INTERESTING ORIOLES' NAMES CONNECTED TO THE YANKS

Love these nuggets and have no idea is it's worth continuing to follow, but I still like it because of the names attached.  Adam Jones. Danny Valencia.

Photo: Getty Images

Fancred writes:

"Adam Jones is said by sources to have cleared waivers and remains eligible to be traded – so a trade can’t be ruled out, though the odds may not be great...

Photo: Getty Images

The Orioles recently approached the Yankees to see if there’s any interest there considering Aaron Judge is out, as is Clint Frazier and Gary Sanchez, diminishing their right-handed strength. However, the Yankees are counting on a return for Judge and the others before too long." 

Obviously we don't see it happening between Jones and the Yankees, but the Phillies makes more sense.

Photo: Getty Images

And then there is a nugget from Ken Rosenthal...

Know who would make sense for #Yankees? Danny Valencia, just released by #Orioles. Valencia .873 OPS vs. LHPs in 125 PAs this season. NYY lineup today against #Rays LHP Blake Snell includes Neal Walker (.510 OPS vs. lefties, 59 PAs) and Shane Robinson (.484 OPS overall, 34 PAs).

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 16, 2018

Look, Valencia makes a lot of sense as a temporary fix.  I just have no idea is this is something that will happen, but Rosenthal's suggestion makes a lot more sense than Heyman's.

Anyway.  Not a lot of great news coming out of Yankeeland. I found it interesting that "baseball insiders" are still trying to connect names to the Yanks.

Carry on.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

Right now I feel like Rod Tidwell screaming "SHOW ME THE MONEY" to Jerry Maguire because there is no other way to describe how I feel about Jacoby Ellsbury's performance so far this season. Is that cheesy? You betcha. Valid? Quite possibly. This season certainly looks a lot like the end of last season for Jacoby Ellsbury and quite frankly I am sick of it. I hear Red Sox fans laughing at us and I see a lot of wasted money going down the drain.

I usually don't pay much attention to when fans or the media start criticizing a player this early in the baseball season. I just brush it off as them getting warmed up still and getting into a routine. At the end of the season I will react because by then I know they are just plain tired. That is not the case here. It's the middle of April so I don't want to hear excuses. I think excuses are like assholes... everyone has one but when you are a major league baseball player making more money than I can even dream of you better suck it up buttercup and figure it out!

I don't understand what is going on with Jacoby Ellsbury. He is 32 and in the prime of his career. We are counting on him to be that impact young player. We signed him looking for numbers like what he had in 2011 with the Red Sox. We really wanted those 32 home runs, the speed and the offense. Instead, in two seasons we have 23 home runs, a bunch of missed playing time and below average offense. We need him to set the table with Brett Gardner and give us the defense in the outfield. Right now, he gives us nothing. Right now.....he is dead weight.

I am looking for the positives with Ellsbury. I know he is capable of giving us more! Right now though I have to wonder if the Yankees are losing confidence in him. Last year, in an elimination playoff game the Yankees benched him against the Astros. He is an everyday player who was benched in favor of Chris Young. He became the $153 million bench warmer in that game. Joe Girardi says the Yankees have not lost faith in him, but it's not like he would give us a different answer anyway. Sometimes you just have to read between the lines.

It's a new season and we shouldn't see a repeated pattern. On Tuesday night Ellsbury became the $153 million pinch runner that didn't even get that job accomplished because he was thrown out trying to steal second. Is it hard to be successful in this scenario when you are coming off of the bench cold and don't have a rhythm in the game? Sure, but when you are called upon you still have to be able to get the job done, especially with that kind of a paycheck.

So once again Ellsbury is benched. Is he earning a similar role as his former teammate David Ortiz? I hope not. His agent went so far as to question why the Red Sox would put Ortiz the "Ferrari" in the garage in favor of a Pinto recently. So do the Yankees see Aaron Hicks as the new Ferrari and Ellsbury as the Pinto? After his 105.5mph throw to gun down Danny Valencia last night....I doubt his .059BA helps his cause but that was one hell of a throw!

So where do Ellsbury and the Yankees go from here? Only time will tell but the Yankees have already proven that they can and will bench players who are not performing. Will they continue to bench their expensive outfielder who has a full no-trade clause?  With a promising young group of kids waiting for an opportunity to come up Ellsbury needs to get it together and fast. The Yankees cannot afford to bench Ellsbury for his poor performance or because he is facing a lefty pitcher.

This time last year we were writing about MUSTACHE MANIA! Maybe Ellsbury should consider growing that back because quite frankly fans are outgrowing their patience. Time is running out, Jacoby! It certainly isn't a bad idea and I am tired of referencing old movies when it comes to you. Think about it.

   
--Jeana Bellezza, 
BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ 
 





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PEDs... AND WHAT SHOULD COME NEXT

I'm not an expert, I'm a father. Sure, I can sit here and tell you that I want lifetime bans of major league baseball players who are accused of taking PEDs and admitting guilt and this way,  I can shield my sons from all these offenders, and then maybe, maybe we can get back to a clean game.  But there are many things wrong with statement;  First off, I don't know if Major League Baseball would ever do that. It seems doubtful.  Secondly, who the hell really knows if the game of baseball, or any sport for that matter, has ever truly been clean.  I know that certain players are clean, and to that, I tip my cap. 

(In Photo: Cesar Carrillo)
But baseball as a whole has been tainted. And now, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, a dude named Cesar Carrillo was suspended because his name appeared in the Biogenesis documents, read HERE.

I say this though... it's another gray area. How is it possible that Carrillo gets suspended for 100 games, 50 for allegedly using, and 50 for lying to Major League Baseball, yet, others named in those documents, (Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Nelson Cruz, Gio Gonzalez, Jhonny Peralta, Yasmani Grandal, Francisco Cervelli, Bartolo Colon, Jesus Montero and Danny Valencia) are not? Now, it's true, Major League Baseball is "targeting" Ryan Braun and ARod now, Read HERE, but this is a mess.

More importantly... is Major League Baseball serious about this? Are they seriously thinking that a 50 game suspension is enough? Do they think that 50 games does the trick, because I will tell you this... it does not.

(In Photo: Melky Cabrera with Giants, when he was caught)
Now, I hate to toot my own horn... but I'm about to toot... loudly!  If Major League Baseball truly gave a crap about this, they would enforce something more severe.  I have stated for months here that there comes a time when things don't work and the organization, and an individual, need to try harder.  Quite simply, if a player is caught, they need to be shamed.  I dropped the hammer on Melky Cabrera pretty severely when he was found guilty, and admitted to using PEDs. Read MELKY CABRERA: WHEN SUNSHINE TURNS TO DARKNESS.  It was then that I said, the "IT STARTS WITH MELKY" and I was serious.  Time for a punishment and a shaming and a "eye opening exercise" that will make everyone in baseball know that MLB is serious. 

I suggested a much bigger offense for these players because, it's personal for me. I was getting sick and tired of my kid telling me "I like this guy", referring to a great hitter. That would then be followed up with "Is he on drugs?" How the hell do I answer that? 

Again, my plan is smart and will shut down the users and maybe even inform the youth who want to be like their heroes. It's a Public Service Announcement that will be cut by the player that has been caught and admitted to the crime. I say admitted because, let's face it, there are major gray areas here, so in our justice system, they are innocent until proven guilty, or they admit guilt, like Colon, like Cabrera.  But if they admit it after they are accused, they need to do the following:

"Hi Boys and Girls, my name is (INSERT VIOLATOR HERE), I play for the (INSERT TEAM HERE), but I tested positive for drugs and cheated.  I am now suspended for 50 games.  What I did was wrong.  Don’t be like me. I am not a role model. A role model works hard to achieve their goals.”

And as I wrote in PEDs HAVE DESTROYED THIS GREAT GAME OF BASEBALL :

"This Public Service Announcement should be shown on MLB or Sports productions around America, at the Super Bowl, before Tennis matches and on baseball pre-game shows.  Everyone should see it.  But that's not all, that player should also pay a nice fat fine.  This hits these players in the ego and in the pocketbook and in addition to all of that, these violators should be suspended for an entire 162 game season meaning, that season is erased. In other words, if they are caught in August of 2013, there stats don't count.  On their baseball card it would read "Suspended for PEDs", just like it would read "Out for Season with Injury."  

Quite frankly, this is the smartest, most comprehensive idea to keep players from using.  I am sick of my son asking me why players "cheat" if they're already talented.  Pretty smart question for a 10 year old, I don't have an answer, do you?   I'm tired of explaining why PEDs are bad.  Now it's time for the players to explain to kids why it's bad, so, a Public Service Announcement from the player himself should do the trick. Why? Because I may be a parent, but I do my job, I guide my kids. I also teach about personal responsibility. So why not have these guys do it too"

And yes, it brings me back to what happened to a guy named Cesar Carrillo. If Carrillo admitted guilt, then yes, you add him on the list. If there is a gray area, sure, he'll need to go through the process.  

But there are a ton of guys right now with fingers pointing at them, some of which would be considered second offenders, Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera, Alex Rodriguez.  Something more severe has to be done, because fines for rich players don't matter.  Missing 50 games doesn't matter.  They need to be embarrassed. They need to talk to our kids, their fans, directly and the player needs to tell them that they blew it, because if this evidence against these players is true, AND I STRESS IF, then there needs to be a harsher punishment.  Even Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com said it in our interview with him (YANKEE BEAT & MORE: AN IAN O'CONNOR INTERVIEW), 

"Ian O’Connor: The Miami New Times story and ongoing MLB investigation into the allegations show that the drug policy isn’t punitive enough. Good to see that the union chief, Michael Weiner, seems to agree. Fifty games for a first offense isn’t cutting it. Baseball should go to a “two-strikes-and-you’re-out” approach, with a one-year penalty for the first timers, and a lifetime ban for the repeat offenders. Weiner says his membership is sick and tired of the frauds among them, and agreeing to a much tougher penal code would prove it."

Look, I hate to even dump this on you guys on a beautiful Sunday morning in the Northeast, but the new Little League baseball season has begun in the Tri-state area.  I see kids walking to practice wearing the jerseys of their heroes as they take their mitts and run into the field... Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Ryan Braun... and it makes you think.  What's going through these kids' heads? is it, We want to be like our heroes... Or, is it... We want to be smarter than our heroes... food for thought.

Happy Sunday, sorry to dump on everything... just needed to rant.

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