Daily Archives: February 13, 2003

MUCH ADO ABOUT NUTHIN

There is a lot of hot air coming out of Yankee Land for a change, and not all of it from Tampa, Fla. With another weekend of snow on the horizon for New York, the local papers are keeping us warm with all the “Bronx Zoo” bluster they can conjure up. Joel Sherman and Harvey Araton, two of the more shrill columnists on the beat, pen gloom-and-doom columns today.

As expected, the fall out from Derek Jeter’s AP interview, made for a feeding frenzy this morning. While the Jeter v. George story makes for juicy headlines, it isn’t really a big deal. What? Jeter got ‘Georged?’ This is the start of his 8th season as the starting short stop of the New York Yankees, isn’t it about time the unflappable superstar finally got decked by Steinbrenner? After all, what makes Jeter so special? That he’s a class act, and a wonderful player? When has that stopped George before? Considering what his boyhood favorite Dave Winfield went through in the Bronx, this ‘controversy’ is a mosquito bite, no matter how hurt Jeter’s feelings are.

As usual, Bronx Zoo veteran, Bill Madden hits the nail on the head, sighting the final scene in Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown”:

Unlike Steinbrenner, Jeter has gone out of his way to shun controversy. And given the sensitivity of his “Turn 2” charity for underprivileged kids, it is understandable why he would feel his image has been unfairly tarnished.

In lieu of a formal apology, all I can say to him is: Forget about it, Derek. It’s Chinatown.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

Okay, don’t laugh now, but a voice of reason emerged in Yankee camp yesterday, and it belonged to none other than the “straw that stirs the drink” himself, Reginald Martinez Jackson. Mr. October, who recieved more abuse from The Boss in one season (1981) than Jeter will in a lifetime, arrived in Tampa and immediately went into counselor-mode:

“Derek is hot and the reason he is hot makes sense,” Jackson said. “His character was attacked. This is a very conscientious guy and basically the un-named captain. He is the voice of the club and it’s his team.

“If you want to target someone for the team not having a good season last year, he is the guy. He is not an off-the-field party guy. If he were, the media would have been on to it long ago rather than waiting eight or nine years. The Boss is paying big iron and he wants big-time input into the ballclub.”

…”Jeter’s a tough kid. He went through what he went through with his sister a couple of years ago (when she was sick) and he never let anyone know about it, and that’s far more important than this.

“It’s hard for me to imagine he could be more motivated than he is.”

I’M ALRIGHT, JACK

Although Jason Giambi isn’t due in Tampa until later today, any strudel involving his personal trainer Bobby Alejo has seemingly been squashed:

“He will be allowed in the weight room, allowed on the planes and allowed to throw batting practice indoors at home,” GM [Brian] Cashman said. “He is not allowed on the field or in the clubhouse.”

How that translates into how effective Alejo, who is paid by Giambi and not the Yankees, can be with Giambi remains to be seen.

“We are trying to limit [clubhouse access] as much as possible,” Cashman said when asked why Alejo’s access was sliced. “We will have a lot more personnel in the clubhouse this year.”

…Added Joe Torre: “We’ve made changes every year. (Roger) Clemens had his guy, (Brian) McNamee, a couple of years ago. Then last year, he didn’t have him but was still able to work with him (away from the ballpark). (Jorge) Posada has his own guy, and (Derek) Jeter and Bernie (Williams), and when you let one guy have it, then the other guys resent it and you have a problem.

“It’s nothing against the individual. It’s just that when you let one guy have it, it opens it up.”

Giambi’s agent Arn Tellem said, “Everything’s fine. We worked it out. There are no issues. We got what we needed and the Yankees did too.”

OH, BROTHER

Meanwhile, the biggest news around Red Sox camp is what Prince Pedro may say when he arrives. That, and the already tired topic of the Theo Epstein’s age.

Jeremy Giambi, who is expected to have a strong showing for the Sox, addressed rivalries with the Yankees and his brother:

”The Yankees got the names, the Yankees got the big contracts, but you look at our team, throughout the lineup, the guys pitching and our pen, and we match up with them very well,” said Giambi, who spent eight weeks working out in Arizona this winter in the same demanding program followed by Nomar Garciaparra, Lou Merloni, and another new Sox pickup, Todd Walker . ”I think we’re actually a team that can play more consistent because the Yankees are going to have some injuries. I think they know that, too, I think that’s why they’re holding on to so many pitchers.

”Hopefully, we can play more consistent and if they get a few guys hurt, that’s our chance to take advantage of it.”

…”Before things settled down, he was more excited than anything,” Jeremy Giambi said of his brother’s reaction to the trade that brought Jeremy to Boston, ”especially when he heard Theo indicate that I would get everyday at-bats. Jason’s my biggest fan, not just my brother. We’re part of the biggest rivalry in baseball, maybe the biggest rivalry in sports. There’s going to be quite a serious lockup every time. He’s thinking things are going to be out of control when they come into Boston or we go into New York. Just adding more fuel to the fire.”

WELCOME BACK

At the very least, the Jeter story succeeded in keeping the return of David Cone off the backpages. Score one for the Boss. John Harper has a thoughtful column on Cone’s return in the News:

…You have to wonder about him at age 40. He’s not a big, strong guy, and he was never a workout fiend, put it that way.

Nevertheless, most anyone who has known Cone over the years will be rooting hard for him, especially New York sports writers, since he is the all-time stand-up guy in a locker room, always there to answer for himself after the bad days as well as the good days.

I just hope he’s not doing this because he’s chasing those seven wins he needs to reach 200 victories, or because he’s bored. I hope his fastball is telling him he can do this, and not just the fearless competitor in him that won’t let him back down from a challenge without a fight, whether it’s on the mound or in a pick-up basketball game.

Mike C wrote a terrific analysis of Cone’s chances over at Baseball Rants. (Don’t miss the 7th installment in Mike’s history of relief pitching.)

David Pinto also has a funny take on the signing at Baseball Musings.

Cone has always been a good quote, so I hope he does well, but he was reduced to a virtual mute in 2000 when his game went south. I doubt whether the Mets will stick with him too long if in fact, he is all warshed up.

PLUG TUNIN’

Travis Nelson, the Boy of Summer, has a thorough and detailed preview of the 2003 Phillies that is well worth perusing, and Aaron Gleeman wrote an interesting series of articles comparing Sandy Koufax with the Big Unit. The results may suprise you.

WHY WAIT ‘TIL MONDAY? JETER SPEAKS OUT

Derek Jeter didn’t wait until Monday to address Boss George’s critique of his priorities. Jeter spoke with AP columnist, Steve Wilstein this morning. Here is some of what he had to say:

“He’s the boss and he’s entitled to his opinion, right or wrong, but what he said has been turned into me being this big party animal…He even made a reference to one birthday party. That’s been turned into that I’m like Dennis Rodman now.

“I don’t think that’s fair. I have no problems with people criticizing how I play. But it bothers me when people question my work ethic. That’s when you’re talking about my integrity. I take a lot of pride in how hard I work. I work extremely hard in the offseason. I work extremely hard during the season to win. My priorities are straight.”

…”No way am I trying to get into a verbal match with the boss,” Jeter said. “I’m just trying to make it known that I care about one thing and that’s winning.”

…Jeter’s image as a playboy on the town surely has been promoted by New York’s gossip columns, where he’s been romantically linked to models, singers and actresses.

“I’m not a hermit,” Jeter said. “It’s not like I’m locked up in my house. But it’s amazing the things that are in the gossip pages that aren’t true. They’ve got me dating everyone imaginable. A lot of it I wish I would have.”

The real downside of that, he said, is that some fans will say, “there he is again, out partying. He doesn’t care.”

That’s the kind of false image that Jeter worries Steinbrenner is fostering with his complaints and that tabloids are spreading. Last week Jeter was asked if he was going to change his approach to this season after losing in the playoffs.

“My response was, no, not at all,” Jeter said. “Next thing you know, the back page of the Daily News had a picture of me saying, ‘Party On.’ Like I was saying, that I refused to change my ways for the boss or to be the captain of the Yankees.

“If you’re a fan looking at that, you’d think I don’t care whether they win or lose. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.”

You go, DJ: don’t take no shit off nobody.

Ya hoid?

JOE, JETER HAVE COMPANY: GIAMBO GETS “GEORGED”

You didn’t think we’d heard the last from Boss George now, did you? Just to show he doesn’t play favorites, Jason Giambi’s cherry has been busted before the second-year Yank has even arrived to camp. The NY Post reports this morning that Giambi’s personal trainer, Bobby Alejo, has been canned by Steinbrenner, which may come as a suprise to the beefy first baseman:

“I haven’t heard a word about anything,” Alejo said. “All I know is that [Giambi] is picking me up Friday and we are flying from California to Tampa. Other than that, this is new to me. I don’t know anything about it.”

Oh, boy.

Supposedly, Steinbrenner saw the access Alejo had and was concerned other players who have personal trainers were feeling slighted by not having their guys around. Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Roger Clemens, David Wells and Jeter work with personal trainers.

The move is not without precedent. Following the 2001 World Series, former St. John’s catcher Glenn McNamee, Clemens’ personal trainer and the man Rocket gives credit to for keeping him throwing hard late in his Hall of Fame career, wasn’t asked back. McNamee continues to work with Clemens, but isn’t at Yankee Stadium or at ballparks on the road.

For what it’s worth, at least the move isn’t being disguised as a cost-cutting measure. Alejo’s salary was paid by Giambi; only his traveling expenses were picked up by the team.

Steinbrenner has made more disruptive noise this winter than he has in several years. Not since he was busting his buddy Popeye Zimmer’s chops in the spring of 1999 (re: the “Fat pus-sy toad” incident) have we seen George in such form. All which should make Friday an interesting Valentine’s Day in Yankee Land when Giambi arrives. Not for nothing, but Derek Jeter said that he’ll address Steinbrenner’s off-season comments about him come Monday.

Strap yourself in, this should be a lively training camp.

ROCKET FUEL

Roger Clemens appears to be one of the few Yankees who will avoid the wrath of George this spring. The future Hall of Famer, who is just 7 wins shy of 300 for his career, spoke openly with reporters about just about everything that popped into the big Texan’s mind.

Enter at your own risk.

FORMER SOX OWNER, YAWKEY PAL, HAYWOOD SULLIVAN DIES

Haywood Sullivan, who holds a dubious place in Red Sox history, passed away yesterday at the age of 72. Peter Gammons contributed a short article on Jean Yawkey’s boy in the Globe this morning:

Sullivan wasn’t going to play the big money game that Yawkey had tried. After letting Luis Tiant go after the 1978 season, he decided to dump Fred Lynn, Rick Burleson, and Carlton Fisk in 1980 because of their contracts and their agents’ relationship with the team. It was a very unpopular decision, and after being advised by MLB lawyers that he didn’t have to send the three players contracts Dec. 20, MLB changed its mind, contracts were sent to Lynn and Fisk Dec. 22, and they went to arbitration to become free agents. The arbitrator ruled that Fisk was a free agent right before a noon hot stove luncheon at Fenway. Sullivan read the announcement, turned and said, ”open the damn bar.” Bob Lobel caught it, and turned ”open the damn bar” into an unforgettable gag line.

Sullivan took over the Sox after Jean Yawkey fired Dick O’Connell, widely regarded as the best general manager in Red Sox history.

According to Howard Bryant in his book, “Shut Out”:

Under Haywood Sullivan, a southerner who played football for Bear Bryant at Alabama, youth aged without replacement. A succession of drafts no longer brought harvest, but humor; between 1976 and 1980 the Red Sox farm system would produce weak prospects, while Lynn, Fisk, Burleson, and Tiant would all be gone by 1980 and Yaztrzemski would enter his forties. The result was first seen in the standings. The Red Sox of the early 1980s, thought Peter Gammons, were not only the least interesting Red Sox team in more than a decade, but mediocrity following such high expectations threatened to squander the successes that revived the franchise.

The second was Sullivan’s natural conservatism. The club became unimaginative in both the construction of the team and men hired to lead it. The success of the home run-hitting clubs of the late 1970s led the Red Sox to romance lead-footed, right-handed sluggers. The [Dick] O’Connell temas were the most balanced in Red Sox history, a challenge to a Red Sox culture that would traditionally sacrifice speed, defense, and pitching for power. Sullivan’s would lack chemistry, too, evidenced by the famous “twenty-five players, twenty-five cabs” description of the Red Sox.

NEYER: DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE

Rob Neyer addresses all the fuss that’s been made over the Yankees starting pitching and the Red Sox bullpen this off season in his latest column.

As far as the Yankees’ largess of starting pitchers is concerned:

Given the Yankees’ unlimited “budget” (for lack of a better word), they’d be foolish if they didn’t stockpile quality starting pitchers. Because there’s going to be plenty of work for all six of them.

Neyer also thinks the Red Sox controversial closer-by-committee plan makes a lot of sense. However, he warns:

…There are some risks here.

The Post-Modern Bullpen requires a manager who is both committed and creative. If he’s not committed, he’ll revert to convention at the first hint of adversity. If he’s not creative, he won’t be able to keep his relievers healthy and he won’t pick the right pitchers for the right spots often enough.

But as Theo Epstein has observed more than once, it’s all about finding the edges where you can. There’s no edge in doing things exactly as every other team does them. When you do something different, sometimes you’ll get burned. But can anybody reasonably argue that it’s not worth a shot?

CONE-BACK?

Are the Mets really serious about signing David Cone? Could he be the second-coming of Satchial Paige? Coney’s boys, Al Leiter and Johnny Franco have made their pitch to bring the former-Met back to Shea, but it can only tear the ass out of any self-respecting Met fan that Cone’s return may ultimately depend on whether he recieves a “YES” from Pope George III.

The New York Times reports today that the 40-year old Cone was close to signing a minor-league deal with the Mets last night.

What does George make of all of this?

Steinbrenner said in an interview that Cone had not contacted him to discuss his future and seemed miffed that Cone would consider pitching for the Mets. Steinbrenner said Cone should continue broadcasting for the Yankees on the YES network and added, “I don’t know why he wouldn’t want to be an instructor for us” in spring training.

… Steinbrenner intimated that Cone had an agreement with the YES network to be an analyst this season, making him Steinbrenner’s employee. But a spokesman for YES said there had not been a formal deal between Cone and the network.

“My understanding is that he was finished,” Steinbrenner said. “He didn’t want to pitch anymore. I don’t know why he’d want to pitch. He should continue on TV. They all thought he was doing a wonderful job last year.”

Before speaking with Cone, Steinbrenner told a reporter he would be troubled with seeing Cone pitching for the Mets, then hedged.

“Sure, I consider him a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said. “He pitched a perfect game for us. Not too many guys have done that. I think he’d come back and stay with us.”

VALENTINE FEELIN’ FINE

Steve Serby has a piece on Bobby V in the Post today.

Giggles are on the house.

Valentine broached a move to first base last year with Mike Piazza. “When he desires, when he feels he would like to, is when it’s time. I thought that last year he was getting close to wanting to do that. It’s a very difficult thing to deal with, because Mike’s desire is what makes him the special player that he is.

“One of the things I was most criticized for by many of the idiot critics – not that all critics are idiots, because I will be a critic – was this idea of lineup changes, and what people didn’t understand is that Mike Piazza not being in the lineup 35 times meant that there were gonna be 35 other lineups. And I think that’s a real burden on a team, not having your best player in the lineup all that time.”

So do you wish Piazza would have played 35 games at first base? “No. ‘Cause he wasn’t ready to.”

But it led to more Valentine-bashing. “We’d sell ’em a Sunday ticket plan and they’d come to the game on Sunday with their kids and Mike wouldn’t be in the lineup, ’cause it would be the day game after the night game with Monday being off.”

Bobby V will be working as an analyst and commentator for ESPN this season.

Valentine will be the perfect fit for television. “I don’t think I’m gonna manage again. I never dated two girls when I dated; I dated one girl. And then either dropped her or married her.”

Famous last words…