International signings start today
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Jul 02, 2009 
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A few unrelated items:
• Today is the start of the international signing period. In essence, teams are allowed to sign 16-year-old Latin American kids. Some will get huge signing bonuses, others a few thousand. The Yankees will announce their deal with Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez, a kid who reportedly can really hit. They also are said to have a deal with a speedy shortstop named Damian Arredondo and RHP Chris Cabrera.
Be careful getting too excited about this stuff. Projecting how a 16-year-old kid will fare against vastly better competition in a different county six years down the road is an inexact science at best and a complete crapshoot at worst. Oakland invested millions in a pitcher named Michael Ynoa last year and all he has done is come down with a sore elbow.
Quite often, it’s the players who sign for the smaller bonuses who end up making their way through the system. There are a few analysts — particularly Ben Badler of Baseball America and Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com — who really know this market. Most everybody else is just guessing.
• MLB announced that that All-Star rosters will now have 33 players each. They added an extra pitcher. At some point soon, they’ll pull fans out of the stands and let them take an inning at second base. While the game “counts” because it determines home field for the Series, it really has become a farce with the convoluted voting process and assorted sideshow activities. How much of an honor is to be an All-Star when 66 players get selected?
• Interleague play isn’t going away any time soon. According to MLB, the games drew an average of 33,351 fans, well above the intraleague average of 28,727. There are plenty of reasons for this, particularly the amount of games played after school was out in different parts of the country. But, nonetheless, the owners love it.
If you’re interested, the AL held a 137-114 edge, the sixth straight year it won the series. The White Sox and Cubs still have a game to play.
• Jim Leyritz was arrested again in Florida, this time for domestic battery as he allegedly struck his ex-wife.
It was a sad sight last month when Leyritz was at Land Shark Stadium, pressed up against the wall next to the Yankees dugout imploring players to come over and say hello to him. It’s unfair of Leyritz to do that, putting his old friends in a position where somebody could snap a photo of them shaking hands with an accused felon. He did the same thing in 2008 when he showed up at spring training just a few months after being charged with DUI manslaughter.
At some point, the Yankees need to tell this guy to stay away from their players until or unless he gets his life straightened out.
Pete, Chapman news, watsamattau.
GF, I don’t like Madden either, but I agree with him. I don’t like that Phil warmed up without entering the game last night and I don’t think he’s being used nearly enough. Nuff said – I don’t have faith that Joe will get him the innings he needs. Yes, obviously the team does not revolve around Phil, but if he is to be as starter next year, he has to get a representative amoutn of innings. Yes, I still don’t like Madden – in fact, I never read him. In this case, IMO, he makes a good point.
amount…
Leyritz is scum.
Speaking of international signs, Jesus continues to hot the heck out of the ball, and Jim Callias of baseball america called him “one of the very best hitters” in the minors. exciting, could see him at the end of next year.
J.B. Cox, who at one time was considered a big Yankees prospect, has left Double-A Trenton.
“He shut himself down,” Cashman said of the right-handed pitcher who was a second-round pick in 2005 out of the University of Texas. “He went home to think about his career. He is frustrated the ball is not coming out of his hand. He hasn’t been the same since the injury.”
Cox underwent right elbow surgery in 2007 and missed the entire season.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07.....177120.htm
Chapman loves it here in amsterdam haha
Roger he’ll learn to love NY
Maybe it was a package deal with the 3b from the Netherlands they signed earlier this week.
Can the guys that sign today play in games for the DSL teams this year?
I think the process for the Cuban players who defect is they have to establish residency and citizenship somewhere before they can start entertaining offers from ML clubs.
I vaguely remember it almost seemed to take a year or more in the past to get these guys to the position legally where they were able to sign free agent contracts, but I may be wrong.
I don’t think it’s as simple as the Yankees, or anyone, can sign him tomorrow and put a uniform on him.
The international signing age is a bit exploitive.
The ASG should not determine home field advantage as long as
fans have a vote.
Interleague is fun but maybe 18 games is too much.
Leyritz really needs to be incarcerated at this point. He is a danger to others.
Yikes, JB Cox, what happened? I guess his story falls on the “not true” end of the spectrum in terms of guys coming back throwing harder after the TJ surgery.
OK, I’m officially done with Leyritz. The first time I said everyone makes mistakes, but now I say eff’im. It’s a real shame, cause I always used to name my fantasy baseball teams after him (Hawaiian Crackers – credit to The Dugout/ wordupthome.com, the funniest people on the interwebs!) Now I’ll have to find another name.
I’m also done with JB Cox I guess, he used to be my favorite prospect (back when we didnt have that many of em haha), I’ll always feel that he probably would’ve been successful if his coaches at Texas didnt abuse him, but he also could’ve been successful just by learning to pull his head out of his own butt and work hard and listen to smarter people, but he was never able to get over himself enough to do so. Damn shame.
Dellin Betances is my new favorite, hopefully his career goes a little bit better to say the least.
I watched Chapman pitch in the WBC & kid can straight up bring it. However his secondary pitches are not that good, but his 100mph fastball would look great coming out of the Yankee bullpen.
De caster is a better player than ransom.Count on that. He plays better defense and he can hit.Unlike ransom…
Chapman in a Yankees BP would bring nightmares to Peter Gammons.
Roger did Decaster hit in the WBC I didn’t remember other than he had a good glove and can run.
Chapman doesn’t hunt, he goes killing.
ESPN’s Latin American amateur baseball guy Jorge Arangure has a very good piece on Chapman. Arangure confirms his defection and pegs his signing price at anywhere between $30M-$60M.
If that does in fact become what Chapman goes for he’s a must sign for the yankees. $60M is a lot of money but it is not too much for Chapman. Even if he turns out to be a bust his upside is worth that risk.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4302422
Doesn’t look like he will get his life straightened out any time soon when he is (allegedly) punching his wife in the eye.
Would he get a 7 year deal or something like that for $60m? Because while that seems like a lot of scratch for a relative unknown if it gives us control of the guy for a similar amount of time as we would have a drafted prospect it wouldn’t feel as bad giving him a brinks truck of cash.
Hard to blame Cox. His elbow never came back after surgery.
Its not like the guy has intentionally failed. His health gave out. Its a sad story.
Rumor in South Florida is that Chapman will be in Miami by the weekend.
Meaning, every agent with a Cuban connection will be coming to town.
Good for the hotels and restaurants in the slow season! lol
The Yankees, Mets (unless Bernie Madoff left the Wilpon’s with nothing), Angels, White Sox and Red Sox are the lead dogs on this one.
The Yankees are probably the early favorites to land him unless they decide to pass because of the money because the kid has always wanted to be a Yankee.
For those who will get offended at the money being offered to him, if Steven Strasburg was a free agent and not subject to the draft, he would get 50 million bucks this year.
This kid, immaturity issues and all, is a Strasburg-level talent AND is LH.
That’s why there will be a feeding frenzy for his services once he gets his domicile issues handled.
Good story on Mo.
http://web.sny.tv/news/article.....038;vkey=1
Haven’t seen much of the kid but doesn’t Chapman remind of Marte?
He had a 5.68 era in the WBC
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4302422
so should we start the Chapman to pen debate already?
CB they gave Igawa 40 million plus the signing bonus, make up for that dammit !
“If that does in fact become what Chapman goes for he’s a must sign for the yankees. $60M is a lot of money but it is not too much for Chapman. Even if he turns out to be a bust his upside is worth that risk.”
IMO he’s not as far along as Strasburg, who won’t get that kind of money. Granted Strasburg was drafted and Chapman won’t be (presumably), but still…
“Rumor in South Florida is that Chapman will be in Miami by the weekend.”
SJ,
Arangure is reporting a similar thing. He’s says Chapman will be in Miami on Thursday.
Nobody has a clue as to went on with Leyritz and his wife or if the woman that was killed was DUI as reported, but, Leyritz is scum and people are done with him. Neither would be excusable, but, how about waiting until there is an official outcome?
I have a couple of questions about the interenational signing period.
1. How long does it last?
2. Is there another international signing period or do we have to wait another year to sign international players?
3. I have one more question (I guess its the bonus question)…is there a limit on how many international players can one team sign?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer these questions.
CB,
Seems I wasn’t off when I said last night he’s gonna get every bit of 50 million to sign. lol
Lots of things have to happen when something like this happens.
First off, they have to figure out his place of residence and how he’s gonna get to Miami (for now) since he probably had to surrender his passport when he accompanied the Cuban team to the Netherlands.
After that, he will probably have to establish residency for six months in Costa Rica, the new “preferred” temporary domicile for Cuban defectors. Easier to get a passport there, reminds a lot of the players of home, and its not subject to MLB draft rules.
That takes us to around February. If my timetable is correct, its going to be interesting to see how teams that want to go after him plan their off-season budgets.
Usually by February, teams have used up their alloted off-season player acquisition budgets.
That’s why I said this morning, Chapman will fall into the “special case” catagory for interested teams.
Meaning, you go to your owner and say, “This is a special case” and look for them to give you the cash needed to sign him.
brandon,he had the game winning hit against the domican.He can run,has some power and a very good glove.I know he’s 29 but it takes longer for guys from the netherlands.I played for his dad who played for the Dutch Antilles.
Igawa got $ 20 Million over five years. The posting fee was $ 26 million making it a $ 46 Million dollar disaster.
I suspect Matsuzaka will end up looking like a terrible total deal ($ 103 Million) by the time the six years are up.
I guess I’m glad to see the Yankees get the guys they got, but if it was my money I’d be very hesitant to get into some of these bidding wars.
Unfortunately it will never be my money.
Green Beret:
Leyritz was well over the limit at the time of the accident, that is not in dispute whatsoever. That behavior is OK with you? If only he had killed me, I guess. That would make you happy.
Meanwhile, gang, be careful with Chapman. They’re saying he’s the best Cuban since Contreras. The Yankees wasted a lot of money on that guy. The human arm is not designed to throw 100. That kid is a risk in 1,000 different ways but I’m sure the Yankees will be involved. But at $30 million? That is crazy.
He’s going to get huge money. He may need a year of minor league ball to straighten out his mechanics but, that affect his price tag.
You can’t teach, 21, LH, healthy, 96-102 on the gun, raw slider, bugs bunny changeup.
I said last night the Cuban Team once had a LH named “Faret” who had this kind of talent. One of my cuban contacts in Miami corrected me this morning.
He said the guys name by “Paret” and the government ruined him when it was rumored he was going to defect in the late 80′s, early 90′s. Supposedly, it influenced El Duque to leave and I’m sure Chapman knows Paret’s story.
I was told during the WBC Chapman was going to defect. When he didn’t, I asked around and was told it was suggested to him (hearing this third hand….don’t know if its true or not) by tournament officials not to defect during the tournament. So, he put it off until this tournament, when he knew he would be able to get out.
Most of the people I know down here who follow Cuban baseball religiously said he was going to defect by the end of the year because he wants to play in the majors and play for the Yankees.
Now, that’s all well and good but, as we all know, its about the benjamins.
However, if the Yankees decide to go after him, and ante up, I think he will sign with them.
This is different than signing fringe Cuban players and hope they make it. This kid, along with Gourreal (who unfortunately isn’t defecting) are far and away the most talented Cuban players at the present time.
This is a big, big deal in international baseball circles and I’m sure the front offices of NY, Boston, etc are buzzing about this today.
“brandon,he had the game winning hit against the domican.”
Oh yeh how could I forget
“He can run,has some power and a very good glove.I know he’s 29 but it takes longer for guys from the netherlands.I played for his dad who played for the Dutch Antilles.”
Really ? I hope can be our version of a Scott Brosious off the bench. Any other positions he can play ?
SJ,
Chapman evidently did have to give up his passport. I have no idea how he’s getting into the country but I guess this speaks to his connections already and how big a deal this is.
On the open market I thought he’d top what Matsuzaka signed for. It’ll take $50M + to sign him.
The thing that sets him completely apart – as you pointed out – is that he’s left handed. If he were a righty he’d still be a great prospect. But not nearly as unique as he is now.
In the short bits I saw of him he looked like he had a better arm than Price or Kershaw. He reminded me of Brien Taylor. That’s the guy I was thinking of.
He’s a must sign. I agree with you. There is no way the yankees can’t sign him – especially if they are his preference.
His maturity issues do worry me. Did not care for his act at all at the WBC. But that arm is gold and that’s what plays when it gets down to it. His breaking stuff isn’t that tight – kind of slurvy but that’ll get fixed.
And your right – he’s not some unknowns. He’s played against very good international competition for a while.
I remember this winter after Cash signed AJ he got all of these questions about why he signed him after so many blow ups on free agent pitcher signing under his tenure.
His response was interesting. He basically said that Stick and Bob Watson taught him that as Yankee GM you never stop big game hunting. No matter how many times you get burned. You keep big game hunting.
Well, now is the time to get geared up. They cannot blow this.
“hat kid is a risk in 1,000 different ways but I’m sure the Yankees will be involved. But at $30 million? That is crazy.”
Pete,
That’s true. But at the same time you know that if Price or Strasberg hit a truly open market that they would get $30M. Stasburg would get over $50M. You know that.
Now of course Chapman is much less well known a quantity. But that arm is dynamite. That is just not a left handed arm that comes along very often at all.
All I know is that there better be a Cuban LH flamethrower in my system this March.
Green Beret:
Leyritz was well over the limit at the time of the accident, that is not in dispute whatsoever. That behavior is OK with you? If only he had killed me, I guess. That would make you happy.
Meanwhile, gang, be careful with Chapman. They’re saying he’s the best Cuban since Contreras. The Yankees wasted a lot of money on that guy. The human arm is not designed to throw 100. That kid is a risk in 1,000 different ways but I’m sure the Yankees will be involved. But at $30 million? That is crazy.
————————————————————
Pa, way to take something out of context and blow it completely out of proportion. That remark was complete BS and you know it.
When did I ever wish you ill health? Never. Unlike your stupid remark about making sure I used a rusty razor. Personally, you’re not that important in my life to worry about you, one way or the other.
And, then you have the gall to tell people to show class.
Pete,
The human arm is able though to throw 94-95 with better mechanics. If he sits there, as a LH, its enough.
He’s completely self taught as a pitcher. A 21 year old kid who is self taught to throw like that!
He’s a bit immature but, has a fun loving personality.
He is the kind of guy that if harnessed on and off the field, is a goldmine for a ML team. A marketing dream because he has a great personality.
Whomever signs him is going to have to surround him with a couple of people to help him with the transition. Much like the Sox did with Dice-K.
However, his talent is breathtaking.
I saw this kid pitch at when he was 18 years old. He was throwing an EASY 96 and one of my Cuban friends told me his back story. Its amazing stuff.
There is a radio station down here (640 AM) that broadcasts every Yankee game.
Somehow, that signal gets to Cuba a lot of nights and the players listen to Yankee games almost every night. Many of them are huge, Jeter, Arod and Mariano fans.
IRRC, one of Chapman’s few allowed TV interviews had him saying his dream was to play for the New York Yankees. I think the government muzzled him after that but, I believe he said that either before or during the WBC.
Gourreal’s hero in life is Derek Jeter. He won’t defect (the last true believer of the Castro regime) but, if he did, he’s an immediate star in the majors.
Chapman will probably need at least a year in the minors.
That said, his talent is really off the charts.
Best Cuban pitcher I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of them over the years in international tournaments and junior tournaments.
The guy is amazing for someone so young.
CB you are absolutely right about the money Strasburg or Price would get in an open market.
The economics of the MLB draft is actually kind of silly to me. What happened to the free market?
Regarding Chapman, I think it’s going to summer time next year before he’s cleared to sign with a team. MLB will do a major investigation regarding his age before approving him.
CB,
You are exactly right. This is “big game hunting” when it comes to this kind of prospect.
You usually have to lose 100 games in a season, and get lucky a guy like Chapman is available, for a team like the Yankees to be in on an arm like his.
Yes, its a lot of money. But, so is 39.95 million for Carl Pavano, 46 million (counting the posting fee) for Kei Igawa, and 21 million for Jared Wright.
If you talk to talent evaluators around the game, there isn’t a single one who would put any of the above guys I mentioned in the same breath as Chapman.
Unless this kid has unbelievable off field problems, which I have heard is NOT the case, or is injured, this is a must sign, at whatever price, for the Yankees.
He’s the kind of guy that makes you change how you do business in the off-season. He’s that good.
You have to take the shot. If it doesn’t work out? That’s baseball.
However, a team with the Yankees money can’t shy away from him for financial reasons.
Just hire El Duque to be his mentor and you are good to go.
His age is legit. Its the residency requirements, to avoid being eligible for the draft, that will take some time to straighten out.
The internet is truly a marvel. You can get pitch f/x data on chapman from his WBC start against Japan.
He has a very live arm. His mechanics do need work. It’s only a few innings of data but his release point varies and splits when he’s throwing his breaking stuff.
His fastball velocity varied quite a bit which again points to raw mechanics.
There’s a lot of untapped potential in that arm.
It’s a good decision for him to get out while he’s young. He needs to get his mechanics cleaned up. He throws very hard and he needs more intesive instruction before he gets hurt.
Hmmmm – Isn’t about 40 million coming off the books after this season?
“The economics of the MLB draft is actually kind of silly to me. What happened to the free market?”
It really is hard to stomach. I’d guess most of the guys who own the teams are huge free-market laissez faire guys when it comes to their own pocket books and the fortunes they’ve ammassed but cry poverty and put in regulations to drive down salaries.
It’s the height of hypocrisy.
“SJ44
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:03 pm
His age is legit. Its the residency requirements, to avoid being eligible for the draft, that will take some time to straighten out.”
I agree his residency requirements are going to take some time, but I disagree with you that MLB won’t conduct an investigation regarding his age and that it will take a long time too. I don’t see him being approved to sign until May/June of next year.
“You usually have to lose 100 games in a season, and get lucky a guy like Chapman is available, for a team like the Yankees to be in on an arm like his.”
That’s basically how the stars had to align for them to draft Brien Taylor. Now that didn’t work out – which was a real tragedy – but it was still the right thing to do.
Just like the right thing to do now is to go all in and sign this guy.
Sure he might cost 15 times what taylor signed for but right now the yankees better not lose 100 games any time soon.
This isn’t a chance that is going to come up often. You take your shot now.
And I brough El Duque up yesterday. Agreed there. If they do sign Chapman you do whatever is needed to get El Duque back in the organization. Chapman couldn’t have a better resource to fall back on.
“but I disagree with you that MLB won’t conduct an investigation regarding his age and that it will take a long time too. I don’t see him being approved to sign until May/June of next year.”
It will take some time. But Chapman has been playing in age dependent international competition for a while. They are very strict on checking age in those competitions. If you’re holding at under 17 or whatever tournament you have to make sure the kids are actually under 17.
So Chapman is not like those kids from the DR who spring up and say they’re 16. There’s more certainty as there have been investigations and there is a baseline established for his age.
Chapman’s age has been varified from his WBC participation. Every player had to have proof of birth in order to play in the WBC. They also had to comply with Olympic style drug testing and he came out clean on both counts. He’s not an “unknown” on the international front as some of these age abusers have been.
His age investigation won’t take long at all. In fact, it won’t even be an issue. Its all about residency and who ends up representing him. Once those pieces are in place, MLB will let the bidding begin.
Mike A. (RAB)
Hey KLaw, now that Chapman defected, can we get your thoughts on him?
Keith Law (1:06 PM)
I talked to a longtime scout – I mean, been at this 40 years – in the spring who said he was the best young LHP he’d ever seen. On good days he’ll touch 100 with a slider in the upper 80s, but he hasn’t been that guy every time out – I talked to another scout who saw him last year, I believe in Beijing, who had him topping out around 90 – and there are all kinds of rumors as to why. The upside probably puts him into $40-50 million territory, if not more … and you bet your sweet bippy that Scott Boras is paying attention and will argue for the same deal for Strasburg.
Based on what happened with the Olympics and the Chinese female gymnists, I don’t think MLB will feel good about Chapman’s age until they complete their own investigation especially considering the price tag associated with this player.
brandon,de caster can play 3b,2b and maybe 1b
“SJ44
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Chapman’s age has been varified from his WBC participation. Every player had to have proof of birth in order to play in the WBC. They also had to comply with Olympic style drug testing and he came out clean on both counts. He’s not an “unknown” on the international front as some of these age abusers have been.
His age investigation won’t take long at all. In fact, it won’t even be an issue. Its all about residency and who ends up representing him. Once those pieces are in place, MLB will let the bidding begin.”
SJ,
I’m surprise that you feel that good about such age requirements because I don’t trust WBC or Olympics age requirements.
ALL-STAR VOTING UPDATE: TEIXEIRA GARNERING 17% MORE VOTES THAN YOUKILIS OVER PAST 3 DAYS!!
Will Kevin Youkilis make it four straight years for a Red Sox first baseman to be voted the AL starter?
Yankees rival Mark Teixeira is making a strong bid to end Boston’s run by garnering 17 percent more online votes than Youkilis over the past 72 hours in hopes of closing a 40,000-vote gap.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....8;c_id=mlb
That’s good news, but that’s only gonna make Sox fans vote even more for Youk over the next 12 hours. We need to continue to vote for Teixeira, vote as much as you can to make him the starting first baseman representing the AL.
They already did via the WBC. You are not understanding how the process works.
MLB runs the WBC. They did age checks on EVERY participant in the WBC. Chapman played in the WBC.
Therefore, he already HAS been investigated on the age front by MLB and they found his age to be correct.
Mark my words, they will investigate his age again. Too much money is at stake here.
They already HAVE investigated his age. That’s what I am trying to tell you.
They just did it for the WBC. They aren’t going to do it again since he hasn’t aged 5 years since March.
There is no “new” investigation they can do that hasn’t already been done.
SJ,
I know what you’re saying, but you’re not listening to me because I think they’re going to kick those tires again.
You’re not going to change my mind so let’s agree to disagree.
Also, I wonder if Boras will try to get to represent him which will also draw out the signing process.
“That’s good news, but that’s only gonna make Sox fans vote even more for Youk over the next 12 hours. We need to continue to vote for Teixeira, vote as much as you can to make him the starting first baseman representing the AL.”
——-
Agreed. It’s not Tex vs. Morneau.
It’s Tex vs. Youkilis.
Enough said.
Vote. Vote some more. And then vote again.
I latin players are the best! They are all sixteen years old with five o’clock shadows at nine in the morning.
“Meanwhile, gang, be careful with Chapman. They’re saying he’s the best Cuban since Contreras. The Yankees wasted a lot of money on that guy. The human arm is not designed to throw 100. That kid is a risk in 1,000 different ways but I’m sure the Yankees will be involved. But at $30 million? That is crazy.”
===========
Pete,
$30M is crazy?
For 4 years/$30M, he’d have to pitch similar to say, Jeff Suppan to make the contract worthwhile.
Is that so crazy?
Pete,
What you said about the Yankees keeping Leyritz away from the team, tis reminded me about Elliott Maddox. I read an interview with Elliott in which he expressed sorrow that the Yankees have excluded him from events (e.g. old timer’s day) becuase he was accused of “stealing” disability benefit money in 2004 claiming he was unable to work due his ailing right knee (~21 surgeries). He was found “not guilty” but the Yankees have not brought him back into the “Yankee family”. He still wears his Yankee uniform when conducting basball camps and loves the Yanks. This is sad. Can something be done about this? Life is too short, Elliott was a true Yankee and could have manned CF for many years if not for the poor drainage at Shea stadium!
Cmon Cash!!!! Go get Chapman!!!!!
(BTW, to clarify – I’m done with Leyritz provided the latest charges are true. I was disgusted by the DUI but believe people deserve 2nd chances, provided they make a genuine attempt to rehabilitate rather than commit more crimes. I know it’s innocent till proven guilty, but past felonies are considered in a court of law, so I consider them too.)
The Leyritz situation is just horrible. Man, when he hit that homerun in 96, that was one awesome moment. There are no more heros……well except Jeter.
Kevin, don’t forget The Great Mariano!!!
BBB- Past felonies are not considered in a court of law. Look at the Rules of Evidence. “Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith.”
You’re right — too many players are being named to the All Star Game. Best way to solve the problem? Allow the managers to reinsert position players if he runs out. In the rush to enable everyone there to appear (like it’s some kind of youth league and we don’t want Tommy or Jimmy to feel left out), managers wind up draining their bench too early. And designate a couple of extra pitchers to be used only if the game goes extra innings.
Wait, so now if one of your friends is accused of a crime, you should shun them for fear of having a photo snapped? What’s the downside if Jeter shakes Leyritz’s hand? I don’t understand.
Sad, sad story about Jim Leyritz. He must be desperate to find someone who doesn’t treat him like a pariah, but a high-profile spot like a major league dugout isn’t the place to go looking for acceptance. Needless to say, the battery charge sounds bad, but I’d like to know more of the facts before I start hurling rocks at him.
A lot of people get behind the wheel legally drunk – probably even some of the people trashing Jim Leyritz right now. It’s cruel that all the condemnation gets dumped on the few who don’t get away with it. Still, blood alcohol limits are there for a reason, because reflexes and judgment are known to be impaired well before an individual begins to act or feel drunk. Leyritz ignored that and must face the consequences, but I feel nothing but sadness about the whole thing.
Excellent point on Leyritz.