Another 3Ks

8 At-bats, 6 Strikeouts, 0 Hits

After shedding the label of playoff choker with a brilliant ALDS and ALCS, A-Rod has found a way to fall back into the struggles that plagued him in years past. Maybe getting away from Yankee Stadium and a change of scenery will bring him a hit in game 3.

Big Tex hit a big HR and hopefully, for A-Rod, someone can lead the team and reporters won't put too much blame on A-Rod for not producing. I still think A-Rod struggles because people throw too much crap on his shoulders. Guy is a true ball player and as long as he takes it easy he can produce and rake like he usually does.

If he struggles in game 3, I guarantee reporters will go buck wild.

Dirty Lee

I have never understood how Cliff Lee does it. This lefty is not intimidating but seems to find his way through tough and almost impossible lineups without breaking a sweat.

Game 1 of the World Series was dominated by Cliff Lee. Throwing a complete game to lead his Phillies over the Bronx Bombers. Lee had 10Ks, 7 from the Yanks' 3-4-5 hitters.

Lee throws nothing more than a low 90's fastball and the Yanks couldn't find a run until the bottom of the ninth, which was unearned. If the Yanks are going to take the series they have to find a way to solve Lee because if everything goes as planned, Lee might be pitching game 4 and a decisive game 7 if it goes that far.

Anyone think A-Rod and Big Tex were a little nervous hitting on the big stage? Jeter, his usual self, had 3 hits and seemed comfortable playing in front of the world. I have a feeling if A-Rod and Big Tex don't find a way to contribute tomorrow in game 2, they are going to struggle for the rest of the World Series. Once the pressure is on and their names are all over the sports pages they will squeeze that bat a little tighter which will make things worse.

Why the hell is Swisher still starting? I know the Yanks don't have a talented backup but who ever they put in RF would contribute no worse than Swisher. Guy is hitting .144 with 12 freaking strikeouts. Bench his ass now. Bring Hinske in and see what he can do.

A-Rod is for Real

9th inning HR

For all of you Yankee haters out there I bet you guys are hating them just a little more after they pulled off an 11 inning win against the Twins, which included a bottom of the 9th HR from playoff choker Alex Rodriguez. Why the hatred towards them anyways? I can understand if you hate them because they are a rival but if you add in any other BS crap like their spending, don't even waste your time on me.

It might be a little too early to take away the playoff choker label but so far, A-Rod has shown his regular season heroics do exist come October. Through 2 games at the new Yankee Stadium, he has a 0.500AVG, which includes 1HR and 5RBIs. I haven't been a huge fan of A-Rod since his explosive stats started in Seattle but I haven't been a hater either. Is this finally the year A-Rod puts a team on his back and carries them to a World Series ring?

Two games in the books and the three big off-season acquisitions (CC, AJ, and Big Tex) have come through. Again, a little too early to tell but I smell some fire and passion coming out of the Yankees clubhouse. The drive to win seems real and since the Yanks couldn't bring a World Series to the old Yankee Stadium, bringing one to the new stadium in year one isn't such a terrible idea.

Jays Miss Another FA

It seems the Jays are content with just fielding a mediocre team and hiding behind the excuse of how much money they don't have to spend on landing free agents. The economic situation the Jays face, as do many MLB teams face, is in my eyes a huge excuse to fielding a winning team. I understand this isn't just about sports and more about business than anything else but it just starts to piss me off when I see other teams doing the little things to make a winning team.

As with most teams in the majors the Jays were not involved in talks with the big prize free agents like CC Sabathia and Mark Teieira, we just couldn't afford them and I totally understand. But why are they not trying to land some small fish that would cost little but could provide a huge upside. It seems like JP Ricciardi and the Blue Jays management are all about minimizing their losses in 2009. After the death of owner Ted Rogers, the Jays management were instructed to reduce/stick with status quo with respect to salaries, especially after the Jays lost AJ and his $14 million dollar per year contract.

Looking at what other teams are doing with their money and that $14 million could buy plenty of players that could potentially give the Jays a huge boost that might put them into the playoffs.

Below are the players that could have been added and their price tags.

Rocco Baldelli is an injury away from spending the lazy days of summer on the DL but with the doctors finally diagnosing his health problems and being placed on a proper path to staying healthy his deal with the Red Sox seems like a steal. His price tag, $500,000 guranteed and if he stays healthy the contract could jump to $2.25 million for a 1-year contract.
John Smoltz was signed for $5.5 million that could nearly double to $10 million if he reaches specific milestones/goals. Again, a 1-year contract.

Takashi Saito is another player that signed with the Red Sox. The deal is reportedly to be worth between $1.5-2.5 million in guranteed money with incentives that could reach $7 million plus. This seems to be a theme, Saito signed a 1-year contract.

Brad Penny signed for, you guessed it, 1-year worth $5 million.

Jason Giambi signed a 1-year contract with a club option for the 2nd year and a buyout of $1.25 million. The deal is worth $4 million plus the buyout, $1.25 million, as guarenteed money.

As you can clearly see, the market for potential baseball studs was filled with plenty of players that could be wearing a Blue Jays uniform in 2009. It disappoints me to see all these guys landing on teams where their GM's are doing yeomans work.

Just add up the salaries on all these guys and it comes to a grand total of $18.75 million. Of course, the Jays didn't have to spend all that money to grab all those players but it would have been worth it. The risk the Jays would be taking is minimal since they are all 1-year contracts and if they did perform extremely well they would pay for themselves in wins for the team. Plus, if the Jays were going nowhere in 2009 and these players were performing well they could easily make a trade with a team in contention.

Mr. Theo Epstein of the Red Sox seems to be doing the dirty work that makes a great and potentially a World Series team. Adding little pieces to fill the small cracks will most likely land his team in the playoffs and a chance at a World Series ring. I just wish JP would stop smiling and take off those stupid sunglasses and make an appearance at the free agent table. We all know job security is nice, especially in a recession, and listening to your boss will keep you employed but just stand up and explain the entire situation to them. The Jays need some extra cash to succeed but it doesn't have to be $500 million. Winning can easily come at a price tag of $18.75 million.

At the end of the day, it seems the smart GM's are out playing the complacent GM's. If the Jays plan on spending the next 10 years rebuilding and following the Rays' set path then please go a head. Just know that all the Jays fans in Toronto and around the world are suffering.

Wasting Resources

The Yankees have officially unveiled their third free agent signing in Mark Teixeira today and I am a little tired of seeing these press conferences. What a waste of money, espeically in our so called recession, the Yankees and all these teams are throwing down the drain by bringing in the press and unveiling ther new high priced free agent signings. Just think about the money that is spent on this type of event. Since this is the big leagues you don't have water and cookies you have the 5-star amenities that these professional athletes are use to.

Members of the press have to travel to Yankee stadium and sit there and listen to this guy speak about how he loves New York and all that PR junk that makes me sick. Save all the money and just release a statement or have a video conference or even just the old fashion telephone conference. Do we really need to waste money on catering, utilities, and having the free agent fly into New York? In my eyes it is foolish.

But I guess after spending around $423million, throwing a small press conference is just like me dropping a penny into the "Take a Penny Leave a Penny" tray at the local 7-eleven.