Home Run King* Indicted

I don't really have time to make another post, but there is just too much going on to avoid it.

First off is the reality that Barry Bonds seems destined to continually reclaim his throne as most hated player in sports. Just after it seemed Arod might be poised to take the throne amongst baseball players, Barry gets indicted. Surely it can't come as any surprise to anyone, aside from only the most delusional citizens of San Francisco. The man obviously used steroids and just about anything else he could find that might be injected, ingested, or rubbed on his body in the hopes of stealing the spotlight back to himself. For those who don't know, the story seems to be that in 1998 as the Big Mac/Sosa battle was going on, Barry started pouting that they were getting all the attention while he was winning all the MVP awards. So, as the story seems to go, Bonds confided in friend Ken Griffey Jr. that he was going to start cheating right along with Mark and Sammy. The story is a hard one not to believe. Here is some evidence:

Young Barry Bonds - '98 Bonds - '04

Go ahead and ask any doctor you'd like how common it is for a man to put on that sort of muscle in his late 30's, it just doesn't happen. If Barry had simply taken the Giambi route and fessed up we might have been able to forgive him, at least a little. Instead he lied in court, he lied to the press, and he continues to act like the world owes him something for being Barry Bonds. He will continue to play the 'scapegoat' card, implying that the reason everyone hates him is because he's black. Now I would certainly never imply that there isn't a race issue in this country, there is a huge amount of racism that still exists in America, including in sports (I'll blog on that sometime soon). Yet it just isn't the case when it comes to the fans hating Barry Bonds. If Ken Griffey Jr. were the one who just broke the record the sports world would still be celebrating in jubilee, support can be seen in an article my friend Ryan wrote for the Burnside Writer's Collective. If only it could have been Griffey, if only he'd had the career we all dreamed he would have when he was just a kid with a million dollar smile and the most beautiful swing in baseball. But alas, it wasn't Griffey, until Arod breaks it Bonds will hold what used to be the most cherished record in baseball. A record that is now more like the ugly scar that points to past betrayal.

The sad thing about the whole indictment itself is that as a baseball fan a big part of me just wants the Barry Bonds saga to be over, but instead this is going to make sure that Barry is on Sports Center every night. I on the other hand don't want to be a part in continuing to give this story legs, even amongst the small number of people who read this blog, so consider this sentence the last you'll read from me directly on the subject of Barry Bonds.

Human After All

For all my problems with him, I can't say I'm disappointed to have Arod back in pinstripes. While he has yet to prove himself in the playoffs, and perhaps never will, at least he'll provide the offensive production needed to get to the playoffs consistently. It's pitching that wins once you are there anyway. As has been well documented throughout the baseball world, Scott Boras (Arod's agent) misread the market in a profound way, but it goes much deeper than that. Scott Boras the 'super-agent' with the super-ego has been dealt the first major blow of his career. I won't go into great detail because you can read about this reality in any number of places, but it brings a certain amount of joy to my heart that Dr. Evil has finally been served a fair serving of humble pie. As I already mentioned, he misread the market, he humiliated his star client, and in the end lost money for Arod (and himself). Since the Yankees lost the help they previously had from the Texas Rangers in paying Arod's contract they refused to go as high as they were offering Arod before he opted out. So in addition to the fact that it solidified him even further as one of the most hated players in all of sports, it also cost him millions of dollars when all is said and done. Fortunately for Arod, his image will be helped by the reality that he bypassed Boras to get word to the Yankees that he wanted to stay in the Bronx and never flinched at the idea of taking less money than was originally offered. I don't envy Arod should he slump at any point early in the year, this certainly didn't help a player whose relationship, whether it is fair or not, has never been particularly solid with his hometown fans. Hopefully, for the Yankees sake, Girardi can be as effective as Torre was in minimizing the negative effect Arod might continue to have on the clubhouse.

It makes sense for Arod to come back. I was pretty surprised to begin with when Arod opted out without even negotiating with the Yankees. For a man who has a tremendous amount of ego and understands his place in history as a ballplayer he must have some idea of the legacy he would leave as a player without any true team. To retire as a member of the Angels, having played on 3 other major league clubs, as he enters the Hall of Fame with an A on his cap is certainly impressive, but not as impressive as staying with the Yankees. Now he will be the best player on the team as the Yankees open their new stadium, he will break every record imaginable in pinstripes, and whether the fans warm to him or not, will be remembered along with the plethora of other players who played for the Yankees and must be mentioned in the conversation of 'The Best Ever'. The fans have been fickle regarding Arod thus far, but what it really comes down to is the post-season. If Arod can start playing well in October all will be forgiven and Arod will be a hero. Yet, if he continues to leave runners on base, strike out like it's his job, and turn from a regular season offensive powerhouse into a gaping hole in the lineup once the leaves turn he will continue to suffer the tension of restless fans. Either way, he'll be getting paid well for his effort, if not quite as well as he might have.

the argument against cabrera.

With Arod likely out of the picture the New York Yankees have a much talked about hole to fill at third. Obviously no one will match the regular season productivity Arod offered, but it won't be tough to top Arod's post-season production should the Yankees make it, so at least there's that. The many names to be in the Yankee rumor-mill of late include Joe Crede, Mike Lowell, Adrian Beltre, and Scott Rolen. However one of the sexiest names on the list is Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera would add power and run production to the Yankees line-up in the post-Arod era and the Yankees should avoid going after him unless the price is remarkably cheap. Perhaps that last sentence seems a bit counterintuitive, but I stand by it... for now.

I write about my reluctance to see Cabrera in pinstripes knowing I may full well come to someday eat my words. The talent that can be seen every time Cabrera steps up to the plate is undeniable and he would only get more dangerous with the protection the Yankees lineup would offer. Yet for all his talent Cabrera comes with an awful lot of baggage. He has continued issues with his attitude and even more importantly with his weight and that should raise red flags for any team considering to pay for his services with top-flight prospects that just may flourish while Cabrera moves closer and closer to the 300 lb. club.

If the Yankees are only looking for a temporary replacement at third with Cabrera, and pay accordingly, then this could be a good deal to make. Cabrera can at times make the brilliant play at third, scattered in with the boneheaded gaff from time to time as well. However his weight issues tend to point toward the reality that Cabrera has little future at the hot corner and will need to shift to first, or perhaps even to DH, within the next few seasons. The ratio of brilliant to boneheaded plays will continue to move in an ugly direction if a team stubbornly keeps Cabrera at third, so if the Yankees look at Cabrera's age and expect to be trading for their third-baseman of the future they would wind up overpaying and Cashman will be forced to admit, in the immortal words of George Oscar Bluth, "I've made a huge mistake."

However, if the Yankees can pay the right price for Cabrera, understanding that he would be the team's DH some time inside the next two seasons then perhaps he's worth the gamble. It's always possible he will continue to produce at a high level in spite of his weight and that Girardi will be able to keep Cabrera from disturbing the atmosphere of the clubhouse too severely turning Cabrera into the Yankees' version of Manny Ramirez, yet that is a huge 'if'. The reality is that Florida will likely expect quite a lot in return for a player widely known to be one of their remarkably talented young players, and while the price may turn out to be justified, I don't think the Yankees should take that chance.

In the end the likelihood of Cabrera coming to the Bronx will probably be forestalled by the insistence most teams seem to have that the Yankees include Hughes in any big deals, something the Yankees have proven unwilling (and wisely so) to do. Thus, it is possible this post is moot from the very beginning. Either way, the offseason is underway which is always one of my favorite parts of following baseball, kind of like watching the trailers when you go to the movies. So, let the rumors, trades, signings, and second-guessing begin!

No I in Arod... but there should be.

There isn't much I could say about Arod and Boras choosing Game 4 of the World Series as the day to declare that Arod was opting out of his record setting contract to pursue free-agency that Peter Gammons and Buster Olney haven't already said, so here is a link to Buster's story.

You can't blame Arod for leaving, it seemed he was never going to truly win over Yankees fans because it appeared he was never going to perform well in October, at least not while wearing pinstripes. What you can blame Arod for is the way he opted out. For a player who has been downright awful in post-season play he certainly has a high estimation of his own worth. Apparently Boras sees there must be some team out there who feels Arod is worth $30 million a year. I can't say I agree.

Managerial Musical Chairs

Goodness gracious. With all that's going on around the world of baseball these days it's difficult to decide what to write about as my first ever Holy Diamond post. I suppose it makes sense to just go with the topic at the forefront of my mind, in this case that happens to be all this manager hullabaloo.

It appears likely that Grady Little will be fired as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers to be replaced by recently unemployed Joe Torre. As a Yankee fan, the idea of Joe Torre in another uniform again is a sad thought to be sure. However, for some reason, perhaps my own fondness for the Dodgers, I'm glad for this tremendous opportunity for Torre. Joe deserves to be a part of the game until he decides it's time to hang it up and suiting up in Dodger blue is far from a consolation prize. If this is true it could be very good news for Dodgers fans. Say what you will about Joe Torre's ability to manage a bullpen, but he brought a level of class back to a Yankee team that had lost the mystique of what it meant to put on pinstripes. Joe Torre is more than a great manager, by all accounts of any who know him (Gary Sheffield excluded by cause of insanity) he is also a wonderful human being. I'm happy that Joe Torre, a kid who grew up in Brooklyn, just might be able to land another of the premier jobs in the game. In related news it appears likely according to Buster Olney (who is frequently right about these things) that Don Mattingly will follow Torre to LA should he be officially hired by the Dodgers. I suppose it is easy to understand why Mattingly is leaving the Yankees, being that he was passed over for a position he desired from the moment he signed up to be Hitting Coach. Yet as understandable as it may be it certainly doesn't make it any easier to take. It's a sad reality that Mattingly should wear anything but pinstripes.

Yet, as sad as Mattingly in another uniform may be, I think the Yankees made the right choice in selecting Joe Girardi as their new manager. He knows the game, he's a brilliant man, and even back in his days as a member of the team during the dynasty he was frequently the one calling team meetings and standing up when something needed to be said. Although for his many differences from Torre a lack of class can't be listed as one of them. While various front office execs from the Marlins organization took anonymous pot shots at Girardi after they fired him for having the nerve to win National League Manager of the Year in his first season, he remained silent and refused to fire back. As a former catcher Girardi has experience working with pitchers in a myriad of situations, which as ESPN reported went a long way in the interview process to make Joe the frontrunner. By all accounts Girardi was the candidate that Yankee GM Brian Cashman gave his seal of approval, and I trust Cashman. Even his mistakes are rooted in logic and can be understood. Also, lets not forget to ponder how different the Yankees might be if Cashman hadn't been thwarted in his attempts to sign Vlad Guerrero when The Boss swooped in and signed Sheffield on his own, that just being a microcosm of how things used to work in Yankeeland. Now Cashman seems to have much more say in what happens, which is what gives the Yankees a large stable of young talent, especially young arms, and in Florida Joe Girardi proved that he can be trusted to get the most out of future superstars.
As a side note, or perhaps as the dream of a poorly recovering greedy Yankee fan, shortstop Hanley Ramirez has a wonderful relationship with Girardi and tearfully thanked him after winning National League Rookie of the Year. I certainly wouldn't complain about the prospect of a remarkably talented star on the rise who happens to have a friend in the Yankee clubhouse. C'mon... a guy can dream.