The results of today’s Tampa meetings
By · CommentsSo it took Yankees beat reporters until 1 p.m. to figure out that the organizational meetings wouldn’t be at Legends Field. It goes hand in hand with what Max Kellerman said about baseball writers today (and I’m paraphrasing): They’re bringing in people with IQs in the 90s, which for them are geniuses. What did the reporters do after they finally figured out that they were in the wrong place? Started stalking, of course. Ed Price on what ensued:
“We’re seeking out all of owner George Steinbrenner‘s usual haunts in the Tampa Bay area, including restaurants and hotels.”
Hey, Ed. If you do that to your ex-girlfriend you’ll end up with a paper requiring you stay 500 feet away at all times.
Anyway, Howard Rubenstein announced the outcome of today’s proceedings, and it’s a doozy. So what’s in the box?
NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! STUPID! YOU’RE SO STOO-PID!
Hopefully at least one of you gets that.
By…is apparently however much they charge for parking at Miami’s Shore Club hotel. And I thought it was simply a case of herpes… · (13) ·
ByWhile the report about Don Mattingly’s supposedly not being ready to manage makes the rounds, Mattingly’s agent sees things a bit differently. Aware that such an equivocal statement from a potential managerial candidate could be career-threatening, Ed Schulte, Mattingly’s agent, said that The Star-Ledger’s report is completely false. Don Mattingly is ready and willing to manage the Yankees. I guess. · (5) ·
Winter ballin’
By · CommentsAzFL Peoria Javelinas (9-3 los to Mesa) don’t worry, JP will be back soon…
Brett Gardner: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 SB - hit in every game he’s played so far…on base 12 times in 5 games
Juan Miranda: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K – 6 hits (including a double & 2 jacks) & 6 RBI in his last 3 games
Reegie Corona: 0 for 4, 1 K
Steven White: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP – oi
Steven Jackson: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K - 21 of 29 pitches were strikes (72.4%)
Kevin Whelan: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – despite all his control issues this year, dude had 96 K & a .159 BAA in 82.1 IP
HWB Honolulu (4-3 loss to North Shore)
Austin Jackson: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Bradley Suttle: 1 for 4, 1 2B, 1 K, 1 E (throwing) - third straight game with a double after going hitless in his first 8 games
Anthony Claggett: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
Venezuela Winter League had no games scheduled. The Dominican Winter League season kicks off Wednesday, but the rosters haven’t been announced. I never really followed the league, so I don’t have any idea of what kind of players typically play there. I’m gonna guess that you’ll see names like Jesus Montero, Kelvin DeLeon, Abe Almonte & Jairo Heredia, but again, this is nothing more than a guess.
Update: Now that I think about it, I remember hearing that Robbie Cano hit like, .380 in the DWL last year, so I guess the league does feature both big leaguers and prospects. We’ll find out in 24-hours anywho.
ByIn a piece about the imminent Yankee meetings in Tampa, Ed Price of The Star-Ledger dropped in an interesting tidbit about the recently-fired pitching coach Leo Mazzone. According to a source inside the Yankees’ camp, this week’s discussions will include a bit about Leo Mazzone. The Yanks were interested in Mazzone two years ago, and Mazzone’s manager has indicated that Leo is again interested in working for the Bombers. With a few young pitchers on the horizon, this is a match made in baseball heaven. · (18) ·
Report: Mattingly not ready yet for the managerial post
By · Comments
As the Joe Torre Job Watch nears some sort of resolution, we’ve got some interesting developments courtesy of Ed Price from The Newark Star-Ledger. According to Price, Don Mattingly has told the Steinbrenner brothers — now in charge of the team — that he is not ready for the Yankees managerial post and does not feel comfortable replacing his current boss and mentor.
Price has more:
The friend, who requested anonymity because the situation is unresolved, said he spoke directly with the former Yankees great in recent days. Mattingly’s stance could open the door for the Yankees to bring back Torre for a 13th season because he was the leading candidate for the job.
The development comes as George Steinbrenner and his sons, Hank and Hal, convene an annual top-to-bottom review of the organization Tuesday. A Yankees official, who speaks often with top management, said Torre is a candidate for the job. The official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak for the owners, said the discussion was expected to center on who is the best man for the job as opposed to a referendum on Torre, whose contract is expiring.
Now, as every Yankee blogger and their uncles are trying to find something, anything, new to write about concerning Joe Torre, this news, if true, is quite the curveball. First, much like we’ve done, the Yankees aren’t discussing Torre’s future in black and white terms. Rather, they are going to figure out which available target is the best man for the job.
In other words, they will try to figure out who can handle up-and-coming young pitchers, who can best deal with the bullpen, who can best placate veterans sticking up for their current manager and who can deal with the scrutiny of managing the Yankees in New York. When all is said and done, can the Yankees braintrust really find someone better than Torre for the job right now? My money’s on no.
At the same time comes the Mattingly bombshell. At the end of the playoffs, it seemed as though Donnie Baseball was gearing up to take the reins from Torre. He was deferential toward Torre, but at the same time, it seemed as though he anticipated being named manager sooner rather than later. I guess those writers speculating as such were reading Mattingly incorrectly.
If Mattingly is hesitant about taking the job — and I think anyone with any sense of the situation would be hesitant to follow up Joe Torre coming off a 94-win season — the Yankees will not give it to him. That hesitancy would automatically make Mattingly the wrong guy for the job right now. This isn’t to say he won’t be the manager; it’s just to say that he won’t be the manager at the end of the day today.
So as the Yankees brass gather in Tampa, we’re really no further along in this saga than we were on Friday. Joe Torre still seems like the best man for the job, and the number one candidate to replace him isn’t quite as interested as everyone figured. Yet.
ByBut Dice-K pitched great 10 years ago in big high school games, of course he’ll be great in the American League playoffs! · (18) ·
Supposedly, some teams are in the playoffs
By · CommentsBut the Yankees still — like always — bring in the news. Look at the top stories on FoxSports.com:
Debating the A-Rod/steroid connection
By · CommentsWell, this was bound to happen. The A-Rod/steroid rumbling is picking up steam even if it has no basis in any sort of reality. Take a look.
Over at the blog Steroid Nation, Gary Gaffney, an M.D. at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine, writes about Scott Boras’ clients’ ties to steroids. Gaffney points to this article in Sunday’s Daily News about the relationship and dynamic between the Yanks and the A-Rod/Boras camp that is sure to unfold over the next few weeks.
Interestingly, the article gets into the Boras-Steroid tie in relation to Rick Ankiel and Scott Schoenweis. Boras, who likes to say he is very involved in the lives of his clients, represents these two players who were outed in the press for receiving steroid shipments. It’s a classic issue here of “What did Boras know and when”?
The Daily News article also touches on some of the Jose Canseco steroid claims, and Gaffney uses that mention to discuss a previous post of his about Jose Canseco. Earlier this year, Jose Canseco – who was never a teammate of A-Rod’s – claimed that he had “other stuff on Alex Rodriguez.”
Immediately, everyone assumed that Canseco was going to point a finger at Alex Rodriguez, the performance-enhancing drug user. But that brief mention in July was all we ever heard about it. No one followed up on it, and we refused to write about it.
But I think it’s worth a mention now because this is just totally absurd. Gaffney highlights a passage in the Daily News that features an anonymous baseball official expressing skepticism toward Boras’ clients. To me, this seems like just another way to smear Boras’ name. Are Arn Tellem’s clients any better off? I don’t think so.
Now, I have no overwhelming love for Scott Boras. I think he puts his monetary interests in front of what some of his clients would rather do. This will be especially true if A-Rod opts out and leaves New York. But to start dragging his clients into this steroid mess because some anonymous officials want to cast some doubts on Boras’ integrity over the PED issue is absurd.
Until we know who did what when, writers shouldn’t be idly fingering people on the steroid issue. It transcends irresponsible rumormongering and is bad for baseball.
