When the Whip Comes Down

            Cheers poured out of the Yankee front office when it was announced that the third-party arbitrator in the A-Rod biogenesis saga ruled in favor of MLB and decided upon a 162-regular season ban as well as a ban for any postseason play for the 2014 season. It's more than certain Rodriguez will appeal the decision in Federal Court, but as it stands the Yankee Organization will save themselves the $25 million salary A-Rod had coming to him this season due to the suspension.



           The penalty came as a surprise since 162 games is three times more than the usual 50-game suspension a player receives for failing a drug test, yet technically Rodriguez didn't fail any tests at all. Commissioner Bud Selig was pushing for a 211-game penalty, but word from the MLB office was that they're more than satisfied with the decision. The MLB Players Union did protest the length of the suspension, but within their statement they too left Rodriguez hanging out to dry.



            Without a failed drug test, the evidence that sealed Rodriguez's fate turned out to be the testimony and saved Blackberry messages from Anthony Bosch, the person who ran the biogenesis clinic that supplied A-Rod with the "anti-aging" products. Rodriguez was foolish enough to send Bosch suspicious cryptic messages concerning "stuff" and sneaking around hotel entrances by use of service elevators. Bosch turned on A-Rod after A-Rod refused to pay him hush money to keep the whole affair a secret. If Rodriguez failed anything, it was reading his sleezeball detection radar.



            Rodriguez refuses to admit any guilt and still holds onto some belief that the decision will be overturned and he'll be in the starting day lineup when the season starts.



            While the Yankees look to be free of the dark cloud of A-Rod hanging over the club, at least for one season, there leaves the room to wonder if the Cano contract negotiations could've gone differently had the Yankees front office known they would be liberated of the $25 million they were obligated to pay A-Rod in 2014. Or does this mean that the Yankees can make a stronger push for Tanaka if they happen to get into a bidding war with the Mariners or the Dodgers? Either way, its clear the Yankees were pulling for A-Rod to get hammered and issued a statement afterwards which basically high-fived the arbitrator and MLB process without mentioning any support for Rodriguez.



            In less dramatic fashion - they'll also be no Vernon Wells for the Yankees in 2014 (and beyond) as he was formally cut by the team. The move is no surprise with the abundance of outfielders on the roster now (Ellsbury, Beltran, Gardner, Soriano, Ichiro) and the fact Wells forgot how to hit baseball after April of last season. Without A-Rod clogging up the majority of the DH at-bats, his absence serves to benefit the likes of Jeter, Beltran, and Teixeira, who need the breaks from field duty. It also helps Girardi put Soriano's bat in the lineup more often without worrying about his defense in left. For the time being, Eduardo Nunez and recently-signed Kelly Johnson will probably compete in Spring Training for the 3B job, plus GM Brian Cashman can wait till the trading deadline if any bigger names become available at the position. With A-Rod pretty much gone for 2014, the lineup will mostly appear as follows:

1. Ellsbury - CF
2. Jeter - SS
3. Beltran - RF
4. Teixeira - IB
5. Soriano - DH
6. McCann - C
7. Nunez - 3B
8. Roberts - 2B
9. Gardner - LF

           The Yankees also made the Matt Thornton signing official (Wells was cut to make room for him on the roster) for the tune of $7 million for 2 years. They also continue to pursue Tanaka, but no formal offer has been leaked yet, so the numbers involved remain unknown. Most experts predict Tanaka can fetch up towards $20 million per season; this isn't the Yankees of ten years ago and through the revenue sharing model, several teams now are in position to make Tanaka a big offer.



            Rodriguez will have to spend the 2014 season kissing his reflection in the mirror....

Time to Get Angry

            With August a heartbeat away, if the Yankees are to make a serious push for the AL East or one of the two available Wild Card spots; the time to get mad as hell and start putting some winning streaks together has to be now!!



            Despite a slight delay in scheduling of his return, Derek Jeter made his 2nd debut of 2013 and deposited the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a homerun!! It's clique as heck, but there is something magical about the Yankee Captain.



            It was a much needed spark for a club that was chewed up badly against a tough stretch up in Boston, through Texas, and came home for Tampa in which the Yanks went 4-6. The sad part was the Yankees could've easily went 9-1 during those games if they could've even gotten a little shred of offense. The hitting and lack of power has been so bad that Yankee pitching would lose a game if they gave up even 1 run. To help inject a little power into the lineup the Yankees invited back the former "Robinson Cano" of the farm system before being traded for A-Rod back in 2004, that is Alfonso Soriano. No relation to the happy and charming Rafael Soriano.



            After another unsurprisingly wasted season by the Chicago Cubs they were more than willing to trade Soriano to the Yankees for a minor league pitching prospect. The move was partially a reaction to the Yankees extreme lack of hitting, but also likely a sign the Yankee front office feels Alex Rodriguez is going to be suspended really soon. Another big name in baseball, Ryan Braun, who is also linked to biogenesis, recently accepted a 50-game suspension for this season in a plea deal with MLB. Rodriguez was due back last week, but after a quad strain the Yankees had their doctor examine him and the MRI results, according to the Yankee doctors, was that A-Rod's return needed to be pushed back. A-Rod smelt conspiracy that the Yankees were trying to keep him out of the lineup, so he had his own doctors review the MRI results and they (naturally) cleared A-Rod to play. To make things even more disruptive, Rodriguez went on Mike Francesa's radio show for a desperate PR blitz to make noise that he's fit to play and that perhaps the Yankees are keeping him away on purpose.



            Although Brian Cashman would love for A-Rod to fall into the polar bear exhibit at the Bronx Zoo, they both agreed to a rehab assignment which will begin on August 1st and should have A-Rod finally back in action a week later, pending he's not hammered with a suspension beforehand.



             Even if he's back in pinstripes, a suspension still may come down on him at a moment's notice. In addition to the suspension of using PEDs, there's also the possibility A-Rod could be charged with obstruction of justice for supposedly trying to buy the evidence off of the biogensis guy before he went public. The Yankee front office will be rooting hard for MLB and the US Department of Justice to nail Rodriguez really good so they could somehow remove themselves from the $114 million left of that contract they gave him. The pickup of Alfonso Soriano is a great insurance policy in case Rodriguez doesn't return in 2013, and with Curtis Granderson due back in about a week's time, maybe the Yanks will be able to score more than 1 run per game, perhaps even 2.

Position:

55-50 (4th Place AL East - 7.5 games behind 1st Place Boston Red Sox)

Homeruns: 

- Derek Jeter made a real return this time and homered in his first at-bat. It might mean nothing, or it could be a sign that something special about to start.
- Alfonso Soriano was brought back to town in a trade and that mean less of seeing Vernon Wells.
- Ivan Nova continues to roll along with dominating stuff, but like other Yankee starters, he's been getting no run support. 

Foul Tips:

- Alex Rodriguez's return was pushed back with a quad strain, and although a 5-game rehab plan is in place that somewhat makes his return foreseeable, there's been extreme tension between him and the front office, plus a serious possibility of being suspended for the rest of this season and even 2014 is hanging over his head. If he can return and escapes any legal issues, the his return, coupled with Granderson's, Jeter's, and the trade for Soriano makes the Yankee lineup that more formidable.
- Andy Pettitte has been making strides in improving himself, but he's yet to have a dominant start since his rough period began a couple of months ago.
- Phil Hughes keeps throwing well, but also has been plagued with no run support. As the trade deadline approaches, Hughes' name is rumored to being shopped around by the Yanks. He would certainly be an attractive item to help the Yankees bring another good bat into the lineup, especially at 3B. 

Strikeouts:

- CC Sabathia has turned into the Yankees' worst starter; being clobbered in his both starts since the All-Star break. Is this going to be another bad long-term contract the Yanks have to deal with?
- Travis Hafner is just about as done as it gets and is bound to either being designated for assignment or traded away once the Yankees get more of the players back. He's been absolutely horrible and the sad fact is he's statistically the team's best hitter with runners in scoring position. A shoulder injury has landed him on the DL for 15 days, but there's a great chance he'll never wear the pinstripes again.
- After a small window of success after tweaking his swing, Vernon Wells has fallen into the pits again and continues to be an automatic out.
- The latest Yankee 3B call-up, Brent Lillibridge, has been like all the call-ups for 3B this season, an automatic out. 

            There's two months left of which Jeter, Granderson, Soriano, and A-Rod should be around for barring any injuries or suspensions or obstruction of justice charges. They got the pitching, they just need to start getting the hits. 

             Jeter's first homer of 2013 was probably the most important one for the Yankees this season....