A-Rod switching sides for next WBC
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Dec 06, 2008 
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Turns out David Ortiz was exactly correct. Alex Rodriguez has decided to play for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming WBC.
Rodriguez played for the United States in the 2006 WBC after changing his mind several times. “I am 100 percent sure that I will play for the Dominican Republic team,” he said while attending a charity golf tournament hosted by Ortiz. “This time, there will be no doubts and it is a dream of my mom’s that I intend to fulfill.”
Rodriguez was born in New York. But under the liberal nationality rules of the tournament, a player is allowed to play for the country his parents or even one grandparent is from. Rodriguez’s parents are Dominican.
This is good news for David Wright or Evan Longoria.
And good for Mom Rodriguez that her dream is finally fulfilled. After all, the WBC has been around since way back in 2006.
Eh, who cares. A-Rod played for the U.S. last time and technically he is of Dominican descent. I really couldn’t care less.
what a turn coat
It seems to be the year for A-Rod to “switch things up. First Cynthia and now America. He really is a drama queen!
Honestly though I’m surprised the Yanks don’t try and stop players from playing in the WBC. Lets say A-rod blows a hammy running the bases in a useless exhibition and is out til Memorial day? Now what our best hitter side-lined with Matsui/Nady cleaning up.
Dominicano De Pura Sepa !!!
I asked this question earlier and nobody has responded….Had Santana been eligable this winter as a free agent, how would you rather have ???? Santana minus Phil Hughes or CC plus Philip Hughes ???? I ask this to silence all those who have been obsessed with the club’s failure to succumb to the insane demands that Smith impossed last winter…..Remember he wanted Wang in a different proposal as well……So maybe the whole Santana issues finally goes to bed….That is if they ink CC….
“It seems to be the year for A-Rod to “switch things up. First Cynthia and now America. He really is a drama queen!”
Or maybe he’s finally doing what makes him happy and critics be darned.
________________________________________
The NYDN sent a reporter to the DR to cover an Ortiz golf tourney? Nice gig.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....will_.html
“So maybe the whole Santana issues finally goes to bed….That is if they ink CC….”
Yes, it will go away should we sign CC. However if we don’t there will be a lot of resentment from fans. Especially on the likes of Cash and his pet Hughes.
Al
George wanted to limit players last time and MLB freaked out.
Injuries happen. It’s Cash’s job to build a team able to withstand them.
funny. his mom’s dream. what a joke!
I love the final 2 lines, Pete. Way to call A-Rod out for yet another weird, dishonest statement.
I’m a huge A-Rod fan and loathe it when people trash him unfairly, but this “it’s my Mom’s dream” has even me scratching my head. It’s been his Mom’s dream since 2006?
Gotta love A-Rod, the King of Drama.
A-rod can play for whomever he wants.
Pete,
Please explain why San Francisco retired the madness title years ago? Barry Bonds? Activism? Those pretty things in the sky?
Maybe A-Rod didn’t necessarily mean that his Mom dreamed of him playing in the WBC for the Dominican team, but on a more broad level, of what it means for her to see him embrace his heritage with an act like this. A-Rod does and says some stupid stuff, but I think it’s really cynical to pick on him for this. I can’t wait will the hot stove actually heats up so that you have real news to cover. It’ll be more fun for all of us.
Trading Damon or Matsui doesn’t make any sense. They are both free agents after this year and you’d have to pay some of their salary anyway. You trade Damon and you lose your leadoff hitter. Matsui is the best left handed bat on the team. No reason to trade either of them.
Why are we laughing about A-rod wanting to acknowledge his heritage? It does mean something to people who are 1st or 2nd generation.
What about Madonna’s dream to see Arod play for Team Kaballah?
It just isn’t fair.
“Injuries happen. It’s Cash’s job to build a team able to withstand them.”
Then why is he relying on Nick Swisher to replace Giambi/Abreu? I obviously know we can’t have Tex and CC but this team is 1 bat shy IMO.
How ignorant do you have to be not to realize that a parent could dream of their child representing their country in what they love to do.
WBC is a vehicle to do it.
How weird/phony/paranoid/overly invested do you have to be to look for dishonesty in everything this particular man does?
“Why are we laughing about A-rod wanting to acknowledge his heritage? It does mean something to people who are 1st or 2nd generation.”
Exactly, I keep saying people who are not of Dominican or anyother descent just don’t understand and sound ignorant when they open thier mouth about this. They think Alex doesn’t have a mom and dad who are Dominican and wanted to see him in the Dominican jersey, whatever if NY starts to rip him us Dominicans have his back like we always have.
Brandon,
This one was easy. But I still can’t explain all the other weird stuff he does.
In 2006, Alex said he it was a “great honor” to play for the United States because his half-brother Victor was a colonel in the Air Force.
Victor, as far as I know, remains in the service.
Pete, what does that prove? In 2006 he wanted to acknowledge his brother/US citizenship. now he wants to acknowledge his mother/Dominican heritage. It’s so bizarre that you’re criticizing him for this.
Why does anybody care what team he plays for in irrelevant exhibition games?
“Exactly, I keep saying people who are not of Dominican or anyother descent just don’t understand and sound ignorant when they open thier mouth about this.”
Technically everyone is of some descent but I get what you’re saying. I have no problem with it being from NY and being multi-racial myself I can understand him wanting to properly represent all of his backgrounds. He played for the U.S. back in 06 so I think its fair that he wants to represent the DR.
Okay, Alex. Have fun!
Though, I really don’t care about the WBC(unless of course a Yankee player gets a boo boo..knock on wood).
Can we go back to CC watch 2008? What did CC have for lunch today? Anyone know?
A-Rod is such a clown. I wish he would become a mute. Everytime he opens his mouth, he foot gets squarely placed inside it. It’s almost painful listening to him sometimes as nothing he says ever sounds sincere.
This is a first ballot “Who Cares!” Hall of Fame matter.
“He played for the U.S. back in 06 so I think its fair that he wants to represent the DR.”
Perhaps. But I think that maybe if A-Rod had clarified his Mom’s dream, it might not have sounded so hard to believe.
“Had Santana been eligable this winter as a free agent, how would you rather have ???? Santana minus Phil Hughes or CC plus Philip Hughes ????”
Pat M,
Let’s wait to see what happens with CC. I’ve thought about this issue quite a bit.
I’d be very, very surprised if part of the team’s thinking last winter wasn’t influenced by the likelihood of CC being available this winter.
Still thinking about your question on how to estimate the impact of adding Tex to the line up to hit in front of/ behind arod.
Bit complicated to do.
Easiest way to think of it is this – Tex is a .400 on base percentage guy.
The alternative to Tex the yankees have to hit in front of Alex may be Matsui. I’d think he’d be no more than a .380 OBP guy next year. Can’t expect much more than that. Probably closer to .370.
So in that alone – with Tex hitting in front of him Alex would come up with a man on base an extra 8-9% of the time.
That’s a significant difference over a season.
“Can we go back to CC watch 2008? What did CC have for lunch today? Anyone know?”
My guess is something fattening.
Arod is a man without a country…literally and figuratively. He does not know who he is…you can actually see him wondering about in some of his at-bats…usually you can sense when a K is on the way…for A-rod.
What a Drama Queen. What if the Dominicans don’t want him?
Summer: How am I being critical of him? I reported exactly what he said.
I’m glad for his Mom. I’m sure it’s been a long, agonizing three years in her life, hoping and praying that her son would play from the Dominicans from her home in Miami, where she has lived since 1979. It’s beautiful to see her son fulfill this dream she has had.
“Can we go back to CC watch 2008? What did CC have for lunch today? Anyone know?”
The BIG salad.
Pete
I wish life really was as cut and dry as you like to make it seem sometime.
CB
Hitting Matsui in the 3 hole, can you imagine how many DP’s he going to hit into? He’s a groundball to 2b machine.
“I’m glad for his Mom. I’m sure it’s been a long, agonizing three years in her life, hoping and praying that her son would play from the Dominicans from her home in Miami, where she has lived since 1979. It’s beautiful to see her son fulfill this dream she has had.”
Dammit Pete! I think I stepped in a steaming pile of sarcasm.
Pete,
On the last thread, you thought the Yankees had a figure in their mind.
Isn’t it possible that it’s not about the money at this point? If $40M doesn’t grab your attention, I don’t know what will.
I will puke if the Yankees bid against themselves.
Take it or leave it, CC. And soon.
Wow- Don’t kill the messenger. If you’re a real yankees fan, you should know that AROD makes the most ridiculous comments. Pete was only reporting what was said. If it’s a crazy comment attributed to AROD, then you know it’s correct.
God I wish we could trade him. He’s useless and a turncoat drama queen.
“Hitting Matsui in the 3 hole, can you imagine how many DP’s he going to hit into? He’s a groundball to 2b machine.”
No, he isn’t.
“Hitting Matsui in the 3 hole, can you imagine how many DP’s he going to hit into? He’s a groundball to 2b machine.”
Very possible. If he gets into that habit of rolling over on the ball and becoming too pull conscious then that’s an issue.
But on the flip side there are no perfect solutions. At times I think yankee fans literally want perfection – players with no defects at all. It’s just not possible.
Matsui gets on base at a .370-.380 clip. In general you’d like the guy hitting in front of Alex to get on base so more of alex’s HR and extra base hits occur with someone on base.
The value of that probably far outweighs the DP’s.
Would I like someone who had better speed and would be less of a DP threat hitting in front of alex? Of course.
But there’s always trade offs. Can’t get around it.
Clare,
Another day, another shot at ARod from Peter, and another disingenuous claim that he’s just reporting the news/just reporting what he said.
Yeah right.
Steve, above, and everyone else here clearly caught what you were doing with the last two lines of you original post. He did not say anything about how long this has been his mother’s dream. It was reported everywhere that last time his mother wanted him to play for the DR. This time, he’s honoring her wishes. No one who isn’t completely blinded by animosity for the man would have a problem with that.
(And this time Peter, are you going to make fun of me for pointing out your bias, or just delete my posts?)
if the Cash$ doesn’t sign CC and he goes to the Angeles, Does he make a bigger push then on Tex?
“Can we go back to CC watch 2008? What did CC have for lunch today? Anyone know?”
I’d guess the buffet?
“Perhaps. But I think that maybe if A-Rod had clarified his Mom’s dream, it might not have sounded so hard to believe.”
He initially wanted to play for D.R. but after speaking w/ his wife and PR agent he chose to avoid contreversy. His mom and his family the first time the WBC came wanted him to play for D.R. they wanted to see him represent thier heritage Alex as an amateur represented D.R. after 94 or 95 he stopped basically Boras selling his image as Arod. It’s him doing what he’s wanted to do for sometime, the Bennedict Arnold fans need to stop putting thier foot in thier mouth because it comes off as ignorant as ever, this is baseball he played it and learned it as a kid in D.R. who you think passed baseball down to him ? he was going to play basketball or football when his mom and the rest of his family told him specifically how many Dominicans you see playing baseball then she told him how many are playing in the NBA after that it was an easy decision.
is it wrong that i’m already sick of paywad and the season isn’t close to starting yet?
if there was any way we could trade this dooche, it would be awesome.
“What a Drama Queen. What if the Dominicans don’t want him?”
You don’t speak for us.
“if the Cash$ doesn’t sign CC and he goes to the Angeles, Does he make a bigger push then on Tex?”
If we miss on CC, Tex is a LOCK.
““Hitting Matsui in the 3 hole, can you imagine how many DP’s he going to hit into? He’s a groundball to 2b machine.”
No, he isn’t.”
I disagree Fredo. Matsui is a great hitter but he rolls the ball over more than any hitter I’ve seen.
Arod said in that article from NYDailyNews that he called CC and he didnt return his call, and he spoke to A.J. So does CC not like Arod, not like the Yanks or is he just a very busy man?!
As for his principal employer, Rodriguez said he has already tried to do some recruiting of the prize free-agent pitchers that are available. So far, C.C. Sabathia hasn’t returned A-Rod’s call, but Rodriguez has spread the love beyond the hefty lefty.
“I have spoken with A.J. Burnett. And I’m saying my prayers every night, hoping we land both of them. A lot of long prayers,” said Rodriguez in English.”
Your tone is critical and sarcastic. And if you want to be micro-analytic about his quote, he only refers to his mother’s “dream.” I think it’s a fairly obvious conclusion to draw that her dream is linked back to this game as a symbolic representation of him him embracing his heritage. And even if is just a simple two-year-long dream of seeing him wearing a Dominican team uniform, I’m not sure why you think that’s worthy of ridicule.
Also, what does the fact that she’s lived in Miami since 1979 have to do with her Dominican roots. You have known people who’ve immigrated to America before, right? It’s not like they divorce their native country when they come here.
“Why are we laughing about A-rod wanting to acknowledge his heritage? It does mean something to people who are 1st or 2nd generation.”
I agree. I’m 1st generation American on my dad’s side (which I guess makes me 1&1/2st generation American total?) and I am extremely proud to be an American, I’d be honored to represent this great country in any international affair, but if my dad asked me to represent Italy instead, I damn sure would in a second, especially after everything he sacrificed to come here and give his kids a good life. That’s true of all immigrant parents, imo.
I have already heard people calling this team switching a “punk move” (except using a slightly dirtier word than punk) and all I can do is LOL. How on god’s green earth is it a punk move to honor your parents’ wishes and/or requests? Doesnt EVERYBODY owe that to their parents?
sorry for the preaching, but sheeeesh!!!
“is it wrong that i’m already sick of paywad and the season isn’t close to starting yet?
if there was any way we could trade this dooche, it would be awesome.”
Who cares what the man does off the field? Where will you be when hes putting up big numbers this season? Lets trade the best player in the game, who needs him!
Fredo,
It’s a steaming pile of something.
Did anyone else notice that Peter went back later and deleted ALL his comments from the last thread about ARod?
CB-
In thinking of a good fit for who to hit in front of AROD, i think you’re right, they don’t really have “that” guy, at least not yet. But in looking back, Abreu was a very good fit, high OBP and decent speed on the basepaths. I know this is a strech, but if Swisher has that comeback year, he might/could be the guy, of course that’s on the assumption they don’t get Tex.
And also, for the people who rip Alex for playing for USA last time and DR this time….I guess you’ve never been in a situation where your significant other wanted you to do one thing and your family wanted you to do the exact opposite? Its never an easy decision and youre gonna disappoint someone either way. For A-Rod that extends even further because of his status in the public eye, but he is still just a regular guy with family obligations just like anyone else.
Is it wrong that I’m sick of people who are older than 10 that think “paywad” or “farnsworthless” is clever or amusing?
“Matsui is a great hitter but he rolls the ball over more than any hitter I’ve seen.”
I just wanted to clarify something from this thread on Matsui.
He’s in no way a “ground ball machine.” I don’t think I made that clear from my last post.
That’s not an accurate assessment of Matsui in any way.
Matsui’s ground ball rates are actually fairly average. He converts around 42-46% of his contact into ground ball.
The average for major league hitters is 44%. So Matsui is right around average.
All hitters slump. When Matsui does he becomes too pull conscious and tends to roll his wrists over producing ground balls to the right side.
But you could say that for a lot of left handed hitters when they aren’t squaring the ball up well.
He’s around averge in this regard.
Darn it. TD Alabama
“In 2006, Alex said he it was a “great honor” to play for the United States because his half-brother Victor was a colonel in the Air Force.
Victor, as far as I know, remains in the service.”
Pete, with all due respect, does the fact that he’s honoring his parents’ birthplace this time around make his honor of the USA last time any less sincere? If so, why?
pat,
Not at all.
CB-
Just curious, but where did you come up with those numbers on Matsui and the other averages? I’m not doubting you, but would be interested in finding such numbers.
Peter that was a totally unprofessional comment.
Who are you to judge a mom’s dream? You have no idea what it means to be Dominican or what pride the people from the Dominican Republic hold. Insulting Alex’s mom’s desires are petty. Sure the WBC has been around since only 2006, but if you did your research you would know that the Dominicans were hurt by Alex playing for the US in 2006. He endured a lot of backlash from the Dominican community. Of course his mom wants him to play for the Dominican Republic.
It’s probably not even a WBC thing, Dominican’s have a strong sense of nationalism and just representing his country makes his mother proud.
Be professional. Someone needs to report you to your supervisor for the unprofessional posts in this blog.
Brandon: Alex has never represented the Dominican in any amateur tournaments that I am aware of. In fact, he was set to be on a junior national team for the U.S out of high school but he passed on it to sign a deal with Topps when he turned pro.
Meanwhile, you guys are getting me all wrong. I think this is a wonderful moment and totally heartfelt and I’m sure it will only enhance Alex’s reputation among fans. Why would it not? It seems totally genuine. I’m sure there will be many players in the WBC who will change teams.
Is he even eligible to play for DR? I believe in World Cup Soccer, once you play for one nation you can’t switch. The baseball version of the World Cup should follow the same guidelines
Must be hard being a-rod. when he didnt play for the d.r. the last time things got pretty ugly in washington heights and the d.r. and now that hes switching sides hes gotta take all of these. Its Just wow
“is it wrong that i’m already sick of paywad and the season isn’t close to starting yet?
if there was any way we could trade this dooche, it would be awesome.”
It would be even more awesome if we could trade the person who authored the above statement from the LoHud Yankees Blog. Send them over to the LoHud Mets Blog for cash considerations and a PTBNL!
“I disagree Fredo. Matsui is a great hitter but he rolls the ball over more than any hitter I’ve seen.”
You may disagree to your heart’s content. Fact is that his career stats dictate that he is more than 2 times likely to hit the ball up the middle or to the opposite field than he is to pull it to the right side.
Who cares where Alex plays in the WBC. It’s an exhibition series. My only concern is that he doesn’t get hurt.
I think the more important thing in the Daily News article is that ARod has made some recruitng calls to CC and AJ Burnett. Let’s give him some credit for that.
I guess nobody should ever play for the USA then. None of us are really from here….all the good “american” players should go back to their homelands and play for their countries where their heritage is from. Screw the USA.
“Alex did not “learn the game” in the Dominican. He lived there when he was a child, from ages 4-6 or something like that. As he has said often, he considered himself more of a football player until he got to h.s.
He also has never represented the Dominican in any amateur tournaments that I am aware of. In fact, he was set to be on a junior national team for the U.S out of high school but he passed on it to sign a deal with Topps when he turned pro.
Meanwhile, you guys are getting me all wrong. I think this is a wonderful moment and totally heartfelt and I’m sure it will only enhance Alex’s reputation among fans. Why would it not? I’m sure there will be many players in the WBC who will change teams.”
Every child in the Dominican Republic is introduced the game of baseball. And Alex traveled constantly to the Dominican Republic. That was a cheap shot.
Pete where do you think he first picked up baseball, his sister was always throwing to him in D.R. your gonna tell me Alex never played in D.R., me ? check the history on him he played w/ Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Republic’s Winter League before reaching the Majors atleast that’s what my family and friends tell me.
Trust me there’s alot more.
Stu,
Those stats are widely available.
Just check the hardball times or fangraphs.
“Meanwhile, you guys are getting me all wrong. I think this is a wonderful moment and totally heartfelt and I’m sure it will only enhance Alex’s reputation among fans”
This mean your paper won’t pay to get the sarcasm off my shoes?
Ok I’ll see you go later.
CB-
Excellent, thanks for the info.
I agree with Brandon. I know my Dominican baseball being Dominican, and I know Alex’s history in the Dominican. This means a lot to his mother, and it isn’t about the silly WBC, its about patriotism.
“And good for Mom Rodriguez that her dream is finally fulfilled. After all, the WBC has been around since way back in 2006.”
That’s a cheap shot. Unprofessional. Something this blog has made a habit recently. A shame. It was a great place to get Yankee news at one point.
Mauro
WBC uses Olympic rules not World Cup rules. In the Olympics you can represent more than one country in different years.
His history is in the Dominican? He lived there for 3 years. The rest of his life has been spent here. He’s American, and he spits in the face of this country by forgetting the 30 years he has lived here, being born here, going to schools here, and making money here.
Can we have a new thread Peter? One in which A-Rod is not even mentioned in the text. Seriously people go nuts while discussing this guy. I care more about CC/Tex/AJ/Sheets/Lowe than I care about what lightning rod does in his spare time or in an off-season tournament.
“I guess nobody should ever play for the USA then. None of us are really from here….all the good “american” players should go back to their homelands and play for their countries where their heritage is from. Screw the USA.”
Well if we really wanted to get technical, only Joba could play for team USA since this country really only belongs to his people!
hey, playing all 8 positions plus pitching, at least he’d get to block the plate alot, we all know he likes to do that!
Pete was obviously kidding around and so many of you take it seriously and get all worked up. It’s the same people every time, too. You think you’d realize how stupid you look when you take the bait.
I can’t believe people would defend A-Rod. The guy left his wife and kids for Madonna! He lied about opting out. He lies about everything.
The most important is CC and Tex. Not what stupid Alex is doing. I just hope he doesn’t get hurt.
I dont understand the brewers rumored offer of 110 Mil and 6 years which falls 30 short of the yanks. CC seems to want to play in cali. Why would he not pay in cali and then, take a discount from a team he was on for a half of a season who worked him like a dog? Im sure he liked mil and did well there but do they really expect him to leave 30 mil on the table and come back to the brewers. Maybe the angels or the dodgers he would leave money on the table (and i doubt 30 mil) but i dont see him doing it for mil. That isnt even the team he has pitched with most of his career – he was there for a couple of months.
“His history is in the Dominican? He lived there for 3 years. The rest of his life has been spent here. He’s American, and he spits in the face of this country by forgetting the 30 years he has lived here, being born here, going to schools here, and making money here.”
He lived their for 3 years, but he traveled there nearly every summer of his life. His family also lives in the Dominican Republic. He also played Amateur Ball in the Dominican Republic.
I am Dominican-American. I have lived in the US the majority of my life, but I would definitely represent the Dominican Republic in an Olympics for my parents sake. To show patriotism to the country where I came from. My culture. I would also compete for the US as well, to represent my home.
Some things you just don’t understand.
“I can’t believe people would defend A-Rod. The guy left his wife and kids for Madonna! ”
Whoops, I must have missed the part where he divorced his children.
“he spits in the face of this country by forgetting the 30 years he has lived here, being born here, going to schools here, and making money here.”
He played for USA back in 06. Are you offended about what an athlete does in a meaningless tournament. He wants to play for the DR, his mom is Dominican he wants to play ball with some of his close friends David Ortiz, Manny etc. What this man does in an exhibition tournament should not make you upset.
I guess I dont understand. My grandparents were born in Ireland and immigrated here in the 40s. If they asked me to represent Ireland in some international competition? No way. I’m an American–everything about me is American. And I’d feel like a complete traitor if I turned my back on that.
Ask me who I am? I’ll tell you I’m American.
“I have lived in the US the majority of my life, but I would definitely represent the Dominican Republic in an Olympics for my parents sake. To show patriotism to the country where I came from.”
Or even if you were born in the US and only your parents were born in the Dominican Republic, you still do it to show respect for them and their heritage, which is also your heritage.
Why on earth is this such a controversy? I think it’s because people fear the USA can’t win without A-Rod, personally. I seriously doubt you’d hear much of an uproar if, say, AJ Pierzynski decided to play for Poland!
Um. No offense Pete but, why is this news?
We are trying to sign CC, future co King of New York.
The other king being King James of course (formerly known as Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But let’s talk about Arod being bi-racial. That’s the talk.
From ESPN:
Rodriguez played with the Leones del Escogido during the Dominican Republic’s 1994-95 winter season before reaching the major leagues.
So young:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.....cogido.jpg
thanks Pat
I see the difference now, but i still think the tournament would have more weight internationally if the players took their allegiances more seriously. Well… most players probably do, i can’t let loony A-rod distort my opinion of all the players
Chris:
Based on his bio in the Yankees media guide, Alex was playing summer baseball in the United States from the age of 12 on. So I’m not sure how he spent “every summer” in the Dominican.
He also never played amateur ball there. He played one year of winter league ball as a professional.
His mother lives in Miami and he doesn’t speak with his father. His family all live in the United States in terms of his brothers, sisters, children, etc.
In total seriousness, he can play for whoever he wants under the rules and it’s a meaningless tournament. Anybody who actually cares about this is being silly. But you’re exaggerating his ties to the Dominican.
Well they didn’t win with Arod on their team last time this stupid tournament was played. Hopefully Longoria can start at 3rd.
The Angels owner Artie Moreno has the $ for CC if he wants him, but they seem to be focusing on Tex and if that fails they’ll make an offer close to the 140m yankees offer that CC will take. But it seems like once one of these two guys make a decision, it will be a domino effect and the signings will be fast and furious.
I dont know…where’s Longoria’s heritage from? maybe he’ll go play with him. Perhaps David Wright will go play for the Brits.
Ho hum !
Just another Rodriquez attention getting thing. They never seem to stop for long.
Sidney Ponson as star pitcher of the Aruban National Team, ftw.
Also, for those of you who think A-Rod is a traitor, was Piazza also a traitor for playing for Italy in 06?
pssssst.
Did you hear Arod’s dating Madonna AND he’s bi-racial.
Ok, back to baseball.
Pete,
I’m just teasing you.
“Anyone who actually cares about this is being silly.”
It sure sounded like you cared Peter, both in this post and thread and the last one about this.
Yes I did think it was ridiculous that Piazza played for Italy…
I’ve heard some pretty dumb things from some other Yankee players so I look forward to them getting analyzed by Pete. And if Pete should miss them I’ll make sure to bring them to his attention.
WBC is as contrived as Black Friday. Again, its not a big deal who he plays for.
Peter,
Next time you speak to Alex ask him about his family in the Dominican. Dominicans have fairly large families. And trust the fact he spent most of his summers there.
Regardless of the logistics, you made a petty sarcastic statement. You should be professional and correct it.
Chris
I’m not sure why everyone is so consumed with this WBC issue. It’s just a pick up game. it’s just the way AROD goes about explaining things. If he just said i’m playing for the DR team, more than likely, it would have stopped at that point. But he had to elaborate and he just doesn’t have that ability to properly articulate it.
I dont believe for one moment if he didn’t explain it that no one would say anything. Pete was posting before A-Rod said one word LOL.
CB, Thanks for your statical analysis on Texeria and Alex…..That’s an impressive upgrade……I’ve been poolside watching the USC / UCLA game and missed some of the heated exchanges….The Hitman needs to relax…..This is the best baseball forum for Yankee fans in my opinion….And that’s all this place is, to exchange concepts, opinions and expand one’s understanding of the game…Everyone will learn something new every day….There are some real bright baseball people here who have definate strenghts…..It’s a real good place, let’s not contmainate it with petty BS…..
Clare — I was just going to make that same point. In fact, maybe i did, and it disappeared into the same void as my other comments to you.
**CC SIGNS RECORD DEAL**
see just trying to get the blog back on topic. Enough A-Rod stuff, o.k.?
Pat M.
Calmer than you are.
Calmer than you.
Bonus for getting the reference.
Summer,
Funny how that void works.
Enough with Alex, leave him alone! (I’m channeling my inner Cris Crocker
)
So…..
Any ideas on what CC will have for Dinner?
A-Rod-”My Mom has had two dreams for me, the first was to nail Madonna, and the second was to represent the Dominican Republic for the WBC.
Chris:
No offense because you seem like a good guy and a good person. But it’s physically impossible for him to have spent “most of his summers” in the DR. For starters, he has been playing pro ball since he was 18 and they play in the summer. For the seven years before that he was playing for a traveling amateur team in Miami in the summer. This according to every bio of him. For the the first three years of his life, he lived in New York. He said in an interview a few years back that he never went to the DR until he was 4.
So he could gone there every summer from the age of 4 to 11, let’s say. That’s 7 years. He’s now 33. That’s less than a quarter of his life. Not most.
I’m not denying the guy has ties there and quite likely strong feelings. But you’re exaggerating it.
I wish one of ARod’s Mom’s dreams would be for him to hit well in playoff series for the Yankees
TD Florida!!
This is some game
Pat M.,
Poolside was the place to be. Not a lot of productive discussions here.
The whole on base percentage thing is the most direct and clear way that having Tex would impact the line up.
In general where guys hit lead off, etc. is over rated. For every spot in the line up higher a hitter hits he gets around 15 additional at bats per season. That’s the biggest impact of hitting higher in the line up. More at bats.
But what matters more is how different kinds of guys are grouped together in consecutive order
In general you really, really want to have high on base percentage guys in front of guys who drive the ball. That’s important.
So Cano may never make a very good hitter to bat in front of the middle of the line up.
But one base percent is only the first part of it.
Most of the differences would in fact be first and foremost qualitative rather than quantitative, if that makes sense.
As an extreme example, if the Cardinals signed Tex and batted him behind Pujols I’d guess that he’d see different kinds of pitches – that is he’d see a qualitative difference in the types of pitches he sees.
Just a guess – his walk rate would go down and his power numers would increase.
So the qualitative difference in the types of pitches he sees would lead to a down stream quantitative improvement in Pujols numbers.
Something like that. On the flip side it’s possible that Pujols is so frightening that batting even Tex behind him wouldn’t change the way Pujols gets pitched to.
On the flip side – batting Tex in front of Pujols would undoubtedly cause Tex’s walks to go down and for him to see qualitatively better pitches.
Where was all of the wailing and whining during the last tournament when Piazza, Micili, Dellucci, Catalanoto, Menachino and about 12 other Americans, many with NY roots played for the Italian team in 2005, or when Garciaparra was on the Mexican team until he decided to skip it.
I didn’t see the media slinging snot over it, either.
Tebow’s a great quarterback, but he’s nothing without that receiving corps. That TD catch is just the last of many great catches for the day.
Too bad A-Rod can’t switch MLB teams this easily…
“it’s possible that Pujols is so frightening that batting even Tex behind him wouldn’t change the way Pujols gets pitched to.”
Bingo
Peter,
As I said, regardless of the online biographies specificness to his ties to the Dominican Republic,is it really necessary to take sarcastic cheap shots at human beings? Is it?
That is the only qualm i hold with this blog. I enjoy every aspect of it except the constant attacks against a few Yankees.
For those that aren’t aware of kid’s baseball in Florida, they have leagues that play into November. They play in four and 5 leaguers throughout the year.
it’s really hard to like this guy
Mike LI,
You have something against a grown man wearing sorority girl scarfs eh?
Pete,
I can see you’re getting really frustrated with all the abuse you’re taking here. Please don’t shut down the blog!
How about doing some legwork? Call Alex and see what he and AJ talked about.
Pujols is the best hitter in the game, I doubt anyone behind him would make a difference.
Al from BK,
Still trying to click on your CC link!
NOT WORKING LOL.
Only takes one thread about Rodriguez for the tulips to bloom en masse.
CB….It’ make sense to me….I just think when you collect and place the numbers on the table, it just supports what I think I see, or on the other hand makes one re-evaluate…I’ve been a what I see type guy, as my stat knowledge goes maybe 20 % beyond what’s on the back of a Topp’s card…..I do understand and see quite clearly ballplayers tendencies…..A byproduct from playing I suppose….However what you provide besides on the field perspectives is the digits to support hunches….Great contribution to this forum I think…..I’m not someone who is driven by a spreadsheet, but it’s a very valuable tool….Time out Hitman….
PAT M
December 6th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
CB….It’ make sense to me….I just think when you collect and place the numbers on the table, it just supports what I think I see, or on the other hand makes one re-evaluate…I’ve been a what I see type guy, as my stat knowledge goes maybe 20 % beyond what’s on the back of a Topp’s card…..I do understand and see quite clearly ballplayers tendencies…..A byproduct from playing I suppose….However what you provide besides on the field perspectives is the digits to support hunches….Great contribution to this forum I think…..I’m not someone who is driven by a spreadsheet, but it’s a very valuable tool….Time out Hitman….
————————————————————
I can agree with a lot of the “new stats” but, some of them are beyond ridiculous….including the geeks and freaks that decide if a ball should be caught because it was in the player’s “zone”. Too many factors are ignored…was the grass wet? Did it hit a seam or lip of the grass or a rock? How hard was it hit? Was it a hit and run and the wrong player covered? Those are all things they don’t account for. Much of the rest is just BS that Bill James made up to sell books to stat geeks and fantasy players.
Let’s go Yankees!!
Go Gators!!!
“Al from BK,
Still trying to click on your CC link!
NOT WORKING LOL.”
Sry Bret. Just trying to see if everyone is still paying attention to the real issues. Next time I post that I hope there is a link involved.
“Pujols is the best hitter in the game, I doubt anyone behind him would make a difference.”
Pujols led the league in intentional walks last year.
He walked a career high 16.6% of the time.
At least some of those walks, particularly the intentional ones, would likely not have occurred if Tex was batting behind Pujols instead of Ryan Ludwick.
Unless you think Ludwick is as dangerous as Tex.
It would clearly have to make some marginal difference.
Pujols bats 3rd in the line often. Why is that?
LaRussa himself has commented on how he thinks its a priority for the Cardinals to protect Pujols in the line up better.
So clearly LaRussa thinks the guy hitting behind pujols matters.
Bonds walked 200 times in a season not only because he was hitting so many homeruns but also because there was literally no one even mildly dangerous hitting behind him.
Ludwick having a great season this year probably was a big factor in pujols only getting walked 104 times rather than 150.
Well the issue in this thread isn’t exactly baseball.
Any Richie Sexson sightings lately ?
“His history is in the Dominican? He lived there for 3 years. The rest of his life has been spent here. He’s American, and he spits in the face of this country by forgetting the 30 years he has lived here, being born here, going to schools here, and making money here.”
What a slight against his country to do something his mother wanted him to do! Nationality is so much more important than family! Jeez, what a jerk!
Spare me the false-patriotism.
This whole nationality thing is a joke. How many of you chose to be born where you were? None of you. It’s totally random and made up. He could play for Zimbabwe or China for all I care.
I identify myself as American but who do I have more in common with–the people who founded the country or my ancestors who emigrated here less than 100 years ago? I’m gonna go with the latter.
Chris:
This is a blog. If I can’t have a little fun and spark comments, what is the point? Do you actually think I really care what team Alex plays for? I dare anybody to read my newspaper stories and find any bias.
I’m happy when people want to have a good time with the blog. But then we have the person who commented earlier in this thread that he wished I would have a heart attack and die. That’s nice. I won’t go into detail about some of the other things people have done but it would make you sick.
Thankfully 99 percent of the people who read the blog get it and understand that I’m just trying to have fun and keep them informed about the team. I try and write for them and not the get-a-lifers who have nothing better to do than parse my every word and then talk to each other about it. Most of these people lack the ability to make a meaningful comment about the actual team.
With that, I need to go pack and watch the Big 12 game. Thanks for reading everybody and stay tuned next week. Lots of updates coming.
“I’ve been a what I see type guy, as my stat knowledge goes maybe 20 % beyond what’s on the back of a Topp’s card…..”
Pat M.
To me it’s not one or the other stats vs. baseball knowledge.
Quite honestly, this split is bigger in baseball than in almost any other field i’ve seen in which statistics are used.
It’s kind of strange. In general, the way statistics are used in say sociology is that people with knowledge of statistics will work together with people who have content expertise in that particular field. Or at times one person will have expertise in both.
You’re impressions of the game fit with the numbers quite well. You’re seeing what the stats show for the most part.
I hope CC isn’t serious about wanting to wait for Tex to sign before he does. That makes it much harder for the Yankees to get both of them.
Even if the Yankees have a $200 million pay roll, they are still saving almost $20 mil. Look at what the 25 man roster would look like in 2010.
Lineup: SS Jeter, 2B Cano, 3B A-Rod, 1B Tex, RF Swisher, C Posada, CF Jackson, DH ?, LF ?
Rotation: CC, Joba, Wang, Hughes, ?
Bullpen: Mariano, Marte, ?
That team costs $145 mil/yr plus whatever Wang, Joba, and Hughes will be making after arbitration. Let’s say $160 million with them. I’d say some of those question marks could be filled with guys from the farm system. Montero could be splitting time with Posada at catcher and DH, the 5th starter could be any of the young talented guys in the minors next year, and Melancon would be one of the important bullpen guys.
The bottom line is that the Yankees can afford to sign CC and Tex and still get the pay roll under control.
So….how about those Knicks? Tough loss last night.
I’m just gonna blame Alex for it.
Pete, you do what you do. No need to keep explaining yourself. Here is my question: When do we get to have a little fun with Jeter? I have jokes for days.
Green Barrette,
I was impressed with money ball but wholeheartedly disagreed with his downplaying of contact vs. OBP. What kind of contact does a high contact player make, one where he grounds into many double plays or weak pop ups or line drive contact that moves runners and puts them in scoring position?
If there’s no such thing as clutch hitting or hitting in moment when the fans want a hit, then why is home field advantage such an advantage in every sport? How can Bill James take the fan out of the game like that? Fans cheering and booing and getting excited or nervous have different kinds of effects on different players depending on their mental makeup.
Bill James doesn’t do enough to address the psychological aspects of the game, the baserunner who gets thrown out higher than the optimal rate still can get inside a pitcher’s head and force bad pitches or distract him so much that he fatigues mentally and gets off his game plan. Ultimately a speedy team can force a pitcher to throw more pitches rather than record more thrown out baserunners. A defensively superior team is more likely to make a great play at the perfect moment because they’re more often making great plays-that could totally demoralize an opponent and put it in their heads that no matter what they do, they can’t break through and get a big inning. So a team hits into an amazing defensive stop and dwells on it and begins to change their approach to the pitcher thinking that they must wait for a perfect pitch but it never comes and they swing at garbage.
Players are emotional and psychological and instinctual but Bill James pretty much treats them like patterned programmable robots.
Take Moose for instance. There’s a pitcher that got severely off his game in 2006 and 2007 if his defense failed him.
Can we leave A-Fraud alone for once!!
His mom’s dream was to see him wear a Dominican Republic (DR)uniform again. He played in the mid 90′s in DR, so it’s been since then that she’s been waiting…typical media person taking a shot at Arod.
pete,
why the wise-ass comment about a-rod doing this for his mom – perhaps what he means is that it was her dream to represent the DR – as such this is his only opportunity. i’m certain he doesn’t mean that his mom has been dreaming about him doing this for 4 years and as such it’s newsworthy.
your thinly veiled shots at arod are getting old – just as your contempt joe girardi.
“Pete, you do what you do. No need to keep explaining yourself. Here is my question: When do we get to have a little fun with Jeter? I have jokes for days.”
Please start now. Please.
I love Derek Jeter, he’s one of the reasons I’m as big a baseball fan as I am right now but the man gets a free pass from a lot of people and I just don’t like it. Could you imagine the outcry if it was Rodriguez who got caught for tax evasion in the last offseason? We’d still be talking about it.
“So….how about those Knicks? Tough loss last night.
”
I’m just gonna blame Alex for it.
In my opinion NY has no basketball team until 2010
CB,
Maybe Larussa thinks protection for Pujols is important because he recognizes that his lineup is so thin that a pitcher can pitch a quality start by picking and choosing his battles against 3 or 4 hitters out of 9.
Hate to get back on A-Rod here but here it goes. Perhaps A-Rod wants to play for the Dominican team because this is the last time he plans to play in the WBC. After all next time WBC comes up A-Rod will be 37 years old. Maybe he wanted to represent the DR because he has already played for team USA and he wanted to make it even. Yes he is American, but is it so wrong for the guy to want to play with some of his friends on team Dominican and represent his other heritage is that so wrong? Thats it now I’m done.
PAT M and CB, who do you guys think should be in the HOF from the veteran’s committee. MLB.com has the odds going with Kaat, Santo, Hodges, Torre and Dick Allen. I can agree on those except for Allen. The other one getting a lot of talk is Allie Reynolds. I’m torn on Reynolds, though. His numbers are equal to Lefty Gomez, but, I wasn’t sold on him being elected, either. Here’s a list of the two groups by era on the left side.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....8;c_id=nyy
Ok, back on the Arod thing. Here’s my take. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez share the same agent and the same ethnic background. Alex Rodriguez wants and has always wanted to have the same adoration of the fans that Derek Jeter has but things have been up and down so far. There was some talk that Jeter didn’t do enough to defend Arod in 2005 when things were at their worst for his former best friend. Even some reports of tension between Arod and Jeter surfaced from players like Giambi who said that Arod seemed distant from the rest of the team save Robby Thompson who just so happens to be our bench coach now.
If Arod feels strongly that Manny will come here, this move to the Dominican team is a pre-emptive extension of a friendship with Manny Ramirez. Manny is a second chance for Arod. He could be a new friend who wins over the fans of New York and spreads some of his mojo to Arod.
OR
Could just be that Arod likes attention.
CB,,,,I’m with GB7 in that there’s just too much unnecessary statisical bs….The difference it what you bring to the table is tangiable information….Much more than the an old mgr.’s little black book……Gb7, you had mentioned Jim Landis the CF for the the White Sox….I wanted your feedback as well as anyone who has an opinion on the great arms in RF, and there’s been quite a few…Dave Parker throwing out Brian Downing in an All-Star game….The one I remember so clearly because I was sitting in the 1b box seats and was old enough to appreciate what I was watching…..Bobby Richardson hits a drive into the right center field where it one hops the ols Aux scoreboards…Rocky Colovito catches the one hopper and throws a clothes line ( on the fly )to second and Richardson is out by 10 feet…. And Richardson could run…
Al from BK( Where in the world is Carsten Charles Sabathia?)
December 6th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Hate to get back on A-Rod here but here it goes. Perhaps A-Rod wants to play for the Dominican team because this is the last time he plans to play in the WBC. After all next time WBC comes up A-Rod will be 37 years old. Maybe he wanted to represent the DR because he has already played for team USA and he wanted to make it even. Yes he is American, but is it so wrong for the guy to want to play with some of his friends on team Dominican and represent his other heritage is that so wrong? Thats it now I’m done.
———————————————————–
He’s also a Dominican citizen. He holds duel citizenship, which can’t be said for the ones that played for the Italian and Mexican teams in 2005.
Or, it could be that Arod is baiting New Yorkers to lash out at him for identifying with Dominicans, which would in effect drive Manny away before he outclutchifies Arod to death. Manny wouldn’t want to come here if we so vocally hate our star player for deserting us for the foreigners.
Arod can skate for team Russia in the icecapades for all I care.
Peter,
Sounding kindof whiny there. People are parsing your words – and talking to each other about them! Horrors.
(The heart attack post is another thing entirely, which I’m not in any way condoning).
Plus, way more than 1 percent of us object to your constant cheap shots against ARod and animosity towards Girardi.
If you want to “have fun” and “spark comments” – how about trying to do so with Yankees other than ARod and Girardi? If you do so, I guarantee more people will see “humor” and not just a pattern of hostility.
“He’s also a Dominican citizen. He holds duel citizenship, which can’t be said for the ones that played for the Italian and Mexican teams in 2005.”
I agree GB. Mike Piazza playing for Italy? gimme a break.
“OR
Could just be that Arod likes attention.”
Or it could just be that he wants to play for the DR. Who cares? I’d prefer it if no Yankees played in the WBC for any team
OR
I’d prefer it if they just abolished the WBC altogether.
PAT M
December 6th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
CB,,,,I’m with GB7 in that there’s just too much unnecessary statisical bs….The difference it what you bring to the table is tangiable information….Much more than the an old mgr.’s little black book……Gb7, you had mentioned Jim Landis the CF for the the White Sox….I wanted your feedback as well as anyone who has an opinion on the great arms in RF, and there’s been quite a few…Dave Parker throwing out Brian Downing in an All-Star game….The one I remember so clearly because I was sitting in the 1b box seats and was old enough to appreciate what I was watching…..Bobby Richardson hits a drive into the right center field where it one hops the ols Aux scoreboards…Rocky Colovito catches the one hopper and throws a clothes line ( on the fly )to second and Richardson is out by 10 feet…. And Richardson could run…
———————————————————–
Pat, Landis was defensively as perfectly a center fielder as Freddie Lynn was…very similar.
Arm wise…Clemente and Colovito? I’d hate to have to live on the difference. Colovito played right field for the Tigers in 1960 and Kaline in center. In ’61, Kaline moved to right, colovito to left and Billy Bruton in center.
There was very few teams that have ever had better corner outfield arms better than those Tiger teams. Had Colovito been gifted with speed, he might have been the best corner outfielder in history on defense. He is the first player I ever heard that could make a glove pop on an outfield throw. It wasn’t just a strong arm, it was lazer straight and on target.
Squints,
How dare you?!
WBC has a long rich history since 2006!
“Sabathia to Red Sox isn’t far-fetched”-Ken Rosenthal
Can this madness be stopped. The Sox are just trolling us and trying to drive up the price that is already a record high. If CC won’t come to the East coast for the Yankees why would he go to pitch in that dump up in Boston? Crazy talk someone needs to sign already so this madness can stop.
“Squints,
How dare you?!
WBC has a long rich history since 2006!”
Haha, seriously though, I don’t like it. It’s a great concept but awful in execution.
What I think they should do is just take the champion from each country’s league and have them play each other.
Al from BK( Where in the world is Carsten Charles Sabathia?)
December 6th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
“He’s also a Dominican citizen. He holds duel citizenship, which can’t be said for the ones that played for the Italian and Mexican teams in 2005.”
I agree GB. Mike Piazza playing for Italy? gimme a break.
———————————————————–
Would people still want Adrian Gonzales on the Yankees after playing on Team Mexico in 2005?
Anyone know when the players will leave spring training to join their WBC teams?
Is Arod more or less of a goofball headcase because he’s now going to suit up for the DR?
I say no.
Congrats to the UCLA Bruins for rewarding my limited faith in them today. Well done.
Green Barrette,
Adrian Gonzalez is a good idea.
CC will definitely get kill in Fenway against righties due to their famous “cheap-hit-wall”
StevenM47,
You echo my thoughts. I am an American, having been born and raised in this country…if my father had asked me to go represent Italy, the country of the family’s origin, I would tell him to go himself.
Having lived through two world wars, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam war and the current fiascos in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have no allegiance to any country except the one of my birth and citizenship. I am an American and damn proud of it, and would not compete against America in any respect whatsover.
Oh and on a serious note, they should get rid of the Olympics, too–or just take the stupid, petty nationalism out of and let the athletes compete for their own sake, not a country’s.
It’s not simply competing for the DR, or any other country, it’s competing “against” the United States of America.
Clare
December 6th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Anyone know when the players will leave spring training to join their WBC teams?
————————————————————
The tournements starts of Marh 5th and ends 19 March, so, I would think that probably the last week in February to give the players time to practice as a team.
Correction
***one world war***
If people remember the last time his mom wanted him to play for the DR team but his wife wanted him to play for team U.S.A. There have been rumors that over the years Cynthia was pulling him away from his Dominican roots. Well Cynthia is out so now its mom’s turn to be happy. I don’t have a problem with it. If people didn’t have a problem with Mike Piazza playing for team Italy in ’06 they certainly shouldn’t have a problem with this. I have to admit, that lineup is going to be fun to watch.
What branch of service did you serve in Ariel? You’re pretty hard core.
“StevenM47,
You echo my thoughts. I am an American, having been born and raised in this country…if my father had asked me to go represent Italy, the country of the family’s origin, I would tell him to go himself.
Having lived through two world wars, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam war and the current fiascos in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have no allegiance to any country except the one of my birth and citizenship. I am an American and damn proud of it, and would not compete against America in any respect whatsover.”
I was born and raised here, too, but if my grandfather (a WW2 vet) had asked me to play for his family’s homeland of Italy, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Family is infinitely more important than nationality.
Just because A-Rod’s playing for the DR doesn’t mean he loves this country any less or appreciates it any less or whatever.
This really should be a non-issue. The fact that there is up-roar about it is downright silly.
Thanks GB7.
BTW, how are you feeling these days?
“There have been rumors that over the years Cynthia was pulling him away from his Dominican roots.”
I blame his hair stylist.
Written in a biography about Alex Rodriguez by Wayne Stewart in 2007:
re: not winning the MVP in 1996
“…Losing the MVP hurt deeply…only two men of Dominican descent had ever won an MVP,…Make no mistake, Rodriguez does consider himself to be a Dominican deep down. He commented that although he was born in New York and grew up in Miami, with his parents coming from the Dominican Republic, his loyalty was with that nation.”
What did we do before Google?
YankeesLuv
December 6th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
If people remember the last time his mom wanted him to play for the DR team but his wife wanted him to play for team U.S.A. There have been rumors that over the years Cynthia was pulling him away from his Dominican roots. Well Cynthia is out so now its mom’s turn to be happy. I don’t have a problem with it. If people didn’t have a problem with Mike Piazza playing for team Italy in ‘06 they certainly shouldn’t have a problem with this. I have to admit, that lineup is going to be fun to watch.
———————————————————–
He had decided not to play at all because of the circus it was causing, until MLB and the players union pressured him into playing.
GB7….Richie ( Dick ) Allen was such an incredible talent….I watched him in a ST game in Saratoga hit two homeruns off of Doc Medich that if linked together they had to be 1000 feet….I still think the second one has yet to land…..He had Mantle type power & outstanding skills…..Just a head case with a chip on his shoulder…..I got one AB vs. Wilbur Wood and I hit into a 4-6-3 dp…..
“CC will definitely get kill in Fenway against righties due to their famous “cheap-hit-wall””
Ed- Its just so typical Boston BS trying to muddy the market by having a sham meeting with CC. I’m not at all frightened but I do think this meeting will force CC to wait longer and consider things. They are essentially trying to rain on our parade and this is why I have spent my life hating the town and the teams that play there.
Benedict Arod!!!
Tell me Jeter wouldn’t chuckle if he saw that on a t-shirt.
“It’s not simply competing for the DR, or any other country, it’s competing “against” the United States of America.”
‘Cause it’s like he’s jumping ship for the USSR right? Please, this is a meaningless baseball competition that shouldn’t even exist–at least not in its current format.
Apologies, if this has been brought up before, but what about Koji Uehara. Think he was one of Matsui’s teammates in Japan. He’s a pitcher and probably on the wrong side of 30, (33 maybe), but he may be a serviceable 4 or 5 pitcher. Please no Kei Igawa jokes. Probably a lot cheaper than a Derek Lowe type pitcher
Clare
December 6th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Thanks GB7.
BTW, how are you feeling these days?
————————————————————
Thank you for asking, Clare….doing fine, except I don’t have anybody to argue with, so, I wait until Ray (sox fan) shows up and I can pick on him.
Some of these others is like trying to fight with a one armed man in a battle of wits.
“Ed- Its just so typical Boston BS trying to muddy the market by having a sham meeting with CC. I’m not at all frightened but I do think this meeting will force CC to wait longer and consider things. They are essentially trying to rain on our parade and this is why I have spent my life hating the town and the teams that play there.”
You do realize that if the Sox were trying to sign a player the Yankees had zero interest in they’d do the same thing, right? It’s smart business, however underhanded it may be.
GreenBeret7,
yeah they kind of pressured him into it by leaking stories and embarrassing him.
“You do realize that if the Sox were trying to sign a player the Yankees had zero interest in they’d do the same thing, right? It’s smart business, however underhanded it may be.”
Oddly enough I don’t recall us getting involved with a player they were trying to sign just to annoy them.
“Oddly enough I don’t recall us getting involved with a player they were trying to sign just to annoy them.”
They’d probably do it now. Why wouldn’t they? Make them spend a little more money on him if you have to. I’d say it’s pretty smart, despite being semi-unethical.
“You do realize that if the Sox were trying to sign a player the Yankees had zero interest in they’d do the same thing, right? It’s smart business, however underhanded it may be.”
when they were going after JD Drew, Cashman didn’t even bother chasing him just to drive up the price.
Didn’t the Yanks end up with Canseco because they were trying to block Toronto?
The lightbulb seems to have gone on for Robbie. Let’s hope he can keep it lit.
http://www.nj.com/yankees/inde.....eking.html
“when they were going after JD Drew, Cashman didn’t even bother chasing him just to drive up the price.”
True, but I think everyone was just so down on JD Drew.
If the Yankees aren’t interested in Holliday next year and Boston is, the Yankees at least better take a meeting with him.
PAT M
December 6th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
GB7….Richie ( Dick ) Allen was such an incredible talent….I watched him in a ST game in Saratoga hit two homeruns off of Doc Medich that if linked together they had to be 1000 feet….I still think the second one has yet to land…..He had Mantle type power & outstanding skills…..Just a head case with a chip on his shoulder…..I got one AB vs. Wilbur Wood and I hit into a 4-6-3 dp…..
———————————————————–
I just can’t decide about Allen. all of the talent in the world, but, there was just comething missing.
Was that ’64 class of rookies loaded or what? Allen, Oliva, Stottlemyre, Tiant, Conigliaro, Sammy Ellis and Wally Bunker. The ’63 class in the AL was pretty fair with Gary Peters, Pete Ward and Jimmy Hall.
pat
December 6th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
“The lightbulb seems to have gone on for Robbie.”
Could be a case of the lights are on but no one is home.
pat,
if Cano regains his 2006 form, everyone will be happy especially Cashman will be glad he didn’t trade him.
Lara: I think that was a case of claiming Canseco off waivers, which is not the same thing. But I can’t remember the particulars.
“If the Yankees aren’t interested in Holliday next year and Boston is, the Yankees at least better take a meeting with him.”
affirmative, but the Yanks will definitely go after Holliday just in case Matsui retires and Damon isn’t coming back.
Pat M.
I got one AB vs. Wilbur Wood and I hit into a 4-6-3 dp…..
————————————————————
at least it was a rocket that tore the second baseman’s glove off.
Thats true, thanks Nick.
“affirmative, but the Yanks will definitely go after Holliday just in case Matsui retires and Damon isn’t coming back.”
I hope neither is in a Yankee uni in 2010. As for Holliday, we’ll have to see how he does in the AL for a year.
A-rod is a moron but I could care less who he plays for.
“A-rod is a moron but I could care less who he plays for.”
How is A-Rod a moron?
LOL. I swear. This is the funniest thing.
There is a bigger uproar about how Pete said something than what he said.
There’s no “uproar” about Alex playing for the DR. Most fans respect Alex’s choice.
But all hell is breaking loose over Pete’s comments, sarcastic follow-up, and subsequent cover-up.
Pete, you’re the new A-rod. Such a polarizing figure! A lightning rod for attention.
And isn’t the phrase “couldn’t care less?” This is one of those things that really gets under my skin, along with people saying “should/could of” instead of “should/could have.” It’s annoying.
And I still haven’t forgiven you for calling Matsui a spare part.
“There’s no “uproar” about Alex playing for the DR. Most fans respect Alex’s choice.”
Except for the people saying he’s “betraying” his country and “going against” America for playing for the DR.
My initial reaction when reading this was “traitor!”. However, I can totally understand Arod here. I’m just like Arod in one sense, both of my parents were born in another country, and I was born here in the USA. My parents came over from Italy before I was born. I’ve been to Italy 30+ times, and half my extended family is there. While I love this country to pieces, I also love my heritage too. I can totally understand Arod here. I remember Freddy Adu talking about this during the 2002 World Cup. It’s something people in our situations tend to better understand.
I don’t know what’s worse, Pete hatin’ on Arod or mel hatin’ on Elisha Cuthbert.
I nominate Clare to adjudicate.
“And I still haven’t forgiven you for calling Matsui a spare part.
”
He should be if the Yankees add the right player. Using Nady/Matsui in a platoon would be fantastic for the Yankees and optimize the value of each of them–not to mention save Matsui’s knees.
Sometimes naturally talented players don’t know hw to put the effort in because it was always easy for them. Only time will tell if struggling this year was the kick in the butt Robbie needed but he is acting like he felt the kick.
Youk
Be nice or I’ll be forced to make a Pedroia joke.
Nick in SF
December 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I don’t know what’s worse, Pete hatin’ on Arod or mel hatin’ on Elisha Cuthbert.
I nominate Clare to adjudicate
————————————————————
Maybe when Clare is done adjudicating, she can judge the arguements.
“I don’t know what’s worse, Pete hatin’ on Arod or mel hatin’ on Elisha Cuthbert.
I nominate Clare to adjudicate.”
I still don’t understand how Sean Avery got suspended for six games for saying something hilarious. As for the rest of the NHL: no Whalers, no care.
Nady in RF please. He’s slow and I want him to last. He is the clutchness.
Chris
Well said.
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Pete
“This is a blog. If I can’t have a little fun and spark comments, what is the point? Do you actually think I really care what team Alex plays for? I dare anybody to read my newspaper stories and find any bias.”
This is a Yankee Blog. The point is to keep the Yankee die-hard fans informed. By the tone of your writing you obviously care that he’s playing for the DR. I read your Yankee Blog and there is a definite bias against a few.
“I’m happy when people want to have a good time with the blog. But then we have the person who commented earlier in this thread that he wished I would have a heart attack and die. That’s nice. I won’t go into detail about some of the other things people have done but it would make you sick.”
Now times that abuse by about ten million and maybe you’ll get a taste of what A Rod goes through. And by your words you are encouraging that same type of sicko.
“Thankfully 99 percent of the people who read the blog get it and understand that I’m just trying to have fun and keep them informed about the team.”
I for one appreciate all the hard work you do, but it’s the bashing and sarcasm I can do without. It’s not funny if that’s your intent.
“I try and write for them and not the get-a-lifers who have nothing better to do than parse my every word and then talk to each other about it.”
It’s December and we are reading a Yankee Blog I guess that makes us all “get-a-lifers”.Gee thanks Pete.
PAT M,
That is an extremely interesting take on it. Who’s to say Yanks would be focused on picking up another huge, studly contract this winter had they taken on Santana last winter.
Very nice thinking there.
I need news! I feel like an addict but this hot-stove has been ridiculously slow, I need my baseball fix especially after that Jets game last week(ughh).
Squints,
Ever see the fight between Kevin Dineen and Gordie Kluzak?
Kluzak was beating on him pretty good but Dineen had his left hand free the whole time leaning down real low with his knuckles nearly touching the ice. He came straight up and hit Kluzak square in the jaw. Kluzak was a huge defenseman for the Boston Bruins and he just fell to the ice like a bag of potatoes. The refs had to give him smelling salts to wake him up. I remember the fan reaction on the instant replay. It was in Boston. They were smiling and clapping as Kluzak was brutalizing Dineen and then their hands stopped moving mid-clap and their smiles quickly shifted to looks of deep concern while their jaws dropped.
It’s the best knockout punch I’ve ever seen in any sport including boxing.
I’ll never forget that play.
Al, at least you have the flame broiler to stand near. Most of us don’t even have that.
“Squints,
Ever see the fight between Kevin Dineen and Gordie Kluzak?
Kluzak was beating on him pretty good but Dineen had his left hand free the whole time leaning down real low with his knuckles nearly touching the ice. He came straight up and hit Kluzak square in the jaw. Kluzak was a huge defenseman for the Boston Bruins and he just fell to the ice like a bag of potatoes. The refs had to give him smelling salts to wake him up. I remember the fan reaction on the instant replay. It was in Boston. They were smiling and clapping as Kluzak was brutalizing Dineen and then their hands stopped moving mid-clap and their smiles quickly shifted to looks of deep concern while their jaws dropped.
It’s the best knockout punch I’ve ever seen in any sport including boxing.
I’ll never forget that play.”
When I was a senior in high school, my school’s team made the county championship, right? So we end up losing pretty bad and a small fight breaks out on the ice. A kid for our team punches not only the opposing player but the ref in one blow.
My nomination for the blog hall of fame:
“It’s December and we are reading a Yankee Blog I guess that makes us all ‘get-a-lifers.’”
A-Rod is the new Marcia Brady
One can’t help but laugh at the contrived nationalism and heritage of the wbc, but why then promote it by seriously taking issue when a player switches teams? A-rod didn’t just tell us he’s decided to play for the red sox bc it was his father’s dream.
What day is the rule 5 draft and can someone correct me if I am wrong. Is it correct that the Yankees will not be drafting as thier 40 man roster is full. Only teams with less than the full 40 can participate??
“One can’t help but laugh at the contrived nationalism and heritage of the wbc… ”
I <3 You.
If the Yankees had Santana, the Mets would definitely be going after CC and would probably match any offer the Yankees made. They also give him the chance to hit.
BTW, how are you feeling these days?
——————————————————————————————
“Thank you for asking, Clare….doing fine, except I don’t have anybody to argue with, so, I wait until Ray (sox fan) shows up and I can pick on him.”
Well GB7….if you insist!
How is one of my favorite fans of the “evil empire” doing this evening? By the way I will confess that when the Sox front office made the evil empire reference a few years ago even I thought that was rather idiotic!
I read something interesting in MLB trade rumors today. Some rival agents of Boras are claiming he is attempting to make Varitek and Tex (who are good friends I guess) a package deal!!! You take one you have take the other!!
So GB…you guys want Tex you have to take Varitek too.
That should make you guys think twice about Tex!!!
Some people claim Boras did the package deal approach with JD Drew and Dice-K. I don’t know if I am convinced of that but it makes for interesting conjecture.
GB7,,,,Thanks for your glass half filled comment….Actually I did hit the ball well but it was a hit & run on a 2-1 pitch and the 2b was going to cover the bag….Velez almost beat the throw at second, but he was so slow….
Pete, can you explain why the Yankees cannot “afford” both CC and Tex? if you do the math, 80m is coming off, those two would cost maybe 45, and you still have 35m left to complete the roster (not counting the at least 26m coming off next year in JD and Matsui)? I do not get it. And the way they are working over long time season ticket holders, trust me, they’ll have even more money to work with.
A very nice reading stats site called fangraphs.com on Giambi versus Texiera fielding
Giambi -18, Texiera +24 – at a normally rated 10 runs per win that would translate to 4.4 extra wins on defense alone.
Why would Tex let Boras do that? I know they went to school together or something, but that’s got to take a good chunk of money out of Tex’s contract.
I don’t know why this bothers me but it does. It’s just another case of A-Rod showing that you can trust anything he says. He should’ve picked the DR originally and saved us all the drama. Instead, it just makes him seem insincere.
I’m also confused as to why David Ortiz broke this news to the world.
“If the Yankees had Santana, the Mets would definitely be going after CC and would probably match any offer the Yankees made. They also give him the chance to hit.”
If we had Santana none of us would care about CC.
A-rod should’ve honored his dual-citizenship by saying, “I’m proud to be an American, but I’m excited to honor my Dominican heritage. My mom is thrilled and excited as well.”
Scott,
As an ice-breaker, so it wouldn’t be a shock.
ray (sox fan)
December 6th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
BTW, how are you feeling these days?
——————————————————————————————
“Thank you for asking, Clare….doing fine, except I don’t have anybody to argue with, so, I wait until Ray (sox fan) shows up and I can pick on him.”
Well GB7….if you insist!
How is one of my favorite fans of the “evil empire” doing this evening? By the way I will confess that when the Sox front office made the evil empire reference a few years ago even I thought that was rather idiotic!
I read something interesting in MLB trade rumors today. Some rival agents of Boras are claiming he is attempting to make Varitek and Tex (who are good friends I guess) a package deal!!! You take one you have take the other!!
So GB…you guys want Tex you have to take Varitek too.
That should make you guys think twice about Tex!!!
Some people claim Boras did the package deal approach with JD Drew and Dice-K. I don’t know if I am convinced of that but it makes for interesting conjecture.
————————————————————
Evening, Mata Hari (sox fan).
I’d rather be an empire than a puny nation any day.
Hey, I’d take Varitek on the team with Teixeira. He’s a perfect fit for NYY. Put him against the Yankee pitchers and let them pitch as close to they can to him without hitting him. Every pitcher on the staff gets 50 throws…it’ll help them sharpen their control. Don’t get the idea that I’m bitter, though.
That package deal almost backfired on you guys in 2007. I was thinking that you guys had actually signed Drew Carey.
CC and Hughes will both still be throwing darts for the Yankees when Santana will be serving up even more moon shots for the Mets. Only the dead-enders will be complaining about the non-trade then.
Or that’s my hope, anyway.
GB7,
I’m really upset with you. Stealing ray (sox fan). He was my BFF first.
“CC and Hughes will both still be throwing darts for the Yankees when Santana will be serving up even more moon shots for the Mets. Only the dead-enders will be complaining about the non-trade then.
Or that’s my hope, anyway.”
Or all 3 guys will be throwing darts. I think that’s the most likely scenario.
PAT M
December 6th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
GB7,,,,Thanks for your glass half filled comment….Actually I did hit the ball well but it was a hit & run on a 2-1 pitch and the 2b was going to cover the bag….Velez almost beat the throw at second, but he was so slow….
———————————————————-
I saw Otto Velez the other day here in Savannah. He was hitched up to an ice wagon.
Speaking of players in Savannah. We have a school down here call Savannah School Of Art And Design, good school and a really good baseball and basketball team. They started 8 years ago and Luis Tiant was the head coach and Cazzie Russell was the head basketball coach. Two of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. Tiant is a very funny guy.
I gave a rundown earlier on the rookies of the class of ’64 and forgot Rico Carty and forgot Al Downing in the ’63 class. Add Pepitone’s and Bouton’s first full year. What talent in those two years.
Team USA first round games are being played in Toronto in March while Team DR first round games are being played in Miami.
After being told that, 4 Team US players have informed USA baseball that they were adopted and their real parents are of Dominican descent.
mel
December 6th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
GB7,
I’m really upset with you. Stealing ray (sox fan). He was my BFF first.
———————————————————–
I only hammer on Ray because he’s an easy target….red sox fan and all. I don’t really like him.
“CC and Hughes will both still be throwing darts for the Yankees when Santana will be serving up even more moon shots for the Mets. Only the dead-enders will be complaining about the non-trade then.”
Obviously it will be less of an issue if we get CC. However that non-trade is a big moment. The Yankees held onto 3 prospects who up until this point have done nothing for the big club while the Mets got a Cy Young caliber starter. Will it be less of an issue when CC gets here, yes. However it will never be forgotten completely fans are very fickle.
I don’t care about the WBC. I don’t care where A-Rod plays.
I don’t even care if he gets injured during this sham event.
I will laugh, though.
Heartily.
GB7,
Uh, yeah. That’s why you ask about the Sox spawn.
mel
December 6th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
GB7,
Uh, yeah. That’s why you ask about the Sox spawn.
————————————————————
Sox fans aren’t the brightest bulbs on the tree, so it’s easy to trick ‘em into thinking Yankee fans consider them real people. They do however make nice yard pets.
Al, the point is not whether the non-trade is forgotten, it’s how it looks 2, 3, 4 years down the line. We both know better than to judge it after a single year , don’t we?
If none of the players that the Yanks kept ever amount to anything (or bring anything worthwhile back in possible future trades) and CC and Santana both remain aces for their teams, you can say it’s a wash and perhaps the 2008 season MIGHT have been lost due to Santana’s absence.
But if Hughes ends up anything close to what we hope he can be AND we get CC for money only, the non-trade looks better and better. Even without Santana declining during the life of his contract.
Yay CC.
Oh no, varitek to the yankees…please, someone forbid his mom from dreaming!
who cares it’s the WBC…it;s not like anybody will watch it.
AL From BK….The point is it’ll put that whole issue to rest, and it’ll prove that Cashman knows what he’s doing…I know Randy I will not alter his opinion of Cashman, but in time in will prove to be a brillant no deal….Hughes will be racking up 16-17 wins in a few years and Santana and his ever slowing heater will be providing firework displays in Flushing…Hughes and Santana, forever linked together but are soon to be passing ships in the night…..I say by 2011….
“Arod is a man without a country…literally and figuratively. He does not know who he is…you can actually see him wondering about in some of his at-bats…usually you can sense when a K is on the way…for A-rod.”
Seriously Alex is a clown. You can see his BM face when he tries to hard and that usually is when the game is on the line or we are playing a team like Boston.
I hate that this guy is on my team for the next 9 years.
“AL From BK….The point is it’ll put that whole issue to rest, and it’ll prove that Cashman knows what he’s doing…I know Randy I will not alter his opinion of Cashman, but in time in will prove to be a brillant no deal….Hughes will be racking up 16-17 wins in a few years and Santana and his ever slowing heater will be providing firework displays in Flushing…Hughes and Santana, forever linked together but are soon to be passing ships in the night…..I say by 2011…”
Why do people think Johan is going to have the wheels fall off in the next few years? That’s just silly. Dude is Cooperstown-bound.
“I hate that this guy is on my team for the next 9 years.”
Yeah, I’ll sure hate having a guy who could go down as one of the five best people to ever step on a baseball field and don a Major League uniform be on my favorite team. How terrible.
DonnieBaseballHallofFame
December 6th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
“Arod is a man without a country…literally and figuratively. He does not know who he is…you can actually see him wondering about in some of his at-bats…usually you can sense when a K is on the way…for A-rod.”
Seriously Alex is a clown. You can see his BM face when he tries ***to*** hard and that usually is when the game is on the line or we are playing a team like Boston.
I hate that this guy is on my team for the next 9 years.
————————————————————
Good. You deserve to be unhappy. Rodriguez probably knows the difference between ***to and too***. Apparently, you don’t.
Santana’s got a long way to go before he’s HOF bound.
“Hughes and Santana, forever linked together but are soon to be passing ships in the night…..I say by 2011….”
It needs to be this way IMO. I just think with the pressure of being linked to the best pitcher in the game to start his career Phil might have trouble dealing with that pressure. Thats why in the past I have called for him to be traded, I feel that he will forever be in the shadow of a pitcher who pitches 5 miles away in flushing. The pressure prior to the non-trade was immense and now it must be unbearable especially on such a young player.
The bad news, Ian Kennedy gave up a run on 2 hits in the first inning
The good news, Melky got the RBI single.
“Hideki Matsui has selected a locker in the new Yankee Stadium!
This obviously isn’t newsworthy, but it’s interesting for three reasons:
The Japanese media thinks it IS newsworthy. It gives you an idea of how obsessive they are.
Matsui is resigned to the possiblity that he could be traded. His quote: “please look forward to next season. You know, if I’m here.”
Matsui is considerate: he chose a locker away from Derek Jeter, as not disturb the captain with his large media contigent.”
http://www.npbtracker.com/category/nichibei/
“Santana’s got a long way to go before he’s HOF bound.”
2nd best active WP
3rd best active ERA
3rd best active WHIP
3rd best active ERA+ (9th all time)
5th best active K/BB
4th best active K/9 (6th all time)
2 Cy Youngs, should have 3, arguably 4 (2007–trust me, the argument can be made)…He’s on his way.
Trade Hughes because the pressure of not having been traded for Santana will haunt his Yankee career?
Sorry, Al, that’s just goofy.
Don’t panic, he’s STILL a kid and all he has to do is become the 4th or 5th best guy in the rotation. Relax.
pat
December 6th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
“Hideki Matsui has selected a locker in the new Yankee Stadium!
This obviously isn’t newsworthy, but it’s interesting for three reasons:
The Japanese media thinks it IS newsworthy. It gives you an idea of how obsessive they are.
Matsui is resigned to the possiblity that he could be traded. His quote: “please look forward to next season. You know, if I’m here.”
Matsui is considerate: he chose a locker away from Derek Jeter, as not disturb the captain with his large media contigent.”
http://www.npbtracker.com/category/nichibei/
———————————————————–
If he’s healthy, Matsui is going to be one of the only left handed power bats NYY has. They’ll need that, whether they sign Teixeira or not.
pat: did he show a picture of the locker to the media or a drawing of it?
top of 2nd
“Luis Polonia singles on a ground ball to third baseman Julius Matos.”
Thats It trade kennedy now!
Squints
December 6th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
“Santana’s got a long way to go before he’s HOF bound.”
2nd best active WP
3rd best active ERA
3rd best active WHIP
3rd best active ERA+ (9th all time)
5th best active K/BB
4th best active K/9 (6th all time)
2 Cy Youngs, should have 3, arguably 4 (2007—trust me, the argument can be made)…He’s on his way.
———————————————————–
He’s barely at 100 wins. Too many things can happen before he reaches good enough numbers to make the HOF. David Cone, Mel Stottlemyre, Luis Tiant asnd Ron Guidry were on their way, too….until.
“Sorry, Al, that’s just goofy.
Don’t panic, he’s STILL a kid and all he has to do is become the 4th or 5th best guy in the rotation. Relax.”
You’re right Nick its just one of those fears I have as a fan who over-analyzes. It must suck to be 22 years old and have everyone bring up a guy like Santana when ever you are talked about especially on this forum.
Al form Bk ( Burbank ??? )..The only pressure that Phil will be still facing is from the intense fan base in Yankeeland….Just read the mood swings here in the past year….I mean a year ago he, Joba & Ian were the next coming of the three kings….I’m still very much supportive that this will come to be, that all three will be very successful starting pitchers….Go back and read the postings from late September / October 2007….Read the postings about the proposed trade with Minn….It’ll remind you how the demand for instant gratification is unyielding here…..You may even be surprised by your own comments….I mean there’s talk about spending 1/4 billion dollars on Free Agent pitching this winter…That’s just crazy…..
Will Santana and Doc Gooden go into the Hall together?
That would be a great day for the Metropolitans.
“He’s barely at 100 wins. Too many things can happen before he reaches good enough numbers to make the HOF. David Cone, Mel Stottlemyre, Luis Tiant asnd Ron Guidry were on their way, too….until.”
Wins shmins. He’s got a great winning percentage and was on some bad hitting teams with awful run support (esp. 2007) and has had the pen screw him over, too (2008…). He’s also shown no injury trouble at all yet. When it’s all said and done, Johan will go down as the best pitcher of his generation (post Martinez/Maddux/Clemens/Johnson).
Sqiunts….You need better glasses, maybe then you’ll see better and then there’ll be no need to squint…..
Choosing lockers already?
Tex must be sighing forlornly as CC would rather be getting a root canal.
“Sqiunts….You need better glasses, maybe then you’ll see better and then there’ll be no need to squint…..”
I thought everyone would get this reference when they saw it.
But I am wearing glasses right now.
In case any of you “get-a-lifers” is interested
IPK through 3. 1 run,3k
melky 1-2 RBI
http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/.....n_maywin_1
people like clare need to relax.
pete just posted news.so what about sarcasm.we all can be sarcastic.
alex is playing for the dr because of ortiz.
alex is a real good guy but he needs to learn that when he opens his mouth he has to stop sounding like an idiot.
clare’s feelings are hurt because her posts got deleted.so what.
get over it.
bru
December 6th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
people like clare need to relax.
pete just posted news.so what about sarcasm.we all can be sarcastic.
alex is playing for the dr because of ortiz.
alex is a real good guy but he needs to learn that when he opens his mouth he has to stop sounding like an idiot.
clare’s feelings are hurt because her posts got deleted.so what.
get over it.
———————————————————–
Jesus….talk about needing to get over it.
Rodriguez sounds like an idiot because he wants to make his mother happy? Talk about clueless.
Ok this Arod thing is dumb. One, the World Baseball Classic is baseball’s answer to the world cup. It will never be as good as the world cup because it is played during spring training when all the players are clearly out of shape and unready to play at a high level. The thing should be played in the middle of the season or in November right after the season.
Second, once you play for a country on an international level there is no going back. If Arod were a soccer player in the UK he would be booed off of every soccer pich for the remainder of his career, and rightfully so. It is a privledge to be picked to represent your country on an internationl level or to sit on the bench and what someone else play your position because you are not good enough.
I personally have lost all respect for Arod not that there was much there to begin with. Can you imagine David Beckham becoming an American citizen and representing the US in soccer now that he can’t crack the England lineup?
Clare
December 6th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Peter,
Sounding kindof whiny there. People are parsing your words – and talking to each other about them! Horrors.
(The heart attack post is another thing entirely, which I’m not in any way condoning).
Plus, way more than 1 percent of us object to your constant cheap shots against ARod and animosity towards Girardi.
If you want to “have fun” and “spark comments” – how about trying to do so with Yankees other than ARod and Girardi? If you do so, I guarantee more people will see “humor” and not just a pattern of hostility.
————————————————————
because arod is an idiot & girardi lies about everything he talks about.
it is a fact.
at least jeter is smart enough to keep it simple & not lie.
if you sat stupid things & lie you will be called out.
what about you’re bias against pete,trying to get everybody against him.
get over it.
Arod is full of crap. He does whatever will garner him the most attention. Only nine more years of this…yippee.
When I left I anticipated this. And from the looks of it posters want a latin american vs americans war or something like that when that isn’t what it is about. First off you sound like biggots replace America w/ white and D.R. w/ black and you’ll see the tone in what your saying, second if you don’t understand it get educated on it, don’t just make comments coming out of your a.., third this is a decision he’s been wanting to make, it’s a tough one, bad for his PR and marketing but that is the reality about it, his family can’t wait till the day he wears that Dominican jersey, years ago he turned his back on D.R. to keep safe w/ the media, you guys will never understand the intensity of love latinos specifically Dominicans have for baseball, it is the main reason Alex is playing baseball.
“When I left I anticipated this. And from the looks of it posters want a latin american vs americans war or something like that when that isn’t what it is about. First off you sound like biggots replace America w/ white and D.R. w/ black and you’ll see the tone in what your saying, second if you don’t understand it get educated on it, don’t just make comments coming out of your a.., third this is a decision he’s been wanting to make, it’s a tough one, bad for his PR and marketing but that is the reality about it, his family can’t wait till the day he wears that Dominican jersey, years ago he turned his back on D.R. to keep safe w/ the media, you guys will never understand the intensity of love latinos specifically Dominicans have for baseball, it is the main reason Alex is playing baseball.”
Get out of here with your rationally thought out line of logic. A-Rod is a traitor and that’s that. This is the most serious offense against the United States by an American in the history of America. His name might as well be Alex John Walker American Taliban Lindh (sp?) Rodriguez, AMIRITE?!
a-rod is a traitor
ARod was born in Brookly, lived in Miami and claims to have gone to the DR several times while growing up to see his grandparents. His mother had this dream for 2 years. I find that impossible to beleive. I am 100% sure the Dominicans don’t want ARod on their team. He is a phony and seems to get off on people hatinh his guts. The BIGGEST mistake the Yanks diod was taking this clown back. He wouldn’t have gotten $20MM a year from anyone yet the Yanks give him $30MM and are stuck with this loser for 9 more years of big hits in meaningless games and situations. How’s that for the truth!!!! – I think Peter would agree with everything I wrote!
“a-rod is a traitor”
Your uneducated if that’s your first thought.
“And good for Mom Rodriguez that her dream is finally fulfilled. After all, the WBC has been around since way back in 2006.”
“ARod was born in Brookly,”
Washington Heights, NY. Get your facts straight.
“lived in Miami and claims to have gone to the DR several times while growing up to see his grandparents. His mother had this dream for 2 years. I find that impossible to believe.”
There are pictures of him in D.R. if you don’t believe it. And his mom’s/family’s dream has been for him to represent D.R.
“I am 100% sure the Dominicans don’t want ARod on their team. He is a phony and seems to get off on people hatinh his guts.”
Shut the hell up, you don’t speak for dominicans and frankly I Dominican most of my friends are too and we wanted him to represent D.R. the first time, he wanted to and caved in hence the fake references, WE (Yes I Dominican) want him to play for us. So shut up and stop talking out your you know what.
“The BIGGEST mistake the Yanks diod was taking this clown back.”
The biggest mistake, did you not watch this team when he was out most of the season ? No Arod no playoffs, not even contention.
“He wouldn’t have gotten $20MM a year from anyone yet the Yanks give him $30MM and are stuck with this loser for 9 more years of big hits in meaningless games and situations. How’s that for the truth!!!! – I think Peter would agree with everything I wrote!”
You are an idiot.
“ARod was born in Brookly, lived in Miami and claims to have gone to the DR several times while growing up to see his grandparents. His mother had this dream for 2 years. I find that impossible to beleive. I am 100% sure the Dominicans don’t want ARod on their team. He is a phony and seems to get off on people hatinh his guts.”
I was born in CT, so was my dad, and so was my grandpa. My great grandparents were the last members of my family born in Italy. I feel a greater cultural connection to Italy than I do to the United States and I’m a 3rd generation Italian-American. If a member of my family requested I play for an Italian team, I’d be more than glad to. Question: Is the WBC the only Int’l baseball tournament around? Answer: No. It’s obvious that Mama A-Rod wanted her son to do this in any tournament. The fact that you people value nationality over family is borderline ridiculous.
“The BIGGEST mistake the Yanks diod was taking this clown back. He wouldn’t have gotten $20MM a year from anyone yet the Yanks give him $30MM and are stuck with this loser for 9 more years of big hits in meaningless games and situations. How’s that for the truth!!!! – I think Peter would agree with everything I wrote!”
Somehow I don’t think Peter, a man with, you know, a functioning brain, would think that the Yankees made a mistake bringing back a player who will probably go down as one of the five greatest players to ever step on a baseball field. Ever. In the history of baseball. In 50 years when he’s dead and gone and I’m old and what not, I’m still gonna be talking about how great it was to see this dude play. If you don’t want him on the Yankees, you are clearly not an even half intelligent Yankee fan. Please, take A-Rod’s production of the Yankees and go see where they’d be. People who talk like you have no idea just how incredibly valuable Alex Rodriguez is. I hate attacking the poster instead of the argument he or she makes but in your case (and after stating an objective case) I’m going to call you a moron. Any fan who would want Alex Rodriguez off there team is a moron.
I literally got offended when that Wiseman clown said he was from Brooklyn. My god on sentence one alone his opinion means absolutely jack.
He played for the U.S. team a few years back, and now he’s playing for the Dominican. What’s the issue? Oh, I forgot. He’s A-Rod. People expect him to play under different rules. Grow up, everyone.
I don’t know why some people don’t like the WBC: teams no money in the world could buy (*), fierce rivalries (Venezuela-Domenicans, Japan-Korea) and baseball all day long.
(*) Imagine the US having: 1B Teixera, 2B Utley, SS Jeter, 3B Wright, C Mauer, DH Manny OF: Sizemore, Ludwick, Holliday,… and a rotation of Sabathia, Halladay and Lee
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!
now i can root for team USA!
We all know DR won’t be in the championship now
“Could you imagine the outcry if it was Rodriguez who got caught for tax evasion in the last offseason? We’d still be talking about it.”
Wait, it just hit me. Did I miss the thread on here about Jeter’s tax issues? Darn it!
Maybe when ARod said it was always a dream of “Mother”, he was referring to Madonna.