The sky is falling

If you would like to fnid out why the Yankees will lose 100 games this season, please read the article here . In short, according to Peter Abraham, the Yankees are too old, too slow, and basically have no business being on a baseball field. This after a whopping 19 games of the 2009 season.

In PeteAbe's piece, he actually quotes one of the most respected baseball on the planet in Jim Leyland, and then proceeds to contradict him. Although Abraham paints a horrific picture of the decrepid Yanks, Leyland had more positive things to say. On to the blockquote...

“He’s a great pitcher,” Leyland said of Sabathia. “It’s just a matter of time
before he starts racking up wins. They’re a tough team to manage against.
They’re about to get a lot tougher in three weeks from what I understand.”

While Abe agrees that the referenced return of Alex Rodriguez will benefit the lineup, he continues by saying that "(b)ut bringing back a 33-year-old former steroids user with a bad hip isn’t going to solve the problem of the Yankees looking like a company softball team at times. When you see Jacoby Ellsbury steal home or Curtis Granderson lay down a perfect bunt to start a rally, it’s a reminder of how old and slow the Yankees can look." First of all, let's not all talk about Alex Rodriguez like he is Jose Canseco coming out of retirement. He is still one of the most well rounded players in all of baseball, and the article makes it seem as though he will be in a walker for the rest of the season. I agree on the Ellsbury stealing of home (as I referenced yesterday) being a clusterfuck, but Granderson's bunt? Correct me if I am wrong, but Curtis Granderson will be safe on that bunt against any team in the league, no matter how "young and athletic" they are.

Look, the newspaper industry is circling the drain; you know it, I know it, and Pete knows it. Taking strong positions is the way to create controversy and , in turn, generate traffic. That doesn't mean that this "doom and gloom" variety of sports writing is accurate. This article actually references the rate of success at which Robinson Cano has stolen bases. Stolen bases are not exactly a tell-all statistic in measuring the athleticism of a player, especially in the case of a 26 year old second baseman that has started the season off with a 1.052 OPS. Do you think that the Phillies are worried about Chase Utley swiping bags?

At the end of the day, I will take Leyland's word over Pete. Call me crazy.

Is this what we are reduced to?

Before I get started on my rant, let me say this: I respect Peter Abraham, and I love what he does. I probably account for 20% of his daily hits. That being said, I am getting tired of all of the bullsh*t surrounding A-Rod, and reporters trying to make a story out of nothing.

In a post on his blog today, Abraham tries to stir up controversy between Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Apparently A-Rod made a comment today saying that he wish(es) that "(Jose Reyes) was leading off on our team, playing on our team." In my eyes, this is an innocent comment complimenting the skills of Jose Reyes. Instead of taking it at face value, Abraham fires a shot at Rodriguezz because Reyes "plays the same position" as Jeter. Come one. Is this a shot at Johnny Damon because he is the leadoff hitter? A-Rod f*cks it up enough himself, I don't think he needs any help from Pete Abe.

Not a betting man

On June 8th, 2008, The Fowl Balls conducted an interview with Peter Abraham for our "8 (or so) Questions With..." series. I am mentioning this because it was brought to my attention by Jim M., a die-hard fan of The Balls that Pete Abe should be taken to task for one of his answers:

Jimmy Dugan - Vegas odds: A. Yankees Signing CC Sabathia
B. Yankees Signing Mark Teixiera
C. Yankees Signing BOTH Sabathia and Teixiera
Peter Abraham - A. 20-1

B. 1-2

C. 100-1

Why I didn't take that bet with 100-1 odds, I will never know. One thing I do know is that you will not see me at the ttrack with "Peter the Mush" any time soon.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

As I mentioned yesterday, I wrote an article about new The Fowl Balls bromance Nick Swisher over at Peter Abrahams blog. Click here to give this masterful piece of literature a look.