Great Acceptance Speech, or Greatest Acceptance Speech?

The results are in, and congratulations are in order for Rickey Henderson and, finally, Jim Rice, on making the Baseball Hall of Fame. Henderson got the call on his first year of eligibility, while Rice made it on his last non-veterans committee chance.

We suppose this ends any chance of another Rickey comeback, though perhaps the rules will allow him to be the only active HOF member ever. This will be especially fun if he signs with, say, the Bridgeport Bluefish.

The months ahead will undoubtedly feature a debate on which hat Rickey will wear, which can't be an easy decision since he played for 9 teams over his 25 seasons. We're guessing Oakland, but one never knows with Rickey.

That mystery will pale in comarision, though, to the The Speech. As touched upon in the headline, this should be one for the ages. If you thought Phil Rizzuto's gem from a few years back was good, we're betting Rickey's will be much more entertaining, with plenty of "Rickey played hard", "Rickey just loved the game", and if we're lucky, "Today, Rickey is the greatest of All-Time", etc. Should be awesome.

That's A Lot Of Cheeseburgers

Back up the Brink's truck, boys, the Yankees are prepared to make C.C. Sabathia the highest paid pitcher in baseball history.

Reports are the offer exceeds the $137.5 million the Mets gave to Johan Santana last year. Hey, when it comes to throwing around large sums of cash, the Yankees wrote the damn book.

Sabathia, by all accounts, would perfer to pitch on the West Coast, and in the NL where he could display his hitting prowess. However, as it often does, cash will likely win out, and we can expect to see him with a cap and jersey at the inevitable press conference in a few weeks.

Here's the thing - Sabathia is, not to be too delicate, large. He's an innings eater, no question, but try to name a large pitcher who succeeded in pitching effectively into his thirties. Scouts already reported arm fatigue down the stretch last year, which could have resulted from the Brewers pitching him every three days in the heat of the playoff race, but could also be indicative of residual effects of tossing nearly 500 innings over the last two seasons.

The feeling here is that C.C. is a batch of DL stints waiting to happen. A guy his size will inevitably develop leg problems from supporting the weight, and the guy has been so durable that the sheer number of innings has to catch up with him. We understand why the Yankees feel the need to make a big splash and nab the biggest fish in the pond - a new stadium, a TV netowk, and a return to the playoffs, and this signing should provide a much needed short term boost. We'd just be really surprised if that by the time the contract is up that Sabathia isn't being compared to Carl Pavano.

Baseball Preview

Here it is. the First Annual BIMRVM Baseball Preview!

Unlike ESPN, these picks actually work - meaning that the Win-Loss totals actually reconcile. As for the accuracy, let's be honest - they can't be any worse than some of the so called experts.

American League
East
Boston 98- 64 - Champs have too much talent not to win again
NY Yankees 90-72 - Pitching questions offest awesome lineup
Toronto 83-79 - Talented, but two teams above will always be in the way
Tampa Bay 76-86 - Improving, team to watch in 2010
Baltimore 58-104 - Wisely blew up the team to rebuild for real. '08 will be painful.

Central
Detroit 93-69 - Loaded lineup plus decent enough arms allow Tigers to steal division
Cleveland (wc) 91-71 - Enjoy C.C. this year, and order up another bug infestation for October
Chicago W. Sox80-82 - Ozzie Guillen's head just might explode this year. Good times.
Minnesota 73-89 - The post-Johan era begins, but this team won't be down long.
Kansas City 62-100 - Does anyone remember when this was the model franchise?

West
Seattle 92-70 - A well rounded team with a new ace in Bedard
Anahiem 90-72 - Recent pitching issues will force Halos to come up just short
Texas 73-89 - Hey, maybe G.W. Bush will come back in '09!
Oakland 67-95 - Beane retools his team. Again.

National League
East
NY Mets 95-67 - Johan will help erase the bitter ending of '07.
Philadelphia 90-72 - Bullpen seems shaky; lineup is best in NL
Atlanta 85-77 - Better, but don't have enough to unseat Mets/Phils.
Washington 79-83 - A big time spoiler that will make the 3 teams' above lives miserable for much of the season. Another one to watch in '09.
Florida 60-102 - Team makes less than ARod in 2008. 'Nuff said.

Central
Chi. Cubs 91-71 - Cubbies are locked and loaded; Behold the power of Fukodome!
Milwaukee 90-72 - Improved Brew Crew fall just short.
St. Louis 82-80 - This is generous, but the hunch is LaRussa will find a way to keep Birds afloat.
Houston 78-84 - Roy Oswalt has to be wondering why he re-upped.
Cincinnati 73-89 - A fun team to watch, but will be on the short end of a few 10-9 games.
Pittsburgh 63-99 - These guys were good once too, right?

West
Arizona 95-67 - Arms galore equals big time success. Young lineup has another year under it's belt as well.
L.A. (wc) 90-72 - Torre weaves his magic to grab another post-season berth.
San Diego 89-73 - HE MISSED THE PLATE!
Colorado 81-81 - Good young team, but we just see a big post-World Series hangover this year.
San Fran 63-99 - Barry? Barry who?

Playoffs
Division Winners
AL: Boston, Detroit, Seattle
Wild Card: Cleveland

Boston over Cleveland
Seattle over Detroit

AL Champion: Seattle

NL: NY Mets, Chi. Cubs, Arizona
Wild Card: Los Angeles

Arizona over Chi Cubs
NY Mets over Los Angeles

NL Champion: NY Mets


World Series
NY Mets over Seattle


Biased? A little, but the Mets are loaded and ready to win now, and will outlaqst the surprising Mariners in October.

Of course, we could be wrong....

Dirty? Me?

Shelly Duncan doesn't understand why the Rays (sans Devil) are so hot and bothered about his "slide" yesterday. Look at the photo - does that look like a dirty play to you? Isn't it routine to play "hard nosed ball" by attempting to separate the pivot from his testicles?

The whole thing started last week when a Tampa Bay single-A player (trying, no doubt, to make an impression on the manager)ran into a Yankee single-A catcher during a play at the plate, breaking the young man's wrist. Apparently, there is some unwritten baseball rule which states one is not supposed to do things like that during spring training. Decorum states you stand there and get tagged, as one would in T-Ball. Yankee manager Joe Girardi got his panties all twisted and raised a stink, then was promptly rebuffed by Don Zimmer now a Rays coach). For a guy who is supposedly more Old School than former boss Joe Torre, Girardi sure sounded a little whiny about this whole deal.

Yesterday's game began with a plunking, which, if we're following the unwritten rules, meant the matter was then settled.


Oh no, sir, not by a longshot.


Enter Shelly Duncan and the slide shown here. Maybe if we were forced to go through life with a girl's name, we might be a tad more likely to feel the need to prove our masculinity say, daily. Listen, Shelly, take out your anger on your parents, not opponents.


We do secretly love the fact that the Rays are doing everything possible to engage this new rivalry with the big bad Yankees, and hope that the fireworks continue throughout the upcoming season.



Yanks' Duncan still doesn't know why Rays reacted to spikes high slide (ESPN)
(AP photo)

I Love Mickey Mantle - Can I Play Now?

Speaking of stupid spring training stunts, the Yankees have pulled off a doozy. They're allowing long time Yankee fan (despite wearing a Mets cap in City Slickers) Billy Crystal to suit up and appear in a game.

Maybe it's just us, but if we were pitching for the Pirates we would not hesitate to buzz one right under his freaking chin. C'mon, you know if they were playing Tampa that's exactly what would happen!

How's The Slim Fast Thing Working Out, Tommy?

Isn't this cute? Former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasroda was allowed by current manager Joe Torre to take the reins for a spring game yesterday. Just for old times sake, and not at all for the benefit of the cameras, Ol' Number 2 even found the time to get into an argument with an umpire! Wow! Nothing contrived about that. And damn, doesn't he look great for his age? What are the odds he eschewed the post-game spread and instead enjoyed a nice glass of carrot juice and a little bean sprout salad?

Dodger beat writers will tell you that the whole persona this guy created for himself was total bullshit - he was a cantankerous bastard through and through. For us, nothing was better than the time he encountered Stuttering John.

To quote Irwin M. Fletcher, upon seeing a picture of Lasorda with the police chief:

Fletch: Hey! You and Tommy Lasorda! [points to picture, which is surrounded by dozens of celeb photos]]

Chief: (proudly) Yeah!

Fletch: [punches picture, cracking glass] I hate Tommy Lasorda.

Lasorda Back With Dodgers: Still Fat (Deadspin)

Now We Believe

He even wore the traditional blue hat. Let's Go Mets.

Not So Fast...

This is what we Met fans fear the most right now: being unable to get the contract worked out for Johan Santana, and watching the deal get nullified just as the vision of a blue pinstriped S A N T A N A 57 was beginning to dance in our heads.

Remember, you're talking about fans who have recently seen seemingly sure things go the other way:
October 2006 - win NLCS Game 6, with Game 7 at home, huge momentum changing catch by Chavez, called striked three, game and season over.
September 2007 - up 7 with 17 to play...you know the rest.....

Until we see a press conference where the best pitcher in baseball dons a blue NY cap (not the black/blue aberration) and pulls on the aforementioned jersey, not one chicken will be counted.

According to the ESPN's Jayson Stark, the stumbling block revolves around the length of the contract. Santana's agents want a six year extension, the Mets would rather only guarantee five. Whatever, guys, either way he instantly becomes the highest paid pitcher in baseball, both in total and average annual salary. With a new stadium on the horizon, plus the cash cow SNY available to tap into, there should be no issues. Just get the damn deal done already. Now. Please?

And The Winner Is......The Mets?!?

As you've no doubt heard by now, Johan Santana, the current Best Pitcher In Baseball, has been traded to the Mets in exchange for four young players. Whooah!

The deal is pending the signing of a contract extension which will deliver a metric assload of money to Mr. Santana, plus the requisite physical. It would be a huge surprise if the deal didn;t go down, since the Mets have to know roughly what it will take to lock up the lefty for the foreseeable future.

Mets GM Omar Minaya can now be forgiven for the inactivity of the last few months, with the notable exception of the head scratching Lastings Milledge/Ryan Church/Brian Schnieder deal in November. One thing is certain: there are no longer any excuses for this team to not win the East in '08. A rotation headed by the innings eating strikeout machine that is Santana, followed by a healthier Pedro Martinez, a maturing John Maine and Oliver Perez, with El Duque where he belongs as a fifth starter should be able to dominate the National League. The bullpen gets Duaner Sanchez back, which is huge as well. The offense should be fine, provided the extended slump Carlos Delgado went through last year was more an aberration than the beginning of a decline in skills. Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran will still be the main cogs, and a full year from hitting machine Moises Alou would be nice. It will be interesting to see how these guys respond to being an overwhelming favorite, especially after the classic collapse of '07.

The best part of the whole trade, though? Simple - #57 will not be suiting up for the Yankees or the Red Sox, much to the chagrin of ESPN, which simply adores all things pertaining to those two teams. Ha!

Goose Goes In Alone

In a bit of a surprise, only Goose Gossage received enough votes to qualify for the baseball Hall of Fame. Jim Rice finished second, just a scant 24 votes shy. Sucks to be him today.

As you might recall, in our preview, we speculated that Gossage would get in, along with Rice, so we're 1 for 2. Rice's chances could take a hit next year, barring any sympathy votes, since Rickey Henderson will be on the ballot and is a likely first time winner. Others affected by Rickey's emergence will be Andre Dawson (358 votes, 65.9%) and Tim Raines (132, 24.3%). Bert Blyleven (336, 61.9%) will get there, eventually, but fell short again, as should Jack Morris (233, 42.9%).

Mark McGwire (128, 23.9%) is still being punished for that jar of Andro and his "Let's not live in the past" comments, no doubt. It would be a surprise if both he and Dale Murphy (a shockingly low 75, 13.8%) don't received increasing support over the next few years.

It's hard to take issue with the voting results. What jumps opff the page upon looking at the breakdown, however, is the lower half of the list. To wit: Harold Baines, who received a scant 28 votes in his first year of eligibility, is the last player who could at least be debated as to his worthiness for the Hall. One would think that the remaining players listed on the ballot would not get any consideration. One would be wrong:

Rod Beck	2	0.4%
Travis Fryman	2	0.4%
Robb Nen	2	0.4%
Shawon Dunston	1	0.2%
Chuck Finley	1	0.2%
David Justice	1	0.2%
Chuck Knoblauch	1	0.2%
Todd Stottlemyre	1	0.2%
Jose Rijo	0	0%
Brady Anderson	0	0%

Come ON! Who is the douchenozzle who chose to throw away a vote on Todd Stottlemyre? Travis Fryman? Chuck freaking Knoblauch? Really? You want to defend that choice there, buddy? Not that these votes would have tipped the scales for any other of the near misses, but the BBWAA should take a long, hard look at the idiots who make votes like this, and consider revoking the privilege.

Hall Welcomes Gossage (mlb.com)

Baseball Hall Of Fame - Class of 2008

Some interesting names appear on the nomination list for the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. Mark McGwire's inclusion marks the second (of what, sadly, will be many) opportunity for voters to sound off on The Steroid Era. Bristol In My Rear View Mirror presents the entire list below, with comments on each. Enjoy the Bill Simmons-esque groupings below:

The "We're Listed Because, By Rule, We Have To Be" Group
Brady Anderson - A more obvious 'roid aided player. C'mon, are you kidding?
Chuck Finley - Better known for getting smacked by a blitzed Tawny Kittan.
Todd Stottlemyre - Dad was better.
Robb Nen - A dominant closer when healthy, he just didn't last long enough. Still, an impressive career.
Jose Rijo - Too bad his career was filled with so many injuries, or else he could have been a great one.
Travis Fryman - Nice player, who helped several of us to fantasy league titles, but not a Hall of Famer.

The "Who Will Be The First True DH Elected" Group
Harold Baines - We're not counting Paul Molitor as a true DH - he cut his teeth playing infield before going the "extend my career" route by DH toward the end. Would you believe that Molitor played at least 50 games at five different positions, not counting his stints at DH? Baines is remembered as perhaps the quintessential DH, a true hitting machine. Is he the one? Not this year, maybe someday in the future as a Veterans entry.

The Closer Not Named Gossage
Rod Beck - A guy who would have been a blast to have a beer with, which unfortunately doesn't result in many HOF votes. RIP, Shooter.


The Recent Near Misses/Enough Votes To Be Optimistic
Goose Gossage - Now or never for the Goose. A true reliever, as opposed to closer - he would enter games in the 7th with guys on base, escape the jam, then finish the game. They don't make them like this anymore. If Sutter is in, you have to let Gossage in too.
Jim Rice - A stud; his 1978 season (46-139-.315) would have been legendary if the Sox didn't collapse. Another case of a guy who didn't exactly endear himself to writers, which ultimately hurts the HOF cause.
Bert Blyleven - Getting closer, but could be overshadowed by the two names above.
Andre Dawson - The Hawk was a true pro, and one can only imagine what kind of career he would have had if not for the cement like turf in Montreal screwing up his knees.
Jack Morris - If only for Game 7 of the '91 Series. Morris would routinely throw 250+ innings per year, which is unheard of today, and his 254 career wins rank 40th of all time. Also, a winning percentage of .577, with 145 complete games. Perhaps the most dominant pitcher of his era, which the Hall must acknowledge.
Lee Smith - #2 All time in Saves, but won't get in before the Goose. The save total, while impressive, isn't enough, otherwise John Franco would be getting votes.

Great Players, No Support (Yet)
Dale Murphy - 2 MVP's, 7 All-Star games, a truly feared player in his prime. The only problem? His prime didn't last very long. Needs a stronger showing than last year, when he garnered only 9%.
Dave Parker - Another monster player, who hit for power (339 HR) as well as average (.290 lifetime). Throw in an absolute cannon of an arm and you have a player who deserves consideration.
Don Mattingly - An amazing hitter, as well as a Gold Glove (9 times) first baseman, Donnie Baseball's only knock will be the relatively short career he had. Never making the post-season didn't help from an exposure point of view, even though he played for the Yankees.
Alan Trammell - Twenty seasons with one team, part of one of the all time great double play combinations (with Lou Whitaker), excelled in the post season. He'll also need to boost his percentage this time around if he expects to make a run at this.

The Ongoing Controversial Guys List
Mark McGwire - Did not appear in the Mitchell Report, but his case is well documented. He will likely get incremental increases each year, as some writers feel the need to "punish" him by delaying support.
Chuck Knoblauch - Appeared in the Mitchell Report. Not that he had much of a prayer anyway, but that sure won't help him. Also, most guys in the Hall never had issues throwing to first base.

First Timers Who Will Eventually Get Strong Consideration
Tim Raines - Might see some punishment delay due to the nose candy issues, but should eventually merit strong consideration.

First Timer, Little To No Eventual Chance
Shawon Dunston - Never lived up to the hype, but nevertheless had a decent career. His arm could be its own exhibit.

Great Players, Not HOF Material
Dave Concepcion - Use the Phil Rizzuto defense here: the starting shortstop on the reigning dynasty of his era. If that works, we'll see Davey in the Hall in about 40 years or so. A steady defender who patented the one hop throw off of the turf.
Tommy John - A special mention is deserved for having a surgery named after you, no? Points for longevity, and doing what he did after what had been up till then a career wrecking injury.
David Justice - He was married to Halle Berry, which always, always has to be mentioned. Oh, and he could play a bit too, but there is no way he ever makes the Hall. Actually, losing Halle Berry should work against him.

The Verdict:
We're betting on Gossage and Rice, with Dawson and Blyleven inching closer (in the 50-65% range), but falling just short.

Official HOF Site

Manny: Too Stupid To Plunk?

How the heck nobody has drilled Manny Ramirez in the ribs multiple times by now is simply staggering to us. This guy has been preening and admiring his prodigious blasts, no matter the situation, for so long now it defies explanation that he hasn’t been knocked on his ass by an opposing pitcher.

We can somewhat understand the Indians not wanting to rock the boat right now – there is too much at stake. Plunking Manny tonight might awaken the sleeping giant, and there is no need for that when Cleveland is poised to eliminate the Sox. Next spring though? He should get decked, and there should be several teams lining up for the opportunity.

It occurs to us that there might be other valid reasons for not dusting Manny. He has been painted as such a character by the press (and teammates), that maybe, just maybe, he really has no idea what he’s doing up there after he swings the bat. He just happy that he did well! Maybe he thought the blast in Game 4 put the Sox ahead, rather than only closed the gap to 7-3?

Who knows? Maybe the pitchers know something we don’t – that Ramirez is simply not bright enough to know what he’s doing, and they in turn take pity on him. Being Manny might be enough punishment in and of itself.

Torre to Yanks: Thanks, But No Thanks

After managing to keep the team in the spotlight a full week after being eliminated, the Yankees dropped the other shoe on Thursday by announcing that Joe Torre would not be returning as Manager in 2008. Strangely, but perhaps predictably, the team statement put it all on Joe, stating that an offer was made which the skipper turned down.

On the surface, the offer seems somewhat fair: one year, $5 million, with separate $1 million bonuses for reaching each tier of the post-season, totaling $8 million if the Yankees make the World Series (make, not win it.) Should that occur, an option for a second year kicks in.

Until Torre makes a public statement, we’re left to speculate as to why he turned down the deal. Maybe he wanted a longer deal. Maybe he got the feeling that if the 2008 team started 21-29 like the 2007 team did, he’d be canned at that point. Perhaps he was simply tired of the whole ordeal that comes with managing this franchise, and the slow changing of the guard in Tampa as George The Elder fades into the sunset.

The Yankees come out of this with clean hands: they can rightfully claim that they made a fair offer which was refused, and begin the search for a replacement with no blood on their hands. Who will take the job now? Here’s a quick look at three oft-mentioned candidates:

Don Mattingly – This one baffles us. What, exactly, are Donnie Baseball’s qualifications to take the helm here? The fact that he is a “True Yankee”, whatever the hell that means today? Or, is it simply that he would be easily controlled? So, he was the hitting coach for this team? Honestly, big deal. We’re reasonably certain we could have done the same job and had similar results. Give #23 a minor league job first to get his feet wet. Anyone remember the similar infatuation with giving Bucky Dent this job a few years back? How’d that turn out?

Joe Girardi – Better. Here’s a guy who seems to be more of a student of the game (catchers often are). Besides, he’s proven himself as a big league skipper, though he pulled the unlikely exacta of being named Manager of the Year in Florida, while being fired. Girardi is a no nonsense guy, which could work well with some of the younger players, but might not play so well with the veterans, and also would not take any crap from Tampa, making his hiring that much less likely.

Tony LaRussa – Oh baby, this would be awesome. LaRussa has his head so far up his own ass that he bristles at any strategy questions thrown his way. He ran into issues with the normally benign St. Louis press – just imagine how he’d do with the New York tabloids screaming every morning. Good times! As Yankee Haters, we would love to see this happen.

Another intriguing sub-plot will be how the player retention drama plays out. Mariano Rivera has already publicly stated that the Torre situation would have an impact on his return, and the Alex Rodriguez soap opera just had another wrench tossed into the mix. Count on hearing more about this team all winter long, no matter who wins the World Series.

One last and perhaps more important thing: how is Suzyn Waldman taking this?

Baseball Playoff Preview

Division Series Edition

Say what you will about baseball, what with the ridiculous salaries, steroid controversy, etc., but you can't say this wasn't a strange year. Bud Selig's dream of parity became clearer in 2007, as there were no 100 win nor 100 loss teams in either league. Also, 7 of the 8 teams playing in the post-season were not doing the same thing last season.

We had several milestones, including Barry's 756th*, Biggio's 3,000th hit, Glavine's 300th win, and the 500th HR from Arod, Thome and Frank Thomas. I would rather not mention it, but we also saw the historic collapse of the New York Mets. There, I said it, now let's move on to the teams that are still playing ball.


National League
Phillies vs. Rockies
It is unfortunate that the two Teams of Destiny have to meet in this round, isn't it? Colorado's unlikely run to this series was just as remarkable as Philly's, no doubt. The wild win over the Padres on Monday seemed appropriate in many ways, and this is clearly a team on a roll.
For all that was made of the Mets implosion, let's not forget that the Phillies had to play lights out baseball as well to get to this spot. They're also afire, which could make this the most entertaining of the four Division Series.
The Pick: Just a hunch, but we've got a feeling the Philadelphia pitching might come back to Earth a bit, at the worst possible time. Expect some slugfests.

Rockies in 5

Cubs vs. Diamondbacks
Lost amidst all the craziness in the Eastern and Western divisions was the Cubbies - a team which overcame a pretty significant deficit themselves to get to the playoffs for the first time since the immortal gag job of 2003 (can you say Bartman?). The anonymous D-Backs somehow managed to win the West despite scoring less runs than allowed.
The Pick: D-Back kiddie Corps might be too young to feel the playoff pressure, while Cub players must carry the weight of a century of failure. Still, we like the boys from Chicago, at least at this point. Come back in 1/2 and hour and the pick might change, but for now it's...

Cubs in 5

American League

Red Sox vs. Angels
Sox built huge lead, then avoided the meltdown you were secretly expecting (c'mon Sawx fans, admit it, you were waiting for it to happen). Something feels a bit off about this Angel team though. The pitching has been spottier than usual, and the power numbers haven't been there. Boston has been somewhat in cruise control for much of the second half, but can trot out a nasty lineup to go with ace Josh Beckett.
The Pick: Like the Sox here in what could be a short series. Let's give the Angels at least one, making it.. Red Sox in 4.


Yankees vs. Indians
Seems like everyone is of the mindset that Alex Rodriguez needs to have a big series in order for the Yankees to do well. We're more concerned that the bullpen and thin starting staff can hold up against the Tribe's loaded lineup (not to mention the Sabathia-Carmona 1-2 punch on the mound). It makes for a sexier sub-plot, no doubt, to focus on ARod and his recent post-season struggles, but Yankee fans should be more concerned about Roger Clemens in Game 3, and the bullpen beyond Joba Chamberlain and Mo Rivera.
The Pick: ARod does just fine, but the Cleveland pitching makes the difference and leads the Mistake By The Lake to victory. Have fun in Anaheim/Boston/Chicago/San Francisco in '08, Alex!

Indians in 5

Back On Track?

Has the Good Ship Steinbrenner finally righted itself? A recent winning streak, which has propelled the team back above the .500 mark, seems to indicate just that.

Obviously, the $200 million squad couldn't be so pathetic forever. Six games against the fading White Sox and awful Pirates also went a long way toward curing the woes. The pitching staff began to get its collective act together about a month ago....right when the hitting went suddenly tits up. Now, led by Bobby Abreu of all people, the bats have awoken. ARod has snapped out of his mini-drought, while Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada have pretty much mashed all sesaon.
Still, to us, some issues remain.

The Bullpen comes immediately to mind. This is a less than stellar bunch to begin with. Throw in the fact that they were way overworked in the first two months and you've got a recipe for a late season meltdown. Having Roger Clemens in the fold equals no rest for the weary, as they will be needed to bail out the aging, fatigued groin hurler. Not much help will be available in the trade market, as everyone will be looking for available arms around the July 31 deadline - most with much more to offer up than the Yankees can.

Seriously, Kyle Farnsworth is always a threat to load the bases, and reminds of a real life Nuke LaLoosh. Scott Proctor is good, but pitches seemingly every day, so how long can his arm hold up? Mike Myers and Ron Villone scare no one. After that it's pretty much a crapshoot getting to Mariano Rivera, who has looked somewhat mortal himself thus far, though that could be attributed to a lack of work - he went almost a month between save opportunites.

No doubt this team will be in the mix come September, most likely contending for the Wild Card. The Red Sox have slowed down a bit, but still have a 9 1/2 game cushion over New York in the Eastern division. Chasing the Wild Card brings with it more issues, as they will be in amongst a group of 4-5 teams, making it difficult to gain ground.

It says here that while certainly a possibility, the 2007 Yankees will ultimately fall short and miss the post season for the first time since 1993. At least, that's what we're hoping for.

SAY IT! SAAAAAY IT!

Oh, Jason Giambi, you're so close!

The Yankee slugger, famous for apologizing for some undisclosed thing back in 2005, is talking again:

I was wrong for doing that stuff. What we should have done a long time ago
was stand up -- players, ownership, everybody -- and said, 'We made a mistake.'

C'mon Jason, say it with me, "I took steroids. I injected them into my butt cheeks, and did so willingly. I knew I was violating the rules, yet did it anyway."

Instead, he follows up with this:

That stuff didn't help me hit home runs. I don't care what people say, nothing
is going to give you that gift of hitting a baseball

Maybe not, but they helped you recover from nagging aches and pains quicker, didn't they? Which led to better numbers, which in turn led to a huge contract with the Yankees. To say they didn't benefit you is ridiculous.

When asked, "So why did you take steroids?" Giambi told the newspaper "Maybe one day I'll talk about it, but not now." Why? If not now, when? After you've retired, and aren't on someone's payroll?

I suppose Giambi deserves some credit for being the only player to actually come out and talk about this whole issue, but I wish he would just come completely clean about the whole thing. Maybe someday, unless some other high profile player beats him to it.

Goodness Gracious! Clemens Returns!

I actually have a tiny bit of pity for the Yankees here. Think about it, the most hallowed franchise in sports was reduced to what amounted to begging a 45 year old pitcher to stop by when he has a moment and pitch into the sixth inning, while paying him about $1 million every time they give him the ball.

This is the team which does not allow facial hair, which no player is ever bigger than, which is steeped in tradition. No more. Today, they're the exact same as the Houston Astros, the last team to kiss Roger's butt and give him the most ridiculous consulting assignment in history.

The entire thing is high comedy. Clemens actually said he had no idea the "I'm flying home between starts" clause was even in the contract? Really? He expects us to believe that?

How about the unveiling of the news at Yankee Stadium on Sunday? What a joke. Again, the Yankees, baseball's classiest team, resorts to cheap theatrical tactics worthy of P.T. Barnum to spring the news on the world. Radio voice Suzyn Waldman practically wet her pants in the broadcast booth, reacting as if Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle were also returning. Goodness gracious indeed.

Not that we here at BIMRVM take any pleasure in the misfortune of others, but it would be really fun if Clemens is nothing more than mediocre once he starts throwing. Something along the lines of 8-7 with a 4.50 ERA would be enough. Numbers that one of the young Yankee arms could easily reproduce, for about $27.8 million less.

Either that, or a failed HGH test. Either option would make our year.

Two Sides of the Schilling

Just once it would be nice if Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling made some news from his pitching, as opposed to shooting his mouth off. Apparently Schilling likens the sound of his own voice to a symphony, as he sounds off on any topic which strikes his fancy. I would say the fact that he has a blog just intensifies his self-indulgence, but that might be a tad hypocritical, eh?

To this writer, The Schill lost any shred of credibility he had on that fateful day in March 2006 as he appeared before Congress during the steroid hearings. You will recall the SI article a few years earlier, which predated any of the Jose Canseco book stuff, in which several players estimated the percentage of big league roid users to be at least 50%. Schilling himself said that he knew something was out of sorts when, after a good play, a playful tap on the butt would result in the recipient reacting with a big "Ow!". (That's where the injections went, you see).

Here would be a perfect chance for a player who seemed to value the integrity of the game over all else to simply repeat and elaborate on the statements he made to SI. Would it be easy? Certainly not, but telling truths which nobody wants to hear rarely is. So, what did our hero do? Simple: he told the panel that what he said to SI couldn't be taken seriously.

Wait, what? Were we to believe that the man who is never at a loss for words, who always has something profound to say about any topic which presented to him, suddenly couldn't be taken seriously?

It was a chickenshit copout, plain and simple. When the heat was on, and he was amongst other ballplayers, he clammed up. Something I imagine he wishes he was able to do several times in recent days.

First, when asked to comment on the Clemens to the Yankees story, Schilling gave what I thought was the correct response. He basically said, "we're good right now, and really don't need him". The media took that and ran with it, and within the hour the headlines screamed "We Don't Need Him". In this case, Curt backed the 24 other guys in his locker room, whcih was exactly what he should have done. He went on to say that since the Yankees have been so decimated by injuries so far this year that it was basically a move they had to make. Furthermore, saying "I wish we got him instead" would be a slap in the face to someone on the current roster, which would create needless division in the clubhouse of a first place team. Good on you, Schill.

Feeling the need to talk to anyone who will listen, Curt made another in a long list of appearences on Boston Sports radio WEEI to blather on about anything from the state of the Sox to the Clemens thing, etc. When the topic turned to Barry Bonds and his pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record, Schill went into character assasinantion mode, calling Bonds an adulterer, tax cheat, and steroid user, none of which have ever been actually proven (swelled head notwithstanding). As expected, the poo hit the proverbial fan, and after manager Terry Fancona prodded him, Schilling came through with a big mea culpa the following day. Not your best showing there, Schill.

Here's a suggestion Big Guy. Take a break from you blog, and concentrate on talking only about your pitching. The media will no doubt be disappointed, as a surefire quote machine will be running dry, but you'll probably feel much better. Leave the blogging to the professionals, like me. Besides, as you said, we shouldn't take your words seriously anyway.

Black Man To Break Record: Whites Outraged

Accept it kids, the most hallowed record in sports is going down, and soon. Barry Bonds is back cranking dingers like he used to, and at the current pace will become baseball's all time home run leader sometime in early June. There has been plenty of time to assess what the impact will be, and how baseball will react. Hank Aaron has already made it known that he will not be following Bonds around once the record is poised to fall, and even Bonds is okay with that. As for Bud Selig, let's just say it would not be entirely surprising if he is suddenly called away to Asia in June for some emergency marketing trip for the next World Baseball Classic or something. The man is avoiding this like a picked on kid being pursued by the class bully as the clock inches toward 3:00.

The fact that Bonds might* have cheated is the elephant in the room here, except everyone is looking at it and saying "Damn, there's a freaking elephant in this room!". Fan reaction is largely against Bonds, except in the San Francisco area, naturally. The entire issue centers around the alleged enhancements he might have used, nothing more. Not satisfied with such a cut and dried story, ABC News decided to be complete idiots and inject race into the equation, as if that had any bearing. The results, such as they were, showed that - surprise! - blacks were on Barry's side, whites were not. Just another example of trying to keep a brother down, right? Either way, it created some manufactured controversy. Not only does race baiting sell, it was still fresh in the public's mind after the Imus controversy.

Let's see if I can understand the findings here. White people, on the whole, do not want a black man, Barry Bonds, to break a record which is currently held by.....another black man? Really? It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Bonds changed hat sizes three times in five years, added 40 pounds of muscle in his late thirties, and subsequently hit more home runs in five years than at any other period of his career? Nope, it's the skin color all the way! Thanks, ABC, for connecting those dots for us.

In 1974, as Hank Arron was about to pass Babe Ruth, I was nine years old. Even then, the number 714 held a special significance for me, knowing that it was the biggest record in sports. To me, it was incredibly exciting knowing that someone was about to pass The Babe - skin color meant absolutely nothing. I really had no idea of how much crap Aaron had to put up with from bigoted morons who were upset by this fact. I would later come to learn just how much he endured while pursuing the mark, and how well he handled it. Oh, and he never had to pee in a cup and sweat out the results either. Funny, that.

The fact that Barry Bonds is a jerk is not unknown, and he has gone to great lengths to prove just how much of a pain in the ass he can be. He might be the best teammate in the world (and that is debatable), but he has never ceased to show how his public persona is that of a petulant, spoiled superstar who is tortured by the onslaught of fame and money. Cry me a river, Barry. Hank Aaron, on the other hand, has never shown himself to be anything short of pure class, and let's not forget how much real racism he had to put up with on his way to the top of the home run list. That, more than anything else, is the saddest part of the record falling - the person doing it is a jerk who is virtually impossible to root for, and that would be true no matter what his color or nationality.

Besides, Alex Rodriguez will own this mark before he's done, and we'll probably look back on this whole period and wonder what all the fuss was about.

* not proven. After all, I might be dating Jessica Alba. Prove I'm not.

WWTFD

This man is absolutely Locked. In. Another HR on Thursday, his 10th of the young season, led the Yankees to an incredible 8-6 win over Cleveland.

Now, as the Bombers head to Boston to renew the most overhyped rivalry in Sports, BIMRVM asks a simple question:

What Will Terry Francona Do?

Hard to tell, but if there is any sense of baseball gamesmanship, Mr. Rodriguez will taste the dirt around home plate at Fenway at some point this weekend, preferably early on Friday. I'm not advocating that he be plunked, just dusted. Let's see if any Red Sox pitcher takes it upon himself to make the effort to slow down the red-hot slugger.

My money is on Josh Beckett on Saturday, though I wouldn't put it past Schilling to smoke one under his chin on Friday night.

Grab some popcorn kids, this could be fun to watch.