Should Yankee fans cheer David Ortiz in his last Yankee Stadium game?

I was on my my home when I saw about the retiring David Ortiz's "plea" in the New York Post to Yankee fans. And I couldn't wait to get home and Squawk about it, because obviously, I have something to say!

Post columnist Kevin Kernan talked to Ortiz today about what he wanted in his final game of his career at Yankee Stadium:

When Ortiz, 40, makes his final Yankee Stadium appearance on Sept. 29, this is what he wants, and it speaks volumes about Ortiz the player, the competitor, the enemy, the star. 
 “You know what I want most of all?’’ Big Papi told The Post on Tuesday at JetBlue Park. “I would love it if the fans at Yankee Stadium gave me a standing ovation.’’

Kernan writes that Yankee fans can "show class" by doing this:

Cheer for Big Papi. Chant his nickname. Send him out with class.

You know, I mostly like Kernan's writing, but this is a bit much for me.

Look, I gave Ortiz a standing ovation in my living room when, after the Boston Marathon bombing, he took the mike at Fenway and said, "This is our f*cking city." That was a great moment, and it's the one time in my life I wanted to cheer for Ortiz.  That's enough for me, thanks. Unless he's got Lou Gehrig's Disease or something, I am on record in thinking these endless farewell tours are too much. And I'm not cheering for him. I also think it's a little weird for him to ask for this.

Now, I'm not going to tell other Yankee fans that they shouldn't cheer for Ortiz. But I say not just "No," but "Hello, no." to the idea of me cheering and giving him a standing ovation and chanting "Big Papi." Good grief.

And I don't think not doing so for him makes me unclassy. (Class is overrated, anyway!)

 I also don't think  that sportswriters should tell fans what to do here. This is a personal decision every fan has the right to make. And I'm sitting on my hands, thanks!

What do you think? Will you cheer for David Ortiz?

I am quoted in the New York Post about the Yankees' new fan-UNfriendly ticket policy

What would Judge Judy say
about the Yankees' new ticket policy?

I am in today's New York Post! Click here to read the article, and read on to see how this happened.

I was sitting at my desk in my office in the big city yesterday afternoon when my cell phone rang with "Unknown" on the Caller ID. I very cautiously answered the phone. It turns out that David K. Li of the New York Post wanted to talk to me. My very first, totally primal, reaction when he introduced himself was to think, What the heck did I do to get the Post's attention? Did I do something wacky after my 10-mile race in single-degree weather that warranted a Post story?

The reporter then explained the purpose of his call. He had seen my Squawk about the Yankees' new ticket policy, which is being spun as helping fans against fraud (even though hard-stock tickets can also be counterfeit), when it's really about increasing the Yankees' bottom line by killing the use of StubHub. In fact, the initial stories in the mainstream media spun the team's pablum about this ticket fraud non-issue. (Incidentally, I saw somebody say on Twitter yesterday afternoon: "Amazing how the Yankees are experiencing so much fraud with print at home tickets, but no other franchises are." Exactly!)

So I gave Li my spiel against the new policy: how the team likes the free market, until fans use the free market to get cheap tickets. Then all of a sudden, the team wants price floors so that the ticket prices don't go below a certain level.  I talked about how I never had a problem with free agents and even teams making money, per se, but that the flip side was that fans should be able to use that same free market to buy and sell tickets at whatever prices the market will bear. And at any rate, the Yankees already made money the first time they sold the tickets. Why did they insist on getting a cut with the second time the tickets were sold, especially when it would hurt their own fan base?

I also pointed out that it will also hurt fans' flexibility in buying tickets. No longer will they be able to go to StubHub and get a deal on the day of the game. And how the team was so shortsighted on this decision. Because not only will they not get those fans into the ballpark, but that they will not get those fans' money from them buying food, drinks, and souvenirs. We also talked about how this new policy would hurt ticket sellers, too. Most of whom are season ticket holders just looking to get some of their money back for games they can't attend.

Anyhow, Li wrote up a great story that made the Post's website last night, and that will be in Thursday's paper. The article correctly points out how much this will negatively affect the average fan. I am quoted several times in the piece, including the kicker at the end. Which, if you know anything about journalism, is a great place to be!

But the Yankees are still trying to spin this as somehow helping the fans. From the article (emphasis added):

“Mobile is the most convenient, accessible, efficient and safe way to provide tickets,” said Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion. “Yankees fans are extremely happy, this is what they wanted. The only unhappy people are the ticket brokers and ticket speculators.”

Listen up, Alice McGillion. If you honestly think that Yankee fans "are extremely happy" over this new policy, you need to get your head out of your you know what. As I always say, don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!

While some Yankee fans may have welcomed the mobile option, nobody was saying to themselves, "Gee, what I really want is for the team to take away my flexbility in being able to buy a cheap ticket at the last minute." Or "Gee, I really want to help the Yankees and Ticketmaster make even more money." And, Ms. McGillion, most of the people selling tickets -- and buying tickets -- are your most dedicated, hardcore fans. How do you think this move is going to sell in your fan base?

This is one of the many things odious about the Hal Steinbrenner regime. Since he was born on third base, but thinks he hit a triple, he doesn't have a clue how bad these quotes sound from the team's PR person (!), especially when they are sandwiched next to quotes from actual fans. And because Prince Hal is so worried about looking like his father, he does the opposite of George in so many ways, including never seeming to fire anybody nor wanting accountability in anything. Then again, I guess the front office is doing his bidding in squeezing every last drop out of the fans, the way his big innovation for this winter was to have the Yankees be the only team not to sign a free agent. At least it used to be that we knew the high ticket prices were going to getting the best players. Not anymore.

And, as I wrote in the blog the other day (also, thanks to Mets Police for highlighting it in their blog), and also told the Post reporter, the Mets' Spring Training Sendoff that Squawker Jon and I attended on Monday was very disorganized. But I appreciated that they tried to do something nice for their fans. (Incidentally, Jon and I each got an emailed apology from the Mets yesterday for the logistical problems at the event -- and a voucher for two free field-level tickets for Monday-Thursday games through June of this year. Can you imagine the Yankees ever doing that?)

I have written in this blog about how the Yankees' ticket sales are declining, while the Mets are increasing. So does the Yankee organization think that screwing over their own fans is the way to arrest this trend? And it's one thing for the team to have the arrogance of doing whatever it wants when they were winning world championship after world championship, and were the top team in town. But, unfortunately, the team's front office still has that arrogance, even in a time when their crosstown rivals are actually putting a better product on -- and off -- the field. This is the time people in Yankeeland ought to be looking long and hard at innovative ways to get their fans to keep on coming to games. Not alienating them yet again.

You know, I've been a Yankee fan since I was 10 years old. I will remain a Yankees fan for the rest of my life. But gee, it would be nice if some of this passion was reciprocated. Or at least if the organization didn't pee on me and my fellow Yankee fans' legs and tell us it's raining!

Did Sandy Alderson throw shade at the Yankees?

Today's New York Post has a great interview with New York Mets' GM Sandy Alderson. Steve Serby talks to Alderson about his battle with cancer, what to expect from the Mets in 2016, and the buzz that the Mets' had in second half of last year. There were two other things that I found of interest. The first was him comparing his job in baseball to running -- more on that in a sec.

The second was this exchange. When asked, "Are you driven to take the next step and win one?," he responded:

"Yeah, one is sort of driven to get back, but it’s not that easy to do. Kansas City did it, and some teams have done it. I don’t know that any team has gone to the World Series three years in a row since the A’s did it in ’88, ’89, ’90. It’s tough to do. It’s tougher to do now because you have more layers of competition. You’ve got the wild card, and then the division series and then the league series before you get to the World Series. Back in those late ’80s, you only played a league championship series and that was it."

Hmmm. There is one team that not just made it to the World Series three years in a row (actually four years in a row) since the A's in the 80s. And this team won three years in a row, when Oakland only won one title in those three years. And finally, this team won in the wild card era. And that team would be...drum roll please...the 1998/1999/2000/2001 New York Yankees!

Did Alderson simply forget the Yankees? Is he throwing shade at his team's crosstown rivals? I don't know. But this simply amuses me for some strange reason! Heh.

* * *

About the running reference: Alderson said he has "been a runner for a long time" and has run several marathons. He told Serby:

"What you realize like in a long-distance race is that there are these stress points that you hit where you really want to quit. You just want to stop. But if you get through them, then the stress dissipates, and you go on for a while longer until you get to another point where it gets stressful — it might be a hill, it might just be distance, it could be anything. But if you do that a couple of times, you realize that, 'I can get through this.' And so, over time, you do get through them and you get through those points with less stress than you originally experienced not having done it before. 

"And so, in some ways, that’s the way I approach baseball, the team, the season, is that you have to be aware that those difficult points will arise, and you have to be prepared to deal with them. But they’re manageable, and you’ll get through them. But you can’t be paralyzed by the stress or the losses or the difficulties."

He is dead on in this comparison. I did a 10-mile race yesterday that ebbed and flowed, to say the least. You can read my report about this epic race here. I am resurrecting my personal Swan Squawking blog to put things that don't really neatly "fit" in the Squawkers, and that is one of the articles I have published there.

Shocker: The New York Post's Phil Mushnick sounds like a crank about Bernie Williams Night

I think that New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick frequently makes good points, and can be a much-needed force for good in the New York sports media. This recent column is not one of those times.

Mushnick is irate that Bernie Wiliams Night was being held tonight. the sports columnist writes:

So the Yankees had to choose the Sunday before Memorial Day, a holiday when tributes are traditionally, logically and respectfully devoted to our war dead, to honor Bernie Williams.

Wait a second here. Memorial Day itself is one day -- May 25 (traditional day for it was May 30, but it was moved to the last Monday in May in 1968.) Memorial Day weekend is considered the first weekend of summer. The day before is not the same thing. Not to mention that the Yankees will be commemorating Memorial Day on -- wait for it -- their Memorial Day game! Crazy, huh?

I don't understand Mushnick's point here. What about people who have a birthday the day before Memorial Day? Are they supposed to sit around in sackcloth and ashes?

Mushnick bashes the Yankees, MLB and ESPN for Bernie Williams Night and says:

...it didn’t matter to any of the above parties that Williams didn’t serve in the U.S. military, let alone risk his life in combat. And Williams, too, might have known that this Sunday afternoon or night on Memorial Day weekend was not the time to honor him, thus, flattered as he is, the above parties, given that it’s only May, should choose another date.

Oh, please. It is not enough to think of the war dead on Memorial Day, but the day before (and the day before that, I presume) have to be solely dedicated to them, too? C'mon now. Mushnick needs to get off his high horse here.

Look, I am not being disrespectful to fallen veterans here. As some of you know, my late father was a World War II veteran who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. And my brother had been in the military for 35 years. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Army reserve serving in Kosovo right now. (He also served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.) And you know what he was doing today in his free time? Talking about the Yankees with me and others on Facebook. The horror!

Some well-meaning people get mad about others celebrating Memorial Day weekend. My philosophy on it is this: these soldiers and sailors died to ensure that we have the freedom to enjoy life. That includes having cookouts, picnics, and, yes, watching baseball games.

So if you want to do something to honor those who died defending our country, go to your local Memorial Day parade tomorrow. Visit a local cemetery. Say a prayer. Do some other tribute, if you'd like. (I am running in the Staten Island Advance 4-Mile Memorial Day Race myself, which is dedicated to these fallen heroes.) Go to see the Yankees (or Mets) on Memorial Day and watch the commemorative events.

But don't listen to Phil Mushnick. There was absolutely nothing wrong with honoring Bernie Williams Sunday night.

Same old, same old: Brian Cashman looks silly after getting ripped off (again) by Dave Dombrowski

The New York Post's Joel Sherman wrote an excellent column yesterday about how it looks like Yankees GM Brian (Fredo) Cashman was again "fleeced" by Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski. I have been banging this drum for years, and now Sherman is making his own noise in his Post column. He went through all the times that Dombrowski has gotten the better of Cashman, going back to when the Tigers GM was GM for the Florida Marlins, Here are the dopey things Cashman has done with Dombrowski as a trading partner:

• Traded Mike Lowell to Florida and got nothing good in return.
• Gave up Ted Lilly for Jeff Weaver.
• Traded Gary Sheffield to Detroit and got nothing good in return.
• Traded Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy for Curtis Granderson in a three-way deal. Detroit got Jackson and Max Scherzer in that deal. Granderson was good, but ultimately, the trade still favored Detroit.
• Traded Shane Greene in a three-way deal for the immortal Didi Gregorius. 

Sherman points out that Greene has been great with Detroit -- in his first two starts, he went eight innings each time and has yet to give up an earned run. Meanwhile, Gregorius has been notorious -- notoriously awful, that is. Between the bad hitting, worse fielding, and dumb baserunning, he is a hot mess so far.

Also, as Sherman writes, Greene was very poised as a Yankee pitcher last year, while Didi seems overwhelmed by the New York spotlight. (And those knuckleheaded Yankee fans chanting "Der-ek Jet-er" at him aren't exactly helping!)

Granted, as Sherman notes, it is still very early. But geez, at a certain point, when does Cashman realize that Dombrowski owns him? Even fantasy baseball players eventually figure out which competitors will outsmart them!

I really hope Sherman's column is a sign of things to come with the New York media when it comes to Brian Cashman. They can't blame this season on injuries, and everybody important is healthy -- but just not very good. Except for Alex Rodriguez, that is. You know, they player they have tried to marginalize, ignore, and treat shoddily all year! So much for Cashman's baseball acumen. He really is the Fredo of GMs -- thinks he's smart, but isn't.

The myth of Brian Cashman's successful moves in the 2014 season -- and beyond

I had to laugh when I saw Brian (Fredo) Cashman pump his chest and brag to the New York Post's Kevin Kernan about he could get the Yankees to win the World Series. Really, Bri? Here is what Cashman said when asked what the expectations were for the Yankees this season:

"Playoffs and then beyond,’’ GM Brian Cashman told The Post. “Be a good enough team to get to the playoffs, allow me to tweak in-season to make it good enough to win a World Series." 

Aside from the fact that Cashman has already been given more than enough resources to have built a WS-worthy team in the first place, his claim is ludicrous. Despite having the highest payroll in MLB virtually every single season, the Yankees have only made it into one World Series since 2003. Here is how they stack up against the rest of MLB in that timeframe:


World Series Appearances Since 2003
St. Louis Cardinals 4
Boston Red Sox 3
San Francisco Giants 3
Detroit Tigers 2
Philadelphia Phillies 2
Texas Rangers 2
Chicago White Sox 1
Colorado Rockies 1
Houston Astros 1
Kansas City Royals 1
Tampa Bay Rays 1
New York Yankees 1

Yes, that's right. The Phillies and Rangers have more World Series appearances since 2003 than the Yankees do! And that is with the Bombers having the Core Four in their prime!

The number of World Series titles since 2003 is even more depressing:

World Series Titles Since 2003
Boston Red Sox 3
San Francisco Giants 3
St. Louis Cardinals 2
Philadelphia Phillies 1
Chicago White Sox 1
New York Yankees 1

Lookee here. The Red Sox have three in the last decade, and the Giants have three in the last five years, starting their own dynasty. Yet the Bombers only have one ring since beating the Mets in the 2000 World Series. Not exactly a record of continued excellence.

As for Cashman's ability to "tweak" a team, that is totally overrated as well. Let's take a look at what the Yankees' record was at the trading deadline last year, and what it was after the moves Cashman made -- picking up Martin Prado, Brandon McCarthy, Chase Headley, Chris Young, and Stephen Drew. (Some of the moves happened before the July 31 trade deadline, some at the deadline, and one was in August. To average it out, I picked July 31 as the date to separate the moves.)

Yankees' record through July 31: 55-52, .514 winning percentage, 5 games out of first place.
Yankees' record after July 31: 29-26, 514 winning percentage, 12 games out of first place

You know who also had a record of 55-52 at the end of July, besides the Yankees? The Kansas City Royals. That would be the team that made it to the World Series last year and has as many WS appearances since 2003 as the Yankees do. And the team with a payroll a good $150M or so less than the Yanks do.

Yet the media (and Hal Steinbrenner) have seized onto this myth that Cashman somehow saved the season with those moves. Really? How is having the exact same winning percentage in the last two months of the year as in the first four months of the year saving the season? Or dropping so many games in the AL East, and being beaten out by the Royals for the Wild Card?  Is it too much to expect the media to look at facts instead of Cashman's hype? I guess it is!

Not to mention that the Yankees are still paying the costs of these pickups. They agreed to pick up $6 million of Prado's contract -- plus the nearly $4M they paid for him in 2014, thus paying  $10M for a two-month rental. They signed Headley to a four-year, $52M deal -- Johnny Damon money -- based on those two months, even though his numbers as a Yankee were actually worse than A-Rod's in 2013!

And for some crazy reason, Cashman re-signed Stephen Drew for $5M and is giving him the starting second base position, despite the fact that he hit a buck fifty as a Yankee last year. Supergenius explained it all to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News:

“We’re betting on the fact that last year has to be some sort of aberration; why would he all of a sudden fall off a cliff?” general manager Brian Cashman said. “We put $5 million on the table and gambled that way. We hope it pays off.”

I guess I missed when Drew was a world-beater. And the real "aberration" is not his 2014 season, but his 2008 season, the one where he hit 21 homers and had a .836 OPS, a number he hasn't sniffed since. Drew's numbers have been declining for some time; not just last year. Does Cashman ever look at statistics, or does he just look to see if the player was on the Red Sox, then back up the Brinks' truck? Good grief.