A-Rod Suspension Thoughts & Afterthoughts

(Courtesy of Angel Franco/The NY Times)

At long last, the arbitrator decision in the Alex Rodriguez Biogenesis suspension case was handed down this past weekend.  As many expected, the decision was not in Alex's favor.  As I expertly predicted (for once), the decision ended up being 162 games instead of MLB's original 211.  The immediate reaction from writers, bloggers, and fans alike was plentiful and spread across a wide range of feelings, and that tidal wave of activity only increased in size after last night's "60 Minutes" piece on the topic aired.  I tried to keep my thoughts on the decision to a minimum while the finer details and reactions from all parties involved came out, and I think I've had enough time to read everything, mull the whole situation over in my head, and comment intelligently on the matter.  My take on everything after the jump.

HOF Voting Results Are In And They're As Effed Up As Ever

There's no big story in Yankeeland today and the only big story in baseball is the announcement of the 2014 HOF electees, so might as well write about it.  You've probably already heard the news by now, but if not Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas were all elected today by the BBWAA.  Craig Biggio just missed out on making it, by 2 votes reportedly, and nobody else was really that close.

No Yankees made the cut this year, which wasn't a huge shock.  Mike Mussina came in with 20.3% of the vote, Roger Clemens got 35.4%, and Don Mattingly just 8.2%.  After the jump, some other factoids on the voting that will pleasantly or unpleasantly surprise you depending on where you stand on the PED issue and how you feel about the voting process in general:

Mike Francesa Boomsauces Bill Madden

Normally I'm not a Francesa guy.  Most times I find him smug, rude to too many callers who don't deserve it, and not nearly as knowledgeable about baseball or sports in general as he thinks he is.  But one thing Mike does better than anybody is on-air interviews, especially when he's trying to use that interview to steer the conversation somewhere else, and he killed it yesterday with Bill Madden on the A-Rod steroid story.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, you can check out the whole thing here.  It's pretty lengthy and the first 15 minutes or so are just recapping what's already happened.  It starts getting good in the middle and it was pretty obvious that Mike had an axe to grind with Madden and the NY MSM in general for how they've singled out A-Rod and outlandishly run him through the mud.  The continued questioning about Madden's comparison of A-Rod to Whitey Bulger without any real justification for that from Madden and the heated nature of their exchange about the other names on that unreleased list of 100 players were great.

There hasn't been nearly enough of this in the New York media, so kudos to Francesa for taking Madden and really the rest of the MSM A-Rod haters with him to task yesterday.  Sorry, Bill.  You got roasted, bro.

The Straight Up Most Ridiculous Anti-A-Rod Article I've Ever Read In My Life

I knew this was coming.  I predicted it.  But even I couldn't predict something of this magnitude, especially from someone who seems to be a relative nobody in the Yankee MSM world.

/says the guy with the most generic-looking blog template out there and no Twitter account

Jason Keidel of CBS NY just put himself on the map with his Alex Rodriguez smear article last night.  I'm talking in a big way.  I don't know what it takes to get into the NY media secret society with the Lupicas and Maddens and Marchands of the world, but I have to think after a piece like this Keidel is well on his way to getting an invite to a future society function.  The dude clearly has what it takes to hang with the big boys in the A-Rod bashing world, almost Mike Trout-like in just his raw, A-Rod bashing tools.  I'm actually going to link to this because it really does need to be read in its entirety to get a full appreciation for how over-the-top and ridiculous it is, but after the jump I'll tackle the highlights.

Brian Cashman Should Probably Stop Talking

(Ahh the bad old days.  Courtesy of the AP)

I ended last week's speculative post on what might be going on behind the scenes in the Yankee front office by saying, "Let's see how Cash handles the next big injury situation with the media and then we might be onto something."  After the bomb he dropped yesterday in regards to Alex Rodriguez's tweet about being cleared to play, I think it's now safe to say that we're onto something.

“You know what, when the Yankees want to announce something, [we will].  Alex should just shut the fuck up. That’s it. I’m going to call Alex now.”

I'm a Cash guy through and through, and I'll usually go to bat for him on pretty much anything, but this was absolutely inexcusable on his part and way out of line.  All A-Rod's tweet really boils down to was him saying he was excited about getting closer to returning and Cash ran over him with the bus at full speed for it, backed over him about a half dozen times, and then circled the block just so he could build up enough to momentum to run him over one more time.  It was way out of character for Cash, even compared to the stuff he said about Kevin Long last week, and it was wrong and downright childish.

Bob Klapisch Should Probably Stop Talking

("Hey, Alex, can you talk more about what it's like to be a poopyhead?"  Courtesy of the AP)

Lot going on in Yankeeland right now.  They're exceeding expectations early despite non-stop injury problems, and traveling out to Colorado to play a series in a National League park with what could be a severely shortened roster.  They've got 2 pitches expected to carry the load struggling with velocity and command problems, a pitcher most weren't sure what to expect from pitching lights out, and an early AL MVP candidate in Robbie Cano.  No shortage of legitimate, relevant topics to write about with respect to this team right now, which can mean only one thing... It's time for some good old-fashioned A-Rod trolling!!!!

Alex Rodriguez was part of the parade of injured rehabees who made the trek to the team's Tampa complex yesterday, and of course that got every MSM beat writer aflutter as their A-Rodars started beeping out of control.  Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record took it a step further with a truly asinine article about the Yankees being better off without A-Rod.  I know I shouldn't link to this, because this type of attention and cheap pageviews is exactly what Klap is going for, but I can't help it.  Something this stupid needs to be given its moment to be recognized for its stupidity and then torn apart for it.

This Is Starting To Get Ridiculous

I know I'm not the only one who's already tired of all this A-Rod future talk, and I really hope I'm not the only one who's starting to get confused by all of it.  I know it's not surprising for a story like this involving Rodriguez to get as much of a media frenzy going as it has, but it's insane how quickly the focus of the story keeps changing.  First it was shock and anger that A-Rod could be stupid enough to do this again and get caught, if he actually did do it that is.  Then it was all talk about voiding the contract, which is probably never going to happen, working a buyout, and/or forcing him to retire.  Now we've moved on to just stating that not only is A-Rod never going to play for the Yankees again, but that he's never going to play baseball again according to this article from today's Daily News.

"According to numerous baseball sources, the hip surgery Rodriguez is now recovering from will likely derail his playing career, leaving him in such a diminished role that he may consider a settlement or an outright retirement. He still has five years and $114 million left on his contract."

Numerous baseball sources, huh?  Do any of these sources have medical degrees or did any of them participate in the surgery?  Because every medical source that's been involved makes it sound like A-Rod is absolutely going to be able come back and play.  And as Matt Imbrogno pointed out yesterday on one of our TYA email chains, a diminished A-Rod is still a pretty productive one compared to league averages for third baseman.

As for the "voiding the contract" talk, can that just be put to bed now?  It's not going to happen.  At all.  The CBA governs all things PED related and has provisions written into it to protect players from having this exact proposed scenario (contract being voided based on PED use) play out.  If the Yankees were smart enough to write language into Alex's contract that gave them a clear cut way out of the deal, we would have heard about it by now.  They don't have a case to be made for voiding the deal, and A-Rod has no reason to voluntarily retire to help the Yankees and 114 million reasons to try to come back.

The best thing the Yankees can hope for, if they really want to rid themselves of Alex, is to negotiate a buyout, try to get it down as much as possible from 100% of the contract value to lessen the payroll hit, collect the 85% insurance, and move on.  Anything other than that basically a pipe dream.

Somebody Get Ian O'Conner A Paddle...

(Sweet shirt, bro.  Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing)

... Because he's fixin' to dish out a written spanking to Alex Rodriguez.  We've been having some fun with the early MSM outcry in response to the latest A-Rod PED story on the AB4AR Facebook Page today, and for my money Ian O'Conner's piece from yesterday takes the cake.  It's a horrifically brilliant combination of moral grandstanding, lazy logic, self-disagreement and contradiction, and regurgitated attempts to state what is already known.  In short, it's a typical "write it as quickly as possible and get it posted so we can get pageviews" ESPN NY Yankee post.

Lowlights after the jump...

People Know What "Chance" Means, Right?

I mean, I thought everybody knew the definition of the word, but I guess not after the immediate reaction and subsequent over-dramatization and over-coverage of this harmless quote that Cash dropped yesterday when asked about the possibility of A-Rod missing the entire 2013 season:

“I think because (of) the serious nature of the surgery and the condition that he’s trying to recover from, you know, there is that chance.”

Chance  noun  /'chan(t)s - the possibility of a particular outcome in an uncertain situation.

Everybody ready for a quick lesson?

Wallace Matthews Should Probably Stop Talking Part II: HOF Edition

It's been a while since I've had the pleasure (displeasure?) of ripping the ESPN NY crew for their blatant stupidity and shameless trolling for pageviews, and even longer since I've done it to Wallace Matthews.  Luckily for me he was generous enough to throw his hat in the moral ivory tower ring that everybody is clamoring to get into in regards to this year's Baseball HOF voting.

By the time you get a chance to read this post, this year's HOF class will have been announced, and it's almost certain that nobody will be inducted, certainly not anybody from the large group of first-time eligible players from the "Steroids Era."  Everybody knows who the names are, and anybody with half a brain knows that guys like Bonds and Clemens should be in regardless of their PED connections.  Not old Wally, though.  He's using this year's vote as a way to teach a lesson to those players and pretty much all of us about morality and how that's the most important criterion for determining HOF worth.  The whole steaming pile of garbage can be found here, and after the jump are the lowlights.

Derek Jeter 10, NY Post 1

So The NY Post had a little fun with The Captain this week, posting a picture of him looking a little soggier around the midsection than usual with the caption "Derek Eater."  OK, the name is pretty clever, but was it really that slow a news day that they couldn't have put something else on there??  You really had to go after The Captain?  The guy's in a freakin' walking boot, for crying out loud!  Kinda tough to get your cardio in that situation.  And if you really want to go to the scoreboard, we can do that:

1) Minka Kelly
2) Gabrielle Union
3) Jessica Biel
4) Adriana Lima
5) Vida Guerra
6) Scarlett Johansson
7) Jessica Alba
8) Jordana Brewster
9) Lara Dutta
10) Mariah Carey

All chicks who were in the prime of their hotness and became more famous for dating Jeter.  There's a reason the most viewed post in AB4AR history is the one comparing Derek Jeter to a pimp.  That's because everybody recognizes how awesome he is and women are powerless to stop said awesomeness.  Jeter's probably fat right now because he's done nothing by lay around and have Hannah Davis feed him by hand for the past month and a half, and that's baller.  Now hit the music!

Can Everybody Just Get Off A-Rod's Nuts??

(Really???  Courtesy of the AP)

Seriously. It’s getting out of control. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s A-Rod attracting all this negative attention and drama, because that’s what’s always followed him around his whole career and that’s always been SOP since the day he joined the Yankees and the New York media horde that follows them. What surprises me is how logic has completely gone out the window when talking about A-Rod and his struggles and his future in the organization. It’s almost as if everybody has been sent back through a time warp to 2006-2007 when bagging on A-Rod for anything and everything was the “cool” thing to do and it's absolutely asinine.

Ian O'Conner Should Probably Stop Talking

(Joba just minutes before his death.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

I regret to inform everyone that Joba Chamberlain, 27-year-old relief pitcher for the New York Yankees has died.  After a long battle with rehab from Tommy John Surgery and surgery to repair a severely dislocated ankle, Mr. Chamberlain passed away yesterday afternoon in his first attempt to make a comeback as a relief pitcher.

At least that's what Ian O'Conner wants you to think.  In its latest round of blatant trolling for comments and shameless bullshit writing strictly for pageviews, ESPN NY's O'Conner penned this disasterpiece today burying Joba, his future, his past, and pretty much his entire professional baseball existence after Joba's first outing on a Yankee mound yesterday didn't go so smoothly.  I expect this kind of garbage from the Wallaces Matthews and Andrews Marchand of the world, but I've never read anything this asinine from O'Conner.  Maybe I just didn't notice before, or maybe I was just lucky enough to not be exposed to anything else he's written that's this bad as part of my conscious effort to avoid all things ESPN-related when it comes to covering the Yankees, but this was impossible to miss.

As usual, I invite anybody who hasn't already read the story, and is a big fan of literary self-torture, to check it out in its entirety.  If you have enough intelligence to know that's a horrible idea, you can check out the lowlights and my comments after the jump.

AB4AR Presents: The Worst Of Chris Berman On "Monday Night Baseball"

(This guy knows his sports, people)

There was a time when I was entertained by Chris Berman and his schtick.  It was way back in the mid-to-late 90s, when I was still young and stupid, and awaiting the onset of puberty to at least attempt to mature me a little bit.  I took great joy in hearing him say "RUMBLIN'-BUMBLIN'-STUMBLIN'!!!" when calling football highlights or make explosion noises when a Mike Alstott highlight came on.  In a related story, I was a loser kid.

Since early high school, though, I've been keenly aware of a fact that many other intelligent sports fans know to be true; the fact that Chris Berman absolutely sucks.  He's an abomination of a "sports personality;' a bloated, self-important, uninformed caricature of what an ESPN anchor/studio host/announcer is supposed to be, and the perfect visual and auditory representation of what ESPN has horribly mutated into over the past 10 years or so.  So it was an entertainment dick punch to end all entertainment dick punches when the ESPN broadcast for last night's Yanks-Rays game began and I heard Berman's obnoxious voice come through my TV speakers.  I was already planning on tipping a few brewskis back while I watched the game, but as I told my friend, my 12-pack didn't stand a fucking chance when I realized Berman was doing the play-by-play.

While there's nothing informative or entertaining in what Chris Berman says or how he says it as it relates to the sporting event he's blabbing about, his general buffoonery is good for a couple of laughs at his expense.  Knowing this, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to concentrate and listen to what he said last night in the hopes that I could catch some good lines, and I think I came out with a few winners.  Please know that I didn't enjoy doing this.  It was practically torture.  But my dedication to you dear readers knows no bounds.  Without further ado, I present to you, The Worst of Chris Berman from last night's game.

No Reason To Panic On Pineda (Still)

Michael Pineda made his 4th start of the spring last night, and I'm sure people are going to be up in arms about this one too.  He gave up 2 hits and 2 runs in the 1st inning thanks to a HR by Andrew McCutchen and didn't seem to be able to locate very well.  His fastball velocity was a little higher than it has been, sitting mostly 92-93 with a few 94s sprinkled in, but still not at the upper-90s level that will quiet the panic alarm being sounded.

What the people on the "Pineda's a bust" bandwagon will fail to acknowledge is that he made an adjustment after the first inning when Larry Rothschild told him he was opening his lead shoulder and proceeded to strike out 5 batters over his last 2 innings of work, including the side in the 2nd.  He didn't go as deep into the game as Joe wanted to see, but he showed the ability to make in-game mechanical adjustments successfully, threw 72 pitches, finished strong, and said he felt good after the game.  As a young pitcher still learning the finer points of his craft, how much more can you reasonably ask for?

Here's some food for thought.  One year ago today, when Pineda was turning heads in Mariners' camp, he had made 4 starts in Spring Training.  In those 4 starts he totaled 11 IP, 4 ER, 4 BB, and 8 K.  In Yankee camp this spring Pineda has 11.1 IP and he's allowed 5 ER, 5 BB, and 12 K.  He has gotten hit a little bit (12 H allowed) but remember, last year he was coming out of nowhere and nobody knew anything about him; he was a big hulking kid throwing fireballs by everybody.  Now he's been around for a year, teams are more familiar with him, there's a book on him, and he's in camp focusing on learning a new pitch to make it usable and effective for the regular season.  He's not out there "throwing gas;" he's pitching.  He's a pitcher.  And the results he's generated in his 4 outings are almost identical to what he did last year.

The moral of this story is, stop freaking out about Pineda's velocity.  He's a young, unpolished pitcher getting a real deep coat of polish this spring from one of the best pitching coaches in the business.  He's still a big hoss, he's still a power pitcher, and he's still damn good.  It's March 21st and Pineda is throwing low-to-mid 90s with his fastball and doing just fine.  There's no reason to think that when the season officially starts he won't be able to dial it up when he needs to.  If it's April 21st, and he's still throwing low-90s, then come back and talk to me.  Until then, just be calm, be patient, and be happy that you aren't watching He Who Shall Not Be Named throw errant curveballs to the backstop.

Kevin Kernan Should Probably Stop Talking

(Pictured: Not Kei Igawa.  Courtesy of The AP)

Normally I leave the guys at The Post alone when it comes to their Yankee coverage. I've found that they don't usually get swept up in the MSM nonsense that good old Wally and friends over at ESPN NY thrive on. That's not the case today for Kevin Kernan, whose piece on Hiroki Kuroda's first Spring Training start reeks of "screw it, I've got nothing good to write about. Might as well try to create false panic amongst the Yankee fanbase for no reason." Come on, Kev. That's not right. 

"In the first inning, new Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda was Hideo Nomo."

Actually, he was Hiroki Kuroda. And I don't think comparing him to a guy with a 4.24/4.23/.4.67 career tripleslash is a good way to express how well he pitched in the first inning.

"The second inning he was Kei Igawa."

No, he was Hiroki Kuroda. And that comparison is even worse. They don't even pitch with the same hand!

"Welcome to the AL East."

Or at least the watered down early-March version of it where you face a Rays lineup comprised of only about a third of their everyday players. Gotta watch out for the Jeff Keppingers and Jesus Felicianos of the world.

"Japanese pitchers have had their troubles pitching in the major leagues, but going from the Far East to the AL East is the most difficult transition of them all."

It's East meets East!

"Never forget the purpose of spring training is to work on your stuff and not get hurt."

Which is exactly what Kuroda did yesterday in his two innings of work, thus making everything else written before that sentence completely meaningless.

"In that respect Kuroda came up aces, ... "

Then what the fuck are you talking about comparing him to Kei Igawa?!?

"... but he is going to have [to have] everything working to come up big in the AL East. There is no room for error in this division."

None. Never mind the fact that Kuroda, and every other pitcher, has 8 guys on the field with him at all times playing defense to help make up for errors he might make in location or pitch selection. If you make one error in the AL East, you DIE!!!

"Kuroda is one of those pitchers who needs all of spring training to get his act together ... "

Him and most every other pitcher who participates in his team's ST activities. That's kind of why Spring Training exists.

“'It’s always important to leave with good results, but at the same time I wanted to work on my pitches and I wanted to make sure I had all my pitches, and I was able to accomplish that today,' Kuroda said."

Good. That's all that matters.

"At this point, all Hiroki Kuroda has to prove is that he’s not Kei Igawa." 

NO HE DOESN'T, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! Hiroki Kuroda has never been compared to Kei Igawa by anybody and he never should be. He's already proven that he's not with what he's done in his career and there's no reason to expect him to regress to Igawa's level of ineffectiveness now. The Yankees never would have signed him if they thought he was going to be another Kei Igawa. Stop using flawed logic and shoddy comparisons to create controversy that doesn't exist!

The only thing Hiroki Kuroda had to do yesterday was go out on the mound and work on his stuff, and that's what he did. He was happy with how he pitched, Russell Martin was happy with how he pitched, and Joe was happy with how he pitched. That's all that matters in Spring Training, and to try to stir the pot by playing off the Yankees' recent failure with another Japanese pitcher is lazy and irresponsible journalism.