RJG Catches Up with Jimmy Rollins

Prior to the World Series it was widely reported that Jimmy Rollins predicted a Phillies World Series championship in five games, maybe six if they felt charitable, on the Jay Leno Show. The report was hard to confirm because no one watches that show. RJG recently caught up with Jimmy Rollins to discuss the ultimate result of the World Series.

"I really do think we were the better team," explained Rollins. "You see, sometimes the best team doesn't win. Sometimes it's the team with the best record in baseball, or the team that scored the most runs during the season, or the team with the most home runs that wins. It's not always the best team, which was us, the Phillies."

Told that his statement didn't make any sense, Rollins continued his explanation. "You see, the best team sometimes loses. And on paper, we were the best team. We print our roster on quality matte finish photo paper. It's glossy. Check out this roster printed out by Jason Zillo, the Yankees PR Director, it's on below industry standard grade paper. So on paper, we're a better team, but we didn't win."

After it was suggested to him that the phrase 'better team on paper' was a reference to the team's collective statistics, and not the paper itself, Rollins quickly rebuffed our assertion. "That's a lie and you know it. We're the better team. Remember when we won game one and then won game 5, everyone agreed the momentum was in our favor, because we were the best team, on paper and on the field. In Philly, we use Kentucky Blue Grass from Kentucky, but in New York, they use something else, and that was an unfair advantage. We'll have another chance next year, and that time their inferior grass seed won't be able to save them."

We wanted to point out that the Yankees took two of three games in Philly, but decided it was better to just nod and walk away slowly.

Nothing Happened in Baseball Today

If you have been perusing your favorite sports themed websites and local papers for Baseball news, don't bother. Nothing happened in Baseball today.

"Nothing happened today," explained Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "In fact, nothing happened yesterday or the day before. To be honest, the GM meetings are just an excuse to hang out in a hotel for three days. You should see how many towels and shampoo bottles are in my luggage. It's crazy."

Even players had a slow day. "I watched Oprah," said recent World Champion and Gold Glove winner Mark Teixeira. "It was a rerun, but I was bored so I watched it anyway. I checked the mail a few times. That's pretty much it."

A lot of players you've never heard of have filed for free agency in the last couple days, but you know that already since that is literally the only Baseball story in the papers that is actual news, only it's not really news.

"We lost our sixth outfielder to free agency," explained one Reds fan. "I don't remember his name, but when I saw his picture on Sportscenter I'm pretty sure I'd seen him on the bench before, but I thought he was a ballboy."

The next couple days, and possibly weeks, promise more of the same. Nothing will happen, and most sports writers will go to old standby articles that they just change the date on every few months and resubmit to their editors.

Golden Gloves Awarded to Two Yankees

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira have both been awarded Gold Gloves for their stellar defense during the 2009 campaign, one which ended with a World Series championship, and more importantly, a photo-op with Mayor Bloomberg (which is, of course, the most often cited reason players give for wanting to become Yankees).

Upon receiving the award, Jeter immediately had the glove melted down, sold, and donated the money to Charity. Teixeira has not said what he'll do with his, but has refused to play with it on. "It's too heavy, and it doesn't really bend," complained Teixeira. "What the hell's the point of this?"

Robinson Cano, who has often been commended by his manager and teammates for playing spectacular, gold-glove caliber defense, was not awarded a Gold Glove. The fact that Cano has never even tried, is simply miraculously talented, but didn't even start playing baseball until the Yankees called him up in 2005, hurt him in the final voting.

Odds and Ends

In no particular order, here is a list of thoughts and observations going into the hot stove season, and wrapping up what has been a tremendous year for the Yankees.

-If you watched any of the playoffs, you may have noticed that the Yankees used 3 pitchers to win number 27. It was a smart move considering the alternative, but it also brings up the issue of our rotation. Joba was simply not good this year, and we really can't go into next season with Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves battling for the 5th starter spot. If Pettitte decides to retire, we're literally looking at a rotation of Sabathia and Burnett. Joba should be given every chance to start, and we'll see if he improves. The Yankees would be wise to bring in another starter however, and if I have a vote, it'd be to wrestle Scott Kazmir away from the Angels.

-We had several role players on the team this year, all of whom did their part to help us get to and win the World Series. Among these players are Brett Gardner, Freddy Guzman, Eric Hinske, Jose Molina, Ramiro Pena, and Francisco Cervelli. Gardner, Pena and Cervelli are sticking around, but I doubt the Yankees will be signing Molina, and even if Guzman is resigned, he probably won't be spending that much time on the big league roster. That being said, I really hope Hinske is back next season. He is the bat off the bench we hoped Wilson Betemit would be, and with the ability to play the corner outfield and corner infield spots, albeit at an average level, he proves to be a serviceable bench player worth keeping around. Plus, Hinkse is a winner. He won with the Red Sox in 2007, made it to the World Series with the Rays last season, and has won with us this year. That's someone worth keeping around.

-Damon and Hinske have now won championships with both the Red Sox and Yankees. That's pretty crazy.

-Winning this world series brought up one sad point for me, and that was that we were winning it without Mike Mussina. He's like this generations Don Mattingly, only not homegrown or nearly as popular. Even still, it would have been nice to see him in that celebration after game 6 and the parade on Friday, not to mention in our rotation during the post season.

Hot Stove Issues to Consider

It's Thanksgiving 2010. The Yankees have just won the World Series due to a series of scheduling changes designed to increase ratings. The ticker tape parade is tomorrow. Brian Cashman has two things to do on his to-do list: 1. Call Carl Crawford and ask him if he would like to win the World Series in 2011; 2. Call Roy Halladay and ask if he would like to win the World Series in 2011.

But before we get there, decisions have to be made about this year's free agent crop. There are reports that the Yankees will take a hard look at John Lackey. Lackey is a good pitcher who can be brilliant when you need him to be. Think El Duque when he was doing his thing. He is not, however, likely to be worth the possible $100M+ that it will take to sign him. Should the Yankees wrap that much payroll up in a player like Lackey when Crawford and Halladay are a year away from free agency?

I think the big question is, who is this year's Nick Swisher? Who is the player that the Yankees should be looking at, who is not an obvious candidate for difference maker, but would be exactly that?

Mulling Over Our Free Agents

Now that the season has ended with the 27th title for the Yankees, the question now turns towards 2010 and title number 28. That will inevitably lead to a discussion of our free agents. These are some of the significant players coming off the books:

Johnny Damon LF - $13 million
Hideki Matsui DH - $13 million
Xavier Nady RF - $6.55 million
Andy Pettitte SP - $5.5 million (guaranteed)
Chien Ming Wang SP - $5 million
Jose Molina C - $2 million

Out of this list, I suspect that Xavier Nady will not be returning. The rest are a little trickier:

Jose Molina - He did his duty, and as a backup, you couldn't ask for much better. He hit the last homerun at the old Yankee stadium, and he won a championship in the new one. Since John Flaherty, we had a string of back up catchers that just didn't do the trick, including Kelly Stinnett, Sal Fasano, and Wil Nieves. So why wouldn't the Yankees bring him back? Well, the young Francisco Cervelli stepped up and proved that he could catch at the big league level. Along with a .298 batting average, which was all a bonus, he proved that he could call a game at this level, and be more than servicable as a backup. I think Molina will be gone next season.

Chien Ming Wang - The most winningest pitcher throughout the 2006-2007 season has had a very rough last couple years. Hobbled by a foot injury in 2008, Wang never quite showed that he had regained his signature sinker this year. Then it came out that he needed shoulder surgery and would likely need to miss all of the 2010 season. What complicates things is that there is no guarantee that he'll be able to come back and pitch the way he used to. If the Yankees resigned him, it would just be to rehab him for the year, and then reevaluate for 2011 based on the results. I think the Yankees should not resign him under arbitration, let him become a free agent, and then sign him at the league minimum if they can. $400,000 to rehab should be a good bet for Wang.

Andy Pettitte - We'll have to assume that he wants to return for another season, but if he does, the Yankees would be crazy not to sign him. We're not talking about another $5.5 million deal with incentives. The Yankees should just offer him what he made this year with the incentives. I believe he made $11 million with his incentives, and that should be a good guaranteed contract for next season. However, the free agent market for pitchers is horrendous this year, so expect that price to inflate.

Johnny Damon - The man did his duty out of the number 2 spot this year batting .282 with 24 homeruns and 82 RBI's. He's visibly lost a step or two over the past 4 years, but he's still an elite hitter, and a good left fielder. There will a few outfielders in the free agent market including boppers Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, but for my money, Johnny Damon is still the best option. A two year deal with a third year club option and a buyout would be fair. Holliday and Bay would give us more offensive production, but would easily require more years to sign.

Hideki Matsui - A left handed power bat like Matsui's is hard to come by, and what he did in the world series was beyond phenomenal. The Yankees do need to consider the effects of having so many aging players on the roster while having a permanent DH as well. All in all, I think our older players can manage for another season, and having Matsui's bat in the lineup or off the bench for another year ought to be a tremendous help. That being said, I would not sign him for more than a year. At this stage, his knees are a ticking time bomb, and though he brings a good bat, he can't play the field or run the bases. I'm not sure what the market will look like for boppers, but the Yankees should try to make every effort to make a competitive offer for one year. If he's getting a multi-year deal from somewhere else, the Yankees should let him go.

What do you guys think?

You Thought You'd Get Away With It Didn't You

From time to time, no matter how hard they try, established sports writers will author something dumb. It happens. But when it does, and you write for Fox Sports or ESPN, we at the RJG like to call you out. We've done it to Ken Rosenthal several times, and I always email him a copy of the post for his enjoyment. Today, however, Ken gets a rest. Instead, we would like to turn our attention to Bob Klapisch who wrote this gem of a piece after the Yankees lost game 5. The best quote of the article?

"But you couldn't shake the feeling that something about this Series had changed at Citizens Bank Park on Monday, and Pettitte, working on three days' rest, will be under duress."

Good call Bob. Why you thought that winning two out of three games in Philadelphia was anything short of a huge victory and benefit for the Yankees is beyond me. I scoffed when I read it, but I thought that now, as the Yankees celebrate their parade in New York City, would be a good time to bring it up. Cheers Bob!

Andy Pettitte's Game 6 Start a Real Grind

Andy Pettitte has won 18 postseason games in his career, a feat widely attributed to the quality of teams he's played on and his general kick assery. His most recent postseason win however, was hardly guaranteed, as Andy did not feel he had his best stuff.

"It was a real grind," explained Pettitte. "I had nothing. Literally nothing. Posada would put the sign down, and in my head I'm going, 'Really, what makes you think I can throw that?'"

"Early on I was calling for the fastball and cutter a lot, but I could see Andy was struggling," said Posada. "But Andy's a champion, he wasn't fazed. He got through it."

Andy realized early on that he would be working without his best stuff. The key, he explained, was making adjustments.

"I wasn't hitting my spots. I was having trouble with my secondary pitches, throwing them for strikes. So I had to adjust. I just started making up pitches on the fly. I threw a cut fastball, curve combination. I called it 'the Haymaker,' because I imagine that's what making hay is like. I also threw one I called 'the Eliminator.' It was basically a fastball right at someone. Figured I would hit them before they hit me."

Told that he didn't have any hit batters in the game, Andy replied, "I told you I was having trouble with location."

Dealing with Pettitte's ineffectiveness also required some creativity on the part of his battery mate, Jorge Posada. "I stopped calling the game in about the second inning. The Phillies steal the signs anyway, so I would just wait for someone to get on base, give them the finger, and then set up and wait for Andy to throw the ball."

The tactic worked, distracting the baserunners and limiting their base stealing attempts. However, the unorthodox game calling strategy did result in a World Series record high 5 tattles by the Phillies, who complained often to the umpires about Posada's new method of pitch suggestion.

Whether Andy comes back is something he has yet to decide. Retirement has loomed large for Andy for the last few seasons, and a truncated season might be an option to consider, keeping him fresher later into October. For now, he is just enjoying the moment.

"We set out to do this in Spring Training and we did it. I'm just glad the Haymaker and Eliminator worked so well."

It's All About Cash

With the Yankees 27th World Championship under their belt, we thought it time to call good friend of the blog and Yankees GM, Brian Cashman via satellite video phone. The following is a transcript of our conversation:

BC: Mr. Cashman speaking.

RJG: Really?

BC: Oh, look who it is. If it isn't Mr. "It's not all about you, Bronny"! We're World Series champs [expletive]! Whoooo!

RJG: Congratulations man. We're all very thrilled.

BC: Whoooo!

RJG: Did you go to sleep last night?

BC: What are you talking about?

RJG: Last night, did you go to sleep at all?

BC: What day is it?

RJG: It's Thursday.

BC: Oh. What time?

RJG: It's about 11 in the mornin' in New York.

BC: Oh. Well, then no. I didn't sleep. In fact, I haven't left the clubhouse. They shut the lights off some time ago so I wasn't really sure what time it was.

RJG: Why are you still there then?

BC: I was busy conducting business.

RJG: Wow. Already planning what to do about Damon and Matsui, huh? I'm impressed, I mean . . .

BC: No. Why the hell would I be doing that? I was conducting other more important and pressing business.

RJG: What were you doing?

BC: First I called Omar Minaya, and told him he's done a great job with the Mets. Then I asked him how come the Phillies are such an easy opponent, laughed, and hung up.

RJG: That seems unne . . .

BC: Then I called up Theo Epstein, and told him what a great job he's done with the Sox. Then I told him his parents must be really proud that he missed the playoffs. Then he was all like, "I'm an orphan, I never knew my parents." And I was like, "I know!" Then I laughed and hung up, but not before I heard him whimper.

RJG: I don't think Theo Epstein's an orph . . .

BC: Then I called Joe Torre and was like, "Hey, remember that book you wrote about how I betrayed you? What's that? I'm sorry. I can't hear you over my 27th World Series trophy. You're fired [expletive]." Then I hung up, but I laughed first and waited for the whimper.

RJG: Torre whimpered?

BC: No, he actually congratulated me and bid me good night. Class guy. Frankly, he kind of ruined it for me.

RJG: Yeah, I could see how that mi . . .

BC: Then I called up Cynthia Rodriguez and said, "Congratulations! You're husband is a World Series champion! Oh wait, you divorced for an undisclosed settlement. Wear that on the back of your shirt when you come to Yankee Stadium!"

RJG: What the [expletive] is wrong with you? Why would you say that to her?

BC: Yeah, it was great. A-Rod's pissed though. Did you know they still communicate?

RJG: They have children together.

BC: News to me. So why don't you say it, huh? Say it.

RJG: Say what?

BC: You know. "It's not all about you, Bronny."

RJG: Well, that seems inappropri . . .

BC: IT'S ALL ABOUT ME!

RJG: Yeah, I kno . . .

BC: Oh [expletive]! I think security's coming.

RJG: What?

BC: Gotta go. It's all about me.

[Click]

There you have it folks. The Yankees are not thinking about the hot stove just yet.

The Champs Are Here!

The Good

So this is what we learned: if you give Hideki Matsui a few nights off, he will reward you with a career game. How else do you explain his 3-4 night where he drove in 6 of the 7 Yankee runs, and finished a triple shy of the cycle?

Pettitte wasn't great, not even all that good, but he was passable, and Pedro simply wasn't. Chamberlain did decent in relief, and Marte really impressed with his two strikeouts of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Mariano did what he does best: make a 9 inning game a little shorter.

The Bad

There is no bad, we won the world series!

The Ugly

Your face!

World Series MVP Game 6

For this game, the obvious first choice is Hideki Matsui. What didn't he do today? He was every bit the godzilla we heard rumors about years ago in Japan. Its possible Matsui was radioactively altered before yesterdays game.

A second place vote goes to Derek Jeter who went 3-5 and scored 2 of the Yankees 7 runs. He finished this post season with a .407 batting average.

Mariano Rivera has to get a vote somewhere in here, and so I give him my third place. He shut down the Phillies over 1.2 innings to bring to a close what has been an amazing season for this team.

With our patented RJG scoring system, a first place vote gets a player 3 pts, a second place vote will get 2 pts and a 3rd place vote gets 1 pt. Here is the World Series MVP breakdown:

A-Rod = 7 pts
Johnny Damon = 5pts
Hideki Matsui = 5pts
Derek Jeter = 4pts
CC Sabathia = 3pts
AJ Burnett = 3pts
Nick Swisher = 2pts
Jorge Posada = 2pts
Mariano Rivera = 2pt
Andy Pettitte = 1pt
Dave Robertson = 1pt

So according to our breakdown, A-Rod should have won it, and yes A-Rod was a different player this year than in others, but its hard to disagree with making Matsui the MVP. He was afterall, our offense in the clinching game.

Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children

The RJG will continue to donate to Johnny Damon's homerun club throughout the post season. We believe that our $1.00 donations build just enough good will to push the Yankees into their next World Series title. We expect a ring Bronny Cash.

Matsui hit a beastly 2-run shot. The last donation the Yankees will make to children's health this season.

Post Season Homeruns:

Derek Jeter 3hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 4hr = $4.00
Alex Rodriguez 6hr = $6.00
Mark Teixeira 2hr = $2.00
Jorge Posada 2hr = $2.00
Johnny Damon 2hr = $2.00
Nick Swisher 1hr = $1.00
Total = $20.00

Regular Season Total = $244.00

RJG Donation Total = $264.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page. Live it. Love it. RJG.