AL East race, September 5, 2010

NYY 86-51 [4-1 in SEPT] 
TBR 83-53 [2-2 in SEPT] (2.5 GB)

MLB.com: Long ball burdens Hughes as Yanks cooled

Phil Hughes gave up three home runs as the Yankees’ eight-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday in a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays.

MLB.com: Four homers not enough for Rays against O’s

Tampa Bay tied a season high with four homers in Sunday’s game against the Orioles. But it wasn’t good enough for a victory, as Baltimore’s four-run sixth inning proved to be enough to let the Orioles hang on for an 8-7 win over the Rays in front of 28,268 at Camden Yards.

Matthews: Javy Vazquez showed, voiced disappointment after being pulled in fifth with the lead

Javier…bar dem clubhouse doors!

Joe Girardi no longer trusts Javier Vazquez to get even one more out in the fifth inning of a game the New York Yankees are winning by two runs.

And Vazquez no longer respects the manager enough to hide his displeasure until he reaches the sanctuary of the clubhouse.

All this was on display in full of 47,478 spectators at Yankee Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Even after the Yankees had gone on to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5, and having had nearly two hours to cool off, Vazquez was still steaming.

“I was disappointed, really disappointed,” an uncharacteristically tight-lipped Vazquez said in an otherwise upbeat clubhouse. “It could have been a better outing, but the fact that I got taken out early, that wasn’t good.”

When Girardi came out to get Vazquez, with runners on first and second, two out and the Yankees holding a 5-3 lead in the fifth, the veteran right-hander threw both his hands skyward in a gesture of agitated disbelief. It was clear he was muttering something as Girardi came to take the ball—although afterward he said he couldn’t remember saying anything—and he didn’t walk off the field so much as stalk off it.

...Vazquez’s face had the empty look of a man who has suddenly come to realize that his days with the company are numbered, that his boss no longer has faith in his ability to do his job and whatever future he may have hoped to have there is now in ruins.

AL East race: September 4, 2010

NYY 86-50 [4-0 in SEPT] 
TBR 83-52 [2-1 in SEPT] (2.5 GB)

MLB.com: Bullpen up to challenge as Thames homers

The Yankees’ bullpen was again the story on Saturday, tossing 4 1/3 shutout frames for the second consecutive day in New York’s 7-5 win over the Blue Jays.

Yahoo.com: Showalter wins 900th as Orioles beat Rays 8-4

Sherman: Yankees should bat Jeter at bottom of order

Jeter is a concept
By which we can measure

There are many ways to think about a lineup, but there is one inarguable concept when constructing a batting order: You want your best hitters to bat most frequently.

So why does Derek Jeter continue to hit in one of the top two spots in the order?

The short answer is because he is Derek Jeter.

At this moment, Jeter is the weakest link in the everyday lineup, which means he should be batting eighth or ninth.

...But this is not about removing Jeter from the 2010 everyday lineup. Pressure games are coming and the Yankees know Jeter will not be unnerved in those situations. This is about recognizing that there is no meritocracy when it comes to Jeter. When, for example, Javier Vazquez lost his fastball, he lost his rotation spot. Jeter has metaphorically lost his fastball as a hitter, becoming a groundball metronome who hardly ever strikes the ball with authority. Yet he not only does not lose playing time, he continues to bat more frequently than more deserving teammates.

I directly asked Girardi whether, if Jeter’s name were Joe Smith, he still would be hitting atop the lineup.

“Yes,” the manager said. “I don’t know if a change would bring shockwaves [to the clubhouse]. All I know is that I believe in Derek.”

I don’t believe in Fat Elvis…

AL East race: September 3, 2010

NYY 85-50 [3-0 in SEPT] 
TBR 83-51 [2-0 in SEPT] (1.5 GB)

MLB.com: Yanks motor on to seventh straight win

With Derek Jeter getting a routine day off Friday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi trotted out a lineup with Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson hitting first and second, respectively, for the first time this season. It turned out to be a pretty good idea.

Yes, in their 7-3 win over the Blue Jays, the Yankees were propelled by a little G-force at the top of the order. The pair of speedy left-handed-hitting outfielders combined to reach base seven times, score four times and drive in four runs, tormenting Toronto pitchers all afternoon.

MLB.com: Garza tops O’s to kick off Rays’ road trip

Matt Garza yielded a run on five hits to win his third straight decision, and the Tampa Bay Rays didn’t lose any ground in the playoff race, earning a 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night in the opener of a nine-game road trip.

Calcaterra: We’re still using “Moneyball” reference to bash the A’s? Really?

Mr. Madden, your BrainSeepuStar multi-media virtual video glasses should arrive in time for the Moneyball opening.

When you read stuff like this from the Daily News’ Bill Madden, you have to ask yourself two questions: (1) At what point will columnists stop using a now seven year-old book as a hook to write about the A’s? and (2) would Billy Beane have been better off if he had never provided Michael Lewis the access to write “Moneyball” in the first place?

  Bud Selig and the major league poobahs ought to be ashamed to be charging major league prices of $100 and stiffly upward for what amounted to be the $200 million world champions vs. Sacramento. What’s especially wrong with this picture, however, is that these are the same Oakland A’s that, in Michael Lewis’ 2003 best-selling book “Moneyball” - now being made into a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt as A’s GM Billy Beane - were depicted as the model franchise for all of baseball because of their ability to make the most out of spending the least.

Given the time that has passed—one of the main subjects of the book has retired already for cryin’ out loud—I can’t help but wonder if it’s really all that enlightening to critique the 2010 Oakland Athletics by referencing the book. And really, given that teams like the Yankees owe a lot of their recent success to co-opting and improving upon many of Beane’s ideas, it’s rather amusing to see “Moneyball” slammed over and over again like it is.

Joe Posnanski: Derek and the Dominoes

Tell the truth, Poz and Michael Schur…tell the truth.

Which brings us to the main character of our blog saga … Derek Jeter. I have been thinking a lot about Jeter the last couple of days because (name drop alert) I went to have drinks with Michael Schur — brilliant creator of “Parks and Rec,” and Ken Tremendous of Fire Joe Morgan — and the entire conversation was more or less about Derek Jeter. Michael admits that he spends most of his leisure minutes these days thinking about Derek Jeter. Well, what else is there to think about? His Red Sox are toast. Tiger Woods’ story has gotten repetitive (He’s back! Oh, wait, no he’s not back! Excuse me, yes, he IS back. Oh, no, wrong, he’s not back). The NFL preseason might be bizarrely popular (the NBC preseason games have been the No. 1 shows on television for the week) but they aren’t much to think about. That leaves Jeter and what promises to be the most fascinating ending in the history of professional sports.

...But now he’s back to the player he looked to be two years ago. As Schur points out, not without some glee, Jeter’s sub-par numbers this year — let the record show that on Sept. 2, 2010 Yuniesky Betancourt (95 OPS+) had a higher OPS+ than Derek Jeter (94 OPS+) — don’t even tell the whole story. Jeter’s stunning numbers (.266/.331/.374) are really pumped up by the energy and hitting atmosphere of Yankee Stadium. On the road he’s hitting .230/.294/.307.

We can argue about how much Jeter has left … but when you have a 36 year old shortstop with a .314 lifetime average suddenly hitting .266 in September — it sure smells of serious and irreversible decline.

AL East race: September 2, 2010

MLB.com: CC allows just one hit as Yanks sweep A’s

CC Sabathia continued his regular-season unbeaten streak at Yankee Stadium, turning in a dominant performance as the Yankees completed a four-game sweep of the Athletics, 5-0, on Thursday.

Curtis Granderson, who replaced an injured Nick Swisher in the second inning, provided the bulk of the offense with a pair of home runs in New York’s sixth consecutive win

NYY 84-50 [2-0 in SEPT] 
TBR 82-51 [1-0 in SEPT] (1.5 GB)

A-Rod, Boras split

Alex Rodriguez is no longer represented by Scott Boras, the power agent who negotiated for him the two highest-paid contracts in baseball history, USA Today reports.

The Yankee slugger now is working with Pittsburgh sports attorney Jay Reisinger and Washington lawyer Jim Sharp, who have been handling his legal and government affairs since February 2009. The USA Today report says Reisinger confirmed the relationship.

Andy Pettitte Moves Closer to Return - NYTimes.com

What’s the over/under on how many secons before Vazquez gets booed?

For all the tumult that has engulfed the Yankees’ rotation during Andy Pettitte’s absence, it will probably not look much different when he returns.

For one thing, Javier Vazquez will be back. And A. J. Burnett’s spot is safe, regardless of how he pitched Wednesday night against Oakland. Manager Joe Girardi announced these moves about 30 minutes before Pettitte continued making progress in his recovery from a left groin injury, throwing 55 pitches at a high intensity.

MLB.com: Rays fall victim to Jays’ 10-run inning

Tuesday night’s game had real potential for the Rays. But that was only at the beginning, long before the Blue Jays strung together a 10-run inning and ruined all the fun.

Toronto’s offensive explosion in an eventual 13-5 win over Tampa Bay took away some of the focus from Rays starter Jeff Niemann, who was trying to rebound after his last, equally rough, outing.
...
The 10-run assault tied a Rays club record for most runs allowed in a single frame, and was the first time it had happened at Tropicana Field. Conversely, it was the first time Toronto had scored 10 runs in an inning since July 25, 2007, when the Blue Jays scored 11 against the Twins.

MLB.com: Yanks close August alone in first

A’s Braden to Yankees fans: ‘Don’t disappoint’ - NYPOST.com

He’s starting early. Just imagine how great he’ll be at getting kids off his lawn some day.

The mouthy Oakland A’s lefty is slated to start against the Yankees at the Stadium—the first time he’ll face them since he and Alex Rodriguez feuded on April 22, when A-Rod crossed Braden’s mound in Oakland after an out, and Braden snarled “Get off my mound!” at the Yankees third baseman.

MLB takes shot at Ivan Nova over injections

Hyperdermicnova?

Major League Baseball is investigating Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova and minor league hurler Wilkin De La Rosa for allegedly injecting each other with B-12 shots last season when they were teammates at Double-A Trenton, The Post has learned.

Though B-12 isn’t on the list of baseball’s banned substances, the focus of MLB’s investigation is on the possibility the two players injected each other. MLB also wants to make sure that the shots were indeed B-12.

Nova was not available for comment before the Yankees’ 9-4 loss to the White Sox.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he was unaware of the investigation, and MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said, “We don’t discuss the work of our investigative group.”

WSJ: Barra: The U.S. vs. Roger Clemens

With the recent announcement that a federal grand jury has indicted former pitcher and seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens for perjury, Americans can once again breathe easy. Apparently the economy, unemployment, two wars, terrorism and illegal immigration are under control, and Congress and federal investigators can once again devote their time and energy to the issue most vital to our national welfare: the use of performance-enhancing drugs by major-league baseball players.

Never mind that there was no criminal penalty attached to anything Mr. Clemens is accused of using—if there were, José Canseco, who has written two books bragging about his use of steroids, would be serving time. Never mind, too, that when Mr. Clemens is said by his accusers to have used such substances, they weren’t even banned from Major League Baseball: the Basic Agreement between the Players Association and owners forbidding the use of PEDs didn’t take effect until 2004.

And let’s disregard as irrelevant the judgment of baseball analysts such as David Ezra (author of “Asterisk: Home Runs, Steroids, and the Rush to Judgment”) and J.C. Bradbury (author of “The Baseball Economist: The Real Game Exposed”), who have studied PEDs and Mr. Clemens’s performance and found no statistical evidence that, even if he took PEDs, he gained any advantage from them.

To be used as a mevalonate pathway to Barra’s earlier VV piece.

Fleisher Alley: Talking cutters and Pearl Jam with Kerry Wood

Flying turd monkeys! I see my crapiddly Green River 45 on Tasque Force is now going for over 3 bills!

The only reason I even knew this before discussing it stems from the only time I went to Wrigley Field on August 3, 2007.  I was there for a Pearl Jam show and Wood happened to catch the ceremonial pitch from lead singer Eddie Vedder.

So with that memory, I mentioned to Wood I was a big fan, having seen them 20 times.  When I told him about the Halloween show that closed down the Spectrum in Philadelphia, his eyes lit up with that look that said “No Way Dude”.

Anyway, here’s the lowdown on his fandom of the band.

He became a fan like many of us, growing up in high school.  Wood finally met him sometime during 1998 and went to a show, though he couldn’t recall which one. He said former teammate Mark Grace introduced him to the band.  He also usually sees them every year, even flying in from Cleveland with some teammates to see a show in Chicago.

As for getting to hang with the band, he has nothing but good things to say and hanging out after a show is always an amazing experience that lasts deep into the wee hours.

Wood couldn’t pick a favorite album probably because that’s a tough choice but he said how can you wrong with “Ten”.

So there you have it from a relief pitcher with good tastes in music by liking Pearl Jam and in pitch selection by mixing in a cutter.

Mitchell: Cano, Pedroia and MVP Second Basemen

(In deep husky psyllium husked voice) “Harrumphnagle! It’s the damn Lazy Show compared to the Laser Show, if you ask me!”

Cano’s 2010 fits into no such narrative.  The story of Cano in 2010 is six foot tall second baseman slugs the ball well all season, while playing excellent defense as well.  Cano is not a scrappy heart and soul kind of guy who puts up good numbers with little power.  He is a slugger who happens to play a pretty good second base.  Thus far, the numbers suggest that Cano in 2010 has been a better fielder than Pedroia was in 2008.  Cano’s range factor per nine innings is 5.22 this year, significantly better than Pedroia’s 4.75 in 2008.  Cano is also 4 total fielding runs above average thus far in 2010, one better than Pedroia’s total in 2003.  This will also be hard for voters to recognize, as the belief that big slugging middle infielders are not as good fielders as smaller guys with less power is well accepted.

There is some precedent for slugging second baseman to win the MVP award, most recently Jeff Kent in 2000.  Joe Morgan also won back to back MVP awards in 1975 and 1976, but Morgan in those years was a truly extraordinary player who, in addition to hitting for power, was a great base stealer and defender, so was difficult to characterize as simply a slugger.

Cano and Pedroia are both 26 years old and among the best second baseman in the game.  The rivalry between the two players could energize the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry for years to come.  It is likely that fans of both teams believe they have the best player.  This is supported by the narrative, but the numbers suggest that Cano has become the better player.  It will be interesting to see if the awards voters reflect this.

N.Y.Times: Forman: “Keeping Score: The Number Beyond M.V.P. Numbers”

A.L. M.V.P. ... Cano (6.3 [WAR]) is the front-runner, with tremendous offense and good defense at a premium defensive position. He has been the Yankees’ best player by nearly two and a half wins this year.

N.L. M.V.P. ... Roy Halladay (6.3 WAR), Adam Wainwright (6.1) and Tim Hudson (5.9) have been more valuable than [Adrian] Gonzalez thus far. But the M.V.P. award has not gone to a starting pitcher since Vida Blue in 1971, and the voters are not likely to change that, barring a Bob Gibson-in-1968 performance.

AP: Roger Clemens Will be Arraigned Monday

Clemens will appear before United States District Judge Reggie Walton to answer charges of lying to Congress about his use of steroids. ... The 48-year-old Clemens was charged with three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of Congress. Under current sentencing guidelines, a conviction would most likely bring a 15- to 21-month sentence.

Freeman: Dave Winfield didn’t need steroids to put his stamp on baseball

One by one, the steroids dominoes have fallen in baseball. The list of finger-waving, needle-pricking cheats has grown to the size of a well-stocked grocery list. Dave Winfield, a legend who made the Hall of Fame the right way, has been watching closely. Just like the rest of us.

“I watched a lot of players over the past decade do some spectacular things and was in awe,” Winfield said in an interview with CBSSports.com, “and then everything fell apart. You weren’t sure what to trust.

“It’s sort of the lost generation in baseball. A bunch of those guys took calculated risks and got caught. They were busted. Now what happens with the Hall of Fame and with legacies?”

... Winfield is a truth teller, not a steroid user. But he dislikes wading into controversy so what he says next is interesting because Winfield is taking a stand not enough veterans from his era have done.

“Look at Mark McGwire and his home runs,” said Winfield. “He hit them out of the park so in one way they’re legit. But they’re suspect, too. You’re putting me on the spot by asking what I would do with him and the Hall of Fame. I’ll leave that up to the voters and they haven’t put him in.

“Let’s say I definitely don’t disagree with [the voters]. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Thanks to Frank Snook into MLB.

Marchman: Few Have Played Shortstop at Jeter’s Advanced Age

Woo-hoo! I have Jeter’s “The Senescence of Hitting” book on Amazon’s pre-order already!

Before this season, it would have in some parts of the city been controversial to suggest that Derek Jeter is but a man, as prone to age and frailty as anyone else. With three-quarters of the 2010 season in the books and the Captain at career lows in batting, on-base and slugging average, though, anyone without Mr. Jeter’s face tattooed on their bicep is probably ready to admit that he looks quite mortal.

But as Yankeeland bigwigs try to decide just what to do given that the revered legend’s contract is up this fall, they should be worried less about how well he might do at shortstop over the next few years than whether he can play there at all. Since 1952, just six men have played more than 400 games at shortstop after turning 36: Omar Vizquel, Ozzie Smith, Larry Bowa, Luis Aparicio, Maury Wills and Barry Larkin. These names and their relatively meager numbers suggest it isn’t generally hitting that earns an ancient shortstop his playing time. So while Mr. Jeter is, even in his diminished state, quite good at the plate for his position, the question is more whether he can field.

Without reviving an old controversy, and acknowledging that he’s won four Gold Gloves, it’s fair to say that even at his best Mr. Jeter wasn’t the defensive peer of Mr. Wills, let alone Messrs. Vizquel and Smith. But this season, Mr. Jeter’s glove is worth the equivalent of -11 runs using Baseball Info Solutions’s ‘Runs Saved’ metric, which measures a player’s defensive output. That’s worst among all Yankees and 33rd among the league’s top-35 shortstops.

Raissman: Kay and Singleton downplay news of Roger Clemens’ perjury indictment on YES broadcast

It’s okay for the (not for long!) SingleKay to give out breaking news tweets and texts from the extravagant Sweeny Murti wedding though…

Seriously though, why would the brainiacs running YES, or suits in the Yankees front office, offer Clemens a cloud of media cover by initially blacking out news of his indictment? Maybe they don’t want their voices discussing the possibility of Andy Pettitte having to testify at a Clemens trial. Or the fact that any other current Yankee who was around Clemens when he was with the club could be subpoenaed.

Beyond that, the franchise has distanced itself from the Rocket. He has no current value, marketing or otherwise, to the Yankees or Al Yank. Nonetheless, there’s still some affection. Kay’s “report” was sympathetic, his tone melancholy. Cue the weeping violin.

“I don’t know if he lied to Congress but I’ll tell you this, on a personal level I got along great with Roger Clemens. I liked him. I thought he was a great guy,” Kay said. “I know this is probably a difficult time. If he brought it on himself he’s going to have to suffer the consequences, but we’ll see how this plays out.”

Ken Singleton yanked on the same emotional thread, calling this Clemens thing a “sad situation.” Singleton warned: “Indictment is one thing, conviction is another.” Wow! That bit of keen insight should land Singleton an analyst gig on YES’ coverage of Clemens’ trial (anyone laughing yet?).

Dayn Perry: Interview: Dave Winfield

DP: You had a lot of success in New York–some really great seasons as a Yankee–but because of the Steinbrenner controversy and the “Mr. May” thing, I think some people look back on those years as somehow being a disappointment. Does that perception bother you?

DW: When I was there it was difficult. There was so much negativity. These days, I think people look over the whole of my career and realize what I accomplished. The people who saw me play in New York knew I could play the game. But at the time it was really difficult.

...DP: Did Steinbrenner ever apologize to you, man to man, for what he did?

DW: Yes, he sent me a card and said he was sorry for what happened, and I accepted. He apologized privately, but some of my friends were like, “He needs to apologize in public.”

DP: So you would have preferred a more public apology.

DW: I guess I would’ve preferred that, but that was mostly my friends talking. What he did was enough for me.

Dave Winfield once sent over a round of drinks to me and my wife for our anniversary. And even though he was wearing severely ill-fitting leather pants…I’d like to give him a public thank you.

Globe Sports: Bautista shoots down steroid rumours

And he’s in full compliance with the tough WWE Wellness Program!

Were he surfing the Internet, the 29-year-old outfielder’s sunny demeanour could easily have turned sour, with more and more conjecture cropping up in cyberspace that his sudden discovery of home-run power must have been fuelled by steroid use.

“I haven’t heard it once,” Bautista responded evenly when asked for his reaction to the unfounded allegations. “Nobody’s said anything to me, and I don’t see why they should. Baseball has a strict policy against those performance-enhancing whatever you want to call them.”

No doubt the debate will continue, with Bautista increasing his major league-leading homer total to 40 with two more Monday against the Yankees – including the eventual game-winning run on a solo shot in the eighth inning to lift the Blue Jays to a scrappy 3-2 win.

...He said there is nothing nefarious behind his dramatic power surge, that he just tinkered with his swing on the advice late last season.

“It’s not a secret and I didn’t reinvent the wheel,” Bautista said. “I keep saying it because it’s the truth. It’s as simple as getting [his swing] started earlier, and I’ve got Cito and [hitting coach] Dwayne Murphy to thank for that.

“They kind of brought it to my attention and they worked with me extensively and it’s sort of the renaissance of my hitting. I owe it to them because without them it wouldn’t have been possible.”

...“If I can remain consistent, I don’t see why not,” he said. “I think I’m still pretty young. I keep myself in shape and don’t abuse my body.”

N.Y. Times: Cheering on Your Favorite Team With Your Lawn

“Lawn Logo” is about to hit the market, and as the New Jersey-based company behind it touts, “suburbia may never look the same.”

Starting with 14 major league teams, do-it-yourself kits first will be sold for an unspecified introductory price on QVC on Aug. 31. They will be sold at select retailers, including True Value and Ace hardware stores, with a suggested retail price of $129.99.

The kits, officially licensed by Major League Baseball, include a 52-inch reusable stencil and enough spray paint, in the team’s official colors and designed for grass, for several applications. There is no guarantee, of course, that the kits will not be used to paint the sides of houses, abandoned buildings or subway cars.

According to the company’s website, the teams available first are: NYY, BOS, CWS, DET, MIN, LAA, TEX, ATL, NYM, PHI, CHC, CIN, STL, and LAD

TYU: Derek Jeter-In decline or down year?

As Ed Achorn said today…“Jeter would have been a great player in Old Hoss Radbourn’s era.” But then again so would Cory Aldridge, but that’s another story.

Everyone knows Derek Jeter is having a down year this season. When he had a similarly bad year in 2008, fans began to question if it was the beginning of the end for DJ. But his huge 09 campaign seemed to erase those doubts. Which one is it? Was 2009 one last hurrah for the captain, the outlier in a downward trend? Or is 2010 just an unlucky year for Derek and we can expect a major correction to get his numbers back where they belong? Lets walk through this and see where the numbers lead us.

...In summary, most signs appear to point to an aging player who is simply running out of tricks up his sleeve. His propensity for hitting ground balls is most likely related to his declining numbers against fastballs, resulting in poor contact. His inability to drive the ball is likely a consequence of swinging at more pitches out of the zone, and he swings at bad pitches because he has to commit too early. 2009 appears to be the outlier, the overall trend is down since 2006/2007, depending on what you’re looking at. I don’t expect him to reverse these trends. If anything, I would expect his numbers to decline further next year. I can’t see him maintaining that BABIP facing power pitchers and I don’t expect his rate numbers to suddenly reverse themselves. If I’m Brian Cashman, I don’t offer him more than two years, and I suspect that even then he’ll be a part time/bench player by the end of the deal. A 4-5 year deal and you might as well set the money on fire.

Kriegel: More than Clemens’ stats are being exposed

I know what the Cream and the Clear do…but the krie Gel takes it to a whole nother level!

If Clemens did it—and I’d double down on the prospect of his guilt—he’s just one of many. True, with 354 wins on his major league resume, Clemens’ prospective conviction would corrupt the record books. But so what? Baseball’s sacred sense of numerological posterity was tainted years ago. If there’s reason to believe the home run record is bogus, then should you really care about the ninth winningest pitcher in baseball history?

Actually, yes. Again, not all sins of the performance-enhancing variety are created equal. And what so offends about Clemens is the notion—long propagated by his minions, his promoters (the Yankees, especially), and the man himself—that his success owed nothing to chemistry and everything to character. Unlike anyone else in the contemporary baseball, Clemens’ longevity was portrayed as a morality tale. The success he enjoyed late in his career owed even less to his talent than to his work ethic. He was supposed to be a better pitcher because he was a more fiercely diligent one. What nonsense.

After the 1996 season, a campaign that saw Clemens go 10 wins against 13 losses, Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette declined to re-sign him, famously declaring Clemens to be in the “twilight of his career.” Duquette wasn’t exactly going out on a limb. By 34, most power pitchers are considerably less than they were in their youth.

The Perpetual Post: Derek Jeter and 3000 Hits

Mike Cummings and Howard Megdal have at it…

Megdal...But where I worry about hits impacting the game is with the hitters whose cases are not so clear-cut. Bobby Abreu is completing another strong season with the Angels. Thorugh fifteen seasons, his career on-base percentage is .401. His career OPS+ is a strong 131.

But Abreu has a mere 2229 hits. Why? Because he also has 1318 walks in 8927 plate appearances.

Contrast that with Garret Anderson, who recently got released by the Dodgers. He had 2529 hits, but just 429 walks in 9177 plate appearances. His career OPS+ is just 102, and he has a .324 career on-base percentage.

My belief is that both Anderson and Abreu will fall short of the Hall of Fame, because both will fall short of 3000 hits. Clearly, however, the two have vastly different Hall of Fame cases. Abreu, in other words, is penalized by his walks when the standard for enshrinement still boils down to hits.

I am not suggesting that we stop counting hits. It simply can’t continue to be given the kind of prominence it has to date.

Alex Rodriguez Headed for Disabled List

The Yankees placed third baseman Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list shortly after their 9-5 win over the Mariners on Saturday afternoon.

Rodriguez left last Monday’s game early with a left calf strain. He returned to the lineup on Friday as a designated hitter, but aggravated the injury running out a grounder in the second inning and was replaced by Austin Kearns. He was on the Yankees’ bench Saturday.

“We’re going to play it safe,” Joe Girardi told reporters.

Right-handed pitcher Ivan Nova will be called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Rodriguez’s place on the active roster.

Thanks to Mal.

Bondy: It’s only a matter of time before Mariners ace Felix Hernandez becomes a New York Yankee

Felix the Cataclysm, Catastrophe, Catafalque. Take your pick.

Mere months from now, Cliff Lee will be coming to New York, and then the next year we will be greeting Roy Halladay, etc., etc.

So word to Hernandez, who is only 24: Become a Yankee sooner than later. Accept the inevitable quickly. You’re better off leaving a dead team while you still have a live arm.

This all may sound terribly arrogant, but then arrogance is what the Yankees do best. Have you ever actually forced yourself to sit down and watch one of their Yankee-ographies? Hernandez can have one of his own, eventually, if he follows the money.

...Hernandez is way too good to be pitching for anybody but the Yankees. There ought to be a rule against it, when you think about it. Bud Selig should order every major league team to hand over its best pitcher to Brian Cashman, each Nov. 30.

Steinbrenner Day. Sort of a reverse expansion draft.

...Hernandez’s turn is coming. There’s no use fighting it. He should come over to the other clubhouse Saturday, try it on for size. He should remember, the next time he takes the mound: He’s only hurting the grand legacy of his future teammates.

Stop auditioning. You’re perfect for the role.

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers still mad about hit batsmen exchange with Yankees

Johnny Damon didn’t expect any further incidents Thursday - and there weren’t any - but there clearly were lingering hard feelings in the Detroit clubhouse about the exchange of hit batsmen the previous night. At one point, Miguel Cabrera rose from his seat while replays of the Yankees’ 9-5 win on Wednesday were shown on the overheard TVs and yelled: ”(F—-) the (f—-ing) Yankees!”

...Damon reiterated before the game that he believed Brett Gardner’s takeout slide on Monday, which sent Detroit second baseman Carlos Guillen to the disabled list with a knee injury, was a “dirty” play.

“Obviously we see it from our side because our second baseman got hurt. But we all think it was dirty,” Damon said. “The first thing he touched was (Guillen’s) knee, not the ground. If (Guillen) wasn’t standing there, Gardner ends up almost in the outfield with the speed he has.”

I did that to highlight the highlight (swoons accordingly).