Phil Hughes injured

They found out from the doctor at around 6:30 tonight per Suzyn Waldman that Phil has a strained oblique, won't even pick up a baseball for about 6 days. The team doesn't have to decide until Saturday who will make his next start. Girardi said this will delay Hughes' development. Hughes seems to be injury prone, but don't forget--if Hughes had been traded, Melky would've been shipped out too.

• Above all, get the few Yankee players that remain uninjured ready for the World Baseball Classic coming up after this season. More players will be injured there, leaving some high school players left on the field.
• No one will be able to attend any of the games because they can't afford gas, can't afford cars, and have starved to death due to the food shortage via Al Gore's Hollywood carbon offsets scam. Which is promoted by MLB.

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Dibs on Phil Hughes last night v Detroit

Dibs' points:

• Does not blame Brian Cashman, says Phil Hughes himself has not stepped up, has not shown he can face major league teams. Perhaps evaluators made mistakes.

Does not blame the rookie catcher. Says the team made a mistake giving Hughes a rookie catcher last night anyway. Hughes made the Tigers feel tremendous every time he made Stewart run out there, that Hughes did the same thing in Boston with Molina. (I understand it happened with Ohlendorf as well, but Hughes has done it way too much). Says it's unprofessional, should never happen, the catcher even had white out on his fingers to help the pitcher out.

• That the manager and coaches should have worked all this stuff out before the players took the field. Also, was surprised they gave a young kid like Melky the night off this early in the season (although he got a late at bat) leaving the team more exposed to Damon's fielding.

He says if a pitcher can't see the catcher's signs, go to a different system, such as tapping the knee, putting your glove up in the air a certain way, etc. Even if Hughes has perfect eyesight, for some reason he can't see the signs which should have been addressed.

• ***A blind person called in on the discussion, said he listens to play-by-play on radio because radio has to call balls and strikes, tv guys ramble on and don't always do that. The YES Network's on-air guys last night were Kay, Leiter, and Flaherty. Flaherty is good in some ways but Leiter is a big disappointment and makes it unwatchable. (sm)

P.S. Don't forget, if Phil Hughes had been traded, MELKY would've been gone too. Right now he's the Yankees only bright spot. (sm)

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Billy Wagner ytd, 12 IP, ERA 0.00

Billy pitched 2 innings tonight, technically scoreless, but one unearned run. Therefore you will read he racked up a "blown save." If another closer pitched .1 of an inning, no runners on base, and a 3 run lead and got out of it, he would've registered a "Save." Even though Billy Wagner really saved the game for the Mets, pitched for 6 outs in a situation where there was no margin for error,

• none of his work will be judged when "Compiled Total Save Stats" alone are used to judge the late inning reliever known as a "closer." At the end of the year, certain people will say, 'Oh, he only had X number of 'saves,' denying him a portion of his actual work.
• Hall of Fame scholars will analyze every detail about a pitcher's "saves" to determine his worthiness but not the work outside of the "save." At least with a batter, there's the sac. bunt or sac. fly stat to acknowledge he may have taken one for the team.

The cheap "save," on the other hand, would help a pitcher gain untold millions in potential future earnings off the field and possible immortality via the Cy Young Award or the Hall of Fame.

• This system is the 'tail wagging the dog,' making the pitcher's lifetime efforts conform to an often engineered stat that excludes many pitchers' hardest work.

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Phil Hughes booed at Yankee Stadium tonight.

Another reason to avoid games at Yankee Stadium. Another reason for any pitcher in his right mind to sign elsewhere (excluding the Mets whose fans are even worse). The parents who raised these people are responsible.

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The 'Non-Save Situation' doesn't begin to describe what's at stake

• The 'NON-SAVE SITUATION' can mean too many things and therefore should probably be retired. Often in the 'non-save situation' known as a 'TIE GAME,' a pitcher may "save" the game for his team, but only be credited with a lowly 'WIN' stat as happened to Papelbon tonight.
• ("Non-save situations" can also be mop-up duty where nothing is at stake, eg, losing by 10 runs, or it can be a pitcher coming in with a 4 or 5 run lead. All different).

Joe Castiglione in the top of the 9th. Blue Jays-Red Sox, Score tied 0-0. Papelbon about to pitch. Joe says as if this has some urgency:

• "This is only the third time this year Papelbon has pitched in a 'NON SAVE SITUATION'!"

What is urgent is that it's a tie game in the 9th inning, not that it's a "non-save situation," but I don't blame Castiglione for mentioning it. Other people are responsible for promotion of certain stats. It's an example of 'the tail wagging the dog.' It derives from the vain "total save stat" which often obscures issues to begin with.

• They know who they are.

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Mike Mussina on WFAN with Mike and Chris, 4/29/08

Mike Mussina on WFAN with Mike and Chris, 4/29/08

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'Don Imus Tops Old Ratings'--NY Daily News

(NY Daily News): "Don Imus' return didn't end up reshuffling radio ratings too much, but Luis Jimenez's sure did.

• The January-March winter Arbitron ratings, released Monday, include the first official numbers for Imus' well-chronicled switch to mornings at WABC (770 AM) and Jimenez's debut on WCAA (105.9 FM).

Imus' overall numbers were a little higher than he used to get on WFAN (660 AM) and a tick lower than his predecessors Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby had been getting on WABC.

• WFAN's new team of Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton, who now give the all-sports station a sports-oriented morning show, scored slightly better than Imus scored on WFAN last winter."....

From NY Daily News column by David Hinckley, "Don Imus Tops Old Ratings, Luis Jimenez Up," 4/28/08. Photo by NY Daily News.

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Bowa, Torre, Umpire, 2nd Game of Season

photo by LA Times. This accompanied an article in the LA Times today explaining Bowa's personality.

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Deitsch to study question of MLB interest: Are the Olympics irrelevant?

• Among topics to be studied by recipients of "60 Minutes" Knight-Wallace Fellowships at University of Michigan, 2 are top of mind for MLB:

Are the Olympics still relevant and is "carbon trading" relevant?

• "Richard Deitsch, special projects editor, Sports Illustrated: China and beyond - Exploring the relevancy of the Olympics in the 21st century.

• Stephanie DeGroote, television news producer, Sky News (London): Carbon trading - Can greed save the world?"

Via Poynter.org/Romenesko, 4/28/08

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Eric Wedge, former Red Sock -AP

The AP report on NYY v Cleveland mentions at the end general trivia,

• "Indians manager Eric Wedge underwent eight operations in nine seasons as a catcher in Boston's organization,"....

AP report by Tom Withers published in the NY Times, "Mussina Ties Hubbell with 253rd Win to Lift Yanks Past Tribe," 4/28/08

• P.S. According to Baseball-Reference, Wedge played in 30 games with the major league Red Sox team and just 5 as a catcher. Was mainly a DH. So they must have beat him up pretty good over at Pawtucket or wherever they had him catching.

Baseball Writers voted Wedge AL Manager of the Year in 2007.

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Al Gore used fictional video in his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth"--inconvenient also for MLB

• via Newsbusters.org. Shown on ABC News.

Of note since MLB teams, players, and fans have been commandeered into this increasingly problematic and far-reaching agenda.

• MLB press release, 4/22/08

YouTube link.

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If the Grim Reaper approaches you with a smile, he's still the Grim Reaper

Peter Gammons on ESPN TV tonight intro to Angels-Tigers,

• relates Red Sox scouting report on a few Angels' players. Then notes Jonathan Papelbon's take on some of the Angels' hitters.

I like Peter Gammons, his enthusiasm, etc. That's not the issue. The issue is that the ESPN/Red Sox unit is so complete they don't even try to hide it. Part of that success is a result of marginalizing anyone who would take issue with that statement. Or have an independent thought about anything meaningful.

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Wait til ESPN finds out David Mamet is "no longer a brain-dead liberal"

Neil Best from Newsday explains ESPN being at the Tribeca Film Festival and a scene with David Mamet under an ESPN banner. Very good. Mamet's views were expressed in his Village Voice piece, 3/11/08, "Why I am no Longer a Brain-Dead Liberal."

• Hollywood influenced guys like you have at ESPN/Red Sox/Werner, etc. and other places (especially where you have 'hedge fund' types) are generally "broken glass" liberals. ("Broken Glass" designation means one will crawl over 'broken glass' to vote for their views).

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The Melk-Man Delivers in Yankee 1-0 victory over Cleveland

Yankee homerun leader Melky Cabrera greets Jose Molina during his homerun. Call phraseology via John Sterling. Photo by AP, 4/27/08.

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Fuel tax increase for private jets should ground "global baseball"

Starving Kenyans reach for food, Getty Image, AFP, published on Time.com, 2/27/08 Fuel tax increase for private aircraft pending. (Bloomberg News). The "global game of baseball" is an unaffordable and out of touch marketing plan getting worse by the minute. Bud Selig's "progressive" mandate hijacking teams to focus on his Hollywood-inspired "global warming" glitter will not disguise the folly of global baseball marketing via the jet plane.

• Will Bud Selig miss a meal due to the hoax of "biofuels?"

The Hollywood agenda bought by MLB is now bearing rotten fruit from its "ethanol" hype: Recent Reuters headlines:

Bangladesh stops poor from collecting rotten rice

26 Apr 2008

Texas seeks U.S. ethanol cutbacks; cites corn costs

25 Apr 2008

World Food Program launches emergency call for Haiti

24 Apr 2008

U.N. food aid agency’s gap grows, ration cuts loom

18 Apr 2008

Price of rice prompts renewed anger in Haiti

15 Apr 2008

• And from Time Magazine, 2/27/08 (3/4 down page):

"The push to produce biofuels as an alternative to hydrocarbons is further straining food supplies, especially in the U.S.,

• where generous subsidies for ethanol have lured thousands of farmers away from growing crops for food.

"The area used for biofuels is increasing each year," says Nik Bienkowski, head of research at ETF Securities, a commodities-trading firm in London.

• To make matters worse, global stockpiles of some basics have dwindled to their lowest point in decades. Rice — a staple for billions of Asians — has soared to its highest price in 20 years, while supplies are at their lowest level since the early 1980s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, the global supply of wheat is lower than it's been in about 50 years — just five weeks' worth of world consumption is on hand, according to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization."

• "The World's Growing Food-Price Crisis," from Time Magazine, 2/27/08, by Vivienne Walt

Bud Selig has many times said, "baseball is a social institution." Let him show it by his actions when money is on the line--and it is "inconvenient."

• On it goes.

"An Inconvenient Truth--People will go Hungry," Pueblo Chieftain Online, 4/27/08

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Why were Paul Byrd's MRI's not sought or mentioned by the Mitchell Report?

From Cleveland Plain Dealer, 10/24/07, re Paul Byrd and his "private matter:"

• (Cleveland Plain Dealer): "He (Byrd) says he took HGH for medical reasons, including, variously, a growth deficiency and a tumor on his thigh.

• The MRIs, examined by experts, would prove or disprove the tumor.

• Byrd likely won't agree to their release.

• Even if he wanted to, the obstructionist players' union would fight him to avoid setting such a precedent."

From article by Bill Livingston, 10/24/07, "Bill Livingston Analyzes the Paul Byrd HGH Situation"

• Note: Paul Byrd was never interviewed by Mitchell or his staff according to his report. This article came out a few weeks before the Mitchell Report allowing plenty of time for investigation. This is the first mention I've seen of an existing MRI that could easily have been examined by Mitchell (or MLB).
• And this article says Byrd probably would not allow the release of the MRI.

Byrd would not allow the release of his MRI to prove his pituitary or other tumor? He obviously knows he can do whatever he wants. (As do the Cleveland Indians).

• If Paul Byrd were a Yankee, there's a good chance, with this news,

• he would be awaiting trial on a variety of federal charges.

But, since he's not a Yankee, the Mitchell Report and baseball media celebrities have ignored a huge story. The Yankees continue to allow themselves to be patsies and sitting ducks for everything. (sm)

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Howie Rose tracks Jose Reyes

Howie notes Jose Reyes just hit his third pop-up of the game (v Atlanta), says he has not been the same player since mid-season 2007. *****

• While Rickey Henderson is no longer coaching the Mets, he was brought in at mid-season last year. On July 12, 2007, the Mets announced the hiring of Rickey Henderson as a coach (mlb.com press release). In previous capacities with the club he had been viewed as helpful to Jose Reyes:

(MLB.com): "His primary responsibilities had been to work with Jose Reyes and other basestealers on their baserunning. But he also dealt with patience at the plate. He had been considered a positive influence on Reyes, who has

• increased his on-base percentage from .271 in 2004, to .300 in 2005, to .354 last year
• to .387 this season." (by Marty Noble, MLB.com, 7/12/07).

Before today's game Reyes' OBP was 277, his average 247 (now the average is down to 239). He has 3 GIDP going into today; the most he's had for an entire year before was 7.

• From Bill Madden's 9/23/07 NY Daily News column:

"Wilpon and GM Omar Minaya

• would allow him (Willie Randolph) to name only one coach - and they unceremoniously fired that one, Rick Down, at midseason this year and replaced him with, of all people, Rickey Henderson.

Henderson was one of the game's greatest players and he combined that with an engaging personality. But as a coach, his contributions have been minimal.

• Around the clubhouse, he is jokingly referred to as the card-playing coach, and those close to the situation say

Randolph has had to bite his tongue every day when he arrives at the clubhouse only to see Henderson playing cards with the players.

• It should also not be forgotten that Minaya said the hiring of Henderson, former leadoff man/base-stealer extraordinaire, would especially be beneficial to Jose Reyes. Has there been

anyone more disappointing (to use Wilpon's word) than Reyes these past six weeks?" (Bill Madden, 9/23/07)

• (Sound like someone deliberately planned an environment and clubhouse to undercut the manager and his abilities thereby hurting all the players as well). sm

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The ever-delicate Miss Farnsworth; rewind 9/13/07 Torre interview on WFAN

Thursday's last-minute "twinge" at a moment he was desperately needed was Kyle Farnsworth as he's been before. The Yankees had to follow his instructions--he asked out of the game v the White Sox, forcing Girardi to overuse someone else. Today, of course, we find out nothing was wrong with him. But he still doesn't pitch tonight in Cleveland when they could've used a supposedly major league pitcher. (Peter Abraham says Girardi wouldn't state one way or the other if he'd use Miss F., but he (F.) said he felt "fine." LohudYankeesBlog, 4/25). On the latest "twinge:"

• From MLB.com, 2:10AM, 4/25/08: CHICAGO -- "Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth slipped and felt

• a twinge

• in his right elbow as he delivered his final pitch on Thursday, making it likely that the club will make at least one roster move before Friday's game against the Indians....

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he had

• planned to send the right-hander out for the eighth inning

• before learning of the injury,

• which Farnsworth speculated could be

• an elbow strain.

"He slipped, and his arm felt

• a little funny," Girardi said.

• "We'll have to see how he is [on Friday].""

Source: "Farnsworth Injures Elbow After Slip," MLB.com by Bryan Hoch

• Friday's report filed at 6:50Pm by Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. In an article about Brian Bruney's possibly season-ending injury, at the very end is word of Kyle:

"Farnsworth suffered a scare on Thursday at Chicago when he slipped and felt something in his right elbow, but he was examined by head trainer Gene Monahan on Friday in Cleveland and showed no strength issues.

"That one came out a lot better than Bruney's slip," Girardi said."

Source: "Bruney May be Lost for Season," by Bryan Hoch, 4/25/08******

• So it was nothing. And he's not in tonight (Friday) either.
• Following is a big example that it's been Farnsworth who backs out for his own reasons when he's needed most. From September 13, 2007 Joe Torre interview:

On 9/13/07, Joe Torre on WFAN, about which I posted--(Farnsworth backs out for at least 2 days but the media didn't know about it.

• Resulted in having to over use Joba and Rivera. In September.
• There is no way Torre would've chosen to do that.

From 9/13/07 about Farnsworth: " Joe Torre on WFAN with Mike and Chris, turns out Farnsworth had a problem with his neck when he got into town (Toronto) and wasn't available in the Wednesday night game v Toronto.... (special note for those who write the Yankees "baby" Farnsworth when it's Farnsworth who comes up with all the twinges, kinks, etc.)

• Torre also said Farnsworth will not be available tonight v Toronto (and AJ Burnett) either.
• Mike and Chris pressed Torre as to why he used Joba Chamberlain for 2 innings last night (it actually ended up being an inning & 2/3 with Mariano Rivera for an inning and a third), making him unavailable for at least 2 days.
• They asked why he didn't use Farnsworth for 1 of those innings, that's how the subject came up.
• Torre said no one else had asked him specifically about Farnsworth's condition in the past day or so.

It didn't make headlines, but I heard several times over 2006 and 2007 on Yankee radio that Farnsworth was asked to come into a game and just said no, couldn't for whatever reason. Leading Torre to have to abuse other relievers.

• As far as his supposed "multi inning" skill, from Baseball-Reference:

• In 2001, 1.08 ip/appearance

• In 2002 1.07 ip/appearance
• In 2003, 1.0 ip/appearance
• In 2004, .94 ip/ (pre-Joe Torre)
• In 2005, .97 ip/ (pre-Joe Torre)
• In 2006, .92 ip/
• In 2007, .93 ip/

P.S. On 12/2/2005, Boston.com reported Joe Torre call made the difference for Farnsworth. I posted then:

• "For Kyle Farnsworth, a telephone call from Joe Torre was the big reason he'll set up for Mariano Rivera rather than closing for the Atlanta Braves or the Texas Rangers. "Coming from Joe Torre, you know it's really true," Farnsworth said Friday after agreeing to the 3 year deal. He said he hadn't heard of the Rangers' interest until yesterday."
• Posted 12/2/2005 on this blog, linked to report from Boston.com. It still links to Boston.com, but the page isn't active.

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Rick Monday saved the flag 32 years ago today in Dodger Stadium

Rick Monday rescues American flag 32 years ago today.

• I posted this originally 2 years ago on the 30th anniversary. I was reminded of it today by a post on BTF.

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Notes from AP sports editors' annual meeting with Bud Selig, Inc.

Notes from AP Sports Editors' meeting with Allan H. "Bud" Selig, 4/24/08

• 1.(AP report): "-About $350 million was transferred last year in revenue sharing, according to (Rob) Manfred, who said the total is expected to increase to approximately $393 million this year."

I appreciate notation of the number given out by MLB, Inc. Which reporter will find out precisely how the money was spent? (sm)

• 2. (AP report): "MLB hasn't been persuaded that there is a validated HGH test.

• "They took 2,000 tests four years ago," Selig )said). "We've never seen the results. No one's ever seen the results.""

(WADA has a secret company it claims makes a reliable test kit. They refuse to name the company, just that it's somewhere in Europe).

• 3. (AP): "Fehr said wasn't bothered by the assertion of Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who said "steroids is strictly a Don Fehr problem and creation" during an interview on Comcast SportsNet.

"Ever since he bought the White Sox, Jerry feels an obligation every now and then to stick a pin in me," Fehr said. "When the owners unilaterally implemented terms and conditions of employment after the strike in 1994, they could have implemented drug testing. They didn't. Bud did not even implement it in the minor leagues until 2001.""

• 4. (Bob) DuPuy said "the coalition at county commission level is tenuous" for the Florida Marlins' proposed new ballpark.

• 5. (Donald) Fehr said changes in the format of the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee made it a
• "foregone conclusion that Marvin Miller would never be elected."

Miller, the former union leader whose strategies helped create free agency and multimillion-dollar salaries, received 51 of 81 (63 percent) in early 2007, falling 10 votes shy of the needed 75 percent.

Miller got just three of 12 votes in December. "It makes me sort of very sad," Fehr said."*****

***********

• (An example of how certain post season baseball awards can be decided more by the selection of voters
• than the value of the subsequent recipient. It lights the way for other morally criminal acts by BBWAA voters). sm

AP report published on SportingNews.com, "Penalties Unlikely for Execs in Mitchell Report," 4/24/08 following AP Sports Editors annual meeting with B.S. (Bud Selig)

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Willie Randolph's treatment by Mike and Chris on WFAN

Mike and Chris on WFAN are well aware Willie Randolph has been prevented from doing his job by Mets management. It's been written about by Bill Madden (NY Daily News 9/23/07, 10/03/07, and others), eg.

• "...the deeper problem that threatens Randolph's ability to manage this team as he envisioned. That would be Minaya's assistant GM, Tony Bernazard who, it would appear, is the real power in the front office...."Bill Madden, NY Daily News, 10/3/07, "Willie Randolph Gets Backing But Shouldn't Feel Comfortable."

If anything, Randolph did a much better job than anticipated: Bill Madden, 10/3/07:

• "But it turned out, in Randolph, they got more than they bargained for. From the moment he stepped on the field in his first spring training two years ago, Randolph brought a professionalism not seen around Mets since Gil Hodges held forth in the manager's chair. The Mets, Randolph declared, were going to play baseball the right way; were going to play hard and play smart every day and they were going to conduct themselves as professionals. And for the better part of 2-1/2years they did..."

(I remember Willie telling Cliff Floyd not to lallygag his way back to the dugout and Floyd stopped doing it). sm

• Mike and Chris even brought the subject of Willie's authority up with Minaya last year asking about Tony Bernazard's presence in the clubhouse. I recall Minaya saying Bernazard was in the clubhouse to "help." WFAN's invention of, "Gee, Mets fans don't like Willie Randolph" isn't the same thing as debating for a week whether Joba should pirouette on the mound.
• It's much too personal. The only way this makes sense is if water is being carried. One hears teams use baseball writers to manipulate various situations.
• Radio is a personal medium, so the idea is more distasteful.

The main complaint from callers I heard was Willie reminded them of Joe Torre drinking tea. A firing offense, apparently. With this evidence, Russo would subsequently say, Wow......Mets fans don't like Willie Randolph... over and over. Making it conventional wisdom. And think how much this helps Mets' players.

• Chris and Mike themselves have not come up with any real faults, but are "damning with faint praise." Encouraging calls from the unknown and unwashed is standard procedure, but in this case seems pandering to Mets ownership.

• Since the station will do whatever it wants, the only way a listener can protest is to avoid its advertisers.

The conversation that should be taking place about Willie Randolph if any is that he's not allowed to be manager, players can't "play for him" when Bernazard beats him to players' lockers. Randolph had done his job too well. (This must have scared Fred Wilpon and the monster he created, Jeff Wilpon). Bill Madden: 10/3/07:

• "What is unique about Bernazard's situation with the Mets is that no other assistant GM, let alone GM, spends as much time in the clubhouse - which is supposed to be the manager's domain - as he does.
• After Gomez was thrown out stealing third for the final out in the ninth inning against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 21,
• Bernazard was immediately at the kid's locker after the game - which could not have been very settling to Randolph..."

• Reference, NY Daily News aarticle by Bill Madden, "Willie Randolph Gets Backing but Shouldn't Feel Comfortable," 10/3/07

• Reference, NY Daily News article by Bill Madden, "Willie Randolph Catching too much Heat for Mets' Slump," 9/23/07, From Madden's 9/23/07 article:

• "Rumor has it there is growing disenchantment from above with Randolph, and while no one reporting this has specified the source of this disenchantment, a pretty good guess is COO Jeff Wilpon, who engaged in a contentious, sometimes rancorous contract negotiation with the Mets manager last winter. Those familiar with the mind-set of the team's hierarchy contend the Met bosses believe any manager could have achieved what Randolph did last year, given the talent he had. For that reason, Wilpon strongly resisted giving Randolph the three-year, $5.65 commitment he sought.

That Randolph, despite his Brooklyn roots, community involvement and popularity in New York, has never been held in the same esteem as other successful managers is evidenced by the fact that Wilpon and GM Omar Minaya

• would allow him to name only one coach - and they unceremoniously fired that one, Rick Down, at midseason this year and replaced him with, of all people, Rickey Henderson.

Henderson was one of the game's greatest players and he combined that with an engaging personality. But as a coach, his contributions have been minimal.

• Around the clubhouse, he is jokingly referred to as the card-playing coach, and those close to the situation say

Randolph has had to bite his tongue every day when he arrives at the clubhouse only to see Henderson playing cards with the players.

• It should also not be forgotten that Minaya said the hiring of Henderson, former leadoff man/base-stealer extraordinaire, would especially be beneficial to Jose Reyes. Has there been

anyone more disappointing (to use Wilpon's word) than Reyes these past six weeks?

• We also hear that Mets brass is regretting not giving Manny Acta the manager's job three years ago. That chatter grew louder last week when Acta's Washington Nationals were pounding the Mets 12-4 and 9-8 in the first two games of their series in D.C. One can only imagine what Randolph must have thought

seeing Mets assistant GM Tony Bernazard openly fraternizing with Acta for nearly an hour before the Mets' games in D.C. in August and then again last Wednesday.

• As it is, Bernazard spends way too much time in the Met clubhouse, which is supposed to be the manager's domain.

But as former Mets manager Bobby Valentine - who complained bitterly to ownership about then-GM Steve Phillips constantly holding court in his clubhouse - can attest, around the Mets that's just not the case."...

• (Above from referenced Bill Madden article, 9/23/07)

P.S. A team forced to work in an environment such as the Mets have created would have a hard time winning. (sm)

• *If links to NY Daily News default to current issue, try putting the article's headline in google.

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31 batters, 27 outs YTD, WHIP .44

Mo Rivera tosses Carlos Quentin grounder to 1B Giambi during his 5 out appearance, Yankees-White Sox, 4/23/08. AP photo.

• ERA 0.00
• WP 0
• SB 0
• BB 0
• H 4
• 9IP, 8G
• 12.78 P/IP

• RIVERA'S LAST 5-OUT SCORELESS APPEARANCE WAS OCTOBER 8, 2007. IT WAS ALSO THE LAST TIME HE WOULD BE GIVEN THE BALL BY JOE TORRE. WHILE NOT A SAVE SITUATION, IT WAS AN IMPORTANT PITCHING SITUATION.

• RIVERA'S LAST 6 OUT SCORELESS APPEARANCE WAS OCTOBER 5, 2007. ALTHOUGH NOT A 'SAVE' SITUATION, HIS PERFORMANCE UNDER PRESSURE IN THE FAMOUS "BUGS" GAME IS NOTEWORTHY.

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Tony Petitti from CBS Sports moves to new MLB Channel--Neil Best

"Tony Petitti, Sean McManus' right-hand man at CBS Sports, is about to be hired to run the MLB Channel, which launches early next year."

• (Mr. Best credits John Ourand of SBJ for the scoop).

(Neil Best): "MLB has hired CBS Exec VP & Exec Producer Tony Petitti to run MLB Network, which is scheduled to launch in January. A formal announcement is expected as early as this week. Petitti's production skills earned him a sterling reputation at CBS Sports, and sources say he is making the move because he wants to run his own show."....

• (Mr. Best's last paragraph conjures an unimaginable nightmare of characters):

(Neil Best): "MLB last month hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to find a CEO, who will report to the net's board, which consists of five owners, two MLB executives and two network partners:

• Royals Owner David Glass,
• White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf,
• Red Sox Chair Tom Werner,
• Mets co-Owner Jeff Wilpon and
• A's Owner Lewis Wolff,
• MLB President Bob DuPuy and
• Exec VP/Business Tim Brosnan, along with
• DirecTV President Chase Carey and
• Comcast COO Steve Burke.

The CEO is expected to collaborate on a day-to-day basis with Brosnan. MLB Senior VP/Broadcasting Chris Tully is expected to be tapped as COO, reporting to Petitti."

• From Neil Best's Watchdog blog, 4/23/08

P.S. Someone described Jeff Wilpon as "James Dolan without a guitar." Which is still being kind. I guess Hank's invitation got lost in the mail. No doubt they'll expect prompt and frequent cash payments from him. It could be worse--they could've put Randy Levine on this creepy list. (sm)

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MLB endorsed 'Global Warming' manipulations result in food shortages and riots--UK to reconsider

(TimesOnlineUK): "Experts told The Times yesterday that prices of rice, wheat and vegetable oil would rise further.

• They also forecast that high prices and shortages — which have caused riots in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Haiti — were here to stay,

and that the days of cheap produce would not return. Food-price inflation has already pushed up a typical family’s weekly shopping bill by 15 per cent in a year....

• (Prime Minister) Gordon Brown responded to mounting concerns about the global rise in food prices by signalling that he might

scale back Britain’s commitment to biofuels,

• which critics say has exacerbated the food crisis because land has been
• given over to grow crops for energy rather than food."
• TimesonlineUK, 4/23/08

And Science Magazine says greenhouse gases will actually increase if you follow the current Global Warming/carbon offsets propaganda (which is also being heavily promoted by Major League Baseball):

• "Most prior studies have found that substituting biofuels for gasoline will reduce greenhouse carbon through the growth of the feedstock.

These analyses have failed to count the carbon emissions that occur as farmers worldwide respond to higher prices

• and convert forest and grassland to new cropland to replace the grain (or cropland) diverted to biofuels.

By using a worldwide agricultural model to estimate emissions from land-use change, we found that

• corn-based ethanol,instead of producing a 20% savings,

• nearly doubles greenhouse emissions over 30 years and

• increases greenhouse gases for 167 years. Biofuels from switchgrass, if grown on U.S. corn lands, increase emissions by 50%.

This result raises concerns about large biofuel mandates and highlights the value of using waste products."...

• Originally published Feb. 29, 2008, here March 25, 2008, "Use of US Croplands for biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases," ScienceMag.org

P.S. China uses fossil fuels for 70% of its energy needs and has no intention of following any "carbon offsets" program. Even if the MLB endorsed program were correct, with China refusing to participate, no global improvement could happen. Reuters, 4/23/08, "China Down to 12 Days Worth of Coal." via the Drudge Report

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Fans of Chien-Ming Wang at Chicago White Sox game

Chien-Ming Wang fans take photo outside US Cellular, Chicago White Sox Stadium, Yankees-White Sox game. 4/22/08. Getty Images, Newsday

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Glamourous MLB teams buy into "carbon offset" scam while fans can't afford gas to get to a game

• Ira Einhorn, in custody for murder, was also an original "Earth Day" organizer. photo Salon.com

Appearance and reality are different, as is spending someone else's money vs spending your own. An MLB.com press release today lauds Earth Day. A great "progessive," Ira Einhorn, was one of the founders of Earth Day.

• Einhorn also murdered a woman in his bedroom, fled the US, and hid out in France for many years before finally being brought back and put in prison. Article in Salon.com. 8/14/02.

Many know conserving resources has always been common sense but the power of politics and Hollywood are too much for MLB to pass up. Another chunk of fan experience and revenue are severed in a flash, with much more to come. It's buying and selling, the definition of politics, where MLB lives, nationally and globally.

• First among teams in the article is the Seattle Mariners who've allocated precious financial and personnel resources into the "carbon offsets" tragedy. (Despite that the global "biofuel" industry is now causing global famine and rationing even in the US). MLB.com says the Mariners' offset broker is "NativeEnergy."

• NativeEnergy has worked closely with Al Gore and his movie according to their report from Indian Country, 1/3/07:

"CANASTOTA, N.Y. - A privately held American Indian energy company has teamed up with Al Gore in delivering the former vice president's message of global warming to millions of people around the world.

• NativeEnergy has been majority-owned by the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy since 2005. NativeEnergy, Participant Productions and Paramount Pictures Classics were able to offset 100 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from air and ground travel, production energy use, associated with the making of ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' according the NativeEnergy Web site.

Participant Productions, a relatively new film company, and Paramount Pictures Classics are helping to build the Rosebud St. Francis wind farm in South Dakota and the Dovan family dairy farm methane renewable energy project in Pennsylvania; they also helped to make the film climate-neutral, according to NativeEnergy. NativeEnergy, whose logo can be found on the back of

• the recently released ''An Inconvenient Truth'' DVD, works to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide that enters the Earth's atmosphere every day."...

NativeEnergy also boasts celebrity raw sewage dumper the Dave Matthews Band on their client list. (NativeWind.org). 9/15/05.

• The headline in the Chicago Tribune about the environmental crime says "the bus driver" of the Dave Matthews band dumped 800 pounds of human waste onto boat passengers and into a river. Near the end of the article it notes the driver had been a long-time employee of the band, and they were sorry "one of our buses was involved" in such a thing.

It was the Dave Matthews band's responsibility, their judgment that was "involved" in this unspeakable act. Their guy also denied it at first, and only admitted the truth when video evidence emerged showing the crime. The Dave Matthews band gets no more chances, no more pr after this display.

• More evidence that saying you are "Green" doesn't make you better, or even "progressive:"

• The company that supplied all generator power for the Live Earth Concert in July 2007 was fined for pouring poisonous chemicals in a river killing much animal life. The company Bio Tech Oils UK had previously won awards.

(Appearance isn't reality). And fans are broke.

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Idea floated for NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg to buy the NY Times Co.

"(The NY) Times Co. recently gave board seats to dissident shareholders who want the company to sell off non-core assets, including the (Boston) Globe and a minority stake

• in the Boston Red Sox." (Boston Herald, 4/22/08).

• Newsweek's latest issue reported that "friends" are urging billionaire NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg to buy the Times, take it private, and thereby rid the Times' family of its financial, editorial, and baseball pressures.

Although Bloomberg has since denied interest in the idea, it solves all the Times' problems:

• Bloomberg is most concerned with social issues, as is the Times. The former favors matters surrounding trans-fat legislation, smoking, and the like. Ideologically, it's a match.

Bloomberg is a native of Medford, Massachusetts (and still has his accent). That might possibly be a match for Red Sox interest. He has an MBA from Harvard.

• From the NY Times, 10/8/03, "Mayor Trades his Sox for the Local Pinstripes":

"He made his first big fielding error two years ago (2001) during the mayoral campaign, when he bobbled a tricky one-hopper about whether he liked the Yankees or the Mets.

• ''I grew up in Boston,'' Michael R. Bloomberg replied, as his gleeful opponents ran for extra bases.

Then came the easy pop-up that bounced out of his glove -- his mispronunciation of the name of the Yankees' manager, Joe Torre, at a New York University graduation ceremony in May. The tabloids blamed ''the Boston-bred'' mayor's accent, while noting, suspiciously, that he ''grew up a Red Sox fan.''"

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MLB "Green" alert: your rush to 'carbon offsets' is inducing global famine

Sports Illustrated cover from March 2007. MLB was used to sell what what has turned out to be emerging global famine,

• panic, and an excess of CO2.

"This Earth Day finds the world threatened not by rising sea levels, but by rising food prices. Many on the planet are

• more likely to starve than drown, and we have only Gore's disciples to blame....

• The Gore-induced rush to biofuels has diverted crops such as corn, soybeans and palm oil from food to fuel.
• Vast swaths of rain forest in places like Malaysia and Indonesia have been cleared to provide farmland not to feed the hungry but to fuel our cars. Our own grain belt has been increasingly diverted to ethanol over corn flakes.

This has pressured food prices while damaging the environment.

• In the U.S., more cultivation has increased runoff from pesticides and fertilizer, creating dead zones for aquatic life from Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.

• As Indur M. Goklany of the Cato Institute reports, agricultural expansion leads to
• higher releases of carbon from biomass and soil above and below ground. Fertilizers that increase yields also increase nitrogen discharge into waters and emissions of nitrous oxide
• — a greenhouse gas that heats the atmosphere 300 times more effectively than carbon dioxide.

According to World Bank data, as of March,

• world grain prices had tripled and fertilizer prices had quadrupled since 2000.

Food prices have risen an astounding 65% just since the beginning of this year.

• "Climate-change remedies can lead to greater poverty,
• starvation and
• disease, as well as
• widespread ecological destruction — some of the very misfortunes that they're supposed to prevent," Goklany wrote in the New York Post. "In our haste to address global warming, we have yet to think seriously about
• our policies' unintended effects.""

From editorial, IInvestors Business Daily, "Earth Daze, Courtesy of Al Gore," (or check any grocery store), 4/21/08 via Lucianne.com

• Bud Selig, the NRDC, MLB, and man-made global warming. MLB press release about which I posted on 4/14/08.

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Idea for Goose Gossage: Get Hank on the phone about Joba

Mike and Chris on WFAN noted Cashman responded to Hank's comment about Joba starting, in effect saying the subject is off the table for the time being. Gossage likes to express his opinion and he's done so on the issue of keeping Chamberlain in the bullpen. Why doesn't Gossage call up Hank and convince him?

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Ohio newspapers agree to share stories

Affects Cleveland Plain Dealer, Akron Beacon Journal, Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, and Cincinnati Enquirer. From Cleveland Plain Dealer article by Ted Diadiun, Reader Representative, 4/20/08. via Poynter.org/Romenesko.

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Bob Du Puy wants no interference on the internet from newspapers and magazines

Bob Du Puy says in effect the enjoyment of words and pictures about MLB and its players on the internet should be confined to MLB.com websites:

• (From the NY Times): Bob Du Puy: “I’m all for selling newspapers and magazines,” said Bob DuPuy, the president of M.L.B.
• “What I’m not for is them branching off in to other enterprises.”...

In this case, newspapers and magazines would like to continue providing images and certain information on the internet (for fans) but Bob doesn't agree. he says they shouldn't "branch off."

• (From the NY Times): "Major League Baseball Advanced Media, baseball’s Internet arm, generates an estimated $400 million a year in revenue and is growing at a 30 percent a year.
• Investment bankers have estimated that the business is worth $2 billion to $3 billion.....

Mike Fannin, the president of the Associated Press Sports Editors" said,

• (NY Times): “Ten years ago newspapers weren’t in the world of video and audio,” he said. “We were in the world of print. The leagues don’t have a print product.
• Their view of this is that we entered their world.”

That is one point both sides agree on.

• “I’m all for selling newspapers and magazines,” said Bob DuPuy, the president of M.L.B. “What I’m not for is them branching off in to other enterprises.”

Media organizations, like Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, wrote letters to Bud Selig, the baseball commissioner, to protest the new rules."....

• From NY Times article by Tim Arango, "Tension over Sports Blogging," 4/21/08. via BTF

P.S. I hope the protesters have a good head start on their battle. The centralization of MLB information has been going on for quite awhile. (sm)

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Spike Lee watches Yankees-Orioles at Camden Yards

Sunday, April 20, 2008, Getty Images, Newsday

• Notes from game:

• "Pettitte struck out Nick Markakis three times. ... (Adam) Jones made three outstanding catches in center, including a diving stab of a liner by Jeter in the seventh. ... Giambi went 0-for-3 with a walk (and grounded into a double play) and is 5-for-46 (.109) this season."

From AP report by David Ginsburg, "A-rod Injured but Pettitte Shines." 4/20/08

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Jose Reyes powers another Mets win--Newsday back cover

Jose Reyes, Newsday photo.

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On Joba's return, Red Sox commenter wonders

Response to AP article, "Joba Chamberlain Returns to Yankees," on SportingNews.com

• Comments

"Can he hit or field?

RiCkL-7 on Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:07 pm

It's not helping! Yup, you guessed it, they lost AGAIN!!!!

• You guys are really looking more pitiful each and every day and are a mockery of a team!! How many more games on this roadtrip?

• Try hitting with runners in scoring position. Or getting your rook pitchers to get someone out for once.

Where are the Ha/Ha Steinlosers or their big bucks daddy when we need them??? Don't hurt your necks looking up to the MIGHTY Sox in the standings again this Spring!!!

• GO BOSOX!!! "

P.S. The Red Sox commenter doesn't mention his ex, Johnny Damon, was a huge dog of tonight's Yankee loss. Red Sox fans usually have a thing about him. (sm)

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How to get attention: have no conscience like this AP sports bro'

First headline on Dahlberg's 4/19/08 article on SportingNews.com:

• "Being named in the Mitchell Report has been a curse"

Later, 2nd headline on Dahlberg's article on SportingNews.com (they posted it a 2nd time):

• "Dahlberg: Mitchell Report has been a curse"

Both articles contain the following statements from the author:

• "Being named in the Mitchell Report wasn't just bad for reputations. It's becoming a career killer.

• Sure, it's only a few weeks into the season,

• and only a tenth of the 162-game schedule has been played.

• But trends are emerging

• that have to make even the most gullible fan think twice about what his or her favorite player might have been doing to become so good.

• The evidence is, of course, circumstantial.

• There might be a dozen other reasons why players named in the report are struggling,

• though first suspicions are often best."

"First suspicions are often best." By a member of the Band of Brothers, the BBWAA. And Dahlberg's also won awards from the AP Sports Editors. Listed in the APSE website in 2005 as having won for the third straight year in sports feature writing. About 3/4 down the page.

• P.S. Someone has decided this is good. (sm)

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Tony Russo, "Yankee Correspondent" with Mike and Chris on WFAN

Tony Russo, "Yankee Correspondent," with Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, 4/14/08. Calling in from Santa Fe.

• Tony Russo is a Yankee fan. His son, WFAN's Chris Russo, is a San Francisco Giants fan. Something about a childhood disappointment.

UPDATE: TONY RUSSO CALLS MIKE FRANCESA ON WFAN FOLLOWING HIS SON'S DEPARTURE, 8/15/08.

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Weekday Padres attendance down; Slow National sales "stuns" observers

April 17, 2008:

• ..."The average attendance of 22,687 for the six weekday games of the 2008 season since the season opener is the lowest in the Padres' five seasons downtown.

The average is off 21 percent from a year ago and more than 25 percent from Petco's opening season of 2004. Season openers are not included.

• Three of the 10 smallest crowds in Petco Park history, including the smallest turnout ever -- 18,714 for the Astros on April 2 -- have been among the six games this year played on days other than Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Thursday night's crowd of 25,984 was the first midweek crowd this season to surpass the lowest previous average of 25,480 in 2006.

Why midweek attendance has dropped so measurably is open to conjecture."...

• From San Diego Union-Tribune by Center & Posner, "Weekday Petco Attendance Down," 4/17/08***

From the Baltimore Sun, 4/12/08, Fans throw a Curve, New DC Stadium Fails to Draw Large Crowds," by Jeff Barker

• (Please don't be stunned--the team's efforts and new stadium are much appreciated, but the increase in costs of driving have put the occasion out of reach for many). sm

P.S. Life has changed dramatically as the price of oil and food have increased. Many who could afford to go to baseball games can no longer do so. This fact should be talked about every day in baseball broadcasts.

• It's the only way sufficient attention will be drawn to the problem. Second, Americans today are so passive it would take an enormous groundswell to give them the courage to demand a solution to the energy problem. (sm)

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