MoneyBall vs CashBall

I would have plenty to comment on the Yankees postseason moves...if there were any. Usually there are transactions and plenty of distractions, but this year there's mostly inaction.

Don't get me wrong I think the brain trust knows what it's doing, but this is just boring. They re-signed Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte to 1-year deals. And just now as I write, Kevin Youkilis has signed a 1-year deal to hold down third base for a bit. And all signs point to Ichiro re-signing for one year as well. There is Moneyball, and there is Brian Cashman-brand CashBall.

This is not a calm before the storm, but rather a method to the madness - as I mix metaphors. The Yankees' over-inflated payroll has cost the team a fortune in salary cap luxury tax. Now after seeing the exponentially diminished ROI on the A-Rod investment, they are being a lot more frugal to keep their payroll in line. As opposed to teams like the Dodgers.

The 1-year deals make sense, not just for the veteran pitchers, but for Youkilis as well. Alex Rodriguez still has multiple years left on his contract and will be set back by hip surgery to start the year. It would be difficult to see him playing anything other than DH when he returns. And if he can't hit, that would make for a very ineffective DH. Youkilis is a proven hitter (though not last year) and a strong defensive 3B.

There is still a fairly large hole at the catcher position, after Russell Martin signed a free agent deal with Pittsburgh. I don't have a problem with this as I see catcher as a defensive position first, and it's not like Martin set the world on fire with his bat (.211, 21 HR in 2012). For historical reference, the Yankees replaced Mike Stanley with Joe Girardi in the mid-90s, which coincided with a dynasty. Hmm.

But the Yankees now are down to three catchers on the 40-man roster: Chris Stewart, Francisco Cervelli, and Austin Romine. We don't expect much at the plate, but which of these perennial backups and career minor leaguers will handle a venerable pitching staff?

What you do see is an emphasis on speed: Brett Gardner, Chris Dickerson, Eduardo Nunez, and Ichiro Suzuki (if he's back) are all guys that can steal 30+. So what we see here is not only a re-shaping of the Yankees organizationally, but on the field as well.

The upcoming season promises to be interesting, even if the offseason hasn't been.

When It All Crumbled: The 2012 Tipping Point

It was shortly after Midnight, Sunday morning October 14th. A freak play in the 12th inning cost the Yankees their shortstop, leadoff hitter, and captain. More importantly they lost their rudder - and their soul.

The Yankees bats were barely alive before Derek Jeter went down, and flatlined after. Hiroki Kuroda pitched his ass off the next day, but he was playing alongside The Walking Dead, in a sneak preview of the season premiere later Sunday evening.

Joe Girardi didn't have any answers. All the magic moves he made all season suddenly collapsed. And where was the on-field leadership going to come from?

Robinson Cano? Too nonchalant.

Mark Teixeira? Too humble.

Ichiro Suzuki? Claims he doesn't speak English. And if he did...

Alex Rodriguez? Marginalized.

People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening... And no one dared disturb the sounds of silence.

Because they all took their silent cues from one man.

If Jeter had been lost like Mariano Rivera, in May, the team could have (and ultimately would have) found their way. Leaders would have been born after the shock wore off. But on October 14th the Yankees went into shock, and by October 18th they weren't yet out of it. Which of course meant they were out of it.

Do you think, do you really think the Alex Rodriguez circus would have taken off like this if Jeter was physically there to counsel Girardi in Detroit? No way.

And let's give some credit to the Tigers as well. There wasn't just a team that got swept away, there was an excellent team that did the sweeping.

A Saturday Away From The Fray

It's unusual that I get a Saturday off in the fall (or winter). It's quite the out-of-body experience to catch glimpses of afternoon college football from my own kitchen. But bouncing around for the weekend with the kids isn't such a bad Plan B.

First, the White Bluff Burger King for breakfast. Entirely their call. Breakfast and an indoor playground, and I concurred since I knew I'd get to break in my next book. It was maybe the slowest and most understaffed counter service I've ever experienced at a fast food restaurant. It was beyond frustrating but I have to admit, the food wasn't bad. And the kids ate plenty. E-Man astutely pointed out that fall began at 10:49 AM.

On to Star Bike. C-Love is dangerously close to losing the training wheels, but her legs get longer every day and she had just outgrown the old one. I carry a wrench every time we ride now as I am constantly hiking up the seat or the training wheels, so I splurged on a used Raleigh Retro Sixteen.

The staff told me she should be good for the next couple of years. The kids both got new helmets and we were on our way home. We read some books and played video games, while I made lunch and kept track of the football scores and tried to keep one eye on the Yankee game in what has become a gripping AL East pennant chase.

The Yankees were up 5-4 on Oakland in the 7th when we pulled up at the theater to meet two other families for Finding Nemo 3D.

Now I like Pixar films as much as the next dad, and this is a good one. But I'm sure Finding Nemo was far more ground-breaking in its 2003 debut than in the 3D re-release. The kids look cool in the glasses but the 3D thing doesn't do much for me.

The saving grace was that through an incredible stroke of luck, the Yankee game was still going in the bottom of the 13th when I got to the car. I heard the amazing rally from 4 runs down (fortunately ESPN Radio had it and I wasn't forced to listen to John & Suzyn) but didn't catch the triumphant 14th as we all did pizza at a friend's place.

I got home and searched for highlights and game stories. I reconstructed the late innings, extra innings, and historic comeback as best I could in my own mind and was going to renumerate it here. But there was a level of drama and tension I couldn't possibly reenact having not watched it.

What I can say is that Ichiro Suzuki is in rare air this week. In the last 5 games, he's 14-for-20 (.700), bringing his average up to .335 in 56 games in Pinstripes.

The other prong in all this drama is that the Orioles won another extra-inning game today themselves, the 16th straight such win for the math-defying O's. And if there's any wonder how great they've been playing: the Yankees have won 7 straight, and the Orioles still only trail by 1 game.

I was convinced that September baseball is more compelling than September football. But last night's results with Kansas State, Oregon State, Rutgers, and a resurgent Notre Dame scoring huge wins throw that argument back up in the air. And there's still NFL today - if you can get around your life and get situated to catch it.

Ichirolling!

In the middle of the 1999 season, the Seattle Mariners made the move from the cavernous and outdated Kingdome to state-of-the-art Safeco Field.

Before the 2001 season, the Seattle Mariners signed Ichiro Suzuki from the Orix Blue Wave of the Japanese Pacific League. The money was big at the time ($14M) since no Japanese non-pitcher had ever made a mark the US.

Ichiro of course was a sensation in Seattle, bringing the Pac Rim to the ballpark in their #51 jerseys every night. So Safeco Field marketers weren't dumb. The sushi/sake stand was very popular, which included the "Ichiroll," which wasn't anything exotic - a spicy tuna roll - but still far from the standard ballpark fare.

The first time I had sushi at a Major League venue was October 3, 1995 in the press box pre-game at Dodger Stadium, at the height of the Hideo Nomo frenzy. It was also the day O.J. Simpson was found "not guilty" on murder charges. Yes, I was in LA. Dodgers-Reds NL Divisional Playoff Game 1.

But I digress as usual. Like working with Don Criqui, Memory Lane isn't always a straight path.

Anyway I wonder if Suzuki, even in his heyday ever had a 3-game series like this one with Toronto. Two more hits last night, a solo HR, and 3 RBI makes him 9-for-12 in the series sweep and brings him up to .321 as a Yankee - only one point off his career average.

Suzuki is 38, and his skills this year seemed to be diminishing. But streaks like this prove that he's far from done, and his career resume may still have a few lines that are yet to be written.

The Yankees won ugly last night, but Nick Swisher hit a grand slam and Phil Hughes though largely unimpressive, won his 16th. Now the Yankees have won 5 straight, are 1 full game up in the AL East with 13 to go, and trade the Jays in for the smoking-hot A's for a weekend set at the Stadium.

Yankees Find Newest Hiro, But Can't Shake Birds

All season, Yankees starter HIROki Kuroda has served as the rotation's stopper (14-10, 3.26, over 200 IP). I argue that you could start him in Game 1 of the playoffs over CC.

And last night the real IcHIRO Suzuki stepped up. In a doubleheader vs Toronto that the Yanks needed to sweep, Suzuki did it all: 7-for-8 total at the plate, the super game-winning catch in Game 1 and a 4-hit, 4-steal nightcap, where he drove in the game-winning run to boot.

He didn't look like a guy on the gradual career decline, he looked like they guy who hit .350 four times in his career. In fact since his acquisition from Seattle on July 23, he's hit .317 in Pinstripes. It reminds Yankee fans (or at least this one) of the late-season, late-career surge of Tim Raines who hit 7 HR down the stretch in September 1996.

But there were plenty of heroes on Tuesday. Andy Pettitte (Raines' former teammate) returned from a DL and pitched 5 unblemished innings. David Phelps went deep in the Game 2 start, sparing the bullpen - except for Rafael Soriano who amazingly nailed down Saves #41 & #42. Oh yeah, and Derek Jeter got his 200th hit.

Meanwhile out west, the MLB's feel-good story Orioles did it again. Even Yankee fans appreciate what they're doing, we just wish they'd be battling for the Wild Card instead.

They battled King Felix Hernandez to an 8-inning stalemate, and took the game into the 11th when Adam Jones launched his 30th to break the tie and then they record the final out on a caught stealing.

It was a mind-bending 15th straight extra-inning win. This one only kept me awake until 1:23 AM ET as opposed the 18-inning marathon the night before. The incredible O's did what they had to do, taking their last 4 games on the west coast. And they are 39-20 in the last 2 months.

It's worth pointing out again that for the first time since 1995, there is a much greater significance in winning the division over the wild card.

A Mound Of Trouble

It's August 7th and the Yankees still hold the AL's best record, but they have been humbled badly twice in the last three days.

On Saturday, Seattle's Felix Hernandez dismantled the Yankee lineup effortlessly with a 2-hit shutout. He wore long sleeves on a 91-degree day and needed just 101 pitches.

Last night, Detroit's Justin Verlander did his thing. While King Felix just cruised, Verlander got the hammer out striking out 14 in 8 innings, allowing just 2 unearned runs. He even struck out Ichiro Suzuki 3 times, who hadn't whiffed in over 2 weeks.

Now there's no shame in losing to, or even being dominated by back-to-back Cy Young winners. Unless you're the Yankees and a 100-win season is where you meet the bar. Only getting to the World Series will exceed it. And being automatic outs for the league's best pitchers isn't the way to achieve that goal.

While CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda have been horses in the Yankee rotation, they have not pitched consistently enough to be counted on every single start.

And there were other disturbing signs last night. Yankee starter Ivan Nova looked very uncomfortable again. After going 16-4 last year, and starting 9-2 this year, Nova has lost 4 of 5 and is in serious need of repair or he may find himself back in the bullpen.

And three time zones away, the Angels' Jered Weaver shut out Oakland to go to 15-1. Just another guy who could personally blow up the Pinstripe chances in October.

I would use an expression to describe how out-of-sync the Yankee hitters look against these guys, but I've used up the profanity allotment for my lifetime.

Surreal in Seattle

Last night at Safeco Field could best be described as a parallel universe. There was Ichiro Suzuki taking his usual spot in his home ballpark in right field. Except he was wearing #31 and Yankee road grays, facing off against the only Major League team he'd ever played for.

So after 9 years with the Orix Blue Wave (Japan Pacific League) and 11 full seasons with the M's, 17 total All-Star Games, 17 Gold Gloves, 9 batting titles, and 4 MVPs, Ichiro at 38 now takes on a new challenge. It will be the only time in his career where he isn't the centerpiece of a team.

Some may say there go the Yankees getting richer again, but the trade makes perfect sense for both sides. The Pinstripes pick up a declining hitter (career low .261 avg) but a first-class baserunner and outfielder. He is expected to fill the role of LF Brett Gardner who's out for the season with an elbow, so the bar is set moderately low. The Mariners pick up 4 prospects since the team is going nowhere anyway, and get something for their aging star in the last year of his contract.

Ichiro will bat in the bottom part of the lineup, play an unfamiliar LF and will sit against some lefties. Apparently he signed off on his new role before accepting the trade. And the timing was perfect as the Yankees realized they needed some tweaking after getting swept 4 straight in Oakland.

To make things even weirder this particular Monday evening, the winning pitcher in the Yanks 4-1 victory was Hiroki Kuroda, the 37-year old former star of the Hiroshima Carp of the Japanese Central League.

After an inconsistent 4 years with the Dodgers and first month with New York, he is now pitching brilliantly.

On top of that, A-Rod flashed some old Seattle muscle (7 years with M's) with a mammoth home run late. And then finally, the final out off the bat of former Yankee Jesus Montero landed in Ichiro Suzuki's glove in RF.

There's always been sort of a mini-controversy as to how Ichiro Suzuki should be referred. The back of his jersey in Seattle said "Ichiro" instead of his proper surname. That issue is now off the table as neither the Yankees home nor road jerseys have names.

That fits for the Yankees' newest outfielder, who will just be blending in.