Yankees – Page 203 – Keefe To The City

Jul 18, 2013

‘I Will Be Back on Monday’

A-Rod will be back on Monday in Texas and he broke the news in an interview with Mike Francesa.

I don’t think Alex Rodriguez is a bad guy. I never have. I think he’s spent his entire time with the Yankees trying desperately to be someone he’s not and someone he thinks people want him to be. If anything, he’s a phony publicly because of this, but I don’t think he’s a bad guy like many.

Have I been frustrated with A-Rod the majority of the time since he became a Yankee in 2004? Yes. Have I wished they never traded for him and I could have continued to wear an Alfonso Soriano shirt? Yes. Have I wondered how he could continually put himself in a bad spot, setting himself up for disaster and inevitable backlash like a much more important Kevin Gilbride? Yes. Have I stayed awake at night wondering why the low-and-outside slider is his version of Mark Teixeira’s changeup in the dirt? Yes. Have I spent an unhealthy amount of time dreaming of him never playing another game with the Yankees and the organization somehow getting off the hook for his Hank Steinbrenner contract? Yes. Have I pretended that being in attendance for his 500th and 600th home runs means something and have hidden the fact that he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs? Yes. Have I avoided the Biogenesis stories and reports the way A-Rod has avoided the questions he is asked about it? Yes. Have I erased his final three months of the 2012 season from my memory and think that when he returns we’ll be getting the A-Rod we got the last time he returned from hip surgery? Have I talked myself into believing that A-Rod will return and be a productive and powerful presence in the middle of the Yankees lineup? Yes.

Following Joe Girardi’s most important decision as manager of the Yankees to hit Raul Ibanez for A-Rod in Game 3 of the 2012 ALDS, I wrote the following about A-Rod.

The relationship between A-Rod and Yankee fans is a weird one. From the time he walks from the on-deck circle to the batter’s box with “Ni**as In Paris” playing, A-Rod is loved. The Stadium is full of applause and cheers in an attempt to will a home run or an extra-base hit or even just a single or a walk out of him. The fans want A-Rod to succeed. They want to have a reason to feel optimistic about him even if the 2009 playoffs should have bought him a lifetime of immunity. After that walk to the batter’s box, A-Rod has until the end of his plate appearance for the cheers to continue. If his at-bat ends well then he’s loved until his next at-bat. If it ends poorly he’s hated until his next at-bat. The perception of A-Rod as a Yankee is about life between at-bats and about him buying time between boos. In a game where failure is expected, he faces unrealistic expectations.

Well, on Monday in Texas, life between at-bats will begin again for A-Rod.

Whether you’re a Yankee fan that hates A-Rod and lives for the opportunities to boo him or you’re a Yankee fan with big enough balls to wear an A-Rod shirt or jersey and pretend like you’ve never heard of Yuri Sucart, right now it doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that David Adams (.190/.260/.276) has the most plate appearances for a Yankee at third base this season and managed to get 128 plate appearances because there was no one else to turn to. Well, there wasn’t anyone to turn to until the Yankees called up career .239 hitter Alberto Gonzalez and signed Luis Cruz, who was cut by the Dodgers for his .127/.175/.169 line in 45 games when the Dodgers weren’t even good.

Aside from Adams, Gonzalez and Cruz, Jayson Nix, Vernon Wells (!) and Kevin Youkilis have also played third base. That means most of the third base innings for the Yankees this season have come from a trio of players who, as I’m writing this could be sitting next to me and talking to me or could punch me in the face and I wouldn’t have any idea who they are. The 2013 Yankees have managed to turn the third base position into the pre-Jeter/A-Rod/Nomar days at shortshop (which baseball looks like it’s back to) and have essentially created two light-hitting positions on the left side of the infield with Jeter out and Eduardo Nunez showing less signs of power than the Boston Garden during the 1987-88 Stanley Cup.

The Yankees need A-Rod back and they really needed him back for Friday at Fenway, but we’ll settle for Monday in Arlington. A-Rod talked with Mike Francesa on Monday and with his return coming on Monday, let’s analyze some of A-Rod’s answers from the interview.

On what part of his game concerns him the most.

“I think lateral movement is probably the most challenging part, especially because it’s the hip and moving to your left is something that concerns me a little bit.”

What’s concerning about the lateral movement of a 38-year-old third baseman coming off a second major hip operation in four years? Lateral movement is overrated in the majors. Nothing to see here. Move along.

On if he will be able to play for the Yankees on Monday.

“If we have a good weekend, I will be in Texas.”

I don’t know if A-Rod is going to hit a home run on the first pitch he sees this season the way he did when he came back from hip surgery in 2009, which led to Michael Kay screaming in celebration in the same manner people who win the Powerball scream. But I do know that A-Rod or the Broken-Down A-Rod hitting fourth in the Yankees lineup (he better be hitting fourth) is a better option than Broken-Down Travis Hafner or Broken-Down Vernon Wells.

On if he feels like himself and being injured at the end of last year.

“I hit a ball yesterday and it was about a 93 or 94 mph fastball from a left-handed pitcher and I was able to drive it over the left-center field wall. And that’s something that I know for sure I couldn’t do in August, September or October, and by the way, I couldn’t even do that last week.”

I’m not sure that A-Rod would have been able to take a Freddy Garcia fastball out of the park in the postseason last year. But if A-Rod couldn’t handle a mid-90s fastball last week, how is he driving that same pitch over the left-center field wall this week? I’m going to chalk this up as him getting into “baseball shape” and his muscle memory returning and I’m not going to chalk it up as him texting Yuri for “something.”

On his relationship with the Yankees.

“I think over the last several weeks we’ve had good communication. We’ve had productive conversations. I think we all have the same goal to get back on the field, help the team win, and make a run out of this thing. I think the team has done a phenomenal job of keeping us right in the race.

I think A-Rod meant to say, “You mean how are things since Brian Cashman told me to ‘Shut the f-ck up?’ Things are great!”

Whenever someone says that two parties with a shaky past are having “good communication,” 100 percent of the time it means there is a mutual dislike or hatred.

On whether or not he had his reps make a deal with Major League Baseball.

“No, that’s not true. You heard Michael [Weiner] speak over the All-Star break. At this moment that’s all we can really discuss on the matter.”

The last time A-Rod was connected to performance-enhancing drugs, it ended with him holding a sitdown with Peter Gammons, in which he admitted to taking PEDs (but only in Texas, of course) and calling Selena Roberts a stalker. History suggests that A-Rod more than likely made some poor decisions in connection with the Biogenesis scandal, but let’s forget about that for now because who cares about potential 150-game suspensions or lifetime bans? A-Rod’s playing on Monday! Get excited!

On whether or not there is any deal with Major League Baseball.

“There’s no deal that I’ve instructed anyone to do at this point.”

I thought we were forgetting about all of this?

On if there’s anything wrong with him physically.

“I think the most concerning thing is I’m 38. I’m not 28. I’m no spring chicken. I have aches that I’ve never even knew, muscles in my body that (I didn’t know) I had.”

Was Mark Teixeira in the car whispering this answer into A-Rod’s ear? It sounds oddly familiar to the answer Teixeira gave the Wall Street Journal back in February before injuring his wrist and spending 2013 collecting $22.5 million while hanging out at home in Greenwich, Conn.

Thanks for the reminder about being 38 despite making $28 million this year, $25 million next year, $21 million in 2015, $20 million in 2016 and $20 million in 2017. I can’t wait to see 42-year-old A-Rod as the designated hitter or 42-year-old A-Rod signing memorabilia with Pete Rose in Las Vegas if Bud Selig gets his way.

On watching Derek Jeter get hurt after one game back this season.

“I do think that we have an opportunity here in the second half to get healthy and hopefully come back with a bang and give the fans of New York what they expect, and that’s a world championship-caliber team.”

Are you saying that a world championship team can’t have Luis Cruz or Alberto Gonzalez getting everyday player at-bats? Are you forgetting about the night Travis Ishikawa showed up to save the Yankees’ season?

On the Yankees’ struggling offense.

“I think the guys have done a great job. I think Joe deserves a lot of credit, our coaching staff deserves a lot of credit. I think we’re coming back at the right time and the good news is that it’s not just one guy, it’s going to be a handful of guys. And I think the time is right and I think we’re ready for that.”

A-Rod’s reasoning here is why I’m not already preparing myself for football and hockey season, but it’s also why I should probably be preparing myself for football and hockey season.

Normally, a six-game deficit would have me freaking out, throwing electronic devices and possibly crying. But this six-game deficit (five in the loss column for optimism) doesn’t feel like a six-game deficit because of who has played (and more importantly who hasn’t played) for the Yankees through 95 games. And it also doesn’t feel like one because the Yankees’ two-game losing streak (including Sunday’s loss, which was the most embarrassing Yankee loss since probably Opening Day in the Bronx in 2009) was delayed because of the All-Star break and it gave me time to collect my thoughts and think rationally and reasonably about the 2013 Yankees.

I love the optimism in A-Rod’s voice because I feel optimistic about the “second half” of the season too. But if the Yankees go down 2-0 in the first inning on Friday night in Boston, I’m sure that will change.

On if he had any doubts about making it back.

“Look, you always have doubts. If I could just sit here and tell you, ‘Yeah, it’s been just a colorful ride and it’s been a rainbow,’ I would be lying to you. There was very dark moments, challenging, some achy mornings. Every day, getting up really early, leaving the Tampa complex very late, doing cold tubs at night, doing hot tubs in the morning. It’s been a very challenging process.”

There has been nothing about A-Rod’s nine previous seasons in New York that could be considered “a colorful ride” or “a rainbow,” so I’m not sure why either of those things would be part of his vocabulary anymore.

I do feel bad that A-Rod had to go to work early and leave late and that he was taking cold baths and hanging out in hot tubs in Florida. That type of lifestyle must suck.

On no one believing he would be back with the Yankees.

“I will be back on Monday and I’m very excited.”

So am I.

Blogs • Yankees

Jul 9, 2013

What Is Phil Hughes? Part II

Phil Hughes pitched for his job on Monday night against the Royals and it’s all documented in a Retro Recap.

Phil Hughes is in trouble. A lot of trouble. But Phil Hughes has been in this kind of trouble before and has escaped it every time. This kind of trouble is the kind where you are pitching for your spot in the rotation.

The 27-year-old former No. 1 pick has backed himself into a corner. His win on July 2 in Minnesota was his first since June 6 and his second since May 10 and aside from beating the Twins, his other three wins have come against the A’s, Royals and Mariners. Only eight of his 17 starts have been quality starts, two starts have been disasters (4/13 vs. BAL and 6/1 vs. BOS) and one has been an atrocity (5/15 vs. SEA: 0.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 0 K). Normally this kind of mediocrity would be accepted and Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman would just continue to run him out there every fifth day and hope for the best (but usually receive the worst), but this time they can’t.

With CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte not going anywhere, three spots are guaranteed in the rotation. That leaves two spots for the recently disabled-listed David Phelps, the resurgent Ivan Nova, the nearly-done-rehabbing Michael Pineda and Hughes. But with Hughes, it’s even deeper than that.

Hughes is a free agent after this season and a strong trade deadline candidate especially with the Yankees’ abundance of pitching. It’s no secret that Hughes would be more successful in the National League or in a different home stadium since once again he’s struggled in the Bronx, going 1-6 with a 5.74 ERA at home and 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA on the road. If Hughes is to survive the July 31 deadline then only a very strong second half or some magical postseason performance would be enough for him to come back in 2014. It looks like time is running out on “The Phranchise” in pinstripes and Cashman might finally be ready to give up on his once-proud draft pick that he labeled as a future staff ace.

But for now, Hughes is still a Yankee and as of Monday he was still part of the rotation. On May 7, 2012 Phil Hughes was also pitching for his job and I followed his start with a Retro Recap, so I figured why not do it again on Monday night against the Royals with his job once again in jeopardy?

First Inning
It’s a Michael Kay and John Flaherty night on YES, so with or without Phil Hughes pitching, it should make for some good comedy despite neither of them trying to be comedic.

The first pitch of the game is a strike to Alex Gordon, which means Hughes will get ahead of at least one hitter tonight.

Hughes gets Gordon to ground out to second on the fifth pitch of the at-bat, which featured no “Phil Hughes” (a two-strike foul).

Alcides Escobar makes things easy by flying out to right on the first pitch.

YES is panning around the Stadium and the upper deck on a night when the place looks like it did in 1984.

Eric Hosmer lines out to short on the second pitch and it’s an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 innings for Phil Hughes. Michael Kay says, “Phil Hughes works a 1-2-3 inning!” with the voice he used to scream “That’s one of the greatest games you will ever see!” following John Flaherty’s 13^th-inning walk-off hit against the Red Sox on July 1, 2004. But I’m with you Michael, a 1-2-3 first inning from Hughes should be celebrated.

Second Inning
Here’s Billy Butler, who is a .589 career hitter against the Yankees, to lead off the second. (He’s really a .281 hitter against the Yankees, but it feels like he’s been way better than that.)

And that’s why I thought Butler was a .589 hitter against the Yankees as he hits an 0-1 pitch into the right field seats for a 1-0 lead.

Salvador Perez strikes out swinging for the first out of the inning and Kay mentions how the Royals have two All-Stars (Perez and Gordon) for the first time in 10 years since they had to have one for the last nine years to meet the requirement that every team must be represented. Congratulations to somewhat ending a decade of mediocrity, Kansas City!

Hughes throws an 0-1 changeup to Mike Moustakas for a ball and Flaherty talks about how Hughes has implemented a changeup, which makes me think about when he tried to implement a cutter as a starter and got rocked like Chien-Ming Wang in the 2007 ALDS. Moustakas punishes me for taking a sarcastic shot at Kansas City with a double to left field.

Johnny Giavotella, who sounds and looks like he should be flipping pizzas or making some chicken parm, grounds out on a slider, which has been Hughes’ best pitch.

David Lough apparently took exception to the Kansas City comment too and goes the other way with a double to left field on an 0-2 fastball down the middle. That’s right, an 0-2 fastball down the middle. Never change, Phil Hughes. Never change.

Hughes gets ahead of Jarrod Dyson the same way he got ahead of Lough, but struggles to put him away and Kay mentions that Hughes has had trouble “this year” putting hitters away when he gets two strikes on them. Umm, only “this year,” Michael Kay? Where were you last year? And the year before that?

Hughes needs seven more pitches to retire Dyson on a ground out to second thanks to three “Phil Hughes” (two-strike fouls) in the at-bat.

After the eight-pitch first, Hughes throws 24 pitches and is at 32 after two.

Third Inning
The Yankees failed to score in the bottom of the second and have one run in their last 13 innings. Is that good?

Back to the top of the Royals order with Gordon, who Kay gives a history lesson on, calling him “a bomb” early in his career. Gordon flies out to right on a changeup.

Random thought: What’s your idea of a Phil Hughes start? My idea is 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 105 pitches.

Escobar grounds out to third on a slider and we are one out away from Hughes’ second 1-2-3 in three innings.

Hosmer comes up and YES shows the replay of his first career home run, which came at Yankee Stadium with his parents in attendance against one A.J. Burnett.

Hughes falls behind Hosmer 3-1 and then on the third straight fastball (following a “Phil Hughes”), Hosmer singles to right ending the 1-2-3 inning bid.

Hughes keeps Butler in the park this time with a ground out to short on a slider.

A 20-pitch inning and Hughes is at 52 pitches after three.

Fourth Inning
It’s raining at the Stadium and there is no one left behind home plate, so it looks like every other Yankee home game thanks to Randy Levine and team executives.

Perez apparently likes the rain as much as my girlfriend’s dog and swings at a first-pitch fastball and lines out to center for the first out of the inning.

Moustakas gets in one “Phil Hughes” with a 2-2 count before flying out to center.

Giavotella strikes out on three pitches, making my case for him flipping pizzas and making chicken parm looks stronger.

Wait a second, that’s three up and three down for Phil Hughes. We have a second 1-2-3 inning!

A 10-pitch inning and Hughes is at 62 after four.

Following Zoilo Almonte’s at-bat in the bottom of the fourth, the tarp is called for.

Rain delay…

The rain delay is coming to a close and we get our second look at Dave Eiland of the night on YES, who I miss about as much as I miss Nick Swisher. (Speaking of YES appearances, how come we haven’t seen much of Kevin Long this season?)

Kay talks about how when Eiland was with the Yankees and watched Guthrie pitch with the Orioles that he made a mental note about wanting to work with him since he could fix his delivery. I’m glad Eiland was more worried about helping other team’s pitchers rather than helping the Yankees pitchers when he was the team’s pitching coach.

Fifth Inning
The night is over for Phil Hughes. Jeremy Guthrie was able to come back out for the fifth inning after throwing, but apparently the 59-minute rain delay was too much for Joe Girardi to let Hughes (62 pitches) go on.

Hughes’ final line: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.

Phil Hughes has gotten so many chances to succeed with the Yankees since 2007 that it’s unfathomable he could still be part of the rotation. After going 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 2010, he’s 25-26 with a 4.64 ERA in 66 games and 63 starts since the start of the 2011 season. 25-26?!?! I destroyed A.J. Burnett every waking moment for two years for pitching to very similar numbers (21-16, 5.20 ERA in 2011 and 2012 combined) though Burnett was making $16.5 million per season and Hughes is making $7.15 million this season.

Over the last two-plus seasons when Hughes has been juuuuuust about to be removed from the rotation, he finds a way to buy more time and get another chance and now apparently Mother Nature is rooting for him to stay in the rotation as well with a rain delay cutting his start short and letting him keep his job for at least five more days.

So I guess Part II of “What Is Phil Hughes?” isn’t the last part of this saga that’s now in its seventh year. Let’s just hope the long overdue series finale comes in the seventh season.

Blogs • Yankees

Jul 1, 2013

The Final 14 Games

Six years ago, the Daily News claimed that a 12-game stretch would determine the Yankees season. In 2013, a 14-game stretch in July will determine the Yankees season.

Once upon a time last season I compared the 2012 Yankees to the 2008 Yankees. That comparison came on May 4.

The 2012 season is slowly becoming the 2008 season for the Yankees. In 2008, the rotation featured Darrell Rasner and Sidney Ponson for the majority of the season with injuries to Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy. Andy Pettitte pitched poorly through injuries and several starting position players ended up on the disabled list. Pudge Rodriguez and Richie Sexson became Yankees and Jose Molina, Chad Moeller did most of the team’s catching. I hated the summer of 2008, but it’s hard to say we aren’t headed into a Hot Tub Time Machine back to it.

I’m embarrassed now to look back at that paragraph and think that a team, which turned into a 95-game division winner, could at one time have been compared to the only Yankees team to not make the postseason since 1993 (even if the 2008 Yankees did win 89 games). But really, the 2008 Yankees had it easy when it comes to the 2013 Yankees. Having Rasner and Ponson filling out 40 percent of your rotation for half the season? I would sign up for that right now for the rest of the way rather than having Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, David Adams and Chris Stewart fill out four of the nine spots in the order for the next three months.

After 81 games, the Yankees are 42-39 and the lineup has become the disabled list, the bench has become the lineup and the waiver wire and minor leagues have become the bench (and at some positions the lineup). If you’re in the Yankees minor league system right now having an above average offensive season and you haven’t been called up yet, in the words of Fortune in Rudy: “It ain’t never gonna happen.”

On Sunday night in the eighth with the Yankees trailing the Orioles 4-2 and left-handed Troy Patton on the mound, Vernon Wells hit for Travis Hafner (he struck out swinging of course). So when Overbay led off the ninth inning with a double off Jim Johnson and Nix, Stewart and Adams were due up, Girardi had two options left on the bench: Austin Romine and Alberto Gonzalez. And I’m pretty sure Girardi would have rather inserted 2012 Postseason Cano or 2012 Postseason A-Rod or 2012 Postseason Granderson or 2012 Postseason Swisher or 2012 Postseason Teixeira into the game before using his backup catcher or the .239/.276/.315 career hitting Gonzalez.

I wish I could justify writing columns hammering Nix and Stewart, who were going to be bench players. I wish I could find it in me to pick apart Overbay and Wells, who weren’t even going to be on the Yankees in the final days before Opening Day. I wish I could say it’s all Adams’ fault, especially since he ruined the 2010 Cliff Lee trade, but he’s shown over his 102 at-bats that he isn’t ready for the majors (and really he’s supposed to be in the Mariners organization anyway). But I can’t do any of these things because the 2013 Yankees weren’t supposed to be a collection of guys that couldn’t hit their weight and players you wouldn’t recognize if they sat next to you in a bar or took a piss next to you at a urinal in that same bar. The 2013 Yankees were supposed to be the players whose pictures line the outside of the Stadium on River Ave. leading up to the bleachers entrance where I recently told my girlfriend, “The entire street is on the disabled list.”

But I can justify calling out the two most important Yankees before the season started, who have thankfully not joined the over-capacity party on the disabled list.

Number 52, CC Sabathia, Number 52
In four previous seasons with the Yankees, CC Sabathia has lost eight games twice (2009 and 2011). It’s July 1, Sabathia has made 17 starts and he has six losses.

Sabathia has made nine starts against AL East teams this season. Here’s his line for those starts: 4-4, 62.2 IP, 68 H, 36 R, 34 ER, 9 BB, 51 K, ERA, 4.88 ERA, 1.229 WHIP. That would be somewhat OK for the 41-year-old Andy Pettitte and welcomed for Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova. But for the “ace” of the staff, it’s unacceptable. (I will continue to put “ace” in quotations when talking about Sabathia until he starts to pitch like one again.)

Sabathia will make $23 million this season. If he makes 34 starts this season (see where I’m going with this?), he will make $676,470.59 per start. He doesn’t need to be better for the Yankees to survive the summer, he has to be better for the Yankees to survive the summer.

Sabathia’s start on Friday night in Baltimore was so awful on so many levels that is was the most tilted I have been during a Yankees regular-season game since the team was losing games to the last-place Red Sox down the stretch last September. Sabathia blew a 3-0 lead and a game against a division rival to kickoff the weekend sweep at the hands of the Orioles and continue what has now become a five-game losing streak for the Yankees that has their season at a crossroads. Should a $23 million “ace” be blowing a three-run lead in a game the Yankees desperately need against a team they are fighting the division for? There’s only one answer and it’s no. Citing John and Suzyn’s “Well, that’s baseball” doesn’t work for someone making over $676K per start.

Since we used one Rudy line already, we might as well use a second to talk about Sabathia and this one comes from Coach DeVine when Roland Steele tells him he wants Rudy to dress in his place before putting his jersey down on the desk: “You’re an All-American and our captain. Act like it.”

Well, CC … You’re owed $122 million over five years following your 2012 extension, you’re a Cy Young winner, world champion and the “ace” of our staff. Act like it.

Number 24, Robinson Cano, Number 24
It’s been a while since we have heard that Robinson Cano is one of the Top 5 players in baseball. That’s probably because it’s hard to justify being in that category when you’re hitting .287 with 17 home runs and 48 RBIs halfway through the season. (On Sunday night, Cano hit a solo home run, which was his first home run in 17 days and his first extra-base hit in 14 days.) But for as tired as I grew hearing about Cano being in the same sentence as actual MVP winners, I’m growing equally as tired hearing about how Cano won’t get any pitches to hit in the current Yankees lineup and how he will be pitched around because of the lack of protection. That didn’t stop the Sunday Night Baseball crew from bringing it up in support of Cano against Baltimore, but then again they did compare Chris Davis to Ken Griffey Jr. so you might want to take anything the trio says with a grain of salt, or an entire bottle of it the way my friend Scanlon dumps it on anything he eats.

When Cano struggled at the beginning of the season, the Yankees struggled. When Cano got hot, the Yankees got hot. It’s no secret the Yankees’ success is determined by the performance of the team’s best hitter. While this could be a “chicken or the egg” thing in that the rest of the Yankees were also hitting when they were in first place, which could have led to Cano’s surging performance, it can’t be when talking about someone with Cano’s talents and reputation. You can’t talk about how great Cano is and then make excuses for him when he isn’t great and cite the rest of the team’s problems as his problem, the same way there couldn’t be a hooking call and diving call on the same play in the Stanley Cup Final.

This offseason (and possibly before then if Brian Cashman breaks his rule about contract extensions for the second time with Cano) Cano will turn 31 on Oct. 22 (hopefully during the Yankees’ playoff run) and will be looking for the payday that will set him and many generations of Canos up for life. No matter what, Cano is going to get paid and get paid handsomely (most likely by the Yankees), but his performance this season (and going back to the 2012 postseason) isn’t going to get him paid the way Jay-Z will want him to get paid.

In 2007, the Yankees faced a 12-game stretch that the Daily News believed would make or break their season by calling it the “Dirty Dozen.” If the Yankees are supposed to get healthy after the All-Star break then the 14-game stretch in 14 days starting Monday night in Minnesota will make or break their season. Yes, seven games with the Twins, three with the Orioles and four with the Royals at the beginning of July will determine my plans for October.

I said I was embarrassed to look back on that May 4, 2012 column suggesting that the 2012 Yankees were the 2008 Yankees. I want to be embarrassed looking back on this column suggesting that the 2013 Yankees played the 14 most meaningful games of their season in the first two weeks of July.

Blogs • Email Exchanges • Yankees

Jun 18, 2013

A Series of Firsts for Don Mattingly’s Dodgers

The Dodgers are in the Bronx for a two-game series, presenting a lot of firsts at Yankee Stadium, including one with this email exchange with Brittni Michaelis.

The Dodgers are in the Bronx for the first time since 1981 and for the first time since interleague play began and Don Mattingly is at Yankee Stadium in the visiting dugout for the first time. So I figured, let’s keep it going with things happening for the first time. What does that mean? An email exchange with a girl and my girlfriend: Dodger fan Brittni Michaelis.

Keefe: Your Kings couldn’t defend the Cup. Your Lakers were an atrocity. The Vikings quarterback is Christian Ponder. But when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, your $216 million Dodgers are 29-39 and in last place in the NL West. Last place! In the NL West! Again, that’s … Last place! In the NL West! Even Christian Ponder can chime in and say something sucks when it comes to the Dodgers.

Maybe you’ll blame the ownership group for trading for and putting their faith in players who didn’t pan out in Boston and blamed God for losses (Adrian Gonzalez) or wore out their welcome in Boston (Josh Beckett) or got fat (Josh Beckett) or stopped caring about baseball because they had a kid (Josh Beckett) or spend time on the disabled list with mysterious injuries (Josh Beckett) or former stars that even the Marlins didn’t want (Hanley Ramirez) or a $142 million outfielder who broke down like a dumped Bachelor contestant when asked about the media treatment in Boston (Carl Crawford). Maybe you’ll blame Ned Colletti for being the general manager during the time when all of these moves took place. But if you’re going to blame injuries then you came to the wrong place because the Yankees have watched Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, Francisco Cervelli, Kevin Youkilis, Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain all spend time on the disabled list this season.

So if I were to ask you why the Dodgers are 7 ½ games back in the NL West or why they are five games worse than the Padres or why they only have three more wins than the Houston Astros, how would you answer? Actually I’m going to ask you that. Why are the Dodgers so bad and who is to blame?

Michaelis: Well, hello to you too, pal. Thanks for coming out swinging. While you make valid points about the Lakers and Vikings, I refuse to get rattled by you. I refuse.

Despite your ever-so charming wittiness and sarcasm, this Dodgers team is no different from the ones in the past. The issue with this team isn’t the ownership group, injuries or individual players.

Sure, Josh Beckett sucks (0-5 with a 5.19 ERA) and would rather be drinking beers, eating fried chicken and surfing off the coast of Malibu, but can you really blame him? Before he experienced “hand-numbness” and was subsequently put on the disabled list, his last three starts weren’t terrible for him (0-2, 13 IP, 17 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 16 K). But his career might be over because of numbness in his pitching hand, so give the guy a break.

I realize you dislike Gonzalez almost as much as I dislike Jason Schmidt (even the mention of his name makes me angry), but Gonzalez is the only reason why we aren’t 20 games under .500. His stats this season? .303/8/44 with 71 hits. He has a better average (.308), more RBIs (44) and a better OBP (.365) than any Yankee. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Well that’s because the Yankees play in a better division and how can he only have 8 homeruns in the NL West?” But I can’t control what division the Dodgers are in, just like I can’t control the air conditioning on the Metro North.

The issue isn’t one player, the issue is the whole damn team. The lack of chemistry, the lack of consistency and most importantly, the bullpen are the reasons why the Dodgers are 10 games below .500. That bullpen is the death of me. It will be the reason why I have gray hairs before the age of 24. It doesn’t matter what our starting rotation does, the slobs in the bullpen can’t do their job. This happens EVERY year.

You know how in Step Brothers, Dale (Will Ferrell) and Brendan (John C. Reilly) interview for jobs with Seth Rogen’s company and they have it in the bag until Dale screws up and farts? That’s like the Dodgers bullpen. The Dodgers lead the league with 15 blown saves. Their closer, Brandon League, has a 5.54 ERA, has put 41 runners on base in 26 innings and has a .308 batting average against. (Where is Hideo Nomo when you need him?) If Andy Pettitte can still pitch at age 41 then Nomo needs to come out of retirement at the age of 44. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Nomo.

Keefe: I’m embarrassed. For someone who is supposed to be an expert on all things anti-Josh Beckett, I can’t believe I forgot about his surfing/body surfing/boogie boarding trip in Malibu with his gut flopping around in the Pacific Ocean. My apologies.

But your response made me realize two things:

1. I miss being able to talk about people like Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford now that they are in the NL West and out of my life.

2. It’s funny how naive you are about the entitled frauds that wear your favorite’s team uniform.

I’m not sure how you or anyone could feel bad for Josh Beckett. Beckett is making $15.75 million this season. So if he made 30 starts, which he has only made once since 2010 and twice since 2008, he would make $1 million per start. But he hasn’t started since May 13 and won’t come close to 30 this season, so do the math. He’s stealing money just like your hero Jason Schmidt did from the Dodgers. Sure, Schmidt only started 10 games (3-6, 6.02 ERA) for the Dodgers in three years after signing a three-year, $47 million deal, but his time on the disabled list likely helped the Dodgers.

I can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to see Beckett have no wins, a 5.19 ERA, a 1.500 WHIP and have grown a third and fourth chin since arriving in Los Angeles. The only bad part is I wish he was doing this in Boston because the media and fans there would have destroyed him while in Los Angeles people feel bad for him.

(Here’s the winless Beckett in 2012 talking about missing a start with a back problem, but being seen on a golf course during the time when he was out of the Red Sox rotation. What a guy!)

As for Adrian Gonzalez, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Here’s what your awesome No. 3 hitter had to say following Game 162 in 2011 after the worst regular-season collapse in Major League Baseball history.

“We didn’t do a better job with the lead. I’m a firm believer that God has a plan and it wasn’t in his plan for us to move forward.”

“God didn’t have it in the cards for us.”

“We play too many night games on getaway days and get into places at 4 in the morning. This has been my toughest season physical because of that. We play a lot of night games on Sunday for television and those things take a lot out of you.”

“They can put the Padres on ESPN, too. The schedule really hurt us. Nobody is really reporting that.”

Poor, Adrian Gonzalez. He has to play baseball for $21 million a year and it’s really hard and demanding. It’s not his fault that his teams, whether it be the Padres or Red Sox or Dodgers, have collapsed down the stretch with him as the focal point of their offenses. Why would it be his fault? And why should he be held accountable?

I just can’t wait for the Dodgers to get the “x” next to their name in the standings for being mathematically eliminated and then when Gonzalez is asked about it, hopefully he blames God for the Dodgers’ failures. I’m sure you will appreciate him then too.

Even if the Dodgers’ problems are team-wide like you believe they are, I believe they stem from the “people” they brought in to play for them. Sometimes we all forget that baseball is more numbers and like a wise man once said, “The game has a heartbeat.” And the Dodgers’ heart could use a triple bypass followed by a strict diet.

The sad thing is Don Mattingly will end up taking the fall for this even though the ownership group and Colletti gave him the wrong pieces. How about the Dodgers fire Mattingly and Donnie Baseball comes back to the Bronx and your Dodgers get a new manager? I like that idea.

Michaelis: I’m sure your just fine without the trio of Beckett, Gonzalez and Crawford in the AL East. Remember you still have Brian Boyle, Mark Teixeira, and Boone Logan (LOL). I’m sure those three are providing you with plenty to talk about. Actually based on your Twitter account, I would say you’re faring just fine without the Dodgers trio.

It’s 2013. I don’t care what Adrian Gonzalez did or said in 2011. The Red Sox collapsed, the Yankees didn’t win the World Series and the Dodgers didn’t even make the playoffs, so what is notable about 2011? Time to move on. I’m talking about the 2013 Adrian Gonzalez. You want to rip him for complaining in 2011 then go ahead, but he’s producing and isn’t the problem.

You can’t buy chemistry. Just look at the team across the way from Chavez Ravine. The Los Angeles Angels (or really the Anaheim Angels) tried to do exactly what the Dodgers are and they are failing. It’s a team-wide problem, guys aren’t producing, and the bullpen … I don’t even have a word for it. The bullpen is a grade A disaster.

A wise fellow once said, “Pitching wins championships” and that’s one thing the Dodgers don’t have. Clayton Kershaw can’t pitch 162 games. If he could, the Dodgers would be undefeated. His supporting cast has been laughable and there isn’t much Adrian Gonzalez, Donnie Baseball, Matt Kemp or hitting coach Mark McGwire can do about that.

I would happily pay Josh Beckett to stay away. Ride the bench, eat all the KFC you want, hang 10 on your long board at Trestles Beach. What’s another $15.75 million? Like you said, Ned Colletti already threw away $47 million when he signed Jason Schmidt in 2007 and he only pitched 10 games for the Dodgers! Easily the best pick-up of 2007.

Since Schmidt didn’t work out and Ted Lilly and Chad Billingsley are both on the DL (such daggers) the Dodgers starting pitching has been a merry-go-round and really the only three consistent pitchers have been Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu. The Dodgers starters look like this.

1. Clayton Kershaw (5-4, 1.84 ERA)

2. Zack Greinke (3-2, 4.22 ERA)

3. Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2, 2.85 ERA)

4. Stephen Fife (1-2, 3.74 ERA)

5. Chris Capuano (1-4, 5.45 ERA)

6. Matt Magill (0-2, 6.51 ERA)

Ready for the bullpen breakdown? Pull up a chair because you might want to sit down for this one.

Kenley Jansen (2.57 ERA)

Paco Rodriguez (3.38 ERA)

Matt Guerrier (3.58 ERA)

Ronald Belisario (4.78 ERA)

Brandon League (5.54 ERA)

Our closer has a 5.54 ERA. A 5.54 ERA. Brandon League hit the jackpot because of Colletti’s stupidity and signed a three-year, $22.5 million deal last year. How does he still have a job? How do either of them still have a job?

Again, the issue isn’t the Boston trio who came to L.A., the issue is that the Dodgers go after players past their prime and expect them to produce the way they did in the past. (Think Nomar Garciaparra, Andruw Jones and Manny Ramirez.) The Dodgers only bright spots are Kershaw, Kemp (when healthy), Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig. If they signed up for a Wiffle ball tournament they would be untouchable. Unfortunately baseball requires nine players.

The Dodgers don’t need triple-bypass surgery, they need a detox. It’s funny hearing this from you, the guy who only likes pasta, pizza and chicken. Maybe you and the Dodgers can sign up for Equinox together? I’m sure they can find the funds somewhere.

Keefe: I’m not sure the Dodgers can afford a monthly membership at Equinox even after getting more than $6 billion in their TV deal. Where are they getting that money? Who is watching them? Do people in Los Angeles even like sports? And if they do, do they like watching a last-place team?

On your point about Kershaw pitching 162 games and being undefeated, well that’s a little farfetched. Kershaw is 5-4 in 15 starts and one of those wins came in a complete-game shutout on Opening Day when he won 1-0 on his own solo home run. So no the Dodgers wouldn’t be undefeated if Kershaw pitched all 162 games. But if he pitched for a team that could actually score runs, then yes that team would probably be undefeated or close to it since the Dodgers average 3.02 runs in games Kershaw starts. Where is the Dodgers’ savior Adrian Gonzalez when Kershaw starts? (I can’t wait for the Dodgers to make a run at the NL West and Gonzalez to show you why he’s an empty-calorie guy as he crumbles in September.)

As for the next two games at Yankee Stadium, Hyun-Jin Ryu scares me because the Yankees have never seen him before and the Yankees are 0-379 in my lifetime when facing a starter they have never seen before. But Hiroki Kuroda gets a chance to go against his former team and when you have a 2.78 ERA in the AL like he does, that usually will translate into good things against an offensively-challenged team like the Dodgers. I like the Yankees in the first game.

In the second game, the bad news is Phil Hughes, who I have zero faith in and who shouldn’t even be a starting pitcher, and who is in his final months being a Yankee and I can’t wait until he is a free agent, is pitching. The good news is he is going against Chris Capuano, proud owner of a 2-6 record and 5.45 ERA. This game could be an offensive gongshow for two teams who have trouble scoring even one run. If Hughes doesn’t lay an A.J. Burnett egg and can keep it close and the Yankees can get into that awesome bullpen you have then I like our chances.

So yes, I’m predicting a two-game sweep from the Yankees, not only because they need it after that horrific West Coast road trip, but like I already knew and you helped confirm: the Dodgers are a bad team.

Michaelis: Actually the Dodgers are first in attendance this season. We don’t have to deal with the wishy-washy suits that the Yankees have to deal with. People in L.A. will actually go to the game regardless of if we’re in first place or last place.

Kershaw going undefeated is farfetched? The Dodgers wouldn’t be undefeated? And here I thought baseball was an individual sport. Yes, the Dodgers need to score runs, they are 29th in runs scored, but again it’s the pitching. The Dodgers have scored 240 runs, but have allowed 289 runs for a -49 run differential. I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure the equation is if you score more runs than you allow, you will win and if you allow less runs than you score, you will win! The Dodgers lineup isn’t producing, but you can’t really blame Gonzalez. No one’s calling him the Dodgers’ savior, but he isn’t the reason we are sitting in last place in the NL West. He is certainly a step up from James Loney.

You know it’s karma. I laughed at you when you said that the Yankees were good, but even you didn’t think they were going to do this well. You wanted them to be .500 when Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira returned, but they’re even better than that with Jeter and A-Rod not back yet and Teixeira returning to the DL. (I hope his wrist is OK.)

From the first chuckle I knew it would come back to bite me in the ass and it did. Or I could blame the Dodgers’ current woes on my lack of team spirit. I haven’t worn my Dodgers socks in a while…

This two-game short lived series should be good. The Dodgers have nothing to lose really, they are 7 1/2 games back and every Dodger fan knows they don’t turn it on until end of August or beginning of September. But the Yankees can’t afford a two-game sweep and possibly be five games back of … the Red Sox! Yikes.

Kuroda’s last five starts have all resulted in losses since apparently the Yankees can’t hit either.But the Dodgers got the luck of the draw in facing Hughes. I’m hoping he has another outing like the one against the Mariners back on May 15 (0.2 IP, 7 ER). JUST ONE TIME, PLEASE! Puig will also be a factor in the series and it will be my first time witnessing the Cuban sensation that Vin Scully loves to watch. Also the Yankees are batting someone named Thomas Neal in the 5-spot so that should be fun.

If Capuano is pitching the series will be split, no matter what the Dodgers do and if suddenly they realize they can swing the bat and hit the ball, Capuano will give up runs and lots of them.

I’m excited to watch my beloved Doyers in the bleachers. I hope Bald Vinny and his crew are nice to me. Donnie Baseball ‘s return to Yankee Stadium should be a great momentous event to help set the stage. Maybe this will be the turning point for the Dodgers? Steal two wins in the Bronx?

I should have made the bet that whoever wins this series gets a free months rent. Things are going to get heated, I can feel it. In the words of the great Vin Scully, “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”

Blogs • Yankees

Apr 26, 2013

‘I’ll Be Back Soon’

Derek Jeter held a press conference to talk about his ankle and his return to the Yankees and it lasted 18 minutes and 20 seconds.

Here’s what we knew about Derek Jeter 24 hours ago.

1. He hasn’t played since breaking his ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS.

2. His plan was to be ready for Opening Day.

3. He suffered another fracture in his ankle during spring training and didn’t return in time for Opening Day.

4. He’s wearing a walking boot and can’t do anything until the bone heals from the spring training fracture.

Here’s what we now know after Derek Jeter answered questions from the media for 18 minutes and 20 seconds on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

1. He hasn’t played since breaking his ankle in Game 1 of the ALCS.

2. His plan was to be ready for Opening Day.

3. He suffered another fracture in his ankle during spring training and didn’t return in time for Opening Day.

4. He’s wearing a walking boot and can’t do anything until the bone heals from the spring training fracture.

Jeter spoke to the media for 18 minutes and 20 seconds, barely missing out on tying Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” in length, and it was all for nothing. Nothing. NOTH-ING! NOTHINGGGGGG!

That’s right, the media packed the Yankee Stadium press conference room to hear the Yankees captain speak about his ankle for a little more than an NHL intermission and received no real information. It didn’t take me long to think about what I would title this column. I just went with the most important words that Jeter said on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium: “I’ll be back soon.” And really they should have been the only words. Why? Because we all know Jeter has a broken bone in his ankle and we all know he isn’t playing baseball right now for the Yankees and we all know that until the bone heals he can’t play baseball for the Yankees.

Thursday started with media members speculating and fans worrying that the number “2” was headed for behind the wall in center field. But I find it hard to believe that anyone could have actually believed the idea that Jeter was going to hold a retirement press conference on Thursday afternoon. Though part of me has a feeling that Joel Sherman had a series of outrageous tweets regarding Jeter’s retirement in the hopper and I’m sure Ken Rosenthal has his 350-word column on the end of Jeter saved as a draft in WordPress. I would bet on Jeff Passan fighting back some tears as he opened a fresh Microsoft Word document to try and poetically capture the end of the all-time Yankees hits leader’s career and I’m sure someone at Baseball Prospectus was ready to tell us about a stat that proves that Eduardo Nunez is a better baseball player than Derek Jeter. (And it wouldn’t surprise me if Richard Justice was somewhere writing a story about carpentry work Bobby Valentine did in the offseason.)

I understand why Jeter “had” to meet with the media on Thursday because beat writers and reporters need to speak with players to obtain quotes to fill their word counts to fill the pages of their paper that no one’s buying. But can they at least ask questions worthy of an answer? Nothing was going to come out of Jeter’s media session the way that nothing has ever come out of a Jeter media session yet several people took exception to the way Jeter gave his responses and the way he seemingly “talked down” to the media. If you’re the captain of the Yankees and the face of the franchise and you can’t physically do your job as either and you’re asked, “You seem to be in pretty good spirits, was there a period when you were a little down after you first found out?” wouldn’t your answer have some attitude in it? But Jeter and the Yankees still held a media session because that’s what “you’re supposed to do” even if the only thing that can be done is to wait until the broken bone in Jeter’s ankle is healed.

Jeter talked about “being happy Nunez is getting an opportunity to play,” which makes him the only person happy about this. He talked about not having the MLB package at his home in Tampa and not being able to watch every Yankees game, which shocked some media members, who couldn’t believe a superstar athlete and celebrity who has made over $250 million playing baseball doesn’t have other things to do with his time in his mansion on the water. And he talked about wanting to receive a CT scan every day and not understanding why he can’t get one every day unless it has to do with finances. But mostly he answered ridiculous questions that deserved ridiculous answers about his ankle. Luckily for you, I transcribed the questions that were asked over the longest, most unnecessary press conference ever held.

How difficult has this whole process been for you?

We had heard you’d be in a boot, you’re not in a boot anymore?

Is there any doubt in your mind that you’re going to be able to come back this season and come back as the same player before?

Do you have any idea of a timeline of what the rehab process is going to be like for you?

Do you know when this happened in spring training and is it a whole new fracture or is it the same fracture?

Do you regret setting the timeline for Opening Day?

Do you think this problem was caused because of impatience and has that informed you in any way of how you have to treat this second one going forward?

Do you think because there isn’t a finite date that you were looking at with opening day that this will take a little bit longer?

We’ve heard sometime after the All-Star break. Does that mesh with the date in your head?

What’s this process (the season) been like to watch from afar?

Did the doctor express to you at all that that area is weakened by what you have been through already?

How difficult do you think it’s going to be to get the timing back once you’re back?

How much does Mariano’s comeback play into you psychologically?

Was there any point where you thought you wouldn’t be able to come back?

Do you have any doubt that when you’re back you will be able to play at the same level?

Any feedback from your teammates? What do you want to say to your fans?

What do you think of the job Nunez’s done so far and impressions of the team and what you’ve been able to see?

Will you be fully able to be as mobile as you were previously?

In short-term goals, what’s the most important thing in the next few things?

Do you have another CT scan lined up or is it not for a while?

You seem to be in pretty good spirits, was there a period when you were a little down after you first found out?

Has any of this made you think about your baseball mortality?

Would you treat injuries differently now going through what you’ve been through?

The unnecessary line of questioning could have been asked in the one question everyone needed answered:

When will you be back?

And that one question would have given everyone the one and only answer anyone cares about:

“I’ll be back soon.”