The Hated Yankees

There are many baseball fans who hate the New York Yankees. I am not one of them, but I consider myself informed and enlightened enough to understand why the Yankees could be hated. However, while many people who watch baseball may hate the Yankees, the Yankees do have one undeniable trait going for them. This trait is something that they throw into every baseball fan’s (casual or die-hard) face. Not greatness, not victory, but tradition. However, while the Yankees call it tradition, it’s pretty plain to see that with their recent heyday all but gone, they’re hiding behind this “tradition”. They’re using tradition to hide their arrogance, and it’s getting pretty annoying, even as a Yankee fan.


If baseball was a game of paper and stats and not a game of performance, the Yankees would win the World Series every year. That’s what a team with a 200 million dollar payroll is supposed to do. When you have the highest payroll in professional baseball (and, in an uninformed guess, professional sports) you can afford to buy the best players and put them on the field and let them play. The reason why the Yankees don’t win the World Series every year is simple. The Yankees think they’re smarter than everyone else. They have a plan and they’re going to stick to it whether it hurts the team or not. Case in point is the Joba debate.


Bullpen or rotation? Two words that will always be associated with Joba Chamberlain for as long as he throws a ball in the major leagues. When he broke in back in ’07, he was utilized as Rivera’s setup man. He was a 22 year old boy blowing a way first ballot Hall of Famers such as Frank Thomas (He stuck out The Big Hurt in his first MLB appearance). While his duty was limited in 2007, he compiled a .038 ERA. He gave up one earned run in 24 innings, and it was a solo dinger off the bat of Mike Lowell. That was it. He blew away bona fide major leaguers. The kid was unhittable. Last years stats don’t count to me, because his first few starts were baby starts, where they yanked him in the second or third to stretch him out and get him used to pitching more than one inning. 2009 is his first full year as a starter, and in my eyes it’s not successful. He’s a strikeout pitcher. The kid seems like he’s afraid of contact and is addicted to the swing and miss. He’ll blow 2 fastballs by you, and then waste 4 sliders in a row trying to get you to swing over them and then next thing he knows he’s walked two guys and gives up a hit. This jacks up his pitch count and he gets pulled in the fifth or sixth inning. That’s not a quality start. He has no endurance. In an effort to save his arm and prepare for a longer night, he throws only about 91 or 92, when he broke in and made a name for himself by throwing 98 mph, occasionally touching triple digits. This is all in addition to the biggest factor of all in my mind. There’s no doubt this kid is and will be a great pitcher for a while. But he’s not a starter. How many times does he have to go 6 innings, hand the ball to a reliever who’s not named Joba Chamberlain and watch helplessly from the bench while this bum blows his lead because he isn’t as good a reliever as Joba is? This has happened once already. How many more times before Cashman realizes he’s not utilizing this kid’s potential correctly. It’s not like there’s no precedent.


This kid has closer written all over him. In 1996, a starter named Mariano Rivera was relegated to the bullpen after poor starting performance. After learning his signature devastating cutter in an effort to stay relevant in baseball, he made the Yankee brass notice him. Their “aha!” moment came and they had him setting up for John Wetteland, and eventually took over and became the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball history. This kid is the first and only clear heir apparent to the Mariano throne in over a decade. Now, there is only one Rivera, and nobody will ever come close to how great he is, but Joba would be a nice replacement. Rivera is almost 40, and still pitching like he’s in his prime. But there will come a time when Metallica will be silenced in Yankee Stadium and the Sandman will hang up his cutter and will need a replacement. If the Yankees choose anyone other than Joba Chamberlain they obviously don’t watch baseball.


The reasons and proof are there. Joba should be a setup man and an eventual closer. But the front office is so bent on him being a starter that they’re determined to prove the fans wrong at any cost, even if it hurts the team by giving the ball to someone who can’t hold the lead. Now, this is just one aspect of the Yankees’ belief that they are smarter than everyone else. In this world driven by money and big contracts, buying the best players just doesn’t get it done anymore. The Rays made it to the World Series last year with a bunch of rookie kids more or less. To me, it seemed they tried harder because they wanted to stay around. A-Rod, Jeter, Posada, Giambi, they’re all making between 15 and 25 million dollars a year. They know they aren’t going anywhere, why try so hard? Giambi aside they are all great players, but they lack the will to win in my opinion, no matter what Derek Jeter wants you to believe. The great Yankee teams of the 90’s and early 2000s were not successful because they had the best players. Absolutely not. Chuck Knoblauch was a bum, and Brosius struggled to hit .300. But they had will and spirit, which is something this overpaid Yankee team doesn’t have. The last dynasty was not about a bunch of superstars, it was about teamwork. Putting nine of the best players in the game on the same field does not guarantee a great team. It guarantees ego-driven squabbles that kills the function of the team as a unit. But of course, even I must admit, you pay me 20 million dollars to play a game, I’d say screw teamwork too.


That is all.

A Return to the 80's?

Being a Mets fan for my whole life and missing the last World Championship they won by a matter of months, I have been exposed to many years of disappointments and missed chances. After attending the Mets-Nationals game last night, I started to get the feeling that fans got when Dwight Gooden took the mound in the mid-1980's. The game was a near sell-out, and it really had no business being that close to one given the opponent.


But Citi Field was electric last night, and for one reason: Johan Santana was on the mound. Granted, he didn't pitch his best game, but the fans were more than pleased with his performance last night. He got the win, putting him at 7-2, and, more importantly, the Mets went into first place again. Every strikeout, all 11 of them, was cheered as if it was the final out of the game, and the offense finally gave him some run support, scoring 7 runs in the victory.


I only make the comparison to Gooden because I heard fathers telling their sons to remember seeing Santana pitch at home like they did when Dr.K was as good as it got in Major League Baseball. Fans come to see the stars, and Gooden was a star and Santana is a star. Gooden's career may not have turned out like everyone wanted, but he was still a spectacle to watch, and as long as Johan is the best in the business, Citi Field will be full and the fans will remember the dominance of Dwight Gooden and make the comparisons.

Changing of the Guard? ... Not So Fast

Going into the Western Conference Finals in the NHL Playoffs between the defending champion Detroit Red Wings and the young, upstart Chicago Black Hawks, many people, myself included, felt that the Hawks could give the Wings a run for their money.

Boy was I wrong.

The Red Wings looked poised to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight year after taking a dominant 3-1 series lead tonight with a 6-1 drubbing on the Blackhawks home ice. The experience of the Red Wings is just too much for the younger Blackhawks to handle. The Red Wings have guys in Nicklas Lidstrom, Kirk Maltby, Kris Draper and Tomas Holmstrom who have won four cup titles with Detroit since the 1996-97 season. In 1997, Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks was a pre-teen in Buffalo. That kind of experience is too much for a young team to overcome, I don't care who you are. Just ask the Penguins from last season.

It'll be interesting to see a rematch in the Finals, with Crosby and Malkin a year older and even better than we all thought. Can the Red Wings win again?

Only time will tell.

Has it been that long?

As I was surfing the web earlier today I came across a Wikipedia page that mentioned that it was 10 years ago today that Owen Hart, the younger brother of WWF/E superstar Bret Hart passed away. For those of you who never followed professional wrestling, Owen was set to perform a superhero-like stunt as his alter-ego, The Blue Blazer, where he would come down from the rafters of the arena, mimicking the act of flying. However, the line that he was attached to snapped and he plummeted over 70 feet to his death. It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since this tragedy happened.

Known as the King of Harts and The Rocket, Owen Hart won the WWF/E Intercontinental title twice, the European Title once, and was a four-time Tag Team Champion with Yokozuna (twice), The British Bulldog and Jeff Jarrett. He was a two-time WWF/E Slammy Award winner and was widely considered to be one of the best in-ring workers that the business has ever seen.

As an Owen Hart fan from my youth, I wanted to take this time to try and put into words how hard it is to imagine that he has been gone for 10 years already.

Rest In Peace Owen, we all miss you.

A look at UFC 98: Evans v. Machida

As some of you know UFC 98 is this weekend in Las Vegas. I, for one, am pumped for this card because it features a title shot in my favorite division, the light heavyweight division. I'm going to offer my opinion on the main card for the upcoming card.

Sean Sherk (33-3-1) v. Frankie Edgar (9-1-0)

This fight is an interesting one for me to pick. On one side, there is Sean Sherk, a monster of a wrestler who can conceivably fight at 170 lbs and on the other side Frankie Edgar, a young scrappy fighter out of Toms River, NJ. Since his hugely entertaining fight with Tyson Griffin at UFC 67, I have been a huge Edgar supporter. I am a fan of Sherk as well, but not as much since his suspension for testing positive for steriods after his UFC lightweight title defense at UFC 73.

For me, this fight comes down to wrestling. Both men are well-versed in wrestling and use it to gain victories in the Octagon. But Sherk's size and experience will be too much for the younger Edgar, in my opinion.

MY PICK: Sean Sherk via Unanimous Decision

Dan Miller (11-1-0, 1 NC) v. Chael Sonnen (22-10-1)

This middleweight scrap pits the IFL veteran, Miller, and the last WEC middleweight champion, Sonnen. Miller is a versatile, intelligent fighter coming off a quick first round submission win over NCAA wrestling standout Jake Rosholt. Sonnen is looking to bounce back after falling to BJJ ace Demian Maia by first round submission at UFC 95. For me, this fight comes down to versatility and Miller has it and Sonnen does not. Sonnen is too one-dimensional to pull out a victory in this one.

MY PICK: Dan Miller via 2nd round Submission

Drew McFedries (7-5-0) v. Xavier Foupa-Pokum (20-10-0)

This fight has KO of the night written all over it. McFedries is a guy who loves to stand and trade and Foupa-Pokum is a kickboxer with numerous knockouts on his resume. Foupa-Pokum cannot afford to stand and trade with McFedries, or else he will be knocked into next week. He has to pick McFedries apart and when the opportunity arises, take him down and either pound him out or grab a submission. McFedries' gorund game is atrocious and if he is on his back, he will be finished.

MY PICK: Xavier Foupa-Pokum via 1st round TKO

Matt Hughes (42-7-0) v. Matt Serra (9-5-0)

This is the grudge match that many MMA fans have been waiting for since these two former UFC Welterweight champions were coaches on The Ultimate Fighter reality show in 2007. The trash talk has been going since then, and has only gotten worse. These guys genuinely hate each other and that will make for a great fight. Hughes, the most dominant champion in UFC history, is coming back from a knee injury suffered in his 2nd round TKO loss to Thaigo Alves last June, and this could be his final fight in an accomplishment-laden career. Serra, the Long Islander, is looking to bounce back from his loss to Georges St. Pierre last April, and wants nothing more than to send his arch-enemy into retirement. I think that Hughes is done and Serra will come out victorious in this one.

MY PICK: Matt Serra via 2nd round TKO

Rashad Evans (13-0-1) v. Lyoto Machida (14-0-0) for Evans' UFC Light Heavyweight Title

In his first title defense Rashad Evans faces a stenr test in the karate ace Lyoto Machida. Machida has the knack for not getting hit in fights, and Evans has vowed to get after him and put his hands in his face. This, in my view, will be Evans' fatal mistake. Machida is a fighter who relies on his opponent's frustration to create openings. The longer this fight goes, Evans will get more and more frustrated and will start making mistakes. If Evans uses his wrestling to his advantage he will win, but with knockout victories over Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin in his last two fights, Evans will no doubt be looking to add Machida to his list of victims. But by doing this, he will give up his title, and his unblemished record.

MY PICK: Lyoto Machida via 4th round TKO

That's how I see it. Feel free to disagree. We will see this Saturday at 10pm on PPV.

A note on the 2009 New York Mets

Despite being a Mets fan for my entire life, this team of 2009 has me believing that it will be the third year in a row of disappointment in Flushing. You can say all you want about injuries and the so-called lack of an edge, but the fact of the matter is that this team just is not as good as Omar or anyone else involved in the organization thinks it is. With the exception of David Wright and Carlos Beltran no one can consistently put the ball in play, and with out Johan Santana the pitching staff would be comparable to that of the Colorado Rockies.

I love this team, but I find myself nit-picking at them now, which is something I have never really done. I have lost all faith in Omar and Jerry to have this team get the job done. They failed to go out and make a big move inthe offseason to bolster the lineup. Now I'm not saying they should have gotten Manny, in fact I was strongly opposed to it, but they should have attempted to make a move to make that lineup better.

This was a team that was supposed to compete for a potential World Series. But the only way this team will win a World Series is if they take a road trip to Williamsport, PA. But even then I'd take the kids from Chinese Taipei.

I guess only time will tell.