COLIN KAEPERNICK & AMERICAN VALUES

The biggest sports news story right now has to be Colin Kaepernick. It's not a Yankees story or even a baseball story per se. It has become deeply political, though I have no intention of addressing politics here. I am looking at this a sports story that strikes at the heart of the American cultural landscape. You have heard us here at BYB talk about how important it is for kids to have good role models and how sports figures play a major role in that. Kaepernick put a major hot-button issue front and center, and now there is no bigger sports story, no bigger conversation topic than that.

In case you have spent the last week hiking in the woods without power, a cell phone, or a TV, here's the recap. On Friday night's preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers, 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick was photographed sitting on a bench while everyone else in the stadium stood for the playing of the National Anthem. When asked why he said:

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

When I first heard about it, I was annoyed. I am patriotic to the core. Ask my wife who sees me put on an American flag pin and ribbon every 9/11. Ask anyone who has sat next to me at the ballpark during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. I stand to face the flag directly with my hand over my heart. I know every word, unlike those who mumble through the song. I sing regardless of whether or not anyone else is singing, even before the "and the rocket's red glare" part. I taught my kids to do the same. It's a sign of respect. So this act of protest bothered me. That is until I thought about it some more.

I agree with his view on the injustices in America, though I would have expressed it differently. After a lot of thought, I wholeheartedly support both his right to protest and the way he expressed that protest. That may sound like the complete opposite of what I said in the previous paragraph. It's not. It's perfectly in line with patriotic American values. I just had to remind myself what American values really are.

One value which is getting a lot of air-time right now is the right to free speech. His supporters are using that to defend Kaepernick. His detractors, which are many, are exercising their own free speech in some pretty creative ways. My favorites are the videos of 49ers fans burning their Kaepernick jerseys. To those fans, once he is named the starting QB (he is #1 on most major published depth charts), I hope you all plan to burn your season tickets and possibly your playoff tickets too. I mean, I don't know how you burn one and keep the other. I also cannot figure out if you plan to boo him when he throws a touchdown, especially if it's a game-winner.

Here's the thing. You all are within your right to criticize, but you may be missing another subtle nuance of free speech. The power of free speech is not found when you express agreement. It is found in the moment you DISAGREE. Think of the most repressive government in the world, and imagine I dropped you into the middle of it. As long as you say things with which they agree, you are free to say anything that's on your mind and you'll have nothing to worry about. That's not freedom of speech. If, however, you say something with which they disagree, or that they do not allow you to say, your situation goes dark fast. That's where freedom of speech matters. It's when you can express a view with which people disagree. That's what it was designed for. It's been a core American value since 1776.

That said, I have a hard time tolerating the level of disrespect hurled at him because he expressed his viewpoint. We talk about respect for the flag that represents freedom of speech and expression and we vilify someone for exercising those rights. It's contradictory and hypocritical. You might disagree with Colin Kaepernick. No problem. Go ahead and disagree. But don't say that he is being un-American or a traitor. Standing up for what's right and fighting for "liberty and justice for all" is at the heart of being an American. Protest over offenses and oppression is explicitly and repeatedly stated in the Declaration of Independence. Nobody rips Thomas Jefferson for that.

Some accuse him of betraying and disrespecting our military and those who died for our freedoms. Completely untrue. Just listen to what he said. "I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. I have family, I have friends that have gone and fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone. That's not happening. People are dying in vain because this country isn't holding their end of the bargain up, as far as giving freedom and justice, liberty to everybody. " This, of course, was said after the part about not standing for the National Anthem. Many may have stopped listening by the time he said that. Still, judging by how #VeteransForKaepernick is trending, I'd say the message is getting through.

Okay, final wrap-up on this. The guy is a well-known sports athlete who is using his status as a platform to promote the idea that we should do better as a country. It's his opinion, and he's entitled to it. The same could have been said of Muhammad Ali, who protested the Vietnam War by refusing to report for the draft. Bringing it back to baseball, it could have been said of Jackie Robinson. Near the end of his life, he said "I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world." (I Never Had It Made, Jackie Robinson, Alfred Duckett). It could have been said of Carlos Delgado who protested by refusing to take the field during the singing of God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. I read an interesting quote by Gregg Zaun, Delgado's teammate during that time. "He has his opinion and he’s decided to use that as his platform. Whether or not I agree with him, I salute him." I concur. Whether or not I agree with Colin Kaepernick, I salute him.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @KingAgamemnon

A BOOK, APOLOGIES & A DEFENSE OF JORGE POSADA

As the whole world knows by now, Jorge Posada released his first book - The Journey Home: My Life in Pinstripes. A memoir of his time as a Yankee and the events that led to his love of baseball, Jorge took the opportunity to share some of his poignant moments, as well as some of his more honest moments. I use the word honest because I do not want to cast judgment on the things he said. To me, he had some things to get off his chest, for better or for worse.

You really could not expect anything else from Jorge. If you watched him play for any length of time, you know that he wore his heart on his sleeve all the time. If he was upset, you knew immediately. Rarely did an opposing team pick a fight where he was not one of the first to respond. None of us can forget the 2003 ALCS when the yelling went back and forth between Jorge and Pedro Martinez, each point at their head as if to make a threat. How about the time when Jesse Carlson threw behind Posada, and Posada waited until he came around to score before clocking Carlson as he was backing up the catcher. Posada is neither mild-mannered nor introverted. His openness about his feelings in his book should not have surprised anyone.

I am not going to judge whether or not Jorge Posada had a right to be angry. Nevertheless, I will say that he has the right to tell his story as he experienced it, with all the ugly feelings that came out during the journey. Have you ever had something that was so important to you that you put your heart and soul into it, only to find out you just missed, or that you came in second place? I have, and I can tell you it is FRUSTRATING. Now imagine that you found out later that the guy who came in first cheated, and there is no way to go back and fix it. It would take superhuman willpower to keep quiet about it. I certainly would not be able to keep my mouth shut.

When he reflects back on 2003, when he came in third in the American League MVP voting behind Carlos Delgado and Alex Rodriguez, you might understand why he wants to vent. That was the closest he ever came to winning it, and the popular belief was that Rodriguez was using PED’s at the time. Do you really think it is unreasonable for him to feel robbed? Add to that the frustration of seeing some of these people get into the Hall of Fame, and I understand why he said what he said.

In 2011, Jorge Posada played his final season. It was not the farewell tour that Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter got. In fact, it was arguably the worst full season of his career. He had to know that he was close to the end of the road. Like all of us, he probably wanted to go out with a bang. It did not work out that way. Sometimes those are the breaks – not everyone gets to go out into the sunset. Nevertheless, when he was effectively demoted, losing the starting catcher spot, losing at-bats, it had to suck. Look, I am not blaming Joe Girardi. It is hard for a manager in any line of work to deliver hard news, especially when the person cannot do the job anymore. Personally, I have been on both sides of that conversation in my career. I can tell you there are good ways to do it and bad ways, and I have been on the receiving end of both. Therefore, when you are the 17-year veteran catcher and you find out – as Posada alleges – via text message that you are not in the lineup, it might sting. Again, I am not shooting Girardi. Maybe he thought it was better to text it to him so he would not have to find out in the clubhouse. Maybe Girardi just is not good at delivering bad news. I have no idea. However, when someone who works for 17 years at a company is handed a box and told he has 30 minutes to clear out his desk and leave the building, that person is going to feel a sense of betrayal. While the Yankees didn’t exactly do that to him, I am 1000% sure that is how it felt to Jorge.

I said earlier that he wears his heart on his sleeve. The good thing about people like that is that you always know what that person is thinking – there is no game or runaround. The bad part is that they can sometimes run their mouth off and say whatever comes to their mind, with no filter. He was honest, but maybe a little too open. You have to give Joe Girardi and Alex Rodriguez credit for taking the high road, and to Jorge Posada for sending an apology when he recognized that he was wrong to say what he did. With all the emotion of having your life on a stage for the entire world to read, I can understand why his emotions got the best of him and he felt somewhat cornered. Others might disagree. He spent his career helping the Yankees win, and except for his final season, he kept whatever negative feelings he had under wraps and conducted himself as a professional. For that, he gets my support and this defense.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row







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WHY I HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS REGARDING MONTERO FOR PINEDA

All off-season long fans were craving for the much needed number two starter. Well, you guys got it, and that's Michael Pineda, who was part of a four player trade with the Seattle Mariners on Friday. Pineda is easily a number two starter in my mind, but that's not what this piece is about, this is about my reaction to the trade. And folks, I've got mixed emotions about it.

When I was on my laptop I was searching through Twitter, looking for the latest MLB News. I try to follow all the top MLB writers like Jon Heyman, Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal, Joel Sherman, etc, but this tweet HERE got me worried. I was in denial at first. Then Heyman tweeted "THIS".

My first reaction: "OH MY GOD CASHMAN, WHY WOULD YOU TRADE MONTERO?!?!?!?" But really, if you take a deep breath and look at the entire trade in context, I think you can make a legit case for both sides on why it's a good move or why it's a not so good move. Let's take a look...

Why it's a good move:

1. Like I began the post, the Yankees get a number two starter. There's no doubt Pineda is a number two starter, and I'm willing to write a full post on why he's a number two starter, but that's for another day. Last season, as a 22 year old rookie, Pineda went 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA while striking out 106 and walking just 34 in 108 innings, which spans 108 innings through 17 first half starts. And with his efforts, he earned a trip to the All Star game. Unfortunately, he finished the season going 1-5 with a 5.71 ERA in 11 second half starts, spanning 63 innings. But fear not, the guy was a rookie. It's basically inevitable that he'd hit a wall. With that said, this guy has a ton of potential, as he could very well become a second ace for the Yankees, and we saw a huge glimpse of that in the first half of last season with the Mariners.(In Photo: Jose Campos)
2. Not very many people will bring this up, but the second guy the Yankees acquired--19 year old starter Jose Campos--is a young starter with high potential and will be right there with Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances as the best pitching prospects in the system, especially when he gets more seasoning down on the farm this year. Like with Pineda, I'd love to write a post why Campos is a stud in the making, but again, that's for another day. Just a quick scouting report, he's a power arm with a curveball and a change-up, while going 5-5 with a 2.32 ERA in 14 starts last year for the M's single-A affiliate.

3. You add it all up, (including the Kuroda signing) the Yankees have easily at least the third best starting rotation in the American League (behind Los Angeles and Tampa Bay) with CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, and one of Freddy Garcia, AJ Burnett, and Phil Hughes. But it's not who has the best rotation, it's about who has the best TEAM, and I believe the Yankees have the best TEAM in the American League.....At least on paper, and we all know, the paper guarantees nothing.

Why it's not such a good move:

1. The Yankees have to give up Jesus Montero, plain and simple. I love Jesus Montero, and I believe he can be the next Miguel Cabrera or Carlos Delgado. He has the ability to hit 30+ homers a year, although his skills behind the plate are suspect to say the least. As a Mariner I expect him to DH and maybe get some time at first base. Who knows, he's not ours anymore, so the M's can do what they want with him.

2. Hector Noesi was also apart of the deal. I'm certainly a fan of Noesi, and I thought he'd be a key piece in the Yankees puzzle in 2012, although before the trade it'd be tough to find a spot for him on the team, as Brian Cashman said Noesi wouldn't be a reliever (Read HERE). He now goes to Seattle, where he should thrive in a bigger ballpark that is SafeCo field. I viewed Noesi as a backend starter, but I think as a Mariner he could elevate to mid-rotation status. My opinion, of course.

So, you mesh the positives with the negatives, and the final verdict.....It's a wash. But if you held a theoretical gun to my head I probably wouldn't make the trade. Both Montero and Pineda have superstar ability, while Campos has a higher ceiling in terms of talent than Noesi. But the thing is, Campos is still in the lower levels of the minors (my guess he starts in Low-A Charleston), while Noesi is major league ready and can step into the Mariners' rotation right away. This is certainly one of the more interesting trades not just for the Yankees--but in all of baseball--in recent memory. Is it April yet?




--Jesse Schindler, BYB Staff Writer



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