankees were six runs up or down, but never when the game was on the line.

Not all was negative press in that time period for Rodriguez. On August 4, 2007 Rodriguez hit his 500th home run over the left field wall at Yankee Stadium to become the youngest player in major league history to reach that milestone. Statistically, 2007 was a monster year for him. Rodriguez finished with a line of .314 BA, 156 RBI and 54 home runs. His numbers were good enough for A-Rod to garner his second MVP trophy in pinstripes and third overall.

What happened to Alex Rodriguez during post season play was something out of the Twilight Zone. Inexplicably A-Rod would just stop hitting and driving in runs.

Over the three year period covering 2005 to 2007 the Yankees were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Three different teams sent the Yankees packing. The LA Angels in 2005, the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and the Cleveland Indians in 2007. In that time Rodriguez’s numbers were appalling to say the least.

In 55 at bats A-Rod had 7 hits for a .127 average with one home run, one RBI and he had struck out 15 times.

Last year was another good year for Rodriguez. He hit .302, plated 103 runs and knocked out 35 home runs. However, for the first time since 1995 the Yankees missed the playoffs under new manager Joe Girardi, who replaced the iconic Joe Torre. In fairness to Girardi, he was dealing with a lot of issues and injuries, but still managed to win 89 games. In other seasons that might have been good enough to make the playoffs, but unfortunately for the Yankees an upstart Tampa Bay Rays team won the division 8 games ahead of the Yankees, followed by the runner up Boston Red Sox who made it in as the wild card entry. The Yankees 3rd place finish was their lowest since the team came in 4th in 1992 under Buck Showalter.

It was embarrassing, nonetheless, for a team accustomed to playing in October.

Off the field, Rodriguez’s life was full of tabloid exploits well documented in the New York press, on sports talk shows and in the scandal rags.

In January of this year news leaked that the aforementioned Torre had written a sort of “tell-all” book about life behind the closed clubhouse doors of the New York Yankees. Rodriguez was prominently referred to by Torre. Torre said A-Rod’s teammates called him “A-Fraud” behind his back and he described the third baseman of having a “single white female” fixation on Derek Jeter. He also described Rodriguez as stat driven, not getting a job done in a particular situation.
Of course, this caused teammates to become involved in defending A-Rod, which they did.

Torre’s expose was barely out of the box when the next big bombshell hit. In February Sports Illustrated published that A-Rod’s name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive in 2003 for steroid and/or human growth hormone use. Once again, the Yankees were thrust into a negative spotlight because of their embattled third baseman.

Doing the right thing, A-Rod, in an interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons, admitted he had taken illegal substances in 2001 – 2003 while a member of the Texas Rangers. He told Gammons he stopped prior to joining the Yankees in 2004. Without rehashing all of A-Rod’s excuses as to why he went down this road suffice it to say there has been absolutely no proof to this point to refute A-Rod’s statements.

Rodriguez private life became public as well. Allegedly, A-Rod was cheating on his then wife Cynthia while traveling around the country with the Yankees. He was photographed with a mysterious blond when the two of them entered the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. There were reports this same woman was seen at various other spots around the country with Rodriguez going to dinner and high end strip joints.

He was also romantically linked to singer/actress Madonna. Both denied any involvement, however, both parties were divorced from their spouses within a short time of each other.

And just when you think you had seen and heard it all another A-Rod left hook came out of nowhere flooring his teammates and Yankee fans alike.

A-Rod’s name was associated with well know madam, Kristin Davis, the lady who had supplied fallen New York Governor Eliot Spitzer with hookers. Email exchanges between A-Rod and Davis were published in the NY Daily News. One had to wonder how long a proud organization like the Yankees were going to put up with these continual embarrassments.

On top of all of that in the beginning of March Rodriguez learned he was going to have to have surgery on his right hip to remove a cyst and repair a torn labrum as well. Initially it was thought that the injury might cost A-Rod the 2009 season, but after an examination by Dr. Marc Philippon in Vale, CO Rodriguez was told he could have corrective surgery done initially and he could play after a period of rest. He would need another surgery to complete the repair after the season was over. (Recently, A-Rod learned that he would need no further surgery after the playoffs)

A-Rod opted for the surgery and was told he would be out of action between 8 to 10 weeks.

In the meantime, the Yankees opened a new stadium in the Bronx, but the 2009 campaign hardly started the way the organization had pictured it. With A-Rod out of the lineup the Yankees struggled to a 15-16 record after the first 31 games. Girardi’s name was continually being bandied about as a guy who was going to be fired at any time. However, the front office kept mum, apparently content to let Girardi, with the team’s help, hang himself.

On May 8, all of that changed.

A-Rod returned to the lineup after his recovery went much faster and better than predicted. His presence immediately helped a struggling Mark Teixeira, who had been signed in the off season to an 8-year, $180 million contract. Prior to Rodriguez’s comeback Teixeira was hitting a woeful .192. He had generated only 5 home runs and 15 RBI. Afterward, and until the end of the season Teixeira’s numbers took off like a meteor. He ended the season tied for the American League home run lead with Carlos Pena of the Rays with 39 bombs and led AL with 122 RBI. He also hit a very respectable .292 to put him in the hunt for his first ever MVP trophy.

A-Rod’s return also re-energized the team as a whole after going 15-16 the Yankees went on a tear compiling a winning record of 88-43 (.693 winning percentage).

What was significant about Rodriguez’s season this year was, not only did he miss the first 30 games due to his injury, but he sat out an additional 8 games for rest. That was almost 25% of the 2009 campaign.

Even more amazing was A-Rod’s deportment after returning to the lineup. He appeared more relaxed, and a lot less wooden in the clubhouse. In interviews, instead of giving company type answers to questions, he just talked. Everyone around him noticed Rodriguez was more at ease with everything and that translated into one of the most enduring seasons of his career.

Rodriguez hit the first pitch he saw of his new season for a home run off Jeremy Guthrie of the Baltimore Orioles and he also hit the last pitch he saw of the season for a home run off Andy Sonnanstine of the Tampa Bay Rays. In that last game Rodriguez had 28 home runs and 93 RBI. Dating back to 1998 A-Rod had hit no less than 30 home runs or driven in less than 100 RBI for 11 straight years. No one in their right mind thought he had a shot at reaching 30 and 100.

A-Rod proved us all wrong.

With the Yankees trailing 2-0 in the 6th inning Rodriguez hit a 2-run home run off the Rays Wade Davis to start the Yankees scoring and to make his numbers 29 and 96. Then, in what I consider a gutless move, Rays manager Joe Maddon walked Teixeira in what would prove to be his last regular season at bat so he wouldn’t have the chance to break his home run tie with Pena. That move loaded the bases and it also brought Rodriguez to the plate.

With the bases juiced Sonnanstine pitched to A-Rod and in a scene that only Yankee lore is made of Rodriguez made Maddon and the Rays pay for walking Teixeira by blasting a grand slam home run over the right-center field wall. The Yankees scored 10 runs in the inning and Rodriguez set a new American League record by being the first player to plate 7 men in one inning. He also set a new major league record for being the first player to hit at least 30 home runs and driving in 100 runs in 13 seasons (he also accomplished the feat in 1996).

With the regular season over the playoffs began against the Minnesota Twins who barely made it to the dance. They ended the season in a dead heat tie with the Detroit Tigers and the teams were forced to play one more game in Minnesota to determine the AL Central Champs. Minnesota took the game and the title to New York where they played the Yankees the very next day.

So far in the two games played against the Twins in the ALDS Alex Rodriguez has delivered in the clutch. On Wednesday in Game 1 A-Rod was 2-for-3 with RISP. On Friday he was 1-for-1, but even this statistic is misleading. A-Rod delivered a game tying single in the 6th inning to tie the score 1-1. After the Twins got to Hughes in the top of the 8th, taking a 3-1 lead, the Yankees got busy in the bottom of the 9th inning.

With super-closer Joe Nathan on the mound Teixeira singled giving the Yankee faithful a glimmer of hope. That brought Rodriguez to the plate. Nathan threw A-Rod a fastball down the middle of the plate and Rodriguez hit it over the right field wall, over the Yankee bullpen and into the seats adjacent to Monument Park. Rodriguez dropped his bat and as he was running toward first looked into the Yankee dugout and pumped his fist. A-Rod rounded the bases and headed back to an ecstatic Yankee dugout and a curtain call.


The game remained tied until the bottom of the 11th when Teixeira faced Jose Mijares and hit a 1-1 pitch which skipped off the top of the left field wall and into the seats for Teixeira’s first career walk off home run. Teixeira rounded the bases and as he approached home plate tossed aside his batting helmet and jumped into a pile of celebrating teammates.

Said Teixeira after the game, "I don't think there's anything better in sports. Best place to play in the world."

Rodriguez was also asked about his heroics and he told reporters, This whole year I'm playing with no expectations." A-Rod added this. "The fun part is I was just thinking base hit," he said. "Hit the ball hard somewhere. And it went to the seats."

Although it’s only been two games there appears to be a calmness in Alex Rodriguez’s approach to his game. His teammates have responded as well. So far A-Rod has a home run and 5 RBI, and has delivered in 3-of-4 run scoring opportunities. However, given the power of this club I would put his 2-run home run in the 9th inning of Game 2 in that category. That would make him 4-for-5 in scoring chances.

How the rest of the playoffs go for A-Rod and the Yankees is anyone’s guess, but for now it seems that A-Rod is finally shedding his demons and that 800 lb. gorilla that he’s been carrying around for so long has finally jumped off his back and left the room.

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Yankees having a roller coaster season
Mediocre Bombers under .500 after first 31 games

First of all, I want to wish all of you baseball loving moms out there a Happy Mother’s Day.

UGLY! There is no other way to describe the New York Yankees. This team is ugly. It wins ugly and it loses ugly. Today’s finale in Baltimore was no different. It was ugly. Yeah, they won 5-3 on Johnny Damon’s 3-run home run in the top of the 7th inning, but getting there is an E-ticket ride Yankee fans are getting tired of watching.

Coming out of spring training, the Yankees were pegged by most baseball experts as one of the three best teams in all of baseball this season. Unfortunately for the Yankees the other two teams mentioned play in their division. Along with the Bombers, the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays have also been talked about as being at the top of the class. It was predicted that between the three teams one would be AL East champion, one would be the wild card representative and the last could possibly win 90+ games and still go home.

So far New York looks like the odd team out. In fact, they don’t nearly resemble any team projected to win over 90 games this season. Besides the Red Sox and Rays you can add the Toronto Blue Jays who are playing tremendous baseball so far.

After 31 games (including today’s win in Baltimore) the Yankees record stands at 15-16. Projected out over an entire 162 game campaign the Yankees would finish 78-84. That is hardly the kind of record that would catapult a team into the playoffs.

The fall guy in all of this drama is Yankee manager Joe Girardi who, last year, took over the reins of the team from the departed Joe Torre. The baseball gods smiled cruelly on Girardi and the Yankees. After Torre headed for the sunny weather in Los Angeles as manager of the Dodgers the Yankees under Girardi’s guidance failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Torre’s teams made the post season 12 straight years, making 6 World Series appearances and winning four of them. That’s the kind of record which leads to a direct membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

To make matters worse Torre took the 2008 Angelinos to the playoffs, beating the heavily favored Chicago Cubs in the first round before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS 4-1. No Dodger team had gone that far since Tommy Lasorda’s crew surprised the baseball world by upsetting the Oakland Athletics in the 1988 Fall Classic in five games.

While the Yankees flounder around on the east coast the Dodgers and Torre are currently enjoying life and the best record (22-10) in baseball on the west coast. Those facts must have the Yankees brain trust standing on its ear.

You can just hear all the arguments right now. Yeah, the Dodgers were nothing until they got Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox. Or, the Dodgers play in the weakest division in baseball. While some of or all of that may be true it doesn’t change the actuality of the situation. Torre and the Dodgers are winning (now without Ramirez who was suspended 50 games for a positive drug test) while Girardi and the Yankees are barely treading water.

In five head-to-head meetings this year the Red Sox are perfect against New York. As their greatest rival, that record grates on the nerve endings of anyone even remotely associated with the Yankees. Against all East Division rivals the Yankees are 5-11. With a new $1.5 billion stadium to show off and after spending $425 million in the off season upgrading the roster this start is hardly what the Steinbrenners and general manager Brian Cashman had envisioned.

Girardi’s trip to the hot seat is hardly all his fault. The offense has been sketchy at best. Owning a team average of .273 the Yankees rank sixth in the American League, trailing Toronto, Boston and Tampa Bay. The Yankees trail the same three teams in RBI, but trail only the Texas Rangers (50) in home runs (45).

While the hitting has been mixed the pitching has been absolutely horrendous. New York presently ranks at the bottom of the American League with a team ERA of 5.88. That average is nearly two and a half runs under front runner Kansas City who owns a team ERA of 2.39. In the AL East the Yankees trail the Baltimore Orioles, the next lowest team by a little under half a run (5.39) per game.

The starting rotation, including three disastrous starts by Chien-Ming Wang, has a combined ERA of 5.73. Without Wang it’s 5.22. The relief corps has been very unreliable. In 96 innings pitched the bullpen has surrendered 68 runs for an ERA of 6.38.

Even Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest closer in history, has had his problems. Rivera has already surrendered four home runs this season, nearly equaling his career high (5) set in 1997. On May 7 against the Rays Rivera gave up consecutive home runs, which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, hadn’t been done in 862 appearances by Rivera. His 3.97 ERA is 1.67 points higher than his career average.

In fairness to Rivera he is coming off shoulder surgery and he has said his velocity isn’t where it should be. Admittedly, Rivera said he has enough tools to get guys out. But, keep in mind Rivera is approaching 40 and as a closer he has been at the top of the ladder much longer than most of his contemporaries. It could just be Rivera has begun the inevitable downward spiral that ultimately catches up with every player.

Another thing which is out of Girardi’s control is injuries. The Yankees have had an inordinate amount of them since Opening Day. So far this season Girardi has had to juggle his starting rotation, bullpen and lineup card a number of times. The Yankees have lost RHRP Brian Bruney (15-day, right flex muscle mass), LHRP Damaso Marte (15-day, left shoulder tendinitis), C Jose Molina (15-day, strained right quad), RF Xavier Nady (15-day, right strained elbow), C Jorge Posada (15-day, strained hamstring), 3B Cody Ransom (60-day, right quad tear) and RHP Chien-Ming Wang (15-day, weak hip abductor muscle) to the Disabled List.

Up until this past Friday you could have included 3B Alex Rodriguez who has been out since the beginning of the season due to having surgery performed on his right hip. A-Rod came back with a flurry as he hit a 3-run bomb off the first pitch he saw from Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie. Still, as A-Rod returned both Posada and Molina went on the DL.

Girardi hasn’t had a full complement of players since he took over the team last year. Regrettably, he knows that the blame for failure has to fall somewhere, and it usually falls squarely on the shoulders of the manager. Cashman’s neck should be on the chopping block as well. As the general manager he is the guy, along with the manager, who recommends where the money spent on high priced players goes. Looking at the Yankees successes so far this year the team has overspent for its newly acquired talent.

This team still has time to right the ship. Going on the road and facing opponents in other divisions may be the tonic the Yankees need to turn their season around. However, their success or failure begins with each individual player. Unless each player is willing to come out every game and leave it on the field the 2009 drive will result in another year of failure. Some guys have stepped up, while others have stepped back. The Yankees still have to come back and face the other teams in their division and if they can’t get by them, then it doesn’t matter what they do against the other foes in the Central and West.

Where is the Gipper when you need him?

© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

A-Rod’s Worst Enemy? It’s A-Rod, Of Course!
Statements and actions are continual source of friction







Special to Yankees Talk Shop
March 4, 2009


Major League Baseball investigators finally got around to their highly anticipated meeting with Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez regarding his recent admission that he was had used illegal performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03 while playing for the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez, playing in his final spring training game before leaving the Yankees to play for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, left Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds after collecting 2 hits. Afterwards, he sat down for about 2 hours to answer questions relating to his use of illegal substances before coming to the Yankees.

After the meeting A-Rod wouldn’t talk about what went on behind closed doors, but Rodriguez was described as “cooperative” with investigators. However, does cooperative equal truthful?

The substance of the interview is not known, but what is know is that A-Rod appeared to be less than 100% genuine when he faced nearly 200 members of the news media on February 17 at George M. Steinbrenner Field to answer questions after reading a prepared statement. Reporters were allowed to ask one question with no follow up, and though Rodriguez admitted he screwed up he couldn’t or wouldn’t answer questions as to whether he thought he was a cheat, on why he took the illegal substances or why he continued to use them when he said he didn’t know if they did him any good or whether he was using them the right way. Often he appeared to be at a loss for words, searching for the right response to a question that caught him off guard.

Rodriguez’s answers left everyone with a lot more questions. It’s a good thing Rodriguez didn’t blame anyone else for his circumstances, because there is no one who gets in A-Rod’s way more than he does. Need proof? Here are a few examples.

Exhibit A:

During the press conference Rodriguez said he received his supplies through his cousin, whom he refused to identify, and that his cousin injected him with a substance with the street name of “Boli.” A-Rod told the audience this substance was a legal, over-the-counter drug that could be purchased in the Dominican Republic. “Boli” is possibly the term used for Primobolan, which is a banned steroid. After the press conference reporters contacted authorities in the Dominican and were advised that “Boli” was not a legal over-the-counter drug, nor was it back during A-Rod’s admitted time frame of use.

Reporters later identified the unknown cousin as Yuri Sucart. Sucart has been a staple in Rodriguez’s life for many years. Often seen with A-Rod at his home in Miami, Florida, Sucart’s identity was established by his wife Carman who told reporters that her husband was the cousin A-Rod referred to in the press conference. She refused to speak beyond that.

The Wednesday, following the press conference, with the media smelling stories due to Rodriguez’s less than candid responses, A-Rod left the game against the Toronto Blue Jays and hopped into an SUV being driven by none other than Sucart. Rodriguez was later contacted by Yankee officials and was told his cousin wasn’t welcome around any of the Yankees’ facilities.

The Yankees made their responses to the situation brief.

Brian Cashman said to reporters, “It’s been handled.”

When reporters reached out to manager Joe Girardi for a response his statement was just about as short.

“That situation has been addressed, and I’ll just leave it at that,” he echoed.

This position begs the question, just how dumb is Alex Rodriguez? Why would an athlete who is under the most intense microscope of scrutiny allow the guy he said supplied, injected and used illegal substances with to appear anywhere near the New York Yankees?

This is where anyone in their right mind would say to themselves I trying to repair my reputation so I need to use discretion and caution and not add more attention to myself, my teammates and my organization. Apparently, that didn’t resonate with A-Rod. The cousin shows up, more questions are asked and the Yankee organization has to bear further embarrassment, because their most talented and expensive asset can’t see the circumstances surrounding him for what they are and make smart choices.

In other words, he either says or does the wrong thing.

Exhibit B:

In Joe Torre’s book, “The Yankee Years,” Torre referred to Rodriguez’s relationship with his teammate and Yankee captain Derek Jeter as, “single, white female.” That is to say, Rodriguez emulated Jeter. That emulation obviously hasn’t gravitated to A-Rod’s character flaws and big mouth.

Jeter has often been criticized in the press, because he doesn’t reveal much about his private life relating to A-Rod or otherwise, and that he always, always says and does the right thing. Jeter’s response to these critiques is strictly out of his playbook.

"I understand my job is public, but your personal life is your personal life. Once you open that door, it doesn't stop," he said recently. "Away from the field, people want to keep tabs on how many times we go out to eat, things like that. That has no bearing on what we're trying to do."

Jeter knows his status in New York. He knows whom he represents, and he acts accordingly. In a city where tabloid news runs rampant Jeter does a great job in avoiding the trappings that usually fall upon big time stars. Jeter keeps his public persona as a New York Yankee far away from his private persona as Derek Jeter, citizen. You won’t find Jeter the subject of the smokinggun.com, the New York Post’s “Page 6,” or the National Enquirer. You won’t find pictures of Jeter following a buxom, hot blond into a hotel room after spending the night visiting strip clubs. And you won’t see photos of him hanging out with superstar singers who were married to successful movie directors.

Derek Jeter doesn’t do things that will embarrass himself, the City of New York or the New York Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez seems to make a habit of it.

Exhibit C:

Whether he tries to or not anything said by A-Rod has the potential of being taken in the wrong context. Remember, the supposed ironclad friendship between Rodriguez and Jeter rusted and fell apart after an interview Rodriguez and his agent Scott Boras did for the April, 2001 issue of Esquire Magazine. For those of you who have been living in a cave, in the story Rodriguez told Esquire Jeter wasn’t a real leader.

"Jeter's been blessed with great talent around him," Alex was quoted as saying. "He's never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second—that's totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York; you wanna stop Bernie and O'Neill. You never say don't let Derek beat you. He's never your concern."

Since that quote emerged in print Rodriguez has spent a lot of time backpedaling and justifying his words. However, the damage was apparently done. Jeter doesn’t use the term “friend” or “friendship” in describing his relationship with Rodriguez since A-Rod came to the Yankees in 2004.

So, the only time the Esquire story is brought up since it was big news nearly 8 years ago is when A-Rod says something that could possibly be construed as knocking Jeter. Like yesterday, when asked what he thought about Dominican teammate Jose Reyes’ running ability Rodriguez gushed about him.

"I wish he was leading off on our team or playing on our team; that's fun to watch, A-Rod said."

Here’s the rub with that statement. I don’t think Rodriguez was knocking anyone. I think he was genuinely complimenting a very gifted athlete in Reyes. However, perception is everything and choosing your words wisely is important.

First off, away from the World Baseball Classic, Reyes plays for the Yankees’ cross town rivals, the New York Mets. Next to complimenting somebody on the Boston Red Sox, complimenting someone on the Mets is cannon fodder too. Two, he plays shortstop, which is the position currently occupied by Jeter, and third, the leadoff batter is Johnny Damon.

So, in one fell swoop A-Rod gives the appearance that he’d rather have Reyes in the lineup and playing shortstop over his aforementioned teammates. As I said, I don’t think that is what he was trying to convey. But, when you stick your foot in your mouth as much as A-Rod does any time you say anything those words are going to be picked apart.

A better way to have responded to the question is, “I think Jose is a really talented ballplayer and any team that has him leading off and playing short is fortunate. I’m enjoying playing beside him for the Dominican Republic. That said, I’m also lucky to be playing on the Yankees next to another talented shortstop by the name of Derek Jeter who will be a first ballot hall of famer. We also got a pretty good leadoff guy in Johnny Damon.“ That way you can compliment the one player without giving the appearance you are slighting others.

Alex Rodriguez said he came to the New York Yankees to win a championship. I’m sure that’s true, but there might be underlying reasons why he hasn’t won any before coming to the Bronx. Rodriguez, since arriving in New York has been a lightning rod of controversy and tabloid material. Look at what’s happened over the past month or so. C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira were the biggest free agent signings over the winter. All accomplished by the Yankees. But, here we are two weeks into spring training and in every New York newspaper, Yankees blog and fan website all you read about is Alex Rodriguez.

There is no doubt about it, A-Rod is his own worst enemy, and in the end he may prove to be the Yankees’ worst enemy as well.


© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Fooling Nobody
A-Rod looks bad coming out of press conference







Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 20, 2009


There’s a new show on FOX called, “Lie to Me.” It’s about a group of body language experts who use their skills to identify people who are lying or not telling the whole truth. These guys would have had a field day with Alex Rodriguez this past Tuesday when he sat down with approximately 200 members of the media to readmit his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

A-Rod promised to tell the truth and give everyone the who, what, when, where and why he took illegal substances. Bolstered by most of his teammates, who were sitting and or standing nearby, Rodriguez read from a prepared statement where he said he used an over-the-counter drug found in the Dominican Republic with the street name of “Boli,” and that was supplied by his cousin; a cousin whom A-Rod refused to identify.

Rodriguez explained that his cousin told him this substance would give him an “energy boost, but was otherwise harmless.” He told us he and his cousin decided to use the drug twice a month for six months over the course of a season. This occurred during the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons. A-Rod said he and his cousin tried hard to keep their use “between them.” He also said, “We consulted no one. It was pretty evident that we didn’t know what we were doing.”

In the telling of his side of the issue, Rodriguez pointed to his youth, being naïve, not asking the right questions and being stupid for his reasons for doing what he did. He said after taking a drug test in 2003 where he apparently tested positive for evidences of Primobolan and testosterone, A-Rod quit taking “Boli,” because of a serious neck injury and the fact the player’s association voted for a mandatory drug policy. He stated he saw how serious the circumstances were.

Rodriguez told everyone he was clean while playing in Seattle and has been clean while playing in New York. He made sure we all knew how many times he’s been drug tested in the time he’s been in the Bronx. He concluded his statement by thanking his teammates for supporting him. That took approximately 37 seconds to do, because A-Rod paused a long time for effect before getting the rest of his thanks out.

This was when the all the fun started.

The members of the press corps were permitted to ask one question with no follow up questions allowed. Here were some of the highlights of the Q & A, followed by my observations.

On the subject of whether or not Rodriguez thought he shamed the game of baseball as stated by Commissioner Bud Selig, A-Rod sidestepped the question and answered, “”I certainly made a mistake, and I feel poorly for that.”

A-Rod was asked if he would’ve come forward on his own if his name hadn’t been revealed in the Sports Illustrated article that started this whole mess. He said, “I-I haven’t thought about it much. The fact is that it came out and I’m here to share my story and, uh, put it out there and hopefully I can put this behind me and my teammates to have to carry the burden of answering all the questions for me.”

(How can A-Rod say something like that? Of course, he’s thought about it. The obvious answer should have been something like - “Yes, I’ve thought about it, and I knew then I made a huge mistake back then, and that I was wrong. No, I wouldn’t have come forward if my name hadn’t surfaced. Why would I want to put myself through what I’m going through now? I was promised anonymity, so I assumed my name would be kept secret, along with all the other players who tested positive. It wasn’t so here I am. Now that it’s out there I want to be as honest as I can so I can get this behind me and get back to playing baseball.” - Let’s face it, nobody in their right mind would come forward, but answering honestly instead of skirting around the question would have gone a long way.)

On why he said he used steroids in Texas to protect the large contract he signed while playing for the Rangers, but discontinuined once he came to New York Rodriguez said, “I think I was curious. And, like I said in Peter’s (Gammons) interview I was young, and, uh, I was 24-35 years old, I mean, I keep going back to…I entered the game when I was 18 and if I had a son I would definitely recommend going to college and have an opportunity to grow up, and I didn’t…..”

(So from 1995 until 2001 while he was playing for the Mariners A-Rod managed to be mature enough not to stick illegal substances into his body, but because he signed a big contract, one which he obviously commanded because of his numbers in Seattle, he became young and stupid then? How is that possible? You were smart enough to play naturally for six years, smart enough to sign a contract for one-quarter of a billion dollars, but stupid and immature enough to start using steroids? That just doesn’t wash A-Rod.)

A-Rod was asked by Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record why he didn’t disclose taking these illegal drugs with his cousin during his interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons; an interview he arranged himself. Rodriguez responded, “Good question Bob. The thing is, when I was, uh, when a reporter came into the gym maybe 38 hours, or 48 hours I thought it was important to get the truth out there, early, and be forthright, and as far as all the details I didn’t want to speak from a position of non-factual. I thought I was putting myself out there already with saying the truth and over the last 9 days I sat down with my cousin and we’ve had several conversations and here are the facts 9 days later. I wasn’t prepared, Bob, to say that when I sat down with Peter, because it was a long, long time ago and I really didn’t remember.”

(Huh? The story comes out on a Saturday, and Rodriguez speaks to Gammons on the following Monday. Even if as little as 5 years would be considered a long, long time ago this is a cousin who has evidently lived with Rodriguez for many years as one of A-Rod’s entourage. So why would he need more than a couple of days to sit down with a cousin he can readily contact to refresh his memory about the events as they occurred back then?)

A-Rod was asked if he now thought what he did was cheating. “That’s not for me to determine. I’m here to say that I’m sorry. I’m here to say that in some ways I wish I went to college and got an opportunity to grow up at my own pace. You know, I guess when you’re young and stupid, you’re young and stupid and I’m very guilty for both of those.”

(A-Rod did the deed, but can’t determine if he was cheating or not? Hey, Alex, do you think Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Raphael Palmeiro, or Barry Bonds were cheating? You don’t need to go to college to answer this question. How about, “Yes, I was cheating. I did it, because I wanted to be the best player I could be. I know now it was wrong.” This was one of A-Rod’s lamest responses.)

Joel Sherman of the New York Post posed the best question of the day. He asked Rodriguez that if he didn’t know what the drug he was putting into his body did, and if he wasn’t sure he was administering it right why would he continue, being a professional athlete, to put something into himself over a 3 year period?

A-Rod replied, “Yeah, instead of saying a general, I try to bring it in a box for you. Now that may be once a month it may be three times a month. I want to clarify that. O.K., you’re asking me why I would do that. Again it goes back to being young and being curious and when it started it was probably in the middle of ‘01 and when it ended it was the ‘03 and I realized, thank God, that I realized after my neck injury that I was being silly and irresponsible. And I decided to stop and I was a young guy.”

(Nowhere in Rodriguez’s response do I get the answer to Sherman’s question. A-Rod said he was curious, and he was young. It took a neck injury to make him realize he was being silly and irresponsible? Once again, he completely goes around what we want to know. A proper answer to the question could have been, “I kept hoping that the benefit would come, but after 3 years I never felt like it was helping my performance to go beyond what I could do naturally. I started, because I was curious, and I stopped because I needed to. It didn’t help me and with the neck injury and the mandatory drug policy being implemented I knew I could be doing more harm to myself than good.”)

Many other examples of Rodriguez’s, less than candid, responses could be given, but you get the picture. A-Rod admitted he took steroids, because he got caught. He’s sorry, because he got caught. He wants to educate young men and women in sports to avoid taking steroids or HGH, because he got caught. If the Sports Illustrated story had never come out we would never know that Alex Rodriguez was a cheater.

A-Rod came off looking poorly after the press conference concluded. His performance only created more questions and did little to stave off the media coverage Rodriguez can expect to get for the foreseeable future. He needs to acknowledge that he was a drug cheater and that he was wrong. He needs to become completely honest in his answers about his cheating. The more he evades in giving a direct response to a direct question the more he leaves the door open for more questions and conjecture.

The Yankees are understandably less than thrilled with A-Rod’s presentation. In a year where the Yankees need to focus on winning a championship they will instead spend a lot of time focusing on A-Rod’s needs and comforts. In order for the Yankees to thrive Alex Rodriguez has to put up big numbers. However, those numbers, heretofore thought to be produced by a natural, God-gifted athlete will now be forever tainted by steroids.

If it was A-Rod’s plan to convince all of us watching him Tuesday afternoon that he was being completely honest he missed badly. I would recommend to A-Rod that he not go into the field of acting when his playing days are finished, because he’s really, really bad at it.

Let’s play some baseball shall we?

Note: ESPN reported this morning on its Web site the cousin who Alex Rodriguez said injected him with steroids from 2001-03 has been identified as Yuri Sucart, 46, of Miami, Florida. Sucart was identified by his wife Carman as the cousin Rodriguez mentioned during his 33 minute press conference at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Tuesday.


© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

A Few Answers, But Many Questions
How good are the ’09 Yankees?







Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 15, 2009


As the old saying goes hope springs eternal and in the case of the 2009 New York Yankees that means spring training.

The Yankee will try and bounce back from a disappointing 2008 season that saw the team win less than 90 games for the first time since 2000 (the club’s last World Series victory), and not make the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons.

Second year manager Joe Girardi knows he has to make the playoffs to keep his job. It would be better still to get to the World Series, and even better still to win it all. For most teams making it to the playoffs constitutes a successful season, but not with the Yankees. Anything less than a trip down the Canyon of Heroes holding aloft the coveted World Series trophy is considered a failure.

Going into the 2009 season there are still a lot of question marks as the landscape of the team have changed.

Gone are Mike Mussina (retirement), Bobby Abreu (signed with Angels), Jason Giambi (returned to Oakland A’s), Wilson Betemit (traded to White Sox), Carl Pavano (free agent, signed with Indians), Sidney Ponson (free agent, unsigned) and Ivan Rodriguez (free agent, unsigned)

Newly arrived are LHP C.C. Sabathia (free agent from Brewers), RHP A.J. Burnett (free agent from Blue Jays), OF/1B Nick Swisher (traded from White Sox), and last but not least 1B Mark Teixeira (free agent from Angels).

Girardi knows the pressure is on him to produce a winner. The Yankees committed nearly $500 million in salary over the past winter to Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira, plus maintaining the huge salaries of third baseman Alex Rodriguez and shortstop Derek Jeter. Managing in the Bronx is difficult enough, but, now with the Rodriguez steroid scandal to deal with Girardi’s job just became that much harder. However, a strong start out of the gate and a lot of winning can cure a lot of anxieties.

The first question mark is Andy Pettitte. Pettitte, after going 10-6 with a 3.93 ERA in the first half of the ’08 season, struggled in the second half and finished with a 14-14 record and a 4.54 ERA. He has always been the Yankees stopper, but after it was discovered in the previous December he had used performance-enhancing drugs Pettitte fell off badly from the 2007 campaign. He said of his poor performance last year, “My shoulder, for whatever reason, just broke down.” Pettitte said he needed the help of the trainers to get through his last 10 games. All eyes will be on the big lefty who, after collecting a $16,000,000 payday for 2008, re-signed with the club for a reported $5,000,000 + incentives. Can Pettitte reclaim that toughness that has marked his career? Only time will tell.

Two other reservations are in the persons of Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Posada landed on the disabled list twice last year with a torn labrum and rotator cuff injury. His season ended on July 31 after he opted for season ending surgery to repair the damage. The team has been very cautious with Posada. First they forbad him from competing in the World Baseball Classic for his home county of Puerto Rico and he won’t catch a game in spring training until mid- March. Posada who turned 37 this past August will be expected to get a lot more rest this season as the Yankees hope he can return to his pre-injury power.

Rivera had one of his best seasons ever in 2008. Arguably best closer in history, Rivera finished the year with 39 saves out of 40 chances and a infinitesimal 1.40 ERA. However, when it was reported he was having surgery on his right shoulder everyone held their collective breath and then gave a big sigh of relief as the surgery was deemed “minor.” Rivera had some bone shaved off his throwing shoulder and has been otherwise healthy. Rivera reportedly has been tossing for approximately two weeks and hasn’t pitched off a mound this winter. He expects to be ready for Opening Day.

The big off-season news was supposed to be the big free agent signings of Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira. However, a week ago Sports Illustrated broke a report that A-Rod had tested dirty in a drug test administered in 2003. The results were supposed to be anonymous, but Rodriguez’s name surfaced in a story written by Selena Roberts, who cited for anonymous sources for her claim. This past Monday A-Rod admitted to ESPN’s Peter Gammons he had, in fact, used steroids from 2001 to 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers. The confession hit baseball like a bombshell.

A-Rod has been both vilified and defended in the week that has passed since his cheating was discovered. Other than his confession to ESPN’s Peter Gammons, Rodriguez has remained silent on the matter. He was at the University of Miami on Friday, because he donated $3.9 million dollars for the renovation of their baseball field and the park was named after him. In his speech A-Rod alluded to his difficulties. “There will be adversity along the way,” he said. “But regardless of the challenges that lie ahead, move forward, address your errors and right your path.”

Along with the other position players, A-Rod will report to spring training on Tuesday where he is sure to meet a huge throng of reporters asking questions. The big question here is how fast can A-Rod put this latest bump-in-the-road behind him and how badly will the tremendous pressure of constant scrutiny affect him on the field of play.

Rodriguez didn’t help in himself out with his initial admission. He tried to paint himself as somewhat of a victim by telling Gammons he was young, naïve and stupid. He also attacked Roberts by saying she was practically stalking him. That was not supported by police.

According to a report in Yahoo Sports, Rodriguez called Roberts this past Wednesday and apologized for his critical comments. The report also said that Roberts won’t comment on the call until A-Rod addresses the media on Tuesday.

Next up are C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Sabathia made it known he preferred playing on a west coast team, because he is from the area, and the Yankees made it known they wanted him in New York. The Bombers initially offered Sabathia $140 million over 6 years. After Sabathia sat on the offer for a month Brian Cashman visited him and convinced him New York was a great place to play in. The Yankees sweetened their offer and signed C.C. to a 7-year, $160 million deal, which Sabathia can void after the third year. The clear question here is can Sabathia thrive in New York, where the fans can turn quickly on you if you don’t perform?

A.J. Burnett has just one area of concern and that’s injuries. Burnett has had a reputation for being injury prone. Last year, in a contract year, Burnett had a big season where he set a career high for innings pitched. The Yankees signed him to a 5-year, $82 million contract, but have to be pacing the floor in hoping Burnett’s injury problems are a thing of the past.

Another area of apprehension is Chien-Ming Wang who appears to be fully recovered a foot injury that he sustained in June and never pitched again in 2008. If Wang is the 2-time, 19-game winner he was before the injury, then the Yankees rotation with Sabathia, Wang, Burnett and Pettitte will be very formidable.

The no. 5 starter in the rotation is another question mark the Yankees have to address in spring training. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were both considered blue chip pitchers who GM Brian Cashman refused to put into any deal to obtain Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins in 2008. Hughes went 0-4 with a 6.62 ERA before a rib injury put him on the DL. Kennedy was a huge disappointment. Kennedy started 9 games and went 0-4 with an 8.17 ERA.

That leaves Joba Chamberlain, the 23-year old fireballer who made a name for himself in the bullpen. In 2007 Chamberlain worked 24 innings and struck out 34 while walking six. He only gave up one earned run to post a microscopic 0.38 ERA.

In 2008 Chamberlain was promoted to the starting rotation. He started 19 games where he went 4-3 with a 2.60 ERA. Chamberlain had good numbers as he struck out 138 in 100.1 innings and walked only 38. However, he injured his shoulder in August and landed on the DL. When he came back he went into the bullpen to finish the season.

Going into the 2009 season, Chamberlain is projected for the rotation, but depending on how he performs he could be headed back to the ‘pen.

The outfield looks like it will be Damon in left, either Cabrera or Gardner in center and Xavier Nady in right. Meanwhile, according to Girardi, Swisher will get the chance to compete with Nady for the job in right.

Hideki Masui is in the last year of his current contract and is coming off knee surgery. He is slated to be the everyday designated hitter, but could fill in the outfield from time to time.

On paper things look good for the Yankees, but given their projection last year and where they ended up the Yankees have a big hill to climb. Injuries are the biggest key to this club’s success. If they stay away from a revolving door trip to the disabled list this could be a monster year for them. However, if the injury bug strikes the Yankees’ season could quickly unravel.

They are in the toughest division in baseball and they still have to contend with a young, talented and hungry Tampa Bay Rays team who went to the World Series where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. The Boston Red Sox are still a dangerous team.

It’s a long season and it should be a fun one to watch.


The projected roster looks like this:

Starting rotation:

1. LHP CC Sabathia
2. RHP A.J. Burnett
3. RHP Chien-Ming Wang
4. LHP Andy Pettitte
5. RHP Joba Chamberlain

Bullpen:

RHP Mariano Rivera (closer)
LHP Damaso Marte
RHP Brian Bruney
RHP Edwar Ramirez
RHP Dan Giese
RHP Jose Veras

Starting Lineup:

1. LF Johnny Damon
2. SS Derek Jeter
3. 1B Mark Teixeira
4. 3B Alex Rodriguez
5. C Jorge Posada
6. DH Hideki Matsui
7. RF Xavier Nady
8. 2B Robinson Cano
9. CF Brett Gardner or Melky Cabrera

Reserves:

C Jose Molina
OF/1B Nick Swisher
OF Brett Gardner or Melky Cabrera
INF Angel Berroa or Cody Ransom






© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Derek is Dead Wrong
Yankee captain’s silence deafening







Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 12, 2009

This isn't going to be popular, but there is no other way to say this. Derek Jeter, team captain of the New York Yankees, is wrong; dead wrong. By not publicly addressing Alex Rodriguez’s latest disgrace Jeter is sending a clear and deafening signal about what he thinks of A-Rod.

On Tuesday, the day after Rodriguez went on live television and spoke to ESPN’s Peter Gammons and admitted he had taken illegal substances from 2001 to 2003; Jeter was contacted by reporters at the Yankees spring training facility in Tampa, Florida where he was asked about his feelings on A-Rod’s predicament. Jeter, who along with other Yankees has answered numerous questions about Rodriguez in the past, clammed up this time.

"I'm not addressing Alex's situation until everybody's here," the Yankee captain said to reporters present. He was referring to the legion of New York scribes who descend on the Yankees’ complex every year looking for stories.

"I'm not going to do it every single day," Jeter said, clearly upset by the particular line of questioning. "Are things a distraction? It's a distraction when you talk about it every single day."

Jeter told reporters if they had baseball questions he would answer them, but any questions about A-Rod and the steroid scandal were off limits…..for now.

By not making any kind of statement Jeter is leaving the door of conjecture wide open at least until the full squad of players arrives in Tampa and spring training officially begins. Jeter’s silence unfortunately leaves it up to others, such as Brett Gardner, to feel like they have to make statements.

Brett Gardner?

Gardner, who was unfortunate enough to be caught out in the open, was surrounded by reporters and asked to give his worldly view of A-Rod’s circumstances. Gardner, probably not comfortable by all this sudden attention, issued a sagely edict in saying he didn’t watch A-Rod’s ESPN interview. He told reporters he didn’t know if everyone on the team would forgive Rodriguez, but said, “I know I already have.

"He's our teammate and I think anyone with the organization will if they haven't already and we can all work together and hopefully play for a World Series."

It’s reassuring to know that young Mr. Gardner forgives A-Rod for his faux pas, but I don’t think the organization wants young players competing for the center field position on the club popping off about distractions affecting the club. That’s not Gardner’s fault, its Jeter’s.

This isn’t the first time Jeter has played favorites or has been less than 100% convincing in his support for his third base teammate.

In December of 2004, after Jason Giambi’s federal grand jury testimony on the BALCO situation became public Jeter came out in full support for his then first baseman.

"Jason made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. He's got to deal with it," Jeter said. "It's an unfortunate situation, and you feel for him that he's going through it. He's on our team, so I expect him to be back, and we have to support him as a teammate."

Jeter went a step further.

"I'm sure he's had a lot of time to think about what he wants to do, but I'm here to support him as a teammate and as a friend," Jeter said. "Jason Giambi is a great person, one of the nicest people I've ever met. No one is immune to any problems. This is a rough period for him, but I'm sure everyone will be supportive."

When the hometown fans booed Giambi in June of 2005 Jeter jumped into the breach again, telling fans to start cheering for Giambi for the good of the team.

When Andy Pettitte went before the microphones and apologized to all of New York, after it had been revealed in George Mitchell’s report to baseball that he had used illegal substances, there was Jeter along with Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada sitting beside him showing their support for their comrade and friend.

Even after Pettitte revised his original statement, a lie, about the number of times he used performance enhancing drugs, Jeter and company were still there to support him.

"Andy knows how I feel about him, and he knows how we feel about him as an organization," Jeter said. "It took a lot of courage for him to come out and be honest about it. Hopefully he can move on."

Well, believe me Derek; A-Rod knows exactly how you feel about him too.

It is no secret that Jeter and A-Rod are no playpen pals. That ended long ago after Rodriguez made some ill advised remarks about Jeter in Esquire magazine.

"He (Jeter) has never had to lead," A-Rod was quoted as saying in the April 2001 edition. "He can just go and play and have fun. He hits second — that's totally different than third or fourth in the lineup. You go into New York; you wanna stop Bernie (Williams) and Paul (O'Neill). You never say, 'Don't let Derek beat us.' He's never your concern."

A-Rod apologized for those remarks with a weak explanation saying what he said were to praise Jeter, not to knock him. Even I have a hard time with that one. Regardless, it cooled off a once valued friendship.

In 2006, when A-Rod was going through a slump and the fans were booing him Jeter received a lot of flak for not standing up for A-Rod the way he had for Giambi. "From Day One I've said I support Alex,” he said. “The only thing I'm not going to do is tell the fans what to do. ... I don't think it's my job to tell fans to boo or not to boo."

The difference with all these scenarios is likability. Jeter likes Giambi and Pettitte, and Rodriguez he doesn’t.

Clearly, Rodriguez is a sensitive guy. He’s dumb a lot of the time as to how he conducts himself and in what he says, but he’s not stupid. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. All he wants is acceptance. He needs it from the organization, from the fans, from his teammates, and most assuredly Derek Jeter. He sees how Jeter is revered in the Big Apple. He sees Jeter’s success in a town where success is fleeting, and all he wants is to taste some of what Jeter has.

By saying nothing at this point Jeter is letting A-Rod squirm on the proverbial hook until he decides he wants to come before all the microphones and give his public proclamation on Rodriguez’s latest calamity.

If Jeter didn’t want to address anything until the full spring training season got underway he could have very easily remedied that with a call to Yankees’ media relations director, Jason Zillo. He could have issued a statement telling the world that he won’t answer any questions concerning A-Rod or his confession of using steroids until after the full spring training is underway. He could’ve thrown A-Rod a bone in the statement advising that as team captain he was throwing his full support behind his embattled teammate. End of statement.

That small exercise would have placated the reporters on hand who would have had the statement as advanced notice Jeter wasn’t talking and it would possibly have saved junior teammates like Gardner from pontificating on the situation.

As team captain it is Jeter’s responsibility to be a voice for the organization and an advocate for his teammates. He doesn’t have to love them all, but he has to be the first guy there to lend full support to the guys on his squad when they mess up. Privately, he can tell whomever ‘you’re an S.O.B., and what you did was wrong,’ but publicly he has to support them.

Alex Rodriguez, just like Andy Pettitte and Jason Giambi are and were troubled individuals going through rough waters in a scandal forever to be known as the “steroid era.” As Yankee captain Jeter doesn’t get to pick and choose who he fully supports. He has to be the bigger man and support all of his teammates equally.

A-Rod shouldn’t be viewed any different.



© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited

Charles Barkley Was Right
Athletes not role models






By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 11, 2009


You can say what you want about Charles Barkley, but the one thing he certainly got right is that athletes are not role models.

Barkley has always been a great quote and an even better pot stirrer. Back in 1993, while doing a commercial for Nike athletic shoes, Barkley looked into the camera and said, “I am not a role model.” He told the public athletes shouldn’t be looked up to, but that the job of being role models fell on the parents at home. Although it sparked a lot of controversy at the time it turns out that Sir Chuck hit the nail right on the head. You shouldn’t look up to an athlete and expect them to be a role model.

We all have our childhood sports heroes. Mine was Mickey Mantle. Was Mantle a role model? The answer is no. Mantle was a hard drinking, womanizing, absentee husband and father who happened to be a great baseball player. Back in Mantle’s playing days the press chose to basically turn a blind eye to his antics and the antics of other players before and around him. To a kid like me the Mick was the sun and the moon, and that’s because I didn’t know anything about what went on with him once a ballgame was over. It wasn’t until Mickey’s liver went bad and he later contracted cancer that he looked in the mirror and got himself turned around. He told kids, young and old, “Don’t be like me.” It was a simple and sincere message. He didn’t want anyone to emulate him.

The list in baseball is a long one of great athletes, who in their private lives, and sometimes their public ones, are miscreants. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Raphael Palmeiro, and Miguel Tejada are just a few of the well known names who are poor role models. And now, after confessing his use of performance enhancing drugs they are joined by Alex Rodriguez.

Not that A-Rod’s public persona was squeaky clean to begin with. Remember the mysterious blond bombshell he was seen with on the cover of the NY Post? The cover of the paper said “Stray-Rod?” Witnesses had them hanging out together in Seattle, Toronto and Dallas, allegedly going into strip clubs. How romantic. How about just last year when he was romantically linked to Madonna, though both slugger and singer denied any intimate relationship. Interestingly enough, both Rodriguez and Madonna divorced their spouses shortly afterwards. A-Rod is a magnet to controversy.

It just isn’t in baseball where poor role models exist. How many times have you seen the names of NBA and NFL players pop up in the sports section or police blotter after getting into some unlawful situation and they end up with their latest pictures being booking photos?

It doesn’t stop there. You see lousy role models in the Olympics, track and field, cycling, and tennis. You name the sport and you’re sure to find men and women you looked up to who have seriously disappointed you in how you used to view them.

Lance Berkman of the Houston Astros was quoted in the Houston Chronicle, regarding A-Rod’s public admission of cheating. Berkman said, “The problem with this whole sordid mess (is) … nobody’s going to be believed anymore.” Berkman, as far as we know, isn’t a steroid abuser and he is absolutely right. It will be extremely difficult for anyone to believe anybody in sports has an absolute clean past.

That’s the sad part of it all. The real victims are all the athletes who are clean, who are good citizens, who are good husbands and wives and who lead upstanding lives. Their sport has once again been spoiled by another athlete who decided to play by his own rules.

One thing I will commend Alex Rodriguez on. Even though after going back over his interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons on Monday where I think he did a little too much justification about why he cheated with steroids, I will commend him on coming straight out and saying he did it. He didn’t lie about it although he did try and paint himself as an unwitting, naïve and young player who went with the flow. At least he put the onus on himself and didn’t blame anyone else for getting caught. He told the truth.

Something Miguel Tejada will learn about in federal court today.



© 2009 Yankees Talk Shop @ yuku.com

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Casting the First Stones
Public Condemnation of A-Rod Begins






By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 10, 2009


The “confession” isn’t even 24 hours old and the public trial of Alex Rodriguez has already begun. After a published story by Sports Illustrated came out this past Saturday claiming that Rodriguez had failed a Major League Baseball sanctioned survey drug test in 2003 A-Rod went before the ESPN cameras and Peter Gammons yesterday and said, “I did it.”

This admission directly contradicted what he said in an interview that aired on 60 minutes in 2007 where he told news anchor Katie Couric he never used any illegal substances to try and better his performance:

Couric: "For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?"

Rodriguez: “No.”

Couric: "You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball.”

Rodriguez: "I've never felt overmatched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no.”

OK, so we know now A-Rod wasn’t being truthful a year or so ago.

Now, put yourself in this guy’s shoes. You are the poster boy for Major League Baseball. In 2001 you signed the richest contract in baseball history to the delight of the player’s association who would now use that contract as a measuring stick. And, even though you’re playing in Texas there is going to be the never ending comparison of your performance with your paycheck.

On top of all that, look who’s on the team with you; Ivan Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro, Randy Velarde, and Gabe Kapler. Keep in mind that using steroids wasn’t illegal in 2001, 2002 or 2003. So A-Rod does something stupid and gets caught up in the “everybody is doing it” syndrome. Was it right? No. Was it stupid? Yes.

Can anyone actually look in the mirror and say they haven’t done anything in their life that secretly they’re ashamed of, but never got caught at? So why should we be sanctimonious and condemn A-Rod for doing something that, although wasn’t morally right, wasn’t deemed cheating by the MLB until 2004?

At present, A-Rod says he is drug free and he hasn’t injected, ingested, rubbed on or supositoried any illegal substances into his body since the spring of 2003. Other than the 2003 test, as far as we know, Rodriguez has never failed a test when given one. We can speculate all we want about that, but until somebody can refute that statement we shouldn’t be inferring anything other than one failed test.

Let’s get back to that test.

The test was supposed to assure anonymity of those players taking the test, especially any of those who failed it. Allegedly there were 104 names on the list of players who failed the drug screen, with Rodriguez being one of them. He apparently had the banned substance Primobolan and testosterone in his system. He told Gammons he didn’t even know what drug he got busted for.

“To be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.”

Also, there was no punishment for testing positive. The test was given only to see if steroid usage in baseball was a serious problem, and if a certain percentage tested positive, then mandatory drug testing would be implemented. The test revealed there was a problem, and mandatory testing was initiated, along with punishments for those who got caught.

The player’s association, in view of that agreement, could’ve had had the results of the 2003 test destroyed per the association’s contract with the MLB, but didn’t do so. According to union president Donald Fehr federal investigators seized the results in 2004, which he and Commissioner Bud Selig said seriously threatened the drug testing program, because the anonymity of the players couldn’t be guaranteed.

Well, since Saturday, I guess we can all figure out the end result of that concern.

In jumping around the news websites today I saw all the comments by readers calling for A-Rod’s head, polls asking if fans still want A-Rod on the team, or should he be in the Hall of Fame, and some self-righteous sportswriters calling A-Rod a bad citizen. Before making a comment or voting one should ask themselves have I ever lied, cheated at something or hidden something in my past I knew was wrong.

I know I have, and I appreciate the fact that Alex Rodriguez came forward and took the blame on himself. He only got caught in 2003, but he went so far as to say he used in 2001 and 2002 as well. Nobody, but A-Rod brought that information up. He didn’t blame baseball and he didn’t blame the player’s association. He didn’t feel betrayed. He looked into the camera and said he did it to himself. He put his predicament squarely on his shoulders. That took guts, more guts than some other big named athletes have done.

Ask yourself another question, who do you have more respect for, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro or Alex Rodriguez?

Should A-Rod go into the Hall of Fame when his playing days are done? If I had a vote I would mark his name down on the first ballot.

He deserves to be there.



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Redistribution, rewriting, rebroadcast, or republication of this story without the prior written consent of Yankees Talk Shop, Pride in the Pinstripes or its affiliates is strictly prohibited