CASHMAN TAKES RESPONSIBLITY FOR A PRETTY BIG BLUNDER!

Frankie Montas was a bust. Not only did he do terrible for the New York Yankees when we acquired him, he hid the fact that he was hurt, telling us all just recently that he was trying to work through injury. Read DON'T TRY AND BE A HERO, FRANKIE MONTAS for more. 

Now what I don't get is that typically a team as structured and corporate as the New York Yankees would do a big physical with newly acquired players to determine if a player is A-OK. Look at the Mets and Carlos Correa. For a hot second he was a Met and then he wasn't. Medical papers said something was up and they looked into it.  The Yankees appeared to not do a thing when Montas came over and then, now he's out hurt and what a huge waste of time that was.

Well Brian Cashman has stepped forward and accepted responsibility.  He admits, and pardon me for curing... he fucked up.

Yardbarker writes:

"Montas may end up being one of the worst trades in recent memory for this Yankee team, and general manager Brian Cashman knows it.

Prior to being moved, the 30-year-old starter posted a 3.18 ERA across 104.2 innings for Oakland, and while their medical staff cleared him of any issues, Montas recently indicated that he was injured when the Yankees acquired him.

“I was like eh-eh. I wasn’t fully 100 percent,” Montas said. “I was trying to pitch through it. Of course I got traded to a new team, I wanted to show what I can do.

Cashman isn’t even hiding behind his pride anymore but instead admitting that it was a complete dud. The same could be said about the deal that brought Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson to the Bronx.

“You can’t sugarcoat it —the Montas trade didn’t work out,” he said, via Ian O’Connor of the New York Post. “We didn’t get a healthy pitcher, and that’s ultimately my responsibility.”

I respect Cashman more than I did before reading about this development, but here's the thing, now he has to make it right.  

THE AARON BOONE COMPARISON THAT WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH HYSTERICALLY!

 "Aaron Boone has never been bad at his job."

Are you still with me? Take it all in. I know some of you are still laughing and I don't blame you because I was as I typed this. However, I'm not making this up. SOMEONE out there actually believes Boonie has NEVER been bad at his job.

That's a hot take and you can read it all HERE all thanks to Ian O'Connor of the New York Post. Nice opinion to have right after the Yankees eliminated Cleveland. It's easy to be happy and very agreeable after the Yankees get to continue playing in hopes of getting back to the World Series. It was all roses Tuesday night.

Now it's Thursday and we just lost ALCS Game 1 to the ASSTROS so I'm not feeling so rosey but real talk, even if we WON last night, I wouldn't share O'Connor's opinion. I have never been high on Boonie, I never thought he was the right choice and still don't believe he is a "good" manager either. So here's the next O'Connor tidbit to blow your mind:

"Boone’s regular-season winning percentage of .603 is effectively the same as Joe Torre’s (.605), and he stands with Torre and Casey Stengel as the only managers to reach the postseason in each of their first five years with the Yanks."

STOP! Just stop, O'Connor. Torre and Stengel are Yankee LEGENDS that Boone just can't even compare to. He must've lost his marbles! Stengel won 9 World Series championships in 10 years and the one time the Yankees did not go to the World Series they still won 103 games. Torre managed and molded the Yankees I grew up watching. Both of these brilliant managers won MULTIPLE championships and meanwhile Boonie hasn't even won his first. Stop the comparison's O'Connor, you sound foolish.

So, the bottom line to O'Connor's crazy piece is that Boonie "saved his job" by beating Cleveland in the ALDS. So, beating a team you are "better than" on paper saves your job? The Yankees were expected to beat Cleveland. Why does that save Boonie's job? It's insanity.

Bottom line Mr. O'Connor....Boonie wasn't in danger of losing his job because it was never in jeopardy. The Yankees love him for their own crazy reasons. They are committed. If they weren't sold on him they could've walked away from him at the end of the 2021 season when his contract was up. Instead they gave him a 3-year commitment. Even if Cleveland won, Boonie wasn't going anywhere.

Now tell me Mr. O'Connor....is Boonie going to graduate from "never been bad at his job" to a good manager if we make it back to the World Series? Way to set the bar low.... I have higher expectations then that. I know a lot of other people who do too.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj 

BRETT GARDNER IS SAFE, FOR NOW

"We think he's going to be on the roster... One of the reasons the baseball people signed Jacoby Ellsbury is the two of them together present a tremendous dynamic one-two or nine-one, whatever Joe Girardi decides to write in at the top of the lineup."  

--Randy Levine

Nice quote from Levine about Brett Gardner on our friend Ian O'Connor's ESPN radio show yesterday morning.  So, it's confirmed, at least for now that Brett Gardner is going no where this off season.  The truth is, it sounds as though the Yankees want to build around alittle speed and power at the top of the lineup.  I will take that all day long.

Levine also said this:  "One will play left, one will play center, and it's a tremendous defensive situation. So no there's absolutely no intention to move Brett Gardner. We get inquiries about every single one of our players all the time, [GM Brian Cashman] listens, but there's no attempt here to trade or move Brett Gardner."

So, you're asking me, "What's going to happen now?" Look, it's my belief that if there is a 2nd baseman being dangled that is an upgrade from Kelly Johnson, or a starting pitcher that seems to be a perfect fit, look for the Yankees to possibly flip Gardy.  Look, Gardy is safe, but he's safe for now, meaning, no one is truly untouchable, especially if it means bettering a ballclub.

I'll stick by Levine right now. Hopefully he's sincere and honest about Gardy.

In the meantime, when are the Yankees getting pitching?

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

HUSTLE TO BE NUMBER 1... NOT 2

Many of you don't know who Peter Keating is.  If I attach ESPN to his name, you do.  He's very good.  He writes terrific articles and I've read him for a long time.  But he apparently isn't too big on pushing himself, or, should I say, he doesn't think players should... players like Robinson Cano.

Now, before I go further, let me say this; This isn't an attack piece.  I don't want the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers to go to ESPN and Peter Keating and blast them on Twitter or Facebook or anything.  In fact, I want you to do the opposite.  I want you to thank him. Consider him a motivator. But let me back up a minute... I'm getting way ahead of myself.

Robinson Cano is a free agent.  He may or may not come back to the New York Yankees.  Do I want him back? Absolutely, I like the guy a lot.  Does he present himself as a leader?  He could, but he may not be...time will tell.  That's my opinion.  It's not wrong, it's not right, it's an opinion.

Now Bleeding Yankee Blue was never the first website to ever accuse Cano of non-hustle, but we are one of them.  I grew up being told to work hard and you will succeed in life.  I've been told by my parents, my mentors to give it my all every day I'm out there, be it work, be it sports, be it life.  I've passed that on to my kids.  No, I'm not screaming at the top of my lungs on the sidelines telling them to sprint down the line every single time.  But I am reminding them because showing them and teaching them to strive to be the best is important.  It's called hustle. If you don't hustle, then 9 times out of 10, someone else will take the spot meant for you.  All I ask my children to do is work hard in life, otherwise, they're on a couch in a fantasy land of Halo 4 not trying to be the best in the real world.  Look, no one said it's easy, but you try and hopefully you succeed.  Success is earned.  Don't believe me? Talk to Jorge Posada. Talk to Roger Maris. Talk to the guys who proved the doubters wrong. They succeeded because they hustled.

Enter Robinson Cano who I believe is a non-hustler.  He's still a dynamic player, but when fans pay over $400 bucks to bring a family of 4 to Yankee Stadium to watch their hero in the ball park jog to first base... well, it's aggravating.  And again, I'm not the only one.  I just found this on YouTube. Clearly an annoyed fan wanted someone to see it and feels the same way as I do:



Now, I've simply stated in CANO: NO LEADER, NO DRIVE, "Maybe it’s him jogging down the first base line.  Maybe it’s him NOT fist pumping after a game...  Maybe it’s him just making it seem like it’s “too easy"...Cano looks like he’s padding numbers as opposed to leading a club to a championship."

Not only is that a pretty accurate observation... it's what many Yankees fans believe.  This is an opinion on an athlete.  I didn't say he was a drug user, womanizer, rapist or criminal... I accused him of non-hustle. In the household I grew up in... that doesn't fly.

Peter Keating writes a very good piece in ESPN the Magazine and I'm flattered that he took the time to seek out Bleeding Yankee Blue and use my quote.  Coming from a guy like him, I appreciate it totally.  But even though he makes an argument against mine, coddling Cano for his non-hustle, there's an underlying message that stood out to me as I read his piece. Hustling doesn't seem important to him.  Keating writes this of Cano after my quote:

 

Now, this is where I have a problem.  First of all, the fact that I'm being criticized for suggesting that Cano looks like he's padding numbers isn't wrong, it's an opinion. That's what I feel like he's doing. I'm entitled to that.  Secondly, How do you write an article using quotes from Hank Aaron saying you pick certain days to "turn it on" and not turn it on, and not show the whole story? What about the quotes from people who believe Cano should be flooring it down the line? I'm the only one? That's wrong. I suggest maybe showing the others, the reporters and analysts who also have opinions about Cano's hustle.

ESPN's own Ian O'Connor wrote this of Cano and his "lack of hustle":

"Cano shows up for at the office more than any teammate, but he takes a few too many coffee breaks while there. The Yankees know that's not going to change, so they shouldn't bust the budget for a player who doesn't bust it for them."

Here's Michael Kay from back in August on Twitter:

Here's @RealMichaelKay again jumping on Cano for not running out a routine play. Really couldn't care less.”and here is why u can win.
— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) August 4, 2013

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post brought it to light back in June, suggesting that no broadcaster in the booth that game even said a word about Cano's "non-hustle", but should have: "A tape showed what we’ve come to expect: First, Cano jogged. Next, after seeing Pedroia had to dive, he began to run. Finally, as Pedroia began to throw toward first, Cano resumed jogging. The least he could do was all that he did. Again.  But, again, no one calling the game on TV saw — or saw fit to mention — that Cano surrendered early, that he surrenders early and often."

Here's Andrew Marchand of Keating's own ESPN writing about how Joe Girardi spoke to Cano about his "non-hustle":    "During Joe Girardi's state of the Yankees address, he said during the season he spoke with Robinson Cano about hustling to first.  'I've talked to him about it,' Girardi said. 'He has played every day. He has been kind of nicked up. I've talked to him about it.'" 

Even Girardi is aware. But seriously, above are 4 examples of the "Cano not hustling" story, yet, I'm the guy Keating chose to analyze. Weird.  Now, these are all reporters and I run a Yankee fan website, but the message is clear;  Cano's lack of hustle exists and in this world of pushing yourself to the top, in this world of spending boatloads of money as fans to see our heroes work toward a championship, it's amplified.  Yes, my kids root for Robinson Cano every time he comes to the plate, but they're also confused when they see him jog down the line.  Why? Because when they play Little League, they are taught 1 thing...

"When you hit the ball, you need to run hard down the line. You run, you run through the base on the single and you make the turn if you can make it into a double.  You do it, because you want to win.  The jog you give, is the run your team won't get."

I've heard coaches say this in different ways for many years since I was a kid and I hear them say it to my kid's teams now.  It's called hustle. 

But this is more than just Robinson Cano. This is about life.  Sure, I guess if I taught my children to push to win 2nd place, it would be a helluva lot easier on everyone.  But that's not my nature and it shouldn't be yours.  Working hard is a way of life. You work during the week and you rest of Sunday.  You wake up every morning during a work week and you accomplish something big.  Some days you don't want to, but who the hell coasts through life?  You, Mr. Keating?  Sure, you can take a shot at me as being a "cranky uncle" who whines about baseball players who don't hustle, and you can ask me when the last time I punched a clock 162 times in 180 days. But I'll answer the question, because I'm not a pimple faced kid blogging in my basement acting like I do things. The difference is, I don't act, I do.  I'm successful. I'm successful because I worked hard.  I hustle. I wake up to my young family everyday. I get them ready for school and teach them to accomplish something that day. Then, I trek into work like millions of us, fighting the crowds, dealing with delays, walking 15 blocks, and then doing it again at night after a full 14 hour work day.  And guess what? I still have time to read ESPN and write about it.  That's called life.  No, I don't work 180 days a year, I work about 210 days a year, probably like you and I may be tired, but I don't complain. I also don't stop hustling.

Success is earned.  You know how I know that?  Because if I didn't hustle, you would have never found me, and you would have never put this little website called Bleeding Yankee Blue in your article.  You could have picked anyone, even your own ESPN colleagues, but you didn't.  So yes sir, hustle DOES matter... because I'm in ESPN the Magazine.

Thank you to Peter Keating for choosing me... and I appreciate your piece this week.  We just don't agree... and that's OK.

The Bleeding Yankee Blue store is opened! CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING! Also, follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

HEY MEREDITH, CALL ME... MAYBE

Well it's been a couple weeks now since we wrote WHEN IT COMES TO MARAKOVITS, WE'RE ALL IN! and I've learned something. Getting an interview with Meredith Marakovits is harder to do than getting an interview with the president of YES!  I mean... It's mad tough! Many avenues, emails, "people", time issues, tricks, clues.  I was told to bring a hard boiled egg into a bodega in New York City and give it to the cashier.



I would then be walked down a dark cellar and corridor where another man would be there. I'd have to then give him the secret words through a hard, metal, heavy door... "New England Clam Chowder", I'd say. "Red or White?" he would ask.  "White"  I would say... then I'd be in.



For all of you that recognized the pop culture references of 90210 and Ace Ventura; Pet Detective... You're genuises and I love our readers!

Anyway, the point is, it's been 2 weeks! What gives? It went like this, we at BYB put it out there, Meredith responded and I got in touch with her "person." (Damn, I need a person.) Things were looking up.

But still... Nothing. I'm growing old Meredith, I mean, I ain't looking for a date or anything. I am not sitting here staring at your picture while playing Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me",  I'm looking for an interview... that's it.  You're swell and all but come on, this is simple!


Yankee fans want to see what makes you tick.  Bleeding Yankee Blue readers would as well. What do you say?

Now, in fairness, it's the beginning of the season. There is a lot going on, plus, the Yanks were on the road and there are no days off, rain dates, mass chaos and all of that. I get it, plus, hopefully my humor is a brilliant buffer here.  Look, I can only imagine Meredith is in demand, much like Bob Lorenz, Kenny Singleton and the gang, but hey, my man Jack Curry made things happen for us here at BYB! How about those busy sports guys Pete Caldera and Ian O'Connor? Gentlemen, absolute Gentlemen.

All I'm saying is, let's tango Meredith the time is now!  Have your people reach out to my peop--... er... um... reach out to me.

Let's get this done! The BYB readers want to hear from you!  

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

WHEN IT COMES TO MARAKOVITS, WE'RE ALL IN!

(In Photo: Meredith Marakovits)
I was always a fan of Kimberly Jones and while she was with the YES Network, she was absolutely terrific.  In fact, very early on here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, we interviewed Kim.  It was one of our first and it was one of our most popular interviews ever on BYB. 

(In Photo: Kimberly Jones)
In fact, if you want to check it out, you should. It's called simply EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: KIMBERLY JONES.

Well, Kim has left us, may were devastated. With that exit, came an entrance with a young lady named Meredith Marakovits.  In a nutshell, I dig her. She's alot of fun, she's terrific on camera, with the players and I love the relationship she has with Bob Lorenz, Jack Curry, Kenny Singleton and Michael Kay. There is great chemistry and there's alot of laughs... plus we're getting a ton of information.  The banter is a genuine friendship among colleagues, much like Jones and it's just a great group.  In a nutshell, she's fallen into place very nicely.

When she first came on the scene, we wrote about her in a piece titled MEREDITH MARAKOVITS: BRONX HOTTIE  In it, we expressed here at Bleeding Yankee Blue what others were worried about, the transition.  But, thanks to the YES Network, the transition to move Jones out and Meredith in was seamless. You know... sometimes when there's a replacement, there's a hiccup along the way, an uneasiness.  I mean, sure, people were complaining that Jones left, but the reality was Jones moved on, read HERE.  That happens.  It just so happens that we got Meredith and she's developed into a terrific personality for YES. 

So I'm putting it out there after trying to get her to commit... Meredith, we've chatted with Jack Curry, Paul O'Neill and some of the Yankee writers like Pete Caldera and Ian O'Connor. Bottom line,  BYB wants to interview you! Reach out when you get a moment and let's get it done.  We appreciate what you do for YES and more and more fans want to know about what makes you tick!

And message to Bob Lorenz and Ken Singleton... you guys are next!


Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

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.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

YANKEE BEAT & MORE: AN IAN O'CONNOR INTERVIEW

I like Ian O’Connor. He’s a columnist for ESPNNewYork.com and the host of his weekly Ian O’Connor show on ESPN radio, 7-9am Sundays.  He’s also pretty straight forward with his baseball analysis and opinions and I appreciate that. Another thing I dig, and you know this about me, is the “nugget”. That piece of info the others aren’t giving you.  That’s why I admire guys like Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record and Ken Davidoff to the New York Post. They find it and bring it to you.  The others don’t always do that.  Well, O’Connor does it too and did it late last week. When everyone else in the press were giving us replacements for Mariano Rivera, Ian found the “nugget”. We picked it up here, and that was our first question to him, along with a whole lotta other stuff.  I bring you our interview with Ian O’Connor. Enjoy this, I did. 

BYB: Ian, many wrote about Mariano's replacement 1 day after reports said he would retire. What made you write about Jackie Robinson's widow Rachel being "proud" that Mariano wore #42 instead of taking the, what I call, the "lazy route of journalism" and just write about Rivera's replacements?
 
Ian O’Connor: I don’t think writing about Mariano’s potential replacements, or lack thereof, represents lazy journalism, not when it’s safe to say one of the first thoughts in any Yankee fan’s head when he or she heard Rivera is retiring – especially with Soriano gone – was, “Who the heck is going to be our closer next year?” I remember Brian Cashman telling me, “I pity the fool who replaces Mariano,” so I guess he’s feeling some pity for David Robertson right about now.

I chose to call Rachel Robinson and to write about her appreciation for Rivera, the last man to wear her husband’s No. 42, because I thought it was a way to pay tribute to one of the all-time greats without simply calling him one of the all-time greats. I’d already written that column. Though Mo isn’t African-American, I always thought he was a fitting ambassador of Jackie Robinson’s legacy because of the dignified way that he carried himself, a way that touched Rachel Robinson and millions of fellow baseball fans.     

BYB: I know you're a sports writer, but what team do you root for in your "fan life" and why? 

Ian O’Connor: I imagine a lot of readers and fans would find this hard to believe, but I really don't root for any teams.  It's part of the deal when you get that first press pass, checking your childhood allegiances at the press box door. But growing up, I lived for the Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. My family belonged to the St. Cecilia parish of Englewood, NJ -- Vince Lombardi's first head coaching job was at St. Cecilia -- and every Sunday morning during football season I would pray for the Cowboys in Lombardi's church.  In the summer, it was all Yankees, all the time. I was more of a Reggie Jackson guy than a Thurman Munson  guy, for what it’s worth. One day in the fall of 1978, while playing on the St. Cecilia High freshman football team, I called in sick to practice so I could go home and watch the Yankees and Red Sox play their tiebreaker game at Fenway.

Still one of the five or six best decisions of my life. Never tire of hearing Bill White's call of Bucky Dent's shot.

BYB: I am always interested in hearing who sports writers were fans of as kids.  For example, Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record  told me he worshipped Tom Seaver growing up.  Who was your guy growing up and why? 

Ian O’Connor: Roger Staubach. He played the quarterback position the way a lot of guys are playing it now, using his feet and his imagination to create something out of nothing. Sunday mornings, the Record would run the NFL league leaders, and the first thing I'd do after church was check the quarterback completion-percentage leaders and where Staubach stood. I don't know why I obsessed over completion percentage back then, but I did. And I still think if you give him those five post-graduate years he spent in the Navy, he might now be considered the greatest quarterback of all time. His response to Phyllis George about sex -- saying he enjoyed it as much as Joe Namath did, just with one woman -- is one of my all-time favorite lines from an athlete.

BYB: OK, you have an opportunity to sit and have a beer with 3 athletes living or dead of all-time.  1 needs to be a baseball player, 1 a football player and the final one can be any athlete of your choosing. Who would they be and why? 

Ian O’Connor: First would be Jackie Robinson. I would like to hear him talk about the courage it took to do what he did, and about the pride he would feel knowing he helped pave the way for this country to ultimately elect a black man President. Second is Roger Staubach, for the reasons already stated. Funny, but of all the famous athletes I've met over 27 years of doing this, I've never met him. Maybe it's supposed to be that way. But old clips of him playing bring me back to my childhood, and to the times my mom (we lost her to cancer) made sure there was a Cowboys cap or jacket under my Christmas tree. 

Third would have to be Sandy Koufax. Maybe after a couple of cold ones, he'd open a few windows on that soul he's kept shut all these years.

BYB: Give me your best explanation of why you wrote The Captain?  

Ian O’Connor: I was actually planning a bio of Tom Landry when the idea hit me one spring training day in Tampa where Derek Jeter was playing for Team USA for WBC against his own team.  It was strange seeing him compete against the Yankees – Derek Jeter was the Yankees, after all -- but the scene got me thinking. Here was an iconic Yankee approaching 3,000 hits at the time, approaching a new – and potentially ugly – contract negotiation, and perhaps approaching the end of his career/time as a star player. With all those significant things happening, I thought the time was right to try to paint a human portrait of an intensely private man, a great Yankee who can come across as something of an automaton. Hopefully I pulled it off.

BYB: How did you break into the business and what can you tell others who are interested in becoming successful sports writers like yourself? 

Ian O’Connor: A Marist College professor suggested I combine my love of sports and relative success in English courses and write for the school paper. Won a journalism fellowship, got hired by a Star-Ledger bureau to handle high schools, local colleges, golf, town meetings, and death notices, and a couple years later, while running errands for the Times, wrote a feature on fallen New York playground legend Earl “The Goat” Manigault that earned me a job offer and really jump-started my career. When I talk to students today, I tell them to get experience in as many different positions as possible at their campus papers, web sites, TV and radio stations. This obviously isn’t the same industry I entered in 1986, but I tell students one thing hasn’t changed: You have to bust your ass. There’s never going to be any substitute for that. 

BYB: There has been alot of talk in reference to the Biogenesis, PEDs stuff lately.  Do you think that Major League baseball needs to rethink their drug policy?
 
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.

BYB: Will Alex Rodriguez come back to the Yankees this season?
 
Ian O’Connor: On truth serum, the people employing Alex Rodriguez would tell you they never again want to see him in a Yankee uniform. But there isn’t exactly going to be a parade of teams lining up to trade for ARod, not with all of his baggage and not in his diminished state. Physically, ARod is supposed to be ready sometime in July. Unless MLB finds enough evidence to hammer him, he’ll be back, much to the Yankees’ chagrin.

BYB: OK, free plug… What do you have right now that you'd like to promote on Bleeding Yankee Blue?
 
Ian O’Connor: ESPN just moved my weekly 98.7 FM show in New York to national ESPN Radio. It’s every Sunday, 7-9 a.m.

BYB: Finally, Do you ever read Bleeding Yankee Blue? 

Ian O’Connor: Sure I’ve read BYB. Enjoy your Q&As, though I may have just given you the least interesting one yet!

Actually Ian, it was great.  Thank you.  Hope you readers enjoyed Ian, he’s part of the BYB family now. Be sure to check out his books, The Captain and Arnie & Jack.  Ian, we appreciate you taking the time.

BE PROUD OF MARIANO & DON'T "REPLACE" HIM

A lot of posts today suggesting who should replace the great Mariano Rivera after he tells the world that he's going to retire after the 2013 season. I say this... he hasn't retired yet.  Sure, as Yankee brass, it would be important to have a plan, and I would suggest thinking about that now. For us, the fans, the writers, the columnists... we need to chill.

First off, Mariano Rivera will never be replaced.  That word and Mo almost don't work together.  Sure, Rafael Soriano was a nice temporary replacement when Mo went down last season, but even RaSo knew he could never replace the great Mariano. And so, he invented his own roll and the "Untuck" was born.

 The Star-Ledger's Steve Politi already has his column up today, Replacing Mariano Rivera will be a challenge like few others in sports history and it's peppered with phrases like "somebody has to replace Rivera". Ultimately, Politi believes that replacing Rivera would be impossible, writing "The pitcher who takes over as Yankees closer next season — be it David Robertson, the most likely candidate, or someone else in a trade or through free agency — will not be nearly as good." Politi is right to a certain extent.

Again though, we'll need a closer, not a replacement and in reference to his shot against DRob, I say this... when you hand the keys to a young stud like DRob, magic can sometimes happen. But that's another post for another time.

There are other headlines today, like:

First Pitch: Who replaces Mo? (ESPN)
5 Options for Replacing a Legend After 2013 (Bleacher Report)

But let's face it. Mariano Rivera hasn't even stepped up to the podium yet.  This is silly.  Let it soak in for crying out loud. Tomorrow, when we see Mo up there, let's listen to every word.  When the season happens, watch him, appreciate him.  And I'll go one step further... 

Why is it that no one wrote this story today....except for Ian O'Connor (HERE) who found this nugget;  

A quote from Jackie Robinson's widow Rachel, who simply said of Mariano Rivera, "He carried himself with dignity and grace, and that made carrying the number a tribute to Jack.... I've always been proud and pleased that Mariano was the one chosen to wear that number because I think he brought something special to it."

That's the story today!  It's not about replacing Mariano Rivera before he's even said a word... it's about being proud.  We Yankee fans know that... Ian O'Connor and Rachel Robinson know it.   Many don't seem to get it though.  No matter.... Mo's our guy and he'll always be our guy...a Yankee, a champion and someone that has made us very proud.  You can't beat that feeling.

Special note: We have a special tribute to Mariano Rivera this weekend on Bleeding Yankee Blue from our own Steve Skinner, look for it.  We'll also have a piece involving Ian O'Connor coming soon... you'll love it.

Enjoy your Friday.

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