The first comes to us courtesy of our dear Jobamania and relates to the surprising issue I wrote about a couple weeks ago: the surplus of starting pitching that the Yanks have to work with for 2010. Unlike most of his teammates, whose roles on the team are set, Joba will be heading into Spring Training without the promise of a starting gig. The Yanks have made it clear that they have not made a decision on who will be the fifth starter and will make a decision during or after Spring Training. Joba will need to compete for a spot in the rotation (which is where he wants to be - he is intent on being a starter despite the fact that he's arguably been more successful in the bullpen... but that's a whole other discussion I shan't delve into tonight) against Phil Hughes, Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, and possibly even Alfredo Aceves.

This picture is too awesome to NOT include. It reminds me of this. Enjoy.

Despite a disappointingly mediocre 2009, Joba is still fired up and confident in his skills as a starter. He's ready to get down to Florida and prove himself, and understands that having four of five guys competing for one spot will benefit everyone:

"It's something that's going to be a battle. The greatest part about it is it's not only going to make guys fight for that No. 5 spot, but it's going to make our team better. We're going to push each other and continue to try to outwork each other. That's the greatest part about this game; not only do you push one another to do better, but the team is going to be better for it."

Joba is likely the frontrunner for the gig - barring a disastrous Spring, of course - but forcing him to work for it will make him even better. Of course, the bonus effect of this Spring competition will be an improved bullpen, too!

(Until everyone gets burned out in August because they worked so hard in the off-season.)

Alas, not everyone in the world is as gung-ho about the Yanks as Joba... which brings us to our second BQE!

The Yanks are, as we are well aware, a polarizing force. They certainly have their share of detractors, and their wealth is a main bone of contention amongst many of the haters. We've all heard the "the Yankees buy their championships!" scoff (9 times out of 10 in a Boston accent) enough times to want to beat a Bostonian over the head with a bag of chewed-up sunflower seeds, but Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti took the "Yankees and their money" complaint to an interesting new level this week. Bisciotti's beef is apparently not just the disparity between the Yanks' payroll and that of the other teams, but also that the Yankees don't win enough (seriously):

"It certainly doesn’t show up in the standings. If I’m a Yankees fan, I’m upset we’re not winning 130 games with the roster that they have and the money that they pay out. I think it’s a disgrace they only beat the average team by 10 games in the standings with three times the money. I’d fire that GM. You don’t need a GM. All you have to do is buy the last Cy Young Award winner every year."

"It's PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE that the team I run blew it (again) this year!!!"

I... don't know where to start here. This is so absurd I don't even know how to mock it properly. Are you angry that they have money? Or are you OK with the money but think that the number of wins should be directly proportional to the number of dollars spent (it doesn't work that way - talk to the Mets)? If it's a disgrace that they "only" won 10 more games than the average team, then I suppose it is also a disgrace that it took them 6 games to win the World Series. And if all a team has to do to be successful is be in possession of the previous year's Cy Young winner, then shouldn't the Giants have been in the Series? Seriously, I'm confused.

If anyone speaks idiot and wants to translate that for me, I implore you!

Labels: best. quote. ever, haha...ha., jobamania, pitching

Labels: haha...ha., happy time, video

Labels: front office, rumors

This bobble head almost makes everything better. He's literally on his knees begging us to like him.

Labels: free agency/arbitration, roster moves

A-Rod's New York state of mind circa 2004-2008 (left) and 2009 (right)

Labels: a-rod support, accolades, best. quote. ever, haha...ha., happy time

Less video gamin', more fighting-for-your-rotation-spot, please.

Labels: cc fatsbathia, jobamania, pitching, signings

Let him go, Brett. You can hang on your own.

Labels: free agency/arbitration

click the image to donate

Labels: do-gooders

If Damon goes, who will represent the Yankees in the world of sports entertainment??*

Labels: free agency/arbitration

He was lying?! But I thought glasses denoted truthfulness?

B.Q.E's (best quotes ever) are some of my fave posts to do: they essentially write themselves thanks to the sheer idiocy of the quotee. Today's addition to the B.Q.E. files is no exception, as Mark McGwire decided at last to come clean about his past steroid use after 10+ years of unyielding (and unconvincing) denials to everyone from fans to congress. In a lengthy statement that covered everything from his dedication to his new job as Cardinals' hitting coach to a list of injuries he felt justified his juicing (at the time), Big Mac admitted to using steroids throughout the '90s, including during the 1998 season when he broke the home run record (good thing Bonds broke it again a couple years later and brought dignity back to baseball!).

The statement itself is somewhat dry, likely written by an adviser of some sort, and hence not the ideal source for humorous quotes. Once he got on the horn with reporters, the fun began! He was very emotional and had some interesting things to say about his previous denials and the reasons he used steroids. Let's look at the highlights:

On how coming clean feels:

"It's very emotional, it's telling family members, friends and coaches, you know, it's former teammates to try to get a hold of, you know, that I'm coming clean and being honest. It's the first time they've ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody."

No, you didn't - everyone knew you were juicing. Denying something doesn't mean you hid it, it just means you're a liar.

On whether the steroid use contributed to his many injuries that prompted his retirement:

"That's a good question."

On his 2005 lie-fest at the congressional hearings (for which he now blames his lawyers' advice):

"That was the worst 48 hours of my life."

And the quote that may never be topped by another B.Q.E.:

"I did this for health purposes. There's no way I did this for any type of strength use."

Labels: best. quote. ever, haha...ha., steroids

Labels: free agency/arbitration, roster moves, signings

Yes, it's been a minute or two since I last blogged (and longer still since I kept this site updated on a truly regular basis), and I apologize for my absence. No, I haven't stopped obsessing over the Yankees (come on now), nor have I given up on the blog - 2009 was simply a wildly busy year in the land of the YC. Even whilst I was forced to push the bloggity to the back burner last year, I always intended to fire it back up as soon as one of three things happened:

1) I finished school, thus freeing up my evenings for bloggin'
2) Vince McMahon hired me as a high-paid special consultant for the WWE, with my sole responsibility being to watch every episode of Raw and Smackdown and offer suggestions on how the storylines and characters could be improved (for the love of christ, can John Cena and Randy Orton not be in a title match at just one PPV?), thus freeing up my days for bloggin'
3) Something ridiculous in the baseball world fired me up so much that I decided I simply MUST get back on the blogging saddle pronto, regardless of my lack of time to do so.

I'm still in school, and Mr. McMahon has yet to seek out my valuable services, so you can all thank Mark McGwire for inspiring me to dredge up my blogger.com password and get back to work!

If you're a die-hard MLB Network viewer like myself, perhaps you saw this little nugget yourself last night:The fuck? What year is it?

The most shocking thing about this seemingly out-of-nowhere Big Mac news is that Harold and the gang at the MLB Network failed to mention what seems in my opinion to be the obvious motivation for such a move: a better chance at Hall of Fame election. Since becoming eligible for the HOF in 2007, it's become abundantly clear that the voters have no interest in allowing McGwire into Cooperstown (I know, I know - it's shocking that they don't believe his steroid denials, isn't it?), and making a brief comeback may give him a fighting chance. By rejoining the field of active players, Big Mac would no longer be eligible for the HOF for the time being, but once he re-retires and waits out another 5 years for renewed eligibility, attitudes may have changed enough to give him a chance at election.

Cuz seriously, there's no other reason for the man to even consider re-joining the MLB. I don't think he's that hard up for cash, and I certainly don't think elderly pinch hitters are such a rare commodity that the Cardinals are banging down his door begging him to return.

That's it for today - again, I apologize for my long absence, and I look forward to writing much more in 2010. Stay tuned this weekend for my thoughts on the Yanks' off-season moves thus far (fare thee well, sweet Melk-Man...)

Labels: other teams, promises of better blogging, rumors, sketchy, steroids, you make me sick

Labels: a-rod support, happy time

Labels: best. quote. ever, girardi

Remember that annoying kid you knew growing up who always insisted they were great at something despite ever-increasing evidence to the contrary? The type of kid that could fail 10 math tests in a row and still brag about it being his best subject, or the horribly klutzy girl that kept trying out for the cheerleading squad year after year, thinking they really had a chance at making it? Their confidence was so ridiculously off-base that you couldn't help but feel bad for them while wondering what the hell their parents were telling them to convince them of their awesome-ness.

Joba is totally that guy right now.

Our dear Jobamania, whose pitching this year has continued to be ineffective at best and downright pathetic at worst, stated last night that his "stuff" and "mechanics" in his last two starts were the best he has had all season.

Read that again, and then take a gander at his line over those aforementioned last two starts:

8 IP, 18 hits, 13 runs, 7 earned runs, 2 BB, 5 K, 3 home runs.

Now, I certainly understand that it is possible to pitch well but get unlucky (bad backing defense, particularly lucky opposing hitters, etc etc), but I simply cannot agree that Joba has shown his "best" stuff recently. You know how I know this? BECAUSE I HAVE EYES AND CAN SEE THAT HE'S BEEN PITCHING HORRIBLY. Giving up 18 hits in 8 innings is not a fluke, it's an indication that your pitches are not good.

To be fair, Joba also expressed frustration and disappointment in the results of his recent outings, but to say that he feels his "stuff" was at his "best" is worrisome indeed. Confidence is important and I certainly don't want the poor kid to get too down on himself (putting immense pressure on oneself is a recipe for disaster; just ask the growing number of players on the DL for anxiety problems), but how is he going to improve (which we desperately need him to do) if he thinks that what he's been doing is his "best"?

For those counting, the Yanks are already down to 4 starters thanks to the Wangster's inability to recover from suck-itis, and 4 innings of Joba's current "best efforts" every fifth day is not helping matters. It's lovely that Joba has such faith in himself, but he's going to need to step it up to re-gain mine.

Labels: bitching, haha...ha., jobamania, pitching