A few points of interest while Mike chats the afternoon away.
Small ball? Pschaw
We’re used to seeing The Star Ledger’s Marc Carig in his traditional beat writer role. He certainly entertains us on Twitter, but for the most part he’s out there gathering and reporting facts. Lately he’s had a chance to express his views, and today he brings the knowledge with his column on small ball and the Yankees. People might yearn for the little things, but that’s just not the way the Yanks are built.
Maybe the idea of the game as a battle of attrition — working at-bats, drawing walks, popping home runs — isn’t your ideal brand of baseball. That’s fine. But the reality is that the Yankees have chosen to fashion themselves in this mold. They have assembled specific parts to build a machine that’s designed to 1.) Get players on base 2.) Knock in those players with extra base hits, whether they’re doubles in the gaps or home runs in the seats.
The machine works.
It’s easily the best article I’ve read all day.
All Jeter, all the time
No matter how much we don’t want to hear about it, the Jeter contract situation will make headlines from now through the resolution. If we’re going to have to suffer this, we might as well make the best of it. And what better place to start than Dave Cameron’s Contract Crowdsourcing series? Jeter’s up today, so make sure to go enter your numbers.
Last week Ben Lindbergh of Baseball Prospectus had a long, thoughtful take on the situation and offered up a follow up today. BP voters think Jeter will get a three-year deal worth around $15-$17 million a season. Today ESPN’s Mark Simon adds to the conversation by putting Jeter’s 2010 into perspective.
After this, I expect everyone will be sick and tired of the Jeter situation, if they weren’t already. Good. Now let’s talk about actual baseball while they’re still playing.
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