Attackerman

Say No To Drugs

I mean it. I've never touched acid -- way too scared of a bad trip -- and drugs destroy lives. On the other hand, Dock Ellis' famous acid-fueled no hitter, told in animation form. (via an old Boing Boing post)

Colorado Is Being Reasonable

The horrors of this headline, my God. How does Brian Cashman not take yes for an answer?

The Rockies want Ivan Nova and two of Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, and Jesus Montero from the Yankees, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  According to Sherman, "to say the Yankees and Rockies are not finding common ground on Jimenez’s value is an understatement."  The Red Sox, Tigers, and Indians remain involved, while the Reds are "less heated to make a deal."

Make the fucking deal! If this report is accurate, Colorado has lowered its asking price for Ubaldo by now asking for only two out of the Yanks' three top prospects. Nova -- dude, I like the way you pitch and you have clear potential. But only a fool would value Nova over Jimenez. Montero had a disappointing season in the minors this year, and with Russell Martin calling such a good game and foiling the pitching staff's occasional wildness, there's no real place to put him. I won't front like I follow the farm teams very closely, but my father -- who does -- told me Mariano Rivera co-signed for Banuelos as the best prospect Mo has ever seen. But if the Rockies aren't insisting on Banuelos, send Nova, Betances and Montero on a plane to Denver yesterday.

I'm guessing Cashman is taking this thing down to the wire to maximize his leverage. It would be a debacle if deal falls through because of a disagreement on Jimenez's value. Jimenez has a career WHIP of 1.279. (C.C. Sabathia? 1.219. Justin Verlander? 1.207. Ervin "I just threw a no-hitter" Santana? 1.303.) The Yankees are overperforming despite their rotation weaknesses. This isn't a bad season by any stretch, but Ubaldo gives them depth and stamina that I'm not sure we possess moving into the postseason, knowing that the buzzsaw of Boston and especially Philadelphia awaits. 

The Rise of Eduardo Nunez

A-Rod opts for knee surgery. See you in mid-August. Eduardo Nunez, the likely interim third baseman, now ensures that he'll be one of the storylines of the Yankees' 2011 season.

I like Nunez. A .277 average, .317 OBP and .437 SLG per 130 plate appearances is just fine for a quasi-rookie utility infielder. Defensively, we'll see how he makes the transition to third. But Nunez performed just fine in his role filling in for Jeter. 

The Reyes Conspiracy

Alex Rodriguez has played baseball in New York for eight years. His capacity for deluding himself is great. But he has to know what message he's sending by issuing this quote:

“I can’t remember a more exciting series against the Mets coming up just because they’ve been playing so extremely well,” Rodriguez said before the game. “I mean they’ve been playing at a really high level. They have the world’s greatest player right now playing shortstop over there, and most exciting. I turn the TV on every time I get a chance to watch him.”

Now that's how you shank Derek Jeter. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has loudly denied that the club will bring Jose Reyes to the Bronx. It's also a dismissive message to send to backup SS Eduardo Nunez, who went 4-for-4 yesterday and has been a welcome relief for the Yanks after Jeter went on the DL. (And who's already turning into a solid defensive shortstop after some rookie errors.) Cashman quickly contradicted A-Rod on Reyes. Joe Girardi has given Nunez a vote of confidence even after Derek Jeter is healthy enough to play everyday shortstop. 

Jeter's decline is a conundrum for the Yankees. But you don't flirt with replacing him like that -- not while he's trying to get back on the team, certainly not while he's on the cusp of his 3000th hit, and definitely not while he'll be your teammate for two more seasons.