Alex, I'd like to congratulate you. Two paragraphs, and the only mention of the third baseman was his home run.

Anybody know where to find Sterling's calls from the homer happy 4th last night? I'm in the mood to hear Lumpy and Chuckles's heads exploding this morning.

Hughes tonight! Counting the days...

Good stuff from Torre with Mad Dog yesterday. I didn't know Aaron and Mays avoided each other back in the day. Joe says Henry didn't like playing 2nd fiddle to Willie.

1) Abreu. "We play at a very high level when Bobby plays well," Alex Rodriguez said. "Bobby's going to have a big second half; I feel it." I hope Alex is a prophet.

2) Melky is the starting CF on this team now -- I don't care whether JD gets healthy or not. The defensive gain up the middle coupled with the fact that Melky is actually hitting since he became an everyday player should push JD out of that spot permanently.

3) Can it be that Guidry et. al. figured out Farnsworthless' mechanical problem and can actually get him to fix it? It was a 180 degree turnaround after Gator came out to the mound. (Kudos to Flaherty for pointing out the result of the front shoulder opening up.) At the very least, that showing increased his trade value.

4) Mo looked strong. Did Casanova do something bad to deserve being sent up there to PH against that? :-D

Karstens' stock might be boosted by his ability to pitch out of the bullpen, which is an area of need for the Yankees.

"He has the capability to do that, no doubt about it," Cashman said. "
--

With Igawa not yet announced as the starter for the fifth game of the second half, maybe we'll be seeing Matty again?

Hard to believe Britton is still in AAA. They're going to really have to shake out the bullpen this month, after playing darts all year...

To which Dog groaned. And Torre said "Now, now, everybody gets a fresh start in the 2nd half" or something like that.

Become President of Red Sox Nation:

http://tinyurl.com/yq7rgd

In other news from Double-A, the Trenton Thunder issued this press release stating that Phil Hughes will start for the Thunder on Friday and again next Wednesday, making it quite possible that Hughes will skip Triple-A in his return to the Yankees rotation. The press release also stated that Jeff Karstens will likely start for the Thunder on Tuesday. That suggests Karstens could be ready for a Triple-A start on Sunday, July 22

c'mon cavalry ...

Hughes can't come back soon enough.

" The 44-year-old lefty criticized Watson and said the game is changing so much that "pretty soon we'll all put skirts on and we're all going to play softball.""
...
" Wells thinks Watson has something out for him, perhaps stemming from the days when Wells pitched for the New York Yankees and Watson was the general manager.
Before Thursday's workout, Wells took the letter he received from Watson and taped it to a clubhouse wall.
"That's for your amusement," Wells told reporters. Minutes later, he walked by and called Watson "a henchman and a yes man for Bud Selig.""
---
Priceless. Someone should remind Boomer there's no crying in baseball.

Especially with the most recent 500 home run hitters either being the likes of Palmeiro and Bonds, or being shells of their once great selves, a la Thomas and Griffey, A-Rod is really remarkable...

Griffey is hitting .286/.391/.566.

The scary thing (I know, getting way way ahead of myself). A-Rod could be going for 600+ in 2009! Say he finishes this season with, oh, 510 HRs (only 46 on the season, it could be as many as 520). And next year he hits another 40....Yeah, crazy...

As a Mariner (1989-1999): .299/.380/.569, 36 HRs/season, 140 G/season

As a Red (2000-2007): .273/.364/.533, 25 HRs/season, 95 G/season

I think its fair to say that, due to injuries, Griffey is a shell of his once great self. On the rare occasions when he's healthy, he still puts up great numbers - but he's so rarely healthy anymore. If he plays 140 G this year and next, I'll be shocked.

...so enjoy watching rodriguez. this is special.

And if he does remain a Yankee, next year he'll become the first Yankee to hit #537 since Babe ruth.

Once again, all the more reason to do what it takes...

With the injuries and the decline, he's still got a careeer OPS+ of 141. As Scooter would say, not too shabby.

that said, santana would be nice, too.

This isn't the greatest method, but just for kicks . . . if Jr had been healthy all this time, and averaged 36 HRs/year like he did in Seattle, he'd be at 668 HR now for his career. He could have caught Ruth, and probably Aaron, and maybe even Bonds. (He's only 37, and athletic guys with speed do tend to age well.) And there's never been a question about Jr and PEDs. Incredible.

I imagine if this is what people felt like when they looked back at Mickey's career, and wondered what might have been, but for the knees and the carousing.

Besides, if you don't have a third baseman, you're going to have a lot of doubles down the left-field line (apologies to Casey).

Mantle always thought he'd die very young, as his father did. He later said that if he'd known he was going to live as long as he did, he'd have taken better care of himself. Typical Mantle self-deprecating humor.

I just stumbled across Jose Tabata's milb.com Player's Journal (thanks to the guys at River Ave Blues). I almost missed a sentence in this entry that had me do a double take; does anyone else notice it?

http://tinyurl.com/2rq6o5

Looks like $117 million a year or so...

Griffey Jr was always "in shape", that is, never fat or overweight or anything like that. But my understanding is that, while he took basic care of himself, he didn't devote himself to keeping his body at 100%, compared to, say, Clemens, A-Rod, or Jerry Rice. He let his natural talent (almost alone) carry him.

Then, when he crossed 30 and all those leg issues came up, again and again and again, his lack of (I'm not sure if conditioning is the right word) came back to haunt him.

Or so I've read.

I don't have any problems with it, or anything like that, but it really caught me by surprise. It just seems so young. And the last thing you ever hear about 18-year-old MLB prospects is that they're married, with kids.

56 I think that being married with this situation shows a level of maturity. Maybe its not a big deal, but he seems to have a good head so far. Maybe if he has s boy he can do what the Griffeys did.

But the new Stadium also means that they can afford him even more easily. Their revenues are going to go through the roof.

That said, I heard the day that Arod came to the Yanks, that week the Yanks sold so many additional tickets that it paid for Arod's salary that year.

Now from a baseball fan standpoint, I don't see how letting one of the best player in the history of baseball walk away could ever possibly be a benefit to your team. When all is said and done, ARod will be mentioned in the top 5 players of all time. We have to make a serious play for him, as we are one of the only teams that can accomodate him and his asking price.

Yearly attendance:
1996: 2,250,877
1997: 2,580,325
1998: 2,955,193
1999: 3,293,659
2000: 3,227,657
2001: 3,264,552
2002: 3,461,644
2003: 3,465,600
2004: 3,775,292
2005: 4,090,440
2006: 4,200,518

In the three years since A-Rod joined the team in 2004, they now sell about 425,000 more tickets year. Being consistent winners over eight years (1996-2003) increased sales by about 1.2 million but stagnated in 1999-2003. A-Rod took them to a whole new level.

The point is: Even if you aren't a big fan of baseball, A-Rod is the story of the NY Yankees. And it puts the causal fans in the seats.

I would not discount the value of A-Rod in making the Yanks a playoff team vs a non-playoff team. The offense next year, without A-Rod, would be barren. You'll have Jeter, Posada (but likely down - he's having a career year), Matsui, and . . . we hope Melky and Cano. After that, . . .

Pete Abe says the Yanks need A-Rod, and A-Rod needs them. You know, I think he's right. Negative tabloid crap aside, being a huge star for the winningest, most famous team in the world, in the media capital of the world, is an advantage no other city in the world can offer.

But I hope that the Without-Alex scenarios are negated by his resigning, and we don't have to even think about life after AGod. If he goes, we'll have to figure out something to bolster that lineup b/c it won't be enuff.

All told - having A-Rod on the team has meant over 750,000 more ticket sales each year (got the difference wrong in 68). And that's without the team winning anything.

I feel very comfortable calling it the A-Rod effect, especially considering attendance had stagnated in 1999-2003.

I am not sure how you can attribute the entire 300K rise to one man. Surely other factors were involved. For example, I'm sure the riveting 2003 ALCS with Boston lead to more interest in 2004. I definitely think the Arod signing heightened interest, but don't see how you can assign full credit to him.

Also, why exactly would the Arod effect last for two years. Are you suggesting their were fans who held off a year before taking the Arod plunge. If there was an Arod-specific boost, it would have to occur immediately after the acquisition.

Finally, the team has won something, just not what you want them to win.

2001 to 2002 I'd ascribe to 9/11. The Yankees were a very nice diversion for people in the city.

Then things stagnated again - no change between 2002 and 2003.

Until A-Rod arrived.

I don't doubt that Sox-Yanks helped, but then again A-Rod was at the center of that too. And the Yanks only play the Sox 9 times at the Stadium each year. By contrast, they're selling 750,000 more tix since A-Rod arrived.

Again, I'm comfortable calling it the A-Rod effect.

Gotta run. Donuts.

I would lean towards the additional sales in 2004 to being an Arod affect. A lot of fans (and Tony Womack's mom) wanted to see Arod play.

I would similarly attribute 2005 sales to be the Randy Johnson factor. I was really sure that with RJ joining already a pretty good team that we would definitely win it all. So I did a season ticket package with friends that year. Last year I didn't. Neither did I this year.

Sheesh!

With all due respect, have you read the contract that he signed with Texas? Money will most certainly be an issue, in fact it will be the only issue, and that is precisely why Boras is recommending that he wait until season's end to negotaite. He'd still be in Texas if they could afford him. Arod had no desire to go here or there, Boston simply wouldn't make an offer to Texas that made any sense. Basically offering Manny and a few million per. for Arod. Thereby not assuaging the finacial position that Texas was attempting to dig out from. He'll have a career year and parlay that into a huge long term deal that some other team will later be unable to afford and deal him once again. It's pretty obvious to me what is going on.

When the Yankees, who absolutely do not negotiate during the season, offer to negotiate, you do it if you want to stay. You do it if it is your intention to stay. It is not as if Arod is going to sit in the meetings with Cashman and Boras! He is free to continue playing as he is with very little if any distraction. He could grab a seven year deal right now worth around $200,000,000. He's gone at season's end, period. And since I don't believe in coincidences, he's having his best year precisley when he has an opt-out clause. Coincidence, I doubt it. If he gets hurt, blame Boras, not the NY Yankees.

Sheffield calling Joe Torre a racist! Seriously, there were people here that thought we should keep that scrub. Its not a coincidence he'll play for 10 teams before he's finished. But Jeter Sheff.... But Bernie Sheff.... But ..... What a human piece of shit he is.

I thought Pete did a good job of explaining that today. According to DN today: "A source told the Daily News that the Bombers have made it clear to A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, that they have no intention in taking part in a free-agent bidding war for the two-time American League MVP, and that if he chooses to opt out of his current contract and open the bidding to the rest of baseball, his days in pinstripes will be over."

I'm not a big sucker for DN rumors, but I find that to be a very believable negotiating tactic on the Yanks' part. Even if it happened, it could be a bluff -- but it's a damn good one and one Boras will understand. An extension could easily lead to a six-year deal worth $30MM per, but the Yanks save $21MM the first three years. If he opts out, the exact same deal costs them an extra $21MM.

I don't see why it isn't understandable that A-Rod really doesn't want to deal with negotiations during the season due to the distraction factor. The guy can clearly get distracted, and you know these negotiations aren't going to be simple.

"In a million years, I don't care what anybody says, steroids is something you shoot in your butt. I do know that ... The bottom line is steroids is something you stick in your butt -- period."

So Sheff has no moral qualms with steriods. Just a paralyzing fear of sticking things in his butt. Fair enough.

Come on man. He wants to avoid distraction? Well then he has an odd way of avoiding it. He refuses to negotiate mid-season, basically saying that he intends to opt-out. Otherwise he'd be a fool to simply play out the final thre years of his deal, something he has no intention of doing, I can assure you of that. Refusing to negotiate mid-season creates more distraction, not less. It fuels media specualtion and forces the Yankees hand.

Now, speaking as a lawyer, the Yankees have done the only proper thing here. It's a contract negotiation. The Yankees are making concessions, allowing him to negotiate mid-season, and considering an extension while Arod is in the superior bargaining position given the season taht he is having. Now, if he refuses to negotiate, then the Yankees are right to inform him that he can either play out his contract or opt-out, but that he owes them as much as to negotiate with them first, and if he refuses, then good luck to him.

It may simply be another case of the agent leading the client. But if it is, that's Arod's responsibility, and letting Boras lead the way, he will get much richer, but won't be playing for a winner. His position that he wants to avoid distraction is specious at best.

That was a legal tactic followed by Boras and nothing more. Arod was able to appear willing to take less money to play for a winner while all the while, Boras, and every other labor lawyer in the country knew damn well the union would never allow it. Its labor law 101.

When he does this Damon should be getting time at 1B and Abreu should be DH. Ugh!