Injury of the Year

Hip injuries are apparently, well, hip.

I'd never heard of a baseball player tearing his hip labrum before. I mean, I didn't even know hips had labrums, I thought they were in your shoulder. And now we have Brett Myers joining the list of guys with hip injuries. Just last year Justin Duchscherer hurt his hip and I didn't hear any talk of labrums... but now we have Mike Lowell, Chase Utley, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Delgado, Alex Gordon and now Myers. WTF, people? Did they start putting some hip-weakening agent in infield dirt? I really don't get it.

Anyway, the Phillies are discussing who will come up to replace Myers. In addition to the usual suspects -- Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco -- some think they'll call up Antonio Bastardo, who was 2-2 with a 1.82 ERA and 0.81 WHIP (7 BB, 39 K) in 34.2 IP in Double-A, and then struck out 11 in his first start in Triple-A.

Judging from those numbers he looks like a really good prospect. But if I were the Phillies I'd call him up for the jersey sales alone. The entire population of South Philly would line up to buy a jersey with BASTARDO across the back of it.

Breaking My Cherry

Finally getting my first look at the new Yankee Stadium today.

The good news is Andy Pettitte is on the mound, which makes for a nice combination of the old and the new. (No offense, Andy.) Pettitte's always been one of my favorites and it'll be nice to see him on the mound again. If this is the last time I see him pitch in person, it'll be a nice bookend with the first time I saw him -- in the snow on Opening Day in 1996. The weather should be better this time.

The bad news is the Yankees are facing J.A. Happ, who they've never faced before. Gulp. The good news is his numbers this year are pretty good (2.49 ERA, 1.06 WHIP). If he had a 7.00 ERA, he'd be a lock for a two-hitter.

Captain Confidence

This is just about everywhere, but if you haven't seen it yet you will be amused...

What the hell do I know? 2009 edition

I think I've conclusively proven that the answer is "not much." In 2007 I had three of the four A.L. playoff teams, but just one out of the four teams in the N.L. Last year I had the A.L. wild card right (Red Sox) but like everyone else blew it on the Rays. I got the Central wrong and the West right. In the N.L. I had two of the four, with the Cubs and Dodgers (although admittedly I thought the Dodgers were getting in as a wild card, not the West champs).

So two years in a row, I got half the playoff teams right. It's never good to have the same winning percentage as a coin flip.

Let's try a little harder this year, shall we? Yeah, whatever.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
A.L. East: As usual, give me the Yankees. Yes, lots of things could go wrong -- the Brewers treated C.C. Sabathia like a rented mule last year, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte are always an elbow twinge away from the D.L., Joba Chamberlain is on a strict innings count and Chien-Ming Wang, foot issues aside, has always been an injury risk. If they get 150 starts those those five pitchers, the Yankees have the best rotation in baseball. I realize that's a big "if." And even without their third baseman for the first six weeks of the season, the Yankees will have the best offense. As I do every year, I will pick the Red Sox for the wild card, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays returning to reality. The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles have a lot of rebuilding to do.

A.L. Central: I'm finally going to not pick the Cleveland Indians, so bet the house on them. But their pitching staff is atrocious. The Detroit Tigers are a mess and the Chicago White Sox have too many holes in their lineup. The Kansas City Royals will be a fun team this year. I love Trey Hillman, they have a nice one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Gil Meche and Zack Greinke, and assuming the ugly finish to his spring wasn't a harbinger of things to come, an exciting closer in Joakim Soria. If I had any guts I'd pick them. I'll be a wuss and take the Minnesota Twins behind a resurgent Francisco Liriano.

A.L. West: Even with Kelvim Escobar, John Lackey and Ervin Santana out for the beginning of the year, even without Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez and Garret Anderson, I still think the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will continue to annoy people by winning the West. The Oakland A's and Texas Rangers just don't have the pitching, while the Seattle Mariners don't have anything.

A.L. Awards: I might as well be a total homer and predict Mark Teixeira will be the A.L. MVP. For those who do not live in the New York area and care about such things, John Sterling's ridiculous home run call for Teixeira is "There's a 'Tex' message in the upper deck (or wherever the ball landed). You've made your mark, Teixeira!" Yes, two puns in one home run call. It is only slightly less annoying than "an A-BOMB... from A-ROD!" Do you know Sterling has been calling Yankee games for 21 years? That means anybody under the age of 25 or so knows no other radio voice for the Yankees. That is just appalling. As for the A.L. Cy Young, I guess I have to go all-in on the Twins and give it to Francisco Liriano.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
N.L. East: Am I the only one sensing disaster with the New York Mets? It's hard to realistically gauge this team as I am constantly exposed to WFAN, where every host except for Mike Francesa is a huge Mets fan. I will concede Johan Santana is likely the best pitcher in the N.L., but let's not forget it was just a year ago everyone was whispering about how he might be hiding an injury. He wasn't exactly dominant last year -- his K/9 went from 9.7 in '07 to 7.9 last year, and that's with the pitcher hitting. Ut-oh. If Santana goes down, it's going to be a very ugly inaugural season at CitiField. And even if he stays healthy, he'll have to win 25 games. I just don't see it. I'll take the Philadelphia Phillies -- Cole Hamels is just missing one start, right? Gulp -- followed by the Atlanta Braves, and then the Mets, followed by the Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals.

N.L. Central: I really can't imagine anyone catching the Chicago Cubs. I know the Cincinnati Reds are everybody's dark-horse favorite at the moment thanks to all the promising young guns in the rotation, but it's never a good idea to entrust an up-and-coming pitching staff to Dusty Baker. I think the St. Louis Cardinals will make it a race, but in the end they'll settle for the wild card. The Milwaukee Brewers just lost too much, the Houston Astros are heading in reverse and the Pittsburgh Pirates are still trying to get out of park.

N.L. West: The Wild West should be a fun division again. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a terrific lineup but no pitching. The San Francisco Giants have a nice rotation but no offense. The Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks have a little of each. (The San Diego Padres will challenge the Pirates and Nats for the worst record in baseball, and just might catch them if they trade Jake Peavy before the deadline.) If the Giants had just a couple more hitters, I'd pick them to win it, but come on -- can a team with Bengie Molina as its clean-up hitter win a division title? I'm guessing, just like last year, the Dodgers will win it with a winning percentage just north of .500.

N.L. Awards: Oh why not, let's give the MVP to Manny Ramirez just to piss off Red Sox Nation. And I will continue to pretend that his elbow is sound and give the Cy Young to Cole Hamels.

POST-SEASON
A.L. Playoffs: Yankees over Angels, finally; Twins over Red Sox. Yankees over Twins.

N.L. Playoffs: Cubs over Dodgers; Cardinals over Phillies. Cubs over Cardinals.

World Series: In a rematch of the first-ever games at the new Yankee Stadium -- not to mention the '38 and '32 World Series -- the Yankees finally pick up No. 27 and sweep the Cubs. Hey, I've predicted the Yankees will win the World Series every year since birth; so far I'm 6-31!

Are You Prepared For the Milano Effect?

D.Isaac pointed me to this and I just had to be the millionth guy on the Internet to write about.

Forget about performance enhancing drugs. MLB might have to ban Alyssa Milano.

The little girl from Who's the Boss is now all grown up. (Man, is she ever.) And apparently she has a thing for baseball players, particularly pitchers: Carl Pavano (2003), Barry Zito (2004-2005), Brad Penny (2005) and Tom Glavine (2006-2007). (The Who's Dated Who website claims she also dated Greg Vaughn -- but he was an actor, not the baseball player.)

And, as Beanster on The Hardball Times noted, Zito, Pavano and Penny all were mediocre while dating Alyssa, then pitched much better immediately after the break-up (the "Milano Bounce") but then later crashed (the "Milano Meltdown").

Beanster doesn't include Glavine in his study, probably because Glavine doesn't follow the same neat path of mediocre while dating, good soon after, and then awful. He was good while dating her (2006), mediocre after the break-up (2007), and then awful (2008). Maybe it was true love. But, c'mon. Glavine? You're like a hundred years old, dude. Stay away from my sweet Alyssa. It's bad enough Pavano spilled his ragu on her.

Milano is supposedly swearing off baseball players and is now engaged to agent David Bugliari, so maybe we've seen the last of the Milano Effect. Or will it be distributed to all the people David represents?

Paging Richard Simmons...

Until they start playing Spring Training games later this week, there's really not much for reporters to do in Florida and Arizona. After you've filed your daily quota of A-Roid stories, what else is there to write about? There's the occasional elbow twinge and shoulder tightness story, and maybe if you're lucky you'll find a pitcher who tells you he's developing a new pitch or found a new grip for his change-up or what-have-you.

But if all else fails, write about weight.

Homer Bailey, Travis Hafner and Chase Headley each lost about 10 pounds. Bill Hall lost about 15. Jose Guillen lost 15 to 20 pounds. Oddly enough, Met infielders Luis Castillo and Marlon Anderson each lost exactly 17 pounds. Ryan Howard lost 20 pounds, while Aaron Harang lost 25. Brett Myers beat them out by losing 30, as did Jose Contreras -- even though he won't pitch for at least a few more months with a ruptured Achilles. It's so bad that one reporter noted that Lou Whitaker had lost about 20 pounds over the last two years. Great news for those looking at Whitaker as a deep, deep sleeper in your 50-and-over league.

But if you're serious about writing a weight story, there's just one man to talk to. Prince Fielder is "trimmer" this spring but won't say how much weight he lost.

"I don't like scales," Fielder said, chuckling. "Scales are not cool."

No advice from Prince as to how he lost the weight, except he says he's a vegetarian. But he also said he was a vegetarian last year, and he admitted he "got huge" last season. The man can scarf down broccoli like no one's business.

If you're looking for weight loss tips, just talk to Heath Bell. The newly annointed Padres closer says he lost 25 pounds thanks to his Nintendo Wii.

"It said I was obese," Bell said. "If you're obese, it makes [your character on screen] obese. I was disappointed that I was that big. I literally took the game to heart. I did the work but I kind of credit the Wii Fit."

The "biggest loser" I've found so far this spring is Carlos Silva, who reportedly lost 35 pounds. His secret?

Now, after painful yoga training and a nutritionist fine tuning his diet — cutting meals from two steaks to one; prohibiting meals after 7 p.m.; encouraging him to go to sleep by 9:30 instead of midnight—Silva has lost 35 pounds.

Dude, just one steak per meal? That is harsh!

What is quality?

You don't have to listen to a lot of sports talk radio to hear someone disparaging the quality start as a useless stat. "Three runs in six innings is a 4.50 ERA! If you have a 4.50 ERA that's quality? Sandy Koufax blah blah blah."

Well, if you consider the average ERA in the A.L. last year was 4.78, yeah, 4.50 isn't too bad.

But I think the problem is the word "quality." People want quality to mean "good" or even "great," not average or even slightly above average.

Yet if you argue with the very same guy ridiculing quality starts, ask him: What's a "winnable" start? I believe most baseball fans, even the ones who find the quality start a laughable statistic, would believe that if your starting pitcher gives up 3 runs or less in the first six innings, you have a chance of winning that game. Not a guarantee, but a chance. If your team loses a game 3-0 or 3-1 or 3-2, do you blame the starting pitcher? Or the offense? If a pitcher leaves the game with the score tied at 3-3, and the closer gives up a home run in the 9th, do you blame the starter for the 3 runs, or the closer for the one?

"Winnable" start. You immediately know what I'm talking about. Hey, that was a winnable start, but we didn't score enough runs, or the bullpen blew it.

Semantics, yes. But words matter.

Bill James once argued that fans and sportswriters don't pay enough attention to outfielder assists because of the word "assist." It sounds like he just sort of helped out while someone else did the work. Nick Markakis led the league with 17 assists last year. That's 17 baserunners he took off the bases -- not to mention all the baserunners who held up instead of testing his arm. That's pretty impressive, but how many people know he led the league in assists? He didn't even win a Gold Glove. James argued that people would pay more attention to outfielder arms if the stat had a cool name like "baserunner kills" instead of "assists."

I feel the same way about quality starts. People think it's a misleading term because, well, it is, because "Quality Start" shouldn't be used to describe what is essentially slightly above average. So they don't like the term, and then they don't like the stat, and they ignore it.

"Winnable Start." Try it on your friends.

Don't call it a comeback!

On second thought, yeah, let's call it a comeback.

I understand the hatred of Carl Pavano. Anyone who had been paying attention knew it was a dumb signing -- Pavano had one good year amid lots of injuries. But, four years and $39.95 million later, now the Yankees know it too.

But I don't get the "Pavano sucks" attitude I've been hearing on sports talk radio the last couple days. Pavano hasn't sucked. He hasn't been good, he hasn't earned his $39.95 million, he hasn't been what the Yankees apparently thought they were getting when they stupidly signed him in 2005, but he hasn't sucked. He's been either mediocre or absent.

2005: 4-6, 18 BB, 56 K, 4.77 ERA, 1.47 WHIP
2006: DNP
2007: 1-0, 2 BB, 4 K, 4.76 ERA, 1.24 WHIP
2008: ?
TOTAL: 5-6, 20 BB, 60 K, 4.77 ERA, 1.45 WHIP


Remember Ed Whitson and Steve Trout? Those guys sucked. They get an F. Pavano gets an incomplete. He just hasn't been here. I'm not sure which one is worse, the guy who shows up but can't get it done, or the guy who is borderline competent on the rare occasion he feels like playing.

Well, apparently he feels like playing now. We need a starter, so it's Pavano or Phil Hughes, who has been having a tough time in Triple-A (8.47 ERA, 1.65 WHIP). And personally, if you're going to rush a guy back, I'd rather it be Pavano. Or maybe you'd rather see Kei Igawa?

(Heck, if he was still with Alyssa Milano, I'd actually be looking forward to today's start. He also was dumped by Gia Allemand after he cheated on her. Apparently this wasn't good enough for Carl. He may have problems using his arm, but apparently not his penis.)

The knock on Glass Carl was that he pitched terribly -- or not at all -- until his contract year in '04, and suddenly he was good (18-8, 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP). That's not exactly fair as he wasn't terrible in '03 (12-13, 4.30 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), but Pavano hasn't done anything in his Yankee career to convince us that he is willing to play through even the slightest discomfort. (Stiff neck, tight back... Bruised buttocks, anyone?)

Now at the end of this season his contract is up. The conspiracy theorists should be expecting a good September, right? Suddenly he feels good enough to pitch again. If Carl wants another contract this off-season, he should be in line for five or six quality starts.

I'll take it.

Oh, and as I pointed out to D. Isaac yesterday -- of the five catchers Pavano has thrown to most often in his career, who has the lowest OPS allowed?

Of course -- Ivan Rodriguez. When pitching to Pudge, Pavano has allowed a .257/.307/.408 (.715 OPS) line, compared to .276/.330/.427 (.757) overall. Yes, Rodriguez caught him during his only good run ('03-'04), and yes, that was in the N.L. Still, it's something to keep in mind.

I'm not busting out the Carl Pavano jersey for today's start. I'm just saying let's wring whatever we can get out of this waste of a contract and move on.

That's just Favrevolous

As someone who roots for both the Packers and the Jets, this is a strange time for me. My favorite player has been traded from my favorite team... to my second-favorite team.

Sportswriters keep throwing around the divorce analogy when discussing the Packer situation. To carry it out a bit further, it's like your parents get divorced and you're going to keep living with your mom and her new boyfriend, Aaron Rodgers. Your mom seems to be genuinely in love with Aaron but he gives you a weird vibe. It's probably the porn 'stache. Or maybe that time he told you to "get on board now or keep your mouth shut." Awkward!

Meanwhile, on weekends, you'll be staying with dad and his hot new girlfriend, Brett Favre, who wakes up early to make you blueberry pancakes and lets you pick the radio stations and almost never wears a bra.

OK, this analogy is getting a little creepy.

But this trade does leave me with a funny feeling inside.

Objectively, I think it's a good trade for both sides. I thought before the trade the Jets would be a playoff team, probably winning 10 games, thanks to their play fairly easy schedule and revamped offensive line. I think Favre gives them one or maybe two more wins -- and they can't catch New England, but they're a dangerous team in the playoffs. Maybe they lose the AFC Championship game to the Patriots -- undoubtedly on a Favre interception in the final minute. But hey, you live by the Favre, you die by the Favre.

That would mean the Packers get a 2nd Round pick for Favre, which is a great value for a guy you had to trade. And the fact that you got him out of the NFC is a bonus.

I'm not crazy about Rodgers. As I said when this all started, I'd rather trade Rodgers and have one or two more years of Favre, then switch to Brian Brohm. Favre made that impossible, of course, so we have to move on with Rodgers. But that doesn't mean I'm rushing out to buy a No. 12 jersey.

Everyone keeps talking about that great half against the Dallas Cowboys, but remember, that was a Cowboy team with a big lead that had prepared to face Favre, not Rodger the Dodger. Aaron has happy feet in the pocket. The Packers offense is all about timing and routes; that's not going to work if Rodgers is scrambling at the first sign of pressure. I could see the Packers going 9-7, but given the strength of their conference, that might be enough to be a wild card, or even the NFC North title.

Wouldn't it be neat if the Packers played the Jets in the Super Bowl? That'd be the real test for me, wouldn't it? A week ago, no question, I'm rooting for the Packers in that scenario. Now, well... still the Packers, but the devil on my shoulder is hoping Favre sticks it to Ted Thompson one last time.

Yeah, so, in the end, I'm still living with mom and putting up with Aaron. But I'm really looking forward to the weekends.

Ted Thompson plays hard ball

Ted Thompson hasn't ruled out the possibility of Brett Favre playing for the Green Bay Packers this season, but in what he described as a messy situation the general manager remained loyal to Aaron Rodgers as the team's starting quarterback.
-- Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

And people say Brett Favre doesn't like this guy! Thompson sounds like quite the charmer.

If you had "benched for an inferior player" in your "How does Favre's consecutive game streak end?" pool, you might be in for some big bucks.

But although this is the way the story is being reported, let's not take it seriously for a minute. There is absolutely no way Favre comes back as a back-up for Aaron Rodgers. That's just silly.

So what's the point of this? To show Brett who has the hammer. And maybe, if they are exploring the possibility of trading Rodgers, it keeps his value up, at least a little. From Favre's point of view, it gives him the opportunity to say, "I'm still a good guy, I'll do what's best for the team." I'm sure his agent will play that card today or tomorrow. Even if Favre wants to be on another team, he has to do some rehab to his reputation. "Aw shucks I just wanna play football, I'll play linebacker if they need me to do that" is what everyone wants to hear.

But this may work itself out before too long anyway. Rodgers has made Nick Johnson look like Lou Gehrig, with a broken foot in 2006 and a pulled hamstring in 2007. Remember, this guy has never started a game. He's had 59 attempts in four years, almost half of those coming in the Cowboys game, and he's been hurt twice. (Both times oddly coming in weeks after Favre got hurt and was doubtful the following week.)

Would anyone be surprised if the Packers start training camp with Favre and Rodgers "sharing reps," but then Rodgers goes down with a strained oblique or a tweaked groin or Nintendo thumb? Then Peter King can do his huzzahs to the Iron Man and we won't have to hear about Rodgers again until next spring.

Not that I hate Rodgers or anything -- I really don't. I was "on board" when Favre was retired. But if my choice is the grizzle or the 'stache, I'll take the grizzle.

What to do about Brett

For the third straight season, Brett Favre has toyed with the emotions of Packer fans everywhere. Oh, Brett. I don't know how to quit you!

So, what to do in 2008? Frankly, I don't understand this argument that the Packers "owe" the starting job to Aaron Rodgers. Why do we owe anything to A-Rodge? He made a hell of a lot more money than I have since 2005, and we've started the same number of games. As I recall, some people thought Rodgers might go No. 1 in the 2005 draft, other mock drafts had him going anywhere from No. 3 to No. 5 to No. 8. Instead, after a few awkward hours of standing there like the kid picked last in kickball, he went 24th to the Packers. After three years of standing around in a baseball cap (when he wasn't on the trainer's table) and one good relief appearance in a blowout against the Cowboys last year, and now we owe him... what, exactly? Somehow more than we owe Favre?

Also, Aaron's comment about Packer fans -- "I don't think I need to sell myself to the fans. They need to get on board now or keep their mouths shut" -- didn't earn him a lot of points, either.

But then there's Favre. He obviously wants to play in the NFL for one more season (at least). But does he really want to be in Green Bay? Or has this been his plan all along, to retire and then unretire as a free agent?

There's two possibilities:

1) Brett wants out of Green Bay and nothing the Packers will do or say will get him to stay and be happy.

2) Brett will come back to the Packers, in which case you have to say screw Aaron Rodgers.

Let's explore Option 1. Can we all agree that in a Favre-less NFL, the Packers are the favorites to repeat as NFC North champs? Yes, we don't know what we have with Rodgers as our QB, but we know the Lions have Jon Kitna, the Bears have Rex Grossman and the Vikings have Tarvaris Jackson. All three of those guys had more INTs than TDs last year.

But if you put Favre on the Bears -- with Devin Hester and their defense -- and they're the division champs. Put him on the Vikings with Adrian Peterson, and they are. (You'd have to get the 1996 version of Favre to help the Lions.)

So I don't see how you let Favre just walk. He's a valuable commodity, first off, and secondly if you let him walk he very likely walks to a rival and maybe takes the NFC North title with him. If it's Option 1 and Brett won't come back, you have to trade him -- the Jets, the Texans, the Panthers, wherever. Favre has a no-trade clause, but the Packers have the hammer -- either agree to the trade, report to Packer camp, or stay retired.

If it's Option 2, and Favre can be convinced to stay in Green Bay for one more season, the answer is obvious: You trade Rodgers.

He's in the fourth year of a five-year contract, so if you bench him in 2008 to sit behind Favre, you figure he's going to be pissed -- and will walk after the 2009 season.

On the other hand, the Packers just drafted Brian Brohm, a guy some people thought would have been the first pick overall if he came out as a junior in 2007. Instead he stays an extra year in college and goes in the second round to the Pack. Now he gets a year of sitting behind Brett and gets thrown into the fire in 2009. Is there any evidence to suggest he'll be that much worse than Rodgers anyway?

Option 2: Favre starts, Brohm learns, Rodgers goes.

Here's hoping.

Same as it ever was...

Well, Yankee fans, here we are again, 20-24, 6 games out. But hey, look at the bright side - last year we had the very same record but were 10-1/2 games out.

And last year things got worse -- we'd finish the month 22-29 -- before they got better. But we went 72-39 the rest of the way.

So yeah, it's possible we'll do that again and win the wild card, maybe even the division. But wouldn't it be nice if this team could play all six months of the season, instead of only the last four?

It's just not easy to beat a guy like Oliver Perez with five lefties in the lineup (and when one of the righties is Alberto Gonzalez).


Perez vs RHB: .285 BA, .390 OBP, .398 SLG
Perez vs LHB: .094 BA, .269 OBP, .208 SLG


I don't know why Girardi left Morgan Ensberg and Shelley Duncan on the bench; you would think their only purpose in life is to mash guys like Ollie. If you aren't going to use them last night, why have them on the team? I do realize that Ensberg is hitting .214 (.179 vs LHP) and Duncan is hitting .194 (.240 vs LHP), but it's not like Giambi and Cano are hitting either. If they put Gonzalez at second, Ensberg at third and Duncan at first, do they win the game? Who knows. Maybe Duncan doesn't waste an out in the 4th inning the way Giambi did (trying to force Carlos Beltran instead of getting the easier out at first), and the Mets don't score 4 runs that inning. Maybe the offense produces more than 2 runs. Or maybe they get shut out, who knows.

All I know is this is a very frustrating team to watch right now, and when things were bleak last year, it was guys like Duncan who fired up the team and finally got them playing with some heart again.

Get them in the game, Joe. At this point, what do we have to lose?

Bobby Hill watch

I have not relented in my unhealthy obsession with Bobby Hill, not the kid from King of the Hill but rather the former can't-miss prospect who missed. Hill was a Scott Boras client who elected not to sign with the White Sox after they took him in the second round of the 1999 amateur draft; instead, he played a year with the independent league Newark Bears. The following year, the Cubs took him in the draft and he did sign. After a few years in the minors, but never really getting a shot to play, and a few injuries, he's now back where it all began, with the Newark Bears.

Through Newark's first 18 games, Bobby is still getting on base (.373 OBP) but is hitting just .246; he no longer has any speed and he never had much power. A .246 BA/.721 OPS from a second baseman wouldn't impress you if he did it in Triple-A, and this isn't even Triple-A. This is the Atlantic League, where the level of competition is uneven to say the least.

At least Bobby is out-hitting a couple other former phenoms, Randall Simon and Calvin Pickering. In fact, you could go through the Atlantic League and put together an intriguing roster of has-beens, almost-weres and never-wuzzes.

The Atlantic League's "Where Are They Now?" All-Star Team:

Starters:
C Jason Phillips (Camden) - .320/.393/.400 in 25 AB
1B Randall Simon (Newark) - .226/.258/.306 in 62 AB
2B Brent Abernathy (Long Island) - .320/.346/.360 in 50 AB
3B Brandon Larson (Somserset) - .338/.411/.508 in 65 AB
SS Alex Prieto (Bridgeport) - .191/.263/.235 in 68 AB
LF Curtis Pride (Maryland) - .212/.350/.318 in 66 AB
CF Val Majewski (Newark) - .300/.390/.400 in 50 AB
RF Carl Everett (Long Island) - .323/.440/.468 in 62 AB
DH Calvin Pickering (Bridgeport) - .161/.333/.339 in 56 AB

Reserves:
C Mike Rose (Long Island) - .156/.289/.219 in 32 AB
C/1B Matt LeCroy (Lancaster) - .129/.206/.226 in 31 AB
UT Bobby Hill (Newark) - .246/.373/.348 in 69 AB
UT Damian Jackson (Maryland) - .000/.222/.000 in 7 AB
OF Mike Vento (Camden) - .125/.200/.125 in 8 AB

Starting Pitchers:
SP John Halama (Maryland) - 2.36 ERA, 0.97 WHIP in 26.2 IP
SP Brian Lawrence (Camden) - 3.97 ERA, 1.37 WHIP in 22.2 IP
SP Eric Dubose (Bridgeport) - 4.50 ERA, 1.55 WHIP in 22.0 IP
SP Ryan Drese (Camden) - 4.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP in 20.1 IP
SP Jason Simontacchi (Long Island) - 6.43 ERA, 1.64 WHIP in 14.0 IP

Relievers:
RP Bret Prinz (Somerset) - 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 9.0 IP
RP Travis Wade (Maryland) - 3.12 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 8.2 IP
RP Wayne Franklin (York) - 3.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP in 16.1 IP
RP Jeff Farnsworth (Maryland) - 6.35 ERA, 1.59 WHIP in 22.2 IP
RP Will Cunnane (Newark) - 6.55 ERA, 1.91 WHIP in 11.0 IP
RP Brian Shackelford (Maryland) - 0.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP in 1.1 IP

That hurts!

The Yankees have suddenly been hit with a couple big injuries.

Jorge Posada has a "tear in his subscapularis muscle"... that doesn't sound good. What sounds even worse is he's going to go visit with Dr. James Andrews. Andrews had earlier said he didn't think Posada would need surgery, but the shoulder hasn't gotten any better. At this point all we know is he is probably going on the D.L. for the first time in his 13-year career.

Adding to the frustration, the Yankees just designated Chad Moeller for assignment, so now it's just Jose Molina and presumably Chris Stewart from Scranton (.270 BA, .737 OPS). Stewart is an intriguing fellow as he has a .386 OBP... in 37 ABs, he has 7 walks and 0 strikeouts. But don't get too excited -- he has a career .313 OBP (.252 BA, .361 SLG) in seven minor league seasons. If Moeller clears waivers maybe they'll bring him back, or troll the free agent catcher market and see who needs a job. Does anyone have Mike Lieberthal's phone number? I guess if all else fails we can always suit up Girardi for old times' sake.

Then there's Brian Bruney, who suffered the dreaded Lisfranc injury and might be gone for the rest of the season. I know Bruney wasn't high on anyone's pre-season "Yankees I hope don't get Lisfranc'd" list, but he was one of our best non-Joba middle relief options this year (11.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 6 BB, 12 K).

Luckily we have a lot of depth at Triple-A when it comes to bullpen help. Edwar Ramirez has been just filthy in Scranton (9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 13 K). Jose Veras (11.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 18 K), Heath Phillips (12.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 11 K) and Sean Henn (6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) have pitched well also. I think you call up Edwar and hope Ross Ohlendorff gets straightened out.

Your number is up...

So, LaTroy Hawkins has given up No. 21...

I have mixed feelings about this whole situation.

First, I don't really like Hawkins. The Yankees desperately needed middle relief help, but Hawkins? The guy with a career 4.70 ERA, 1.47 WHIP? Check his career numbers against Boston (5.23 ERA, 1.39 WHIP), Cleveland (5.27, 1.78) and Anaheim/Los Angeles (5.85, 1.73), the A.L.'s three post-season teams last year.

Most alarming of all, the Yankees have hit Hawkins to the tune of a 6.44 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and .327 BAA. Wouldn't it have made more sense for us to pay another team to take him? He helps us more when he's pitching for an opponent!

We've been collecting guys like this since the end of the great Ramiro Mendoza/Mike Stanton/Jeff Nelson triumverate. He's a proud successor to the heritage of Luis Vizcaino, Felix Rodriguez, Felix Heredia, Paul Quantrill and Antonio Osuna.

But there weren't a lot of great middle relievers available this off-season, and we needed somebody who could throw strikes. (For all his faults, he doesn't give up a lot of walks... just hits.) Frankly, Hawkins isn't a problem if he's a mop-up guy, and hopefully that's what he'll be as I'm assuming Joe Girardi knows that Brian Bruney and Ross Ohlendorf are both better options to bridge the gap to Joba and Mo.

But I think it was stupid to boo a guy for his number. If the Yankees wanted to retire No. 21, they didn't need LaTroy's permission to do it. And the bottom line is? I don't think the number should be retired.

Paul O'Neill was a very good player who I will always remember, but retired numbers should be for the true Yankee greats, and he wasn't. He's like Hank Bauer, Roy White, Tommy Tresh. Guys who are beloved by the fans of that generation, but an immortal? I'm sorry, but when you make your list of all-time Yankee outfielders, where do you put the Warrior? In terms of runs created as a Yankee, he ranks eighth (858), between Bob Meusel (876) and Tommy Henrich (856). Don't like runs created? OK, in career OPS, he's 9th (.869) among Yankee OFs, behind the likes of Charlie Keller (.928), George Selkirk (.883), and, again, Henrich (.873). If you want to use Adjusted OPS to take into account his era, it doesn't help your case: He's now tied for 13th at 125 with Hideki Matsui, Bernie Williams and Birdie Cree. (Henrich is 9th.)

I don't point this out to denigrate O'Neill, who, as I said, was a very good player and by all accounts a very nice, very funny guy. In 40 years, I will tell my grandchildren stories about O'Neill's legendary tantrums and the crowd chanting his name in 2001. It doesn't matter if there's a No. 21 plaque on the wall or not. And they'll think of O'Neill the way I think of Henrich, a very good player who belongs to my grandfather's generation.

I like what the Yankees had done with O'Neill's number, leave it out of circulation for a little while, then quietly bring it back. (Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd make Numbers 1 and 9 available again too, but that ain't gonna happen.) I don't remember any outrage when Morgan Ensberg wore 21 in spring training. I wonder what would've happened if he had just kept it? Could it be that No. 21 just looks better on a white guy?

All that said... Hawkins had a 9.00 ERA and 1.86 WHIP as No. 21; last night, as No. 22, he pitched two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out 2, and earned his first Yankee win. So maybe the fans were right after all.

What the hell do I know? 2008 edition

Last year I made some predictions about how the baseball season would go. I thought the Yankees would win the A.L. East and the Red Sox would win the Wild Card; flip those two. I had the Indians winning the Central; they did. I blew the West, picking the A's over the Angels. Whoops.

In the N.L., I picked the Mets to win the East, with the Phillies close enough behind them to win the Wild Card. Well, that almost happened, except the Mets decided to take September off, stumbling to a bizarre finish that left them a game behind Philadelphia and two games out of the Wild Card. Ah well. In the Central, I admitted I had no idea and threw a dart at the Astros. Yikes. They went 73-89, finishing 12 games behind the Central champion Cubs. In the West, I picked the Padres, who finished a game out, but that was only good enough for 3rd place. The D-Backs and Rockies tied, with Colorado going in as the Wild Card.

So now you know not to listen to me.

But what the heck, let's try again.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
A.L. East: As a Yankee fan I have no choice but to pick the Bombers. Both teams have some question marks in their rotations, but the Yankees have the better offense - let's not forget they led MLB with 5.98 runs per game last year, while the Red Sox were 4th (5.35), behind the Phillies (5.51) and Tigers (5.48). The Yankees gave the Sox a two-month head start and finished 2 games behind the Red Sox; this year it's the Sox starting with injury problems in their rotation. So, I'm taking Yankees followed by the Wild Card-winning Red Sox. I think the Rays and Jays will battle it out for third and the Orioles bring up the rear.

A.L. Central: Wow, people really love the Tigers. They may score 1,000 runs. They won't - but when you consider their pitching staff, will 1,000 runs be enough? It's possible the Tigers slug their way to 90 wins, and maybe that's enough to win the Central, but maybe not. I'll take the Indians again, followed by the Tigers, then the White Sox and Royals, with the Twins dropping to last place.

A.L. West: Well, even I've been convinced not to pick Oakland this year. I still hate the Angels, but the Rangers are such a screwed-up organization I just can't pick them. Every year they whine about pitching and every year they go out and trade for... batters. Nice. I know the Mariners won 88 games last year, but that was a fluke; on the other hand, they added Erik Bedard. Let's call it even and say they win 88 games again, which I don't think will be enough. So, Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A's.

A.L. Awards: Even though I'm picking the Yankees to win the East, I'll give the MVP to Manny Ramirez as he carries the battered Red Sox to the Wild Card with a ridiculous September, and give the A.L. Cy Young to, what the hell, Erik Bedard, though the Mariners come up short of the playoffs.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
N.L. East: They're bedeviled by injuries at the moment but I can't see the Mets collapsing again. They should post the best record in the N.L. I'm thinking the Braves will finish just ahead of the Phillies but comes up a few games short of the Wild Card. The Nationals are closer to 3rd than to last, but that still leaves them in 4th. The Marlins bring up the rear again.

N.L. Central: Same ol' same ol' out here. The Cubs have some more bats to go with their pitchers and should repeat as Central champs. Everybody else in this division is playing for .500. I'll throw them up in the air and say, Brewers, Reds, Cardinals (what's the over/under for the date of Albert Pujols's season-ending elbow injury?), Astros, Pirates, but who cares.

N.L. West: This is a tough division; you can make a case for anybody except the Giants, who might be the worst team in baseball. Arizona and San Diego have great pitching, Colorado has a good offense and Los Angeles has a little of each. I think the Rockies hang around for awhile but can't keep up; that leaves three teams battling it out for two spots. I think the Diamondbacks come out ahead, and then let's make Joe Torre happy and say the Dodgers get the Wild Card - of their last 13 games, 10 are against the Pirates and Giants, and three are home against San Diego. That leaves the Padres sulking in third place, the Rockies in fourth and of course the Giants last.

N.L. Awards: Mediocre A.L. pitchers look good when they go to the N.L.; how is Johan Santana going to look? But I work with too many pessimistic Mets fans, who have convinced me he'll break down sometime in August. Let's say Brandon Webb takes his second Cy Young in three years, and David Wright wins the MVP.

POST-SEASON
A.L. Playoffs: Yankees over Indians (no bugs this time), and Red Sox over Angels. Yankees over Red Sox in the another 7-game classic.

N.L. Playoffs: Mets over Dodgers; DBacks over Cubs. DBacks over Mets in 6.

World Series: Finally, revenge for the 2001 World Series. Yankees in 6.

Why does anyone care?

Maybe it's a good sign that there's so little drama in Yankeeland this year - what, no one cares any more if A-Rod and Jeter still have sleepovers? - that the biggest story out of spring training is that Billy Crystal is going to suit up and play in tomorrow's game against the Pirates.

When I first heard this, I was like, "whatever." And then I heard people calling WFAN and ESPN Radio and whining about how horrible this was, what a sacrilege, what an insult to the game, and I thought about what they were saying, and I was like... "whatever."

Is it hatred of Billy Crystal or hatred of the Yankees or just general pissing and moaning in general that has convinced anyone to care about this? Spring training is just that, training. The games don't count. They play college teams and split squads and minor leaguers with numbers you normally only see on wide receivers.

And why hate on Billy? It's going to be his new best day.



I wonder how many of these same idiots complaining about one game with Billy Crystal remember that Garth Brooks did this -- in three spring trainings! -- including going 0-for-17 with the Mets in 2000. Somehow that's not an insult to the game, because, uh... Garth is a big star? I dunno. Hell, George Plimpton did this 40 years ago and wrote a book about it. And do I even have to bring up Michael Jordan?

If it's OK for Yankees to pretend to act, it's OK for actors to pretend to be Yankees.



Look, the bottom line? If Billy Crystal playing in a meaningless spring training game makes you mad, maybe you oughtta try hitting a pillow.

There are no words...

OK, maybe two: Thanks, Brett.

This isn't about sports, but...

I'm sure everyone has seen this commercial by now.



Now, does anyone else watch this commercial and identify more with the geeks than the cool kid, "Chad"?

When Chad says, "So what level Dungeon Master are you guys?", I said "Dungeon Masters don't have levels" at the same moment they did!

I guess whoever made this commercial has figured out that geeks are cool now, because they've turned the geeks into wiggers.



Yeah, that's not too played.

A lot of people I ask about the "dungeon master" commercial know it's for a cell phone, but they either don't know which one or think it's for Verizon. It's actually for Alltel. But considering how stupid the commercials are, maybe it's better that people are confused.

No longer the king of the hill

It's a great day for the Newark Bears: The defending Atlantic League champions have re-signed Bobby Hill.

No, not the kid from King of the Hill.



No, not Renko's partner from Hill Street Blues.



This is the Bobby Hill who was drafted by the White Sox in the second round of the 1999 amateur draft, but super agent Scott Boras told him to hold out and instead play the 2000 season as a shortstop with the Newark Bears. Hill, a 22-year-old switch-hitter, hit .326 with a .442 OBP and stole a franchise-record 81 bases. He also had 13 home runs and 82 RBIs.

As I've mentioned here before, I saw Hill play a few times that year. Now, the Atlantic League isn't anywhere near the majors -- it's mostly has-beens, could'a-beens and never-wuzzes. So the level of talent wasn't great, but still, Hill was just on another planet. If you've played beer league softball, you know how you can spot the ringer 'cause he's the one guy shows up wearing actual baseball pants? Well, in the Atlantic League that year, Hill was that guy. Everyone else comes up to the plate hacking and slashing; he'd be the guy taking a strike and fouling off tough pitches and holding up on sliders in the dirt and driving the ball the other way. He could run, he could hit, he could field. You just knew he'd be a star.

The following year, Hill was drafted by the Cubs and eventually signed with them. He hit .301 (.394 OBP) with 20 SBs in Double-A; in 2002, he hit .280 (.367 OBP) with 29 SB in Triple-A, got promoted to the majors and hit .253 (.327 OBP) in 190 ABs as a second baseman. But the Cubs sent him back to Triple-A in 2003, where he hit .269 (.339 OBP), then near the end of the season traded him (as the player to be named later) in the deal that landed them Aramis Ramirez.

Hill played almost all of 2004 in the majors, hitting .266 with a .353 OBP in 233 ABs (but 126 games) for the Pirates playing second and third. You'd think that'd be enough to stick the following year, but you don't know the Pirates. He again bounced between Triple-A and the majors in 2005, hitting .241 (.336 OBP) in Triple-A and .269 (.343 OBP) in the bigs. Then he got traded to the Padres -- for a pitcher named Clayton Hamilton -- and spent all of 2006 in the minors. He hit .282 with a .396 OBP, but the Padres never called him up. They released him at the end of the year and he missed all of 2007 after undergoing back surgery.

I think it's a smart move for Hill. Maybe GMs don't like what happened with Boras after the '99 draft. Maybe Hill has fungus on his shower shoes. Or maybe they're just more comfortable with guys like Mark Bellhorn - a guy ahead of him on the depth chart with the Cubs and the Padres, even though Bells hit .209 in '03 and .190 in '06.

Whatever the reason, it seems obvious he wasn't going to get a chance to make the bigs, even as a utilityman, despite a respectable MLB career batting average of .262 (.343 OBP) in 523 AB, and .277 (.367 OBP) in 1,424 AB in the minors. Now he's 30, and it seems most of his speed has left him, and who knows if he can still play short. The Bears might be his last chance to showcase what's left of his skills and maybe get a ticket back to the big leagues.

I'm hoping to see him in Newark this summer and see something of the kid who looked like a future star just eight years ago. Even if it's just a glimpse.