On the Yankees beat

Jeter has it exactly right. None of this crap makes any difference. Are Matsui and Giambi best buddies? How about Mussina and Abreu? Did Cano spend the night at Posada's place? Who cares? This stuff is a non-issue! Let's play ball and kick some Sox Nation a**.

This is really silly and these stories belong in the Daily News, not Newsday. I saw the entire interview w/ A-Rod and it was nothing to write five articles about that's for sure. He was honest and said it was the last time he'd talk about it so can we please just put it to bed. My gosh, Thurman and Reggie couldn't stand one another as men, but as teammates they won two World Series and I don't remember hearing this much about it.

I'm actually surprised I didn't see more about Pavano's "heavy legs", if that is not a tell tale sign of what is coming I don't know what is.
Why don't we all call our bosses tomorrow and say we can't come in because we have "heavy legs"?
In tomorrow's Newsday we'll be reading about Pavano missing another workout due to "lightness in his groin", which we don't need a doctor to tell us is the truth.

Yep , it pretty much is a moot point....too bad the media has to keep digging it up as a source of headlines. Arod should never have said what he did about Jeter all those years ago but it is over and needs to be put to rest. All of us have worked with someone who we didn't like or maybe couldn't stand...glad to see Jeter understands that and took the high road.:)!

True about not hearing (reading) more on ole heavy legs....tommorrow I suspect a tummy ache will keep her off the mound;)!

Rick:I agree with what you say ,but why do rags like NEWSDAY print all the news that's unfit to print? Why take what is essentially non-news and run with it ? Doesn't NEWSDAY have a responsibility to it's readership to lay off this non-sense ? I think the NY print media have it in for A-Rod .He's being targeted,outside of NEW YORK nobody really cares about this drivel...Play ball !

Jim A - Love the "light groin" comment!

Bronx Bomber - You are the only one not signed up yet for our BBB fantasy league. Please Git-R-Done, Thanks.

ruse

I think the "sports" writers are starting to act like the "news" reporters! It's all about out- sensationalizing the next guy.

Unfortunately, sports is MOSTLY a guy domain and we guys don't care about soap operas and such. Give us the scoops on what's going on as far as baseball is concerned. That's what we want.

What do all these new kids look like? What's going on with the backup C spot? How is Giambi's wrist really doing?

I hope you don't "blow" this blog ruse. I like you being part of our core group. We need you man, now please report to camp!

Jeter is asked the same question A-ROD addressed yesterday, and refuses to answer it directly, on the grounds, "it doesn't make a difference". Jeter knows how to handle "the media", and not get drawn into subjects that both distract the team, and put teamamtes "on the spot". I believe A-ROD knows how to do this also, but likes the publicity. That ESQUIRE article is akin to the Reggie, "Straw that stirs the drink" comment, concerning Thurman. Everytime A-ROD comments on his relationship with Jeter, he is reviving that article, and starting this "mess" all over again. I believe A-ROD knows this, and obviously likes being "center stage", no matter what the "fallout" may be. Jeter on the other hand, doesn't like the publicity, and refuses to answer the question directly. This is why the player with superior stats gets "booed", and the other "cheered". One is "self centered", the other is "team oriented". If A-ROD would just hit 3 "meaningful" homers in a climatic World Series game, he could turn those "boos" into becoming a Yankee legend.

Newsday has had some pretty good coverage of the Yankees so far this spring, but this A-Rod-Jeter-Relationship story is a big "so what?"

I don't care what A-Rod thinks about Jeter. But I do want to know whether A-Rod apologized to Baumbach after he got roughed up at the book signing.

First of all I think that if this is not the most overblown story in all of NY Sports I don't know what is.

We all know the history, they were great friends, A-Rod said something he admits he shouldn't have, the friendship fell apart and is now a cool working relationship. It happens in every facet of life.

Lots of teammates have had much worse relationships, from Thurman/Nettles and Reggie to Chad Curtis and Derek Jeter. The point is you don't need to be best friends to work together and win.

Where I do think Jeter has screwed up a little is that as the team captain he should put aside his personal feelings and at least publicly try to show Alex some more support. The team needs A-Rod at his best to win and all it would take to get the media and fans to back off of him is for Jeter to say, "we lost in the playoffs because we didn't pitch, last I checked Alex doesn't pitch so he's not the problem."

I was away all weekend so please indulge me while I weigh in one more time on Bernie. Joe Torre is calling him and telling him to come. He's not doing that so he can cut him during camp. If Bernie showed up, Torre would make a spot for him. I don't think it's the best thing for the team, but that's just my opinion which counts for nothing more than your opinions count for in this. That said, if Bernie doesn't show up, it is on him, not Cashman, that he doesn't have a place on this team.

This is soap opera c--p. Play ball and win the WS. So, I can get a new vanity plate with something special indicated.

or Randy Johnson or Mike Mussina pitching back to back clutch games...why is it A-Rod hitting 3 Homers in a decisive game any different than anyone else coming up w/ a great performance....If you look at MVPs in WSs it's sometimes the little guy who comes up big,like Billy Martin in 1953 or the Bucky Dents and Brian Doyles....the onus isn't on 1 individual but on 25 players...who remembers how important Viscaino was in the 2000 WSs ? Key hits from a scrub when it counted !

Well said Ruse. And lets not forget the biggest little guy of all - Bobby Richardson.

Definition of a gamer...Billy Martin .257 lifetime hitter during regular season. Billy Martin .333 lifetime hitter during World Series.

ruse is right. It can be a pitcher, a hitter, or even a scrub, but GAMERS are the one's that THRIVE on the challenge during the BIG games!

By the way, the Yankee website currently has a nice story on Billy being up for election to the HOF by the veterans committee. An honor that is long overdue!

picking up on this theme ,how many of you remember Jim Beattie ? The 78 WSs will always be about game 3 Nettles/Guidry...but game 5 will be Beattie ,a rookie ,pitching a complete game victory ,a game which sent the Dodgers packing...

Rick -
The Luis Sojo's, Jose Vizciano's of the world are important to championships but I'm sorry, if you're contending that the Yankees would be a better team with a better chance of winning the World Series by SUBTRACTING one of the best players of this generation (A-Rod) then I'm going to have to say you don't know your butt from a hole in the ground.

You know what you get with a team full of David Eckstien's and role players....you get the KC Royals or Tampa Devil Rays. I'm not saying you need a team of All-Stars, but having Alex walk away at the end of this season and trying to replace him with Mike Lowell or Joe Crede or by moving Cano to third, does not make the Yankees a better team. What would make the Yankees a better team would be Alex forgetting all the crap from the media, all the scrutiny from the fans and just going back to playing baseball.

Chip

I never mentioned A-Rod in my post. I don't know how you got that out of my comments? Maybe you have a complex or something when it comes to your boy Alex?

Chip

By the way, David Eckstein can play for me anyday.

Apologies then...I read your post about gamers and assumed it went back to an earlier post where you were talking about how A-Rod was not the right player for this team.

Bobby Richardson,7-time All Star,5-time gold glove award winner,his 60,61,64 World Series performances are a thing of legend...shares records for most hits in a 5 game WSs w/9 and 7 game series w/13 and I believe still holds the record for RBI in a 7 game series w/12

Rick I thought I did register, hit me up

Nothing wrong with having A David Eckstein on a team, just can't win with a team made up completely of David Eckstein's.

Great fantasy baseball blog... if you get a chance check out thrGNUru Fantasy Sports The GNUru Fantasy Baseball

Cashman dropped the ball whne he didn't trade A-Fraud when he had the chance. A-Fraud will never win as long as he and Jeter are on the same team. Cashmna should've traded him to the Whie Sox for Crede and pitching prospects, but you know hedidn't because he doesn't want to admit he made a mistake by trading for A-Fraud in the first place.

By the way, why does eveyrhting A-Fruad ever says sounds so phony? I swear it's like he's reading a dialogue written for him by one of his therapists.

And Jeter says he doesn't want to the tell the fans not to boo A-Fraud but he tells them to support Giambi*. Give me a break, Jeter!

Bronx Bomber

You're in there now. All 12 are registered and we should be all set. Thanks!

Chip

I was just responding to ruse's post about little guys coming up big.

Who cares? At least ARod was honest about it, it'd be nice to hear Jeter do the same, and then put it to rest. By the way Carla called out sick today apparently a nat hit the windsheild of his car and as a result has suffered a set of bruised ribs. As for the whole heavy legs thing... maybe if he'd gotten off his a** and pitched in the past two years, his legs wouldn't feel so heavy.

I apologize for the Red Sox Fan outbursts ,he obviously doesn't know what he's talking about!

Amazing that Sox trolls and Chip are STILL, (yes, S T I L L !!) blaming Jeter for ARod's problems. When will it end? Really, when?

ARod, by all intents and purposes is a fully functioning adult, responsible for his own actions. Allegedly the greatest player who ever breathed a breath, his fawning minions find it their mission to seek and destroy anyone not bowing toward the tower of ARod.

Isn't that enough reason to trade him anywhere? For anything?

NY Yankee baseball has become a soap opera reality show fueled by a tabloid media feeding frenzy.

I say as soon as Carla throws a pitch in a game, they trade him. Of course, that's assuming he ever makes it to a game.

One thing I have to say about Jeter's handling of this story is that he could do more to diffuse it by simply saying exactly what A-Rod said. By continuing to say something like "I don't want to talk about it", it makes people (well writers, not people) think their is more to the story. Jeter should simply say, yep, the guy is an old married man now and we don't hang out because his wife gets mad, we'd all understand completely. Even a $250M can't always get a kitchen pass.

I meant "$250M man"..oops

Rick, Carla will never be traded, he might make it onto a mound a total of 5 times in spring trainning, never in a regular season game. And Jeter really should have come out more in defense of ARod or at least tried to, it might not have silenced at the boos but it would have kept it from happening with such bloodlust.

Yes, we all know the Yankees are great, that they sell newspapers, and that people love to read about them. BUT dredging up an old and tired story of a Jeter/A-Rod friendship possibly gone sour is a sign of desperation. The Yankees are a baseball team, not a glee club, and Newsday is supposed to report NEWS, not serve as the mediator for the Friends Are Us Society.

The media's attempt to cause disruption within the Yankee camp during spring training is nauseating and sad; but what's possibly sicker and sadder is that the players are cultivating this utter nonsense. Come on, Yankees, let's play ball and ignore the media's attempt to cause a rift in the team from the get-go. You're under no obligation to answer foolish questions. It's about time the media and the Yankees GOT WITH THE REAL PROGRAM!!!!

Maybe if Gayrod showed me some love I would still be throwing 85 mph fastballs for the Yankees.

Randy the Unit
A) you're a moron
b) you're moron
c) you're a moron for calling him "Gayrod"... are you a homophobe? what's you're issue?
d) no amount of love from anyone would have kept Randy here he wasn't comfortable, and could and would never have lived to the hype. we wanted the Unit that was a flame throwing terror, the one that existed about 5-6 years ago, instead we got father time. granted the man did win 17 games a year but thats not really hard to do with like 7+ worth of run support even an injured carla could manage that much.

Lucy: Well said !

I think we're all misinterpreting how serious this thing is:

http://teapotdomescandal.blogspot.com/2007/02/exclusive-jeter-lashes-out-derek-jeter.html

A-ROD hitting 3 homers in a decisive World Series game was the example used because Reggie was "booed" till he did likewise. Reggie was "booed" after his Munson comment, A-ROD IS "booed" in large part because of his ESQUIRE comments concerning Jeter. The example has nothing to do with "big guys" or "little guys".

A-Rod needs to go ASAP. He is a team distraction and a media punching bag. Cashman now needs to realize A-Rod is doing more harm to this team then helping it. Sports writers have turned into paparazzi. Also it has to due with the fact that they no longer hire true sports reporters. Now they hire ex-players that don't know the first thing about reporting. Then again when you have guys like Buck and McCarver annoucing the playoffs due you expect anything important to every come out of those guys mouths? Sports reporting and annoucing has gone to crap!

AJ

so if we trade Arod who plays third and seeing how PHONY some fans can be what do you think would happen to that player if they don't perform well??

the actions of the fans and media is going to turn the yankees back to the early 90's squad when no one wants to come here. The person who may GO is Torre.

Old Days George would've called him to the office and warn him or warn the players ! put his foot up Arod's ass and Jeters. The manager needs to speak on this to HIS PLAYERS end the crap now

The only Yankee with the "stones" to put his foot up A-ROD's anal canal, is Giambi. Torre has not, and never will say "boo", to any Yankee player.

It's a little crazy, but it's been entertaining and quite fascinating for me to observes.

Alex should maybe just really watch what he says and perhaps just focus on the task at hand -- baseball.

Jeter handled the situation well, and he deserves kudos for it.

I disagree with the notion that the Yanks should trade A-Rod because he is a "media punching bag". No matter what this guy does, good or bad, he'll be the focus of the media mostly because he is incredibly rich, talented and supposedley good looking. This usually makes the average bald; non-athletic; overweight from too many ballpark hot dogs and underpaid sportswriter jealous and the best way for them to have fun is to run the guy out of town and score one for the little people. Jon Heyman as much as admitted that to me in an email exchange two years ago. He said that some writers make it their mission to make an athlete of their choosing so miserable that they want to leave. Just look at how easy it is to twist things around and most people think if they read it in the paper it must be true, right? If you listen to the whole interview w/ A-Rod about Jeter, there is simply nothing controversial there. ESPN omits the part where A-Rod says "we are still very good friends" every time they play the clip. It's all a bunch of B.S.
Let's get off this "Desperate Housewives" stuff and move on to baseball for a while.

Rick: I would love to see Billy Martin get in the HOF, he belongs there. How often is a style of play attributed to one person? In football you have the "West Coast Offense" by Bill Walsh and in baseball you have "BillyBall" which is still heard around ballparks today.

Reggie Jackson was never booed to the degree that A-Rod is.Ever.Not even close.

Jim A; Once again you're right on the money!

Jim A

The running A's were known for Billy Ball, but Billy actually changed his strategy for each team he managed.

He would evaluate what the team's strengths were and then use that to develop a winning approach for what he had to work with. The man was clearly a baseball genius and master strategist.

Everywhere he went, he took losing teams and taught them how to win INSTANTLY. No 5 year plans necessary. He certainly belongs in the HOF. How many others have had the IMPACT on the game that Billy did?

You'll always be #1 in my book Billy!

Do you guys really think Manny and Schilling are having sleepovers? Who cares if they're not the best of friends anymore. Who cares if they don't bunk together on the road or sit next to each other on the team bus. Its absolutely meaningless. As long they can get along at the job thats all that matters. The silliness of this issue is remarkable.

In the end I think A-rod did the right thing by putting it all out on the table. End of story. Nothing more to say.

Reggie was booed and trashed in the media concerning comments about Thurman. A-ROD is getting the same for his Esquire comments concerning Jeter. That's the point. Not who got booed more. Reggie shed his yoke with the 3 homer World Series game. I hope A-ROD can do likewise.

ruse

That's because in spite of his ego and big mouth, Reggie could and did Get-R-Done when HE HAD TO!!! That's the missing element with A-Rod.

You'd knock Reggie down and he'd get up and deposit one over the wall. You knock A-Rod down and he'll stand there looking at strike three called.

I agree whether SCHILLING and MANNY get along is meaningless. All that really matters, is that they play on a 3rd place team.

The media is causing a distraction to this team and it all stems to A-Rod and Guambo's Giambi. This team is getting younger and has more hope now then in the past 6 seasons with nothing but all-stars. There is no reason to pick up a paper and see A-Rod's face on the back of the paper talking about him and Jeter's relations. The media is causing distractions to this team because of A-Rod. It is funny how nobody mentions we won 4 World Series championships without A-Rod. So I don't understand if we trade him why that would be such a loss? I blame the papers and sports networks for blowing this crap out of context as well. Why does Bernie not coming to camp have to make back pages? How about how the Islanders beat the Penguins the hottest team in the NHL yesterday.Why can't that make back pages of a LONG ISLAND PAPER?

Anthony...

jeter handled the situation well?? and arod was supposed to be the robot,
You can't be serious, Arod Handled the situation well from the last pitch of the playoff's. Jeter touched on the ALex situation in DEC. ALex simply put an end to the BS as he said. I mena if you wanna be real , You can say Jeter acted like a bit*h over the whole Esquire mag. article , Hello ALex was an OPPOSING player so of course you going to say things when asked. he did'nt say Jeter is a punk or etc. he said the truth . Jeter was NOT the main threat in the lineup. (jeter made you pay for sleeping on his skills)

Best way to kill this is to listen to the Interview from both on ESPN.

The winner for dumbest headline written this spring goes to Si.com's Jon Heyman for this gem on today's website:
Williams and Yankees at Contract Standoff

There is no contract standoff. Williams can either take the offer, come to camp and hope that his play, along with his relationship with Torre and the players saves him a spot or he can not. The Yankees aren't going to "cave" and say, "Bernie, we were wrong, here's a major league offer." If Bernie doesn't show up, he doesn't show up. It's that simple.

I understand Heyman, along with numerous fans including myself, loves Bernie. But Heyman has to let this go. He's writing articles about this like we're talking about a major contributor, not the 25th man on a 25 man roster. On the plus side, at least he's not writing about A-Rod.

WHO GIVES A CRAP ABOUT AROD AND JETERS RELATIONSHIP! Stop wasting our time with this story.

Amen-

When they aren't practicing or playing, Jeter and A-Rod can hang out with whomever they want...in Jeter's case that's actresses, in Alex's case it is back room poker players and his family...they don't need to be buddies they just need to play together and get the job done.

I don't care who their friends are any more than I care who your friends are.

Rick Reyes you need to look at Reggies post season stats before you go off talking about Git R Done.

AROD and Jeter handled the questions well, both have told the media they are not going to answer any more questions pertaining to that. The media still printed those asinine articles today.

I'm glad for blogs like this, get the unedited truth.

I think what a lot of this comes down to is that there are a bunch of Yankee beat writers who were not around during the times of the "Bronx Zoo." The last 10 years, the team has been a relatively boring clubhouse. The team won, guys got along, with the exception of the occasional outburst from Tampa, there was nothing much to report except the team going about its business. And now Cashman went and removed two sources of controversy (Johnson and Sheffield) from the mix. So now you've got these writers who are trying to stir the pot, looking for anything. Whether it is Jeter/A-Rod or the way Bernie's situation is effecting former teammates or Pavano/Mussina...whatever.

On the one hand, I feel bad for them, it is a long season to write about the same thing over and over again as the team goes about its business, on the other hand...this is just stupid.

All real Yankee fans don't buy this media hype about strange bedfellows. Its a non subject in my eyes. Time to move on with some real stories.

Chip,
I think you nailed it when you said "The team won and guys got along". Winning cures everything, so our boys just need to go out and kick butt!

So having said all that ,we will refrain from A-Rod dissections /discussions until ??? I promise not to bring this up until after the World Series 2007

is it me or does anyone really care?i want to know how the young guns in camp look!not if arod and jeter gets along or not!

id rather listen to rick keyes! i think?

Joe Torre as Clubhouse Manager

The conventional wisdom on Joe Torre is that he is not a great tactician or game manager, but that he is a great manager of people and the Yankee clubhouse. Most Yankee fans that I know say that or something along those lines.

Putting aside whether Torre is a great tactician or game manager, is his reputation as a great manager of people and the Yankee clubhouse warranted?

Over the last year or so, we've heard or seen:

- that Randy Johnson never really fit into the Yankee clubhouse during the two years he was there

- that A-Rod and Jeter have lingering issues over a 2001 magazine article

- that A-Rod had no one to confide in other than his wife and the bullpen catcher (SI article) during his troubles last season

- Jeter tell the fans to not boo Giambi and nothing about A-Rod

- A-Rod get pretty severely criticized in SI by several Yankees when the Yankees were rolling in August

- Mussina ripping Pavano

- Mussina ripping A-Rod

- the Yankee line-up get yo-yo'd with A-Rod batting 8th for the last game of the season

- Jeter walking away from A-Rod and the ball during a play after the ball was bobbled in the infield

- A-Rod admit that 2006 was a very dificult year for him

- Sheffield grumbling near the end of last season

I'm not remotely suggesting that any manager has the ability to control everything that happens in a clubhouse, much less mold the group of multi-millionaires on that team, but the sum total of this stuff makes me wonder whether Torre's reputation as a clubhouse guru is warranted. At some point, if Torre's greatest strength is how he manages people, one would think that he'd have a bigger role in making A-Rod comfortable in that clubhouse and we wouldn't be hearing about this stuff at the beginning of A-Rod's fourth year as a Yankee.

That having been said, it's possible that without Torre's guiding hand, that things in that clubhouse would be much worse, and that, either way, all of these side show issues don't matter much.

asheron:
like ARod said he's 31, he's a big boy and can take of himself. Torre doesn't need to sit there and hold his hand and go around the club house telling everyone not to pick on poor alex. who gives a crap about randy never fitting in? it was never going to happen to begin with. and moose speaking this spring has been the only legitimate story other than the daily bernie watch, every thing is tabloid fodder. someone tell me when f**k spring training turned into the view?

New York is the center of all sports media, and, unfortunately, most of you seem to be playing right into the hands of these NY sportswriters and their "tabloid tirades". Baseball is littered with successful teams that had worse camraderie than today's Yankees (see Oakland's Swingin' A's, The NY Bronx Zoo, the 90s Reds, etc)...it's what these guys do on the field that counts!

And as for ARod, give it up! He's a multi-talented player, works hard, and is a good teammate (even if he has sensitivity issues!).

And how many of you would rather see ARod playing 3rd base for the Boston Red Sox, hitting at Fenway Park, than having him in Yankee Pinstripes???
Betcha not many!

Asheron: You made some great points...My experience in work and in relationships has shown me over and over again that it is humanly impossible to get relationships to function at a high level all the time...expectations are thwarted every step of the way....you put 25 men in a room who work in a pressure cooker for over 6 months a yr w/ fans and the media scrutinizing every minute of your life ,there are from time to time going to be problems that even "Father Knows Best" is not going to to be able to solve...for the most part the Yankee clubhouse has been relatively OK during Torre' tenure,outside the occasional malcontent it's been tame by comparison to past Yankee clubhouses...it's alot to ask anyone in any walk of life to put aside their own self interest for the greater good....if anyone caught Barry Bonds clipped defensive posturing during his arrival to ST we should be happy that we have a sometimes misguided yet pretty decent 31 yr old 3rd baseman

Roy, do you ever write on anything other than how terrible A-Rod is? Have you blamed him for global warming yet?

See what I mean? "If A-ROD would just hit 3 "meaningful" homers in a climatic World Series game, he could turn those "boos" into becoming a Yankee legend."

Oh, is that all? Do you want egg in your beer too?

Daily News have a great article on Jeter and the reasoning behind his actions (some personally justified)

stopp now - what about a decent backup catcher a real answ, for 1b how much playing time for melky, will pavano acually make the reg. season. there are enough stories out there to write about . not this dribble.

if the Nets can trade Kidd and Carter, can the Yanks trade Alex and Derek?

Just asking.....cause after seeing Bernie burn, what happens when Jeter turns 37....??

If he can't field and throw anymore ....he'll do the right thing and retire!

Asheron, it's nice to know you're keeping score, but it's the wrong score. This is about real men playing baseball, not kiddies being taught how to get along at Gymboree sessions. Torre is a manager, not a mediator.

On another note, I absolutely love Bernie, but most would have to agree his defensive abilities have been on the decline for years. It's not about being "37," it's about one's ability. My own observation is that Bernie has been on the decline for years (ever since he began promoting his music career). Personally, I think the Yankees kept him a lot longer than his abilities dictated.

Now some sports writers are focusing on present non-issues concerning Mariano & Posada -- even Torre -- suggesting their years are numbered. So far their abilities have not suggested they are in danger any time soon. I don't quite understand why focus is being placed on next year when these great men have not been put to the test this year -- oh, wait, I do understand. It's that same old fear and hatred of the Yankees' continued success that drives the jealous and envious to wish the worst on the Yankees. It's so obvious, it hits you over the head. I long for the day when sports writers will start focusing on facts and stop writing mean-spirited horror stories to sate the evil longings of Yankee antagonists.

Asheron, it's nice to know you're keeping score, but it's the wrong score. This is about real men playing baseball, not kiddies being taught how to get along at Gymboree sessions. Torre is a manager, not a mediator.

On another note, I absolutely love Bernie, but most would have to agree his defensive abilities have been on the decline for years. It's not about being "37," it's about one's ability. My own observation is that Bernie has been on the decline for years (ever since he began promoting his music career). Personally, I think the Yankees kept him a lot longer than his abilities dictated.

Now some sports writers are focusing on present non-issues concerning Mariano & Posada -- even Torre -- suggesting their years are numbered. So far their abilities have not suggested they are in danger any time soon. I don't quite understand why focus is being placed on next year when these great men have not been put to the test this year -- oh, wait, I do understand. It's that same old fear and hatred of the Yankees' continued success that drives the jealous and envious to wish the worst on the Yankees. It's so obvious, it hits you over the head. I long for the day when sports writers will start focusing on facts and stop writing mean-spirited horror stories to sate the evil longings of Yankee antagonists.

Asheron, it's nice to know you're keeping score, but it's the wrong score. This is about real men playing baseball, not kiddies being taught how to get along at Gymboree sessions. Torre is a manager, not a mediator.

On another note, I absolutely love Bernie, but most would have to agree his defensive abilities have been on the decline for years. It's not about being "37," it's about one's ability. My own observation is that Bernie has been on the decline for years (ever since he began promoting his music career). Personally, I think the Yankees kept him a lot longer than his abilities dictated.

Now some sports writers are focusing on present non-issues concerning Mariano & Posada -- even Torre -- suggesting their years are numbered. So far their abilities have not suggested they are in danger any time soon. I don't quite understand why focus is being placed on next year when these great men have not been put to the test this year -- oh, wait, I do understand. It's that same old fear and hatred of the Yankees' continued success that drives the jealous and envious to wish the worst on the Yankees. It's so obvious, it hits you over the head. I long for the day when sports writers will start focusing on facts and stop writing mean-spirited horror stories to sate the evil longings of Yankee antagonists.

Great post, Lucy. After reading it the third time, it finally sunk in!
(kidding, of course.)

Sorry for the triple post, Everyone. Posts usually appear immediately, but this one didn't appear at all -- well, not until a few hours later when it developed into a hat trick. Thanks for the humorous response Latham Joe.