Joe Is Out! Rejects $5 Mil+ Deal

Lifelong New York Yankees fan Martin Silver encourages passersby to sign a petition to save Joe Torre's job as manager of the Yankees during a rally he sponsored near Times Square in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Silver hopes to gather a million signatures to send to Tampa where the team's hierarchy has been meeting to decide whether Torre can keep the job he held for the past 12 seasons.

Shocker from Yahoo Sports! Joe is out as Yankee manager.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Torre rejected a $5 million, one-year contract to return as manager of the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Torre, who had held the job since 1995, made an unannounced trip from New York to the team's spring training complex in Tampa, Fla., accompanied by general manager Brian Cashman and chief operating officer Lonn Trost. Yankees president Randy Levine said Torre turned down the offer during the meeting, which lasted about one hour.

"It is now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," Levine said.

Torre made $7.5 million this year, the final season of a $19.2 million, three-year contract. His new deal would have included substantial bonuses for each round of the playoffs the team reached.

"We felt we needed to go to a performance-based mode," Levine said. "We thought it was very fair. It clearly was at the top of the market, but we respect Joe's decision."

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What else could Joe do? That's a huge pay cut. If you were making $75 grand and you had won major awards for your company, then your pay was slashed to $50 grand, what would you do?

But who the hell is gonna run this team now? Mattingly can't do this. I would prefer Joe Giradi over him, but he's younger than some of the vets on the team. LaRussa is okay with me too, but people keep saying he's bad with the media. I don't care. If he could win a championship with that joke of a Cardinals team in '06, he can advance the '08 Yankees to the World Series.

Is Davey Johnson available? How come no one mentions him anymore?

One and Done

Doug Mientkiewicz of the New York Yankees kneels in the infield after failing to throw out Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians during Game Four of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium. The Indians won 6-4 to take the series 3-1.(AFP/Getty Images/Jim McIsaac)

Do Or Die

New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens leaves the game in the third inning against the Cleveland Indians during Game 3 of an American League Division Series baseball game Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007 at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Wow, look at the faces in that picture of those mean-ass fans, tearing Roger a new one as he limped off the field last night. Was that necessary? Luckily, Phil Hughes came in and saved the Yanks' bacon, at least for one night.

Thank God we won that game. I didn't want us to get swept.

I can't believe that Cleveland is going with Paul Byrd! If it was me, I'd pitch Sabathia on short rest. I wouldn't be surprised if Byrd suddenly "pulls something" right before game time and they switch starters.

Chien-Ming Wang is capable of bouncing back and winning this game (he's 10-4 at home), but I'm concerned about the fact that Joba won't be available (30+ pitches last night). That means they may bring in Farnsworth, and I'll have to turn off the TV if they do.

Hey, Derek Jeter -- try not to hit into a freaking double play tonight, okay?

Rockies Continue to Roll

Colorado Rockies' Kazuo Matsui, right, is sprayed with champagne by pitcher Franklin Morales after the Rockies beat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of a National League Division Series playoff baseball game on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007 at Coors Field in Denver. The Rockies sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies advanced them to the National League Championship. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Unbelievable. The Rockies have lost like one game in the last two and a half weeks.

Although it's interesting to see new blood in the League Championship series, you gotta assume that the brass at TBS will be looking at some seriously poor ratings as the D-backs and Rockies, expansion teams from the 90's, fight it out to decide who represents the NL in the World Series. They had to have been praying for a Phillies/Cubs match up that would draw on large established fan bases.

As for this afternoon's Red Sox/Angels game, it would be nice if the Angels won one game, but I doubt it.

As for the Yankees, I don't care if we win or lose. I dreamt that we got blown out early and lost by the same score that the Mets lost by last week -- 8-1. If we win, I'll be ecstatic of course, but we don't deserve to win. Torre is incapable of thinking outside the box in the playoffs. It's not his nature. He did it last year when he stuck Sheffield and Matsui, both coming off of hand surgeries, in the postseason lineup and killed the chemistry established by Melky. He's done it again in this series by starting ailing Matsui at DH for two games when we have a healthy Shelly Duncan and a healthy Jason Giambi on the bench. Both of those players came off the bench and got hits and Matsui hasn't sniffed one yet.

I don't want to hear anything about A-Rod. He's not the problem. He's hitless, but so are Posada and Matsui. Jeter, Cano and Melky are all hitting under .200. The only one doing anything is Bobby Abreu! He may have saved his job here.

Lord Of The Flies

New York Yankee head trainer Gene Monahan rubs bug spray on New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain as small insects swarm around in the eighth inning of Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the Cleveland Indians Friday, Oct. 5, 2007, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

**SIGH**

We had this one won, I tell you. Andy didn't allow a run in 6.1 innings. We had Job for the 8th and Mariano for the 9th and we were going to head back to New York with a split. I felt good about our chances against Cleveland's third and fourth starters.

So what happens?

A swarm of insects descends on the Jake, a disconcerted Joba walks the leadoff batter in the 8th, the batter takes 2nd on a wild pitch, take 3rd on a bunt and scores the tying run on another wild pitch.

I knew the game was over then, even though it lasted another three innings before Vizcaino gave up the bases loaded hit.

Ironically, before the plague of locusts fell on Joba like a biblical curse, I was worried about Mariano in the 9th. I was worried that he might not be able to hold a 1-run lead and I was hoping that Joe would roll the dice and keep Joba in there. Naturally, Mariano pitched an effortless 1-2-3 9th. If Joba had held the lead, we would've won the game, 1-0.

I don't know what's wrong with this team. We don't play competitive post-season baseball. We can't manufacture runs. We're looking at getting swept now.

Please win games 3 and 4. PLEASE!

Oh, and game 5, too.

Dammit!

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James holds up his New York Yankees hat during the fourth inning of Game 1 of an American League Division Series baseball game between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

I predicted that we were going to lose, but I didn't want to be right. And we got ROCKED, too, to the tune of 12-3. Chien-Ming Wang didn't have shit.

Please, please, please let Andy win tonight. I just don't want to get swept. Baby Orlando was giggling at me while I prayed.

At least Derek Jeter fan LeBron James had a good time.

Oh, BTW, I like how an inept YES Network cameraman ran over our 1st baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and possibly ruined him for the postseason! Probably a Red Sox plant!

The Unkindest Kaz of All

Colorado Rockies batter Kazuo Matsui hits a grand slam in the fourth inning in Game 2 of their MLB National League Division Series playoff baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia, October 4, 2007. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES)

Don't look now, but little ole Kaz Matsui, who was run out of town by the Mets, has 5 RBI today against the Phillies, including a Grand Slam!!

Rockies are kicking the Phillies asses, 10-4 in the 7th.

Looks bad for the Phillies, though J-Roll and Ryan Howard both have homered in the game.

Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting... But Man, Is It BORING.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett wheels to look at a line drive single off the bat of Los Angeles Angels' Vladimir Guerrero in the ninth inning of Game 1 of an American League Division Series playoff baseball game against Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007 in Boston. Beckett pitched a complete-game 4-0 shutout. The Red Sox and Angels play Game 2 in Boston Friday night. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

God, what a boring-ass game that was. The Angels looked so overmatched, they look like they might get swept. I couldn't see the Phillies/Rockies game because it was on in the middle of the freaking day and the Cubs/D-Backs game was on in the middle of the freaking night.

Hey, that reminds me of that Jodeci song:

Every freaking day
And every freaking night...

Playoff Predictions

Okay, I'll keep it short and sweet:

Cubs vs. Diamondbacks -- D-backs in 5. Although the Cubs (and the whole NL Central) are weak, if the Cubs were to win the series it would be because the D-backs have a lot of rookies on their team. Though the Cubs as a team haven't been in the postseason in a few years, many of their players have (Soriano, Lilly, etc.)

Phillies vs. Rockies -- Tough one. It's unfortunate that the two most exciting NL playoff teams will meet in the first round. Phillies in 4.

Red Sox vs. Angels -- Red Sox in 4. The Angels are as bad against the Red Sox as the Yankees are against the Angels.

Yankees vs. Indians -- Yankees in 5, though I could see the Yankees losing this one. I have no confidence in Mussina pitching a game four, and I can only pray that Clemens can summon up whatever he has left to win game three. We will probably lose game one in Cleveland to Sabathia with our lefty-dominated lineup.

Mr. Met Goes Home

ROFL!

He Never Touched The Bag!

Colorado Rockies base runner Matt Holliday (R) slides safely into home to score the winning run past San Diego Padres catcher Michael Barrett (L) on a sacrifice fly by Jamey Carroll (not pictured) in the 13th inning of their MLB National League Wild Card tiebreaker baseball game in Denver, Colorado, October 1, 2007. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Congratulations to the Colorado Rockies on winning the NL Wildcard!

But the winning run was BOGUS! Holliday never touched the bag!!

Whatever. They're an exciting team and I wanted them to win. The Padres only had to win two games in the last four days and they couldn't do it. So much for "the greatest reliever ever" Trevor Hoffman. Seven blown saves this year. SEVEN!

Not So Amazing

Philadelphia Phillies' Jimmy Rollins points skyward after hitting a triple in the first inning of a baseball game with the Washington Nationals, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007, in Philadelphia. The Phillies won 6-1 taking the Eastern Division Championship.(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Well, the greatest collapse in regular season history now belongs to the Mets. The game was over in the top of the first, as Glavine only recorded one out and gave up a whopping 7 earned runs. If not for a wild pitch by Dontrelle Willis, the Mets would've been shut out.

There will be some riveting radio tonight (and for months to come, I expect) about what went wrong with the Mets, whose fault this is and what should be done for next year. There'll be a lot of talk about firing Willie Randolph. This collapse isn't his fault. If you have a bullpen that can't hold a 5-run lead, what are you supposed to do? Every single pitcher in that pen went south in September. No one could be trusted.

If you have starting pitchers and position players in their 40's, how much can you expect from them? This is not unlike what the Yankees went through, but they had young arms in the minors that were able to rescue the club. This looks more like a GM issue, but even there it's not clear how much Omar Minaya could do, especially mid-season when it was clear that they needed pitching help, but so did every other team.

As for the one-game tie-breaker tomorrow for the NL Wildcard, I'm picking the Rockies. They are tough at Coors Field (they swept both the Mets and Yankees there in June/July) and they're a better offensive team than the Padres.

Man Up!

Florida Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez (L), New York Mets Jose Reyes (2nd L), third base coach Sandy Alomar, Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera, Dan Uggla (2nd R) and Miguel Olivo (R) scuffle on the field in the fifth inning of their MLB National League baseball game at Shea Stadium in New York September 29, 2007. (Jeff Zelevansky/Reuters)

It took a near no-hitter to do it, (and two brawls) but the Mets managed to live another day as they blanked the Marlins and the Phillies fell to the pesky Nats.

I smell a tie-breaker on Monday. I hope it goes down to that. Hell, I'm hoping for a four-way tie so there's a double elimination scenario -- Met vs. Phillies and Rockies vs. Padres on Monday with the loser of Mets/Philles playing the winner of Roclies/Padres on Tuesday.

I'd like the Phillies to take the East and the Mets to win the Wildcard to set up a HUGE seven game NLCS if they both get past the first round.

BTW, seemingly forgotten in the Mets 13-0 blowout of the Marlins was the fact that in the 3rd inning before Milledge's second homer, Jose Reyes stood at the plate and watched a pop up, failed to run to first, and was called out. With their fucking season on the line! What's in his head? It was only the third inning and the Marlins have already showed in the last ten days that they're perfectly capable of putting a ten-spot on the board.

Unbelievable!

Have we settled the "who's the best shortstop in New York" question yet? Jeter would pull that shit. Hell, what about who's the best shortstop in the NL question, for that matter? Jimmy Rollins wouldn't have done that. They booed Reyes' ass the next time up, and rightly so. In the instant poll the broadcasters set up, 80% of the viewers said Randolph should've benched him. That wasn't going to happen, of course.

Meet The Mess

New York Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca hangs his head in the dugout after after the Mets lost 3-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals in a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007, at Shea Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Ed Betz)

The Mets (87-72) were ahead by seven games with 17 remaining but have lost 10 of 14 overall and seven straight at home. No major league team has failed to finish first after having at least a seven-game lead with 17 to play.

Whoa! Shit is hitting the fan in Queens.

I can't believe this team is underachieving like this. Actually, the Mets are not unlike the Yankees, but unfortunately for them, they've chosen to bite the big one at the end of the season, not at the beginning.

Metstradamus, who writes a very entertaining Mets blog has been chronicling the agony:

Hope? Not for me. We're done. I'll pray I'm proven wrong. It will be futile. Any team that lets a first inning error by their second baseman, and a journeyman pitcher who was picked up off the scrap heap by a team that's out of the money dictate their night is exhibiting the classic signs of a team that is playing nervous, scared, whatever you want to call it. I'll go so far to say that if you used the C-word in this instance, you wouldn't be wrong. And any fan base that sings the "Jose Jose Jose" like it was a funeral march knows exactly what's going on.

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Unlike him, I think they'll be fine. It'll probably come down to a one-game tie-breaker on Monday, but they'll be fine.

On another note, I have to say I'm very impressed with the Phillies. Such heart! And the Rockies have won 11 in a row. How. HOW??

Sweet

New York Yankees' Joba Chamberlain, right, and Alex Rodriguez celebrate after the team clinched a playoff berth with a 12-4 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

What a crazy season! I freely admit that I did not think I'd be posting the above picture when we were 14.5 games out on May 29. That's about the time that I stopped doing my podcast. However, I should know by now that you can never count out the "evil empire."

This picture, however, is pushing it:

Link swiped from Can't Stop the Bleeding.

Funny Clemens Commercial

Fall 2007 TV Season

OMG, I can hardly find time to post on this blog any more! :(

Anyway, the new Fall TV season is here, and there are a few shows to catch up on. I spent the weekend watching most of season 3 of Battlestar Galactica. I have about four episodes left.

Man, did that season suck. I stopped watching in November and I didn't miss much. More on that later.

I see that they're remaking the Bionic Woman. I have a bad feeling about that show (that it will be sleazy), but I will watch the pilot.

As for Heroes, I hated the season finale, but I will continue watching just to see if it gets better.

There's a new vampire show, I think on CBS. How can that NOT be terrible?

Looks like a wasteland for fantasy and sci-fi TV this season...

The Machine is Us/ing Us

R.I.P. Scooter

Phil "The Scooter" Rizzuto passed away on August 14, 2007 at the age of 89. He was such a funny, upbeat guy. He made all of those awful Yankees teams of the 80's seem like they were going to win something when I was watching. He was an incredibly humble person, considering he had seven championships and an MVP award under his belt.

The current crop of broadcasters are all about the stats and it’s funny how people who never had the talent to actually play the came come off as so critical. Scooter, on the other hand always had an entertaining anecdote, and he was doing shout-outs before that term existed.

He will be missed.

You know technology is part of your life because...

You know technology is part of your life because:

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.