All-Season MFY IGT

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's kind of sad to see Mel Stottlemyer go after Steinbrenner in the press. If he is truly burning his bridges, that would be the second Yankee coach in two years --- after Zimmer --- to end his career by mouthing off in defense of Torre, while Torre himself soldiers on.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Mel wasn't all that ferocious. In his wfan interview, he went out of his way to say he wasn't leaving with a chip on his shoulder, just that he'd decided some time ago it was time to leave.

He did appear hurt that Steinstupid's media statement included congratulations toward Scioscia but did not acknowledge Torre.

The drumbeat for Piniella will be harder, but more distant, than it was when he was considered for a Met job. Nobody in the media has the guts to contend that Torre ought to be fired, only to suggest tghat perhaps his relationship with the MFYs has run its course and that if he could walk away on his own accord from this situation, it'd be a good opportunity to insert Piniella into the job.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]"I laughed when I saw it," Stottlemyre said. "My first thoughts were, `What about Joe? Joe had done a hell of a job, too.' To congratulate the other manager and not congratulate your own after what he'd done this year, I laughed."

[Guest metirish]

Some guys in the media are speculating thatif Girardi gets the Marlins job, Mattingly will replace him and Ron Guidry will be asked in a pitching coach now that Mel has gone.

[Guest soupcan]

A hearty welcome back to the Bronx Zoo I say!

[Guest Valadius]

Billy Martin's skull will be the new manager.

[Guest silverdsl]

Edgy DC wrote: It's kind of sad to see Mel Stottlemyer go after Steinbrenner in the press. If he is truly burning his bridges, that would be the second Yankee coach in two years --- after Zimmer --- to end his career by mouthing off in defense of Torre, while Torre himself soldiers on.

I say good for Stottlemyre for speaking his mind. I think he did it in exactly the right way too - he made his points, didn't sugar-coat, yet didn't bash or insult anyone.

Imagine what Torre's going to say when his tenure with the Yankees is over!

[Guest metirish]

]Imagine what Torre's going to say when his tenure with the Yankees is over!

Torre should thank Steinbrenner for giving his a great life, Torre went from "Clueless Joe" to making over $6M a year, I'd thank him and be gone.

[Guest Frayed Knot]

That's fine and all but Steinbrenner has always acted as if paying guys a lot of money gives him the right to abuse them simply because he can, and he's just as bad with the low level employees if not worse; the classic bully.
That's what so delicious about the whole Torre/Steiny dance; that Torre had so much success so quickly after arriving in da Bronx that he took away - at least partially - the hammer that George usually uses to beat his emplyees over the head. For the most part, the org. has needed Torre more than the other way around which you know pisses George off to no end. And now that that success has led to the kind of money virtually unseen in managerial circles, Torre has him over the barrel even further because he's so damn expensive to fire. Joe is now at an age and has enough money to where he can tell George to fuck off.
I'm personally looking forward to hearing him spout off some day.

[Guest metirish]

That's very true and an excellent point FK, wasn't it a few years back Steinbrenner wanted to take away dental benifits for low level employees?, I just see Torre taking the high road when that day comes, Torre has class which is something Steinbrenner will never have.

[Guest Valadius]

I remember that. There was a big thing all over the papers.

[Guest metirish]

You know you're going bad when your Mom has to make excuses for you...

]A-Rod's mom: Uncle's death was factor Story Tools: Print Email Associated Press Posted: 1 hour ago SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Alex Rodriguez played poorly in the Yankees' American League division series loss in part because he was saddened by the death of the uncle who raised him, the slugger's mother said in an interview published in a local newspaper Sunday. Lourdes Navarro said her son kept the Sept. 30 death of his uncle to himself because he was committed to helping his team win. "I think he should speak with the team and tell them that his uncle, who was like his father because he raised him since he was 8, died in a hospital in Miami," Navarro told Listin daily newspaper. Navarro didn't say what caused the death of Augusto Bolivar Navarro, who was her last surviving brother. Rodriquez, a shortstop, was hitless in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Angels that sent the Yankees home for the year, and finished the five-game series with no RBIs and a .133 batting average. "I know how much he suffered from the death of his uncle without being able to do anything, from listening to me crying and not being able to be there," she said, suggesting some New York fans were being unfair to her son. "I would like ... for the baseball fans to know that my son is a great human being, that they're seeing a human and not a robot, that he can fail, especially when there are reasons like this," she said. Navarro said Rodriquez spoke with his uncle for three hours by phone the day before he died. "We buried him in Santo Domingo...(Rodriguez) didn't come because of the high sense of responsibility that Alex has for his work," she said. Rodriguez, baseball's only $25 million-a-year player, batted .321 during the regular season, with 48 homers and 130 RBIs.

I heard during the game tonight that Donald Trump hammered A-Dog in a radio interview....people just keep piling on,

[Guest Frayed Knot]

Yeah, piling on is a good phrase for it.

Look, the guy had a bad week, GET OVER IT yanqui fans.
So did Matsui, who seems to be escaping most of the wrath, and several others as well. This notion that it means ARod's destined to forever come up small in these situations is a bunch of nonsense.
Chris Russo was saying on the air the other day that; "ARod just chokes up in these spots, that's all there is to it". Oh really DOG, then how do you explain the fact that his overall post-season numbers are as good or better than his regular numbers? Do these 5 games suddently negate all that?

Or, as Joe Sheehan in Baseball Prospectus wrote last week;
... Derek Jeter hit a home run Friday with the Yankees down four runs. He hit one [Sunday] with the team down three. The [Sunday] one was pointed to, by the game broadcasters as well as the ones on "SportsCenter," as evidence of his "clutchness."
Not for nothing, but why is it if Alex Rodriguez hits a solo homer with the Yankees down by a bunch, it's evidence that he's a stat-padding loser, but when Jeter does it, it's clutch?
It's just another example of the double standard in place for the two players. Neither covered themsleves in glory in the series -- the statistical difference between the two is those two Jeter home runs, whose value seems to be entirely in who hit them -- yet Jeter comes out as Captain Intangible while Rodriguez, whose back is still a bit sore from carrying the team in the '04 Division Series [vs MInnesota], for which he got no credit, is the choke artist.



Oh and Trump .... STFU!!

[Guest mlbaseballtalk]

="Frayed Knot"]Yeah, piling on is a good phrase for it. Look, the guy had a bad week, GET OVER IT yanqui fans. So did Matsui, who seems to be escaping most of the wrath, and several others as well. This notion that it means ARod's destined to forever come up small in these situations is a bunch of nonsense. Chris Russo was saying on the air the other day that; "ARod just chokes up in these spots, that's all there is to it". Oh really DOG, then how do you explain the fact that his overall post-season numbers are as good or better than his regular numbers? Do these 5 games suddently negate all that? Or, as Joe Sheehan in Baseball Prospectus wrote last week; ... Derek Jeter hit a home run Friday with the Yankees down four runs. He hit one [Sunday] with the team down three. The [Sunday] one was pointed to, by the game broadcasters as well as the ones on "SportsCenter," as evidence of his "clutchness." Not for nothing, but why is it if Alex Rodriguez hits a solo homer with the Yankees down by a bunch, it's evidence that he's a stat-padding loser, but when Jeter does it, it's clutch? It's just another example of the double standard in place for the two players. Neither covered themsleves in glory in the series -- the statistical difference between the two is those two Jeter home runs, whose value seems to be entirely in who hit them -- yet Jeter comes out as Captain Intangible while Rodriguez, whose back is still a bit sore from carrying the team in the '04 Division Series [vs MInnesota], for which he got no credit, is the choke artist. Oh and Trump .... STFU!!

I forget if it was a caller or a host (may have been a caller) but when brought up about ARod's postseason performance as a Mariner the response was "Yeah, but he's in a bigger spot cause now he's a Yankee"

:roll:

[Guest Zvon]

Ive come to the conclusion that its gotta be the money that makes Yank fans act so demanding and unfair towards A-Rod.
That and the fact they have been spoiled silly by Stienbrenner.

I guess tomorrow Torre will make his statement.
That should be interesting.

[Guest Frayed Knot]

The money's always going to be a big part of it and he has to realize that when he accepts (not only accepts but actively solicits) the biggest paycheck it's going to come with greater scrutiny. I don't mind that he's taking heat here ... but it's gotten to the point where it's now just ridiculous scapegoating by those who think they'll be bigger people by 'taking on the biggest guy' (see Trump, Donald).
Of course much of the rest is coming from MFY fans who want their bread buttered on both sides by thinking they can knock him and still be loyal to their team - on account of him not being a real Yanqui and all.

And, as well-meaning as his mother is trying to be here with the story about the uncle, that's not going to help one bit.

[Guest metirish]

This is one guy I will never feel bad for,yeah it's the fact that he's a Yankee, that just makes it all the better for me, but it's more than that,everytime Rodriguez says something it sounds like a prepared statement and he comes accross as a phony person, like the bullshit about how he has grown so much as a person since coming to NY, and that he thanks the pinstripes for that....what bullshit that is.

[Guest sharpie]

My favorite uncle died last week (he really did). I'm pretty sure I did my job last week as well as I do it any other week (except when I'm spending time around this place).

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'll play JB for a moment here.

In a moment of anger or anxiety, rational cortical processing can become immediately and almost hopelessly over-ridden by the morre primitive impluses orchestrated by the limbic system.

The people who are acting against the evolution of the species are the ones who invariably surrender to that, who allow these ancient impluses to usurp those of our later-evolving prefrontal cortex.

These are, for instance, the sports fans, forsaking their reason, who conclude that "you failed me, therefore you are morally reprehensible and must be banished from the group, no matter if your skills are still useful, plentiful, or even unique among the group."

Sadly, it is likely that no teams have a shortage of fans behaving as such.

Sportswirters (or radio hosts) who express such an irrational perspective in print (or on the air), are an especially pernicious group, because they take the time and deliberation to sit down, imagine, reflect, create, compose, and arrange their article, but still yield to the old limbic impulses. It must take work to be rational enough to be perform in a highly-competitive presitigious creative position, but forsake rationality in the actual performance.

You may desperately try and answer such figures with reason (as I did with Jon Heyjman), but they perhaps should merely be shunned. Shunning them lowers their readership/ratings, providing negative reinforcement to somebody who clearly evidences a basic susceptibleness to the most primitive of motivations.

[Guest KC]

>>>ancient impluses to usurp our later-evolving prefrontal cortex<<<

I have to memorize that and whip it out on one of my Yankee fan friends
at a later date and just the right moment.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Whipping it out is probably also a behavior characteristic of subcortical processing.

[Guest KC]

Remember that noise that Archie Bunker used to make with his tounge
stuck out a pressed between his lips?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Sure, it's also called a Bronx cheer, probably an old reference to Yankee fans. Archie was a Met man, of course.

No, your whip out would be excellent. I was referring to the more vulgar usage.

Keep in mind that I was editing an article on brain science, and briefly understood it. But I can only be smart for a few minutes at a time.

[Guest seawolf17]

Yankees receive permission to speak with Mazzone

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees began pressing ahead with their offseason transformation, asking and receiving permission from the Atlanta Braves to speak with pitching coach Leo Mazzone.

General manager Brian Cashman still has not determined whether he will sign a new deal or leave when his current contract expires at the end of the month. And manager Joe Torre hasn't spoken publicly since New York was eliminated from the playoffs by the Anaheim Angels.

Contacted Monday, Cashman declined comment on his status, saying nothing has been decided.

But the Yankees do know they will need a new pitching coach. Mel Stottlemyre, who has held the job since Torre took over after the 1995 season, said last week he did not plan to return and leveled criticism at the Tampa wing of New York's split front office.

The request to speak with Mazzone, first reported by MLB.com, was confirmed by a baseball official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team did not intend for the matter to become public.

Braves spokesman Brad Hainje said the team does not comment on personnel issues. A message left at Mazzone's home in Atlanta was not immediately returned.

Mazzone rebuffed interest from the New York Mets after the 2002 season, signing a new deal with the Braves that included a significant pay increase.

"Forget it," Mazzone said at the time. "I'm an Atlanta Brave. I'm very pleased with what I got here. They were very fair. I'm pleased with everything."

Mazzone, who turned 57 Sunday, has been with the Braves organization since 1979. He had a brief stint as Atlanta's co-pitching coach in 1985, then returned as the sole pitching coach in June 1990 after Bobby Cox was hired as manager.

The Braves have perennially been among the NL leaders in ERA, but they dropped off to sixth this season (3.98). The team was plagued by injuries to the starting rotation and a dismal bullpen that went through three closers.

"More of it's the mental approach, because the mental approach dictates your mechanics," Mazzone said last month, talking about his approach to pitching. "If you're in a prevent defense, those mechanics may falter. If you're in attack mode, you're looking right.

"If pitchers resort to super control or super power, they get themselves messed up mechanically. That's how Jaret Wright was able to smooth himself out when he was with us."

[Guest TheOldMole]

The Braves would let Leo go?

[Guest metirish]

I think out of respect to Mazzone they would grant permission for him to talk to an interested team, maybe he'll squeeze another pay raise from the Braves.

[Guest holychicken]

He BETTER not go to the yanks. The last thing the yankees need is a pitching coach who can actually coach.

[Guest seawolf17]

I posted the article, but forgot to add my thoughts. Yanks or not, I would love to see Mazzone leave Atlanta. Say what you will about the Braves' run, but the one constant has been Cox & Mazzone. Breaking that up can not help them next year. It just can't. So I'd hope George throws a bucketful of cash at Leo.

[Guest sharpie]

I'm with Seawolf. I'd hate to see him go to the MFYs but that would be better than him staying in Atlanta. That's the team we have to focus on immediately.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Mazzone has been great but his coming to the Bronx won't make Johnson & Mussina any younger, and may not have the juice to change either of their routines at this point.

I suppose if you're Jaret Wright you'd be excited, and I suppose there's more to get out of Pavano and Wang. Meantime it could make the MFYs hungrier for Burnett.