ARod Back To The Yankees? Awesome

There is a good possibility that Alex Rodriguez is going to sign a contract with the Yankees.  Why?  You must mean why would Alex opt out, losing the money Texas was giving him.  Or you mean why would the Yankees want to sign him after they said they wouldn’t if he opted out of his original deal. 

The answers:  first off Alex realized there wasn’t a huge market for his good looking, sweet swinging self.  Second, the Yankees made Scott Boras sit outside of the negotiating room, along with the fact that they still had a big hole to fill in the lineup and at third base.

Why is that so awesome?  Because the Rangers don’t have to pay Alex.  Alex still ends up with the same team.  And Alex may end up making about $60 million less than if he hadn’t opted out of, just renegotiated, his existing contract.  Boras finally gets knocked down and actually loses his client tons of money.

Of course this will be a good public relations move on the part of ARod.  Telling Boras to sit while Alex takes over his own future for himself.  And with this deal he might get out of that image that so scarred him in his previous contract:  He made a pact with the Devil (Boras), metaphorically speaking, for an obscene amount of money.  Of course this time he made a pact with a gerbil (Cashmen), metaphorically speaking.  And Gerbils are cuter than Devils, I think.

A-Rod Opts Out

Good news for Ranger’s fans.  Good news for Yankee’s fans.  Good news for people who want trades to take place this winter.  Didn’t think he would do it, just because I didn’t think anyone could pay him the money the Yankees could.  I think more than anything it points to the strained relationship between Jeter and himself and of course the Yankee fans and himself.  This year was his [insert the words on his wife's t-shirt] year.  A farewell to the many Yankee fans who stuck by him throughout the ‘06 season.  Happy offseason and let the trades begin.  It would be nice to see some of those this offseason.

Rarely

The majority of the time a team allows a kickoff return for a touchdown they lose the game.  Not often does a team win a game when they allow an interception for a touchdown.  It is extremely difficult to win a game when you turn the ball over 5 more times than the other team.  But very Rarely do you win a game when you allow a kickoff return for a touchdown, 2 interceptions for touchdowns, you turn the ball over 5 more times the other team and you are reduced to having to attempt an onside kick with 20 seconds left after failing to convert a 2 point conversion.  And to do this against what ESPN commentators Jaws, T. K. and Mike Tirco think to be a quarterback in his 2nd start who walks on water, adds to the degree of difficulty (actually not really, but they sure were high during the game on a guy who managed 3 points.)

And Rarely do see a once untouchable dynasty’s stalwart in what you know in all likelyhood is his last game (as your manager), not by his own choice.  A manager who has one 4 World Series Titles (as your manager) and been to the playoffs 13 straight years.  13 out of 13, and in baseball which only allows 4 teams to the tourny that’s pretty good.  You see Mariono Rivera and Jorge Posada in the last year of their contracts, you see Derek Jeter the clutch player not be able to pull his team up even knowing his manager,the only manager he’s ever played for, job is on the line.  It’s the craziness of our sports world that we don’t appreciate the good things we got because the good things we got aren’t perfect.

How ’bout them Indians, my hat’s off to ‘em.  You never know how the game is going to go.  Watching Romo throw 5 picks and fumble the ball and still have to be confident enough at the end of the game to help his team win is kind of what sports is about.   And having the Indians go out against the Yankees and perform like they’ve performed all year is encouraging to see, it’s fun to watch.   Saying that I think the Sox will beat them and probably win the World Series.

And thinking about tonight’s, or is it last night’s game, my mind wanders back to week 6 MNF a year ago when the Chicago Bears didn’t score an offensive touchdown and still won the game 20 something to 20 something.   However I don’t think Dick Garrard’s Press Conference could be as entertaining as Dennis Green’s was that night.  Enjoy.

Thanks Coach!

Mariano Rivera

I like Mariano Rivera.  He’s in the last year of his contract and in the latter days of his career, but I still think he would be a good addition to this Ranger’s team next year.  The Yankees will probably pay him, but they might not considering his age and maybe his high price.  When trying to find his contract status I came upon a story I hadn’t heard before.  The story of how he found solace in losing Game 7 in the World Series.  As you might know he is one of, if not the, best pitcher in playoff history and the top guy you would want out there saving Game 7 of the World Series.  But in 2001 he blew that save against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  He eventually saw God’s will taking place in that game.  Here is an excerpt from Buster Olney’s The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty:

“The victory parade that would have taken the Yankees up New York City’s Canyon of Heroes for the fifth time in six years was canceled, so Enrique Wilson, the team’s utility infielder, decided to change his flight home. He was supposed to return to the Dominican Republic on Nov. 12, eight days after the end of the World Series, but moved up his departure a few days. He was at home when he heard that American Airlines Flight 587 – the plane he was supposed to be on – had crashed in Belle Harbor, a neighborhood in Queens. Two hundred and sixty-five people were killed in an accident that shook a city still reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

When Wilson saw Mariano Rivera in spring training the next year, the reliever expressed great relief that Wilson was still alive. If Rivera had held the lead against Arizona, Wilson would likely have been on Flight 587. “I am glad we lost the World Series,” Rivera told Wilson, “because it means that I still have a friend.” For Rivera, this was further confirmation that they were all subject to God’s will.”

I thought that was pretty cool and I hadn’t heard that before.  It’s pretty amazing that Wilson might have died on that plane and 5 years later Corey Lidle dies in a plane crash in New York as well. 

Another thing about him that’s interesting is he is the last player in the majors to be wearing the number 42.  When Jackie Robinson’s number was retired in baseball in 1997 there was a grandfather clause put in so that all the players who wore the number before it was retired could still wear it.  Mariano Rivera is the only one still wearing it and will be the last to wear it.

Just thought those things were uplifting and interesting.

Joe Torre Speak.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand what coaches, general managers and managers are saying.  It becomes hard for them to say what they actually think due to certain factors surrounding their jobs and their teams.  Once I was lucky enough to stumble across a translation book of manager speak in the back of a Salvation Army Store about two years ago.  It is a very old and extremely rare item.  I guess no one there knew what it was worth considering I was able to purchase it for the low price of 68 cents.  When I read an article this morning that had some quotes from Joe Torre I knew I had to consult my handy little book to see what he actually meant by those statements.  So the following will be excerpts from the New York Daily News in an article entitled Joe Puts Phil Ahead of Self by Peter Botte, followed by the authentic translation.

Brian Cashman acknowledged last night that if he chose to “put Philip Hughes on the marketplace” he already could have made an impact trade to fortify the struggling Yankees.

But the Yanks’ GM remains adamant that holding onto the team’s top pitching prospects remains “the right choice to make,” and Joe Torre concurs despite his team’s ongoing malaise and his lame-duck managerial status.

“Cash isn’t saying we’re not going to get anybody, but he’s trying to conserve and protect the future of the organization, which I certainly can’t second-guess because of the quality of those guys down there,” Torre said, mentioning Hughes as a “legitimate” prospect.

Now for the translation.  Joe Torre saying Cash isn’t saying we’re not going to get anybody, means “Cash better go get somebody”.  

But he’s trying to conserve and protect the future of the organization, means “For his sake I hope he’s just waiting ’til Teixeira is healthy again.” 

Which I certainly can’t second guess because of the quality of guys down there, actually means “I guess I can understand that if that is the case.” 

The real stunner comes in the next sentence Torre said, mentioning Hughes as a legitimate prospect, apparently there is a lot of depth and richness to the words “legitimate” and “prospect”.  When Joe Torre mentions Hughes as a legitimate prospect he is actually saying “Phillip is two years removed from diapers, can’t legally drink, hasn’t pitched 15 innings in the big leagues and if Cashman doesn’t trade him for a first baseman in his prime that I can put in the 3 hole and reliever who doesn’t set his equipment on fire I will personally invite Michael Vick to come and watch a pitbull attack a weasel ( Alex told me Vick’s into that kind of thing).  Though I will promise you he will have never seen anything quite like it.”

Again it’s an old book, I may not have read everything correctly but I think I got close.