On the Yankees beat

Jeez, Kat, did A-Rod run over your dog or something?

Clemens is lying about cheating. A-Rod may be lying about something very important. There is no equivalency, which makes your analogy kind of tortured, and makes me wonder about your own reasons for spinning.

Get a good nights sleep and take a happy pill in the morning.

Typo: That should read something very UNIMPORTANT

My apologies to Kat. Some dude named Anthony wrote that bizarre post.

Dude, leave the blog to Kat.

If everyone on the Yankees misremembered everything horrible they did on the same day we might hear something like;

I am sorry Congressman, I (Clemens) mis-remembered trying to kill Piazza with the ball, throwing the broken bat at him 'because I thought it was the ball,' then (McNamee) saving a woman's life because I was having s_x with her in a public pool (in front of ANOTHER Yankee trainer) while she was half passed out on a date ra-e drug -- this right before the police rushed her to the ER, and then I (Leyritz) got in my SUV and killed a woman while drunk on my birthday, and then I (Clemens) had the date ra_e man (McNamee) inject my wife (Debbie) with HGH, and oh, I (Mel Hall) forgot, I had s_x with two teenaged girls I coached, and then I (Cashman) signed Igawa, Pavano, Vasquez, Farnsworth and Irabu instead of Schilling, Oki, Mice K and Beckett. Then I (A-Rod) went to a strip club with a Vegas Ho-Ho-Ho and thus created the inspiration for a nice Tank Top my wife, (C-Rod), wore in public -- infront of 54,000 fans, including children sitting nearby. All of them, and the rest of the nation and the world for that matter, were able to see this Tank Top and the F-Bomb written on it.

Question: What corporation: MacDonalds, McDonnel-Douglass, Coca-Cola, Microsoft ... would ever let Brian Cashman mop the floor, let alone run their company?

What happened to the "Pride of the Yankees?"

We get the players, the team and the nation we deserve.

Do we deserve this? For the highest payroll and highest team equity value?

Maybe this IS what we all deserve.

Anthony, what exactly would you have liked him to say, "I hate NY, I never wanted to come back, but I was forced to."?

Also, why is it so hard to believe he wanted his $300 million, and wanted to remain a Yankee?

Some of you really need to give A-Rod a freakin' break. In the eyes of most of the NY media, A-Rod can only fail, and it's a damn shame. He may be the best player any of us will ever see, and all we can do is complain about every word that comes out of his mouth, even when he says nothing wrong.

GIVE IT A REST

Some random thoughts which may or may not tie together ...

It's true. You CAN'T say anything to the New York Media.

A Rod should have said, "When I am with my Vegas Ho in Toronto at the Strip Club, the NY Post always takes nice front page photos of that ... and my daughter can bring them to Pre K and show them to her teacher and classmates!"

I think we'd all believe that. I am sure his daughter is VERY PROUD of the family man her daddy is.

Didn't your OWN father go to a strip club with a Ho he met in Vegas and leave your mom, you and your siblings at home alone?

Or maybe A Rod might have said; "I know the Yanks over paid me by about 100 million. Imagine if they put David Eckstein at 2B and let him lead off and put Cano at 3B ... how much better of a team they'd be!"

You can't speak freely and you can't complain. You just have to smile and nod your head.

Look at Michelle Obama talking about the pace of life and making some very small criticisms of our nation -- and how everyone is all over her scrawny, uppity, 300K per year, Ivy League, law degree ass.

You can't win. So it is best not to even open up your mouth.

Why didn't Steve Carlton want to talk with anyone in the sports media?

Can you complain about the youth, the MTV values, trade with China, Russia's recent ICBM nuclear tests and buzzing our carrier off Korea, open borders, drugs (legal and illegal), Marxist public schools and universities, uranium trafficking in Colombia, a lack of real live non-Neocon candidates, facing national bankruptcy, crime, exporting our manufacturing and IT jobs overseas, Third World invasion, criminal leaders, spending perhaps 3 trillion to lose two unwinnable wars in nations that hate us and kill our troops every chance they get ... You think you can complain?

You think you're free to talk and criticize? (Look at how they rolled their eyes at Ron Paul in the debates. All of them!)

We're not free anymore.

I met a gorgeous blonde gal from Norway last week. And that's what she told me, "Anthony, you Americans aren't free anymore. You think you're free. But you're not."

If I were A-Rod I would just talk in complete generic tones. No math. No talk about the insane contract. Just shut up and say nothing.

Don't even say "Ha!"

Unless you are rounding third base that is ...

A-Rod might have to handle just not being beloved...
Clemens was never loved in New York and he won rings and a Cy Young in pinstripes.

He seems like a calculating phony... like that should matter.
He plays his a-- off on the field and has won the MVP 3 out of the last 5 seasons.

Yet Yankee fans won't let him off the hook until he gets the ring
(As if Clay Belinger is a bigger champion)

There's 10 more years of wondering if he is a true Yankee.
Obviously the Yankees are going to win at least ONE World Series in those ten years.
It will be interesting if the fans ever embrace him with a ring.
Reggie was smart (good) enough to get his ring out of the way early!

Hey Rieber, blah blah blah blah blah, quit pickin' on ARod. Puh-lease. Memo to Rieber: YOU need to move on. You sound like some of the trolls that foul this blog.

Sounds like Spring Training has been a little too quiet and too tame for some beat writers because Anthony seems intent on trying to drum up more controversy where it doesn't exist.

Your job is to report the news - not invent the news.

A-Rod's going to be a Yankee for the rest of his career and I think most Yankee fans don't want to read this kind of crap for another 10 years.

To be fair, though, A-Rod should have learned by now that he should just shut up and play ball because the haters are never going to cut him a break no matter what he does.

Leave the guy alone. I guess two MVPs in four seasons isn't good enough for some people.

I respectfully disagree. Look at the money given to the free agents out there - who here truly believes Alex would not have gotten $300 mill?

Are you waiting for owners to line up and say - oh, I would have given it to him? He said in his news conference HE DID NOT EVEN LET DISCUSSIONS happen. He is not lying at all. The money was out there.

Rieber,
I normally agree with a lot of what you write but this was an odd post from you today. You sound like you've been hanging out w/ Wally Matthews a little too much lately. Let the bitterness go Anthony, I know you're upset that A-Rod talked to Heyman and not you but that's the way it is and pieces like yours are the reason A-Rod just cannot get a break in NY.

You know what? Just about all the players are calculating phonies. Remember when God told Reggie White to sign with the Packers? Do you also remember that it was the Packers who were offering the most money? Was it a coincidence? Nah.
If you expect an athlete to come clean and say "I hate this city, I hate the fans and I hate the owners and most of my teammates but I'm getting paid a sh*tload of cash" you will be waiting a very long time. You can just wait until they retire and write a book....maybe you could be the co-author?

Rieber, try to take a Boston view.

It's just A-Rod being A-Rod.

We don't have to like his personality or respect his communication skills. He's a baseball player. We like his talent and respect his hard work.

And it's not really his fault that he wasn't a Yankee in time to take Media Relations 101 in AA and Media Relations 201 in his first ST.

That would have deprived you guys of a lots of column inches of ink, wouldn't it?

And speaking of guys who either never took the course or played hookie the day they covered blowing your own horn too blatantly to reporters, how about that Papelbon?

Mr Rieber

Count me as one Yankee fan who doesn't care how he got back, just that he did.

If you are comfortable characterizing A-Rod as all spin, all the time, the press box at Yankee stadium should be converted to a glass house and all the writers should have to trade their laptops for stones.

All last year A-Rod said that he wanted to stay in NY. It was the writers who chose to not believe him. After the opt out, numerous temmates and unnamed sources close to the situation all said they were shocked because A-Rod and his family loved being in NY.

Heyman not A-Rod said he had many people with knowledge of teams thinking say that clubs were going to go hard after A-Rod and he was going to get his money.

Take your own advice Mr. Rieber, move on.

Cheap but effective attempt at blog hits. When is Kat coming back?

All Rieber wants is hits on his attempts at blogging. It is not creative or enjoyable to read. Mocking Arod for staying? I guess nothing else is going on. Whens Kat coming back? Is Pete Abraham the only writer who doesn't get a day off. I glad he doesn't he is the best writer anyway.

Pete Abraham is the best writer? You just lost all credibility as a poster.

The thing with this blog is that it generates most of its hits from the community, not because Anthony made a lousy posting. The posters here enjoy interacting with each other. The posters generate the hits. No offense to Kat, but I enjoy reading what the regular posters are posting more than anything she writes.

Tyler Kepner is the best Yankee beat writer.

Kepner is an outstanding beat writer and Pete is an excellent and very dedicated blogger, two very different talents!

By the way, Pete does take time off -- he had a vacation recently, in fact. But he makes sure his blog is covered by a variety of good subs, mostly experienced bloggers from other blogs, when he does it.

I think Kat is a good sportswriter but not a 'natural' as a blogger. I think she tries to do right by us and has learned on the job. But -- you guys are why I'm here!

Anthony,
Add me to the camp that does not appreciate your attempt at bringing up a phony controversy. Does it really surprise you that A-Rod went where he can make the most money? If the Post offered to double your salery, would you turn it down on principal? Give it a rest and leave A-Rod alone. He is not a God, just a darn good baseball player. He is certainly not a perfect person (who is?) but on the field he comes pretty close.

Anthony, you are an idiot. As a sportswriter you ought to know that ARod went back to the Yankees BEFORE he was even allowed to talk to other teams. So either you're ignorant or you're ignoring facts to slam ARod.

Plus, if you can't tell that most of the information in Heyman's article came from his favorite source, Boras, then you're an even bigger idiot. Clearly the motivation for that article was Boras' desire to make himself look better, by claiming that ARod just didn't have the guts to stick to Boras' brilliant strategy long enough for the Yankees to come crawling back and pay market value.

As pat said, ARod said all year he wanted to be a Yankee. It's only the sportswriters who are so blinded by their petty animosity towards ARod that they couldn't believe him.

Kat may not be the most prolific blogger, but I can't wait for her to get back.

I have to tell you all I enjoyed reading your comments today -- a lot of laughs. I think many of you missed the point of the post or just didn't want to consider what I was saying (it's also very possible I didn't make myself clear). Let me try again:
IN MY OPINION, and based on what I know of the situation, A-Rod came back to the Yankees, first and foremost, because they were the only team willing to pay him what he wanted. His original strategy, forged by Boras, was to have a massive bidding war between many teams and drive the price way over $300 million.
But Boras badly misjudged the market (which he does from time to time, which is why Kyle Lohse is unemployed at the moment when Carlos Silva got $40 million or whatever he got). When A-Rod realized this, he decided to go back to the Yankees with hat in hand.
Now, did it work out for him? Of course it did. He got a record contract in a city that he obviously enjoys.
But do any of you really believe that if A-Rod thought he could have gotten, say, $350 million from the Dodgers or Red Sox or Cubs or whoever that his "love of NY" would have been the deciding factor? And if you actually read the SI.com article, which it seems like many of you didn't, you would have noticed what I did: A-Rod is still attempting to spin his decision to be about New York, rather than about the reality of the situation. Why doesn't he just let it go?
Now, some of you, like Jim A., say that every athlete is a phony. That's just not true. Many athletes aren't afraid to tell the truth about why they make the decisions they make. In fact, most athletes are not phonies. Just like most rabid fans are not idiots.
Diane -- it's not about Media Relations 101. It's about being honest with the fans. The media is just the conduit. When he lies to us, he's lying to you.
Ant Colony -- I have no idea what you are talking about most of the time, dude. But I always read your stuff!
What could A-Rod have said, asks Greg Cohen? Glad you asked. First, he didn't need to say anything -- it was his choice to bring this all up again. But if he had to pour his heart out, he could have tried just telling the truth. That he wanted to test the market, but the market dried up or was never really there, so he made the best deal he could. What is so wrong with that? We all would have taken the deal he took.
Jim M. asks if the post offered to double my "salery" would I take it? Yes, of course, and if someone asked me why I went to the post, i would say because they offered to double my salary. I wouldn't say it was because it was my lifelong dream to work with Cindy Adams.
Consider this: Would Derek Jeter tried to spin his contract situation this way? Would Bernie Williams? Would Mariano Rivera? Would Jorge Posada? Would YOU? No.
Which proves that these beloved Yankees have earned their stature by more than just their play on the field. They've also proven their character because they respect the fans enough to be honest with them (though the media).
A-Rod still thinks you can all be fooled. Judging by most of the 20 or so posts here, he was right. There are a lot of other Yankees fans who a) were happy to see the Yankees close the door on A-Rod when he opted out and b) were upset when he returned. They think he's as talented a player as has ever come along, but they didn't want him on their team because HE'S NOT SOMEONE WORTHY OF THEIR LOYALTY and he'll never truly be a beloved Yankee. And there's that whole postseason failure thing.
That's what the posting was about. This is the longer form.
You are free to disagree with me -- as I said, I enjoyed reading the comments as they popped up, many chuckles -- and some of you (Jim A, Diane, Hughes Your Daddy, Viper, Sully, to name a few...hey, why didn't Rick Keyes weigh in on this? Rick is never afraid to challenge me, and I love that about him. Vacation, Rick?) have earned my respect over the years because your comments are always interesting and insightful.
I'm sure if we were sitting down over an adult beverage and discussing this, you would be less harsh about your disagreement with my opinion and might even take a moment to consider what I'm saying without being blinded by your love of all things pinstriped.
Oh, and the idea that I posted my opinion to get blog hits is funny. That's incredibly simple-minded thinking and not worthy of some of you. Disagree with me all you want, but there's no reason to doubt the motives of sportswriters who are willing to put their FULL NAMES on their opinions (unlike, oh, let's see, EVERY SINGLE BRAVE ONE OF YOU WHO HIDES BEHIND SWEET ANONIMITY).

:)

And I don't think 20 postings is going to get Mr. Zell to call me and offer me a big fat raise. The item I posted about four minor-league pitchers being cut on Saturday got 15 comments. Was I trying to get comments there to boost my total too by bringing up a controversial subject like Daniel McCutchen getting sent down?

That's it. Anyone else who wants to discuss this further, feel free to post here or e-mail me at anthony.rieber@newsday.com.
(Full disclosure: I get 5 cents every time a reader post on the blog and 10 cents every time a reader sends me an e-mail. See? I'm at it again!)

Peace out, y'all.

Correction: Greg Cohen posts under his own name and also includes a link to his blog. And sully also includes a link to his myspace page with his full name and a picture where he looks a lot like that dude from "Knocked Up"
Apologies for the inaccuracy.
22 posts! ka-ching!

Oh, and one more thing:
I want those of you who are accusing my of trying to drum of blog hits to explain to me how that would work exactly? What are the mechanics of it?
If I write a controversial opinion about A-Rod, do little pop-ups open up on every computer in the world? Do the regular viewers of the Yankee blog call their friends and tell them to click? Aren't the same number of people visiting Newsday.com and clicking on the Yankees blog regardless of whether I post an opinion piece on A-Rod or today's lineup from Sarasota? Sometimes it's cold facts, sometimes it's funny annecdotes, sometimes we ask for your opinion, sometimes we post our own. That's what a blog is.
You guys are thinking in old newspaper terms. yes, when a newspaper sensationalizes a story by putting in on the front or back page with a huge headline, it is doing so so people who see the front or back page will go "holy cow!" and buy the thing. It doesn't work that way with blog posts.
Logic and facts are fun things, aren't they?Sometimes they even get in the way of our prejudices (like against journalists)!
OK, I'm really done with this. Enjoy daylight savings time.

Sorry about all of the typos. It's late and I've been up since 6:30 working to bring Newsday's readers all the latest Yankees news. I'm not really reading over these comments like I would a story for the newspaper or web site.
Tomorrow: Matsui makes his season debut in Fort Myers! Matsui-- another Yankee with great character. Beloved even though he's never won a World Series here.
Too subtle?

Rieber just doesn't get it. I'm not going to speak for anyone else smart guy. I could care less what ARod or anyone else says, especially when it's last years news. I only care how they play and if they try. You, on the other hand, I could care less how you play but only what you say and what you say is one of the big things wrong with the world. No one can say anything anymore without being criticized. No fooling. The only things I ever cared to hear ARod say was he was willing to move to 3B to come to NY and last November he was coming back. The rest is all rhetoric. ARod will never be beloved in NY? How do you know? Which stocks should I buy? You are fooling yourself.

I did read the SI article and your blog entry. I understood what you were trying to point out, I just didn't agree with you.

IN MY OPINION, people who speaks in absolutes- most talented, least beloved or will never be beloved- open themselves to debate so I'm glad you enjoyed this one so much. Most and least can change in the blink of an eye and never is a long time away. People who use those words are usually proven wrong eventually.

Alex Rodriguez is talented but the book on most talented is yet to be finished. I respect athletes for being prepared and giving 100 % effort. I save my beloving for people I personally know and as an aside, to me a true Yankee is whoever is currently on the 25 man roster come opening day and whoever gets added to it in the course of a season. Some will be remembered more than others for what they contributed but wearing the uniform is good enough for me.

As for Alex only following the money wherever it would lead, I believe its possible that there were other places he might have went if the Yankees didn't want him back or if the money wasn't close. But I don't think it was a to the highest bidder no matter what scenario. He already lived that in Texas and in 2004 was willing to take less money and to switch positions to escape.

He has admitted that he likes being the highest paid player, he also has said he loves playing in NY. I think both are true.

Wouldn't you like to be the highest paid sports writer? If you knew NY was the most comfortable fit for you and yours and the LA Times offered you a boat load of cash, it would be foolish for you not at least investigate LA or to try to approach your current employer and see if you could work out a deal so you could have both personal happiness and financial success.

Even players that you characterize as high character make sure their financials are addressed. Bernie Williams negotiated and almost signed with Boston before coming back to the Yankees for more money than he was currently making. Derek Jeter spent this entire off season telling anyone that would listen that he doesn't live in NY, he lives in Tampa while walking the tightrope of professing his love for being a Yankee and loving the fans in NY. Why? Because it would cost him money to do otherwise. Mariano and Jorge both filed for free agency and used the possibility of what was out there for them as a way to maximize their contracts. Fans may have an emotional investment in a team but players have a financial one. Only the truly lucky players can have both.

As for judging someones character, I would guess if you took a poll of the occupation that people think are best informed to judge a persons character, sports writer might not be high up on the list. Nothing against the profession but it's not the first place I turn for moral judgements.

Maybe it's the mom in me, but I can differentiate between A-Rod the athlete and Alex Rodriguez the person. While I may be disappointed when A-Rod, fails on the field, I'm not disappointed when Alex Rodriguez fails in life because his personal life doesn't impact mine and people make mistakes. Some just learn from them quicker than others.

Rieber,
Okay, I'll give you the fact that not all athletes are phony. However, doesn't it seem that way especially at contract time? I mean, I gave you the Reggie White example and I'm sure you remember Mike Hampton leaving for that great Colorado school system. I think the athletes you know may be less phony or less concerned with their image than the ones we see. I don't profess to know what athletes say to you off the record but I'm sure there are still some secrets left in sports.

I agree that A-Rod has an insatiable and destructive need to be accepted and loved and I was shocked that Jon Heyman fell for the story because he seemed far too cynical for that. I mean, Heyman used to rake Giambi over the coals without mercy and even sent me an email once admitting that he couldn't stand the fact that Giambi would never get p*ssed off at him.

If athletes aren't phony, they're not exactly honest either. I have yet to see the prominent athlete step up to the podium at their introductory news conference and say "I took the most money". The closest you come to that is the ocassional backup safety in the NFL saying he is looking to get paid.

I disagreed w/ the blog hits thing so I'll side with you on that for sure. Oh, and I'm as surprised as you are that my friend Rick Keyes didn't jump in because your post was in his wheel house, he hates A-Rod and would love that. I think he's snowed under in Ohio.

You do a great job subbing for Kat, even if I disagree w/ you which is rare.

Oh, and as far as the anonymity goes, I started using "Jim A." because I wasn't sure who could get to information posted on this site a few years ago when I started posting here. So in the interests of "manning up", I'll sign off like this for you:

Jim Alba
Ashburn, VA
www.thealbas.com

This is great interaction w/ the blog, keep it coming!

Sorry I've been missing out on the liveliest part of the discussion -- power outages and huge tree down at my quite elderly parents' house absorbing some time and energy...

Rieber, I appreciate your level of attention and interaction! I don't mean anything *bad* about the media or the athletes in referring to my ongoing joke about Media Relations 101 and 201. The media is doing its job by finding out and publishing anything they can, the athletes are doing their job by trying to represent their team and their personal 'brand' favorably in the public eye, and the teams are doing their job by frankly and openly training their young guys in how to navigate their relations with the press with as little damage as possible.

That training can't make it easier on the press to get access or to get unfiltered information to fill their reports, columns or blogs. But I think a lot of us, or at least those of us who have been interviewed in sensitive situations by people who've been trained to get SOMETHING out of you by any means they can use, do sympathize more with the interviewee than with the interviewer.

There is no question that the only reason ARod is back in NY is because of the money...it is always about the money with these guys...if another club had come forward and offered more, he would have gladly traded his Yankee cap for another club's cap. Don't be fooled. ARod wants to spin it his way now, make it look like he's happy to be back, blah, blah, blah, but it is a bunch of baloney. He feels like he has his"image" to repair. Why do you think he hired that manager out in L.A...for damage control It is so ridiculous. How this guy manages to continue to dramatize every aspect of his life is beyond me. The guy is a magnet for controversy. Best of luck NY!

See? We can all have a civil discussion! Remember, it all comes from a love of baseball, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Pat -- how do you know I'm not already the highest paid sports writer?
:)
About Bernie: My only response would be to point out that he never tried to put the attention on himself the way A-Rod does. But good points all.
Jim Alba: Good to know you, man. Stop by the press box next time you're at the Stadium.
Diane: I hear you. Totally. I've worked in NY newspapers now for 20 years and I understand how difficult the process can be to those being interviewed, especially if they are not polished. I can tell you there is a player in the Yankees clubhouse right now who is not happy with me because I asked him a couple of questions he didn't like the other day. And it's not even A-Rod!
But that's the nature of the beast.
Pete Lacock: All I'll say about you is great screen name. We can agree to disagree about this one.
And all of you who are pining for Kat, I feel you. I can't wait til she gets back too so I can put my feet up and watch her do her thing! Sources close to Kat tell me she will be back blogging away again very soon. Then I'm heading to Port St. Lucie to see if I can stir a few things up at Mets camp. Maybe get some extra blog hits over there!

People stop kissin his PENS A$$

He is wrong plain and simple the media can do some boneheaded moves sometimes and this is one of them, how soon we forget that it was the medai that drove Maris crazy and eventually out of town.

Rieber,
I'll be at the stadium on June 22nd and hopefully the all-star game. Maybe I'll bump into you, buy you a "soda" and a dog.

I'll be the guy w/ the Thurman Munson jersey on and eating Carvel out of one of those little helmets (I can't resist those things!).

I'd love to chat with you about your job, it must be pretty darn cool to be involved w/ sports for a living.

Jim A.,
Like any other job, it has it's days, but I'm not going to lie: It's better than working for a living.
E-mail me at anthony.rieber@newsday.com in June. If I'm at the stadium on the 22nd, we'll definitely say hello. Maybe we'll even drag Baumbach out of mothballs

Hey, watch it. I haven't disappeared now. And sure I'll go to Yankee Stadium. Wonder if it's changed much since I left. I hear they're tearing it down. That true? :)

RIeber and Jim,
I'll need you guys to tell me what size bolts are holding the seats in place at the stadium....I'm not leaving empty handed in June. Hahahaha.

I'd definitely like to meet you guys. I used to deliver Newsday when I was a kid so I'm sort of ex-co-worker. The Sunday Newsday actually saved my butt once as a St. Bernard decided to try to make a meal out me and I fended him off with the Sunday paper until his owner came out....those were the good old days.

Jim B: Let me know if you want to do that Rock and Roll Half Marathon in VA Beach, as I said before, you are welcome to use my house down there. I hear it's a really good time.