YFSF

Beezlebub was an Angel: Halos-Yanks Gamer

I must admit that I forgot that baseball teams actually play baseball. Funny that. I thought they dealt in names.

The Angels have been anything but angelic to their opponents of late. They just destroyed the Sox in a series sweep, and they, of course, own the Yanks. I am always down for surprises, so it would be great if the Yanks turned the tables on them. Tonight is the start of a 4-game series that might allow them to do just that.

Comment here on all the Manny-less action.

Emptiness

"No Manny in Boston leaves an emptiness in the Yankee-Sox rivalry," says Alex Belth. I have to agree. I'm going to miss the lug. Funny that he meets up with another rivalry legend, Joe Torre. Is this where they'll all end up? A-Rod, Jeter, Youk, Dustin, Beckett, Joba in La-La Land in 2017?

It's not a sad day for a Yanks fan, but I can't say I'm happy. Is it because the Sox did well in getting back Jason Bay? Probably. But maybe there's more to it.

Update: The Yanks have sent The Attorney General to DC for 22-year old AA reliever Jhonny Nunez.

BREAKING: Manny to La-La Land

SFs won't have Manny to kick around anymore. Boston.com is so overwhelmed it's not loading, but credible reports indicate Manny has been moved to Los Angeles. More to come.

Update: Congratulations Theo. You have replaced Manny with Manny 2.0, Jason Bay. Same stats as Manny '08, none of the headaches.

This One's for You, Manny

The Untouchables

Kevin Costner as Theo Epstein, Robert DeNiro as every other GM in the Majors.

(at least as of 3:56pm EST)

Yankees Look Forward (or, The Not-About-Manny Thread)

Want to talk about the Yankees' likely near-future?  Or just want to talk about anything other than Manny Ramirez?  You've come to the right place.

As for the Yankees: this year has felt to many YFs like a transition year - one in which young talent would be preserved, cultivated, and given a shot to come up rather than traded for the latest aging superstar in a win-now-at-all-costs maneuver and therefore one in which the October prospects might not be so great.  In a gratifying way, the Yankees seem to have held true to this strategy even while making significant mid-season moves that undoubtedly improve their prospects for playing in October, even if only marginally.

It is inarguable that Xavier Nady and Pudge provide better offensive punch than Brett Gardner and Jose Molina while not hurting the team defensively.  And Damaso Marte addresses the need for a left-handed reliever while filling (if not improving) the hole left by the departure of Kyle Farnsworth - a guy who Cashman dealt at what is by far the highest-value-point he has reached since he donned pinstripes.  Thanks to Girardi's/Eiland's disbursement of the bullpen workload and the results it has produced, the pressure for Marte to step up will be eased by the strong seasons being had by Veras, Ramirez, Robertson, and the expected return of Bruney.

At the same time, the Yankees have not let go of a single talent that seemed likely to be part of the Yankees' plans in the coming 2-3 years.  Kennedy and Hughes are still here, Cano is going nowhere, and additional arms like Melancon are on their way up.  Tabata had become a disappointment and, even if he is to develop into a major league talent, this would appear at least 3-5 years away at best.  Karstens was a nice spot-starter but nothing special.  LaTroy was a flat-out disappointment and journeyman in any case.  And no one would call Kyle a young talent, despite the fact that Girardi and Eiland had gotten more out of him than he had ever given to the Yankees before.

So why is it only a marginal improvement in the prospect of October-baseball in the Cathedral? 

Another Day In Tradesville

So here's what we know this morning. Or what we think we know. Or what others think they know. Or what others wish they think they know. Or... *take the pills, Tiger*

• The Red Sox are in discussions with Florida and Pittsburgh on a potential megadeal that would leave Manny Ramirez in Florida, one or two prospects in either or both Florida and Pittsburgh and bring at least Jason Bay to Boston.
• Those talks have been categorized as everything from not likely to succeed (Gordon Edes) to all but complete (Palm Beach Post).
• This morning, they're being seen as having a roughly 50-50 chance of completion, according to Jayson Stark. The deal would be Bay to Boston, Jeremy Hermida and prospects to Pittsburgh, Manny and John Grabow to Florida (this is a bit of a change).
• A lot of people think the Pirates are holding this up, insisting on either or both hot-shot Marlins prospects Ryan Tucker and Mike Stanton. Florida is insistent that Stanton is off the table, but Tucker might be in play.
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirms Grabow to the Marlins, not the Red Sox, and says the Pirates "are open-minded on both fronts, the Boston-Florida one as well as Tampa, and there is no deal, tentative or otherwise, in either direction."
• Heyman and Rosenthal haven't updated yet -- probably because they're working on the other big deal of the morning: Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox.
• The Boston Globe has been getting its butt handed to them for the last 24 hours. Maybe Edes' head isn't in the game on this, his final day with the Globe, but within hours of posting this slightly condescending "no story here" blog entry, he was forced to react to the breaking reports out of every other media market with interest in this story. The Herald hasn't really been much better. The usual Sox sources seem to be pretty buttoned down on this one. Read into it what you will.

So, with all that sorted out, I think you're caught up (unless something else has happened since I started this post). Feel free to comment here this morning on all trade rumors and possibilities...

What Have I/We Done to Deserve This?

"They haven't asked me for anything," Ramirez told ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas on the phone from Fenway Park before the Red Sox-Angels matchup on Wednesday night.

"The Red Sox don't deserve a player like me," Ramirez said. "During my years here I've seen how they [the Red Sox]have mistreated other great players when they didn't want them to try to turn the fans against them.

"The Red Sox did the same with guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and now they do the same with me. Their goal is to paint me as the bad guy," Ramirez added. "I love Boston fans, but the Red Sox don't deserve me. I'm not talking about money. Mental peace has no price and I don't have peace here."

I won't pretend to be naive about the Mannynanigans™, but as YF said in a thread a few days ago there is something of a compact between the fans and players, and once that compact is broken the player is finished in the minds of those fans.  For all of Manny's supposedly detrimental actions these past several years (some were more disrespectful than others, depending on your perspective, some were overblown, and some were repellent), this comment seems to be not just a salvo sent towards the front office, but a severance of his connection to the fans.   Manny should know that Sox fans are a complicated bunch by now, that we aren't ignorant of the business side of baseball, and that citing Pedro and Nomar as examples of how poorly the team treats its own isn't going to get very far.  In fact, quite the opposite.  With this comment, Manny is isolating himself from the contingent of fans who would go to the mat defending his actions, the diehards who tolerate the machinations of a prima donna because he rakes.  With this comment, even those fans (I am not one of them) may loosen the rope and be happy to see the ship sail.

God knows what happens if the ship doesn't sail, though.

Trade Me Right F*cking Now!: Manny to Moose Jaw Open Thread

Post any Manny-related news here, discuss the cost/benefit of obtaining lefty journeymen for HoF sluggers here.

"Control" - Not Just a Song By Janet Jackson

Mariano Rivera is putting together an historic season.  He is perfect in 26 save situations and has only given up one run and two walks over those 26.  His control this year is astounding, though - surprisingly - not unprecedented.  Of all the pitchers who have appeared in at least 25 games in a season, only one - Dennis Eckersley - has ever recorded a season with a double-digit K/BB ratio.  Eckersley accomplished this incredible feat twice: first, with an 18.33 K/BB in 1989, a year in which he also recorded a 1.56 ERA in 57.2 IP over 51 games; then again in his even more amazing 1990 season, during which he appeared in 62 games, pitched 72.1 innings, and compiled a 0.61 ERA with a K/BB of 18.25.

Mariano could become the second pitcher with at least 25 game appearances to ever go double-digits in K/BB.  Currently his K/BB ratio is 14.25.  Second on the list for 2008 is Papelbon at 7.71. Mariano's weakness this year (by weak I only mean relative to the rest of his masterpiece season) has been non-save situations and, especially, tie games:

• Save situations: 26 G, 27.1 IP, 12 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 33 SO, 0 HR, 0.33 ERA
• Non-save sitn's: 17 G, 20 IP,  16 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 24 SO, 3 HR, 2.70 ERA

If opponents ever have to see Mo, they'd prefer to do it in tie games and to get to him early.  Opponents bat .324 off of Mo in tie games this year and 2 of his 4 walks and 2 of the 3 HRs he has yielded have come in tie games (the third HR came in last night's O's game when the Yanks were already down by 3, though it turned out to be a big one as the Yanks 3-run rally in the bottom of the 9th fell one run short of tying the game).  With 0 outs batters hit .302 off him.  With 1 out they drop to .132 and with 2 outs .041.

Mo's 1.33 ERA ranks second to Joe Nathan's 1.24 (Nathan doing even better than I realized) and his 0.676 WHIP ranks first.  There have been many honorific Mo-posts and they don't necessarily lead to much discussion, but what can I say - I like pausing periodically to honor the man.