From a Daily News article in 2011

While looking up some facts for a post I am writing about Brian Cashman, I stumbled across this gem in the New York Daily News from John Harper.

He wrote it on September 7th, 2011 after Jesus Montero homered for the Yankees.

I'll cut and paste the whole thing here.

It will always be fair to wonder if Brian Cashman was right or wrong not to give in to the Mariners' demands for Cliff Lee 14 months ago and include either Ivan Nova or Eduardo Nuez along with Jesus Montero, the centerpiece of the proposed deal.

But one thing for sure: After Montero flashed the opposite-field power that has had scouts comparing him to Mike Piazza for years, hitting his first two big-league home runs at Yankee Stadium on Monday, it's starting to look like the Mariners were the real losers in that rather famous near-deal.

 Oh what an ironic ending!
A player that scouts compared to Mike Piazza could have been dealt for Cliff Lee, who was the difference between the Yankees going to the 2010 World Series or the Rangers going to the 2010 World Series.

Instead of a Cy Young winning post season stud (up to that point) they traded him for a guy with one good first half and will miss all of 2012 and part of 2013 before he throws a single pitch for the Yankees.

Meanwhile the Mariners wound up getting him anyway AND was able to deal Lee for prospects. Yeah, Justin Smoak has been a disappointment. But pitcher Blake Beavan has shown promise.

In a way, Montero's production this season is almost irrelevant in evaluating this trade in the short term.
Listening to the Yankee broadcast yesterday, Suzyn Waldman stuck to the company talking points saying that Montero hasn't been tearing up Seattle, creating a false equivalency that the trade might be equally bad for both teams. (This was before Montero crushed a Piazza like homer last night.)

Even if Montero finishes with a .100 OPS and winds up vomiting into Ichiro's cap during a game, this trade is still disastrous in the short term. Montero's Yankee role and position was "Prime Trade Chip."

He was the bait to fill the inevitable pitching holes and needed to be spent wisely.

And he wasn't.

And I think the Mariners no longer feel like the loser of that deal.

I know what you are doing, Tyler Clippard

You can fool most of the people, but you can't fool ole' Sully.

Clippard blew a save the other day but the Nationals rallied the next inning and he got the win.
Funny... he did the EXACT SAME THING the day before.

That's right, he got two wins this weekend, all the while posting a microscopic ERA (0.76) and batting average against (.158.)

And now he is being mentioned in some elite company this year. In this season that is filled with Cy Young contenders in the National League, guess which three pitchers are tied for the league lead in Wins?

Roy Halladay and Ubaldo Jimenez each have 6 as you would expect with their Cy Young caliber starts. But who also has 6?

Tim Lincecum? Nope.
Adam Wainwright? Nope.
Barry Zito? Nope.
Johan Santana? Nope.

That would be Tyler Clippard.

He's got 6 wins and zero losses...

Going into this year the only thing I knew about Tyler Clippard was he won a game for the Yankees against the Mets in the Subway Series...

And that all of humanity was spared hearing John Sterling call him "The Yankee Clippard" for year after year.

But now here he is being the ultimate scavenger.

What if he has 14 more instances in the rest of the year like he did twice this weekend?

What if he becomes a 20 game winner? Does he get included in the Cy Young discussion?

So THAT'S his plan!

He wants to be a Cy Young contender because he's convinced all the voters just look at win totals.


What if it happens 35 more times in the next 4 1/2 months?

Then he will tie a once thought unbreakable record of 41 wins of Jack Chesbro who did it for the 1904 New York Highlanders (Now the Yankees.).
(Can you imagine winning 41 games in a season?)

Well the only way it ever could be broken is by a vulture reliever like Clippard... blowing games and then picking up the win with an inning of work... 42 times to the record book.

42 times to immortality.

It's a brilliant plan.


It's diabolical.

I am on to you, Clippard.

Welcome to New York, Sabathia and Teixera

Let's review what the New York press had to say about the Yankees debut of Mark Teixeira and C. C. Sabathia.

Bill Madden of the Daily News: All that money and not even a strikeout? It was only the fifth time in 255 career starts that Sabathia had failed to record one and - what the hey - couldn't even Darrell Rasner have done that?... Did somebody say bad omen?

Joel Sherman of the New York Post: Thus, in the opener, the $341 million investment in Sabathia and Teixeira did not pay off. Sabathia did not make you believe the Yanks were a team built around their rotation, and Teixeira did not make the absence of Rodriguez's bat more tolerable. Instead the first day was 4 1-3 innings and 0-for-4. On Opening Day, the Yankees experienced money for nothing.

George King of the New York Post: Yet yesterday, the Yankees and their fickle fans were left singing the Peggy Lee hit "Is That All There Is?" after watching Sabathia and Teixeira fail in a 10-5 Opening Day loss to the woeful Orioles in front of 48,607 at Camden Yards.


Wallace Matthews of Newsday: For Teixeira, the Yankees' new $180-million first baseman, it was a memorable debut in pinstripes. As in, memorably bad. 

Tyler Kepner of the New York Times - The Yankees committed $341 million to C. C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira last winter, buying themselves a better chance at success but no guarantees. They learned that lesson painfully Monday in a 10-5 drubbing by the Baltimore Orioles on opening day.

Marc Carig of the Newark Star Ledger - Teixeira might have one-upped Sabathia in the unofficial "Worst First Day, Ever" contest. Orioles fans, still irate that the Severna Park, Md. native chose to sign with the Yankees instead of the Orioles, harassed Teixeira as if he had stood in the batter's box and set fire to a Johnny Unitas jersey.


Kat O'Brien of Newsday: The Yankees had looked forward to Opening Day starts from CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira for months. Now all they'd like is a giant do-over.

It's only one game... but it should also be a nice little notice for the Yankees new 9 figure toys.

This isn't Cleveland, Milwaukee, Arlington, Atlanta or Anaheim.

A bad first game in those cities, and the local beat writer might write something nasty... and a few people might call into the local sports show to complain... but those cities have one or two newspapers and most of the sports talk is syndicated National programs.

New York, with at least five newspapers and two 24 hour sports talk stations, and expectations.

People are calling up Francesa today wondering if Sabathia is a bust.

Bloggers are analyzing the water bottle Sabathia was holding as if they were looking at Mary Moorman's Polaroid of the Grassy Knoll.

Shrug it off you two...

There are 161 games left. Play better and nobody will remember this.

And if worst comes to worse (and for the likes of Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson they did) at least the checks will clear.

Never a dull moment

First of all kudos to the Daily News for referring to a 20 year old Tom Hanks film as their headline.

A Tom Hanks flop no less!

I hope they bring back former catcher Chris Turner just so they can have the headline TURNER AND HOOCH.

I for one am a little surprised Torre wrote this book. I thought he was going to be a "silence speaking volumes" kind of guy... like Yogi Berra during his 15 year self imposed exile from Yankee Stadium.

But hey, it is more fun this way.

Isn't it amazing how the focused has turned away from Torre and towards A-Rod.

Isn't that how it is always going to be for the next 9 years?

Either way, can't wait to read the book.

A great headline from 1995

Isn't the Daily News a beautiful thing?

The Mets acquired J. J. Putz from the Mariners

I do not know how the 1-2 combination of Rodriguez and Putz will work out.
But what we all know is when J. J. blows his first lead, both the Daily News and the Post will have the back page that reads "WHAT A PUTZ!"

Seriously, if there is a player out there named "Schmuck" please have the Mets sign HIM too!