The Dynasty Crumbles - the 2013 MFY Thread

[MFS62]

There have been a lot of things A-Rod has done to confirm that he is not too bright. And I think he keeps trying to put those things behind him. And he could do that by performing well for the MFYs and getting some cheers from the fans.
So I chalk this one up to being happy that he was told he finally will be able to start playing soon, and wanting to let his fans know that. If anything it was an error of enthusiasm.
Maybe it was premature, but Cashman wayyyyy over reacted.

Later

[Ceetar]

[Frayed Knot]

Yanx game ends two outs ahead of ours - yet started a full hour earlier.
8-5 Texas was your final.


Meanwhile, it. looks like Teixeira is going to have season-ending surgery on his wrist.

[Edgy MD]

Think they like Satin?

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: Think they like Satin?

Well I think they'd like a RH-hitting complement to Overbay, so maybe.

[Edgy MD]

MFS62 wrote: There have been a lot of things A-Rod has done to confirm that he is not too bright. And I think he keeps trying to put those things behind him. And he could do that by performing well for the MFYs and getting some cheers from the fans. So I chalk this one up to being happy that he was told he finally will be able to start playing soon, and wanting to let his fans know that. If anything it was an error of enthusiasm. Maybe it was premature, but Cashman wayyyyy over reacted. Later

There really is nothing innocent about it. There are tens of millions at stake if he gets back on the field --- perhaps hundreds. He opened up his Twitter account two weeks ago, and there's no purpose to it (because almost everybody in the world dislikes him) except to undermine the Yankees' position that he's not ready. To essentially put out his own independent statements without calling a press conference.

Alex Rodriguez's contract is essentially the worthless warehouse the Yankees are trying to burn down for the insurance money. And he's calling them on it.

[Frayed Knot]

I dunno, I can see where ARod simply got all giddy at good news from his doctor and decided it was something worth tweeting about.
The Yanx, in turn, are saying; "not so fast there cabana boy, WE decide when you're ready to proceed, not some doctor. And further more WE'LL do the announcin' 'round here ... and donnnnnn you forget it"
Cashman has already apologized for the language even if not for the message itself.

The team, remember, isn't too crazy about getting him back on the field, particularly if they think there's some money-saving suspension coming down the pike. Plus they don't seem too happy with all these new-fangled twitter devices that detract from the team's ability to control all output. Mgmt has already banned players from accepting paid radio spots and the like (not commercials but say weekly appearances that players get paid for) and Yanqui players have long been extremely UNavailable for even the occasional non-paying show. This incident, even if a bit less subtle than their usual, just seems like more of the same.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Sabathia gakked up a 3-0 lead, and now Joba the Gut is trying to keep it to a 4-3 Orioles lead. With CC and Joba pitching the game has been delayed twice as the ground crew keeps coming out to build up the flattened pitcher's mound.

[Frayed Knot]

Orioles hanging up a nine-spot on the Yanx.
But don't worry, they're almost to the 4th inning.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

11-3 final. This drops them to just four over .500. They're in third, 5.5 out in the division, and in fourth place, 3 out in the wild card race. They are the only team in the AL East with a negative run differential, and last place in the division seems to be just days away.

Boston 49 34 .590 -
Baltimore 46 36 .561 2.5
NY Yankees 42 38 .525 5.5
Tampa Bay 41 39 .513 6.5
Toronto 40 40 .500 7.5

[G-Fafif]

Tampa Bay up to 42-39, putting on more pressure.

Three division leaders and three second-place teams in the American League all have better records than the MFYs. For at least a day or two, the vigil devoted to keeping them out of a playoff spot can be taken off high alert.

Not that vigilance isn't paramount at all times. But in "if the season ended today..." terms, theirs would actually be over the day after tomorrow, too.

[Frayed Knot]

4th place following tonight's loss to Baltimore -- and, yes, one more HR for Chris Davis (31) and another double for Manny Machado (38 -- ML record is 67)

And just as I was complaining about the back end of the Mets lineup, compared to what's going on in the Bronx, ours suddenly doesn't look so bad.
On account of the number of relievers they feel they need to carry, the Yanx bench currently consists of only three guys. Tonight that meant:
Vernon Wells: .185/.206/.275 since May 1st
backup catcher Austin Romine: .145/.159/.194
and IF Alberto Gonzalez: .143/.143/.143 (21 ABs)

[seawolf17]

lolyankees

[Frayed Knot]

ARod, it was announced today, is set to begin rehab starts.
It's a good thing that Cashman was so adamant that ARod "Shut the Fuck Up" last week otherwise the news that his rehab was to begin might have become public knowledge several days too early and if that happened the terrorist would be winning ... or something like that.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Leave it to the Twins to provide the MFYs with a break in their routine. No club bends over for the MFYs quite like Minnesota.

[Edgy MD]

Well, they have to get it out of the way now. They won't get a chance to fold for the Yankees in October.

[metirish]

Attendance down, YES ratings way down...good stuff

Through 41 home games this season, the Yankees have drawn nearly 106,000 fewer fans than at this point a year ago, a 6.1 percent drop that is almost twice as large as the overall decline in baseball. More than half a dozen other teams have had bigger attendance losses than the Yankees, but without exception they are teams that went from good to bad, at least for a while, or from bad to worse, or that play in cities without a notably intense fan base. The Yankees do not fit in any of those categories, which makes their attendance falloff more intriguing. And while they also experienced a decrease in attendance the last two years, the one this season is more pronounced. Even more sobering for the team: the television ratings for their games have plummeted. Through June 25, the ratings on their YES Network were down 40 percent to 2.52 from 4.17 at this point last season, and from 4.08, 4.50 and 4.72 in the three previous seasons, with each rating point this year representing 73,843 households.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/sports/baseball/with-fewer-stars-at-yankee-stadium-fewer-fans-are-watching.html?pagewanted=1

[Frayed Knot]

It was always funny throughout their non-winning years in the 2000s when Yanqui fans were longing for the "good old days" of the 1990s, for the team they claimed to like much better on account of it being before the FA buying binge when they had all those home-grown players.

Only problem with that logic was that attendance during that time was about half what it would be a decade later [1996 = 2,250K vs 2006 = 4,250K]. IOW, whether they want to admit to it or not, Yanqui fans showed up A LOT more when they stacked the team with outside "name" players and the fact that, despite a string of injuries which has forced the team into doing exactly what many fans claim they wanted all along -- "Bring up the kids"!! -- both attendance and apparently TV ratings are now dropping as a result.

[metsmarathon]

in other words, yankee fans are simpering frontrunners who don't give a shit about their team unless the big stars are there to make them feel safe and secure bathed in their reflected greatness, assured of present and future victory. these fans lack the moral courage and inner strength to expose themselves to a situation where their team - the team whose success tehy require in order to feel themselves like successes - might not win. they simply cannot risk it. for if the yankees should lose, then what are they, the yankee fans? clearly they would be worthless. no, it is better for the fragile yankee fan to avoid the issue of yankee mortality altogether. for in denial there is safety. and if you can plausibly deny the frailty of the yankees, then you may still claim their inulnerability unto yourself.

[Frayed Knot]

marathon and I post near identical rants simultaneously (only his was nastier and better).
Bottom line is, what the YLDBs have found out, to their great surprise and dismay, is that "the kids" all turned out to be 26 year olds who hit .210 or have near 5.00 ERAs

[Ceetar]

Just look up the attendance jump after they signed A-Rod. Front runners, all of 'em.

The YES ratings are more interesting I think, than the attendance. Clearly scalpers bought a billion tickets to the place, just like they did at Citi Field. The Mets lost faster and became less of a draw faster, so they already suffered through the scalpers giving up their season ticket packages because it wasn't profitable, and with the Yankees fighting the secondary market harder than the team is fighting to stay above .500, it becomes less and less worth it.

[Edgy MD]

Well, they didn't sign A-Rod, but traded for him. Unless you mean when they re-signed him.

This is an excellent time --- and by excellent, I mean "very informative for both the Mets and Yankees and everybody" --- to compare sales with actual attendance. The decline in butts is the real story, and like YES ratings, is a more immediate guage of the marketability.

If attendance is down 6% now, September might be mortifying, depending on whether they are able to pour Jeter back into his uniform.

Man, they are going to hammer the last-chance-to-see-Rivera angle, aren't they?

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: Man, they are going to hammer the last-chance-to-see-Rivera angle, aren't they?

I hope that means they will have to bring him into a lot of games when they're losing.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Rivera pitched the 9th last night despite a six-run lead on account of their recent losing ways not getting him enough work.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Alex Rodriguez first rehab game - 2 AB, 1 K, 1 GIDP.

Tonight's episode of Small Sample Size Theatre is brought to you by Tic Tac, the 1� Calorie Breath Mint.

[bmfc1]

I have to say something good about the MFYs: per this article, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/arts/music/o-say-can-you-sing-at-the-ballpark-its-a-tough-song.html?ref=sports
they limit their Anthem singers to 90 seconds.

The Yankees, ever traditionalists, still use the opera star Robert Merrill�s venerable recording for many games. When the team does invite a singer to perform, it favors hiring Broadway stars with impeccable technique, a marketing strategy that dovetails with the interests of the theater district. Yankees officials insist on a hidebound, 90-second rendition with no accompaniment. �It isn�t just a random talent show,� said Deborah A. Tymon, the Yankees� senior vice president for marketing.

Of course, they do it because they're pretentious and for the moment, we'll ignore how long it takes for the daily rendering of "God Bless America" but a 90 second limit on the Anthem sounds good to me.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I can do it in 60 seconds easy.

[Guest Swan Swan H]

The Orioles had a 2-1 lead going to the bottom of the ninth, then Jim Johnson, Professional Closer gave up a single, made an error, and then after a bunt intentionally walked Cano, walked Hafner on four pitches to tie it, then surrendered Vernon Wells' first hit since Memorial Day to lose it. Bleah.

[Frayed Knot]

Speaking of Hafner, there's a guy who deserves a 50 game suspension. Not for PEDs (although maybe he does those too) but for constant delay of game.

I was flipping over to the Yanx game every once in a while last night including during one of his ABs. And after Every. Single. Pitch. he first smoothes the dirt in the box with his feet; then leaves and walks towards the 1B dugout until he gets to the outermost edge of the dirt circle some 20 feet away; at this point he takes a couple of practice swings, stretches a bit, spits once or twice, then slowly walks back towards the plate where of course the dirt needs smoothing again. Only then is his ready to dig his feet in allow the pitcher the honor of throwing the next pitch.

The Mets/Brewes game must have gone through two or three batters in the time Hafner's AB alone took. And I know it wasn't just this one time because I've seen him do this before.

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: The Mets/Brewes game must have gone through two or three batters in the time Hafner's AB alone took. And I know it wasn't just this one time because I've seen him do this before.

Can't someone appeal that he's taking more than the 12 alloted seconds or whatever? He didn't ask for time so if the pitcher constantly makes to deliver..

seems like something Bobby Valentine would do actually.