Mar
09
Open Thread: Best Buds
By
Apparently Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez are buddies again. Sure, they had a fine working relationship before, smiling on the field and being amiable towards each other off it, but deep down the Captain always held a bit of a grudge ever since A-Rod trashed him in Esquire nearly a decade ago. Well, apparently it’s all hugs and handpounds between the two now, because they commuted to work together yesterday. Yep, they carpooled. If that doesn’t signify the end of Jeter’s long-standing grudge, then I don’t know what does.
Anyway, here’s your open thread for the night. The Isles are the only local team in action, so go ahead and talk about whatever you want.
Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar, AP
304 Comments»
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The Tyler Austin Watch
Just a reminder, Operation Shutdown is still in effect. To raise morale, TSJC has provided this graphic:
I feel as if I’ve missed something. Again. Goddamn you, internship!
ironic, isn’t it?
But I’m assuming it’s a directive to not feed the trolls?
Yes. Specifically, the Jake/Michael name-hopping creation of ludicrousness, but feel free to put whomever else exhibits unrepentant batshit insanity into the Operation: SHUTDOWN program.
Derek Bell was a man of true genius.
Yeah, I just reread that thread about Javy and Jake and Michael, minus the fact that Jake looooves Paul O’Neill and Michael thinks he was trash, definitely write very similarly. Plus the IP thing.
But sure. Operation: SHUTDOWN.
Awesome. Can we add LGSB to that list as well?
To sum up Derek Bell in a few words it would be: Even when Derek Bell sucked, he still so awesome that he didn’t suck.
Is Michael really a troll? Granted, I haven’t kept totally up with the threads, but while his opinions aren’t necessarily in lockstep with the rest of us, he at least seems willing to listen to reason.
he at least seems willing to listen to reason.
Are we talking about the same Michael? He doesn’t listen to reason at all. Reason and Jake/Michael are mutually exclusive.
That being said, I agree, Jake/Michael is not technically a “troll” as he’s not flaming shit simply to bring attention to himself. I think he genuinely believes what he thinks.
He’s still getting the Derek Bell Special, though, because he’s just incredibly ignorant about everything and won’t ever listen to rational arguments or back up his crazy positions with any type of intelligent defense. You can’t argue with someone who uses nothing but intractable emotion and false narrative as the basis of his system of thought.
I rarely post here, but the whole Vazquez discussion was making me angry. I found Michael to be far more annoying than the common troll, mostly because of his complete refusal to listen to what anyone was saying. The entire argument went something like this:
Rational Poster: Evidence, facts, statistics, interesting point to consider
Michael: But he sucked in 2004
Rational Poster: More facts and evidence
Michel: He sucks in big markets
And that was it. I think those were the only two points he raised the entire time. There’s no point in having a discussion with someone like that.
Exactly.
The point of Operation: SHUTDOWN isn’t to stop talking to “trolls”. We already ignore trolls, by and large.
The point of Operation: SHUTDOWN is to stop talking to the intractably irrational and the terminally ignorant, be they attention-seeking trolling fans of other teams or garden-variety salt-of-the-earth Yankee fans who are incapable of engaging in honest give-and-take intellectual debate.
Yup. No more troll feeding.
Here’s the discussion from the other day (explains “operation shutdown”):
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....ent-792356
tell me about it my internship is killing me both money and timewise
Mine pays for my tuition, which is pretty awesome. But, I have to deal with bratty middle schoolers from 7-2 all day.
mine pays me nothing and i have to deal with bratty islander fans
Eyyy watch your mouth.
I pay for my internship, and my tuition. and i still have the bratty middle schoolers
My student teaching time was one of the worst 4 month periods of my life. One of my supervising teachers spent most of our lunch periods telling me why teaching is such a horrible profession.
She was right. You should have listened to her.
It was more fun to get indignant and complain about it behind her back all the while thinking that I knew better.
She was right, though. It’s all about bratty kids and brattier parents.
I work in media and cover a lot of BOE meetings. So, unfortunately, I also have to deal with a lot of parents, teachers and administrators.
The parents are unquestionably the most irrational, self-interested people in the room. Their little snowflake can do no wrong and damn it, if things don’t go their way, they’ll fucking sue you! Seriously.
Of course, many teachers tire of the inane protocols, teacher mandates, standardized testing, bureaucratic posturing, spoiled and insolent children. And then, of course, the often adversarial relationship they have with the parents.
Finally, we have the administrators. They’re more interested in hiring “curriculum directors”, playing politics, and artificially boosting scores than they are in actually educating.
A lot of characters in this tragicomedy.
As a teacher I’ve got a couple things for consideration:
1) Rob D. I hope you’re now teaching somewhere and enjoying it. Avoid the negative energy…there is a lot of it in this world, especially in the field of education. Teaching is a ton of work and the kids can be difficult. Find a good school with excellent fellow teachers and administrators and life will be good. First year (I’m in year 2) is hard no matter where you are (forgive me if you’re more experienced).
2) JMK…board meetings are terrible. It’s a no win situation for everyone involved, no matter how good a district you’re covering right now. The economy is terrible so tensions are high and money has to be cut. It sucks and this comes out in no more clearly and often very negatively in the board meetings. No matter how wealthy a school system is, a town is, or how qualified any board member, school teacher, or administrator is there is no avoiding this. Everyone also have their own agenda…there is pluses and minuses to this and unfortunately tough decision have to be made. I could probably make a pretty good case that BOE meetings are the worst place to actually learn what goes on in K-12 classrooms, but the best place to learn where a communities priorities are.
I might be way off, but when I first read this it sounded like you guys were frustrated with teaching and school in general. Its tough now and unfortunately there are a ton of crappy people in all positions of education that make the whole system look bad for everyone involved. That there are still really good places where administrators support their highly-qualified (sorry for the NCLB reference) staff. I’m in one…thats not to say we don’t have our problems and all the stuff you guys reference above though too.
With respect, I’m not necessarily frustrated with teaching and school on a personal, micro level. On a macro (the system as a whole in the U.S. is so poorly conceived and executed), yes, I’m quite peeved.
As in any business, there are excellent people and atrocious excuses for humans. Mostly though, it’s people in the middle to varying degrees. However, I see shortcomings that are easily avoidable; they’re not all attributed to politicking or budget issues.
Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely generalizing, so it’s not a full, accurate observation of the happenings at school. If it came off that way, apologies.
The budget cuts in the towns of my area (Bergen County) are fairly minimal—generally less than 4% of expenditure. Those are largely State aid funds that often go to transportation, Special Ed., and other fairly small parts of the budget. The overall budget is generally locked into contracts and benefits. It’s subject to the economy to some degree, but again, it’s a small drop in a big bucket. Taxes also cannot be raised over a certain percentage to offset deficits. However, in many other places, it’s a huge, huge problem. Many teachers are unfortunately caught in the crossfire.
The district I cover is the very one I attended as a child. It’s a district that performs well, boasting many capable, qualified people in positions they should be in. That doesn’t excuse the shortcomings (although I recognize all have their own agendas). I agree that BOE meetings don’t tell the whole story. However, a good friend of mine is a teacher in the district, I babysit for neighbors’ kids occasionally, and I attend the meetings, in addition to being a taxpayer of the town. I’m well informed.
Finally, as a parting note, the teacher unions are as responsible for some of these issues as the politicians, angry and foolish parents, and the administrators. There’s all sorts of blame to go around.
You make some great arguments and I think were on the same page and probably would agree on quite a few things.
You hit the nail on the head with the “atrocious excuse for humans” comment. People involved with education get a lot of flack, but it seems like many fail to realize its people who just do a terrible job that bring on much of the questioning. The same things that make the teachers union helpful (like any union) are a big cause of this problem.
It be great if everyone (myself included) were as informed as you are…it would only help ensure the best decisions are likely to be made.
just one question: what is operation shutdown? it sounds like some kind of exclusive RAB meme to me (hehe)
Is that an orange jumpsuit? When did Derek Bell go to prison?
Derek Bell, career:
* Toronto Blue Jays (1991-1992)
* San Diego Padres (1993-1994)
* Houston Astros (1995-1999)
* New York Mets (2000)
* Pittsburgh Pirates (2001)
When WASN’T Derek Bell in prison?
http://www.instantrimshot.com
Seriously, though, he’s been arrested twice for felony cocaine and misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession in the past 5 years.
Hahahah!
It’s sort of a chicken and egg thing, though. If Derek Bell was a starter on your team, then you probably sucked to begin with. And then he made you suckier. Vicious circle.
He was on three Astros playoff teams from 1997-1999.
A Yankee fan like me should have remembered the 2000 Mets as well.
..and those were the championship Blue Jays teams, so he has to have a ring.
When was Bell ever good? I remember him being one of the dumbest, streakiest, worst players I’ve ever seen when he was on the Mets.
Making the playoffs with the Blue Jays, Astros, and Mets is merely a congujal visit.
After the fun is over… you’re still in prison.
http://www.baseball-reference......html?redir
Not awful, nice player. Lost it at a young age but was solid. I just remember him looking utterly lost at the plate late in 2000 during his Mets days. I thought he was going blind or something.
I also remember that lived on a houseboat, to avoid paying property taxes or something.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports columnist Mark Madden summarized the [Operation Shutdown] incident with “Derek Bell becomes the ultimate Pirate: Lives on a boat and steals money.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.....aseball%29
He was a true Pirate — living on a boat, and stealing money.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
OMG, that’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time.
You know what the funniest thing about Operation Shutdown was? When the Pirates released Bell, he was like, 22 days away from having enough service time to qualify for a full pension through the MLBPA. Instead, Operation Shutdown, out of the game, no pension.
http://www.sadtrombone.com
That’s OK, Mike. You don’t need a pension when you live on a boat. A little money for docking fees should cover it.
Besides, you can always get free room and board in the Florida Department of Corrections.
Three hots and a cot, baby!
But I wanted to keep beating my head against a brick wall until things got bloody!
(No, I really didn’t.)
Inspired by the comment I left on another thread:
I named my fantasy team “JesusMo&JoeDiMaggio”
What’d you name yours?
CentWAR Centaur™.
(as if you didn’t know already)
Tommie just FYI, when I used to play fantasy sports, I always named my teams “The Jamaican Nyabinghis”.
JAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! RASTAFARIANISM!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4096.....-ras-trent
That’s about right.
Cleveland Steamers.
the BALCOholics.
Team Thomas
http://www.instantcrickets.com
It’s original. Who else would pick that name?
My brother used that last year.
Not in RAB league 1, otherwise we would have had the same name. All other leagues are pretty much worthless.
We “League 1′ers” need to christen our league with a snazzy, elitist official name so as to better look down on the lesser plebes below us with proper paternalistic disdain.
My vote: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi.....ue.svg.png
I think we all know you bribe the RAB Dudes for your place in League 1.
Thus, I dub it League 1*.
Mike, Ben, and Joe actually hold right of first refusal over any offer sheet I sign elsewhere. I’m contractually bound to continue delivering my awesomeness to RAB’s circle of super-elites.
I’m like an indentured servant. A handsomely paid, well-endowed, pampered and catered to indentured servant.
Lili Von Shtupp: Tell me, schatze, is it twue what they say about the way you people are… gifted?
[sound of zipper opening]
Lili Von Shtupp: Oh, it’s twue. It’s twue. It’s twue, it’s twue!
A-Rod in your Pujols
LMFAO…Comment of the year right here!
(golf clap)
Uconn gets blown out the garden by St Johns. Who saw that coming?
LA-LA-LA! I CAN’T HEAR YOU! LA-LA-LA!
/denial’d
Everyone, unfortunately.
I would just like to let Jose know, if he is out there, that I thought of that “the cocaine snorting of the Keith Hernandezes and Doc Goodens has been replaced by the injuries of the Jose Reyeses and Carlos Beltrans” at random points today and I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING and I have no idea why. I dare say it is funnier than “drfat.”
Any sweet iPhone apps (preferably free) that I need. Just got it this weekend.
FanGraphs has an app.
I did not know that.
… now I do.
JIMP
Espn scorecenter.
good call. I found that one real quick. Now I can
follow UConn in the tournamentcry.Your bank probably has an app, get that. Also, all the news orgs you may use (NYTimes, WSJ, ABC/NBC/CBS, CNN, Reuters, BBC, NPR, etc). Pick one or two.
Others:
eBay
Wikipanion (better than the Wikipedia app)
Weather Channel (more detailed than the iPhone weather app)
Kayak
Shazam (identifies and tags songs by listening to them, teh AWESOME)
Yahoo has fantasy football management app, probably have one for baseball too
Pandora
Movies/Showtimes (pick one)
word. thanks.
Also, the official MLB.com iPhone app has live in-game video (subject to blackout) and instantly-archived clips of key plays. It’s $10, and I was reluctant (because I don’t pay for shit), but Joe and others convinced me it was worth it and they were 100% correct. It’s the shizz.
The only app I’ve paid for, but worth every penny.
Correction, for the 2010 season it is $15, but still well worth it. The fact that it has Gameday Audio pretty much pays for itself.
I thought the Intangibles/MoneyHoney feud was settled in 2008 when A-Rod told Francesa during spring training that he and Jeter were in a second honeymoon and then kissed the Captain’s ass by suggesting an MVP season?
A-Rod frequently suggests guys on his own team are the MVP; he did it all the time with Teixeira last season.* OMG he’s such a bad teammate!!!!
* I realized what this sentence looked like out of context, considered re-writing it, and then did not.
This one was pretty specific and took place in the pre-season. Actually, A-Rod was pretty much on the money with Jeter. He pointed to Jeter’s new workouts to improve his quickness at short in suggesting that he’d have an MVP year. He was a year too early but still accurate.
Jeter does not strike me like a guy who holds a grudge, especially for a comment as innocent as the one A-Rod made. It was a small, competitive dig at Jeter as a player. It was nothing really that personal, or vicious that Jeter could not have forgiven him, or gotten a little fun revenge in private to even it up.
“Derek Jeter does not hold grudges.”
Sincerely,
Chad Curtis.
cc: Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez.
So FWIW the Hurt Locker is intense shit.
I’m now going to remedy that with a good old disaster movie, 2012.
2012 will seem like a romantic comedy.
That is the one word I would use to describe that film.
2012 is a really long movie and really ridiculous
Halladay vs. Heyward. Coming Up Soon.
Pittsburgh: Competing for a job and “Operation Shutdown”
In spring training 2002, while with the Pirates, Bell, who had hit .173 the previous season, did not feel that he needed to prove he was worthy of a starting job.
On March 18, Bell told reporters:
“Nobody told me I was in competition. If there is competition, somebody better let me know. If there is competition, they better eliminate me out of the race and go ahead and do what they’re going to do with me. I ain’t never hit in spring training and I never will. If it ain’t settled with me out there, then they can trade me. I ain’t going out there to hurt myself in spring training battling for a job. If it is [a competition], then I’m going into ‘Operation Shutdown.’ Tell them exactly what I said. I haven’t competed for a job since 1991.”
Bell jumped the team on March 29, was released on March 31, and never played in the majors again. The Pirates ended up paying him $4.5 million not to play for them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.....aseball%29
We have our answer, for all who were wondering. How guys like him and Pavano don’t get arrested for grand larceny is beyond me.
The hotshot young prospect that emerged in 2001 that caused the Pirates to declare an open RF competition involving Bell that spring:
25-year old Craig Wilson, fresh off a rookie line of .310/.390/.589 in 189 plate appearances.
Yes, THAT Craig Wilson.
http://janeheller.mlblogs.com/craig.wilson.jpg (safe)
Does anyone know what a felony amount of cocaine is? By weight? I’m wondering if it was for personal use or if he was selling the stuff. If it’s personal, leave the dumb bastard alone.
http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/cocaine/florida/ seems to say that anything under 28g is a 3rd degree felony, and over that amount is trafficking, a 1st degree felony.
There’s probably no misdemeanor cocaine possession violation.
He had 28 grams (or more) on him? Yikes.
No, you read that wrong.
He was charged with “cocaine posession”, which is LESS than 28 grams of cocaine, a third degree felony. Had he had more than 28g, he would have been charged instead with the first degree felony of “cocaine trafficking”.
Gotcha.
TSJC – You are the SUPREME internet researcher. And . . . you have a lot of patience to do the work others could do with such a little bit of effort.
Acquiring Craig Wilson was a non-awful move. How he played, however . . .
So a while back I was watching an old LLWS game on ESPN Classic, and on the same team were Derek Bell and Gary Sheffield. Can you imagine the shit their coach went thru?
What did A-Rod even say exactly? I have seem to forgotten.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=2771141
Mostly: “Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him,” Alex says. “He’s never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second—that’s totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie and O’Neill. You never say, Don’t let Derek beat you. He’s never your concern.”
There’s SOME truth in that remark.
You definitely just blew that 0.0001% chance of Jeter talking to you. He will grudge your ass for eternity now.
just finished drafting my team for this year’s fantasy basbeball. let me know what you guys think..
C: Jorge Posada
1B: Justin Morneau
2B: Aaron Hill
3B: David Wright
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera
OF: Chris Coghlan, Hunter Pence, Nolan Reimold, Franklin Gutierrez, and Michael Cuddyer
P: Roy Halladay, Justin Verlander, Cliff Lee, Josh Johnson, Rick Porcello Chris Tillman, and Jair Jurrjens.
How I got the best pitchers in the league? I was going to draft Lincecum but the guy before me got him, so I wind up Halladay. I got no idea, people were just drafting players like A-Rod and Derek Lee.
You’ve got good pitching and a pretty strong IF but the OF looks a little iffy.
yeah I figured. I was too busy drafting pitchers, didnt realized I don’t really have an OF. hopefully I would be able to trade some good OFers during the course of the season.
Yeah, you could probably sell high on Porcello now to get a good OF.
Are you saying pOrcello is overrated? He’s on my keepper team, I need him!
Haha, no that’s not what I’m saying. But, out of the pitchers he has, I think Porcello is the most-expendable.
Love your pitching.
lol thanks, I was wow, are you people serious? I just kept on drafting the best pitchers.
How many teams in your league? Four?
8.
Throw in Bonds on that LLWS team and the coach would of just rolled out the baseballs and headed to the tavern.
ReplyFAIL
I’m sick of Gerard Butler.
I’m not.
Wonder why…
Also, some girl I work with is apparently Jim Boeheim’s niece.
I bet she’s a slut.
I was going to say “butt ugly and balding”, but that works too.
On the red carpet the other night Gabby Sidibe said about Gerard Butler, “I’d hit it”. She told him that to his face, too. It was pretty funny. Yep. Funny……..I need to get a life…..
On the red carpet the other night Gabby Sidibe said about Gerard Butler, “I’d hit it”.
Gabby Sidibe: single, and ready to mingle.
Alert JMK.
I don’t even know who that is.
Quick google search reveals she’s the one I made an SUV joke about and people got all “Wah, wah, wah don’t say mean things.”
Yes, would definitely hit. She does not have sharp knees (my only requirement).
I saw her first.
She’s also an Oscar-nominated actress, so she can probably indulge all your sick and twisted erotic roleplay games with aplomb.
I was sick of Butler before 300 even came out. The Ugly Truth only confirmed this for me.
I am definitely not sick of *looking* at him, but I can understand why people are tired of him. It’s like Jude Law a few years ago, when he was in everything.
The difference is at least Jude Law can act and has been in good movies. Butler’s best movie is Rock n’ Rolla, which isn’t great, and he has only been in 3 others that I can think of (300, The Ugly Truth, and the Bounty Hunter).
I’m sick of Sam Worthington
I feel a little bad for him; he’ll never be able to land a non-action role.
Should he ever land one? Can he actually act? I haven’t seen Avatar or Terminator Salvation, so I don’t know.
He’s great in those commercials about investing with TD.
Law & Order, too. (I know that’s Sam Waterston.)
Thomas Jones signs with the Chiefs. I actually like this move for the Jets; Kansas City was looking at Justin Fargas, whom I’d love to add as the third RB in our ground attack.
Swapping Jones for Fargas is akin to swapping Damon for Granderson.
/analogy’d
Justin Fargas sucks and Curtis Granderson is good.
Meh, Curtis Granderson is most definitely better at baseball than Justin Fargas is at football, but Justin Fargas does not “suck”. He’s a quality back.
Everybody in Oakland sucks, because they’re playing in Oakland. Fargas rushed for 3300+ yards over the past 7 years (including a thousand-yard season in 2007) not because of the Raiders offensive line, but in spite of it. His career YPA (in a horridly putrid Raiders offense, mind you) is 4.1.
He’s a very, very solid back in a rotation. Excellent depth for the Shonn and Leon show.
Not everyone in Oakland sucks. Naomishi Amashamnoutos (may be misspelled) at CB is awesome.
Too bad he can’t block.
Yeah, he’s a CB, though. That’s like one of the two or three positions in all of football where you’re literally playing all by yourself. Whatever the other 10 members of the Oakland Raiders defense are doing (or failing to do) doesn’t affect what Nnamdi does on his island.
I used to like Darren McFadden’s chances to breakout. Too bad he killed my fantasy team.
I think all the Oakland backs have to be judged with an asterisk. They may be good, they may be bad; we have no way of knowing because their offensive line has consisted of luminaries like Cornell Green and Langston Walker and Cooper Carslile and Kwame Harris.
Justin Fargas is in the 85-95% of RBs that is of almost identical size and skill. He’s a nobody.
I stand by it.
If you aren’t huge and/or crazy fast and/or Adrian Peterson, you’re a nobody at RB.
If you aren’t huge and/or crazy fast and/or Adrian Peterson, you’re a nobody at RB.
Yeah… no.
I am adamant about this
AD(P) “Freak” Division:
Adrian Peterson
Chris Johnson
MJD
—
Huge, Always Injured Division
Brandon Jacobs
Mike Turner
Steven Jackson
—
Crazy Fast/Agile, Always Injured Division
Reggie Bush
Darren Sproles
Brian Westbrook
CJ Spiller?
No one else matters, at all. Most of these aren’t fit to take more than 250 carries, and a couple are possibly done already.
/boversimplified
Night time Spring baseball? Heyward’s due up on mlb network.
That was quite the AB. MELKY TIME!
Melky put some stank on that shit.
Of course A-Rod and Jeter carpooled. They probably didn’t know any of the younger guys they were playing with.
I got my first job today!
First real job or literally your first job?
literally first job
Jizz mopper?
/Randall’d
THIRTY-SEVEN?!?!?!?!??!?!?
14!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!?!?!?
Would you like some making fuck?
Census worker?
Fluffer?
Derek Bell’s ‘Operation Shutdown’ coordinator?
jealous ;_;
no need to be jealous
Yeah, I remember when I got my first job. It was awesome.
/doubleentendre’d
ATTENTION EVERYONE: my mom just said Cody Ransom was “good”
Maybe you misheard her. Perhaps she said Cody Ransom was “hood”, as in D.J. Khaled style.
http://www.gigacrate.com/image.....6Large.jpg (safe)
“Maybe you misheard her. Perhaps she said Cody Ransom was “hood”, as in
D.J. KhaledSteve Lombardi style.”Couldn’t help myself.
Well played.
(goes back to helping Leonardo DaVinci paint the Sistine Chapel)
She has something she needs on top of her fridge, and he’s just so ‘good’ at getting up there.
Good at what, may I ask?
I think she meant baseball. I think. (shudder)
“No Mom, in this game you’re supposed to hit the ball.”
Mark Newman arrested for DWI
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c......dui.0190/
Longtime Yankees executive Mark Newman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence Monday night, according to the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office.
Newman, in his 11th season as the Yankees’ senior vice president of baseball operations, refused to take a blood-alcohol test, according to the arrest inquiry.
“We were informed that Mark Newman was arrested last night on suspicion of driving under the influence,” the Yankees said last night in a statement. “The New York Yankees do not condone this kind of behavior. We take this situation seriously and we are looking into the matter. We will have no further comment at this time.”
The report said Newman, 60, was released Tuesdayon $500 bail.
The arrest was first reported by The Associated Press.
According to the inquiry, Newman was pulled over at 10:56 p.m. near the corner of Hudson Lane and North Dale Mabry Highway, about five miles from his office at George M. Steinbrenner Field and just over a mile from his home.
Can you say ‘Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Kevin Towers’??
Do you think he should be fired? I’d disagree with that opinion, if that’s what you’re suggesting.
If you can fire your son-in-law for this, you can fire Mark.
I don’t think Swindal was fired just for his arrest, though. I thought the whole divorce had something to do with that situation.
IIRC, the divorce was announced a few weeks after the DWI.
Ok, but that doesn’t tell us much. Was he fired before the divorce was announced? Even if he was, we don’t know if the family knew the divorce was in the works before it became public knowledge.
Plenty of people have run-ins with the law, and those are not necessarily termination-level events. I’m in no way excusing Newman or Swindal, but they shouldn’t necessarily be fired for a DUI, and the Yankees haven’t necessarily shown a willingness in the past to fire people for such offenses (see: Strawberry, Howe, PED players, etc.).
Comparing players and management is way, way off. There are a tiny handful of people on the planet who can compete and succeed on the MLB level. Loads of people can do Newman’s job. Plus, one group is a member of the MLBPA, and the other isn’t. Apples and Orangutans.
The Yanks are a huge, very public, multi-billion dollar business. They don’t need this.
The Yanks are a huge, very public, multi-billion dollar business. They don’t need this.
Seeing as how 99.99% of the general American public has no clue who Mark Newman is or what he does, I doubt the Mark Newman DUI will be some sort of intolerable black eye that will harm the Yankee brand and force them to can him to save face.
Nobody cares.
Seeing as how 99.99% of the general American public has no clue who Mark Newman is or what he does, I doubt the Mark Newman DUI will be some sort of intolerable black eye that will harm the Yankee brand and force them to can him to save face.
Nobody cares.
I can see it now.
ESPN Headline;
Newman gets drunk and operates a motor vehicle. A-Rod made him do it.
Look, I get your point about the difference between players and management… But if you’re going to deal with this on a PR angle (i.e. “The Yanks are a huge, very public, multi-billion dollar business. They don’t need this.”), how could you say management people should be held to such a higher standard than players? How many people, non-RAB/TYU reader type of person division, do you think have ever heard the name Mark Newman, or will ever know that he was arrested last night? I’d say the number of people/fans who will know/care about this is substantially smaller than the number of people who would know/care about a player’s legal troubles.
I brought up the players just to look at other people who have been in this organization and have not been fired for having legal troubles. Swindal is a questionable example at best, and I consider him a poor example. Other than him, if we want to look for precedent, we have the aforementioned players, and maybe GMSIII himself and his legal troubles to look to as examples… And none of those examples would lead us to think that the Yankees consider this type of legal trouble to be an immediate, termination-level offense.
PS: We can add Joba, and his DUI incident, to the list of examples.
You are always so logical and well researched in your comments. I admire that.
Sure, you can do it, but why would you? His son-in-law was fired for dicking over his daughter and the DUI was a convenient reason to get rid of him.
I’m not trying to say this isn’t serious — it is and it’s a fireable offense — but the son-in-law’s circumstance is very different than this one.
Personally, I’m on the fence if this is something he should be fired over. It’s so easily avoidable and shows very, very poor decision-making.
I’m with JMK on this one… I don’t know that it’s a fireable offense, that’s yet to be seen and will be decided upon by people with much more knowledge of the situation, and the man, than us.
Thirded. A DUI all by itself probably doesn’t get any Yankee FO poobah fired. If they were already interested in firing him, though, that’s the nail in the coffin.
Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Kevin Towers
OK, that’s one.
I find this humorous on the heels of our Javy Vazquez conversation earlier, since I referenced the power struggle between Cashman’s NYC faction and the Billy Connors/Bill Ernslie Tampa faction in the middle of the past decade, a conflict that lead to numerous bad decisions (like the one to trade Jazzy and Dioner for Randy Johnson).
IIRC, Newman was the third head in that Tampa cabal. Connors, Ernslie, and Newman.
Sorry… But how does that make this news humorous?
Would you accept ‘mildly amusing’?
HCM, you seem to be taking this a bit personally. Any reason? Are a big fan of Newman? I think he’s done a good job, but is utterly replaceable. I understand Mike A. is faxing in his resume as we speak.
I haven’t taken anything personally and I don’t know why you would conclude that I have.
Oh my God, you’re totally irrational. Just calm down, man. It’s just a silly Baseball team.
They’ll hire someone else and Mark can go back to drinking himself into oblivion. Everybody wins.
(throws computer out window)
(eats)
/TSJC’d
Sorry… But how does that make this news humorous?
Okay, maybe that’s not the right word. Let’s say… eerie.
I find this eeries.
/MondesiBait’d
Haha, ass. Enjoy Lost tonight.
Oh, wait…
Well played… fatty.
semi-unrelated, but I was reading the blog of a Braves fan and they were responding to the article that said Cashman was the #3 GM and they said that he should be, like, #25. He just kept saying “Pavano, Pavano, Pavano. Worst move ever made.” SIIIIGH
Does he think the Braves GM should be #3 ?
Lowe Lowe Lowe ?
No.
From what I can tell, he’s generally reasonable about the Yankees (he’s not happy about 1999 and especially 1996, but who would be? I still kind of hate the Arizona Diamondbacks), I was just surprised at how wrong he was. Apparently we all should have known Pavano was going to be constantly hurt and not very good when he wasn’t and that Contreras wasn’t going to be ~the difference maker.~ Oh, and Theo Epstein really didn’t go after those guys, because Theo is a lot smarter than Cashman.
Most people are stupid. It’s best to avoid them, especially if they’re easily avoidable.
Let this be a lesson to you.
haha.
This person is generally smart reading the rest of his blog, but he was just so wrong about this.
On a side note, I’d L-O-V-E to post this over at TYU, but the site is down.
Man, AJax is blowing up right now. He’s going to make me hate Granderson.
blowing who?
ST.
I know it’s ST, but I always thought he was going to perform in MLB and this ONLY MAKES ME WORRIED NOW THAT HE ACTUALLY WILL
He will perform. He’s a good player.
Will he be C-Grand good? Doubtful.
I doubt that. I hope Jackson does well, but I don’t think he’ll ever really reach Granderson’s level.
agreed
Yeah, I think Ajax will have something like a .270/.340/.420 line on average with a .285/.360/.450 line in his best years.
Agree with this. Not sure his power will be that high, but definitely within range. He’ll also add good-not-great defense.
Man, people make a lot of strong blanket statements about players they rarely, if ever, see in action. Sort of like how Jesus Montero is a disaster at C. Anyone notice that yet this spring? Me neither.
yeah hes not that bad
Prediction: Joe will post the Newman news and not have the decency to give me a (h/t). Bastard.
(*bangs fist*)
DAMN YOU, PAWLIKOWSKI!! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELLllllllllllll…
I told him the news at like, 5pm. Whenever Carig first tweeted it.
Meh, he’s probably high out of his mind right now. He’ll forget we even mentioned this… won’t find out about Newman’s DUI for months.
Good point. He’s working on his own DWI as we speak.
Source: the internet.
Isn’t that also the source that led us all to believe that Curtis Granderson wasn’t in fact a switch hitter. I wouldn’t be throwing that source around too much, the internet left us all hanging on that one.
Side note:Still waiting for mlb.com to update Grandy’s profile to show that he’s a switch hitter, I thought that was being worked on.
http://twitter.com/joepawl/status/10239714127
bahahahhaha
I kinda want him to be brought back he was fun as hell.
Hey TSJC,
Remember when I said Jimmy Clausen got by with poor vision/composure and questionable accuracy because Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are ridiculous?
http://twitter.com/SI_RossTuck.....0249441524
Boom, bazooka joe. Kind of.
That “evidence” you just presented: highly dubious
Golden’s full remarks:
“Michael Floyd runs a 3.3 40, has a 57-inch vert, and has already had sex with Lane Kiffin’s wife.”*
* – These were all off the record, and imaginary, by me.
Has anyone else been watching Southland? If so, thoughts?
I watched the 1st season and thought it was solid, haven’t seen any of the new ones yet though. Any good?
First episode of the new season was last week. It was great.
I love crime dramas and war movies/shows. The Wire, at least in my opinion, is the greatest show ever made. Easily.
Had you watched last season on NBC, or just caught up this year? I was pissed when it got cancelled (for Leno….), but glad TNT picked it up.
I caught up this year. It’s fitting that NBC fucked everything up only to see Southland emerge as a solid show that could have at least brought them some stability/critical acclaim.
New “A couple of days into free agency” on the spot Mock Draft:
1-STL: QB Sam Bradford
2-DET: DT Gerald McCoy
3-TB: DT Ndamukong Suh
4-WAS: FS Eric Berry
5-KC: T Russell Okung
6-SEA: QB Jimmy Clausen
7-CLE: DE/OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
8-OAK: CB Joe Haden
9-BUF: T Anthony Davis
10-JAX: WR Dez Bryant
11-DEN: LB Rolando McClain
12-MIA: NT Dan Williams
13-SF: DE Derrick Morgan
14-SEA: traded to DEN for B.Marshall: T Bruce Campbell (BOOM)
15-NYG: LB Sergio Kindle
16-TEN: DT Brian Price
17-SF: HB C.J. Spiller (BOOM)
18-PIT: G Mike Iupati
19-ATL: S Taylor Mays (BOOM)
20-HOU: S Earl Thomas
21-CIN: DE/OLB Everson Griffen
22-NE: DE/OLB Brandon Graham
23-GB: T Trent Williams
24-PHI: LB Sean Witherspoon
25-BAL: CB Kareem Jackson
26-AZ: DE/OLB Jerry Hughes
27-DAL: T Bryan Bulaga
28-SD: RB Ryan Matthews
29-NYJ: WR Arrelious Benn
30-MIN: CB Kyle Wilson
31-IND: DT Jared Odrick
32-NO: DE Carlos Dunlap
I know Berry is a good player but I’ll be sorely disappointed if he is my #4 pick. Trade down Dan and Mike!
Have trouble believing Denver would draft another Tackle with Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris. One is a pro bowler and the other is a well above average tackle, the need would not be there.
Ryan Harris: nothing special
That second Denver pick would be real interesting, though. After taking McClain and dealing away Marshall, none of the Broncos compelling needs (i.e. WR, QB, a 3-4 OLB edge rusher, NT, interior offensive line) has a compelling player on the board at #14. Trading down would probably be the best option; if you don’t trade down, I could see the team reaching for a high-upside guy or taking BPA.
You have a good point on the Campbell ill-fit, though, since his value diminishes as an RT. What about Taylor Mays right there? That might work…
A few questions: Wouldn’t it make more sense for Washington to take Clausen (from their POV, at least)?
Also, isn’t Suh rated far higher than Warren?
You think Spiller falls to 17? Why?
Wouldn’t the Jets be better suited to drafting a wide out that can stretch the field? Benn is more of an over-the-middle guy, though he’s very talented.
The Giants need help at D-tackle, though they could use help at LB.
I am not a fan of J-Claus.
Me neither. But it’s Snyder and the ‘Skins, and I think they’re tired of Campbell.
I agree re: Clausen v. Berry, but they’re both areas of need and Berry’s a much smaller bust potential. The fact that they still have Campbell and he still has upside further pushes the pick toward’s Berry’s side.
We are extremely tired of Campbell. I think it’s possible we select Claus but I’d be disappointed with him as a #4. At this point, I’m willing to sacrifice the year, start Colt Brennan(who I think may be better than Campbell) and make a run at a FA/Draft QB next year.
Just to clarify, I think Colt has potential to be better than Campbell, I don’t think he’s going to jump in tomorrow and win more games off the bat.
Disagreed wholeheartedly. Brennan is a career backup. Campbell has warts, but he’s vastly superior to Colt.
I have no upside with Campbell. He’s good one day, bad the next. I can’t take it anymore. Imo, Colt is the young unknown. I’ll choose the latter any day.
The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.
100% serious question. You really think Al Davis would take Haden after that “slow” 40 time?
Prediction of my own. If Haden drops to the eight spot, the Raiders trade the pick to the Pats for Ben Watson, who can run a 4.4 40 and caught Champ Bailey in a 100 yard dash. I know Watson is a FA, but Davis doesn’t know that.
Usain Bolt is still out there, Al. Ohno and Davis, too.
http://mystiqueandaura.com/201.....y/#respond
That’s a good point. I bet Haden runs a faster time at his Pro Day, though, and renders the combine time moot.
I’ve seen Kindle and Weatherspoon projected as late 1st, early 2nd round picks. Neither would bother me if Reese decided that either one was the best defender on the board. Looking at college production and consistency, i think Weatherspoon has the edge.
“7-CLE: DE/OLB Jason Pierre-Paul”
Damn that seems real high for a kid with 1 year experience above JUCO. If Mangini is still calling the shots I bet they trade down, maybe someone looking to trade up to get Dez before Davis picks.
Question for the Jets fans.
Marques Murrell strictly a special teamer, or does he have any (ridiculous) upside as a pass rushing LB?
Special teamer.
Can’t be worse than Adalius Thomas. BTW, I love that they haven’t cut him yet, I hope they ship him to Detroit for a conditional 7th round pick.
It sounds like there are a lot more Jets fans on this board, however, isn’t NY a Giants sort of city or am I mistaken.
No, the Jets/Giants breakdown amongst RAB regulars is pretty even, I think.
I’m just way more awesome, so it only seems like there’s more Jets fans. I tip the scales.
(It’s the large sample size.)
time to call jenny craig ?
I’m not talking about being fat.
sorry, i couldnt resist
You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more Jets fans than Giants fans around here, amongst the regular commenters and the RABbis.
(Btw, good episode tonight.)
Maybe I’m just being forgetful, but I can really only remember pat as the other Giants fan here aside from myself. But, I know I’m totally off on that.
Popavero?
Or, no… Is he a Cowboy fan or something?
Yeah, he’s a Cowboys fan.
Yeah. He likes the ‘Boys. I’m a Giants fan but I don’t really follow football with great interest.
I like the Jets, too.
I always thought this was the case, too. I also always thought there was a Yankees/Giants, Mets/Jets fan thing, and I live in NY so that’s what I’ve pretty much observed. But I guess not.
I also always thought there was a Yankees/Giants, Mets/Jets fan thing, and I live in NY so that’s what I’ve pretty much observed.
I think that was true a generation ago, when the Yankees/Giants and Mets/Jets respectively shared stadiums (YS1 and Shea).
Since the Giants and Jets have both relocated to Jersey by the mid 80′s, you’ve had a generation of fans who have grown up and effectively known nothing but Meadowlands football for the past 25+ years. Both teams playing in East Rutherford essentially eliminates any geographical division lines between Giants/Jets fans, and opens them both up equally for baseball fans of any stripe/borough.
JMHO.
I totally agree. This idea that there’s a Yanks/Mets breakdown that affects Giants/Jets fandom I think is pretty irrelevant to anyone who grew up with both teams playing in Jersey. It may live on if passed down in families, but I think it has largely dissipated.
It generally wasn’t irrelevant in my (New York) HS (that I graduated from relatively recently). SSS though.
Heh. I love that you’re using SSS with regards to the size of your high school class.
Now if you could just get the people freaking out about A-Jax hitting .538 to understand SSS’s, the world would be a better place.
What next, tell me to just ignore CC’s ERA this spring? Wake up Steve, Ajax is the next Dimaggio.
.538>>>>>.381
Calling A-Jax the next Dimaggio is an insult to A-Jax.
Heh. I love that you’re using SSS with regards to the size of your high school class.
+1
well it was one high school with less than 200 students. If that’s not a SSS what is?
Less than 200 students? Was it in North Dakota?
Actually, 200 is not really a very bad sample size for a study of whether there is some true to Jets/Mets Giants/Yankees. The biggest problem is biased sample, a lot of demographical groups are not accounted in a single HS. If you had picked 200 random people, your study would have around a 5% uncertainty.
Hmm, interesting. That’s probably it. I know verrrry little about football, so I wouldn’t have been able to make that connection.
Be in awe of my omelette (or not): http://twitpic.com/17nera
“My first omelette”? Have you really never made one before? You’ve been missing out on so much.
I know, I should make them more often. I just need to make sure that they look more presentable. Ah well, I enjoyed eating it.
If you enjoyed eating it and making it that is all that matters.
i am now aware. thoroughly unimpressed, but aware nonetheless
Yeah, it’s not much. I’ll need to practice.
By Mike Axisa in Open Thread. Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter · Comments (258) ·
______________
Whoa – 258 responses
You should come here on a game day. They’ll have threads with 400+ comments, multiple times.
Yeah things are slow since it’s only ST but things get really active during the season and the early stages in the offseason.
There was like 1000 comments on one rumor that was simply “Yankees adding SP tonight.”
So I was looking at Fangraphs’ article about the playoff odds for teams (FANS projections) and… there’s a chance Orioles are gonna win the division/the Wild Card? They’ll be better this year. In a few years, maybe even as soon as next year, they’ll be downright good. But right now, no way they’re better than the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rays. Sure, they could get lucky and more than one of those teams could suffer awful injuries and collapse (plz make this happen to the Sox and Rays, thanks). It just seems like something that’s not likely to happen.
There’s a 6% chance the Royals are gonna win the AL Central? I know it’s the AL Central, but…
Anything is possible.
/Garnett’d
Oh the memories of when Kevin Garnett still had two functioning legs.
Too soon?
6% is very low. It’s not like they’re the ’63 Mets, 6% seems fine to me.
Going to agree with Mondesi. 6% is a very fair expectation.
We’re also apparently complaining about the O’s being given a 1% chance of winning the division here. I’m not sure I can get too worked up about either the Baltimore or the KC odds, I think this is a bit of ado about nothing.
I’m not complaining at all. I’m just “hmmm”ing and/or being amused.
Ok…
“We’re also apparently
complaininghmmm’ing and being amused about the O’s being given a 1% chance of winning the division here. I’m not sure I can get too worked up about either the Baltimore or the KC odds, I think this is a bit of ado about nothing.”I don’t mean to make a big deal about it or anything… But it’s a ONE PERCENT CHANCE. Later in your comment, you said: “It just seems like something that’s not likely to happen.” I’m pretty certain that the people who gave the O’s a one percent chance of winning the division would agree with you that it’s something that’s not likely to happen. I’m just not even sure what we’re hmmm’ing about or being amused about.
Yeah, I don’t really see why this has to be a big deal. It was an offhand comment that was poorly put on my part. Wasn’t the first time, won’t be the last.
No arguments that 1% is a very, very low chance.
No biggie. I think your original comment implies that the projections are funny or off, but I think 1% and 6% are pretty reasonable for those teams. That’s all.
None of the early odds predictions are worth getting worked up over. I didn’t necessarily agree with the thrice-released PECOTA rankings, but it’s nothing worth shaking one’s fist over.
The Yankees will only win 92 games? WTF? Only 94? 97? Oh, that’s better. Any team has a ceiling and a floor. The Yankees absolute floor is probably 80 games. That would require unbelievable regression to established players along with major season-ending injuries. The Yankees’ chances barring that, of winning the division, are fairly high. But their competition is unbelievably good. It’s totally possible that some underperforming and a big injury could doom them to 3rd. There so many possibilities. As they say, that’s why they play the games.
A team like Kansas City, even with career years across the board is probably 85 games. Their lineup would require Butler, Callapso, Gordon, DeJesus all to be 115 OPS+ hitters, along with at least league-average production from their #2-5 starters. Could they win the division if this happens? Yeah, but it’s probably about a 6% chance.
Really, any number that law is subject to tremendous variance; it’s still moot. Do the Orioles odds of winning the division at 8% make a tremendous difference from 1%? I don’t think so, but hey, my understanding of statistics is fairly limited.
Not sure why I took the time to write all of this nonsense.
Well-put.
Again, though: I wasn’t complaining, whining, or shaking my fist. I do that about a lot of things, but if I came off like that here, that’s not what I meant. I was just pretty much going “hmm.” And really, for me, there’s no better place to go “hmm” about baseball stuff than here. My friends who love baseball are mostly Mets and Red Sox fans who have never heard of Fangraphs. That’s about it.
My friends who love baseball are mostly Mets and Red Sox fans who have never heard of Fangraphs. That’s about it.
And your Cody Ransom loving mom
Heh, pretty much. My mom’s a big part of the reason I love baseball, but it’s a good thing I found BB-Ref and Fire Joe Morgan.
No need to be defensive–I wasn’t accusing you of complaining or getting upset. I was speaking in general terms.
Yessir.
Heh, look at the WC odds for non-AL East teams. Ouch.
Matt Cain less K/9 last year than Barry Zito.
That’s scary. I know a lot of people have speculated that Cain is a future ace, and could be a great pitcher in the AL, but I have my doubts. Take him out of that home park, as well as that division, I don’t think he’s too much better than league average.
Some career Cain numbers:
Home: .224/.301/.363/.665 SO/BB= 1.99 BAbip: .262
Away: .240/.317/.381/.698 SO/BB= 2.21 BAbip: .289 (!)
Last season saw his K-rate at a career low (7.1). It’s probably closer to 7.5-8.0. Even so, he had 83 strikeouts in 430 PAs in away games. In contrast, 88 strikeouts in 409 PAs at home.
He’s a good pitcher; it’s not the park.
Oh, and Zito’s 7.2 k-rate was his highest since 2001.
Also in the NL West he gets to pitch in Petco and Dodger stadium. He’s good, but how would he translate to the AL East? I don’t think he’d be great, certainly not a #1 or #2 guy. He has been strong in interleague play, but a relatively SSS. Would I want to see him in a Yankee uniform down the road? Sure, but not if the cost is too exorbitant.
Well, I think his actual “stuff” translates. I can’t tell you why his k-rate was that low (though his BB rate was also really low) considering his array of plus pitches, but if 2009 is an indication, he’s definitely a good #2 in the AL East. I’m willing to say the 7.1 will be a bit of an outlier. Not a large enough sample to say (four full seasons).
Yeah, it’s concerning, but if his walks are low, his k-rate is somewhere in the mid-7s, and his contact rates are relatively similar, he’s definitely a guy that can pitch around the top of the rotation. Maybe not an ace, but not far off.
Cain’s K’s rate is not that far off his career average. He defitnely has good stuff, however in the AL East he may only strike out 6-6.5 K/9. Also, his FIP has been higher than his true ERA. I think he might be closer to a #3 starter in the AL.
http://nomaas.org/2010/03/tues.....a-winners/
(high fives self)
does anyone else see the humongous YES banner on the top of the page now?