My Thoughts on Goose Gossage’s Thoughts on Jose Bautista, Yoenis Cespedes & “Nerds”

Excuse me while I leave my Yankees bias and “homerism” at the door because Goose, “you wrong buddy.” On a serious note though Goose Gossage was interviewed last week by ESPN New York’s very own Andrew Marchand and in the interview the former Yankees pitcher was very critical of some of the game’s best both in the front office and on the playing field. Gossage got to share his thoughts so I figured I would share mine as well, because why not?

First this article means nothing if you don’t know exactly what Gossage said so to quote the article the Goose said “(Jose) Bautista is a f***ing disgrace to the game. He’s embarrassing to all the Latin players, whoever played before him. Throwing his bat and acting like a fool, like all those guys in Toronto. (Yoenis) Cespedes same thing… Ryan Braun is a f***ing steroid user. He gets a standing ovation on Opening Day in Milwaukee. How do you explain that to your kid after throwing people under the bus and lying through his f***ing teeth? They don’t have anyone passing the f***ing torch to these people.”

Grammar nazi here, but Bautista is AN f***king disgrace to the game, not A disgrace to the game. Why is Goose going after Cespedes and Bautista directly? Has David Ortiz never flipped a bat? And why just Latin players, did Colby Rasmus not flip a bat against the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game in 2015? Has about a million instances of bat flipping happened before Bautista did it? Be consistent, don’t just pick and choose who you attack. Braun is a steroid user and got a standing ovation, Alex Rodriguez is also a steroid user and got plenty of them in 2015. He also got a gig covering postseason and World Series baseball for Fox. No mention of this, no mention of Barry Bonds and his standing ovations he receives in San Francisco or his new gig in Miami as a hitting coach. Again, consistency.

But wait, there was more. “The game is becoming a freaking joke because of the nerds who are running it. I’ll tell you what has happened, these guys played rotisserie baseball at Harvard or wherever the f*** they went and they thought they figured the f***ing game out. They don’t know s***. A bunch of f***king nerds running the game. You can’t slide into second base. You can’t take out the f***ing catcher because Buster Posey was in the wrong position and they are going to change all the rules. You can’t pitch inside anymore. I’d like to knock some of these f***ers on their ass and see how they would do against pitchers in the old days.”

I don’t think the nerds you are referring to, the ones that rely on analytics and sabermetric stats to tell the tale rather than the eye test, had anything to do with Chase Utley sliding into second base and hurting the Mets Ruben Tejada and ending his season. The media and in turn the Commissioner Rob Manfred has everything to do with that, not sabermetricians. The same can be said for the catcher rule, what does looking at how a certain player would perform in a vacuum or how he stacks up against the league in certain categories, basically what sabermetrics does, have anything to do with Buster Posey getting hurt? Nothing, you’re right. Pitching inside can be more prevelant than ever, FYI, because the hitters go up to the plate in basically full chain arm and won’t feel a thing… so go ahead and pitch inside, no one cares. You’re just upset you couldn’t intimidate hitters and you would have to rely on your talent rather than your head games, that’s okay. And one final note, you’ll catch more bee’s with honey than you will with crap and the use of vulgarity makes you lose all credibility with some whether what you are saying is 100% accurate and correct or not.

You’re a Hall of Famer and an ambassador not only to the New York Yankees but to the entire game of Major League Baseball but you sure aren’t acting like it right now. You’re better than this Goose!

When Did Bat Flipping & Showing Up Your Opponent Become Okay Again?

Many times I find myself not watching the MLB Playoffs or the World Series if the New York Yankees aren’t in it, I can’t help it but the games just aren’t as interesting for me without a vesting personal interest. This season I decided to go against the grain a bit and watch as much playoff baseball as I could, although obviously I’ve missed more than my fair share, and I see a trend developing that I find to be pretty disturbing, the bat flip and showing up your opponent apparently is okay again.

I saw it happen in the American League Wild Card Game when the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros faced off head-to-head. Carlos Gomez is known to be a confident player, I call it cocky but whatever, and had a bat flip while Colby Rasmus did as well on what turned out to be the game-winning home run off Masahiro Tanaka. I didn’t like it as a fan and I’m sure the Yankees players and Tanaka specifically didn’t appreciate it either, just a hunch. The bat flipping didn’t stop there though as Jose Bautista did one as well in Game 5 of the ALDS. I understand that was the biggest postseason home run since Joe Carter’s walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies but there is a higher purpose at stake here, it’s called respect.

In Game One of the 2015 World Series the Kansas City Royals came from behind to beat the New York Mets on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Royals star Eric Hosmer. Naturally when the winning run crossed the plate in front of his home crowd an emphatic bat flip and helmet toss came along with the victory once again. Celebrating is one thing, disrespecting the opposing team, pitcher and fan base is another and there is a fine line. Bat flips, in my opinion, are crossing that line.

Come to think of it… the Astros lost the series after their bat flips. The Blue Jays lost their series against these same Royals after the Jose Bautista bat flip seen round the world. Are the Royals the next victim of some instant karma? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned. 

Predicting the 2016 Qualifying Offers

While many fans are still in full blown "MLB Playoffs" mode I myself am more focused on the 2016 season. Sure I have been watching the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals series rooting for the Cubs and I've watched about a game of the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers series but I'm not glued to my television by any means. I am more focused on the New York Yankees and the 2016 season and this week we learned that the qualifying offer for the 2016 season would be set at $15.8 million, up from $15.5 million in 2015.

Which players do I think get a qualifying offer for 2016?

LHP Wei-Yin Chen - Baltimore Orioles
1B/DH Chris Davis - Baltimore Orioles
C Matt Wieters - Baltimore Orioles
OF Jason Heyward - St. Louis Cardinals
RHP Jeff Samardzija - Chicago White Sox
OF Dextor Fowler - Chicago Cubs
RHP Zack Greinke - Los Angeles Dodgers (if he opts out)
OF Alex Gordon - Kansas City Royals (if he declines his player option worth $12.5 million)
RHP Hisashi Iwakuma - Seattle Mariners (They want him back anyway)
RHP John Lackey - St. Louis Cardinals
OF Justin Upton - San Diego Padres
RHP Jordan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals
LHP Brett Anderson - Los Angeles Dodgers
INF Ian Desmond - Washington Nationals
INF Daniel Murphy - New York Mets
OF Colby Rasmus - Houston Astros

Keep in mind that David Price, Gerrardo Parra, Johnny Cueto, Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Marlon Byrd,Austin Jackson, Scott Kazmir, Joakim Soria and Ben Zobrist are not eligible for qualifying offers after being traded during the middle of the 2015 season.

Yankees Come Back Three Times; Still Lose to Blue Jays 5-4

Usually when a team blows multiple leads in a single game, they don't muster up the confidence to later emerge victorious.

Obviously, when you keep going ahead only to fall apart you get kind of down, something that often tends to ruin the entire contest.

Despite that, the Yankees did find a way to lose this afternoon's rubber game to the Blue Jays, tying things three different times only to eventually fall 5-4.

Going into today's bottom of the fifth, surprisingly, the recently-good Yanks' offensive was getting shutout by J.A. Happ 2-0, but after back-to-back solo homers by Chase Headley and Francisco Cervelli in that frame they appeared to be on their way to another W.

Unfortunetaly, though, that wouldn't prove to be the case, with Shane Greene (5 1/3 IP, 3 ER) surrendering an RBI Double to Colby Rasmus in Toronto's half of the sixth.

Yes, Greene would still get a No Decision after New York evened things up again in their next turn, although since Dellin Betances still committed a throwing error that led to an unearned run in the eighth and David Robertson allowed one more trip around the bases in the ninth his decent outing didn't prove relevant.

In between those two mistakes by the bullpen, interestingly, struggling Yanks DH Carlos Beltran did make it 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth with a single, but again, that didn't end up mattering, with New York later losing in spite of all the excitement.

For example, in Roberton's inning of work, Headley robbed Jose Bautista of an RBI Double with a diving stop that led to a fielder's choice, appearing to end the threat with Dioner Navarro coming up.

Instead, though, Bautista stole second and Navarro knocked him in, finally finishing off the frustrating defeat.

The Many Faces Of Colby Rasmus..... Meme

I don't know why this cracks me up so much, maybe because it's so true. I posted this sometime last season but I had to bring it back for 2014. Colby Rasmus, coming to a team near you in 2015.

I wanted to post this one but I try and keep the site family friendly.... whoops.

Yankees Come Back From 6-0 Deficit, Still Lose to Blue Jays

When a team goes through these kinds of losing streaks, it's important for us to remember that things can get better.

Can, not will. 

Unfortunately, that negative philosophy is one we'll have to use when looking at tonight's game, as the Yankees fell to the Blue Jays 7-6, their fourth consecutive loss.

In the last three, as you probably already know, the Yanks never fell by less than five, at first appearing to make this contest an improvement.

However, after a quick look at the boxscore that belief is revealed as a misconception, as everything from the Bombers' hitting with RISP to their starting pitching struggled in this evening's defeat. 

To start things off, David Phelps gave up six earned runs in just 5 innings of work, with a long three-run home run from Dioner Navarro and a two-run single from Colby Rasmus highlighting his bad outing.

On that hit by Rasmus, a failed rundown by Derek Jeter allowed a third run to score, bringing the Jays' lead to 6-0 and again making the Yanks look done.

Fortunately, that wouldn't quite be the case, as the Pinstripes would rally to tie it up in the sixth and seventh when Jeter somewhat made up for his earlier mistake with a shot to left, Brian Roberts drove in a pair with another homer off Mark Buehrle (6.2 IP, 4 ER), Jacoby Ellsbury singled home Brett Gardner, and a two-out, two-run throwing error by Jose Reyes made the score even at 6.

Still, none of that would matter due to a disastrous ninth from the Bombers, in which they failed to get Gardner in from third and lost in the Jays' half of the frame, when Yangervis Solarte threw a Melky Cabrera sac bunt into foul territory.

Prior to that error, Adam Warren allowed a lead-off double to the aforementioned Reyes, causing him to take the loss, his fourth already this season.

Besides him, though, the Pinstripes' bullpen was actually pretty good (getting a combined three scoreless innings from Matt Thornton and Dellin Betances), a fact that can only make this defeat more painful, as the Yanks are now 3.5 games out of first place.

McCann's 5 RBIs Help Yankees Blowout Blue Jays, 7-3

Since May 23's walk-off loss to the White Sox, Yankees Catcher Brian McCann hasn't collected a home run. 

The $85 million backstop, hitting .220 going into tonight, has arguably been the team's biggest disappointment so far this season, recording just 28 RBIs.

Despite that, the veteran came out and brought that total up to 33 this evening, as the Yanks beat the Blue Jays again, 7-3.

To start off his impressive performance, McCann lined a two-run shot to right in the bottom of the fourth (surrendered by Mark Buehrle, who gave up 3 runs/2 earned over 6 innings), giving the Bombers a 3-2 lead. 

The advantage obtained by #34's eighth homer of the year was added onto four more times in the seventh, when Ichiro Suzuki (pinch hitting for Alfonso Soriano) walked with the bases loaded and McCann drove another offering from Brett Cecil into the right-center field gap.

At first looking like a routine out, the ball ended up carrying past the glove of the diving Colby Rasmus, giving McCann 3 more RBIs and allowing him to reach third.

At that point, the Bombers were up 7-2, helping Chase Whitley eventually collect his third consecutive win.

Whitley, who's gotten at least 21 outs in each of his last two starts, lasted just 5 innings in this one, giving up 2 earned runs and 5 hits.

In the top of the fourth, with two on and two out, Whitley surrendered a pair of singles to Dioner Navarro and the before-mentioned Rasmus, blowing a 1-0 lead Soriano gave him with a bottom-of-the-first single.

On that hit, interestingly, Brett Gardner scored easily from third, one of two runs he had in his 4-for-5, four single performance. 

Besides him, Adam Warren also contributed silently to this W, tossing perfect sixth and seventh frames while impressively striking out three.