What Was That, Mike?

Not Yankee-related, and definitely crude and sophomoric, but too hilarious not to post.  Fucking Francesa.

I only wish Russo could have been there to burst out laughing like a little kid.

"BADJOBINABIGSPOTDERE, MICHAEL!!!"

I Really Hope The Fraud Sawx Hire Bobby V As Their New Manager

I mean I really REALLY REALLY hope it happens.  I hope it happens more than I hope I get what I want for Christmas, more than I hope the Yankees add another starting pitcher besides Freddy, and more than I hope scientists one day find a cure for cancer.  Just look at some of these quotes from Andrew Marchand's piece on ESPNNY today:

"More than once, I had to remind him that asking a question is not not necessarily questioning a move. Over the two years, I never became 'one of his guys,' but I was also not in the smaller camp that hated him."

"He likes to be liked, which is probably his biggest drawback. If there are 10 people in a room and nine think he is a genius, he is concerned about the 10th. From my experience, the 10th person is usually wrong on Bobby V. But V can't let it go."

"Valentine was always getting into it with someone."

"... things were so dysfunctional between GM Steve Phillips and Valentine that Phillips would call [Bobby] Jones back to the majors later in the year."

Marchand's premise that the Yanks-Sawx rivalry "needs" Valentine is stupid, but the idea of this guy being the one to come in and straighten out the Fraud Sawx ship is even more laughable.  He's an ego maniac who always thinks he's right, has a reputation for arguing with upper management, and always seems to be fighting with his players in the clubhouse about one thing or another.  And now he's going to come in and manage a team fresh off a season of disappointment stemming from a lack of leadership, accountability, and effort from their disjointed collection of spoiled players, and whose roster will still likely employ most of the players blamed for said lack of leadership, accountability and effort?  Yeah, that should work out just fine.  Add in a collection of media guys whose sole goal in life seems to be stirring the pot, an ownership group with a longstanding reputation for throwing people under the bus, and a fanbase with such a sickening sense of entitlement that they practically expect to be handed the World Series trophy every year and it'll be a miracle if Fenway is still standing and Valentine is still alive come mid-2012.

So please, Ben Cherington.  Please sign Bobby V.  He's just what your team needs to rebound from the collapse of 2011.  And by "rebound," I mean continue to spiral downward in a torrent of finger pointing, infighting, excuse making, and general indifference from the players until you're forced to completely blow up the team and go back to being the sadsack, loser organization that we all know you are.

Possible Reasons For The Freddy Re-Signing

(How will The Garbage Man fit into the 2012 rotation plans?)

Freddy Garcia was an absolute steal for the Yankees in 2011.  Considering the fact that he was brought in on a non-guaranteed deal and was really only supposed to be a placeholder for one of the young arms in Triple-A and the Yankees ended up getting 146.2 IP of 3.62/4.12/4.36 ball out of him, you could make the argument that Freddy was their best addition last year.  That being said, I think it was still a bit of a surprise to most of us that the Yankees re-signed him this early in the offseason.  As I stated last week, I pictured Freddy as more of a last resort for the Yanks again if they weren't able to land any of the bigger FA pitchers.  So Freddy being back in the fold already has to mean one of 3 things.

1) The Yankees Are Confident With the 5 Guys They Have

Freddy being back gives the Yankees a complete 5-man rotation right now with him, CC, Nova, A.J., and Phil.  And with the strides that Nova made last year, the confidence the team already has that Phil will rebound in 2012 thanks to the extra laps he's running at the fat farm in Cali, and CC being CC, perhaps the feeling is that they can win again with that rotation and the rest of the roster around them.  Freddy is certainly no slouch to have at the back of the rotation, and with the previously-mentioned stockpile of young ammunition at Triple-A, the Yankees are well covered in case injuries or poor production hinder one of these 5. 

2) The Yankees Don't Like Any of the Big Free Agent Pitchers Available

Myself, along with everybody else in the blogosphere, has spent time analyzing the bigger name pitchers available this offseason.  And while they each come with their own set of strengths and potential bonuses they bring to the table, there are various risks associated with all of them, be it performance-related, injury-related, or transitioning to the AL East-related.  If nobody out there stands out as a sure thing in the eyes of the front office, perhaps they will decide it's not worth the extra money and years it will take to sign one of them.  Instead, they can just go low-risk on a guy who just proved he could get it done in New York and continue to bide their time until guys like ManBan and Betances are ready.

3) The Yankees Are Looking to Make a Trade

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that Cash has flown under the radar during Hot Stove season, and there are some potential trade targets out there that could be more attractive than throwing big money at a C.J. Wilson or a Yu Darvish.  It won't be the Josh Johnson or Felix Hernandez blockbuster that some fans out there are still clamoring for, but guys like John Danks, Jair Jurrjens, and Gio Gonzalez could probably be had for way less than it would take to get Johnson or King Felix.  And with the continued struggles of A.J. and Phil, maybe the front office has grown tired of waiting for them and are looking to see what teams, if any, are interested in including one of them in a deal.  If that's the case, Freddy is essentially replacing them in the rotation and leaving a spot open for a new guy.

I'm tending to lean more towards the #2 and #3 scenarios described above.  I can't see the Yankees holding pat with the staff they currently have after they were adamant in saying their goal this offseason was to improve the rotation.  And while bringing Freddy back is a part of that, I just can't see any way that he's the only part, especially considering the possibility that he doesn't repeat his solid 2011 campaign.  It will be interesting to see how the Yankees operate over the next couple of weeks.  That should shed some light on what they're trying to do and how re-signing Freddy fits into those plans.