seawolf17

Good. Because I will fight you for Bob Murphy.

="metsmarathon":15hmqqt2]BEFORE learning he was HIV-positive, they had unprotected sex. AFTER learning he was HIV-positive, they did not have unprotected sex. am i reading the same article?[/quote:15hmqqt2] That's what I read also. She's suing for distress -- not that she doesn't have the right to be distressed, but I would think she has to prove that he knew he had HIV before having unprotected sex with her, and the article doesn't say that. Sucks for Roberto. soupcan Feb 11 2009 07:38 AM Maybe its a blackmail thing and he chose not to pay her so she puts this out there under the guise of suing him? Benjamin Grimm Feb 11 2009 07:41 AM If she found out about the HIV (or AIDS) when he did then she's responsible for any decisions she made about any kind of contact with his bodily fluids. This seems less about a health concern than about a way to drag her ex-boyfriend through the mud after an (I assume) ugly breakup. Of course, we still don't know if Alomar has HIV, or anything at all, although my hunch is he probably does. If not, there would be little point in launching such a lawsuit. Alomar could easily quash it by taking a test and providing the results to the court. I have to wonder if the sudden decline in production that Alomar experienced in 2002 may have had something to do with illness. (Or age, of course, or "the pressure of playing in New York.") John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 11 2009 07:46 AM Well, it's clear that "New York" wasn't the cause of his decline since he played in other cities since and wasn't any good in those places either. I mean, it seems obvious he wasn't where he used to be physically when he got here, although had this thing not come up I would have sooner guessed steroid withdrawl or old age before AIDS. But yeah, obviously the chick is interested in $15 million more than anything. metsguyinmichigan Feb 11 2009 07:48 AM Always lots of rumors that Alomar was gay. Supposedly he spit at the umpire because he made a homophobic slur. Nymr83 Feb 11 2009 07:49 AM ="metsguyinmichigan":2qftspnl]Always lots of rumors that Alomar was gay. Supposedly he spit at the umpire because he made a homophobic slur.[/quote:2qftspnl] which has what to do with anything here? metirish Feb 11 2009 07:50 AM I can't ever remember rumors that he was gay. HahnSolo Feb 11 2009 07:58 AM All this time I thought he was happily pillowing Mary Pierce. Benjamin Grimm Feb 11 2009 07:59 AM That kind of rings a bell with me. (The gay Alomar rumors.) John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 11 2009 08:01 AM I did my part spreading those rumors after hearing my/his former drycleaner talk about how Alomar was obsessively particular about he preferred his shirts to be folded. Anyway, this and that are two different things. MFS62 Feb 11 2009 08:07 AM I wish him well. Later Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 08:08 AM I'm trying to zoom in on the alleged rape. The record shows him playing in the SALlie League at 17 and the California League at 18. The California League, as far as I can tell, sticks to the Golden State and doesn't wind out to New Mexico, or even Arizona, though maybe it did in 1986. Nymr83 Feb 11 2009 08:14 AM ="Edgy DC":1zt4k77z]I'm trying to zoom in on the alleged rape. The record shows him playing in the SALlie League at 17 and the California League at 18. The California League, as far as I can tell, sticks to the Golden State and doesn't wind out to New Mexico, or even Arizona, though maybe it did in 1986.[/quote:1zt4k77z] Reno, NV had a team from 1955 to 1992 (or so says wikipedia) soupcan Feb 11 2009 08:19 AM ="Nymr83":328ycyjo]="metsguyinmichigan":328ycyjo]Always lots of rumors that Alomar was gay. Supposedly he spit at the umpire because he made a homophobic slur.[/quote:328ycyjo] which has what to do with anything here?[/quote:328ycyjo] AIDS. Gay. There's relevance. Met Hunter Feb 11 2009 08:19 AM I have to say, I'm surprised by this story, but not shocked. The rumors of Robbie's sexual orientation have been around for years. I always felt that Piazza took some hits for Robbie back in the 'there's a gay Met' days. Hirschbeck did in fact call Alomar a name (faggot) that infuriated Roberto. A couple years ago, I attended an autograph show that both Sandys were at and we saw Roberto in the lobby. He looked like hell and we thought he was dying. We were told that he recently had surgery and was a litle under the weather. Either way, this is a sad story. If he indeed is infected, knew about it, and convinced his girl to have sexual relations with him, that is irresposible and criminal. Despite that, I hope for the best to the entire Alomar clan. A great baseball family. soupcan Feb 11 2009 08:22 AM ="Benjamin Grimm"]That kind of rings a bell with me. (The gay Alomar rumors.) There was some article making the rounds written by a gay writer who said he had an affair with a 'prominent baseball player with an east coast team'. At the time I think that many people assumed he was talking about Piazza but there were also whispers that it could have been Malomar. We used to joke here that Mary Pierce was a bad choice for a beard for Robbie because she looked more like a man than he did.. MFS62 Feb 11 2009 08:25 AM Yiles! No wonder she was fronting for Virgin. Who would want to .... ? Later Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 08:28 AM She gets a tough rap. A funky nose, but she had a wonderful athletic build, even by tennis player standards. Centerfield Feb 11 2009 08:31 AM I have confirmed with four different sources that Mary Pierce is one of the unnamed 103. Nymr83 Feb 11 2009 08:38 AM ="soupcan":1r1auihp]="Nymr83":1r1auihp]="metsguyinmichigan":1r1auihp]Always lots of rumors that Alomar was gay. Supposedly he spit at the umpire because he made a homophobic slur.[/quote:1r1auihp] which has what to do with anything here?[/quote:1r1auihp] AIDS. Gay. There's relevance.[/quote:1r1auihp] You can catch AIDS by having normal heterosexual sex. You can also be raped by men even if you yourself are not gay, I still fail to see the relevance. metsguyinmichigan Feb 11 2009 08:44 AM ="soupcan":1hl6exl4]="Nymr83":1hl6exl4]="metsguyinmichigan":1hl6exl4]Always lots of rumors that Alomar was gay. Supposedly he spit at the umpire because he made a homophobic slur.[/quote:1hl6exl4] which has what to do with anything here?[/quote:1hl6exl4] AIDS. Gay. There's relevance.[/quote:1hl6exl4] Well, the point was that if he was saying he got the disease because he was raped by two men in Mexico, that might not be entirely true. But certainly there are multiple ways to get AIDS, and I wasn't casting any dispersions on him because he might be gay. Just saying the rape thing seemed odd, as did the refusals to be tested over the years. soupcan Feb 11 2009 09:00 AM Of course you can 'catch' AIDS in ways that have nothing to do with homosexual sex. The fact remains however that it originated as a disease specific to the homosexual community and rightly or wrongly, still remains something that many people consider a 'gay desease'. The rumor that Alomar is gay combined with the rumor that he has AIDS makes the statement valid. Fman99 Feb 11 2009 09:13 AM ="soupcan"]="Benjamin Grimm"]That kind of rings a bell with me. (The gay Alomar rumors.) There was some article making the rounds written by a gay writer who said he had an affair with a 'prominent baseball player with an east coast team'. At the time I think that many people assumed he was talking about Piazza but there were also whispers that it could have been Malomar. We used to joke here that Mary Pierce was a bad choice for a beard for Robbie because she looked more like a man than he did.. Wow I can't believe Robby Alomar had sex with Geddy Lee. Benjamin Grimm Feb 11 2009 09:17 AM You know, millionaire professional athletes have trouble getting the prettiest of women, and often have to settle for those who look like Willie Nelson. Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 09:26 AM Cruel room. Vic Sage Feb 11 2009 10:00 AM my observations: 1) saying someone has AIDS could be actionable, unless it were true, so it is unlikely the woman would make this accusation without some good faith basis to believe it to be true; 2) The gay rumors (which i recall) and his sudden and precipitous drop in performance add further credibility to the claim and therefore are relevent issues to raise without pretending otherwise, or implying veiled innuendo of homophobia for having done so, 3) There doesn't seem to be an allegation that Alomar knew (or even that he necessarily should have known) that he had AIDS at the time they were having unprotected sex, so there is no criminal liability (or moral culpability); 4) this is tragic all the way around; and 5) Namor's perspective does not surprise me in the least. John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 11 2009 10:01 AM View the suit: [url:xutp2sq2]http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0211091alomar1.html[/url:xutp2sq2] metirish Feb 11 2009 10:08 AM 12 pages..... Not sure if it was last season or the one before that Alomar was shown in the stands at Shea watching a game , looked pretty good then , may have been Father's Day IIRC. Nymr83 Feb 11 2009 10:16 AM I always thought "Ilya" was a guy's name, at least the one Ilya I know is, unless I'm spelling his name wrong? ]There doesn't seem to be an allegation that Alomar knew (or even that he necessarily should have known) that he had AIDS at the time they were having unprotected sex, so there is no criminal liability (or moral culpability); #29-34 on the first cause of action seems to allege just that, even if it isn't true it is certainly being alleged. HahnSolo Feb 11 2009 10:24 AM ="metirish":z7miuiq4]12 pages..... Not sure if it was last season or the one before that Alomar was shown in the stands at Shea watching a game , looked pretty good then , may have been Father's Day IIRC.[/quote:z7miuiq4] I believe so. I think he, his dad and brother took the Shea countdown number down on Fathers Day. I didn't see him that day. Vic Sage Feb 11 2009 10:51 AM there is no evidence that he knew he was positive until 1/06, and the complaint doesn't allege any. That he SHOULD have known before then, based on his various symptoms, is a matter of conjecture, and not the basis of "criminal" conduct. It might rise to tortious conduct, if her allegations are proven true, and though sections 29-34 of the complaint are worded broadly (as such complaints generally are), they clearly are about what he SHOULD have known. Of course, during all this time HE should have known, shouldn't she have? Why would she continue to have unprotected sex with someone whose symptoms she alleges were so obvious that ignoring or denying them rose to the level of negligence (civil, much less criminal negligence!). Wasn't she contributorily negligent? Oh the other hand, if he actually told her that he'd been tested on the numerous times that she alleges, and always told her he had tested negative, that's fraudulant behavior. Still, in most jurisdictions "emotional distress" needs at least some element of physical damage to be actionable, and certainly so for a criminal prosecution. She doesn't claim any battery, and as long as she tests negative, neither she nor any state may have a claim against him for what he might have or should have known. But certainly, if her allegations are true, there is moral culpability here. Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 11:05 AM Possiblities also exist that (1) he honestly had been tested, and received a false negative, and (2) had honestly been tested, and received an accurate negative, but contracted the disease subsequently. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 11 2009 02:20 PM A suit for distress several years after the supposed diagnosis... and after she continued to cohabitate (and, presumably, perform girlfriend-ly duties) with the guy for 3-plus years after THAT? I'm guessing that he's not a fantastic breaker-upper. metirish Feb 11 2009 06:05 PM My wife tells me that of course this is shocking news in Puerto Rico , anyway Robbie's current squeeze is a TV personality and model and she has been all over TV over there today talking about how all of this is false and that in due course all will be reveled , she did say that the ex told Alomar that when they broke up she was going to ruin him.Current GF also claims that Robbie is in good health. Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 06:16 PM I hope that's true. Good health doesn't necessarily mean virus-free, but it's good to have a woman stand by you when another is airing you out. metirish Feb 11 2009 06:22 PM More news , that picture is recent because they have been dating for only six months , current girl is the object of much scorn and ridicule in Puerto Rico , she is known for being an air head...also known as "dark cloud" as a BF from a few years ago killed himself and a guy she dated last year got cancer.....crazy stuff. Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 06:27 PM La Nube Oscura. Ouch. Frayed Knot Feb 11 2009 07:03 PM Robbie will be part of next year's 1st timers club for HoF consideration. Fman99 Feb 11 2009 07:56 PM ="metirish"]My wife tells me that of course this is shocking news in Puerto Rico , anyway Robbie's current squeeze is a TV personality and model and she has been all over TV over there today talking about how all of this is false and that in due course all will be reveled , she did say that the ex told Alomar that when they broke up she was going to ruin him.Current GF also claims that Robbie is in good health. I'd shake that shack. soupcan Feb 11 2009 08:37 PM I dunno - he don't look so good to me.. Of course I'm looking at him thinking he's got full-blown AIDS and he's trying to hide it but doesn't he look a little gaunt? He looks older than a 41 year-old former professional athlete should and he was always a pretty youthful looking guy. SteveJRogers Feb 11 2009 09:11 PM Shots of him getting inducted into the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence (they don't retire numbers) last spring Edgy DC Feb 11 2009 09:39 PM ="The New York Times":gev7takj]After he joined the mediocre Mets in 2002, Alomar�s play took a sharp turn for the worse.[/quote:gev7takj] Hey, paper of record, easy on the editorializing. That's not a blog you're writing. metirish Feb 19 2009 08:32 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 19 2009 08:44 AM Nothing new in this case , some pictures here of Alomar's GF... Be careful Opening These At Work[/url:2ob5iosb] scroll down John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 19 2009 08:35 AM Looks like she's smuggling a few batting helmets in her top. metirish Feb 26 2009 07:03 PM Update if anyone is interested......Gisselle a famous Puerto Rican Merengue singer and ex squeeze of Alomar's felt compelled to take a HIV test and go public with the results today because of a smear campaign down there in the gossip pages....she tested negative. Also his current GF holds daily news briefs on Robbie and has taken to calling him her husband....my wife tells me this girl is really a hate figure down there and it's worse now because she is seen to be using Alomar for her own publicity. I didn't appreciate how highly thought of the Alomar family are in Puerto Rico and it's a circus there right now. TransMonk May 06 2009 01:00 PM That's settled: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/05/06/2009-05-06_alomar_settles_suit_with_former_gal_pal.html Ex-Met Roberto Alomar settles suit with former gal pal in AIDS lawsuit BY John Marzulli DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Wednesday, May 6th 2009, 4:00 AM The ex-girlfriend of Roberto Alomar has settled her lawsuit that accused the former Mets' second baseman of being stricken with full-blown AIDS and having unprotected sex with her, according to court records. No terms of the settlement was disclosed. Ilya Dall, 31, had alleged that Alomar had been in declining health for years, but insisted he was disease-free before testing positive for AIDS in February 2006, according to the suit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. She sought $15 million in damages. The couple had been dating since 2002 and broke up last October. Dall claimed in the suit that Alomar had told her he was suffering from erectile dysfunction and had been "raped by two Mexican men" when he was 17. Asked if she regretted the public disclosure of intimate details of Alomar's health, Dall told the Daily News: "I'm sorry, but I have no comment." Alomar's lawyer would not comment on whether the baseball legend had AIDS. "He's healthy and he looks great," said Charles Bach. "The matter is over. The plaintiff [Dall] has withdrawn her complaint." As part of the settlement, Dall agreed not to file any future lawsuit against Alomar. Dall's suit originally filed in Queens Supreme Court in January, was transferred to federal court at Alomar's request because they live in different states - he in Florida and Dall in Whitestone, Queens. Dall's lawyer, Robert Sullivan, also declined to comment on the settlement. jmarzulli@nydailynews.com metirish May 06 2009 01:06 PM My wife was telling me last night that Robbies current GF who also serves as his spokesperson in PR has been all over TV there boasting that they are getting married and showing off a ring that she says cost $300K . This information was blurted out during a press conference yesterday to announce the settlement. Benjamin Grimm May 06 2009 01:16 PM Of course, this settlement doesn't settle the issue of Alomar's health. It just got the plaintiff to agree to shut up. He's still just as HIV positive, or not, as he was before today. So that issue remains up in the air. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 06 2009 03:18 PM ="metirish"]My wife was telling me last night that Robbies current GF who also serves as his spokesperson in PR has been all over TV there boasting that they are getting married and showing off a ring that she says cost $300K . This information was blurted out during a press conference yesterday to announce the settlement. This GF... is she actually made of plastic, or does she just seem as if she must be?

According to ESPN, no.

MiniWolf = #58 (drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft)

At least Derek doesn't whore himself out to Ford fifteen times during every fucking Mets game on SNY. Oh, wait.

="klapisch"]Jeter has never craved attention the way A-Rod has.

Omar kinda has a thing against signing Latin players.

Thanks, Kase. E-mail on the way. A lot of guys -- mostly recent/current guys, but plenty of older guys too -- have "certified" autographs that the card companies have released over the last ten years or so. But there are also a lot of players, past and present, who will sign "ttm" (through the mail), care of their home addresses or work addresses or whatever. Not so much for your huge stars -- Tom Seaver's not signing your card -- but your Bobby Vees and Chuck Taylors and Bob Bailors and Bruce Boisclairs are usually happy to sign and return what you send, provided you include a SASE. There are plenty of sites (StarTiger, SCN) where you can pay for addresses; some are better than others. Over at The Bench[/url:29h1jvu3], where I'm also a mod, we have a TTM database, and a forum where folks can request addresses and share successes. (Among other things.) As I said, I'm pushing 200 autographed cards now; it's a fun extension for my baseball card collection, and gives me something to put in a frame and hang on the wall. For example: > Some of those are certified, but of half them (Matlack, Snider, Stearns, Weis, Charles, Hebner, Garrett, Sadecki, Hickman, Foli, Millan, Pacella, Cisco, and Apodaca) I've gotten through the mail.

Someone call Jay Horwitz and reserve the Wiffle Ball field for the 1st Annual CPF Wiffle Ball Challenge NOW!

="Edgy DC"]Kyra Sedgwick is half Jewish. Shocking! Funny! She doesn't look Druish.

For a quick second, I read that as Gustavo Molina.

Thanks - the only extra Mets I have right now are Robin Ventura, Tim Bogar, and Matthew Lindstrom. Want any of those? If not, I can scrounge up someone older.

Bang. I have to cull some stats on my autograph collection. I'm at 196 different Mets autographed cards, and should hit 200 this week. (Kase -- you willing to part with one of those Shamskys? He's high on my list of needs.)

="Kong76":2erkpx1d]Bizarre to find this subject heading for me this morning. My wife met Shamsky, Kranepool, and Swododa last night and got me some autographs on my cards. Details this evening.[/quote:2erkpx1d] She pick up an extra Shamsky? I need one, and I understand he's too much of an ass to sign through the mail. (I'll put up some stats on my Mets autograph collection next week, once I hit 200 different guys.) MFS62 Feb 05 2009 06:17 PM ]In her lawsuit, Kim claimed Shamsky's infidelity led her to catch a sexually transmitted disease. IIRC, this was in Ball Four: In answer to a survey question,"What is the toughest thing you ever had to do as a ball player?" First baseman Mike Hegan replied,"Trying to convince my wife why she needed a Penicillin shot for my kidney infection." Later batmagadanleadoff May 06 2009 12:23 AM Art Shamsky Ambushed by Ex-Wife: the Video. (Temp Tycoon?) themetfairy May 06 2009 06:47 AM I can't understand why Art would want to divorce a sweetheart like Kim....

="Nymr83":3bzpskk2]sounds like a good time to sign him for cheap and hope he can help out in the second half or even for 2010[/quote:3bzpskk2] Bingo! Two-year, backloaded deal. Didn't the Yankees do that with Jon Lieber? Frayed Knot Feb 05 2009 02:38 PM Re: Leiber; yes, but I think it was post-surgery and not pre. Plus you don't want to do this at a time when it'll cost you a draft pick. So maybe after the cut-n-slice sounds like it worked and after the draft is done in June and you're off the hook for compensation it may be time to look into a rehab signing. Nymr83 Feb 05 2009 02:40 PM its strange that Sheets, if he knew he might need surgery, didn't accept arbitration from the Brewers. attgig Feb 05 2009 03:03 PM perhaps he had differing opinion vs the rangers doctors. him/his doctors didn't think he needed surgery, but the rangers docs did. and once ONE team's docs blackball you, it's gonna be impossible to get anything from any other team. Ashie62 Feb 05 2009 03:50 PM Sheets out 4-6 months for partially torn flexor tendon That answers that DocTee Feb 05 2009 04:20 PM Tough break. You know who I'd like to see the Mets take a flyer on: Mark Mulder. Centerfield Feb 06 2009 08:00 AM ="Ashie62":k5uv0414]Sheets out 4-6 months for partially torn flexor tendon That answers that[/quote:k5uv0414] That makes no sense. If that was the prognosis, why not have the surgery back in October? John Cougar Lunchbucket Feb 06 2009 08:28 AM ="Centerfield":125azak8]="Ashie62":125azak8]Sheets out 4-6 months for partially torn flexor tendon That answers that[/quote:125azak8] That makes no sense. If that was the prognosis, why not have the surgery back in October?[/quote:125azak8] Apparently the injury was revealed as part of a physical examination the Rangers required as a condition of a 2-year contract offer, now revoked. There is a question as to whether the Brewers will pay the doctor bills, paper sez. Nymr83 Feb 06 2009 08:38 AM thats going to be a question for the collective bargaining agreement, his last contract, and/or worker's comp laws. this is probably a good opportunity for the brewers to sign him for 2 years backloaded for cheap, maybe with a semi-expensive option for 2011 that kicks in with 200 innings in 2010. they'll probably be paying for his rehab anyway so they might as well be able to direct it and benefit from it

="Centerfield":2z6sb1lz]Especially when they were out of the race. The only thing dumber would have been to trade your best pitching prospect for a mediocre starter to try to get back into it.[/quote:2z6sb1lz] At least they didn't trade anyone of importance that year for worthless roster filler like Jason Middlebrook and John Thomson. Oh, wait. Ashie62 Feb 05 2009 10:37 AM Did Phillips hire Bobby V..if so Phillips is in my Personals Mets HOF..kinda like Dave Mlicki.

="Edgy DC"]Mark Bradley is in da hous! I guess I should duck.

24) I do, in fact, look like the Rock had sex with a Muppet.

Varitek back to Boston for one year, $5 million.

Plus, he's a character. Good signing.

I was just about to log on and post that, but you beat me to it. Thanks.

="Edgy DC":10i03g5o]I tried to post something long, but it limits you to like 350 characters, so you have to post it one paragraph at a time.[/quote:10i03g5o] Post a link to my post; I don't feel like creating another account I'm never going to use. batmagadanleadoff Jan 29 2009 02:16 PM I always rate Foster as the most dissapointing Met acqusition. Foster's last Reds season ('81) was MVP caliber. At the time the Mets got him, Foster would've been on anyone's short list of the half dozen or so best hitters in baseball. Edgy DC Jan 29 2009 02:17 PM You can just click the facebook button and your account is automatically set up. Edgy DC Jan 29 2009 02:19 PM I've got no problem seeing trade-and-sign deals as just as smoove a move as a free-agent signing. Willets Point Jan 29 2009 02:50 PM Nothing in that article that I haven't seen here on the Crane Pool as well. The only thing he misses is saying how much Jose Reyes sucks. seawolf17 Jan 30 2009 08:38 AM I was just about to log on and post that, but you beat me to it. Thanks. Edgy DC Jan 30 2009 08:47 AM I tried. I think my first post, crediting you, was killed. As things have slowed down here, I've gone elsewhere on the internet to be a pain in the ass. John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 30 2009 08:49 AM Yeah this place is dead, man.

How the heck does that not go to YS3? I'm telling you, that team just has no sense of their history at all.

The Hot Stove has been, for lack of a better pun, quite cold this winter. Bloggers and baseball analysts have weighed in on where they think players will end up, but in the end, it just ends up as speculation with little concrete information to back any bold statement up. While most teams wait for the market on free agents to come down, the New York Mets have gotten the most bang for their megabucks - as they always do. Just like every New York Met fan, I'm thrilled, excited, eager, and above-all-else, boastful. The Mets always get their man. Johan. Carlos. It goes beyond All-Stars. The Yankees, the last few years, have settled for second, third or twelfth best. While the Mets often feel like they don't have enough and need more, the Yankees are a franchise that always hold out hope everything on paper will translate to the field and figure problems will work themselves out. While the Metsies sign marquee players in their prime, the Yankees do the same, only past their prime. Look at any or all of the following Yankees signings/acquisitions over the past few years: Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Sidney Ponson, Kevin Brown, Tony Clark, Raul Mondesi, John Olerud. I could go on and name drop pre-90's signings and trades but why insult Ken Phelps, Fran Healy, and Steve Balboni? They knew they were past their prime. The Yankees just didn't. While there are moments of greatness, the franchise always seems to do the wrong thing or handle situations poorly. Look at past lousy trades they've made...paging Dale Murray - are you there Dale Murray? Look at how they handled the Yankee Stadium closing ceremony last year. Why have it after a season where they didn't even make the playoffs? I could even take them to task for overcharging for Yankee memorabilia. I could go on... the way they treated Dwight Gooden, the way they ran Joe Torre out of town, and the way they traded Scott McGregor and Rick Dempsey for a bag of balls. I could go on, and will. This off-season was crucial for General Manager Brian Cashman to make an impact. The team is moving to a state-of-the-art ballpark and are coming off of eight seasons which ended in collapses. 2007 in particular saw the team get blown out by the Indians in the first round. 2008's answer? Giving Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson 35 starts between them. It didn't work. A surprise to nobody. Cashman started off strong for the 2009 campaign by signing CC and Teixeira. But, the GM has been virtually M.I.A. ever since - doing as he always does in trying to find lightning in a bottle by signing low-risk has-been or never-been players. It's worked in the past, but that doesn't mean it's always going to work. Today's Nick Swisher is tomorrow's Kevin Maas. To get to the point of all this, the New York Yankees are a team I love. They just don't love me back. Lately, they are being run like The Montreal Expos version 2.0. I'd be OK with this if their Queens neighbors didn't get all the good players or if the Yankees couldn't afford to land players like Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez. But, they can. Devil's advocate you can say Ramirez is a liability all around, and that'd agreed. Still, there's no doubt he'd add some character to this team. Why wait for the market to go down? The Red Sox have already got stronger. The Rays have gotten stronger. Maybe Bernard Madoff is the real reason the Steinbrenners are standing pat this off-season. Maybe Hideki Matsui can repeat his performance last year like Cashman preaches. Maybe Robinson Cano can keep his head-on straight. Or maybe, just maybe, it's the same Yankees. Being a Yankees fan is like being in an abusive relationship. When things are going good, you can't believe how well they're going. When things are bad, however, they're really bad...like Jason Giambi trying to play first base bad. Here's hoping the Yankees break character, and pick up a quality starting pitcher who can help solidify the rotation; a young veteran outfielder whose proven he can stay healthy, and a few capable bats for the bench. A one-way ticket out of town for Johnny Damon is also in order. Let's hope the team gets some swagger, and we, as fans, and they, as an organization, stop milking 2000 accomplishments. Not to take anything away from that year, because it was simply amazing and I still get choked up by highlights from it, but we need new highlights. It'd be easier to accept being a fan of the other New York baseball team if the organization didn't continually remind us that they're second in town. The average fan knows how to run this team. They have for years. It's time the owners figure it out, too. If they do, I'll be watching and buying tickets. If they don't, I'll be watching and buying tickets. Loyal as always. Don't think they don't know that.