Quit doing the Sunday crossword and read this:
- Katie Thomas of the NY Times has an article on the sad turn of events in the life of Jim Leyritz. Leyritz is awaiting trial in Florida on charges of manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol after a crash last December that killed 30-year-old Fredia Ann Veitch. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
- The Bombers most likely will not pick up Damaso Marte’s $6 million option, but that doesn’t mean his time in pinstripes is done, writes George King of the Post.
- Although OF Bobby Abreu is among the players who have filed for free agency, the New York Post reports the Yankees plan to offer him arbitration. Even if he doesn’t accept arbitration, this step will enable the team to collect two draft picks if Abreu signs elsewhere as a free agent.
- Jack Curry of the NY Times examines some of the “lesser” free agents available. He suggests that if the Yanks can’t land Sabathia, they should pursue Derek Lowe.
- T.R. Sullivan of MLB.COM points to Ian Kennedy as one of the pitchers the Rangers may target in trade talks. Texas has a surplus of catchers to deal from, as well as Hank Blalock.
- Another NY Post story details the re-hiring of the scout that spotted Derek Jeter. Bill Livesey was the team’s scouting director in 1992. On the morning of the 1992 draft, the Yankees were sitting with the sixth pick. They never thought Jeter would be there. Then: Phil Nevin went to the Astros; a couple of pitchers, Paul Shuey and B.J. Wallace, were taken by the Indians and Expos. The Orioles took outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds. Cincinnati grabbed Chad Mottola, and Jeter fell into their laps.
- Here’s a quirky Daily News article relating the history of Presidential elections/administrations to the fortunes of the Yankees. According to the article, with a Democratic commander-in-chief, the Yankees have won several more pennants (22 compared to 17) and nearly three times as many championships (19 to 7). The team has a losing World Series record when the GOP controls the Executive Branch, going 7-10 for a .412 clip. Under Democrats, the Yanks are 19-3 in the Fall Classic.
- Happy 27th birthday to the utilitarian Wilson Betemit and a happy 32nd to the “futilitarian” Sidney Ponson. A Yankee prospect drafted in the first round and later traded straight-up for Bob Sykes turns 50 today …. Willie McGee.
- On this date in 1964, CBS becomes the first corporate owner of a major league team, buying 80% of the Yankees. The price tag? $11,200,000.
- On this date in 1995, Joe Torre was named manager of the Bombers, replacing Buck Showalter.
I think Marte can be useful if they don't fall into the trap of using him as a LOOGY. I don't like lefty specialists in general.
I agree, and said as much when the trade was made. Then Girardi had him throw 42 pitches against the Rangers and his elbow freaked out. I'm concerned that Girardi's take away from that was that Marte should only be used for matchups because he can't handle longer outings. I'd be fine with them picking up his option. At $6 million, he could be either a late-inning guy or a trade chip.
whoa, I just realized that I went to high school with Katie Thomas (of the New York Times)
i had a gigantic crush on her.
The Leritz story is sad, and I am very, VERY against DUI, but something seems unfair. A guy gets shitfaced, swerves all over the road, gets caught, and gets a relatively minor punishment. But if he hits and kills someone, he gets manslaughter. The crime is DUI. The circumstance, whether he hits nothing, a tree, or a bus full of nuns, is random fate. Yet the punishment is not tied to the crime (DUI) as much as the outcome. Also, I believe the woman was also very drunk... so she was guilty of the exact same crime. But because Jim was unlucky (how many people do you know that have driven drunk and were LUCKY nothing happened), he life is shot.
Jim didn't kill anyone, he drove drunk. Unfortunately, by the fates, someone died.
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How much is Marte worth? $6m seems VERY high, especially for the Yankees will so many potentially decent young pitchers.
A one year deal for Bobby won't be the worst thing in the world. He may get overpaid by a few mil, that that won't break the bank. I'd rather have 2 picks, but it seems like a win/win situation for us.
I haven't given up on IPK, but I'll say goodbye if we get some decent value back. But it's a bad idea to 'sell low', so I hope we don't dump him for a bag of balls.
Didn't George pay $10m for the Yanks? Did CBS actually devalue the team? I hope they kick themselves every time they hear the phrase.... 'almost 3 billion dollars'.
A very critical factor for the Yankees is: can Po still Catch? I wonder if then are able to monitor his progress through the winter, and get some idea what the story will be in the Spring.
[4] OYF...may I respectfully disagree? DUI is one of the worst crimes because it is SO SO preventable. There is absolutely ZERO excuse for being a grown man and getting behind the wheel after drinking. It's not a "mistake"...a mistake is when I read a map incorrectly and get lost, or mix-up my vocabulary in Japanese. Whether the victim in the Leyritz case was drunk herself is of no importance...you can feel for his kids in this situation, but Leyritz is the only one to blame here. I couldn't give one flying-f$ck about his "transitional problems" from baseball into retirement, or his martial problems....we all have things to deal with, it doesn't mean ANYTHING when it comes to drinking and driving...I hope he goes to jail and pays the punishment for what happened. Maybe the time away will help him really reflect on what it means to kill someone in a preventable car accident...
Sorry to get all preachy, this is just a pretty touchy subject for me for reasons you can probably guess....
the Posada question really is huge..he just won't have much value as a first baseman...that contract another mini-albatross??
I don't think anyone, including Posada, will know for sure until several months into the 2009 season.
As far as I'm concerned, Leyritz can rot in jail. I don't look at manslaughter as an unlucky consequence of driving drunk, rather I look at "just" getting a DUI as a lucky consequence of drunk driving. Luckier still are all the aholes who get home safely 9 times in a row, until it emboldens them to drive after one too many the tenth time and killing someone's brother/sister/father/mother/etc.