Monthly Archives: December 2004

The Yankees sign Jaret Wright. For the same money, Jon Lieber moves to the city of brotherly love. Which pitcher would you rather have? Give me Lieber. And another thing: If the Yankees do wind up signing Eric Milton, how happy will Manny, Cookie Monster and company be to see Wright and Milton pitching against them next year? I’d say, very, very happy. (Cliff Corcoran covers a bad day in the Bronx.)

At this point, the Yankees are putting all of their off-season hopes in landing Randy Johnson, and perhaps Carlos Beltran too. If they can’t make a splashy move, Wright, and possibly Milton, could end up haunting the team for the next several years.

At least the winter meetings shouldn’t be dull this weekend. Meanwhile, Al Leiter signs with the Marlins and isn’t pleased with the way his Met career ended, while the Red Sox brass met with Pedro Martinez yesterday.

Is Brooklyn in the House?

As usual, there was a crop of good baseall books released in 2004. In case anyone is doing some last-minute holiday shopping, consider: “The Numbers Game,” by Alan Schwarz, “Brushbacks and Knockdowns,” by Allen Barra, “Negro League Baseball: The Rise and Ruin of a Black Institution, ” by Neil Lanctot, “Saving the Pitcher,” by Will Carroll, “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty,” by Buster Olney, and one of my favorites, “Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Lineups.” I know it wasn’t released this year, but “A Legend in the the Making: the New York Yankees in 1939,” by Richard Tofel is essential reading for any self-respecting Yankee fan. You can find these books in stores or on the Internet, but in case you want to hunt for a wider selection of baseball literature, check out R. Plapinger Baseball Books (baseballbooks@opendoor.com).

Glenn Stout and Richard A. Johnson, authors of “Red Sox Century,” and “Yankee Century” released another fine team history this season, “The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball.” All three books are a must for any baseball library. Thanks to Glenn Stout, I am going to run excerpts from from all three books in the coming week. First up is Chapter Ten from the Dodger book, which is about the teams’ final days in New York.

Enjoy.

Book Excerpt

LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN

(more…)

You can kiss Jon Lieber good-bye as the Yanks signed former nemesis Jaret Wright to a three-year, $21 million deal. (Lieber is reportedly close to signing a three-year contract with the Phillies.) Wright was an easy guy to dislike when he was with Cleveland but I don’t have much of a feeling for him one way or the other anymore. I know that Jay Jaffe was high on the Yankees getting him. The big question is whether Wright can continue his comeback without Leo Mazzone.

Meanwhile, many of the Yankee fans who have been bracing themselves for the Bombers to ink Eric Milton received a surprise body blow last night when the team signed Tony Womack to a two-year contract. Miguel Cairo is five years younger than Womack, but was apparently asking for too much money to return as the staring second base man. The logic behind not bringing Cairo back is not at fault here. In fact, it’s promising that the team didn’t fall in love with a utility player who simply had a solid season. But the cherce of Womack is uninspiring at best. And this was not a George move either. According to the Post:

The lefty-hitting Womack, who came highly recommended by super scout Gene Michael, can hit leadoff or ninth and provides a base-stealing threat.

What about Cliff Corcoran’s man, Placido Planco? Not enough defense? What? And now, who do you suppose will be the utility man? This might be nuts, but what about Robbie Alomar? If he is mentally prepared for it, I think he’d be a good selection. He would be cheap, can still play defense, and can come off the bench and swipe a base if needed. Or will this open the door for Yankee farm hand Robinson Cano?

Oh well. John Olerud was not offered arbitration, but Ruben Sierra was. Man, oh man. Seeing Womack on the back page of the Post this morning was not a terrific way to start the day. Maybe I’m wrong here. I know Larry Mahknen sure ain’t happy about it. What do you guys think?

Jason Giambi’s agent, Arn Tellem, released a statement to the media yesterday:

“Jason Giambi is an extremely dedicated athlete and a caring and loyal teammate,” the statement said. “Jason loves the game of baseball, the Yankees, and the extraordinary New York Yankees fans. Jason has always appreciated the steadfast support of the fans who have been there through good times and bad. He is determined, focused and working hard to return to form in 2005 and help the Yankees get back to the World Series.”

Murray Chass, who is at his best when writing about the business-side of the game, continues to detail the Yankees’ possible legal options concerning Giambi’s contract in the Times today. And for a completely different take on the steroids scandal, be sure and check out Larry Mahnken’s piece over at The Hardball Times. It’s sure to provoke a reaction.

Okay, so according to Newsday, the Yankees are close to signing Eric Milton to a three-year deal. Why? Well, I dunno. Because he’s a lefty and because he has a Yankee tatoo? Very well, but…Milton seems like an appealing enough guy, but he’s not nearly as attractive as a pitcher. Anyone with me on this one?

Elsewhere, Mike Lupica suggests that Jason Giambi wouldn’t be getting such a hard time from Yankee fans and perhaps even the local press if he’d just come off a year like Gary Sheffield had. Over at the Times, Murray Chass has a strong piece about politicians and steroids.

The baseball winter meetings are this coming weekend in Anahiem. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to make it out there, though several All-Baseball.com writer’s will. What, if anything, do y’all think will shake down out there for the Yanks? Or the Mets? Or the Sox for that matter.

Although the news that Jason Giambi admitted having used performance-enhancing drugs is hardly surprising, it’s too early to know what the ramifications will be. What does it all mean? Will Giambi still be wearing pinstripes in 2005? (Not if the Yankees get their way.) Will he be playing baseball at all? (Considering the amount of money that is due him over the next four years, I think that is not a hard question to answer, “>or is it?)

What does the public think of him now? What about his fellow players? So far, the Internet community of baseball writers have been generally more sympathetic towards Giambi–especially regarding his health–than the mainstream media. Perhaps this is because Internet writers are amatuers who are fans first and don’t have to deal directly with the athletes they write about. Tom Verducci expressed disdain for Giambi on SI.com:

SI.com: Giambi is getting tarred and feathered for his detailed account of his steroid usage. Is this a bit unfair considering he was more forthcoming with information than Bonds?

Verducci: I’m not condoning what Giambi did, and I’m not even giving him extra credit for being honest. That’s what you are supposed to do in front of a grand jury. In the media, we’re used to being lied to, and he was lying to us for years. Giambi is just not as slick or as savvy when it comes to handling difficult questions as Bonds. Clearly Bonds was walking a tightrope of trying not to perjure himself and trying to answer questions. Giambi doesn’t smack of any of that balancing act, but the guy clearly is a fraud and this is a long pattern of usage of usage in his case.

John Heyman wrote a particularly vicious column in Newsday last week, detailing Giambi’s off-the-field lifestyle. John Harper has a far more balanced piece on what Giambi does when he’s away from the ballpark today in the Daily News.

Meanwhile, the Kenny Lofton-Felix Heredia era in New York is officially over. Felix Rodriguez and Mike Stanton are now with the team, as is John Flaherty, who was re-signed to back-up Jorge Posada. Not wild about seeing Flaherty back? (If you are, better hope that Jorge stays healthy.) Wait until they ink Eric Milton.

According to the Daily News, the Yankees made two trades yesterday: One, sending Felix Heredia to the Metsies for Mike Stanton, and two, shipping Kenny Lofton (plus a little over $1 million in cash) to the Phillies for reliever Felix Rodriguez. Neither deal has been officially announced yet.

In addition, Suzyn Waldman will join John Sterling in the Yankees’ radio booth. Oh, baby.

First Jason Giambi, and now, Barry Bonds, the Big Red One. According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

Barry Bonds told a federal grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream supplied by the Burlingame laboratory now enmeshed in a sports doping scandal, but he said he never thought they were steroids, The Chronicle has learned.

…Bonds testified that he had received and used clear and cream substances from his personal strength trainer, Greg Anderson, during the 2003 baseball season but was told they were the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by The Chronicle.

It is most disturbing that testimony is being leaked to the public, but I’m afraid that the matter of civil rights will be lost in the hysteria that has already accompanied these findings. Giambi is on the cover of the New York Post this morning. The headline reads, “Boot the Bum: Why the Yankees MUST fire ugly drug cheat Jason Giambi TODAY.”

In the Daily News, Bill Madden opines:

The last thing that baseball, the Yankees or Giambi needs is Giambi showing up in spring training. In the weeks to come, there should be a meeting of the minds – Selig, Orza, the Yankees, Giambi and his agent Arn Tellem – to figure a way out of all of this. Before these leaked BALCO testimony revelations to the the San Francisco Chronicle, there already were serious questions about Giambi’s physical condition and his ability to play.

In a perfect world, maybe his chronically creaky knee, his aching back, his parasite, his tumor and everything else ravaging his body would go away and he would regain some of his old form. But now it’s out there. Giambi’s world is anything but perfect, nor is baseball’s, especially if he continues to be a part of it.

From here on out, as far as baseball is concerned, Jason Giambi is a dead man walking – a pariah to the fans, his employers and his teammates. He is an $82 million liability.

Characteristically, the Times is more even-handed. Tyler Kepner reports that the Yankees met with Bud Selig yesterday. It is believed that they will try and void Giambi’s contract if at all possible. But it doesn’t seem likely:

The Yankees’ immediate concern is whether they have enough evidence to act against Giambi. They could try to terminate his contract or convert it to a nonguaranteed deal by claiming that Giambi violated the contract because of steroid use.

The players union would almost certainly object if the Yankees or the commissioner’s office tried to take action against Giambi. The problem for the Yankees and the commissioner’s office is that their only evidence appears to be the newspaper article, which would be hearsay.

Neither the Yankees nor the commissioner’s office has legal access to grand jury testimony and would probably not take disciplinary action, or any other kind of action, based on the article.

If the grand jury testimony is introduced in a trial, the Yankees and the commissioner’s office could then decide that they could use it to take action against Giambi.

Tom Verducci adds that the Yankees will:

Definitely look into the possibility of voiding the contract. The Yankees have had this in mind for a long time, but I seriously doubt whether they have legal ground to stand on. The collective bargaining agreement between players and owners supercedes whatever the Yankees might find in between the lines of his contract. In 2003, the most recent year in which Giambi admitted to using steroids in the testimony, there was no penalty phase under the CBA. The Yankees will try but it will be an uphill climb the size of Mt. Everest.

You have to wonder if Giambi will ever be able to rebound from this.

Aha! We’ve finally got some news we can sink our teeth into.

First, talks between the Yankees and the Diamonbacks concerning a possible trade involving Randy Johnson have stalled. Evidentally, Arizona asked for everything but GI Joe with the Kung-Fu grip. But while negotiations are dead for the moment, it is still very early in the game. Remember, the deals that brought Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch and Alex Rodriguez to New York all happened late in the Hot Stove season.

Now, the big ‘un. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Jason Giambi admitted that he used steriods when he testified before a grand jury last year. The newspaper reportedly obtained a transcript from the trial. Dig:

“Did Mr. [Greg] Anderson [Barry Bonds’ trainer] provide you with actual injectable testosterone?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nedrow asked Giambi.

“Yes,” replied Giambi.

Nedrow then referred Giambi to an alleged calender of drug use seized during a raid on Anderson’s home. Addressing a January 2003 entry, the prosecutor said: “OK. And this injectable T, or testosterone, is basically a steroid, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And did he talk to you about the fact it was a steroid at the time?”

“Yeah, I mean, I — I don’t know if we got into a conversation about it, but we both knew about it, yes,” Giambi told the grand jury.

Giambi said Anderson described “the cream” and “the clear” as “an alternative to steroids, but it doesn’t show on a steroid test.

“And he started talking about that it would raise your testosterone levels, you know, which would basically make it a steroid … or maybe he said it’s an alternative of taking an injectable steroid,” Giambi said. “That might be a better way to put it.”

Uh, anyone got thoughts about this one?

Meanwhile, on a less meaty note, Derek Jeter weighed in on the Pedro Martinez situation:

“I like facing Pedro. You talk about the rivalry, it’s part of it. You get the opportunity to face one of the best pitchers in baseball,” Jeter said on a conference call yesterday. “I enjoy the competition. I enjoy competing against him. But you never know what’s going to happen.”

…”I can’t comment on what our organization wants to do,” he said. “I’m speaking on my behalf. I enjoy competing against guys. I enjoy competing against [Curt] Schilling. It’s the same thing.

“Would you like certain guys on your team who are going to help? Of course. I enjoy facing Pedro. He’s one of the guys who represent the Boston Red Sox, and I haven’t thought about him being on our team because he’s not. I’ve always been competing against him.” (N.Y. Post)

But wait, there’s more:

“I don’t want to comment about what would work in the clubhouse. It’s not a situation I’ve spent time thinking about,” he said. “All this stuff is speculation. Pedro Martinez is not on this team. Until he’s on this team, you can speculate all you want.”

…”The bottom line is that you have a job to do. If someone is on your team, you have to find a way to work together. It doesn’t mean that everyone you’ve played with in the past you’ve liked, as long as you have a common goal, that’s fine.” (Daily News)

Finally, the News is reporting that the Yankees and Mets are close to swapping Mike Stanton for Felix Heredia. There you have it. You may fire when ready, Grizzly.

We can only hope that the embers of what has been a tepid Hot Stove League thus far will be stoaked next weekend at the baseball winter meetings. But while things have been slow for our Yankees at least we have The Pinstriped Bible to keep us engaged and entertained. Thank goodness for Steven Goldman.

For now, the big story round these parts is “What will Pedro do?” Bob Hohler suggests that the Sox may be willing to give Martinez a three-year deal, but that is it. And what about the Mets? Wouldn’t they have to offer Pedro a significant bump in salary or years in order to snag him? Sure, the National League would be a better place for him, especially a pitcher’s park like Shea Stadium. And I can also see how getting away from Curt Schilling may even appeal to him. But if the Mets don’t wow Martinez, I still don’t see him leaving Boston.

In any case, like it or not, the Hot Stove season is all about the business of baseball. And of course, it hasn’t just been a business since 1976 either. In his book, “The Broadcasters,” famed announcer Red Barber wrote:

In baseball, there are two times you permit yourself to some show of genuine sentiment: in the fall when you say good-bye, not knowing if you’ll meet again the next season; and in the spring when you do meet again. Then, you either wish a man a good winter and health for his family, or else you ask how was the winter and how was his family. The rest of the time is cutthroat. Whoever said baseball was a game never earned his living playing it. [Italics, mine.] Red Ruffing told me once he “Wouldn’t give his mother a good pitch to hit,” and as he walked away, his catcher Bill Dickey said, “And she better be ready to hit the dirt, too.”