Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Hey Ken.

Mets do look good right now but need another outfield bat.
I would rank City Slickers or Running Scared ahead of Throw Mamma.
Enjoy your vacation in Suffolk County.
~Howard

My favorite Crystal flick...When Harry Met Sally.

I'm not a huge Throw Momma fan, but it does feature my friend (and fellow Mets fan) Branford Marsalis, so I have to give it some love.

Enjoy your vacation, Ken. I'm going to enjoy being in first place (for the next 10-12 hours, at least).

You know my views on BC - slightly better than BK. When deciding how to rate his films, I would definitely use the term "rank" 9 times out of 10. I thougnt "Throw Randolph From the Train" was a 7 out of 10.

The guy makes "chick flicks", why are we discussing the bane of men's existence and loss of $ 30 at the theater on a weekend night?

Ken - Considering the time off you get, I'm beggining to think you are at the Crawford Ranch, not the Hamptons.

As for Perez, it's a lefthanders syndrome of trying to throw too hard, opening up the right shoulder too quickly and missing down and in or up and away on righties as the arm is lagging behind the body. You can throw strikes, but you have to accelerate your arm and in the process but too much strain on it and you will tire quickly. At that point, you will once again miss up/away.

And if you compensate by slowing down your body as opposed to merely simplifying the motion, you'll miss badly up and away. I had the same thing happen to me for 3 or 4 pitch sequences - actually for an entire month before our team trainer (not the pitching coach or manager) noticed something.

Shocking news on Cole. I can't believe he went through this whole thing to only opt for college. Why hire Boras? Why do that stupid press conference? Why lead the team along? Why not accept the (more than likely) four-million-plus the Yankees (your supposedly favorite team) is offering you?

Not signing Cole doesn't wreck the Yankees' long-term plans of developing young players (there are many rounds to the draft and they signed most of their signability picks; they actually had a great draft). But you put so much work in on your first pick -- scouting him physically and mentally -- that to not sign him must be incredibly frustrating.

Bad week for me as the Yanks are on the brink thanks to a 3-7 road trip that was a disaster, and Mike and Mad Dog breaking up after 19 years. The only thing I'll say about Cole is he wanted to be Yankee and instead he is going to UCLA. I guess he wants to go to college.
"When Harry met Sally" was my favorite Billy Crystal film. Meg Ryan was Crystal's co-star in the movie.
All of a sudden Perez has gotten his act together. Not only that, with Scott Boras as his agent, Perez is pricing his way out of New York because he is going command a lot of money and I don't know if the Mets will pay him what he wants.
Enjoy your vacation, Ken.

Ken, did you post while on the LIRR? Did LIRR get wireless Internet?

Keep up the good work - your blog is required reading to start the workday along with Rob Neyer, metsblog, Joe Posnanski and a few others.

I was on the Acela back from DC, James K. Thanks for the kind words!

Enjoy your well earned vacation Ken (I ranked Throw Mamma somewhere between City Slickers II and Mr. Saturday Night).
Since it sounds like you have younger kids, take them to Bay Burger just outside of Sag Harbor. A little nicer than fast food, but doesn' t cost an arm and a leg like every other restaurant out there.

Damon O. really blew it on the No. 1 pick. How they could have drafted someone in the top spot that wasn't absolutely committed to coming aboard is mind-boggling. He must have a girlfriend at UCLA.

However, all might not be lost. Considering the following: The Yankees' top draft picks from 1997 to 2001 were Tyrell Goodwin, Andy Brown, David Walling, David Parrish, and John-Ford Griffin.

Chris Russo was rude, arrogant, obnoxious, ill-informed, not very funny, loud and difficult to listen to. I will not miss him at all. Frankly, within ten minutes I had to turn him off, whether he was alone or with Mike F. He has no sources or inside information, but merely comments like clown about what he's read in the newspaper, seen on TV or heard on other stations. He provides no analysis and he is frequently wrong (i.e. Joba).

Ken, you once said the M and the MD show was entertaining. For me, they were about as entertaining as two dogs have a fight in front of my house. Comic relief at best. Two big mouths at worst.

Enjoy the Hamptons while you can. Cablevision isn't going to give you many raises in the future. And, if you see my multi, multi, multi multi ex-best friend from HS running around out there, tell him I said hello.
For those who haven't heard about it yet, the Rays had another injury in yesterday's game, Troy Percival sprained his knee in the ninth inning and will probably go on the DL today. The Yankees may be cooked but the Twins and Blue Jays might not be yet.
Did the Tigers put in a claim on Ibanez to keep him away from a team like the Twins or Mets? They really don't need him.

Ken, I was recently out in Montauk and am going to Sag Harbor next week. It's beautiful out there right now. But, you already know all this or you wouldn't be going on vacation there.

Billy Crystal hasn't been funny in a long, long time. One good aspect of the Yankees not making the playoffs is not having to see Crystal sucking around the team and Yankee Stadium.

I would go so far as to say Billy Crystal has never been funny, since I never found Soap funny in the least. I also resent he being portrayed as a baseball "expert" just as i resent Bob Costas being portrayed as a "baseball historian" because Costas doesn't know much more than the average fan as far as history goes. Anyone can read dozens of books and recite memorable stuff from them (while talking down to their audience).

Sandy, I have to agree with you on Costas. He's not a historian at all. Certainly no more than an anchorman on a news show is a political analyst or strategist. Costas reads text and asks questions that someone else whispered in his ear. He memorizes his lines.

Mad Dog - our long national nightmare is over.

Billy C - still the best Oscars host.

How about some props for 38-year-old Damion Easley...??

Thanks for the eating tip, Matt. I do indeed have a 4-year-old son, and he's a burger and fries fan.

Start your vacation off right on the LIRR (granted, there's something oxymoronic in that sentence but)...........

Leave the kids with momma for a little while (between between Jamaica and Babylon), sneak into the bar car and jump into a pinnochle game.
Great way to clear the mind.

The Yanks just send Melky to the minors and have cut Sexson. Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom will replace both of them. Melky didn't hit, and Sexson stinks.

Hopefully someone will show Melky how to run THROUGH 1st base instead of diving into it. (and get that upper cut/loop out of his RH swing).

Don't know much about Ransom, but I hope Gardner has a better run this time than his last trip up.
Gardner:
A/Can't (or won't) bunt....which is a shame for a guy with his speed.
B/Cannot (or maybe I should say couldn't) handle pitches on the inside part of the plate.....AT ALL.
The guy's got a lot of tools. First trip up to the big leagues demonstrated a lot of holes as well.

KDog -

Throw your hat in the ring for Francesca on the FAN. I'll do the deal. Then, name drop me and we can recreate the magic from '91.

Billy's best flick? Running Scared by a country mile. Princess Bride, Throw Momma, Harry/Sally and City Slickers 1 are solid. Analyze This/That just OK. Mr. Saturday Night decent but a total ego trip. City Slickers 2, Father's Day, My Giant - unwatchable. (See, this is the stuff we can bring to Mike in drive time).

Rock, out.

JRock: There would be a lot more 3 and 4 star movies if you reviewed films for a living - and a lot of angry moviegoers who would be outraged after they paid to watch the films and realized the movies stink.

I-505: Gardner does have holes in his game and IMHO he will never be a MLB starting outfielder. Too light of a hitter. Maybe he can make it as a reserve, but it would be a real luxury for a club to carry him.

Dennis: The Yankees needed to make a move with Melky. The kid seriously regressed this year. In some ways the situation reminds me of Ricky Ledee. Not exactly similar but close enough.

While Melky has a good glove and a great arm, the bottom line is that Melky didn't hit enough to stay in the lineup. Granted, if the Yanks have been hitting like they suppose to, they would have live with Melky hitting. But because the Yanks have been hitting like garbage this year, Melky hitting has been expose. The Yanks took a chance on Sexson, hoping to catch lightinning in a bottle and didn't happen.

Wow. According to AP: "The New York Yankees have fired two scouts under investigation in a probe of possible kickbacks from contracts with Latin American players.The Yankees terminated the contracts of Carlos Rios, their director of Latin American scouting, and Ramon Valdivia, their Dominican Republic scouting director, a baseball official said Friday."

I wonder how this is going to impact Yankee operations in that part of the world? Are more bombs going to drop? Ken, what will it mean? Did Damon O do the firing?

I presume we should not say they are innocent before proven guilty. It makes me think more heads on other teams are about to roll, and that this deal must be commonplace in Latin America.
I hope Melky goes down there gets straightened up and can come back better than he was. However when veterans like this get sent down often they dont come back.

The White Sox and the Red Sox have also fired high level scouting people.

Shelly Duncan has never come back after being sent down, but he was never an every day player and he was also hurt in the minor leagues.

Just watched the end of the Cuba/USA baseball game.
Interesting twist in the way the Olympics handle extra inning baseball games.
Teams are allowed to put a runner on 1st and 2nd and start the lineup anywhere they want?

Maybe kicking baseball out of the Olympics is not a bad idea.

Ken -

Melky's trip to the Minors will help him focus on the essentials. He'll be back shortly.

I looked at your playoff speculations...hard to believe the Phillies with their terrific lineup will fall short of the post-season but it's looking like that will be the case.

Rays-WhiteSox looks like a fun first rounder.

I'm stuck at work from 8:00 a.m. till midnight tomorrow and you're taking the day off???? You pull a hammy Mann...er Ken? (joking everyone)

Gerry, the Phillies have proven last year that we shouldn't be counting them out.

I have to say for me, even though the Mets were starting to win, I didn't see the domination they should be showing against the really bad teams. I never thought the schedule mattered to them since they really didn't take advantage of poor teams like they should have. So I was glad to see this last series.

And I'm super excited they cant get Ibanez. Though I like him, I think the Mets have some really good chemestry going on, and with an OF of Murphy, Tatis and Beltran, thats pretty high energy. I dont really trust Tatis is going to do this the rest of the year...but he's earned the opportunity in my opinion. And God I love the way he plays the game.

As for the Yanks...I dont think they sweep the Royals. But I do think they sign that player. Just a gut feel on both.

Jim, I suspect that'll be the worst of it with the Yankees and the skimming scandal. The whole international scouting area is not Damon Oppenheimer's jurisdiction. Mark Newman oversees that (and Oppenheimer's domestic operation).

Selig mentioned yesterday that MLB's Dept. of Investigations addressed the skimming scandal to the owners, and Bud hinted that action was coming. He wasn't kidding.

I'm curious to see how Melky deals with this demotion. What a setback this year has been for him.

And sorry, Richie, but the Yankees announced that Cole is definitely not signing. Sorry I'm taking tomorrow off to move the family East. You can catch up on my April 2007 blog entries, if you're really bored. Back then, there weren't any commenters with whom I could engage in intense debates. ;)

Newman supervises international and domestic scouting in his post of Sr. VP of baseball operations? Does Damon O report to him or Cashman? Will these two firings deleteriously affect the Yankees in Latin America/DR?

I wonder how Melky deals with the demotion, too. His reaction was pretty interesting. He didn't acknowledge a need for it. Will he play like the devil to get back up or go into a deep funk?

Cashman acknowledge there were "signability issues" concerning Cole when they drafted him. Did they merely roll the dice and hope to sign him while not being too concerned if they can't? Did they feel the possible reward justified the risk?

The following exchange took place on 6.10.08 between Damon O. and a fan during an online chat, as per MLB.com:

abc5: Was Gerrit Cole the best pitcher during your selection, or the best player?

Oppenheimer: He was both. He was the best available talent on the board when we made our selection.

nyy4life23: Why do you think Gerrit dropped so far in the Draft after being ranked the No. 17 prospect?

Oppenheimer: Once again, I'm not sure what rankings you are using, but I think it begins with people's differences of opinion, as well as the strong possibility that he is going to UCLA.

Good get there, Jim. From speaking to people last night about the Cole issue...yeah, they rolled the dice on Cole. But based on their discussions with the kid, they were fairly confident that he wanted to be a Yankee. However you want to characterize it - the Yankees misread the tea leaves, the kid really misled the Yankees - it didn't work out.

And re: Newman, technically, Oppenheimer reports to Newman, who reports to Cashman. However, I get the sense that Cashman and Oppenheimer talk a good deal one-on-one.

I'm actually shocked the Yanks cant sign their draft pick. I never thought the Yanks were much World Series threats this season, but from someone that isn't a fan or a hater, you have to say this was a lost season in many ways.

1- Hughes, and Kennedy regressed. Maybe they have great seasons next year, but its tough to feel all that confident
2- Joba is the real deal, but that injury is bad news. They need him to be healthy for them to have a chance.
3- Posada and Jeter may have gotten old fast. This could be a Piazza like signing, without the first three great years for Posada. I trust Jeter to be back to being a very good player next year, but you never know
4- Mussina. The Yanks are sorta wasting his renewed very goodness (Never thought he was great...just very good at his best). If I was a Yankee fan, I would not want to pay for him next year.
5- Cant sign the draft pick. Has that ever happened with the Yankees?? I'm not saying its their fault, but usually money talks.
6- Canoe/Melky. Regress much?

I totally think A-Rod will be fine next year, and though Ken doesn't think so, I think Abreu will be back. But how can the team as presently constituted be contenders next season?? I wonder if Cashman is going to be forced to sign CC and Texeira?

Ken, let me ask this again: Do you think the two firings today will harm the Yankees scouting in Latin America/DR or will they quickly be able to replace these guys? Do you think it might even help the club that they fired this pair if they were shaking down kids? Maybe these shakedowns were getting around and leading to some people like wanting to deal with the Yankees? I am trying to make some sense of this.

Does anyone else think Phelps lost? I'm watching on a regular tv thats sorta grainy but I really thought the other guy touched the wall first.

Richie G. (Lynbrook), if you see the replay very carefully Phelps used both of his arms and stretch out his arms and beat the guy by a eye blink. Phelps is amazing folks. Now he is tied with Mark Spitz for the most Gold Medals in one Olympic games at 7. With Posada, they had no replacement for him and they were basically force to give him 4 years. Nady, Matsui and Damon are all sign for 2009. Don't know where Abreu fits in.

Jim, my sense is that this was such an industry-wide thing, I don't think the Yankees, or any team, is really going to take much of a hit. The ideal scenario would be an international draft. That would eliminate the "Wild West" component of what goes on in the DR. For now, though, it's a horrible scandal, but one with minimal impact, IMHO.

Jim, weren't you supposed to go to Nationals Park this weekend?

Dennis I am watching through a crappy TV, and boy did I miss my DVR. I thought NBC did a pretty crappy job of not making a huge freeze-frame. Maybe they did that later but I watched for a little bit and then had to work again.

Posada really is more vaulable than I gave him credit for with the Yanks.

Its funny, in fantasy baseball, if you take a catcher early you can be severely screwed because you can never replace his points like you can an OF or IF. And in real life, it almost feels the same. If you depend on a catcher like Posada and Victor Martinez and they dont perform, you're screwed.

Ken, Nationals Park on Sunday. You have a good memory.

Richie - yes I thought Phelps lost as well but the underwater camera angle showed the best view. It looks like he got there first...by a fingernail.

I had no idea Cano and Melky were nightowls together. Shades of Gooden and Charlie Hayes.

Interesting rule that was put in by the International Baseball Federation for any game that goes ertra innings. On Friday the US lost to Cuba 5-4 in 11 innings at the olympics. In that game, the new rule they put in place was used. The rule is starting in the 11th inniing, runners go to 1st and 2nd and teams can start at any point in their batting order. Which means that they don't want the game to last forever and they want the game to end quickly. Perhaps Major League Baseball should used something like that for the All-Star Game.
Gerry, Richie, the swimmer that Phelps beat out was Milorad Cavic of Serbia, who trains in Florida. His delegation filed a protest of the finish, but the swimming's world governing body, FINA said that Phelps was stroking and Cavic gliding to the finish and that it was confirmed.

Anyone that wants to trade Cano in the off-season is crazy. He might be having a rather mediocre year overall, but he is very talented and he has a great future ahead of him. He is capable of being a batting champion. A second baseman with his tools is worth his weight in gold, even if the return this year isn't that great.

Been thinking about this for couple of days. Yankees are really out of it. Mets need a corner outfielder.
If Yankees put Damon or Abreu on waivers, do Mets claim either one?,

Abreu has a complete no-trade clause and Damon has a partial one. It's not happening. Ken D. (Manhattan) will get recalled from the Hamptons and start Tuesday in Toronto against the Blue Jays before it happens.

Dennis thanks for the Phelps updates. I wonder if the guy who came in 2nd smiled on the podium. Personally, I'd hate that silver medal. He had a chance to break up history. That's gotta hurt.

I know I'm in the vast majority here, but to me, it would be hard to smile if I got a silver or bronze. I mean sure be ultra proud of your accomplisment, but you dont see the loser of a championship game jump up for joy after they lose.

Obviously you cant trade Canoe, but it brings up a better story. Jeter's Captaincy. Joel Sherman and Don LeGrecca were talking about it on 1050. LeGrecca basically said Jeter wasn't doing his job as Captain and Sherman was saying its not his style. My belief is, when you have a Canoe or Lastings Milledge that isn't busting it every play, a veteran should be calling him out. If he doesn't get the message internally, pull a Mussina and do it through the media like what he did with Pavano. And you have to admit it worked...Pavano actually pitched a game for the Yanks last year and may work some minor league innings this year!

None of us knows what Jeter, Damon, A-Rod, etc. are telling Cano or anyone else. Jeter has always said he prefers to do these things quietly and behind the scenes, not in the media. The Mussina/Pavano story came out a couple of years after it happened.

Jim, if someone offers the Yanks a stud pitcher for Cano, you wouldn't consider it?
Richie G., what makes the olympics so different from the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, etc. is the majority of the sports in the olympics are individual. Everybody wants to get the gold. Cavic, I'm sure wish he had the gold, but he seems happy with silver.

Dennis, I wasn't sure if he was happy or not. I had to turn off the TV and go to work. In tennis you get mixed results from the finals loser. I know the guy who came in 3rd in the wrestling wasn't happy when he put his bronze medal on the mat. But that was because he thought he won that match.

Jim, from what I remember Mussina made the comment to Pavano last spring training. And he said it to the media. So it came out the next day. And probably the same day online.

And you're right, we dont know what was said behind closed doors. We only know that so far if anything has been said, it hasn't been working. Sometimes in NY perception plays a large part unfortunately. That's why I liked what Beltran did with Reyes and told him to go out and be himself. I dont know how the media found out about it, but I thought it was good that the media did.

I also thought A-Rod was very smart in holding court last preseason saying he and Jeter weren't best friends anymore. The media can be so daunting in NY, sometimes its best to just get it out in the open.

Here's a hockey example. Jaromir Jagr didn't take penalty shots two seasons ago. He was 0-3 or something. One game against the Devils the Rangers lost and they had some young kid taking a penalty shot instead of Jagr. I was screaming for a month asking why he wasn't taking them. Finally the media got on his case and he started taking them again. If the media hadn't spoken up, I dont think Renney would have put Jagr in. (Jagr had apparently asked out bc he said he was hurting the team) So I think even if they are speaking to Canoe behind closed doors, its time to open it up. I'd love for Jeter to come out and say I've tried speaking to him. He hasn't gotten the message.

That should be last case scenerio taking it public, but it should be a scenerio if all else fails. And from the amount of talk in the media (Kay/Singleton/Francesca/fans) whatever has been tried has failed. Though I haven't seen one instance myself where he hasn't hustled. But I haven't exactly watched either.

Dennis: I agree with the Yankees on trying to develop "stud" pitchers from within. I wouldn't trade Cano. I think he is going to a longterm star. Second basemen that can hit like him are rare. The Yankees have some young pitchers that just might be really good. I think Hughes is one of them. I am also not giving up on Kennedy. I think The Plan is going to need 2009, too, and while I don't like another year like 2008, I personally don't see an alternative. The Yankees got old quick. It will be even worse for the Mets. The Yankees simply need to do more of what they are doing with the kids.

Yes, Mussina did talk about Pavano last year. I forgot about that. I think there was behind the scenes stuff going on for some time. As Ken said, Pavano might be the most disliked player in his own clubhouse during this era.

Richie G., Pat Forde on ESPN.com wrote about the race and includes comments from Cavic.
Here's the link

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3538145&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Jeter isn't going to criticize one of the player's publicly because he won't want to ruin his choir boy image with advertising and marketing sources, and obviously this year he's been doing more of that.
Richie, Cano's off season may just be the result of the rest of the lineup doing poorly. Last season everyone hit, so everyone had to be pitched to differently because there were usually men on base. This year no one is on base, you can pitch the way you want to. Cano got off to his usual lousy start and definitely picked it up when he was supposed to. As far as his attitude, I've never read anything that bad about him, if he goes out, he goes out, Jeter and ARod go out too, big deal. He plays as hard as he can, and runs out his ground balls, unlike certain players playing in NY right now at yankee Stdium on the Royals, and BJ Upton who gets pulled from games because he doesn't hustle, and apparently doesn't learn from the humiliation either.

Dennis thanks for the link. That was a great article except for the, "Do you believe in Heartbreak...no." I was rooting for someone to beat Phelps. Not because I dont like Phelps, just because I thought it would be cool if someone can strut around saying they beat the best.

Jim, I know we're not allowed to quote Mike Francesca here...but its not like he's stupid or anything. He was saying how little he hustles, then callers were stating the same thing. Then I saw this on Bests blog. So clearly, there's something up with him. Though the only play I saw of him was last night when he temporarily saved the game.
I wouldn't trade him either. 2nd base is far to premium of a position. You'd never get equal value of what he can be. But with all the Yanks superstars that *seem* to play harder than him, you have to wonder what's going on with him. I mean he has no rings, doesn't have boatloads of dollars yet, and has a ton to prove. It seems very odd that you'd get these accusations (not from me, I'm just reporting it) about a young player such as Canoe.

http://blogs.trb.com/sports/watchdog/blog/2008/08/yes_announcers_finger_robinson.html#comments

That last part was meant for Sandy and Jim.

Richie I think in this day and age more players take their time getting out of the box than bust it it seems. I take what Kay says with a grain of salt--he seems to have agendas. Flaherty I take more seriously.
I'd rather not mention another team which plays in NY that constantly has those image problems :)

Cano is already locked into a boatload of money. From Colt's Baseball Contracts:

Robinson Cano 2b
4 years/$30M (2008-11), plus 2012-13 club options

Signed extension 2/08 (avoided arbitration, $4.55M-$3.2M)
08:$3M, 09:$6M, 10:$9M, 11:$10M, 12:$14M club option ($2M buyout), 13:$15M club option ($2M buyout).

Does he sometimes not hustle? Well, it involves some semantics. Is it a lack of hustle, a lack of busting it or is he really hustling but it looks like he isn't?

Michael Kay was a very mediocre sportwriter and is continuing that quality level in the booth and on ESPN 1050. Flaherty and the other former players are a little weak. Singleton is fine. Kaat was excellent.

Kay has become quite critical of several players and I hope they learn about his comments and react accordingly when he wants to kiss up to them.

Cano might be one of those players that needs someone on his back pushing him. I have said many times here that Bowa made Cano a personal project and seemed to get a lot out of him. Bowa is gone and Cano is struggling. I see a link, even if no one else does.

Pavano has to be Cashman's all-time worst signing. Her are his annual salaries (from Colt's Baseball Contracts):

05: $9 million
06: $8 million
07 $10 million
08 $11 million
club option for 2009 at $13 million with a $1.95 million buyout.

So Pavano is going to walk away with $39.95 million for doing very little. Cashman should have his own pay docked for this disgrace. He is lucky George S. is no longer functioning.

SNY definitely has a big advantage in the broadcast booth. Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are a very good team. Unlike YES, SNY has a set broadcast team. Cohen does the play-by-play and Hernandez and/or Darling do the analysis. YES does things differently. Kay almost has to watch what he is saying because he does a radio show on 1050 in NY and play-by-play on TV for the Yanks. He saids one thing on the radio and another thing on TV. I do miss Kaat in the booth. He was definitely their best analysis. Kaat's play-by-play was OK. Singleton is alright. Everybody else has been OK.

I'm a big Michael Kay fan. Though I've heard him talk about Torre and he always throws left handed compliments at him. I do believe Kay would be more critical of someone he doesn't like than someone he does like. But just from listening to him on 1050, I'm pretty sure he likes A-Rod. And the last two games I've heard Kay kill A-Rod about late inning non-heorics.

But my point about Canoe is a bigger issue with the Yanks. I'm going to take Kay/Singleton/Francesca/Fans at their word and say he probably hustles less than the average major leaguer. And that for me is an indicator that this team needs a leader. Because if Giambi/A-Rod/Jeter dont hustle, well it would of course sicken me, but at least they've done something in their career to feel comfortable. And its probably hard for a peer to go to another peer and say lets go. But we're talking about a very young player in a sea full of veterans.

And I think its a problem that cant be solved...because no matter who you bring in for the Yanks they're not going to be able to assert too much leadership with Jeter and A-Rod in the room. Especially Jeter I'd guess.

And I also wasn't a fan of how Jeter left A-Rod out to dry a few years ago when all the Red Sox players were ripping A-Rod. I feel (my opinion only) Hes an all-time great Yankee...but he's no Hernandez as a leader.

Richie if a Yankee wanted to step up and lead alongside Jeter he could--I present to you Jorge Posada the real yankees' captain on field and off. I won't even address ARod as a leader. Jeter is worried more about his public image than anything else. He won't say or do anything that controversial.
Kay didn't like Torre and feuded with him for the last several years he was manager. Whether that came from ownership or not, I can't say, but many people believe Kay was directed to be critical of Torre. And Torre didn't like it one bit.
Yeah I miss Jim Kaat too, but I still miss Tony Kubek. And I miss McCarver when he did Mets' games, but not on Fox.
Ken if you are reading this--now that Tribune Corp doesn't own the paper anymore, can you vote in the post season awards? If so, would you vote Cliff Lee for Cy Young?

Well look who scored the winning run!?!

Sandy, Posada has already been here so he can be a leader since he's not in a new lockerroom. And maybe thats part of the problem. You cant really lead from the DL. So I wonder if he helped Cano last season.

I heard Joel Sherman say Tino Martinez was the in your face leader of the championship teams. That surprised me bc of how mellow he looked. But you never know whats goin on when there are no cameras around.

I think Tribune reporters can vote. It's New York Times reporters that can't vote.

Al Leiter was pretty good on YES today. I forgot about him earlier. Kay is poor to mediocre. He doesn't know when to shut-up and he does a lot of talking about strategy and other mattres that he knows absolutely nothing about. He talks as if he managed or played. He has done a lot of second guessing this year. Kubek was pretty good but McCarver is another guy that talks way too much, but at least he knows what he is talking about most of the time. I continue to love his comments about it being a disgrace that Marvin Miller was not elected to the HOF.

Funny, it didn't bother me when Jeter didn't rush to defend A-Rod. These guys are pros, not high school kids. I don't think A-Rod cared one bit that Jeter didn't jump to his defense.

Jim if you dont respect Michael Kay's opinion because he doesn't manage or play, how can you respect anyone except former Major Leaguers? He watches almost every Yankee game in person. I think he's got a good vibe on the team. Anyone that watches 162 games should have a good vibe.

If you think eh's an idiot fine, but its not because he didn't play in the big leagues. I'm pretty sure most sports writers never played the game in the Big Leagues. It doesn't take a Big Leaguer to debate strategy. That's why the average folk love baseball because its the easiest sport to understand teh basics.

Damon was brought in for his leadership abilities. I didn't mean to lump in Posada as a newbie, but I consider him the real Yankee leader, not Jeter. Then, in a way, there was Clemens when he first showed up. Since none of us ever goes into the locker room, we can only speculate on who leads whom, but I bet Posada watches over the young latino players at the very least.
Unfortunately, I can't watch Saturday day games except for Fox. Leiter has promise, and since he is practically Kay's best friend, Kay will make him look good.
I don't think for a second that ARod cares one bit about what players think of him, but he obviously cares about what the fans think of him, although he seems at times to be oblivious. He really, really, really, really wants to be loved. His relationship with Jeter certainly is strange and I think if he cares about what any player thinks of him, it's Jeter, probably because Jeter is and has got everything ARod wants.

For the life of me I dont see why A-Rod is so hated by the Yanks. I'd play with that guy any day of the week. And I LOVED what he did against the Red Sox by slapping the ball away. Think about how history could have changed if the umps blew that call...which they initially did btw.

When you're in the pros, winning is everything, and that guy plays to win.

I also think he wants to be loved by everyone including his teammates.

If A-Rod have just come up with some big clutch hits in the postseason and led the Yanks to some world championships, he would be embrace even more by Yankees fans. But since he came to the Yanks, all Yankees fans care as far as A-Rod is concern is what he has done in the postseason. A-Rod seems to worry about his image all the time, positive and negative. His relationship with Jeter is as a teammate on the Yanks. They both go their separated ways off the field.

Richie he might play to win but he doesn't know how to win. The biggest post-season failure this side of Barry Bonds, who might be the biggest choker of all-times. Plus the players realize ARod is pretty much a phony. If he's not the most despised player in baseball by the players now that Bonds is gone, I can't imagine who is.

Bonds had a rough start to his postseason career...but to call him the biggest post season choker of all time is 100% wrong.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr2002ws.shtml

And as for A-Rod I mean the guy has won two MVP's as a Yankee!! That's gotta be worth something no???
And everyone thinks he's such a bad postseason player...well until the Yankees as a WHOLE TEAM choked in 2004...he was doing pretty good. So if someone besides him woulda stepped up, none of this talk would have happened. Plus look at his Mariners stats...pretty impressive. http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rodrial01.shtml

Lastly, Sandy, I dont know him, so I'm not going to say he's a phony. All I see is how hard he plays and how great he is. He's the best player on the Yankees by far. BY FAR.

I could be wrong......
about Bonds (at least based on that)

And A-Rod. Look at his Seattle stats. Their excellent.

Where did I write that I only respect the opinions of former major leaguers? I wrote about Michael Kay that “He doesn't know when to shut-up and he does a lot of talking about strategy and other matters that he knows absolutely nothing about. He talks as if he managed or played.” I stand by those comments and think are very accurate. Mr. Kay talks like someone who played and/or managed. He didn’t.

I didn’t realize that Mr. Kay was supposed to be giving his opinion. I thought he was supposed to call the game. Someone on this blog directed a question toward me, asking, “Jim if you don’t respect Michael Kay's opinion because he doesn't manage or play, how can you respect anyone except former Major Leaguers?” I respect Ken, although to the best of my knowledge he never played in the major leagues. However, Ken doesn’t pontificate like Mr. Kay or second guess in a way that implies he knows better since he is some type of expert. He isn’t. He is not trained in baseball techniques, strategy or player management. He is trained in announcements and reporting.

Michael Kay (and John Sterling, too) is a big bag of hot air. His criticisms are meaningless and his opinions about strategy are equally meaningless. He is broadcasting to millions, and I really don’t think he has the background to make many of the statements he typically makes.

Michael Kay talking about baseball strategy is sort of like Don Imus talking about foreign policy. Both might be entertaining, but neither knows what he is talking about.

HE DID IT!!!! HE DID IT!!!! Move over Mark Spitz. There's a new King of swimming and his name is Michael Phelps. 8 Gold Medals in 1 Olympic games. Unbelievable. No one will ever match that record.

Michael Kay is supposed to bring out the best in his color commentators. He cant do that if he knew nothing about baseball. Today he asked why the Royals would let (I forget which Yankee) steal 2nd (fielders indifference) when now a ball hit to deep shortstop would mean the end of the game. Al Leiter then said he agreed with Mike but also said you want the firstbaseman to play as far back as he can to get the out. Now if Kay had not been allowed to express that, we wouldn't have gotten that tidbit from Leiter.

Fact is Jim, plenty of people know baseball. I can watch a game and have a total grasp on it. I manage all the time when I go to a Mets game. Thats part of the fun of baseball is first guessing. And if you're an announcer, then you should have every right to speak your mind. Plus you said it might be entertaining...well isn't that what he's being paid to do...entertain??

I can see how you dont like Michael Kay or any other announcer. Thats fine. But to say its not his job to talk about the strategy of baseball is baffling. Do you mean you always agree with every decision a manager makes because you never played the game??

Am I speaking English? Michael Kay should stick to calling the game and forget being a manager up in the booth. He didn't play. He has never managed. There is a difference between what Mel Allen did and what Casey Stengel did. Allen never pretended to me Stengel. Talking about baseball strategy is different than what Kay does. He severely criticized Torre about strategy is a way that we don't. Torre has been in the game almost 50 years. He has forgotten more baseball than Kay ever knew.

Dennis, you cite Kay's statement yesterday about the Royals letting the Yankees steal a base through indifference. That was a perfect example of what I am talking about. Leiter was polite and then made the point that the Royals wanted the first baseman to be able to cover the hole between first and second rather than hold a runner on. This is Baseball 101. Kay made a big deal about the Royals making a mistake letting the Yankees steal second. He even sounded a bit nasty. Meanwhile, what they did made perfect sense.

The game is the entertainment. The players. Not the announcers, umpires writers, etc. I am not interested in hearing Kay talk about strategy because I think he is a borderline incompetent when it comes to strategy.

Jim, That was not me who pointed that out it was Richie G.

Dennis, SORRY.

And, I agree, what Phelps did was spectacular.

I don't get to watch Saturday afternoon games on YES so I don't know the context of what Kay did. However, as a good play-by-play man he should get the color man to explain, probably the way Leiter did, what happened on that play. It's basically the color analyst's responsiblity to criticize the game and the play-by-play man's job is to report the game. Too often Kay has taken on the job of analyzing moves (maybe because YES management told him to) and that is not the job he should be doing.
If he works alone, like Vin Scully does, then he can anticipate strategies and explain them in advance. Scully takes on the role of teacher. Scully normally does not second-guess, unless it was a dumb play. Kay should anticipate what would happen and get the analyst to agree with the move or disagree.

Sandy and Jim, had Kay said nothing about letting A-Rod steal second, then Leiter would never have brought up his tidbit. He only brought up his tidbit because Kay got him to. And if you watched closely Leiter said nothing at first because he agreed with Kay. Then Kay said something again trying to extract Leiter's opinion. Thats when Leiter said he agrees with Kay but there is another side.

I did not find Kay to be rude about his iniital thought. I mean I didn't agree with him when he said it because I thought it was more important for the 1B to play off the line, but its his opinion, and yes I do believe its his job to share it. Gary Cohen is a LOT more outspoken than Kay. Yesterday they had a question about instant replay and Cohen brought it up and Hernandez said you go first Gary.

And as for speaking English, yes you are. But I dont think I'm understanding completely what you mean. Should he be allowed to make predictions? Should he be allowed to second guess on his radio show? I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm trying to understand what you mean. What's the difference between his radio show and Ken's column?

I think with as many games and as much access as Kay gets, he can call himself a Yankee Insider.

And it takes guts for him to go out there and say a manager made a mistkae, A-Rod has failed in the clutch etc. These players see him everyday.

And I just dont see how Kay can get the analyst to talk if Kay doesn't bring up what a lot of us are thinking.

The Mets just acquired reliever Luis Ayala from the Nationals for a player to be name later. The Mets put a claim on Ayala after the Nats put him on waivers. Ayala gives them depth in the pen with now Billy Wagner suffering a setback yesterday. Wagner went back to NY because his elbow stiffened up. So it looks like Wagner will be out a little longer.

UPDATE: The player the Nationals will get for Ayala is infielder Anderson Hernandez.

Dennis, I dont see how the Mets can really contend for anything without some major relief help. I dont really know anything about Ayala but that probably means he's not the answer.

They need some Papelbon, Jenks, Wainright Joba type of answer from their own system me thinks.

Gary Cohen is a Mets fan and that shouldn't be in the booth. He's supposed to be impartial. However, I see a lot worse than him on MLB Extra Innings like Hawk Harrelson who openly root. Like I said, I can't see Saturday's afternoon games, so I don't know the exact context how Kay brought that steal up. But Leiter needs to explain why it happened and he is still learning his job. McCarver for all the bad things everyone says of him would know to explain that play right away.
That was a good deal for the Mets, they've been trying to make that trade for a few days now. One thing Washington did have all season was a decent bullpen until they started trading it away.

I dont mind excited calls by announcers but I hate the we stuff. Hernandez and Darling root hard for the Mets too. The only people that should be allowed to say we and lets hope are the Rizzuttos and Harey Carey's of the world. And unfortunately they're not here anymore. Even Kiner doesn't do it.

But on the same token I dont want the exact same call with a Mets HR for an opponents HR. The two greatest calls in NY sports history were very homerish.
"The Giants win the pennant." And "Matteau, Matteau, Matteau..."

True Dat! And let's not forget Howie Rose, Islanders announcer, is a Rangers' fan now and forever! :)

No he's not. He's a big Islander fan. I was sitting behind him in 2000 when the Islanders scored against the Rangers in the press box. The video replay CLEARLY showed the Islanders scored but the replay judge disallowed the goal.

Howie Rose was flapping him arms all over the place in total exasperation. I was very dissappointed he wasn't rooting for the Rangers anymore. But in reality, when you meet the players you're going to root for whoever is nice to you and root against whoever is mean.

Sandy, you hit the nail on the head. The color commentator should be doing what Kay does ad naseum. The color guy is usually an ex-ballplayer who knows exactly what he is talking about. Sandy, you are right on McCarver, too. He would have expertly handled that situation. McCarver talks too much but he is very competent and he’s good, overall.

Richie G., Leiter didn’t want to show Kay up by contradicting him. That’s why he stayed quiet at first and why he gave him a nod that what Kay said was one way of looking at it. But, when Kay pushed it further in his usual egotistical way, Leiter corrected him and said why a team would do what KC did. Michael Kay is a journalist (if you can even call him that). He is not a strategist nor is he an analyst. Ken is an analyst, in addition to being a reporter and columnist. He studies stats, breaks them down and uses them to prove a point. Kay is blowing smoke and using his job to express his opinions. He is supposed to be calling the game. He’s now officially worse than Jon Sterling and that’s really saying something.

I don’t care if Kay or any of these guys talk about instant replay, predictions, etc. That’s acceptable to me. Not that I particularly care what they say. But, Kay is criticizing on the spot managerial decisions. He doesn’t have the information he needs to do it. Watch Girardi’s post-game press conferences and he will say he didn’t pinch hit someone because the guy is sick, the guy is slightly hurt, the guy is 0-for-10 against that pitcher, etc. Kay doesn’t have any of this information.

Well Jim I disagree with you. And Leiter actually said he agreed with Kay but he threw in the counter point too. I mean its basic stuff. I didn't need a pro player to tell me why they let him steal the base, I knew why. And I never played the game.

Its like watching the last two minutes of an NFL game. I have no idea how to break down coverages or anything like that. But I never understand why they dont rush the QB and fall into the prevent defense. I think its idiotic. I'm sure the coach who is doing it will give you 10 different reasons for it, but I think all 10 reasons are wrong and I'm right.

I'm not being egotistical or pompous, I just have an opinion.

Hey Johnny Damon was awful the first 6 games of the 04 ALCS. I thought Francona was stupid for starting him over Dave Roberts. Dave Roberts had magic that series, Damon had long hair. Looked pretty dumb by the 2nd inning. But thats fine, I never played the game and had an opinion. It was wrong like sometimes Michael Kay is wrong. But at least he shares his opinion and I'm grateful for that. I think he belongs in the HOF. Though he's clearly not a journalist.

Michael Kay is paid to call a game, not provide color commentary. The color guys are all former players. It isn't a question of giving an opinion. It's a question of Kay knowing what he's talking about. The stolen base thing yesterday is a perfect example. Kay didn't know what he is talking about. Leiter was being polite until Kay pushed it. Then Leiter set him straight. Us having an opinion and expressing it is different than Kay. He's talking to hundreds of thousands of fans, if not sometimes millions. He needs to be more responsible. If he wants to pontificate about the DH, the Hall of Fame, instand replay, etc., I don't care. But, when he starts talking about strategy, he makes a fool of himself. I would rather hear that from O'Neil, Flaherty, Singleton, Leiter, etc. If Kay insists on doing it, fine - but he should learn more about the game so what he's says is worth listening to. He speaks very authoritatively, but is not completely competent about the subject he is discussing (i.e. yesterday's strategy by KC).

Leiter agreed with him on that strategy. He said so, and then explained what KC was thinking. Personally, I think you underrate his baseball knowledge.

I know he doesn't understand baseball strategy. If he did, he wouldn't have said what he did about KC yesterday. That was a perfect example of his lack of knowledge. Leither said, more or less, that what Kay said was a good question and one way of looking at it. But, then Kay got a little louder and started his usual act of talking like an expert. That's when Leiter set him straight.

Leiter said he agreed with Kay. I personally didn't.