Comparisons Of The Mets Of 2007 To 2008 Are Easy, But Inaccurate

• Nationals 7-Mets 2:

As easy as it is to look at the way the Mets are playing and the bottom-line similarities to

last season, they're taken grossly out of context. With the way the Phillies have been playing and are seemingly surging; along with the Mets losing two of three (in devastating, bullpen blowup fashion) to the Braves and looking terrible against the Nationals last night, it's clear that the ghosts are going to pop up again and again. (That everyone who was watching that nightmare in disbelief last season keeps bringing it up doesn't help.) Even with all of that, the situations are vastly different.
In 2007, the main reason that the Mets were able to build that seven game lead with seventeen games to play was because the Phillies and Braves had been just as inconsistent as the Mets were throughout the season and were never able to overtake them when they were playing .500 ball from June onward. It just so happened that the Mets inconsistency caught up to them late in the season just as the Phillies got hot. The confluence of events along with a flawed and panicking team led to the Mets demise in

2007. The Mets were never comfortable with their lead; there was always a feeling of impending doom permeating the team; it's hard to pinpoint what it was that led to that innate feeling, but it was there and it came to fruition at the worst possible time.
The differences between last season and this season are stark. The 2007 Mets built their lead with a hot start; the 2008 team got off to a bad start and played as if they were in a fog. The 2007 Mets had a manager in Willie Randolph who was twitchy, defensive, paranoid, used questionable strategies and (fairly or unfairly) had alienated a chunk of the veteran leadership. The 2008 Mets have had a manager for half the season in Jerry Manuel who's comfortable talking to the media; blunt; and far stronger strategically than his predecessor. The 2007 Mets had a shaky bullpen despite the presence of Billy Wagner; the 2008 Mets have gone on a rampage since Wagner went on the disabled list and the current crew out there isn't any less reliable than Wagner since Wagner has never been reliable in a high-pressure situation where the team had to win. Add in that the Wild Card that was unavailable last season because of the blazing hot streak of the Colorado Rockies likely will be the consolation prize for whichever of the Phillies and Mets doesn't win the division and there's no reason to panic as the press and fan base seems to be doing.
It's easy to look at how poorly the Mets have played over the past few days; to look at the number of blown saves they've had; and factor last season's debacle into the cesspool of negativity and doubt----it's completely fair----but the totality of the situation is nothing like last

season. The 2008 team has a legitimate ace at the top of the rotation in Johan Santana; a different catcher in Brian Schneider; a new right-fielder in Ryan Church; a different closer (whoever they use out there) who's no more or less reliable than Wagner was; and the aforementioned better manager.
The Brewers have just fired their manager and even with their sublime top two starters in C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets, they still have to prove that they're ready to level off from this tailspin and that's not as easy as it sounds; plus they're playing the Cubs who'd like to get their division title chase over with so they can rest their entire roster. The Astros hot streak was bound to end sooner or later. (Of course it doesn't help that the commissioner's office screwed them royally by making them play the hurricane-induced postponements in a "neutral" site that ended up being home games for the Cubs; the combination of events----the hurricane and the venue change to Milwaukee----probably caused

the no-hitter and near no-hitter that befell the Astros more than the Cubs pitching.) The Cardinals have faded out. Unless the Brewers wake up, the process of elimination is going to leave the Mets and Phillies for the NL East and the Wild Card no matter what happens the rest of the way. The only thing the Mets need to do is win the majority of their own games and not let the memories of 2007 infect their minds. Because a big chunk of the 2008 Mets either wasn't involved or weren't in charge, that shouldn't be as big of a problem as is being implied by those that are just waiting to see if it happens again.

• Speaking of Jerry Manuel:

The implication in the media is that Jerry Manuel has to get the Mets into the playoffs to be guaranteed a job for next season and another "collapse" would necessitate a change in the

manager's office no matter how much the players like him or how good a job he's done. I consider this to be nonsense. As an observer, I think it's absurd to hinge Manuel's return on what happens over the final two weeks after he turned the team around so completely; as a Mets fan, I'm going to be very unhappy if Manuel is replaced.
Strategically, Manuel is far superior to Randolph and, as said before, is handling the adversity of injuries and ancillary aspects of managing in New York very well. Is it his fault that the bullpen has been coughing up games? He's trying to squeak through with what he has and as the season winds down, the Mets playoff hopes aren't going to fall short because of anything Manuel did or didn't do. No matter what happens the rest of the way, he's the best choice to manage the team going forward and should get the job one way or the other in part because he's handled it well; and in part because there's no one else out there who'd do a better job.

• Jorge Posada as Yankees armchair GM?

It's understandable to hear the talk show imbeciles go on and on about whether or not Joba Chamberlain should be a starter or reliever, but when the players start publicly airing their opinions on such matters is when the team should step in. In an interview, injured Yankees

catcher Jorge Posada opined that Chamberlain should be put into the bullpen and left there----ESPN Story----a development which should inspire Brian Cashman to politely instruct Posada to keep his opinions within the team or simply keep them to himself. (Like republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's repeated claims of saying, "Thanks, but no thanks" for the Bridge to Nowhere, Cashman should say "Thanks, but no thanks" to Posada's taking

over as team GM, except it wouldn't be at best disingenuous, at worst an out-and-out lie.)
There are reasonable arguments to both positions of whether Chamberlain should start or relieve. My argument is that Chamberlain has Roger Clemens-potential and the team should at least try him as a starter before relegating him to the bullpen for the rest of his career. Posada's assessment of Chamberlain's stuff and body type are completely within his area of expertise as a catcher, but is it necessary with all the Yankees other problems, to start this debate again?
One thing I would do is toss into the trash this wishy-washy nonsense of having him start the season in the bullpen and slowly integrate him into the rotation again next season to hold

down his innings. If anything contributes to a pitcher's injuries it's the ambiguity and mid-season change of roles and a decision should be made one way or the other and stuck to it for the season. If he's going to start, let him start and don't worry about his innings; if he's going to relieve, let him relieve and don't worry about the "Joba Rules". No one's taken the sudden gear shift into account as a viable reason for him getting hurt because the only thing they're paying attention to is his innings pitched. Make a decision one way or the other and be done with it because, as is evidenced by Posada's interview, the vacillation is a distraction that's unnecessary and unhelpful.

• The smug and the trashy:

In a microcosm, the way both the Yankees and Mets are handling the final days of their current stadiums epitomizes the differences in the organizations. The Yankees are treating these last days as some hallowed enterprise designed to heap more praise on the "most famous

organization in sports"; while the Mets are treating it as a trailer park yard sale.
Am I the only one who's had enough of hearing about how players are touring Yankee Stadium; taking souveniers like dirt, balls or whatever; wandering around like zombies in the sistine chapel? Am I the only one who's kind of nauseated at the gauche nature of the "everything must go" tone of the last days of Shea Stadium as they sell the seats, foul poles, dugouts and (I would assume) the toilets and sinks?
If the demolition of the old Yankee Stadium is so traumatic, then why build the new

stadium to begin with? And if the Mets are intent on selling the stadium like someone cleaning out their garage for posting on E-Bay, I would hope they're going to put the proceeds to something benevolent instead of putting it in their pockets. It's enough already with the waxing poetically in the Bronx and tackiness in Queens, but then again that's indicative of the way the two teams are (and presumably will always be)----smug and pompous on one end; trashy and ham-handed on the other.

Yankees Demote Kennedy And Other Stories

• Yankees send Ian Kennedy back to the minors:

The New York Times is reporting that the Yankees have shipped Ian Kennedy back to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with the instructions to throw his breaking pitches regardless

of the score and game situation----Article. Kennedy also backtracked on his laissez-faire comments about his heinous big league performances after the negative reaction in the clubhouse and media. Kennedy will learn about dealing with the media because that was a case in which he said something stupid, which isn't unexpected in a 23-year-old who's experiencing on-field adversity for the first time; but the important question is: will he learn how to pitch effectively in the big leagues?
After all the hype accompanying the three young Yankee pitchers----Kennedy, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain----it was at best unrealistic and at worst baseball malpractice to think that they were going to walk all over big league hitters the way they dominated in the minors. Now Kennedy has been the one to take the most brutal beating and is paying the price on and off the field. He's been told that he's going to be back in September, which may or may not be true; but unless the Yankees fall completely out of contention, Kennedy's return doesn't mean he's going to be participating in any meaningful games unless there's an emergency.
This season is a write-off for Kennedy and Hughes and shouldn't be seen as an indictment

of their futures as big leaguers; they could still become useful if not the reincarnation of the 1990s Braves or other great rotations. Chamberlain has shown the promise to be a future Cy Young Award winner. The Yankees problem now is that, among many other things, they didn't expect the injury to Chien-Ming Wang to rob them of his 19 wins; they didn't expect to have to deal with a Rays team that matured so quickly, rode a hot start to prominence, and also overcame their seven game losing streak going into the All Star break to recover beautifully. Instead of only having to worry about the Red Sox in the AL East, they're scrambling for a Wild Card berth that looks increasingly like it's not going to be available. The Yankees may be discovering, as the Braves did when their string of playoff appearances ended, that it's not as easy as it looked all those years; that barrelling down the road while making drastic changes isn't always a smooth and easy process and things don't always mystically end with the Yankees in the playoffs.
Everything ends. The dynasty from the late-90s ended; the George Steinbrenner-era is ending; the Joe Torre-era ended; and the automatic ticket into the playoffs may be on life-support now. They're still in position to make another run, but they're running out of time and with the way their direct contenders are playing, the Yankees may have run out of tricks and the last post-season at Yankee Stadium and intentions of a historic finale may not exist at all.

• White Sox 6-Red Sox 5:

The Red Sox haven't been playing all that great either and despite all the numbers that are being quoted as to how Jason Bay's stats can reasonably replicate Manny Ramirez's so that

Manny's departure won't be such a big loss; and that Bay will be a better outfielder; and that Bay will run out ground balls; the Red Sox are going to feel the loss of Manny Ramirez as the season winds down. I completely understand the decision to get rid of him at all costs, but it's not going to be a simple matter of inserting a different piece into Manny's slot and ending up with another championship.
With the way the Yankees are scrounging for starting pitching, even if the Red Sox don't catch the Rays, they have enough pitching in the rotation and bullpen; and should score enough runs to hold off the Yankees and whichever of the two teams----the Twins or White Sox----fades out in the end in the AL Central. If things hold as they are and the Red Sox have to play the Angels, that's when they're going to truly feel the effects of not having a happy or unhappy Manny in their lineup.

• Padres 16-Rockies 7:

It's one thing to extol Livan Hernandez's value as an innings-eater who'll stay out on the

mound for 145 pitches or more, but there's no possible way to defend yesterday's performance in his first start as a member of the Rockies. The Padres can't hit and they gave Hernandez a brutal beating with nine runs (including two homers) in 2 2/3 innings. The Rockies got Hernandez for nothing and were desperate for starting pitching; and I've been trumpeting Hernandez as a pitcher who could provide something to someone; but if yesterday's an example of what he has to offer, then there's no point in putting him out there.

• Scott Rolen to the disabled list:

Who (other than J.P. Ricciardi) didn't see this coming? A couple of weeks ago, I compared

Scott Rolen and Troy Glaus based on their contracts and production----Blog 7/31/2008. Is it still possible that the work of Ricciardi in the past seven years is being lost on the Blue Jays ownership and that he's going to be back? He should've been fired three months ago so the new GM could get a head start on next season, but he's still there.

Favre Traded To Jets; Revisionist History With Chamberlain

• Brett Favre traded to the New York Jets:

These are the Jets we're talking about, so there's every possibility that the podium will

collapse during the introductory press conference and Favre will tear the ligaments in his shoulder breaking his fall, thereby ending his career; but other than that, if Fav...ruh's committed to playing for at least the next two years, it's a great move to make the Jets contenders

to advance to the second round of the playoffs as a lowpoint goal. The guy can still play and will make a fortune with advertising deals and other perks in the tri-state area----at least as much and possibly more than the marketing deal the Packers offered for him to stay retired.
Packers fans had better be prepared to deal with the growing pains of young, unproven quarterback Aaron Rodgers because if he gets off to a slow start while their hero is worshipped in the Big Apple and winning games, there's going to be a backlash against the Packers management team even if they were put into this impossible situation by Fav...ruh himself and his vacillating.

• Digging up the criticisms on Joba Chamberlain:

If the reports are to be believed the Yankees got great news in that Joba Chamberlain's injury is only rotator cuff tendinitis; tendinitis hurts (it feels like waves of prickling pain shooting down the affected area), but it's certainly not serious and not the devastating result

that Yankeeland was bracing itself for with bated breath. What was fascinating during the time spent in limbo awaiting Chamberlain's diagnosis was how many people came out of the woodwork with quotes like this one from Joel Sherman's column in the New York Post:

It is a reminder of what a lot of personnel men have been saying since the Yanks drafted Chamberlain with the 41st overall pick in June 2006. Those personnel men said Chamberlain's talent was well defined - top-of-the-draft obvious. But as one AL executive said echoing a common view, "There were just too many red flags with health." There was a knee injury in college and that violence at the end of his motion. So Chamberlain tumbled in the draft to the appreciative Yanks.

I didn't hear too many people commenting about his violent motion or talking about those "red flags" when Chamberlain was becoming a sensation, so why do it now with what is a relatively benign diagnosis for an over-the-top pitcher who throws as hard as Chamberlain

does? His motion doesn't look overly stressful to me and we have to remember that the pitcher that Chamberlain is compared to most often----Roger Clemens----had injury problems early in his career before becoming the dominating and durable Rocket.
If anything, I think the Yankees have babied Chamberlain too much. It's one thing to abuse a pitcher and have him get hurt, but to keep him on a reasonable threshold without babying him is better than keeping him in a box to prevent injury. The Yankees couldn't have been more vigilant in their treatment of Chamberlain with their pitch counts, studies and whatever else and he still got hurt. Simply monitoring the pitcher and how he feels while keeping his innings within reason is better than not using him at all because he got hurt anyway. It seems that some of the Joba Rules were created to insulate the team from allegations of overusing the pitcher and that's not something that should be a concern because, as is proven with Chamberlain's trip to the disabled list, it didn't even work.

*I wrote a blog about tempering expectations for the Yankees young pitchers with comparisons to other young and touted pitching prodigies who succeeded and failed after last season----A Brief Step Backwards Toward Sanity 10/25/2007----if anyone's interested.

Chamberlain's Injury And The Yankees Silence

• Ominous signs or precautionary silence for Joba Chamberlain and the Yankees:

There are two ways to look at the Yankees silence regarding the MRI/X-Ray results for

Joba Chamberlain and the subsequent decision to send him to Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews: one, the results are positive and the team is treating Chamberlain with the same caution he's been treated with since he arrived in the big leagues before starting any kind of program or pitching him again; or two, the news is bad and they're getting an opinion from the best guy in the field as to the next course of action. I'm not going to hazard a guess as to what it is, but if Chamberlain is really hurt it's going to demolish the Yankees grand plan of handling their young pitchers.
The whole idea of integrating a young pitcher in the bullpen and slowly working him into the starting rotation is not new; the Orioles did it for years under Earl Weaver

and George Bamberger and they consistently developed durable and successful starting pitchers. The Yankees had done their homework on pitchers who were overused at a young age and burned out quickly before coming to the solution to have Chamberlain on a strict, game-by-game pitch count and innings threshold and using him as a reliever before making him a starter.
With the Yankees gentle and thoughtful treatment of Chamberlain, there are going to be excuses galore if Chamberlain is really hurt, but the silence can be seen as a continuation of the close-to-the-vest treatment Chamberlain has received in his career; or it could be that they're making sure that the bad news is accurate and are coming up with a story as to why their grand plan didn't work.

• Cardinals 6-Dodgers 4 (11); the Cardinals can't function this way:

I have to believe that when Tony La Russa re-upped to stay with the Cardinals, there were several factors at work: there wasn't a viable destination for him to leave and win immediately; the Cardinals have been his baseball home since 1996 and it's hard to leave after such a long-

term relationship; and he was told by ownership that if the team was in contention, some effort would be made to improve on the fly.

In looking at the team's roster and injuries coming into the season, management was probably hoping against reality that La Russa's genius would keep the team in contention without any belief that it might happen; but it has happened and as the season has moved along, the Cardinals haven't made any improvements whatsoever. Their strategy, aside from relying on La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan's brilliance, was to have their injured pitchers Mark Mulder and Chris Carpenter provide the mid-season reinforcements in lieu of trades. Mulder returned briefly and got hurt again and Carpenter has

pitched in two games so far this allowing one run in nine innings. The starting rotation isn't the Cardinals problem though; it's the bullpen.
Despite the fact that they won last night's game against the Dodgers in the eleventh inning, their tattered bullpen blew a four run lead in the ninth inning complete with another implosion by Jason Isringhausen. A team with designs on the playoffs cannot function like this where no lead is safe no matter the score and with no help from anywhere on the horizon because of the cheapness of the organization. With two teams in their division that have made drastic improvement (the Brewers with C.C. Sabathia and the Cubs with Rich Harden), the Cardinals were in no position

to stand pat. It might have been a strategy if they didn't have a collapsing bullpen, but something needed to be done.
The Cardinals are still winning enough games to stay within range of the Cubs in the NL Central and the way the National League is playing, they'll be around the top of the Wild Card standings until the end of the season, but a team can't continue running relievers to the mound who are going to blow what should be comfortable leads; not only does it chip away at team confidence, but as the season winds down, it stresses the entire team by increasing the amount of work they have to do to win a game that should have been easy.
While it's only a matter of perception in how and why the Cardinals didn't make any drastic improvements when compared to other teams who also didn't do anything to improve like the Mets and Rays, the difference is that it wasn't for a lack of trying or willingness to spend money on the part of those teams. The Cardinals put forth the excuse that their minor league system is short as it is and they didn't want to deplete it any further by trading away the few prospects they have; but that seems to be a cover story that, while viable, is really an excuse for saving money and hoping for the best. With the way their bullpen has continued to pour gasoline on the fire, it's going to be hard for them to stay in contention as anything more than a team hoping that none of the other contenders get hot thereby giving the Cardinals a chance at winning a war of attrition.
Even with all of the good work he's done this year and how he's been so loyal to the

Cardinals organization, eventually this is going to take a toll on La Russa who, at age 64, isn't going to want to put all this work in without proper support from the front office when needed. Other opportunities may be available after the season including Seattle (a team that spends money); Milwaukee (filled with young talent); the White Sox (eventually Ozzie Guillen's mouth is going to get him fired; and Jerry Reinsdorf has always regretted letting Hawk Harrelson fire La Russa); and San Diego (a nice place for a final job; he's worked with Sandy Alderson before; and they might be desperate enough to do something drastic after this train wreck). He's going to have options and with the way the Cardinals are penny-pinching, they'd probably be happy to get out from under La Russa and Duncan's contracts for someone cheaper if the duo really wants to leave. Such a scenario may be best for all involved because they certainly can't go on like this for another year because appreciation of genius can only go so far without a payoff and it doesn't look like there will be one for the Cardinals this year if they continue down this road.

• Mets 6-Padres 5:

Before anything else, I railed against the fact that Fernando Tatis was even invited to camp with the Mets in spring training; I railed against them calling him up; I railed against them using him and wasting a roster spot on him; but the guy has found a second baseball life after

his fall from grace. This is a player who hit 34 homers; drove in 107; scored 104; batted .298; had an OBP of .404; and slugged .553 in 1999; he also hit two grand slams in one inning that year and had MVP-quality numbers across the board; he then fell off the planet and was out of baseball in 2004 and 2005, played sparsely with little success with the Orioles in 2006; spent 2007 with the Mets Triple A team in New Orleans and was called up this year as little more than a journeyman veteran to fill out the bench. Instead, he's contributed mightily to the team with his clutch hitting and has regained a semblance of his power; he's also played solid defensively. I'm still halfway expecting him to revert to the player who couldn't find a job for so long; couldn't do much of anything for any team in any capacity, but all he's done is hit and hit in the clutch, so they may as well ride him for the rest of the season because he's earned at least that much given his stunning contribution.
Without Billy Wagner for at least the next couple of weeks, the Mets are resorting to a "bullpen by committee", but they may as well just throw Scott Schoeneweis out there as the

closer and hope for the best. Schoeneweis has done the job in spurts before; doesn't seem all that bothered by the pressure; has experience in playoff-type games and usually throws strikes. The other pitchers in the Mets bullpen haven't been able to handle the job in the brief tries they've received and the gigantic rookie Eddie Kunz has to be worked in slowly for what is likely his future job. Schoeneweis is the best option for the moment and that's who they should use in their current predicament.

The Angels Way Of Doing Business And Other Stories

• The benefits to the use of K-Rod for player and team:

The Angels are one of the best run organizations in baseball for numerous reasons----they spend money intelligently; they focus on pitching and defense; they develop their own players;

they have a chain of command----but one of the most important factors for the Angels is that they treat their players the way they like to be treated. This couldn't be more evident in the way they've used closer Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez in what is probably his final year with the team.
As freely as they spend money, the Angels aren't capricious; they look at every aspect of their investment----statistically, historically, on and off the field----before coming to a conclusion and they don't pay closers huge amounts of money to remain with the team when they approach free agency. They wisely allowed Troy Percival to leave after grooming a young K-Rod in 2002,3 and 4 and now they have two in-house candidates to replace K-Rod next year with sublime

set-up man Scot Shields and young Jose Arredondo. I would think that Shields will close for at least 2009 and 10 and Arredondo would set-up and prepare to close in 2011.
The reason the Angels have been so consistently good in recent history is that there's a plan in place and they rarely deviate from that plan. The difference between the Angels and many other teams is that the Angels treat their players right on the way out the door. It's a mutually advantageous relationship. Some teams would use the fact that K-Rod is becoming a free agent as a reason to abuse him with overuse, but the Angels have kept his workload similar to what it's been his whole career. K-Rod usually appears in around 70 games and pitches 75 innings; this year, despite his record-setting pace for saves, will be no different. But the Angels aren't just using K-Rod to do

his job this year, they're actually doing him a favor by letting him accrue all those saves.
It would be one thing for K-Rod, a very good although sometimes adventurous closer, to put up his usual numbers of 45 saves or so in addition to the appearances, innings-pitched and other stats, but the Angels have K-Rod on pace to set the record for saves in the walk year of his contract. For every team that diminishes the value of a closer to something that can be created, there will always be a few teams that

are hypnotized by the shady "save" stat and will pay for the guy with the gaudiest numbers. The Angels aren't going to give K-Rod $13-15 million annually especially with his stressful, over-the-top motion and heavy workload over the years, but someone will, and the 60 or so saves he garners in 2008 will assist in that as both he and the Angels try to

win now, and plan to move on after the season.
This is just one example of an organization that knows what it's doing; how they work within a budget; within parameters of finding players that fit into what they're trying to create and cut the cord when the time is right. Even though they don't get the respect or attention they deserve because they've faltered in the playoffs in recent years, the Angels are a template for other teams to copy if they want to build a successful franchise, run correctly in all aspects.

• Rangers 9-Yankees 5:

The loss of the game for the Yankees was secondary to the possible loss of Joba

Chamberlain. After leaving the game in the fifth inning with shoulder stiffness, a terrified shudder was felt throughout Yankeeland. Manager Joe Girardi is confident that the problem is muscular and not structural (ligaments and tendons); they'd better hope that that's the case because with the way they've babied Chamberlain, it would be a huge glitch in all the research they did in the optimal use of a young pitcher and how to keep him healthy over the long term if he's really hurt.

• Reds 6-Brewers 3:

Prince Fielder shoved pitcher Manny Parra several times in a dugout scuffle after Parra was removed for a pinch hitter----YouTube Clip; there have been references to last year as the Brewers stumbled and several similar incidents occurred involving manager Ned Yost among others. For

Fielder to get angry enough to confront Parra in such a way, Parra must have said or done something to really hack Fielder off; pitchers can be obnoxious so until some context is revealed, we won't know who's to blame. (Trust me when I say pitchers are obnoxious, I was one and there were plenty of people who wanted to attack me at one point or another; but then it's the same way in my current activity, so maybe it's just my sterling personality.) The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is saying that Parra was heading to the clubhouse after being removed and Fielder wanted him to stay in the dugout to watch the Brewers bat. The only reason I can see Fielder getting so angry is if Parra said something like: "No fine sir, I must go and ice my arm to prevent soreness due to the tearing of microfibers used during strenuous activity, use the facilities graciously provided by the club and have a refreshing beverage", only in more colorful and succinct language like: "FUCK YOU!"
Yost is going to get the blame for not having control of his players and clubhouse, but I'm

not going to blame Yost for this. I don't think he's a particularly good manager; nor do I think the Brewers are going to make it to the next level with him in charge, but these incidents happen all the time in the clubhouses of every team and it's just the few that happen under a camera's watchful eye that get attention and focus on managerial "control", but he can't be standing between each and every player who doesn't get along with teammates or loses his temper in a flash and does something like what Fielder did. Sometimes these things end up being positive anyway because they clear out some bad blood and create some energy to wake things up. The Brewers haven't been playing very well lately and if things turn around after this, it might be perceived as a turning point.

It's July And It's Enough Already

• Rangers 3-Yankees 2:

The Yankees can't continue to play the "new regime/young players" card forever. The Red Sox are going to have their 95 wins at the end of the season and the Rays aren't going away, so the time for the Yankees to continually put their hands up and say, "patience, patience" to

their increasingly unruly and disenchanted fans is about up.
The differences between the Yankees teams in years past and this one is stark. Joe Girardi, despite all of his seriousness, commitment, impressive vocabulary and history as a winner is still a manager in his second big league season; he has a lot to prove. The young pitching that was supposed to be the hallmark of the new Yankees is either on the disabled list (Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy) or being nursed along (Joba Chamberlain); the lineup, which was supposed to make up for

the callow pitching staff, has been hamstrung by the slumping Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, and the injured Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. The bullpen has been untrustworthy and the Yankees aura is missing. Teams don't seem intimidated when they're walking into Yankee Stadium; they don't seem impressed by the Yankees financial power; they're not panicking in the late innings and blowing games; and it's enough already.
Those that are counting on a similar blazing hot streak as the team experienced under Joe Torre following slow starts in the past may be in for a rude awakening. Girardi still has to prove that he can right the ship when the leaks are springing up all over; the young pitchers have to prove they belong and can pick up for their injured ace in Chien-Ming Wang; and they have to start beating teams that they've consistently fattened their record upon----but they're

not. They're losing pitcher's duels to teams like the Rangers who don't have any pitching; they're seen to be turning the corner when they're beating teams that are slumping (the Astros) or are just plain bad (the Padres), but then they fall back into the mediocre bunch they've been all season and we still hear the apologists stating with more desperation than confidence, "the Yankees are gonna be in the playoffs" as if it's their divine right. It's not. They have to win some games.
It's July; their reputation for overcoming adversity may have flown to Los Angeles along with Torre and if that's the case, then they'd better make some moves fast to improve their current roster because believe it or not, there's not an unlimited amount of time for the team to right themselves; more importantly, they might not have the personnel to do it either.

• Rays 3-Red Sox 1:

There's been talk that the Rays may jump into the sweepstakes to try and get a starting pitcher for the stretch run and C.C. Sabathia's name has been the most prominently mentioned. They have the prospects to do it, but a young team like the Rays that seems to have a chemistry and some magic working (who could possibly have expected the heretofore

automatic out Gabe Gross to show up and provide so many clutch hits?) doesn't want to start moving too fast without weighing all of the pros and cons of such a move.
Sabathia is a rental because the Rays aren't going to shell out the money he's going to want to keep him; they'd have to give up a chunk of prospects to get him and they might be better suited to make smaller, more intangible maneuvers (Kevin Millar and Chad Bradford for example) rather than making the big splash. Their young pitching has adapted well to the attention their receiving; their veteran relievers have performed up to their best-case scenario expectations and they score plenty of runs. Instead of getting Sabathia, they might be better served to bring up Jeff Niemann or David Price to slot into the rotation rather than an impending free agent like Sabathia.
Their offense isn't going to be their problem----Carlos Pena has a hot streak due any day now----and they've done pretty well so far with their young starters; if they're going to make a

bold move, they'd probably be better off supplementing their bullpen because Troy Percival is about to turn 39 and one wrong move away from being out for the season given his injury history. Huston Street is probably available for the right price; or they could go to a team like the Padres and see if they'd be willing to move Trevor Hoffman (he's been atrocious this season, but a pennant race and change of scenery might give him an adrenaline boost); there are better and cheaper options available than Sabathia; and more importantly, they don't want to start messing around when they're playing so well, plus the starting rotation isn't in need of a desperation rental who hasn't been that great in the playoffs anyway.

• Phillies demote Brett Myers:

I probably wouldn't have accepted this assignment if I were Myers for a few reasons; most prominently, he took one for the team last season by moving to the bullpen and potentially sacrificed his own career to help carry the Phillies to the division title; then the Phillies found a closer in Brad Lidge and moved Myers back into the starting rotation. Pitching coach Rich

Dubee is blaming the 3-9 record and overall terrible performance on a lack of confidence and out of whack delivery, but it could be that the switch from the rotation to the bullpen and back has affected Myers more than anyone realizes or wants to admit. Starting requires stamina like running a marathon; pitching out of the bullpen requires resilience and something similar to a quick-burst sprint.
Now they're sending Myers to Triple A when it might be more appropriate and less embarrassing if they took the course other teams have taken with struggling veteran pitchers and sent them to extended spring training to work out the kinks without having to endure the mental stigma involved with a demotion. What makes it worse is that Myers did what he was asked to help the team and they're treating him as if the 3-9 record is his fault and his fault alone, but the Phillies are just as, if not more, responsible because of the way they've jerked Myers around. Sending him to Triple A may help, but there were better ways to handle the situation and the individual.