Anyway, for those that don't know, the hottest "free agent" (more on that later) in baseball is Yu Darvish, one of the best pitchers in Japan, who was recently made available by his NPL team, the Nippon-Ham Fighters. Darvish makes for an interesting gamble for major league teams due to his age (25), which is much younger than any of the free agent starting pitchers currently available (due to MLB players needing six years of major league experience to become a free agent, most free agents are in their late 20s and 30s). Darvish has been rather impressive statistically for Nippon-Ham, posting a sub-2 ERA the last five seasons:

Bold indicates league leader; statistics current as of 5 Nov. 2011
[thanks to Wikipedia for the snazzy table!] 

Keep in mind though that NPB isn't exactly a "hitter's league", so don't go expecting Pedro Martinez-in-his-prime numbers from Darvish just yet. That said, Darvish still projects to be a #2 starter according to people like Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus. What he is now - we're not sure.

The reason for the quotes around "free agent" is NPB's "posting system" that allows players that are otherwise contractually required to stay in the Japanese league to make the transition over to Major League Baseball. Under NPB rules, players may not become eligible to sign with an international league (like MLB) until they have nine years of NPB service. Players who wish to leave earlier than that must ask to be "posted" by their NPB team (which the team is not required to do), which announces to MLB teams their intentions to play in Major League Baseball.

Why would a team like the Nippon-Ham Fighters post a star player such as Darvish? Money. When the player is posted, all 30 teams can post silent bids for exclusive negotiation rights to that player. After four days have passed and all the bids have been submitted, the NPB team is informed of the highest bid and then has the option of accepting the bid or rejecting it. If they reject the bid, the process is over and the player returns to his NPB team for another season. If they accept it, the winning team is informed and they have 30 days to work out a contract with the player. If the player signs a contract with the MLB team, the NPB team pockets the posting bid as a "signing fee" for the player. If the player doesn't sign, the player goes back to his NPB team and the MLB team keeps its posting bid. Confused yet?

In the case of Darvish, the bids have been submitted and the deadline has passed. In theory, there doesn't have to be any announcement of who won the bidding or how much the winning bid was, but often this information is leaked early or flat-out announced. In the case of another NPB player who has gone through the process this offseason, Hiroyuki Nakajima, the MLB team that won the bidding (the New York Yankees) was reported widely, but the amount of the winning bid (thought to be around $2.5 million) is still not official. When the Red Sox won the bidding for Daisuke Matsuzaka, the winning bid amount was announced because of its significance (Red Sox owner John Henry felt the specific amount was "lucky", and it was the highest posting bid ever at that time for a NPB player), while in the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Norihiro Nakamura, the winning bid was never announced.

What if Darvish's rights are won by a team that he doesn't want to sign with? Well, Darvish would be out of luck, although it is possible that a "sign-and-trade" deal could be worked out. That's what the Yankees are reportedly exploring with Nakajima, a player they made a low bid on (a comparable NPB player, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, was awarded to the Minnesota Twins last season with a winning bid of more than twice what the Yankees reportedly bid on Nakajima). Nakajima doesn't really fit into the Yankees plans that well (the Yanks have said that he projects to be a second backup infielder for them) but would likely start for several other MLB teams who might have been scared off by a potentially high bidding price. However, since Nakajima's rights are exclusively the Yankees', he would need to sign with them before he could go anywhere else, otherwise he returns to his NPB team. That's unlikely to happen with Darvish though, who would project to start with any team that might acquire his rights. Plus, there is some question as to how soon a player who signs a contract could actually be traded, since newly drafted players and traditional free agents have limits as to how long they must be with the team that signs them before they can be traded. EDIT: after a little research, I found that according to the last CBA, free agents cannot be traded before June 15th of the following season UNLESS "the player gives written consent to such a transaction." So if it's cool with Nakajima, it's cool with MLB.

For now, we wait and see with Darvish (and Nakajima, to a lesser extent), and I've managed to get a Mariah Carey Christmas song stuck in your head in the process.

Yet despite the combination of humor and terror that Burnett starts have given Yankee fans in the past, the fanbase is realizing that their season depends on him, and has warmed up to him much in the same way that coworkers sing "Happy Birthday" to the mail clerk who shows up one day with his own cake and a handgun, crying hysterically. They've used the phrase "I believe in A.J." - paraphrasing a comment manager Joe Girardi said during last season's ALCS:

Joe Girardi added that using Burnett protects the young Phil Hughes and the aging Andy Pettitte. "We set up our rotation for a number of reasons. We're just staying with it," Girardi said. "Phil Hughes has never thrown on short rest. We have Andy Pettitte, who is coming off an injury. There's a lot of things that go into making up your rotation. We believe in A.J. I know it's been a tough year for him at times this year, but we believe in A.J."

Burnett lost Game 4 of the 2010 ALCS, but that's beside the point. The "I believe in A.J." thing seems to have taken off to meme-like status, leading me to share the things that I believe. Feel free to share yours online using the #IBelieve hashtag, and let me know.

• I BELIEVE that Crash Davis' speech to Annie Savoy is so full of estrogen he probably grew boobs saying it.
• I BELIEVE that Joe Torre destroyed Jeff Weaver's career.
• I BELIEVE in Johnny Calhoun's This These Things I Believe.
• I BELIEVE that all closers should either look insane, have awesome facial hair, or be quiet, skinny Panamanians.
• I BELIEVE that catchers should block the plate if the ball is coming and that runners should run them the hell over if they are blocking it.
• I BELIEVE that companies should accurately describe their dress code in their code of conduct or whatever they want to call it, right down to what is appropriate for "casual Friday", and that IT people should be able to ignore it.
• I BELIEVE that if you're backing into a parking spot, and you're not unloading something, you're probably a douche.
• I BELIEVE that ticket prices do not hurt attendance as much in the long run as inflated concession prices. That goes for movies, too.
• I BELIEVE in Coach Lubbock, and I'm glad he got a shot at St. Augustine's Academy.
• I BELIEVE that children are our future; teach them well, and let them lead the way. [you knew that was coming]

And I believe that the Yanks have a shot with Burnett on the mound. Take away a horrid August, and A.J.'s got an ERA in the 4.20s for the remainder of the season. It's not exactly "ace" numbers, but Rick Porcello isn't exactly Justin Verlander, is he?

Who would win in a fight - Bobby Knight or Woody Hayes?

Bobby Knight, because Woody Hayes is dead.

Assuming the two were alive though (and ignoring the age difference), I'm still going with Knight. I think Hayes would start well early, but then Knight would turn the tables with a low blow then start to dominate, busting Hayes open. Hayes would eventually charge back, appear to have the match won, but then Brutus Buckeye (at ringside to support Hayes) would jump on the apron (distracting the referee), allowing Bo Schembechler to run to ringside, throw Knight a chair, which Knight would use to clock Hayes and get the three count. Knight, Schembechler, and Brutus would celebrate over the fallen Hayes, with Brutus removing his head to reveal - ART SCHLICHTER.

At least that's how I'd book it.

What would you have done with Joe Mauer if you had run the Twins back when they drafted him? Would you have kept him at catcher, or moved him to another position?

I'm touchy on the catching subject since catcher was the position I played through most of my childhood through high school. The feeling is that if you have a very good player who catches, a team might be willing to convert him to another position in order to lengthen his career, due to the higher injury risk for catchers than at any other position.

I think if I were Minnesota, I would have probably done the same exact thing. I think catcher can be a throwaway position offensively as long as the catcher fields his position well and can call a good game. Catchers are often a second manager on the field, and it helps the team more to have a catcher who knows the game and makes the rest of his team better than to have a player who hits well but brings nothing else to the table catching just because is capable of doing it and has done it in the past. That said, I think taking Mauer out from behind the plate depreciates his value as a player; he plays the position well, calls a good game, and is a team leader, AND manages to be one of the best hitters in baseball. Putting him at first base or right field might extend his career a few more seasons, but injuries happen there too, and you take away part of what makes him a total package player by moving him.

Would the Carolinas be a better home for the Rays or A's if new stadium deals can't be reached?

Right now I think just about anywhere would be a better home for the Rays, including Tampa (instead of St. Pete where they are now, locked into their lease until forever). While I could potentially see the Rays moving to Charlotte (although it appears Charlotte doesn't actually want a major league team - the minor league Charlotte Knights don't even play in Charlotte), I wouldn't want to see the team move to the Raleigh/Durham area. It's not really a baseball area (sports radio focus is on college sports first, Hurricanes hockey second, all other crap third), and I think they have a great thing going in Durham with the Bulls.

As for Oakland, I don't know if Raleigh or Charlotte is the answer for them. Tampa I think would do well because the fanbase is already somewhat established with their Triple-A team being a Tampa affiliate for the last 10+ years. The A's I think would be best suited to stay on the West Coast if they can't get something in the Oakland area, say to Portland or Sacramento.

Is He-Man the most homoerotic cartoon from the 80s?

Despite the episode of G.I. Joe where Snake Eyes & Shipwreck the sailor dance in a kickline and have to wear dresses, I'm going to have to say yes. VERY MUCH YES.

Best video game out there right now?

Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble, followed by Baseball Stars and NHL '95. What? I'm sure you could get a modded Sega Saturn around somewhere.

On a scale from 1 (rips tags off of mattresses) to 10 (rips facial hair off of prison guards), where does Ozzie Guillen rank?

3.87. But hearing that he was looking forward to joining the Marlins increases that number greatly.

Should I buy a Mac or a Windows machine?

If you are cheap, afraid of change, work with them for a living, or a masochist, go with a Windows machine.

If you have money to blow, have never used a computer before, are scared of technology, or like feeling self important, go with a Mac.

If you want to surf the net, check your email, and play games, buy an iPad.

In reality, 80% of people who feel they need one of the first two things only need the third thing. But that doesn't stop people from buying Corvettes and massive pickup trucks to drive 6 miles to work (at 35mph) each day, does it?

Runners are on first and third. First pitch, runner on first breaks for second. What should the catcher do?

Assuming the runner doesn't have a tremendous jump, he guns it to second. The pitcher needs to be aware of the guy on third though and be prepared to snag the throw as it's coming past him. If the guy on third isn't paying attention, he can get nailed in a rundown. If the runner is paying attention, that extra half second of hesitation he makes making sure it doesn't get cut off may give him a bad jump and cause him to get nailed at the plate.

How old is Andruw Jones anyway?

Andruw Jones had come out of retirement to fight Rocky Marciano the minute he was 76 years old. Andruw Jones was always lying about his age. He lied about his age all the time. One time Bobby Cox came in here and sat in this chair. I said Bobby 'you hang out with Andruw Jones, just between me and you, how old is Andruw Jones?' You know what Bobby told me, he said "Hey, Andruw Jones is 137 years old." A hundred and thirty-seven years old!

Did Girardi handcuff himself by seemingly not mapping his rotation leading up to the playoffs?

(I got this before the playoffs started) He didn't really handcuff himself, because he was shooting darts like the rest of us were coming into the final week. Outside of CC, it was a crapshoot as to who the #2 or #3 really should have been. I don't think Girardi wanted to lean on Nova, but he's been the most consistent (well, the most consistently "not bad") starter he's had this season outside of Sabathia. I think he would have liked to go with Colon, but Colon looks like he's out of gas. Girardi had to play the hot hand, and the only way to do that was to put those guys out there and see who earned the spot. I think if Dellin Betances hadn't done his best Nuke LaLoosh impersonation in his debut, Girardi would have seriously considered going the Matt Moore route (not that Betances is anywhere near as ready as Moore is.)

Is Rex Ryan's ego too big for the Jets own good?

The Jets should be 1-3 right now, Dallas collapse aside. I don't watch enough Jets games (or football in general) to criticize Ryan's playcalling or coaching style, but he seems like a perfect fit for the Jets, at least from a marketing standpoint. Ryan fits in wonderfully with New York, who know Rex will provide them with quotes and brash predictions and be back page material. From someone trying to sell the team where the #1 team in town has always been the Giants, he's a godsend, and in the years that he's been there he's managed to make the Jets the #1 team in town, bumping the Giants off the back page.

The key problem with this is that while it may be an "image" and not necessarily reflect Ryan in reality, the combination of love from the media (at least going into this season) and his recent success may end up being his (and the team's) downfall. He was given a pretty loaded team that should have made the playoffs the season before he took over, fell into the playoffs his first season (thanks to wins against against the Colts and Bengals who had both benched their starters), then had a good season last year - albeit one that was expected due to a loaded roster. It'll be interesting to see what happens when Ryan faces some real challenges (and criticism from the local media).

Did DC Comics sell out to 13-year-old boys instead of their regular audience?

I didn't read Red Hood & The Outlaws #1, which is the main issue of the "New 52" that triggers this "DC hates women" argument, but I know the controversy, especially when someone lets a seven-year-old read it. In short, they made her 95% naked and 125% horny.

The issue I have with the "repackaging" of Starfire (and Amanda Waller, and to a lesser extent Harley Quinn) is not necessarily her outfit or the image that's "portraying", but more that it almost seems - from what we've seen of the first issue - that Kori/Starfire has lost any character depth she's developed in the 30+ years the character has existed. The fact is that she's never been a conservative dresser by any stretch of the imagination, and always this kind of character that treated sex and relationships differently than humans. But instead of being different and forcing us to look at love and relationships and sex from a different perspective, Kori comes off like an emotionless Barney Stinson, which makes her character come off like it was written by a fanfic hack instead of a paid professional.

Sure, it might be all an "angle" where we learn that that's not really how Starfire is (whether it was planned that way or we get a quick rewrite based on reaction), but when it comes back to the reasoning for the "reboot" in the first place - which is to bring in new readers and introduce them to a product without necessarily knowing any backstory - you have one chance to make a first impression, and that's a hell of an impression you're making with Starfire, and that comic in general.

--

That's it for this week - hopefully I'll get some more feedback and questions and I'll try to knock out another one of these next week.

As I mentioned yesterday, the last day of the baseball regular season was going to have some drama involved, as both Boston and Atlanta were on the brink of huge collapses and giving up playoff spots that were all but guaranteed when the month started. Both did, in varying levels of drama, as a result of four games.

Game one was the least dramatic, and probably the most predictable. St. Louis made short (and quick - two hours, twenty minutes) work of Houston, scoring five in the first and having Chris Carpenter pitch like he had to catch a plane. Carpenter pitched a complete game two hit shutout, giving up a hit only to J.B. Shuck and Jose Altuve, who were in Triple A and Single A respectively when the season started. Thanks for trying, Houston - your 106 losses were the most by a team in six years, and you let a 90-loss team come in two places ahead of you in the division.

Game two saw Atlanta go up on Philadelphia 3-1 early, then give up a run in the seventh, another run in the ninth, then finally (as is the case with these games most times), a fluke broken bat hit to drive in the eventual winning run in the 13th inning. It seemed appropriate that Dan Uggla was involved in all three of the most memorable offensive moments for the Braves in this game, since he was the "impact player" Atlanta picked up during the offseason that was going to put them over the top. Uggla would hit the home run that put the Braves on top early, get thrown out at the plate to turn the tide of the game, and be part of the double play that ended the game. There's your impact.

Really, though - it was games three and four that put the night over the top. On one side, Tampa and the Yankees, and on the other, Boston and Baltimore. At one time during the evening, with Tampa down 7-0 and Boston up on Baltimore 3-2 in the middle of a rain delay, I joked with someone that if the Red Sox didn't clinch tonight the Yankees and God were plotting against them.

Turns out they were - Tampa comes back to put it at 7-6 before Dan Johnson delivers a pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game at 7, Baltimore scores two runs in the bottom of the 9th - all with two outs - in their game to beat Boston, then Tampa's Evan Longoria hits a solo home run in the bottom of the 12th to give Tampa the win, shutting the Red Sox out of the playoffs.

In a night filled with excitement and the emotional highs and lows for the various teams' fanbases, things start to get picked apart and analyzed, if just for the varying randomness that you get from baseball and few other sports.

• On September 3rd, the Boston Red Sox stood a half-game behind the New York Yankees for the best record in the American League and nine games ahead of Tampa Bay for the AL Wild Card lead with 24 games left to play. At that time, the Red Sox stood a 99.6% chance of making the playoffs, the highest point they would achieve during the season, while Tampa's chances stood at 0.5%. Tampa would go 16-8 over the rest of the season, while Boston would go 6-18.
• Boston's collapse is all the more dramatic just because of how dominant they were early in the season. On July 9th, Boston's playoff chances cracked the 90% barrier with a 54-35 record, best in the American League. On that same date, Detroit stood at 39.9% (a half-game behind Cleveland in the AL Central), Milwaukee stood at only 24.6% (tied for the NL Central with St. Louis and only a game above Pittsburgh), and Arizona was at 41.3%, two games behind NL West leading San Francisco. Detroit, Milwaukee, and Arizona would all make the playoffs. In contrast, Atlanta - themselves the victim of a playoff run collapse, didn't break the 90% barrier until August 19th, and cracked 80% only one time before then - on July 9th.
• Dan Johnson, who hit the game-tying home run for Tampa, was batting .108 at the time he came to the plate against the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. He had not played in six games, and his last major league hit had come more than five months earlier, on April 27th.
• Johnson had spent most of the season with the Rays Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls, where he hit 13 home runs - down from 30 the previous season. His .459 slugging percentage was the worst of his minor league career. Johnson's teammate for about two weeks when he was sent down to Durham? Cory Wade, who served up the solo shot to him.
• When Boone Logan struck out Russ Canzler in the bottom of the 7th, the Rays statistically had less than a 1% chance of winning the game.
• Jonathan Papelbon blew only three save opportunities during the 2011 season; two were against Baltimore within the span of eight days, including the final game of the season, where Papelbon received his only loss.
• Papelbon struck out the first two batters of the inning before facing Chris Davis. Davis in September had 25 strikeouts in 84 plate appearances, including a rare 5 strikeout game three weeks earlier, and struck out 30% of time he made a plate appearance with the Orioles, second highest among team regulars. He had faced Papelbon six times before that at-bat, going 0-6 with three strikeouts. Davis doubled into right field.
• Nolan Reimold, the Orioles #9 batter, had one hit in seven previous plate appearances against Papelbon. Reimold hit a ground-rule double, tying the score.
• Remember how I mentioned Papelbon blew two saves against Baltimore? The player who drove in the game winning runs against Papelbon in that game was Robert Andino, who batted after Reimold and drove him in with the game-winning base hit.

I could go on and on with this type of stuff, but since this is already what - 3 days late? - we'll end it here.

The Red Sox, after failing to contact Vaughn Eshelman and Joe Hesketh, had Terry Francona close his eyes, spin around, and point to Erik Bedard, who went out and almost got through the fourth inning before having to be rescued by Alfredo Aceves, who probably should have started one of the recent games, but then he couldn't have pitched 6 1/3 innings over the last three games back-to-back-to-back. Daniel Bard decided to be September Daniel Bard (0-4, 11.70 ERA) and even Jonathan Papelbon decided to make it interesting by putting the tying run on second base before recording the final out in an 8-7 victory over Baltimore.

Tampa, facing a Yankees B-squad lineup that featured Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira, found themselves with runners on second and third, no outs, and down 3-2 in the top of the 6th at the Trop. Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson intentionally walks Jorge Posada to load the bases surely in an effort to get Russell Martin to ground into a triple play. Martin did (STRATEGY!), Matt Joyce hits a three-run homer off of former Rays closer Rafael Soriano, and Tampa remains tied with Boston for the AL Wild Card with a 5-3 win thanks to a sequence that had it taken place in Moneyball everyone in the theater would have rolled their eyes at the same time.

Over in the National League, the Cardinals tied for the NL Wild Card lead by going all CPU cheat on Houston, coming back from 5-0 and 6-5 deficits to win 13-6. During the game, Cards manager Tony LaRussa managed to use nearly every player on his 40-man roster, so it's quite possible St. Louis had 11 or 12 players on the field during the game. Memo to Tony - you can't have this kind of fun in the American League.

Meanwhile, the Phillies beat the Braves again, 7-1, after knocking around Braves starter Derek Lowe for five earned runs and six hits in four innings of work. I know Lowe hasn't exactly been great this season, but his 0-5 record and 8.75 ERA in 5 September starts makes it seem like he thinks he's still in Boston. Not Lowe's fault (entirely, at least): Atlanta only managed four hits all game, and their lone run came from a Martin Prado solo shot off Kyle Kendrick in garbage time in the 9th.

So here's what we've got.

• Same matchups as last night; Boston's in Baltimore, Tampa hosts the Yankees, the Phillies are in Atlanta, and St. Louis takes on the Astros in Houston.
• According to coolstandings.com, Boston stands a 59.1% chance of coming out of this with the AL Wild Card over Tampa, while St. Louis now is 61.3% likely to take the NL Wild Card over Atlanta. No other team is playoff eligible - the Angels and Giants were disposed of a few days ago.
• Boston has a rare moment of pitching relief with Jon Lester going tonight, however Lester is coming off his worst start of the season (2.2 IP, 8 ER vs. NY) and has lost three straight. Baltimore counters with Alfredo Simon, which sounds like a bad pasta dish at a cheap Italian place.
• The Rays throw David Price at the Yanks, who counter with Dellin Betances. Price hasn't been dominant in September, but he did pitch well the last time he pitched against the Bombers (8 IP, 1 ER on August 12th). Betances pitched most of this season in AA, and is one of the top pitching prospects in their system. He struggled a bit in four starts at the AAA level (0-3, 5.14 ERA, 15 BB in 21 IP), and in his only major league appearance (against Tampa, in mop-up duty) faced seven batters, walking four of them and hitting one.
• Atlanta will at least have their best veteran starter going for them tonight as Tim Hudson faces Philadelphia. Atlanta is 3-8 in their last 11 games, but Hudson has two of those wins. The Phils are starting Joe Blanton in his first start since going on the DL in May. While it might seem like Philadelphia is layoff off of the Braves, they do have something still to play for - if the Phillies win tonight it will be their 102nd win, a franchise record.
• In contrast, Houston - in route to their worst record in franchise history - sends ex-Phil Brett Myers to the mound to face St. Louis and Chris Carpenter. While Myers' numbers don't look good this season, he's probably the best starter Braves fans could hope for the Cardinals to face, going 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA his last four starts. Carpenter started off a little rough but has been better in the second half.
• In the AL, the Yankees are the #1 seed, but that's the only thing that is set in stone. Texas is a game up for the #2 seed, but Detroit holds the tiebreaker so if they won and Texas lost, Detroit would be the #2 seed and host Tampa/Boston, with Texas visiting the Bronx. If Texas wins tonight, they host Boston/Tampa, and Detroit visits New York. Despite the wild card team having the weakest record of the four AL playoff teams, the #1 seed Yankees wouldn't play them because both Tampa and Boston are in the AL East and MLB rules prevent teams from the same division playing in the divisional series.
• It's even more complex in the NL. Philadelphia, like the Yankees, have the #1 seed set. Milwaukee has a one-game lead over Arizona for the #2, but Arizona holds the tiebreaker so if they win and Milwaukee loses, Arizona will host their NLDS series. Who they would host depends on who wins the wild card. If St. Louis wins it, they play Philadelphia and Milwaukee and Arizona play each other. However, if Atlanta wins it, Philly would host the #3 seed and Atlanta would travel to the #2 seed due to the "same division" rule mentioned earlier.

Of course, it's a little anti-climatic to have playoff hopes hinge on the performance of teams with nothing to play for. In an ideal world (at least from a baseball fan's perspective), all four teams would win (or lose), and we'd have two one-game playoffs, head-to-head, for the right to move on. If that happens, we'll discuss that tomorrow.

So with the Yankees taking two of four from Tampa, they're in the playoffs. That being said... do you take it easy on Tampa just to ensure Boston doesn't make the playoffs? I mean, you can get away with not playing your best team (a major injury before the playoffs would be killer), just to ensure that your biggest rival completes one of the most dramatic regular season collapses in baseball history?

Me - I'd love to see Boston fail, but there's the other side of this coin too. Tampa has been one of the best teams in baseball during September, while Boston has been one of the worst. While having Boston collapse might seem fun, having them limp into the playoffs would seem to help the Yankees in their drive for another championship better than allowing one of the hottest teams in MLB in would. Expect the Yankees to play like they (or any other team) normally would in late September with the playoffs almost in the bag, regardless of opponent.

Going into September, the Sawks were 83-52, a game and a half up on the Yankees for first place in the AL East and 9 games ahead of Tampa Bay. Statistically, they stood a 61.9% chance of winning the division, and a 99.4% chance of making the playoffs. [thanks coolstandings.com] Of all the teams in baseball, only Philadelphia (on a pace to win 105 games at that point) stood a better chance of making the playoffs.

Now, if Boston goes 5-5 in their next ten games and the Rays go 8-2, the Sawks clean out their lockers and work on their golf swings. Boston has gone 4-13 in September, second-worst in baseball (behind Minnesota - WTF happened there?) while Tampa has put together an 11-6 record.

Now while Boston's playoff chances bursting into flames is fun, it wouldn't be the worst collapse ever. And no Mets fans (like a Mets fan would read this) - it's not your 2007 collapse either (which at 99.5% still is a little bit more trainwreckish than what Boston is facing right now). That award goes to the 1995 California Angels, who on August 24th had a 99.9% chance of making the newly expanded playoffs, and came up one game short.

At 67-44, the Angels were 8.5 games ahead of second-place Texas (who also wouldn't make the playoffs, and 11.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners (watch out for them.) The Angels had a tremendous offense led by Tim Salmon (who went a career-best .330/.429/.594 with 34 HR and 105 RBI, good enough for... 7th in the MVP voting? Really?*) and bosted seven regulars with an OPS of .800 or better. However, the team would go 11-22 in its remaining schedule, while the Mariners would go 23-11, forcing a one-game playoff. The Angels put ex-Mariner Mark Langston on the hill, while the Mariners countered with Randy Johnson, one of the players the M's got for Langston when they dealt him six years earlier.

Did I mention this was Johnson's first Cy Young season, where he went 18-2, struck out almost 300, and was on his way to establishing William Wallace-like cred by closing out games he didn't start and ruining happy endings of movies?

The Mariners would go on to crush the Angels 9-1 in that playoff, and the Angels wouldn't reach the playoffs again until 2002, when they rode the back of some lucky monkey and a clutch rookie pitcher who won Game 7 of the World Series by the name of John Lackey.

Boy, those Sawks could really use a pitcher like Lackey right now. What? Oh, right.

[*Jay Buhner came in 5th that season in the AL MVP balloting, so I cannot complain about any results.]

Working the trade deadline (and the weeks before that) is similar to the dilemma that comic fans have when shopping at a comic convention. When you first arrive, you're excited to get what you want, and there are plenty of sellers. But what they're offering may not be the best they have to offer, and they are likely to be priced higher than the seller really thinks they're worth. If you luck out, you may find one seller that hasn't gauged the market and has a bargain out there, but those are far and few between.

The buyer who waits until the last day of the show - those are the ones who get the deals. Knowing that they don't want to lug all this stuff back to where they originally came from, sellers are more likely to mark down or negotiate a better price just to make sure that they get something for what they were selling, instead of going home without a sale. The seller might also be selling something that he wasn't selling earlier in the show - something he wasn't going to sell earlier but changed his mind. However, the buyer who waits until the last day looking for bargains may miss out on the things he really wanted - which were sold earlier - and risks either coming home himself empty-handed, or even worse buying something he didn't really need just to say he bought something there, and dealing with the buyer's regret in the months that follow.

So let's see who got screwed on the 2006 trade deadline's Sunday afternoon:

July 28th:

• Texas Rangers acquire OF Carlos Lee and OF Nelson Cruz from the Milwaukee Brewers for P Francisco Cordero, OF Kevin Mench, OF Laynce Nix, and P Julian Cordero

The Brewers weren't necessarily "selling" here more than they were reacting to the cards that were dealt to them. Lee was a Scott Boras client who informed the Brewers that he was not interested in re-signing with the team. The Brewers, knowing that getting compensation draft choices are boring (and also playing for next season and not four seasons down the road), dealt Lee to Texas, who was part of the AL West race that every team (even Seattle, despite their best efforts) was a part of. In return, the Brewers picked up "Carlos Lee Light" in Mench, a new closer in Cordero (Francisco, not Julian), and a potential CF replacement in Nix.

So how'd that work out?

Lee did what was expected of him, if not a little bit better. He hit .322/.369/.525 in 59 games for the Rangers, but Texas couldn't capitalize and failed to make the playoffs. Lee would leave after the season (just as he said he would), signing as a free agent with Houston in a deal that made all of baseball groan.

As for the Brewers, the results were mixed. Mench failed to have anywhere near the same impact in Milwaukee that he did in Texas (make of that what you will, I'm not saying anything), while Nix failed to impress the Brewers enough to give him a shot at center field, with the team electing to go with first Bill Hall, then Mike Cameron in center. He'd get a chance with Cincinnati, and since has moved on to Washington, but nothing to the level that his minor league numbers would have implied. Cordero would reestablish himself as a closer with Milwaukee, shutting down games for the rest of the season and all of 2007 until he left via free agency.

A WINNAR IS: Texas, but not for the reason they thought. It would be Nelson Cruz who was the prize in the deal, not Lee as it turns out. Cruz, who bounced back and forth between AAA and Texas for a few seasons after the deal, soon found himself with the club full time when Texas used up all of his options. Cruz responded by hitting 33 home runs and making the all-star team in his first full season with the club. He has since become one of the Rangers most productive bats, moreso than Lee (who is now 35 and making $18.5 million this season) or Mench (who would play in only 179 major league games for three different clubs - not including a stint in Japan - and is currently out of baseball.)

July 30th:

• New York Yankees acquire OF Bobby Abreu and P Cory Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies for minor leaguers SS C.J. Henry, P Matt Smith, C Jesus Sanchez, and P Carlos Monasterios.

The blockbuster, and of course it came from the Yankees. The day of the trade, the Yankees 6-7-8-9 lineup consisted of Aaron Guiel in right, Andy Phillips at first, a 21-year-old Melky Cabrera in left, and Miguel Cairo at second, which is cringe-worthy for a 62-win Kansas City team, let alone a team trying to win the AL East. Injuries to Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield, and Robinson Cano caused the New York Post to declare the season dead (I have no proof, but I'm sure this happened) and for Joe Torre to look around in complete confusion as his original lineup was unavailable, causing the Torrebot to malfunction and start bumping into walls. Philadelphia, 14 games back and concerned they had too much money invested into a victim of the Home Run Derby curse, looked to clear up some payroll, and the Yankees are usually the best team to talk to about that. Throw together some low-to-mid-level prospects, and problems are solved.

So how'd that work out?

Not bad for either team. Philly saved like $5 million that season and $31 million of future commitment to Abreu and Lidle. The Phillies didn't miss Abreu for long, as Shane Victorino would take over for Abreu in right, eventually moving over to center to allow for Jayson Werth to break out during the Phillies 2008 World Series run. The prospects the Phils acquired amounted to little - Henry, a former first-round pick and the most notable of the prospects, would continue to struggle in the minors and would eventually quit baseball and return to college for basketball.

Abreu would hit .330/.419/.507 for the Yankees for the remainder of the 2006 season, which saw the Yankees win the AL East, falling to the eventual AL Champion Tigers in the ALDS. Lidle didn't pitch great but gave Torre the stability of a veteran arm that he so greatly desired. Tragically, Lidle wouold be killed shortly after the ALDS in a plane crash.

A WINNAR IS: Push. The Phillies got what they wanted, and the Yankees got what they wanted.

July 31st

• New York Mets acquire P Roberto Hernandez and P Oliver Perez from the Pittsburgh Pirates for OF Xavier Nady

At the trade deadline, the Mets were 63-41. They had the best record in the National League - a full five games ahead of the Cardinals - and were 14 games ahead of the second-place Phillies, who were selling at the deadline anyway. However, that didn't stop the Mets from making a move. Dealing with a serious injury to reliever Duaner Sanchez, the Mets reached out to Pittsburgh to pick up Hernandez - who had pitched well for the Mets the previous season, and picked up problem child Perez in the deal as well. Perez, who showed flashes of brilliance (check that 2004 season), was going nowhere with the Pirates and was set to be non-tendered in the offseason. Suddenly, he became a "Rick Peterson project", who with a low arbitration number, was a risk worth taking for the Mets. Nady, who was batting .264/.326/.487 at the time of the deal, was a useful bat but not much else, but would fill a need as the Pirates had traded Sean Casey and Craig Wilson, their first basemen for the first part of the season.

So how'd that work out?

Hernandez was as advertised. 22 games, 3.48 ERA - nothing special, but not exactly pouring gasolinie on the flames when he came in either. He'd also pitch well in mopup duty in the playoffs, but if it's mopup duty and you're not the team that's ahead, then what good is it really?

Perez, in contrast, would be a little more involved. Perez would end up in the Mets rotation late in August after injuries and general oldness hit the team. Perez did not pitch that well, but made the postseason roster, and started Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, horrifying Mets fans everywhere. Perez pitched well, giving up one run in six innings, but the Mets would see their bullpen fail and miss the World Series. It was after the 2006 season that would see Perez return to the more promising form he saw early in his Pirate career, posting two solid seasons of league average or better pitching.

A WINNAR IS: Well, that's tough to say. At first, the Mets were. Perez posted a 2.9 WAR over the 2007 and 2008 seasons, where Nady put up a negative WAR in 2007 before making up for in 2008, before being traded (more on this in a bit).

Then free agency came.

Perez became a free agent, and despite not drawing that much interest from other teams, found a suitor in the Mets. The Mets, looking for someone to fill the hole left by the departure of Oliver Perez, ended up signing Oliver Perez to fill the hole. Leaving the hole would have helped the team more. The Mets gave Perez $36 million over three years, and in exchange, Perez put together a -1.4 WAR in 2009 and a -1.5 WAR in 2010, actually negating the positive 2.9 WAR he gave them the previous two seasons. That's the real-life equivalent of hiring someone to build a shed, liking his work, hiring him to build a house, and coming back to see the shed burned to the ground.

The Pirates - as mentioned earlier - dealt Nady to the Yankees at his peak (he had a .330/.383/.535 line at the time) along with Damaso Marte for four young players: Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata. Both Ohlendorf (2009) and Karstens (this season) have put together seasons that were better than any that Perez put up for the Mets, and McCutchen and Tabata have been productive for the Pirates as well.

So even though the Mets won that trade directly (Perez was better than Nady), the Pirates ended up winning in the long run.

• Los Angeles Dodgers acquire P Greg Maddux from the Chicago Cubs for Cesar Izturis
• Los Angeles Dodgers acquire SS Julio Lugo from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for minor leaguers Joel Guzman (IF/OF) and Sergio Pedroza (OF)

At the trade deadline, the Dodgers were in last place in the NL West, although that wasn't that big of a deal since it meant they were still only five games out of first. Alarmed that they had actually willingly gone out and (a) given Aaron Sele a spot in the starting rotation and (b) gone out and traded for Mark Hendrickson to also be part of said rotation, they went out searching for a veteran starter they could acquire cheaply and who was worth a damn. They found one in Maddux, who even at 50% had to be better than Sele or Hendrickson. For Maddux, the Dodgers needed only to give up Izturis, who was a good fielder but who couldn't seem to hit enough to stay in any lineup. The Cubs also sent money to the Dodgers in the Maddux deal, so to get the future Hall-of-Famer, they needed only to give up having Izturis in the future, which really wasn't that hard for the Dodgers to deal with.

Shortly after, the Dodgers grabbed one of the better players available at the deadline in Julio Lugo from the Devil Rays for two prospects. Lugo had put together three very good seasons for the Devil Rays despite playing for the Devil Rays and was putting together a fourth one (.308/.373/.498), but when Tampa's attempts to sign him to a contract extension were met with the expected hysterical laughter, Tampa shopped him around. They found a buyer in LA, who needed a second baseman with Jeff Kent on the shelf, and picked up two prospects, one of which (Guzman) was a top 30 prospect the last two seasons.

So how'd that work out?

Well, Jeff Kent came back. After he did, the Dodgers weren't sure what to do with Lugo. Lugo had played short, but Rafael Furcal was already there being better than him. The feeling was that Lugo could play third, which he might of had he not had all of a whopping two games of experience there in his career, and none since 1997. So Lugo became what Izturis had been for them previously, except Izturis could play third base, and Lugo could hit. Well, in theory, Lugo could hit. He didn't for the Dodgers. In part-time play, Lugo hit .219/.278/.267 and left as a free agent that offseason.

Maddux, in contrast, helped the Dodgers greatly. Going 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA, Maddux helped to lead the Dodgers to a 38-19 record after the trade deadline - best in the National League and good for a playoff spot. The Dodgers wouldn't offer Maddux arbitration, allowing him to leave as a free agent, but they liked the short-term rental idea so much they'd end up doing it again in 2008.

A WINNAR IS: The Dodgers, surprisingly. Izturis would never post an OPS higher than .628, and though he provided very good defense, would never be more than a league-average player at best. The trade allowed the Dodgers not only to get Izturis off the roster, but got them off the hook for Cezar's $4.15 million salary the following season. Lugo bombed, but the two prospects that the Devil Rays acquired for him never developed and neither saw any real major league time. In contrast, the compensation draft picks the Dodgers received from Boston when the Red Sox signed Lugo netted them their current #4 prospect in Chris Withrow, so there's still the possibility of the Dodgers getting a good player out of the deal.

So that ends our look at the 2006 MLB trade deadline. I know there were more trades, but these were the ones that made the most impact. Some time later, I may take a look at post deadline deals and some of the players who didn't get dealt (such as Alfonso Soriano, who was thought to be as good as gone from Washington), but for now let's leave it at this.

It was easy as a Yankee fan growing up with the New York tabloids to hate George Steinbrenner. Even as a grade schooler, I was critical of moves that the Yankees made, such as allowing Reggie Jackson to leave as a free agent, and later the departures of Rich "Goose" Gossage (via free agency) and Graig Nettles (via trade, allegedly as a result of negative comments Nettles made about Steinbrenner in his memoir). But it was his actions towards Dave Winfield that made me despise the man.

Winfield and Steinbrenner always seem to have some kind of friction, which I never understood as a grade schooler. To me, Dave Winfield was the ideal player; talented and athletic, but humble and friendly. Steinbrenner clashed with Winfield though, going so far as to hire Howard Spira to dig up dirt on Winfield to tarnish his image. Winfield would eventually be traded (for Mike Witt of all people) and would give several more productive seasons (and receive a World Series ring in return in 1992), while Steinbrenner would be banned for life* from baseball for his dealings with Spira.

When I got older though, I realized why Steinbrenner acted this way (well, some of it) and learned to appreciate what he did for the Yankees more. The time away from baseball did the Yankees a world of good; Steinbrenner's departure opened the door for Gene Michael to build the team as general manager without interference from Steinbrenner. Michael was a baseball guy - an excellent scout and judge of talent. Michael and later Bob Watson would build what would become the "Yankee Dynasty", drafting and signing players such as Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Bernie Williams, and trading for players like Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill and Scott Brosius. That - not the buying of free agents - is what made the Yankees a dominant team in the 90s. When Steinbrenner was reinstated after a few years, he took a less "hands-on" approach - allowing professional baseball people like Michael and Watson do what they did best - while at the same time keeping the high expectations in place that had been there before. From 1987 to 1990, the Yankees changed managers five times, almost always as a direct result of Steinbrenner. In the twenty years since, the Yankees have only changed managers three times.

As someone who went to a lot of Yankees games during that time, I can tell you that late 80s/early 90s Yankee teams that were some of the worst in Yankee history were a direct result of Steinbrenner's actions. I can also say that the two rings the Yankees brought home in 1977 and 1978 and the late 90s dynasty likely wouldn't have happened without him either. When Steinbrenner's group purchased the Yankees in 1973, the Yankees were a second-tier franchise, struggling to make a .500 record and playing in a crumbling stadium. In three years, the Yankees were back in the World Series.

It's easy to criticize the Yankees spending, but it's also easy to forget how easily Steinbrenner could have maintained a "regular" payroll and pocketed the rest of the money. Steinbrenner spent profits to make his product better. Isn't that what you want from an owner?

You'll be missed, Mr. Steinbrenner.

Don't hop on bandwagon yet

Because as you know, New York fans are quite fickle with their bandwagons. Sorry, I know it's just the title.

Believe it or not,

I'm assuming not.

even after as decisive a win as you could get,

21-4 is very decisive. 22-4 is probably more decisive. 912-0 would probably be much more decisive.

there still are questions. For instance: How good, really, are the Yankees?

51-46, 7.5 games back of first place Boston; therefore the 2nd best team in the American League. They also have the 10th best record in baseball, so I'll say "one of the top ten teams in baseball."

And is Shelley Duncan truly a major-league power hitter?

He is after four games. I'd be willing to bet he doesn't keep up this pace, and by his minor league statistics I'd say that he'd have trouble hitting .250 in the majors, meaning he might be a major league regular for some team - if that team were in Mexico.

We will get a better answer to the latter when he faces a major-league team.

OOOOOOOH DISSIN' THE D-RAYS.

But maybe the most difficult and pertinent question at the moment is this: Who got hit harder this weekend, Tampa Bay pitching or the Yankees teammates Duncan kept high-fiving?

Main Entry: dif-fi-cult
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, back-formation from difficulty
1 : hard to do, make, or carry out : ARDUOUS <a difficult climb>
2 a : hard to deal with, manage, or overcome <a difficult child> b : hard to understand : PUZZLING <difficult reading>

Main Entry: per-ti-nent
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pertinent-, pertinens, present participle of pertinEre
: having a clear decisive relevance to the matter in hand

Just checking. Oh, and I know it's a difficult question and all, but since Shelley's high-fives didn't knock eight of his teammates out of Yankee Stadium, I'll lean towards the Tampa pitching answer.

Can he ever do this again?

Hit three home runs in four games? I don't think it's out of the qu...

Who knows?

Oh. That was one of those rhetorical questions.

But one thing nobody can question is why people at Yankee Stadium sang "Shel-lee Dun-can" and gave him a standing ovation when he grounded to first in the seventh.

Really? I think if you were going to your first baseball game and saw this Shelley Duncan, playing for the home team, ground out to first and the crowd stood and cheered him, you might be a bit confused. Especially if you knew New York fans.

It isn't because of what he did this weekend but because of how hard he climbed to get here.

I can pretty much guarantee that 90% of that Yankee crowd didn't know who the hell Shelley Duncan was before Friday. Of that remaining 10%, I'm pretty sure you can take a fraction of that who know Shelley Duncan's level of determination when it comes to his play.

David Shelley Duncan is no kid.

There are very few children playing major league baseball.

He is about two months shy of his 28th birthday.

Which makes him the 6th youngest player on the Yankees current 25-man roster. In context, I guess you could say he is a "kid".

Despite having grown up in a big-league family - dad Dave, a former catcher, is the pitching coach for the world champion Cardinals and brother Chris plays leftfield for the Cardinals - Shelley played through college and 6� years in the minors without a sniff of the majors until Friday. He had come up empty an awful lot before he came up so big.

Yet no one weeps for Ozzie Canseco.

"You learn how to play the game right. You also deal with a lot of failures," said Duncan, who never hit higher than .267 before this season. "I believe there is no failure unless you don't learn from it. So I try to learn any time I screw up or go through a hard time."

Good message. Kids, write that down.

In other words, he spent the time and took the tough lessons that nobody has taught most of the Devil Rays, who ought to be in the minor leagues.

Oh lord. Kids, if you still have that pencil in hand, also write down "suck badly in the minors for several years, so that you can learn tough lessons."

Not to take anything away from the Yankees' laugher or Duncan's day, but it's hard to tell how seriously to take those events because Tampa Bay is one of the great embarrassments in baseball.

Who as recently as two months ago had the same record as the New York Yankees, just with a payroll of $165 million less. While the Devil Rays are by no means a good team, they were three games behind the Yanks on June 24th, with a record of 33-40. They've gone 5-20 since. coolstandings.com has them on pace for a 61-101 record this season, which isn't good, but isn't the 1899 Cleveland Spiders or anything.

Not only can't the Devil Rays pitch a lick,

Admittedly their worst feature as a team. Outside of their top two starting pitchers and their closer, they've got one player on their roster with an ERA under 5.

they don't play smart and they don't play pretty.

"Style points" are the new OPS. I may have stolen Bill James' thunder on that one, so if I disappear suddenly, you know the Saberassassins have gotten me.

Their signature isn't just James Shields giving up 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings

Shields, prior to that game, was 8-5 with a 3.91 ERA in 20 starts, striking out 120 in 142.2 innings and walking only 21. In the context of the D-Rays' pitching staff, it'd be like pointing out how bad the '88 Orioles sucked by noting Cal Ripken's 0-5 game. It'd also lead the Yankees in strikeouts and be the third lowest ERA in the Yankees starting rotation, better than Andy Pettitte or Mike Mussina.

or Casey Fossum getting torched for hit after hit or Tampa Bay throwing 216 pitches in eight innings. It's Jonny Gomes looking at a called third strike with two runners on and one out, and having a fly ball clank off his glove.

Gomes is batting .277/.337/.497 since being called back up from the minors and playing himself back into a starting role. He's apparently doing something right. His fielding does leave a bit to be desired, though.

It's throwing errors and fielding errors. It's Akinori Iwamura hitting a weak groundout on the first pitch when Pettitte was struggling.

Struggling with what - control? If he's struggling in getting people out, then the first pitch is a fine opportunity to jump all over a pitcher before he's able to correct himself. Oh, upon further examination, Pettitte had walked one and struck out six at this point. Pettitte was giving up hits, not walking runners, and Iwamura was the 7th batter in the inning, meaning that "taking the first few pitches", which might work in Little League, isn't the approach a player should have necessarily taken in this case. Pettitte didn't lose his control, he just didn't have his best stuff, and when a veteran pitcher doesn't have his best stuff it's best to jump on him before he straightens himself out.

And Iwamura's eight seasons as a Yakult Swallow have apparently been eliminated by his five months as a Devil Ray, infecting him with the disease that makes Devil Ray players poor.

The Devil Rays, and all big- league clubs, need Shelley Duncans who take their lumps and learn how to play.

Iwamura gets ripped for grounding out on the first pitch of his at-bat. He can take a lesson from Duncan, who struck out 140 times in his last full season and already has four strikeouts in 12 at-bats - that's one every three times up to the plate.

Maybe he isn't the next Shane Spencer, who made a niche and name for himself with a torrid 1998 homer streak.

By "streak" he means "twice that season he hit home runs in back-to-back games." Torrid streak would have been good enough there, as Spencer turned in a handful of monster games combined with a small sample size (thanks, Torrebot) to put together a .373/.411/.910 line in 73 plate appearences, hitting 10 home runs over that span. It gave Spencer a seven year major league career, mostly with the Yankees who could afford to platoon him and use him as a 4th outfielder.

The only reason Duncan was called up from Scranton was so slumping DH/outfielder Johnny Damon could get a couple of days off.

No, he was called up because Kevin Thompson, who the Yankees were using as their 5th outfielder, wasn't playing that well and the team wanted to see what Duncan would do with a few at-bats, since Duncan was Scranton's best hitter. Those are the types of moves that non-Yankee teams try in order to discover talent or spark the offense and see if that AAAA player is actually capable of playing in the majors. Oakland did it with Jack Cust this season.

The shocking thing was that Torrebot managed to actually play Duncan when he was called up, instead of letting him rot on the bench and putting Miguel Cairo in the slot to give Damon the time off.

Oh, side note. If he's hurt and needs time off on a semi-regular basis, and he's hitting .244/.345/.342, PUT THE GUY ON THE DL. Having him play every other day hurt isn't helping the team.

Sorry, rant over. Back to the article.

"It's still Johnny's job," Joe Torre said yesterday.

It would still be Johnny's job if Duncan hit home runs in 15 straight games and Johnny Damon was hit by a semi. Torrebot does not compute not having Johnny Damon in the lineup.

I'm not saying that Damon should lose his job - the thought would be silly, especially since Damon's a center fielder and Duncan is lucky to manage first base. I'm just saying that you could have two copies of Johnny Damon, with one being the current injured one and one being the healthy one we've seen the last few seasons. If the healthy one has the name Dohnny Jamon and came from AAA with no major league experience, Jamon wouldn't have a chance that Damon's job.

Then again, the manager has been known to ride a hot hand.

14 times. That's how many times someone other than Cano/Rodriguez/Jeter/Matsui/Cabrera/Damon/Abreu has started at 2B/SS/3B/LF/CF/RF. Add to that Torrebot's strict platoon of Doug Mientkiewicz and Josh Phelps (despite Phelps hitting much better than Mientkiewicz through most of the season) at first and that Torrebot continued to use Wil Nieves as his primary backup catcher, despite batting .125 in 56 at-bats, and you have the complete opposite of someone who plays the "hot hand".

And no one was hotter yesterday than the batter who received two curtain calls to Alex Rodriguez's none.

Whew, that was a close one. I thought we might be able to end an article in a New York based newspaper without an Alex Rodriguez slam. Crisis averted!

"I said to Alex, 'Sorry, you're not The Guy anymore,' " Torre said, mindful that Duncan trails A-Rod by 495 career homers.

And that Torre won't remember Duncan's name in a week.

What Torre, Rodriguez and everybody at the Stadium yesterday knew for sure

Everyone. No doubt in 54,751 peoples' minds (not including employees, guests, teammates, or opposing team members). Undenyable FACT. Right up there with "sky is blue" and "I am attending a baseball game".

is that Duncan always is going to try as hard as he can

Because that's something you can tell from four games.. From the stands. UNDENYABLE FACT.

and that the Yankees are better than the Devil Rays. No question about that.

Which explains why the Devil Rays beat the Yanks 14-4 in the first game of the series. And why the Yankees are currently 7-5 against those same Devil Rays this season.

Undenyable fact, my friends.