 Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Rocket is Worth Every Penny
Steve recently made some compelling points about A-Rod and the Rocket. I'll deal with the Rocket today.
Is the Rocket worth it? Mike and I say yes while Steve disagrees.
Yes, I agree with Steve that you can find a AAA pitcher to get you five victories. However, a AAA pitcher can not bring the Yankees the gravitas that Roger Clemens and his seven Cy Youngs contain. It's hard to quantify the exact return of Clemens return but I think it is safe to say Mr. Steinbrenner have already made the money back in increased ticket sales, advertising, and merchandise revenue. Furthermore, Clemens has and will be teaching young pitchers like Wang, Hughes, Chamberlain, etc. about working hard and preparing in the years to come. No AAA pitcher can do that.
Since I am 20 game Yankee ticket holder, I don't have much choice about how my ticket revenue money is spent but was escastic when I heard the news of Rocket's return. It gave the Yankees hope to salvage an otherwise "lost" season which I never conceded unlike other pundits. Clemens was and is a very expensive but necessary band-aid.
Posted by the Tank in NY.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Pedro throws 72 pitches
With Rick Peterson there for moral support, Pedro Martinez allowed two unearned runs in five innings yesterday in a very impressive rehab outing for single A St. Lucie. In another piece of good news, in the same game, Endy Chavez also went 3-for-4 and scored a run in St. Lucie's 4-3 win. Pedro may need another rehab start before coming back to Shea. Maybe he and Endy can start on the single A Brooklyn Cyclones so all of New York can come out to cheer them on! Hopefully Endy and Pedro will be back in Flushing soon. Posted by Steve in New York
Monday, August 20, 2007
Carlos Zambrano signs 91.5 Million Extension-The Problem with Mets' Starting Pitching
Carlos Zambrano has signed a 5 year extension with the Cubs, removing another starting pitcher from the market. Zambrano is young (26) and is good for 200+ innings and 15+ wins. The Mets are in trouble moving forward with starting pitching. With Glavine likely to retire at the end of this year (and definitely after next), Pedro a question mark, and Pelfrey still developing, the Mets all of a desperately need some young reliable starting pitching-and there is none to be found.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Is The Rocket Worth It?
This weekend Roger Clemens won his 5th game this year as a Yankee and is now 5-5 in 2007 as a Yankee with a respectable 3.92 ERA. The questions is, is he worth it? The Yankees are closing in Seattle for the wild card, .5 behind. Over the last month, the Yankees made up a lot of ground. But is this really because as the Tank said after the all star break, the Yankees had a month of playing teams below .500. So the last month is not really the Yankees improving, but just playing bad teams. Despite a one game suspension for tossing a bean ball, Clemens has put up 5 wins, against 5 losses. Are those five wins, at $2,000,000 a win, worth it? Are those five wins that the team could not have gotten with a AAA pitcher for a fraction of the salary? Steve doesn't think so, his office mate Mike does, as does the Tank. We'll find out in the next month what happens. Posted By The Tank in New York.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Will A-Rod get greedy?
Yankees GM Brian Cashman said yesterday that if A-Rod elects to exercise his right to opt out of his contract at the end of the season, he will not return to the New York Yankees. If A-Rod opts out, he will then be eligible for free agency. Cashman said the Yankees will not participate in that bonanza. He also refuses to negotiate during the season, so the only scenarios are: A-Rod files for free agency and leaves the Yankees or he does not file and stays. The 10 days after the World Series will be the most dramatic filing period of all time. The Yankees are correct to play hardball, Boras has already said things like "A-Rod minimum is 32 million a year" so it is time to call Boras bluff and say you won't play that game. He either stays or goes. It is up to A-Rod. Does he get greedy? Steve's prediction: A-Rod will be in a Boston Red Sox uniform next year playing shortstop and earning about $28 million a year. Posted by Steve in New York
Thursday, August 16, 2007
NBA Highs and Lows
When we should be discussing the balance of power in the Eastern Conference and the entire NBA with the Celtics getting KG and Ray Allen, we have to witness renegade NBA referee, Tim Donaghy, sheepishly enter a guilty plea in court yesterday. Co-defendants entered innocent pleas. Let's see if names of players and other referees come up in this whole mess. Hopefully not.
Until then, I want focus more on if Reggie Miller is going to return to the NBA with the Celtics. If Reggie signs with the Celtics, the Celtics have to be favorites to win it all with three hungry veterans -- KG, Ray Allen, and Miller who have never won a championship ring.
More importantly, how will the Knicks, Nets, and the rest of the NBA respond?
Posted by an anxious Tank in NY.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Pedro's Comeback
There is so much hype over Roger Clemens returning to the Yankees, that we have all but forgotten Pedro Martinez. Pedro made several simulated starts over the past month and had his second rehab start for for the Mets A Gulf Coast team. (Note to Omar-why not have him pitch a game for the Coney Island Cyclones so NY Fans can go out and show their love and support?) Pedro retired the first nine batters he faced yesterday against the Dodgers’ Gulf Coast League team. In the 4th inning, he threw 29 pitches and allowed a three-run homer. After the 60 pitch outing, Pedro went to the bullpen and threw 20 pitches, all fastballs. He was seen in the 84- to 85-mile-an-hour range and had one at 88. This is all good. The real question is how fast has the arm come back and can he get into a 5 day rotation. The Mets need a shot in the arm and Pedro maybe it.Pedro's presence in the dugout when he returns by early September will be a boost for the team. The Mets need some pitching help right now (as well as a catcher!), but unfortunately then need middle relief more than starting pitching. Posted by Steve in New York.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto, R.I.P.
Mr. Steinbrenner was correct in saying that Heaven needed a shortstop, Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto, who passed earlier today. Scooter was a great player and broadcaster. His playing days preceded my birth but I knew that he never let anyone, including the great Casey Stengel stand in his way. Stengel told him that he should shine shoes but he went to win seven World Series and an AL MVP amongst other awards. He may have been short at 5-foot-6 but his heart was bigger than them all. That's what determination can do.
Scooter's broadcasting days shaped my youth. I listened to his radio broadcasts on WCDO in Walton, New York. His trademark "Holy cow!" became a staple in more ways than one as I grew up on a dairy farm. That was the beginning of my comedy career. 
I can close my eyes, listen to the memorized tape of his radio broadcasts in my head, and let the game unfold in the "Theatre of the Mind". That was Scooter's gift to me and millions of other kids. He will be missed. Godspeed Scooter!
Photo courtesy of the Yankees.com. Posted by a mourning Tank in NY.
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