Maybe I’m Just Stupid…

• Yankees re-sign Damaso Marte to three-year, $12 million contract:

    Recently, I was questioning the wisdom of the Yankees declining Damaso Marte’s $6 million option for 2009 under the pretense that at least Marte’s a veteran from whom they could reasonably know what to expect and they’re going to end up spending that much money and more in prospects to try and replace him if they let him leave. Now, with the news that Marte has, in essence, had the old contract declined in order to get a new one worth double the amount, I’m left scratching my head with even more fervency…*

*I insist on using this word because of this pompous windbag from one of my creative writing classes who had an excellent vocabulary and some writing skill, but insisted on submitting these literally unreadable stories about God-knows-what; he committed the cardinal sin of writing which was being boring. What made things worse was that he went into verbal essays when discussing other people’s work that even had the professor tuning out with a glazed look. (Once she caught me rolling my eyes and shot me a wink, at which point I almost burst out laughing—-this is the same professor who told me, quite seriously, that she wanted to strangle me.)
    Anyway, one of his favorite commentaries was that portions of certain stories were “banal”, as if what he was writing was so new and fresh; in addition to mentioning the word banal repeatedly, in commenting on one of my stories, he wrote, next to the word fervency, “stop using this word”, at which point, it found it’s way into each and every one of my stories for the remainder of that semester.
    I’m quite sure he’s sitting somewhere with a copy of Ulysses (he was a big fan of James Joyce to the point of copying his style), reams of pages of dull banality, and a smug and condescending attitude as he laments the fact that the publishing industry is so cruel and unevolved that they just don’t get him, but they do get him and I can guarantee that they not only don’t read his submissions, but they recognize his name and automatically deposit his stuff into the toilet because there ain’t nobody readin’ it!!!

…wondering why the Yankees just waste money for the sake of it. Did they have to give Marte a three-year contract? Wouldn’t they have saved more money in the long run and/or given him an incentive to pitch well next year as he sang for his supper? After all the money that Brian Cashman has wasted on pitchers like Kyle Farnsworth, Steve Karsay and Carl Pavano (among many others), hasn’t he learned his lesson? It’s not as if Marte even could leave if he wanted to; all they had to do was exercise the short-term option. It makes no sense.

• Rockies trade Matt Holliday to the Athletics for RHP Huston Street; OF Carlos Gonzalez; and LHP Greg Smith:

    I don’t care about Matt Holliday’s home/road splits. This isn’t Dante Bichette we’re talking about when it comes to how a guy’s going to fare once he gets out of Colorado; Holliday’s power will suffer a bit from being in a ballpark like Oakland, but if you ignore the video game numbers he put up in Colorado and just look at what he did on the road, you’ve still got an All Star player who’ll hit his 25-35 homers, drive in his 110-120 runs; get on base and play very hard. Add in that he’s playing for a contract and the splits won’t matter. If anything, playing in Oakland will enhance his free agent credentials because he won’t have to answer questions about how he’s going to do away from Colorado.
    Huston Street lost his closing job to Brad Ziegler last year and there was concern that he’s not healthy; the Rockies have been rumored to be preparing to spin Street off as soon as possible, he’s arbitration eligible this year and there are teams that could use Street as a closer or set-up man. Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd might be better off holding onto Street to raised his value during the season and then trade him if they’re convinced his problems were mechanical and not health-related. Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised.
    Greg Smith is a contact left-handed pitcher with some control problems and his numbers last year were borderline atrocious other than a very good hits/innings pitched ratio of 169/190; that can be accounted for by a few low hit games he had, but the walks are a mitigating factor; when he’s good, he’s pretty good, and when he’s not, he gets shelled; he also gave up a lot of home runs which is a bad omen for pitching in Colorado.
    Outfielder Carlos Gonzalez is undisciplined and very, very raw, but is the centerpiece of this deal. He’s a hacker who might find the light air in Colorado to his liking. The Rockies are rebuilding (again) and this acquisition tells me that they’re going to do everything they can to trade Willy Taveras, who’d be a great fit for the Yankees as a speedy, defensively-minded center fielder (and Street would fit into the Yankees bullpen as a righty set-up guy). There’s been talk that Yankees manager Joe Girardi likes Brett Gardner enough to put him out there every day, and that’s something I cannot see happening. Taveras is very available and is only about to turn 27, he has the most important attribute the Yankees need in center field and that’s the ability to catch the ball and not be a hole in the lineup as Gardner would be.   

• David Wright’s attempts at leadership aren’t fitting his personality:

    This reminds me of when M.C. Hammer’s career went veering into the ditch as gangsta rap took center stage and Hammer tried to reinvent himself with some hard core lyrics, partying videos and ominous regalia. The people around him said later that it didn’t work because that’s just not who Hammer is—-he’s a nice, generous man who can’t help but be anything but that.
    David Wright is trying to take the mantle of leader of the Mets by saying things that don’t really fit his personality. A couple of weeks ago, he responded to the comments of Pat Gillick and Jimmy Rollins about an open dislike for the Mets with (to paraphrase), “well, we don’t like them either, etc.” Now he’s quoted as saying that the Mets “need a facelift”. It’s the truth, but this stuff just doesn’t fit Wright’s personality as a young player who is trying to feel his way around being the leader in the clubhouse with the absence of Billy Wagner, the reticence of Carlos Beltran and the winding down of Carlos Delgado’s career.
    The only way Wright can truly take on the leadership role is to be himself. It’s not Wright that the rest of the league dislikes anyway since he’s one of those guys who’s impossible not to like. This back-and-forth in the press doesn’t ring with Wright’s overall personality of a guy who plays the game the right way and respects his opponents. He’ll learn as he goes along to just be who he is and not force things as he develops his leadership skills.