HEY HAL, IT'S BASEBALL, NOT A POKER GAME!

Yankee ownership is playing with fire here. They are sitting at the blackjack table with a hand of 12 while the dealer has 20. They aren't playing with a full deck here and if they are going to call poker face they could be very wrong.

This is not a game....this is bad strategy!

I was literally cooking dinner tonight and as I was waiting for my meatloaf to cook in the oven I decided to fire up the laptop and scour all of my favorite websites to see what new rumors were on the Hot Stove. I'm reading all of this hype about Andrew Miller and how he is supposedly in talks with 8-10 teams on a deal. Good for him!

Hey, if you are non-closing reliever with stats like that then go out there and wheel and deal....but again I stress NON-CLOSING reliever. This guy is supposedly seeking a 4-year deal with money that could blow Jeremy Affeldt's deal out of the water. Then I am reading more and more about how the Yankees are "seriously considering" him.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are hesitant to give David Robertson a 4 year deal. I'm sorry....but COME AGAIN?! I literally picked up my phone and texted this to Casey:

"OK, if the Yankees go 4 years on Miller but not on DRob. I am going to lose my shit! You will hear me screaming from almost 3000 miles away and I will rant and rave until Hal himself hears me!"

And I am not kidding! Look, no disrespect to Miller. He has some amazing stats BUT he is not a closer! He is a reliever.

1. The Yankees need a closer
2. The Yankees have a great set-up man named Dellin Betances 
3. Robertson saved 39 games last year behind a sub-par Yankee offense! He stepped in to a high pressure situation after Mariano Rivera retired and did a great job.

How does this man not deserve a 4 year deal? Look, Robertson is not a health risk to us. He has been very durable throughout the years, and he is YOUNG. He is in his prime. He will turn 30 next season. A great closer is important in baseball. I know some that disagree, but if that is the case how do you explain the importance to Mariano Rivera to the Yankees?

Do I have a hard time believing that the Yankees will let Robertson go because he wants an extra year only to sign Miller? Yes. I do. I can absolutely see the Yankees applying pressure in the hopes to get Robertson sign a deal that is for fewer years. However, if they press too hard their plan may backfire. There are other teams out there that are interested in Robertson. The Yankees need to start focusing on taking care of their own! A four year deal is not unreasonable. What is unreasonable, is rolling the dice and letting him walk and then trying to trade for a closer or signing Miller for a similar contract.

I just don't understand where ownership's head is at right now. If the Yankees don't resign Robertson they are going to have another area to address on top of an already lengthy list. Stop the bleeding please....sign DRob so we can finally add some bats and a starting pitcher!

Bottom line here, Yankees. Your poker face isn't very good. The fans want Robertson back and guess what....he wants to come back, too. Stop wasting time and get it done before it is too late!



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




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TWO FORMER PLAYERS I ADMIRE

I'm a baseball freak.  I am a huge card collector, I love to find out new information about players, not only Yankees, but across this great game.  I have baseball cards that go back to the 1900's.

No, they're not mint and NOT perfectly preserved PSA casing like above... but it's my own collection and I do it my way. I find the cards I like, I buy them and I give them a home.  Over time, these cards will be passed down to my children... and they will do the same.  That's the deal... that's my love. Yup, besides my family and BYB... I have a passion for keeping baseball preserved my way... and I'm proud of what I've compiled over the years.

With that, I wanted to mention 2 guys that I read about over the past 48 hours that I remember playing and watching and appreciating... these stories are real and I wanted to share them on BYB.

Tim Flannery played for the Padres in the 80's. He was a solid ball player, and now, years later he's in a band called "Lunatic Fringe."  Well, he presented a check for $96,000 to the Stow family.  The money is to go toward Bryan Stow's care.

Stow was the fan who was beaten at a Giants-Dodgers game a few years ago.  A sad story, but a truly kind gesture by Tim Flannery and his band.  According to NBC Sports, Flannery said, "'That was, for me, kind of a gamble. People always say, `Well, why don't you just write a check?' I always say, `Well, I only hit nine home runs in my 10-year career, I can't just write a big check,' Flannery said by phone Monday. 'I did write a check, I wrote a check that produced a new record. ... I'm just playing the music. I'm doing the same thing I always do. For people to come and just continue the love, it's a great, great honor.'

As part of the large donation presented Saturday night, Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt contributed $25,000 to match Flannery's initial total and former Giants great turned instructor Will Clark wrote a $10,000 check."

You wanna guy Flannery's new CD and help too? Click on his website, timflannery.com.

Next is a guy named Jerry Remy.  Remdog was a hardnosed pest for the Boston Red Sox for years.  I remember hating him, only because I loved watching him play.  Anyway, Remy had lung cancer and was trying to recover. Meanwhile, last year his son Jared was charged with murdering his girlfriend.  At that time, Remy had left the broadcast booth, obviously to deal with family matters. You need to respect that as a man and human being. You need to admire his strength, because that type of double whammy doesn't happen to many.  Remy, who spoke to WEEI.com said he believes he'll be retuning to broadcasting, something his family and wife urged him to do:

"It was really three friends of mine and my wife that got me off the schneid because I had been trying to tell my family that we have to move on in some capacity and live our lives, yet I was one that was resisting that. I think it’€™s up to me to set an example to go on and live my life. Unfortunately — well, fortunately or unfortunately — it’€™s in the public eye, and it makes it a little bit different than some other things."

Now, in fairness, that above quote is a small portion of a very large statement (HERE) read my Remy. I encourage you all to read it. It's emotional and it makes you realize just how strong this man is.

Anyway ladies and gentlemen... I wanted to bring this to you. I know this isn't the Yankees... but it's humanity, and it's kindness and strength and love.  Every once in a while you need to stop and look around.  I did and I wanted to share these stories today.  They'll be unpublicized because they'd be considered "not sexy" enough for reader consumption. Well, they are here on BYB...

Enjoy your day. Do something big today.

Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fasted 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.

BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE PLAYER TRACKER #7

Josh Hamilton: Add the Phillies to the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes. The Phillies don’t mind paying Hamilton a boatload of money, it’s just they’re not sure how many years they’re willing to commit to him. This is coming from Buster Olney, HERE.

Torii Hunter: The Tigers appear to be the frontrunner for Hunter’s services, read HERE. They’re willing to offer Hunter a two-year deal as it appears the Yankees will only offer him a one-year contract.

Russell Martin: There are five teams, including the always dangerous mystery team, that are interested in Russell Martin. Those teams include the Red Sox, Rangers, Pirates, and Mariners, to go along with the Yankees. Read that report from Andrew Marchand HERE.

Mike Napoli: After the Red Sox showed interest in Mike Napoli (Read BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE PLAYER TRACKER #6), the Yankees have appeared to jump in the Napoli sweepstakes, according to Bob Nightengale HERE. We don’t know how interested the Yankees are, but this could be an interesting back-and-forth between the two rivals.

Cody Ross: Along with Hamilton, the Phillies are also interested in outfielder Cody Ross, read HERE.

Jeremy Affeldt: Lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt and the Giants are close to a three-year contract that’ll pay Affeldt $18 million through the duration of the deal (read HERE) The deal is so close, it may be completed by the time this post is published.
 


--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse



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.

BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE PLAYER TRACKER #4

Hideki Matsui: There is talk from the Houston Astros that Hideki Matsui could be a nice edition to their club considering the 'Stros will be moving to the American League and could use a DH.  You can read about it HERE.

Torii Hunter: The Dodgers appear to be "pursuing" Torii Hunter according to ESPN. Read about it HERE. Buster Olney speculated that Hunter would be a good edition on the Tigers.  That's actually an interesting idea.  He tweeted that yesterday, HERE.

Melky Cabrera: Reports are that five teams have expressed interest in Melky Cabrera. That's coming from the New York Post's Joel Sherman HERE. Dude, don't think that Melky's coming back to New York to play with the Yanks... I strongly doubt it.
 

Jeremy Affeldt: The Giants and Affeldt trying to hammer out a deal that's 3 years and between $15-20 million.  are in talks about a three-year contract worth $15-20MM. Read about that HERE.

Shane Victorino: The Boston Red Sox appear to be interested in Victorino but that's not all. The Rangers, Reds and Indians need an outfielder too.  Let's see what happens with this one. Read HERE.

Hyun-Jin Ryu: The Los Angeles Dodgers have won negotiating rights with Korean lefthander Hyun-Jin Ryu with a $25,737,737.33 bid. That news comes from Major League Baseball HERE.  Ryu is a Scott Boras client and they will have 30 days to try and hammer out a contract. 

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.