Press Row: Jeter still the leader
Some assorted news from the papers for your perusal and discussion on Sunday morning:
Derek Jeter is still the best shortstop in town, beating out the Mets’ Jose Reyes on account of his presence in big-game situations, leadership and experience, opines Kevin Kernan.
Jeter’s last World Series ring, of course, came back in 2000 against the Mets. All these years later, Jeter is still waiting for another to close the gap on Yogi Berra’s 10, Ian O’Connor writes.
The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez need each other now and in the future, Bob Klapisch says.
30 years tomorrow, the contentious relationship between Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin came to a head in the dugout at Fenway Park, as M.A. Mehta recounts.
And a happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. On this one, as Kat O’Brien details, Jorge Posada is especially thankful and hopeful.
Talk to you all later tonight from Yankee Stadium, where the Bombers go for the series win in a nationally televised ESPN game behind Chien-Ming Wang. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez is on the bump for the Mets; first pitch is at 8:05 p.m. ET.
Bryan Hoch
As a father myself, I can empathize with Jorge’s family’s plight, and thankfully they have the means to treat their son. I have the utmost respect for the hard work they’ve done to raise money and awareness for people battling this defect. My good friend Frank the Sage’s daughter had the same condition at birth, and thankfully one major surgery corrected it. As a father, you’ll endure anything for your family, but it’s so hard to have to watch your children suffer.
A great article.
http://heartlandpinstripes.mlblogs.com/
not to copy dan patrick, but arod is ‘en fuego’…. again. i understand cashman’s policy of re-signing guys after the season, but i wish we’d do something about mo and posada NOW. i don’t know what we do about arod’s contract. do we bid against ourselves (since we own the current contract) and buy out his opt out clause? i say yes (pay him an extra X $million to take that out of his contract). somebody correct me if im’m wrong,but didn’t pettitte take offense to yankees not signing him before his contract expired, thus he left for houston. i would HATE to lose posada, mo, or arod by hacking one of them off (or more likely not letting them know they are needed and wanted)
We miss El-Duque, he must be close to 60 now and still looks like he can pitch.
We should showcase Igawa for a trade. I hope Clippard and De Salvo stay in triple A.
dwlittle, if my memory is correct, Pettite took offense to not only the Yankees’ not making the effort to re-sign him the year before his contract was up but also making little effort to contact him even after the year was done. Not re-signing Pettite was a huge mistake then, in my view. The guy was always a gamer for the Yankees and gave them some outstanding performances in pinstripes, never better than the 1-0 classic in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series. Just tops.
I too am interested to see what the Yankees will do regarding A-Rod, Mariano and Posada as you rightly mentioned. I don’t think the Yankees can do without any of those three.
http://heartlandpinstripes.mlblogs.com/
as usual, bob klapisch is dead on…losing A-Rod now would be a huge setback for this team
as FANTASTIC a player as miguel cabrera might be, i wouldn’t even consider giving up phil hughes and robinson cano…robbie is already an all-star, and one of those homegrown guys that will be a cornerstone of our future success…same with hughes, he’s such a promising potential ace that we can’t give him up
and naturally, i agree with you guys as far as jorge and mo…you just can’t put a price tag on them…better get it done, because seeing them in another uniform would be an absolute travesty
I for sure would sign Posada and Mo, A-Rod although I am not to sure about, and I’m a huge fan of A-Rod, ever since he was with Seattle but he checks out in the playoffs, when the Yankees need him the most. I think if A-Rod is terrible in the playoffs again, he will option out, maybe to the Angels, but if he does well and finally feels comfortable in New York and feels accepted, he will stay.
I think it depends less on the playoffs and more on the rest of the season. From my point of view, there are four different ways this could pan out. A-Rod could finish out the year continuing on this current tear and put up career numbers, and the Yankees may not make the postseason. If this happened, I think A-Rod would definitely sign elsewhere. Another possibility is A-Rod’s production dropping off (it hurts me to even think of it) and the Yankees, again, not making the postseason. If this happened, I think neither the Yankees or A-Rod would have an interest in resigning. The third possibility would be that the Yankees DO make the playoffs, but A-Rod chokes yet again. If this were the case, and A-Rod had remained productive all year, I think we would still see him in pinstriped in ’08. Finally, if the Yankees make the playoffs and A-Rod does well, obviously he will stay. I suppose the 5th and by far the most preferable possibility would be that the Yankees make the postseason with A-Rod still hot, and then win the World Series.
On the bright side of all this, just think of all the money that would become available for other signings if A-Rod did indeed opt-out. We’re talking about some nice free agent acquisitions this coming offseason. I (through a long inner struggle) have come to really like A-Rod in the past year, and have accepted him as a votal piece to the Yankee puzzle, but if he were to go I think we should keep in mind that we have the blessing of being New York Yankee fans, so we will find the help we need elsewhere.
Bryan, is there any website or link that will show what major leaguers will be free agents, who has contracts with what teams, and for how long? I’m always wondering about this but never know where to look. I’ll post in a more recetn blog too.
manhattan, ian browne has a link to a site with ALL baseball contracts on his s/u/x blog
and, manhattan, free agency is risky and even dangerous
A-Rod’s a sure thing, and it would be an absolute DEBACLE to lose a future hall of famer in his prime for NOTHING
no amount of cap space can compensate for that embarrassment