I’m calling it a diss, although you might disagree.

Here’s the quote in question, via Seth Livingstone of USA Today:

John Flaherty, former big-league catcher in his fifth season as a broadcaster for the YES Network, came up through the Boston Red Sox system ahead of Garciaparra and now sees Jeter and Rodriguez on a regular basis. He remembers well the discussions in the clubhouse similar to those among fans who debated the merits of the three stars.

“(Players would say) Alex might have the best all-around ability of the three — the fielding, the power, the tools scouts would see,” Flaherty says. “But then you’d go in a different direction: Who would you want on your team? Who would you want up in a big spot? Kind of throw the tools and talent out and the competition starts coming. You’d start thinking about Derek and Nomar.”

Each was different when it came to working them behind the plate.

“Nomar went up there, and you knew the first thing he saw he would let it fly,” Flaherty says. “He could do some damage on the first pitch of an at-bat. There was no trying to set him up. He wasn’t going to give you a strike. He was going to be very aggressive and, in Fenway, create a lot of damage.

“Derek’s the same way — very aggressive. He’s not going to hurt you as much (with power), but in a big spot you really had to be careful.

“Alex was more patient. He would try to work into a hitter’s count, so you could try to jump ahead, get strike one, then go to work.”

There’s a tacit, “Alex Rodriguez isn’t clutch,” argument embedded in here, isn’t there?

Photo by the AP

Fresh off the ALDS where Alex Rodriguez seemed to win every game for us almost single handedly, it’s a good time to look back at his previous post seasons and put them in some context. Specifically, the charge that Alex isn’t ‘Clutch’ as a baseball player. The definition ‘Clutch’ in Baseball is similar to the definition of pornography. It’s difficult to put into words without quickly running into problems, but we know it when we see it. Or do we?

Allan Barra of the Wall Street Journal published a piece last week examining the elusive nature of defining clutch hitting and examined A-Rod’s post season track record. He writes:

Part of the problem in discussing clutch hitting is that writers, players and fans can seldom agree on a definition. Some say it means hitting in the late innings of close games, while others would argue that it’s the ability of a hitter to carry his team through a slump. Perhaps the most popular definition is that clutch hitting—if it exists—means coming through in the playoffs and World Series.

Still, there are those who don’t accept even that definition. Christina Kahrl of Baseball Prospectus says: “‘Clutch’ remains more of an adjective to apply to a hit than a repeatable skill you ascribe to a player. When you have a relative handful of games, it’s really just a crapshoot.”

Clutch is something that sportwriters and fans decide upon after the fact. We can go back and look at a game and decide who had the ‘big hit’ or game winning RBI, but we’re just as  likely to ignore hits that could have been decisive had the pitching held. So not only is it an adjective we ascribe more to a hit than a player, it can also be dependent on whether others teammates perform or not. A great example of this is Carlos Beltran’s HR in the final game played at Shea Stadium.  Let me briefly recap what happened.

The season was on the line, the Mets were staring at their second September collapse in as many years. A win means they get in the playoffs, a loss means they go home. The game was scoreless until the top of the 6th inning, when the Marlins broke through with 2 runs.  Shea stadium is deflated, sensing another disappointment. Carlos Beltran comes up in the bottom of the 6th and launches a heroic 2 run HR that ties the game. Clutch, right? But then Mets reliever Scott Schoenewies gives up a HR in the 8th that decides the game. Beltran’s HR could have been one of the great moments in Mets history had the bullpen held, but instead it winds up in the dust bin as a futile effort that fell short, due to events that Beltran had no control over whatsoever. In order for many ‘clutch’ hits to have meaning, it often depends on the bullpen’s ability to make that run stick (barring walk offs). A big HR in the late innings becomes meaningless if the other team roars back and wins the game thereafter.

When it comes to A-Rod, he’s been a victim of small sample sizes in the playoffs. Here’s Alex’s last 5 post seasons:

• 2004 ALCS vs. BOS: 8-for-31 (.895 OPS)
• 2005 ALDS vs. LAA: 2-for-15 (.200 OPS)
• 2006 ALDS vs. DET: 1-for-14 (.205 OPS)
• 2007 ALDS vs. CLE: 4-for-15 (.820 OPS)
• 2009 ALDS vs. MIN 5 for 11 (1.500 OPS)

Smart Baseball observers know you can’t judge a player on 14 or 15 ABs. Even the best players will go through mini slumps all the time over the course of a regular season, we just don’t pay as much attention to it. But in the playoffs, everything becomes hyper scrutinized and gets micro analyzed. That’s a poor way to make judgments on the abilities of a player, or even worse on his character as a human being.

Barra goes on to compare A-Rod post season track record with other players who are considered to be Yankee greats. Here’s the chart stacking him up against some Yankee immortals:

The numbers show that Alex Rodriguez has been no worse and perhaps a little better than Joe, Yogi, Mickey or Reggie after about the same number of postseason chances. Yet the criticism persists that he is “a choker,” a charge never leveled at the others. Why?

“The simplest answer,” says Rob Neyer, author of “Rob Neyer’s Big Book of Baseball Legends,” “is that after having played in about 40 postseason games each, those guys had a total of 21 World Series rings. Their teams had better pitching, and they won.“

As always, winning cures all. But the next time we call Alex a postseason choker, we should remind ourselves that if Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez, or countless others got anyone out, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Here’s some reading material for a quiet Sunday morning before a busy day night of playoff Baseball. Red Sox-Angels play at noon in Fenway, Yanks-Twins starts at 7:00 in Minnesota and Phillies-Rockies starts at 10 PM in Colorado, assuming they don’t have another blizzard.

-Ian O’Connor interviews fan fave Tino Martinez discusses how this Yankee team reminds him of the late 90’s teams he played on. Here’s a sample:

Tino’s teams almost always seized those moment-of-truth nights in the division series and ALCS, games against the A’s, Indians, Rangers, Mariners, whoever.

The Yankee teams of the recent past?

“Those teams probably would’ve folded in the ninth,” Martinez said. “They would’ve packed it in. And it’s been demoralizing to a former player to see other teams celebrating at our expense the last few years, especially when you know how Jeter and Mariano [Rivera] are feeling.

“But this team never quits. It’s reminiscent of what we did.”

-The NY Times has a story with some recently discovered footage of Babe Ruth dating back to 1928, with video link.

-Baseball Intellect asks where Joba’s fastball has gone.

-Rob Neyer asks why Wild Card teams have won more often than their opponents with home field advantage.

-David Golebiewski of Fangraphs examines Nick Swisher’s resurgence in Pinstripes.

-Beyond the Boxscore has a chart looking at each team’s chances facing each other in possible playoff/World Series match ups. Yanks come out on top in every instance.

-Baseball Daily Digest looks at A-Rod’s clutch history on the post season.

-Allan Barra of the Wall Street Journal examines the elusive definition of ‘clutch’ and puts A-Rod’s post season struggles in context of other Yankee greats. I’ll have a full length piece going up later today about A-Rod in the post season discussing both articles.

From Ted Keith (SI):

In fact, there are only two questions remaining for the team with the best record in baseball: Will Alex Rodriguez finally show up in October after batting .143 with 18 strikeouts in his last 16 postseason games? And how long will it take Yankee fans to boo him this postseason if he doesn’t? One at-bat? Two

This A-Rod theme is old, isn’t it?

Based on what I’ve seen this season, both inside and outside of the ballpark, it seems that fans have changed their ways in relation to Alex Rodriguez. For whatever reason, I can’t really imagine them booing this year. Maybe it’s because the Yankee lineup features an assortment of expensive tools and high priced weapons, so it’s not all on A-Rod. Maybe we’ve realized that he has a fragile psyche and booing hasn’t helped him in the past, therefore, we’ve opted for the nurturing parent model rather than the strict father (shout out to George Lakoff).

Or, perhaps I’m just imagining things. Hmm…

Jesse Sanchez (MLB) has a nice summary out on the current Manager of The Year race in the AL. With Mike Scioscia atop Sanchez’s list, he later offers Joe Girardi as a “dark horse” for the honor. Here’s what Sanchez had to say about Girardi.

The manager of the best team with the highest payroll in baseball is not often a favorite for the award, but Girardi should be given credit for molding his star-studded roster into a team and keeping his club focused despite the early-season distractions surrounding A-Rod. The Yankees are winning and having fun, which will bode well for Girardi heading into the postseason.

The one statement that stands out to me in this brief blurb is that “Girardi should be given credit for molding his star-studded roster into a team and keeping his club focused despite the early-season distractions surrounding A-Rod.” Now, in terms of “molding his star-studded roster into a team,” maybe I’m off base here, but I would actually thank Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner for that. By bringing in CC Sabathia, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett, the team chemistry has truly come together. Having the right personalities in the clubhouse is what turned this “star-studded roster into a team,” right? I don’t think you can really thank Girardi for that (he has definitely contributed, but it’s not all on him).

Also, in regards to the notion that Girardi kept “his club focused despite the early-season distractions surrounding A-Rod,” I don’t think that’s true either. What kept the club focused was that, immediately after confirming he had used steroids, A-Rod needed surgery on his hip, therefore, he wasn’t around for the first 5 weeks of the season when questions pertaining to his steroid use would have been the most fervent. A-Rod wasn’t there to distract anyone, so, of course, the team wouldn’t have to deal with it as much they would have, had he been there from the beginning. Maybe if Girardi and the Yankees had an exceptional stretch in April I would say that Girardi deserves credit for “keeping his club focused,” but they were 12-10 that month.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things Joe Girardi does well, I just don’t see any of them in this simple blurb. What do you think? Should Girardi be given this much credit for these aspects of the ballclub?

From the NY Post:

When Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees picked Dr. Marc Philippon to operate on the superstar’s right hip in March, they did so because they believed the Vail-based surgeon was the best in the business.Apparently, they were right.

When Philippon was done with the March 9 surgery, which repaired a torn labrum, removed an impingement and drained a cyst, the doctor said Rodriguez was looking at another operation after the season was finished. Now, there is a chance Rodriguez can avoid the second operation.

“Eighty percent no; 20 percent yes,” Rodriguez told The Post before sitting out last night’s game against the Orioles at Camden Yards. “But you got to call him.”

A message left at Philippon’s Colorado office early last evening wasn’t immediately returned.

I would rather A-Rod have the surgery and return to the Yankees at full strength. Sure, he’s on track to hit 30 homers this season and the “hybrid” surgery has certainly been successful, but I wonder if not having the second surgery would prolong an issue or create another. Might as well fix it all completely and rest up in the offseason, right?

Last night, Andy Pettitte pitched a gem, giving up 2 ER over 7 IP. He struck out 7 and lowered his ERA to 4.18. Amazingly, Andy Pettitte has been the best pitcher in the AL since the All-Star break. His FIP of 2.32 is the lowest of any AL pitcher over the last 30 days and his ERA of 2.61 is actually the second lowest during that period of time (King Felix sits above him with a 2.45 ERA). Andy has been an important piece of the Yankees’ playoff puzzle. Without his dominance, the rotation would look rather inconsistent (e.g., Joba, Mitre). He gave the Yankees exactly what they needed last night—a clean, crisp outing—as the bats took care of the rest, allowing for a 9-2 win. Lately, Pettitte has indicated that he would like to continue pitching after 2009 and, given Chien-Ming Wang’s absence and the way Pettitte has performed this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up with the Yankees again next year.

It wasn’t all good last night, however, as Jorge Posada and A-Rod suffered some minor injuries. Jorge left the game after aggravating an already injured left ring finger via a Nelson Cruz foul tip. He’s considered day-to-day and was removed as a precaution. Alex Rodriguez also fouled a pitch off of his left foot and exited the game, but he’s said to be alright. Neither player will miss much time, if any. A.J. Burnett is scheduled to pitch today and was probably going to work with Jose Molina anyway since he and Jorge hate each other it’s a day game after a night game.

From the AP:

An appeals court ruled Wednesday that federal agents were wrong to seize the infamous drug list and samples of 104 Major League Baseball players who allegedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.In a 9-2 vote, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with three lower court judges who chastised investigators who had a warrant for only 10 drug test results as part of the BALCO investigation into Barry Bonds and others.

The panel said federal agents trampled on players’ protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said the players’ union had good reason to want to keep the list under wraps, citing leaks of players purportedly on the list.

“The risk to the players associated with disclosure, and with that the ability of the Players Association to obtain voluntary compliance with drug testing from its members in the future, is very high,” the judge wrote. “Indeed, some players appear to have already suffered this very harm as a result of the government’s seizure.”

Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and Red Sox slugger David Ortiz both have acknowledged being on the list, and The New York Times has reported the Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa also could be found on it.

The government seized the samples and records in April 2004. The list of 104 players said to have tested positive, attached to a grand jury subpoena, has been part of a five-year legal fight, with the players’ union trying to force the government to return what federal agents took during raids.

“This was an obvious case of deliberate overreaching by the government in an effort to seize data as to which it lacked probable cause,” Kozinski wrote.

He said the case was a significant test of the government’s search and seizure powers in the digital age, and issued guidelines for investigators to follow in future raids that included submitting computers to independent computer experts for sorting of data.

Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative founder Victor Conte has long been critical of the actions of the government, especially then lead investigator Jeff Novitzky.

“I have said that Novitzky has been using illegal tactics and not following the law since the day of the BALCO raid,” Conte said. “He seems to just make up his own rules as he goes along.”

This is why the list will never be fully released. There are too many legalities involved and, while I’m not sure if this is possible, those who leak information about the list could potentially face legal repercussions (at least that’s what the players’ union is hoping). We’re often quick to demonize the players found on the list, such as A-Rod or David Ortiz, however, while they cheated, it’s clear now that they’re not only victims in the sense that the list was supposed to be a private matter, but they’re also victims of government abuse. For that reason, the rest of the names will likely remain under wraps.

From the NY Post:

She made it past third base with Alex Rodriguez, but Kate Hudson isn’t getting a warm reception at the plate from Minka Kelly, longtime squeeze of Yankee captain Derek Jeter.

At home games in The Bronx, things between the two photogenic actresses are frostier than the new stadium’s $9 beer, according to spies.

“There’s been visible coldness between Minka and Kate,” an insider told The Post’s Lachlan Cartwright. “I don’t know if it’s a personal thing, or just an extension of the ongoing A-Rod-Jeter rivalry.”

Our source added, “People are choosing sides.”

“Friday Night Lights” hottie Kelly has been dating Jeter since last year. Since then, she’s usually cheered him on from his private seats, kept a low profile and has rarely been photographed with him.

Then, high-profile Hudson arrived on the scene. She’s been snapped smooching A-Rod in the stands, and recently switched from sitting in a private box to hanging in the family seats, cheering on the team with Yankee wives including Amber Sabathia and Karen Burnett.

Wow, this A-Rod and Jeter feud is getting serious, huh?

Michael Schmidt at the NY Times has the story. Apparently, both David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were on the same list that A-Rod was on in 2003.

The information about Ramirez and Ortiz emerged through interviews with multiple lawyers and others connected to the pending litigation. The lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order. The lawyers did not identify which drugs were detected.

Unlike Ramirez, who recently served a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy, Ortiz had not previously been linked to performance-enhancing substances.

Scott Boras, the agent for Ramirez, did not respond to telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment.

Asked about the 2003 drug test on Thursday in Boston, Ortiz shrugged. “I’m not talking about that anymore,” he said. “I have no comment.”

Now, let’s all wait calmly while heads explode in Boston…