Wednesday, November 24, 2010

All Stars All

You can't have a baseball team without an all-star GM and free agent, and while there are many worthy candidates for inclusion on the 2010 CPAL All-Stars, who can argue with the uber-dynamic, Negotiating With the Stars quality, I'm OK - You're OK, With Friends Like This Who Needs Enemies, dance of death duo of Brian Cashman and Derek Jeter?

Both Cashman and Jeter will come out of this with sullied reputations. (I mention Cashman first because, after all, he and Hank have been kind enough to reminds us that the Yankees have made many of their players "richer than their bosses", presumably Cashman). While a more sullied rep hardly seems possible in Cashman's case, his smarmy comment encouraging Jeter to test the free agent market to see if he can find a situation he likes better should demonstrate to any remaining Cashman fans (is that possible?) how highly he publicly regards a first ballot Hall of Fame legend. Oh, sorry, it's strictly business so it's OK to dis anyone and everyone.

Jeter comes off little better. While the boy wonder has said nothing controversial, his agent's public admission of bewilderment at the paltry ($45 million), short term (3 years) offer from the Yankees is, well, bewildering. Nothing comes out of Jeter's inner circle without Jeter's approval. If the agent says it, Jeter means it. So, the questions are, "What has Jete been smoking?" and "How's his short term memory?" Can you imagine anyone other than the Yankees making an offer even remotely similar?

Honestly, I'm bewildered by the Yankees offer of $15,000,000 a year for 3 years. If, as they say, it's strictly business and they're buying a player not a franchise, spending that kind of money on an aging, defensively below average, .260 hitter is truly bewildering.

The saving grace of the poor behavior of both parties to this Millionaire's Charade is that it's the most interesting thing happening, slimy as it is, in the off season. Who really cares about Gold Gloves (name any from last year), Cy Young's (name 3 from the last decade), MVPs (so irrelevant why name any), or a new Mets manager (hurry, before this one is replaced) .... Snork...zzzzzzzzzz.... Only the Yankees can give us daytime-soap-quality drama.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to all of our faithful readers struggling to get by on a a meager $15M and best wishes for a better 2011 to their under paid bosses.




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