State of the Bronx: What To Do With A-Rod

(Once the story broke regarding yet another story regarding Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and PEDs, I sent out the MAMBINO-signal to our two resident New York Yankees fans, El Miz and Bockerknocker. To my surprise, Mizzy sent me in the direction of his friend Vin and a thousand word rant on A-Rod, his contract and ensuing worthlessness. Too good to be left off of MAMBINO, this is Vin's maiden post. Let's make him feel welcome.)

KOBEsh: Vin--let's establish some baseline qualifications before you go on a fullblown rant. Having watched most games of A-Rod's Yankees career, especially the last two seasons-worth, how much do you feel he has left in the thank? A large portion of this answer has to predicated on a pretty invasive hip surgery, but regardless, what do you see as the best case scenario?

Vin: Regarding issue #1 i.e. how much does A-Rod have left in the tank, I think the answer is not much.

The number one problem for him, and this has been the case since 2008, the first year of his 10 year extension, is that he is consistently tripped up by injury. Some of these injuries have been of the nagging variety and probably have become more prevalent simply because he is getting older (2008 and 2011 are good examples). Some are much more serious and could very well be related to what now appears to be years of PED use (the hip surgeries before 2009 and 2013). Some are of the freak variety (getting hit in the hand by a King Felix fastball in 2012). But no matter how you slice it, since signing the worst contract in sports history at 10 years and $275 million, A-Rod has averaged 124 games played a season, and only 108 as a third baseman. Seemingly every spring training begins with Rodriguez talking about how he is in the best shape he's been in in years and how this offseason was the first time in years he was able to dedicated himself fully to training for some unique reason. He was even saying that at the end of this grisly October that "this is the first time in years I will be able to train without worrying about rehabbing". Coming into 2011 in particular, the buzz in the media was all about how he looked better than he had in years, how the spark in his bat was there again, and he did start out the season very strong... and ended up playing 99 games.

My point: I accepted several seasons ago that Alex Rodriguez is a 120 game a season player... or by definition not a full time player. It's hard to have a very high ceiling when that is the reality.

As for his actual production while playing, even last year he was an above average starting third baseman (.783 OPS, 18 homers in 122 games). But a quick look at his stats indicates that he is already well on the gradual decline any major leaguer eventually gravitates towards. The last season that his performance was truly elite was 2007, the last time it was great was 2009.

So, best case scenario going forward, even before these new revelations? Well, he's out at least half of this season best case, so you would pencil him in for maybe 65 games after he came back at the All-Star Break. I'd then give him 2 more seasons where you're hoping he can give you 120 games played/100 at third. But to pretend he would somehow begin to improve his performance, rather than continue to decline, after another major injury and more aging would be stupid. Add in the factor that he apparently will be off the "juice," a term I'll use to cover all the different PEDs he's apparently been helped by. I'd say the best case scenario is he is a part time third baseman/DH who provides slightly above average numbers when actually on the field for another 2-3 years before his body completely breaks down and/or he declines into a truly subpar player. But that is truly relying on the descriptor "best case."

So to summarize, we're looking at a 120-game a year player (maximum) whose production is likely to be either slightly above major league-level or merely average major league-level when playing. That's not good enough for any MLB club, let alone a perennial contender like the Yankees, and that's not even factoring in the money. A-Rod has stated that he has zero intention to retire willingly, while the team is making behind the scenes preparations to attempt a premature severing of ties with him.

Instant Trade Analysis: Rafael Soriano to the Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals get: RP Rafael Soriano

Rafael Soriano gets: 2 years, $28 million (with a third year vesting option for $14 million)

What difference a month can make--just a month ago, the hot stove was chugging hot enough to warm even the coldest Steinbrenner brother heart. The week of December 13th, Josh Hamilton, Zack Greinke, Kevin Youkilis, Anibal Sanchez and Ryan Dempster were signed, and R.A. Dickey, Shin Soo Choo and James Shields were traded. 

Fast forward to the week of January 13th--the transaction front couldn't be more stagnant. Still, three prominent free agents were orbiting the periphery: starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, center fielder Michael Bourn and reliever Rafael Soriano. Today, the Washington Nationals made sure that Lohse and Bourn would be the lone two at the top.

Soriano signed a massive two year pact, with a third year option that will vest with 120 games pitched over the first two seasons (he's averaged 67 over his career and 63 over his last five seasons), bringing together a potential three year, $42 million dollar deal. Any way you cut it, this is a solid contract for any pitcher, let alone a reliever.

What's the Deal with the Yankees?

If you didn't think the American League East was the most loaded division in baseball, some of the teams did their very best to convert you. The Toronto Blue Jays acquired R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, and everyone else on the Miami Marlins with a pulse, save for Giancarlo Stanton. The Tampa Bay Rays fleeced Kansas City for its famed minor league system, netting all-world prospect Wil Myers, ready-for-the-majors starter Jake Odorizzi, and project Mike Montgomery. Buck Showalter has proven that he can make lemons out of lemonade dog crap. And the hated Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees to the punch by trading away onerous contracts and starting over.

Before last season, I predicted that the Yankees would race to a great record because they would feast on inferior middle relief pitching, but ultimately would be outmatched by playoff aces. I'm not saying I'm the only one who forecasted that, but I like to give myself credit whenever I can.

Keeping that in mind, the Yankees will enter spring training with virtually the same infrastructure, only now, as the winter has played out, their divisional opponents have either upgraded their roster or showcased a clear plan for doing business. And then there's the Yankees. If the Yankees had Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford on their roster, they never would have taken advantage of the Los Angeles Dodgers' unquenchable thirst for a competitive team. The New York front office is in disarray, and here's why:

(Not So Instant) Trade Analysis: Kevin Youkilis to the New York Yankees

New York Yankees get: 3B/1B Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Youkilis gets: 1 year, $12 million

Seemingly, former Red Sox come to the Yankees in droves (Derek Lowe and Johnny Damon most recently), while no one ever seems to go the other way north. Hmm. Must be something in the water. Or the air. Or the city. Or the fans. Whatever. I don't have a vendetta or anything.

Kevin Youkilis agreed to a one year, $12 million dollar contract with the New York Yankees to be the team's part-time third and first baseman, as well as occasional DH. The Yanks proclaimed throughout the offseason that whoever they'd sign would have to play a majority of innings manning third, as a 37 year-old A-Rod has proven that he's not up to the stress of the hot corner day to day.

Well that was before a left hip surgery that will leave Rodriguez sidelined until at least May, if not the All-Star break in July. By that time, the former three-time AL MVP will be close to 38 years old and entering into his third consecutive season in which he only missed at least a fourth of the year's games. In that sense, the need for an established third baseman became even more important, seeing as the most healthy hips A-Rod will be getting close to this year are Torrie Wilson's. Damn.

(Not So) Instant Trade Analysis: David Wright, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Russell Martin and BJ Upton

In the midst of the NBA's multiple storylines right out of the opening gate, the MLB hot stove is burning. In the past 36 hours especially, there's been a ton of action on the baseball front, so let's take a MAMBINO-sized shot at examining the various moves with our (not-so) Instant Trade Analysis:

New York Mets get: 3B David Wright

David Wright gets: 7 years, $122 million

As much as people everywhere want to revile David Wright for signing with one of the worst ownership teams in professional sports, the truth is that on his end, the future could look pretty bright for the Mets. It certainly doesn't start with the bats: the offense is still hugely reliant on big years from Wright and Ike Davis to merely be better than mediocre. Meanwhile, the bullpen still lists Frank Francisco...anywhere, so there's obviously work to be done. But, the hardest task is seemingly complete--the rotation.  

Examining their 2013 roster, it's headlined with the 2012 NL Cy Young winner, an aging but effective Johan Santana, young pitching prospects in Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Jenrry Meijia, and steady hands in Dillon Gee and Jon Niese. If Harvey and Wheeler emerge this year in a Lincecum/Cain-like tandem, then the Mets could potentially have the...best rotation in the NL East? It's not crazy. 

For the Mets, there's obviously two ways to look at this: management needed to show fans (and the team itself) that they weren't going to completely submerge themselves in a middle-market type of free agent irrelevance. They had to keep their star player at whatever price it took. After all, what type of message would not re-signing a six-time All-Star who just finished in sixth place in the NL MVP voting? 

However, I do have concerns that as Wright reaches his 30's (this contract will take him until his age 37 season), he's going to wear at a high pressure, high intensity position at third base and his recent injury history is going to become even more a problem. All of Wright's advance metrics suggest that he's just as good as he's ever been despite hitting for less power than in his early twenties, but he's still a very good to elite defensive hot cornerman and a 40 doubles, 20 (maybe not 30) homer hitter. 

In regards to the contract, Wright certainly could have gotten more money playing out free agency. Anaheim, LA, the Yankees, Philadelphia and both Chicago clubs could have offered him more money. However, Wright has always proclaimed that he's wanted to retire as a Met (the fool!), and he obviously saw the team's future prospects ready to emerge.

The Mets had to make this deal, simply to show everyone that they weren't turning into the Cleveland Indians. I have little doubt that Wright won't be earning his money by the time the contract ends, mostly due to the fact that he'll be playing first base around that time. However, re-signing with the Mets wasn't an awful decision for his personal future, baseball-wise.

Alex Rodriguez to the Dodgers - Would It Work?

Well, would it?

Let's hit the books here and lay out the facts:

5 years, $114 million: That's what's left on Rodriguez's massive deal. It's the remaining 5 years on a 7 year, $275 million dollar deal, the largest in North American professional sports history by over $20 million dollars.

$30 million: The amount in performance bonuses A-Rod could acquire if he hits certain home run milestones, from 660 (passing Willie Mays) to 763 (passing Barry Bonds). All in all, his contract could amount to a staggering $300 million.

647: A-Rod's current home run total, good for fifth in league history.

37: A-Rod's age as of the 2012 season.

42: A-Rod's age at the end of this current contract--if Rodriguez had been 42 this year, he'd be the fifth oldest player in the league, behind Jamie Moyer (cut by the Rockies in February), Takashi Saito, Mariano Rivera (both out most of the year with injury) and Omar Vizquel (who retired in September). There's little doubt that when Rodriguez hits the end of this deal, he'll be one of the oldest players in the Majors.

.965, .933, .847, .823, .783: A-Rod's declining OPS (on-base plus slugging) the past five seasons. Whether or not you understand sabermetrics, you'll see that there's little doubt the third baseman's offensive excellence is declining significantly.

163: The number of games A-Rod has missed the previous two seasons. Essentially, he's only stayed healthy for one campaign out of the two.

13: The number of hits A-Rod's had the previous three postseasons, after his crushing 2009 playoff run in which he had 15 hits, six home runs and had 11 extra-base hits in 15 games. Since then, in 21 games, he's only had 13 hits, 2 for extra bases and zero for home runs.

Everyone: The amount of Yankees fans that want him out of pinstripes by the year's end.

Just A-Rod: The people who want to keep A-Rod in New York.

There's little doubt that A-Rod's second $200 million dollar deal (signed by the Yanks in 2007 at age 32 after he opted out of his original 10-year, $250 million dollar contract) was a gigantic mistake. However, at the time, Rodriguez had come off his third MVP season in five years with an impeccable record of health, never missing more than eight games since he became a free agent in 2000. The Yankees, as they do, had a very casual "spend now, worry later" attitude about the deal, not fully hit with the reality that like all aging baseball players, A-Rod's late thirties wouldn't be nearly as productive as his early-thirties.

MAMBINO's MLB Playoff Preview, Part 2: Yankees/Orioles and Nationals/Cardinals

National League Division Series: St. Louis Cardinals over the Washington Nationals in 4 Games

KOBEsh: Let's get this out of the way: St. Louis' controversial win over the Atlanta Braves has zero bearing on this game. The Cardinals, having faced elimination five times in the past 12 months, didn't go into this game thinking that they could possibly lose, even though most people (even here on MAMBINO) picked Atlanta to come of this game tonight. A younger, more inexperienced team could have been rattled, thinking that they could have, or even should have, lost that game. The defending champions aren't giving a second thought to a call that in honesty was only the second worst sports referring job in the past two weeks.

That being said, the reason the St. Louis Cardinals will go on to defeat a team with almost 10 more regular season wins than them isn't just for all the reasons they've survived every comeback before this one. Yes, STL has a mountain more postseason familiarity than their opponents from the District who have only one regular player with any substantive playoff experience (Jayson Werth). But that can't account for everything. What will get them three wins is patience.

Instant Trade Analysis: Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees

New York Yankees get: OF Ichiro Suzuki, $4.5 million

Seattle Mariners get: P Danny Farquhar, P DJ Mitchell

I came home from work today, to find my bearded roommate in the kitchen preparing dinner. In between cuts of green beans, I asked him, "did you hear who the Yankees traded for today?" He looked at me instantly wide-eyed, knowing that such a question is never asked without an answer that lives up to the fast twitch reaction. I told him the player was outrageously hilarious, but not because it was a star like Matt Kemp or Justin Upton. After a few wild guesses like Barry Bonds or Manny Ramirez, I let him have it: the New York Yankees had just traded for Ichiro Suzuki. He looked back, laughed, and that was that. In a trade that seemingly only the New York Yankees could make, GM Brian Cashman has found himself an outfield replacement for Brett Gardner in Seattle Mariners franchise cornerstone, Ichiro Suzuki.

Hide Ya Kids: A Mariano-less World Isn't Safe

I don't go to the Boogie Down often, but when I do, I go to watch YOUR New York Yankees.

Last night, the gloomy, rainy night mimicked my emotions as I entered through baseball's 3-plus year old cathedral for the first time this season. I wasn't going to see the great Mariano Rivera pitch tonight, nor would I get to see him pitch live for the rest of the season.

Rain makes a baseball game about as boring as watching it on TV. The seats, and therefore your pants, are wet. The stadium is as empty as a New Jersey Nets game. And there's always the threat of the umpires postponing the game, making the trip a complete waste of time.

But throw in the fact that Rivera wasn't there, and for most of the evening, I just wanted to go back home.

Mariano Rivera, Out for the Season

In what seems to be an epidemic in the sports world as of late, Mariano Rivera tore his ACL last night, shagging balls during Yankees batting practice in Kansas City. We'll wait until next week until BockerKnocker gets back from his out of town business trip (read: he's up to no good) for his no doubt heart-wrenching reaction, but in the meantime, we'll get some reflection from Mambinite and sullen Knicks soldier, El Miz:

MAMBINO Fantasy Monday: The Panic-Meter

On Friday, the Anaheim Angels and the Washington Nationals called up the consensus #1 and #2 prospects in the game, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout respectively. At ages 19 and 20, Harper and Trout are the two current youngest players in the major leagues. "Wayne's World" has more experience existing than these two. Writing that bringing these two up from the minors is a "panic move" is hardly an overstatement; it might just be accurate.

It's early in the season, but what I know is that it's never too early for a team to freak out from underperformance. Let's take a quick look at some early season moves made by teams across the MLB landscape, grade them 1 to 10 on the "Panic-Meter" and see what type of fantasy implications are there.

A Brand New Start of It, in Old New York

In 2006, Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland described the potent New York Yankee lineup with the phrase "Murderer's Row and Cano." Of course, everyone looked past the blasphemy of comparing any lineup to the first six hitters of the 1927 team, because Leyland couldn't have been 100% serious, the Yankees had just run through the American League with considerable offensive firepower, and hey, it rhymed. But that was 6 years ago. 6 years ago, Derek Jeter was 31, Alex Rodriguez was 30, both in the primes of their athletic careers. 6 years ago, nobody would dare call Yankee Stadium a bandbox or lament of a possible jet stream. And 6 years ago, Robinson Cano was merely the tail end of a Yankee rhyme.

In 2012, both Jeter and A-Rod will spend time in the designated hitter slot to make sure their brittle bones can stomach another 162+. Pitchers visiting the Boogey Down will see their earned run averages increase ever so slightly. But this season is all about one man.

David Robertson Hurts Foot Doing Regular People Things

I've had a lot of stupid injuries in my day. Tried to climb aboard a high chair when I was 3, only to have my body weight force me and said chair to the ground. Ended up with a huge bump on the back of my head that stayed there for weeks. When I was about 7, I watched a Looney Tunes episode in which one of the characters slithered head-first down a set of stairs, so naturally I tried to do the same thing. Ended up tumbling all the way down, hitting my head on a step 3 times, one for every revolution of head over feet. And just this morning, I got out of bed only to roll over my papier mache ankle when I stepped on an innocent spare shoe.

But each time I got hurt in a dumb way, it never affected my ability to do my job. And that's because all those nights praying to God to make me an NBA All-Star proved futile. David Robertson, on the other hand, is not just a major league pitcher: he's the stud setup man for the most famous sports franchise in the world. He's the guy who pitches well enough so that Mariano Rivera actually makes an appearance. He's the guy who, when the playoffs come around, girls at bars point to him on TV and ask you who he is.

A couple of days ago, David Robertson carried a box of recyclables outside. He undertook the treacherous path that we regular people call "stairs," forgot he was a professional athlete with impeccable hand-eye coordination, and hurt his foot. The initial MRI gave manager Joe Girardi "cause for concern," so Robertson was sent for a CT scan and a body-weighted MRI (whatever the hell that means). Luckily, Robertson's ankle was free from swelling, and should be back in about a week.

But seriously, moving boxes? That's embarrassing. However, it gives me the opportunity to power-rank the dumbest baseball-related injuries I've ever heard:

Trade Analysis: AJ Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates

Here on MAMBINO, we like to try and do Instant Trade Analysis posts, as to collect and document the immediate reactions that we have to impactful transactions in both baseball and the NBA. While time always gives us the objectivity to better reflect on any trade, the visceral reaction that we have to player movement as fans is always such a fascinating part of any trading deadline. Also, it gets us a lot of hits.

Yes, we blew it on the A.J. Burnett deal. But my reflections have gone largely unchanged since this was a reported deal on Friday. So here we go:

New York Yankees get: minor league outfielder Exicardo Cayones, and pitcher Diego Moreno

Pittsburgh Pirates get: RHP AJ Burnett, $20 million dollars

Instant Trade Analysis: Other Aspects of the Day the Yanks KILLED It

Even as the prohibitive favorites to win the AL East, the New York Yankees just got favorite...er. In fact, they might be the prohibitive favorites to win the whole damn thing. Because the New York Yankees just had a day.

Already excellently covered by BockerKnocker earlier in the evening, the Yanks pulled off a major trade tonight involving the primary pieces Jesus Montero and Michael Pineda.

Instant Trade Analysis: Jesus Montero to Seattle

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has reported that the New York Yankees have traded uber prospect Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners. Also going west is promising young right-hander Hector Noesi, in exchange for stud starting pitcher Michael Pineda and minor league pitcher Jose Campos.

The Yanks have found exactly what they were looking for, a starting pitcher who can make fans feel like they don't have to start a countdown to the next time that CC Sabathia takes the hill. But at what cost?

Yankees Recap: We Don't Need (Too Much) Fixing

Last night, the Detroit Tigers sent YOUR New York Yankees packing, with a 3-2 win in the deciding Game 5 of the American League Division Series. But seriously, it is far too easy to panic. We had a good, nay, great team this year. And how many of you wouldn't sign up for a season in which the Red Sox fell on their face on the last day of the season?

There's a lot to look forward to next year. So I present to you, my hope for the 2012 Bronx Bombers:

Batting Order

1. Derek Jeter, SS

Is he the prototypical leadoff hitter? Is his range at shortstop declining faster than the time it will take you to stop reading this blog post? Will his hairline ever grow back? No, no, and I'm holding out hope that he discovers a cure. He may not be the perfect guy at this spot, but he will always be the perfect Yankee. Quite frankly, I'll let him play until he says he's ready to leave the game. Besides, he surprised everybody by hitting at a near .300 clip this year. We could do a lot worse.

2. Curtis Granderson, CF

What more can you say about the 2011 American League Mambino winner for MVP? Grandy Man Can led the majors in runs, was second in homers* to Joey Bats with 41, drove in a-buck-19 from the two-hole. An OPS of .916 was good enough, but after those full extension dives this week, I got WET. Love this guy.

*Both Curtis and Bautista would lose the homer battle to my bro KOBEsh. I'm still looking for that baseball.

3. Robinson Cano, 2B

Granderson's swing is so compact that he covers a lot of the plate. But Cano's is so...effortless. It is so fluid that people often mistake the guy for being lazy. He batted fifth for the vast majority of the year because Girardi had too much respect for Teixeira to switch them up. With Tex on board, I expect even better numbers from our franchise player.

4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B

Listen, we all have different types of friends, right? Your best friends are those that you can relentlessly mock, without having fear of hurting their feelings. This dynamic doesn't apply to all of your friends. With some people, you dance around certain topics because those friends aren't ready to be weird with you yet, or maybe ever. A Yankee fan's best friend on the team is probably Mariano Rivera. He's been so dominant for such a long period of time, that a blown save every once in a while gets thrown under the rug. When he gives up a run, he knows we still love him. But A-Rod's not that type of guy with us. We shouldn't make fun of him for hooking up with a dinosaur, and we shouldn't make fun of him for kissing himself in the mirror. We haven't established enough of a relationship with him where it can get all kinds of awkward and have it be okay. So we shouldn't boo him. It makes him sad. Maybe we wish he didn't strike out with the bases loaded, but if we make him feel bad for it, he's just gonna strike out again next time. You wanna boo the team after Detroit celebrates on our turf? Fine. But booing A-Rod will not motivate him to do better. (A contract year will, but that's another story.)

Keep in mind that he played through injuries all year. He persevered, playing through them whenever possible. I'll take a healthy Alex batting cleanup next year. I won't be super stoked, but I ain't booing the guy.

5. Mark Teixeira, 1B

Tex's biggest problem this year was the defensive shift that teams used when he had to bat from the left side. One thing I noticed from last night's game was how calm his at-bat was in the 7th inning, with the bases loaded and after Rodriguez struck out. See, you can't shift so hard with men on base (does it seem like there's a "that's what she said" in there somewhere?). Here's hoping that hitting two spots lower in the order will put more men on base for Mark next year.

6. Jesus Montero, DH

The kid showed that he can hit, and I instantly forgave him for being lazy in AAA this year. A lot of fans will implore General Manager Brian Cashman to find better starting pitching this winter, and I guess I can't blame them. But the Yankees had a pretty good staff this year, even though they had to piece it together off of the street. To get good starting pitching, we will probably have to give this guy up. I say NO. I'm excited for a full year of at-bats for the Jesus.

7. Russell Martin, C

Of course we would all like Russ to be better offensively, but we should come to grips that there are very few studs at this position. It's far more important to have a backstop who can handle A.J.'s hurt feelings the pitching staff, especially in the AL East. My hope is that Girardi gives Martin more days off next year, by sliding Jesus into the role at least once a week. This will also accomplish the objective of giving the older regulars "half-days" off, because the DH spot can rotate when Jesus wears the catcher's mitt.

8. Eduardo Nunez, RF

This is my did-he-just-say-that moment of the post. Here's the deal: I'm a BIG Nick Swisher guy. I love the energy. I love the Roll Call Salute. His tweets could be more entertaining, but we can work on that. Swish has a club option for 10.25 million next year. One can easily argue that most of the Yankees aren't worth their salary, and compared to those Yankees, Swisher is relatively cheap. The problem has more to do with finding Nunez at-bats next year. Although Nunez was the recipient of a Mambino cheap shot earlier this year, he showed great promise when A-Rod and Jeter went down. I'm a huge fan of homegrown talent, and while that may affect my objectivity, let's see what the kid can do. Swisher's power numbers should be replaced by Jesus anyway.

9. Brett Gardner, LF

I think Girardi's one big mistake this past series was pinch hitting Eric Chavez for Gardy in Game 2. Of COURSE Chavez struck out on 3 pitches. Gardner certainly has the least amount of pop in this lineup, but he's a decent hitter with a good batting eye. The sky's the limit if he can improve his performance against left-handed pitching.

Pitching Staff

1. CC Sabathia

It would be a wise business move to opt-out after Cliff Lee scored a megadeal last winter. Good thing the Steinbrenners are in the money-printing business. Many people wouldn't classify Carsten Charles as a top 5 starting pitcher, but he has been our ace for three years now. There is nobody, not even The Best Pitcher Alive Justin Verlander, who has been more of a workhorse. And while that may not bode well down the road, we can afford to give CC the world.

2. Ivan Nova

Well, we didn't lose because of SuperNova. The rookie showed enough cojones to pitch well all season. When he was demoted to the minors in favor of Phil Hughes, he didn't cry about it. He just got better. Even if there's an innings limit, Nova is without question the Yanks' 2nd best starter.

3. A.J. Burnett

For better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, from this day forward until death do us part.

4. Phil Hughes

So maybe he's not the elite flame thrower we thought he'd be. But through all the turmoil and the injuries, there were a few decent outings this year. Give him another shot and see what happens. If it blows up in our faces, we can always send Big Fat Bartolo Colon to Dr. Galea again.

5. Dellin Betances

He's ready, but he's not ready, according to baseball people whom I assume have constant nightmares wherein Tommy John reincarnate appears. The fifth starter can be skipped at various points of the season, due to off days, rainouts, and the like. We tried to baby Joba and Hughes, and we don't really have much to show for it. LET'S GO FOR IT this time.

6. Bullpen

The best in the game. A lot of the credit has to go to Girardi. He massages the bullpen workload better than any manager in baseball, and the numbers speak for themselves (led the AL with a 3.21 bullpen ERA). Tweak nothing.

In more exciting news, the NBA lockout is nearing a critical stage this weekend. Cross your fingers!

The Skinny Kid from Panama

Ruth, Boggs and Damon played for the Red Sox.

Mantle was an alcoholic.

Joe D married a sloot.

Reggie was a dickhead to his teammates.

O'Neill slammed Gatorade coolers.

Giambi, Clemens, Pettitte, and A-Rod took performance-enhancing drugs.

Wells won a Babe Ruth game-worn hat in an auction, and sweat into it while pitching a real game. (This was slightly cool, actually)

The Big Unit assaulted a photographer.

Leyritz killed somebody!

Torre threw his own players and his former employers under the bus with a tell-all book.

Jorge went passive-aggressive on us, taking himself out of the lineup after Girardi batted him 9th.

Even the Captain, as great as he is, revealed his frustrations about contract negotiations to the public.

So many transgressions from so many Yankees. And then there's Mariano Rivera. When people use the pause button on Yankee-hating hour, they often speak of Derek Jeter. They laud Jeter for his class. They praise Jeter for being clutch. They envy Jeter for his stable.

What about Rivera? He has been the consummate professional for his entire career. Talking heads will certainly mention in the coming days that he always "played the game the right way," but up until they do so, he certainly hasn't received the attention that the shortstop has.

DJ3K

Everybody knows that I love the NBA. And while I thoroughly enjoy me some hoop game, there isn't a single basketball player I love more than Derek Jeter. He is my Kobe (cheat on Minka all you want bro, I'll forgive you for the obvious lapse in judgment). That aside, I could go on and basically say everything that will be repeated in his HBO special or in the imminent ESPN montage featuring someone like Tim Kurkjian, but you guys aren't reading MAMBINO for that (you're reading because KOBEsh and I are your friends and you feel bad for us). But maybe...just maybe...you don't know this fact.

Since 1900, there has been one player in MLB history who has recorded 10 years of 190+ hits, 10+ HRs, and 10+ SBs.

ONE.