"If I want to spend $4 million on a ballplayer, I will. If I want to spend $12 million, I will. ...It's my (bleep) money and I'll do what I want." - Padres owner Ray Kroc
It's a good bet that super agent Scott Boras wishes that the late Ray Kroc was still around.
Since he's not, and a less-than-impressive free agent class is at the fore, this space figures that the ridiculous money spent at last year's Winter Meetings is not going to repeat itself.
Every scout dreams of the "five-tool" player. Every once in a while, a rare specimen that can run, throw, hit for power, hit for average and plays great defense makes his debut on some local ball field and becomes a star. On Broadway, the critic looks for the same kind of rare package in a new show.
There is a new sheriff in the Bronx, his name is Joe Girardi. He is of
course a former Yankee player and coach, therefore his pinstripe
pedigree is beyond question. But the big question is will his guidance
yield different results than his predecessor, the venerable Joe Torre?
After losing the 2000 World Series to the New York Yankees, the
crosstown New York Mets declined to pursue marquee free agent Alex
Rodriguez. At the time, then-general manager Steve Phillips cited a
unwillingness to sign a "24-and-1" player (a term he says he now
regrets), and as recently as last week, says it was a decision that he
still agrees with.
The feeling in this space, as uttered by this writer on "The Scott
Ferrall Show" on Sirius Radio both this past Friday and subsequent
Monday was that New York Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman
preferred to keep Joe Torre in place as skipper. It would appear, as
the smoke clears, that club president Randy Levine -- despite his close
relationship with Torre pal Rudy Giuliani -- and the Steinbrenner clan
did not share that sentiment.
Perhaps the 2007 ALDS represented just what Yankee fans needed to see.
Longtime clutch god Derek Jeter’s contribution to the postseason effort
was a sequence of double plays, while Alex Rodriguez’s home run was
simply unsupported by his supposedly more October-oriented teammates.
This is not to suggest that Derek Jeter has somehow lost that magic. It’s that the magic never existed.
Every scout dreams of the "five-tool" player. Every once in a while, a rare specimen that can run, throw, hit for power, hit for average and plays great defense makes his debut on some local ball field and becomes a star. On Broadway, the critic looks for the same kind of rare package in a new show.
There is a new sheriff in the Bronx, his name is Joe Girardi. He is of
course a former Yankee player and coach, therefore his pinstripe
pedigree is beyond question. But the big question is will his guidance
yield different results than his predecessor, the venerable Joe Torre?
After losing the 2000 World Series to the New York Yankees, the
crosstown New York Mets declined to pursue marquee free agent Alex
Rodriguez. At the time, then-general manager Steve Phillips cited a
unwillingness to sign a "24-and-1" player (a term he says he now
regrets), and as recently as last week, says it was a decision that he
still agrees with.
The feeling in this space, as uttered by this writer on "The Scott
Ferrall Show" on Sirius Radio both this past Friday and subsequent
Monday was that New York Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman
preferred to keep Joe Torre in place as skipper. It would appear, as
the smoke clears, that club president Randy Levine -- despite his close
relationship with Torre pal Rudy Giuliani -- and the Steinbrenner clan
did not share that sentiment.
(BRONX, N.Y.) In the bottom of the first inning, The Yankees had two on
and one out when Alex Rodriguez walked slowly to the plate.
Perhaps the 2007 ALDS represented just what Yankee fans needed to see.
Longtime clutch god Derek Jeter’s contribution to the postseason effort
was a sequence of double plays, while Alex Rodriguez’s home run was
simply unsupported by his supposedly more October-oriented teammates.
