No Joy In Yankee Land

Amid the news of an investigation by Curtis Sliwa into ticket sales and ticket pricing, the Yankees are away in Toronto. In this day of satellite TV and radio it is doubtful that they have not heard of the and investigation; the question is whether it will add to the Yankee woes as they face the first place Blue Jays.

Tonight should be billed as a pitcher's ego battle with A.J. Burnett going up against Roy Halladay, his former Blue Jay teammate. Unfortunately while Halladay is 6-1 in 7 starts, while Burnett is 2-0, with 4 no decisions, in 6 starts. Burnett's best outing was April 14 against Tampa Bay and it has all been a a roller coaster ride since.

The Yankees still appear to have gotten hosed in the Burnett deal as they appear to have gotten a 12-10 pitcher and not an 18-10 pitcher. The pitching deals for several years have been called by Brian Cashman; and the current state of the Yankees tell me it is time for change from the top down. Cashman need to go!

The consistent overspending of the Yankees has only had two positive results, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Cashman can be credited for Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, as well as other lackluster pitching and batting dogs; and not resigning Bernie William when he still had a good numbers left in his bat. Instead Cashman has shopped for hired guns; and the Yankees are still sitting at # 26; with escalating ticket prices and fans finally flipping the team the bird on overpriced seats.

Wake up Tampa, it is time for a change!

I anxiously await what this Curtis Sliwa investigation into Yankee ticketing will unvail. Sliwa is not like other talkies in radio is not all mouth. While the News, Post and most of sports talk radio covered the ticket issues earlier this year; it was all talk. Sliwa apparently has been digging and obtaining facts. Another reason the Yankee organization should be concerned is that Sliwa has political pull.

Will the Yankee win tonight; probably not. Will they be embarrassed in the ticket investigation, probably so. The Yankee woes are not over, and the only route to fixing them is to make a lot of changes, changes in management, changes in ticketing. The Yankees are sucked dry of positive energy and about to go into negative numbers.

Add to Yankee woes the dominating Red Soxs and the rapid maturity of the Blue Jays, Ray, and O's. It's only May, and without change, the Yankees are becoming a third place contender istead of the leader.

We need Bernie Back!

Alex Rodriquez and Mickey Mantle have one thing in common.......stupidity. Had Mantle behaved himself, he would have not needed uppers to play and downers to sleep. Instead Mantle painted the town red white wearing the pinstripes. He was a party boy; taking advantage of his fame. In the 1961 season, Mantle acquired a festering sore from his butt injections of uppers and downers. It effectively ended his home run race with Roger Maris, and nearly hurt the Yankees chance of wining the division.

A-Rod prefers low key, uses drugs he should not have, cheated, and now has a hip cyst and a torn acetabular labrum, he represents, while stupid, an offensive weapon against all teams. Cheating or not, Alex can hit the ball. Pitchers know that and plan strategy around his portion in the Lineup.

What other weapons are out there? One fan favorite and still scary bat, Bernie Williams. Williams a victim of Brian Cashman's stupidity a few years back was cut. Arguments by NYY coaches, Joe Torre and Tampa to keep Williams were not weighed. Cashman felt he was done; and in his new position of power cut Bernie Williams. Williams is not a power hitter, he is a switch hitter and that causes pitchers and managers to rethink their strategy. Yes the Yankees have Posada, but adding Bernie to the 40 man would be a smart move

Its time to admit you were WRONG Brian Cashman, and suck it up and re-sign Bernie Williams. Bernie represents a significant offensive distraction. Bernie can still hit. With A-Rod out Williams would be my choice for a bench player and DH for the time. (Especially since Mannie re-upped with LA).

Somehow I don't think Cashman is that smart, or George would have a few more American Leaque and World Series titles. Time to wise up Brian, you don't know squat about talent!

Tranactions

Six days after declining his option the Yankees have signed Damaso Marte to a new contract. This is part of the Yankees off season pursuit of pitching. Marte appeared in 25 games this past season for the Yankees, with a 5.40 ERA. That however should not be held against him as in his 25 games he struck out 24, walked 11 (10 walks, 1 hit by pitch) and allowed 14 hits resulting in 11 earned runs. Not bad stats when you consider how bad the Yankees played behind him.

According to Yankee owner-son/blow hard Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees plan to spend in the off season. According to Brian Cashman, the emphasis is again pitching. Numerous injuries and the questionable status of their home grown staff have the Yanks in the pitcher acquisition mode.

The most interesting pitching acquisition was actually Huston Street going to the Colorado Rockies. Street, a promising youngster seesaws more then the Dow Jones Industrials. It will be interesting to see what the Rocky Mountain air does to his pitching stats.

As to Hal Steinbrenner's spending. I hope he keeps it under control. In this economic downturn, the rich have money, but the fans don't. Any more payroll increases by the Yankees will price the common fan out of live stadium baseball. I guess Hal isn't following the global recession.

Sports could actually help the economy by drawing a line in the sand, but they won't. I would like to see a $1,000,000 salary max per year in sports. I am sure Jeter, A-Rod, et al can survive on that; especially with the endorsements. Think of how the fans would benefit: ticket prices would come down, concession prices would come down, and families could once again afford to include a sports event in the entertainment budget.