Bleacher Report - Articles by Paul Vincent

Will Michael Vick Become a Man of Steel?

Paul Vincent — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:25:38 -0400

I grew up a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and it was all because my father bought me a Franco Harris No. 32 jersey and one of those semi rugged helmets with a hard plastic face-mask. I was born in the early 70's, so I was able to see the 70's Steelers teams and their rugged play.

I argued with my neighbor Kenny, a cowboys fan as well as a Golden Richards fan....wow!! I just loved the way the Steelers punished teams on the field, but off the field they were different. I met some of these guys when I traveled to Pittsburgh in 78. I was amazed at how nice Jack Lambert was! I thought he was going to eat me up and spit me out, but he was the nicest guy.

Later on, about 1998, I met Franco Harris at a food convention in NYC. He and his brother Luigi opened a business called "Super Bakery." They supplied food, mainly to school food service companies, for their school lunch programs.

The one thing I remembered from meeting Franco was his total respect for the Rooney's. He could not stop talking about Art and Dan Rooney. He loathed their business savvy and how they would drop anything important in a minute to help out anyone.

It is with this story that I will say that the Rooney's have made football a better sport. The "Rooney Rule" should have been instituted years ago! The fact that the man who wrote the rule and then goes out and hires Mike Tomlin, trust me Tomlin was not hired because he is black or for the fact that Dan Rooney had to hire a black coach! Tomlin was the perfect fit for a team that needed a young and even tempered coach.

The Steelers needed a coach who could make people forget Cowher and boy did Tomlin do that! Sure he came on board to a loaded team that has one of the best pro personnel directors in the game, Kevin Colbert, but he had to win over a team who played for the same coach for many years.

He made some changes, pissed off some veterans, but he did it like man. He did it like Tony Dungy, a former Steelers coach. Dungy pushed for a Tomlin interview and according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Rooney's were wowed. I wanted either Whisenhunt or Grimm to be the head coach, but the further I looked into Tomlin's pedigree I saw a Tony Dungy clone!

Now that Michael Vick has sought the help of Tony Dungy and I believe Dungy is an adviser for Vick, awesomely smart move Mr. Vick, there is talk of a possible Vick to Steelers deal in the works! How do I feel....sorry PETA lovers, but I think it would be AWESOME!

Vick would make the Steelers an even more dangerous team. He won't push Big Ben out, but the beatings Ben has taken over the last three years is going to catch up to him soon. If and when Vick is eligible for reinstatement, there is no better team/owner to help this kid than the Rooney's, the Pittsburgh fans, and Mike Tomlin.

Vick has paid his dues. Jail can make people humble and Vick knows his mistake and the fact that he is going to get one chance to survive. All he has to do is look back at PacMan Jones, who in my opinion cannot get the bad boy attitude out of himself. He can have Jesus Christ as his mentor and Pacman will still mess up!

Vick in a black and gold jersey will make me happy, but I believe it will allow Michael Vick to get back to earth. He would be playing for a coach who won't give him special treatment. He will be in a locker room with champions. Playing for the Rooney's is like playing for your grandfather...you do not want to let them down.

Is it a pipe dream.....maybe, but to see Michael Vick play in Pittsburgh would put a bigger smile on my face. The difference between Jerry Jones and Dan Rooney is simple—Rooney would sit down at a Denny's and eat with you and talk about how to make your life better—Jerry Jones would sit down and ask, "How are you going to make me look better if I give you a chance!"

(P.S.) I did this article on the fly. Edits and feedback are more than welcomed. I appreciate comments, but please give comments with substance. Don't just lambaste me because of my feelings. I hope you all enjoy the article. Writing helped me beat cancer and your comments and edits made me stronger and more passionate to speak on what I love more than life itself...SPORTS!!!

Gaborik + Torts = Farther in the Playoffs!!

Paul Vincent — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:04:06 -0400

I love the Gaborik signing. Gomez just could not play up to the contract and needed a change. Drury with Gaborik on his wing or Dubie with Gaborik on the wing will put more pucks in the net. All Sather has to do with his new found cap space is pull off a deal for either Marleau or Richards!

I would have loved Knuble; leadership and toughness! Gaborik, if healthy, will be a 50 goal scorer in Torts' system. He is playing with young hungry players either drafted or signed by Sather. Now is the time for the Rangers to flourish. Sather is running out of naked pics of James Dolan! He needs to make a play for the cup this year!!

The signing of Brashear was brilliant!! Yes, I said it was brilliant!! Now the Rangers have two tough guys in Boyle and Brash! No more will we see Henrik, slapped at the young guns, Dubie and Callahan, get whacked after the whistle with no retaliation. Although Orr was a good skater, he wasn't good enough in stopping Rangers guns and goalie from getting whacked.

Now teams will think twice, b/c they will get whacked back by Brash and Boyle!! The Rangers have toughness and youngsters. Wait until you see the kid Sather stole from Montreal, McDonough, play!! Another Sather steal! If there was ever a year where Sather proved his smarts it looks like this year!!

Don't forget about the stockpile of young defensemen on the farm. The youth infusion this year will show hockey that the Blackhawks and Pens are not the only teams with young guns!! Let's Go Rangers!!!

When Will Athletes Grow Up?

Paul Vincent — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:07:15 -0400

Athletes today have tons of money and fame.

They grew up to be superstars and were groomed to be superstars. One thing they weren't taught about was how to deal with fame.

I mean, all the training in the world cannot get our athletes ready for fame. Think about Jack Lambert, Jack Tatum and Dick Butkus doing a GAP commercial!

Think of todays athletes and you can see them, in some light, doing a commercial of that nature.

Hollywood and stardom must be so addicting that drugs are only a minor problem in Hollywood society. How are they prepped for this as a college student, trying to juggle sports, girls and academics?

Yes, I realize most college athletes have it made when it comes to college courses, but not all athletes get this treatment. There is so much on the plate of the potenitial superstar athlete.

Just look at Matt Leinart. USC darling to third-string nobody.

It is a topic of concern for many pro organizations. They are taking a gamble on players who have marketability.

Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente doing Oceans 11.

Never would've happened, but imagine what time would be like reversed, our parents would get the cool stuff and we would be the parents...hell no!

Many athletes cannot live with the fame and make mistakes; OJ Simpson, Ray Caruth, ARod and others.

They just cannot ride the lightning. They were not prepped for this. There is no course to take.

I am a teacher and I try to help my students assimilate to the issues with stardom. Give them some knowledge of mistakes made.

I build it into my curriculum for my seniors, athletes and non. I hope I can help some of these athletes when they reach the fame of the college or pro game.

Steelers Nation, the Time Has Come!

Paul Vincent — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:29:36 -0500

Sunday will be a day of ultimate craziness! Super Bowl Sunday is the day that bars are filled and TV sales hit the roof! Sunday will also be the day that the Steelers face the Cardinals in a game that gives bragging rights to the best team in the NFL! I am a Steelers fan; I have been ever since I was four years old.

It all started when my father,well Santa, gave me a Franco Harris No. 32 jersey. I became an even bigger fan of Franco when I met him at a food expo in 1997. He and his brother Luigi own a company called "Super Bakery." They sell pre-packaged foods, mostly baked goods. I was in awe at seeing my hero Franco Harris. I have come to idolize another Steeler....No. 92 James Harrison.

Cut three times in 13 months, James Harrison is the poster boy for tenacity and a never give up attitude. A walk on at Kent State, he was considered to be too small to play linebacker in the NFL at 6 foot 242 pounds. After being cut by the Ravens in February 2007 Harrison thought of looking to another career than the NFL.

A Clark Haggans injury in June 2004 gave Harrison another shot with the Steelers. The Steelers once again found a diamond in the ruff. He is the perfect fit for Dick LeBeau's 3-4 and zone blitzing scheme. He has been a Pro Bowler in '07, '08, and '09. He is the true meaning of the phrase "never give up"! The one area that makes me marvel at Harrison is that he still trots on the field as a special teamer (tied for third on the Steelers special teams with 12 tackles).

As the first undrafted player to win a defensive player of the year award that some Cowboys fans feel belonged to their man DeMarcus Ware, he is the face of perseverance. The Heinz Field faithful love No. 92, the man who has a franchise record 16 sacks and 92 tackles. He has only played for three years and as Dick LeBeau says "He is only going to get better."

This is the type of player that falls into the laps of the Steelers. A franchise valued at $800 million and ranked No. 3 of the 122 sports teams in fan loyalty, Harrison is what the people of Pittsburgh are...a group of fighters who never give up and keep motoring along.

I hope the Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl on Sunday, but they have to go through a very deadly Arizona Cardinal team. The Cardinals have a slight advantage over the Steelers in that Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm are only two years removed from their spots as O-coordinator and O-line coach of the Steelers under the since retired Bill Cowher.

Whisenhunt knows how Big Ben clicks and how their offense works, but things have changed since they left. Bruce Arians, than the WR coach, has developed schemes that surround a passing and running attack. The once running Steeler offense is now a blend of passing formations that put the run almost second. The other thing that Whisenhunt does not have is the ability to know what Dick LeBeau is going to throw at Kurt Warner and his band of offensive juggernauts.

A football lifer, LeBeau knows how to put together schemes to hold even the best offensive players on ice. Only time will tell when the 6:30pm kickoff starts. It is sure to be one of the best Super Bowls. I know some may disagree, but when you see the black and gold on defense just look for No. 92...he will be the guy all over the field playing with that mantra..."never give up" and all of us in the audience will be chanting right along!

A Letter to Milwaukee Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio

Paul Vincent — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:55:55 -0500

Hey Mark...stop your whining! You have been an MLB owner for two years and already you are crying salary cap! Your reason is the Yankee spending spree this off season. You buy your team for $424 million and you expect a salary cap or an increase in the luxury tax for teams that go over the salary threshold. Mark, you are barking up a tree that will come crashing down on you faster than ever!

Listen I am not a baseball statistician or an accountant, but I do see when a team has $80 million coming off its books after an unsuccessful season, not making the playoffs and making four million plus fans in NY unhappy, you have to spend to make them happy! The Yankees went out and filled the holes needed, three starting pitchers and a bat to supplant the loss of Giambi and Abreu.

The Yankees did that by signing Sabathia, Burnett, resigning Pettitte, and Big Tex. The funny fact is that the Yanks still have $10-15 million leftover and that does not include the $10 or so millions they set aside to spend most off seasons. My question is if you were the Yankees owner, what would you do?

Owners who stash money away for their own personal gain would not last long in the New York market. An owner like the late Carl Pohlad, the Lerner family and Peter Anglo's would be driven out of New York faster than a Red Sox fan at a Yankee World Series parade!

You are a new owner Mark. You nose is still wet and you are complaining. What are your complaints?? You can't afford C.C. or any other high priced free agent, but you go out and give Trevor Hoffman a $5 million plus salary to be your closer. Mark you were still a fan when Tom Hicks threw $250 million at ARod, not the Yankees, but the Rangers.

Hey Mark what about those Rockies throwing $100 million plus at Hampton or the Dodgers throwing $100 million plus at Brown. What team rescued those teams from financial oblivion? The New York Yankees, except for Hampton. Now don't get me wrong the Yankees have made some boneheaded signings in the past, Danny Tartabull, Kei Igawa, Carl Pavano, and more. They have paid for those signings!

Your complaints are about as valid as Citibank executives explaining the purchase of their new private jet. You paid $424 million knowing that you entered a world of money for players. You have a great nucleus and farm system. You are going to have to pay them at some point. Ryan Braun, Yovanni Gallardo, and Prince Fielder are going to command big money. Mark you have to understand, baseball is money!

What have you done with the money given to you from those teams that went over the payroll threshold. Can you account for every dollar given to you? Have you spent that money on your baseball team? How can you say that baseball is unfair.

First, the New York Yankees draw over four million fans and more will come once the new stadium opens in 2009. The Yankees have their own network, YES and just recently partnered with the Dallas Cowboys in a joint stadium concession company. Add some outside partnerships with the Yamauri Giants of the Japanese baseball league as well as Manchester United (soccer). That is smart business!

You have been an owner for two years! Two years and you have zero facts. Ask any New Yorker who bleeds pinstripes and ask them what if the Steinbrenner's kept most of their profits. What is they didn't put 75% of their profit back into their product? What would the Yankee faithful reaction be? The Steinbrenner's put their profits back into the team and look for ways to make money.

Take a page out of the Steinbrenner's book and look for ways to raise capital instead of sticking your "new" ownership hand out for more money! You want parity go own an NFL team!

Mark wake up and welcome to MLB! The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Angels, Phillies, and others are keeping MLB above water. Teams like the Royals, Twins, Marlins, Nationals, Padres, and Mariners are cutting back so much and all they are doing is taking hand outs! How come MLB does not have a system of checks and balances for teams that receive luxury tax money?

Why doesn't Bud get on those teams that take the money from the luxury taxes and pocket it? Why do the teams that spend get the rug pulled out from under them. I wonder if Mark will be upset when the Yankees come to Milwaukee and sell out Miller Park for three games of inter league play?

Baseball is a great sport and allowing these whiny new owners to come in and complain will ruin the scope of baseball! Look at the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. It took Michael Bidwell to turn this franchise around, because if it was up to his father the team would be in last place forever. Sometimes you need to compete to win, not just on the field, but in the front office.

Lastly, Mark the reason why other owners are not speaking up like you are is because they understand that the Yankees and the other teams I mentioned are what makes baseball the best sport in the world. Without the Yankees baseball would be blah! Look at the World Series TV numbers when the Yankees are not involved. Look at the 2000 World Series and tell me something...were you watching?

What if Mark Attansio was owner of the Yankees? If you do what you are doing in Milwaukee, well let us just say NY fans would burn you alive! The Steinbrenner's are not even the richest owners in baseball, but they give back to the fans, by taking their profits and getting players that will put more fannies in the seats!

They are a fan based ownership group. Sure they put more luxury boxes in the new stadium, but fans will come out to see the Yankees play and pay a lot of money for those seats. Why? They are loyal to their team. They know their money is not pocketed, but put back into their team!

Hey Mark just shut up and spend your money...UMM the Yankees money to be competitive. Like the old saying goes, the more time spent on worrying about another team only makes your team that less better! So relax and wait until the Yankees come to Milwaukee and make you more money than you have made in three months of the season before you open you big new owner mouth. Just shout your mouth newbie!

Merry Texmas and a Happy AJ and CC Year!!

Paul Vincent — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 11:00:51 -0500

Bronx, New York is a place full of surprises. Hey you never know what you may encounter in a place dubbed Da Bronx! You may get a rude answer if you asked for the right time or you may get a helping hand if you fall down. The Bronx is a place full of diversity, but the one common denominator is that in the Bronx around Hot Stove time all the attention is focused on the men who own/manage the pinstripes.

We New Yorkers get early Christmas presents and we can thank Steinbrenner Claus. He doesn't live in the South Pole, he lives in Tampa and sometimes makes an appearance in New York. This year Steinbrenner Claus brought three invaluable presents to the Yankee faithful. No need for stocking stuffers...well if your stocking is red, white and made in Boston, than your stocking was stuffed with panic and worry!

Mark Teixeria, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett will call New York their homes for many years to come! They will here more cheers than boos.

When C.C. takes the mound at the home opener in the new Yankee Stadium, he will hear a crowd so loud he would think he was Obama accepting the office of the president of the United States.

It does not stop there. When Big Tex walks to the plate as the number three hitter in this feared Yankee lineup, he will hear the same exact loud cheers that C.C. heard a half inning ago!

A.J. will have to wait for the next day, but he will be more prepared than C.C. and Tex for the ovation from the Bronx Bombers faithful. There will be no excuses after that first day. As far as Yankee fans go...once you signed your name on that "fat" contract you will do the right thing by the Yankee faithful every time you take the mound or step to the plate!!

The critics, mostly angry owners, feel the Yankees hierarchy have ruined the financial scope of baseball. The Brewers owner, the Marlins G.M., major league baseball and the dreaded Red Sox have taken their jabs at the Yankees spending. Not one peep has come out of the Yankee hierarchy mouths. You see they take their time before commenting on others comments. They choose their words.

Actually they do what my mother always says, "Think before you talk!" I have gone through various message boards and comment sections of newspapers and voiced my support of the signings by the Yankees. Here is my chance to voice my opinions to "legit" sports fans.

Yes the Yankees outbid themselves for the services of C.C. Sabathia, but that is the Yankee way. That is how they signed Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Dave Winfield. Blow the other teams offer out of the water and sign your man.

Funny, isn't that the way these baseball owners, who complain about the Yankee way, bought their teams? I mean what did the Brewers owner think when he bought the Brewers for $220 million, "I got me a team that will win the World Series for years to come"! Relax there Gordon Gecko! The first step is you buy the team, the second step is that you build the team to win.

Look at Dave Samson, Marlins G.M., complaining that the Yankees are bad for baseball. Well Mr. Samson aren't you the guy who sold most of your team after you won the 2001 World Series?

What gets me is the fact that the Yankees never complain when they had to hand out $143 million in revenue sharing cash to the bum teams that have low payrolls. My mantra in baseball is...what is Bud Selig doing about that system of checks and balances for teams that receive the revenue sharing money? I mean there is a system of checks and balances for those teams who go over the salary threshold, but not for those who ge the money.

It was once written that Carl Pohlad, Twins owner, gave out his revenue sharing money as Christmas bonuses. Pohlad is a Forbes lister, the Steinbrenners are not. For all the angry baseball owners who want change to the current agreement with the players union, you will not get the change you want. The only change that will make these unhappy owners happy is a salary cap and baseball will NEVER have a salary cap. Let me repeat....NEVER!! The baseball players union is the strongest in sports. They will not budge and they will never give in to a salary cap.

Enough of this salary cap talk. Now on to how these Yankee signings are going to help out the 2009 New York Yankees.

First, C.C. brings the Yankees a legit ace. Big lefty, doesn't get hurt, pitches 200 plus innings and is a gamer! He will anchor this rotation for many years, but the question will arise in two years...will C.C. pull an ARod and pull out of his deal after three years? If he does, well he won't get the kind of cash from other teams that he has from the Yankees.

You can forget about C.C. doing that because he will have fun pitching in New York. ARod may even pull him aside and tell C.C. that he shouldn't do that...hey look at what it did for ARod, it gave him the worst press of his life!

Second, A.J. will anchor the second spot in the Yankee rotation. How fortunate is it for the Yankees to have two number one starters. Sure A.J. has not pitched more than 200 innings twice. He has a hot wife and when she sees all the endorsement deals she will get, she will not regret leaving Canada for the bright lights of New York. Let us just hope she does not turn out to be another Anna Benson!

Finally, Big Tex is the signing I have wanted from day one. He will protect ARod and make this Yankee lineup more potent than ever. I say more potent than the lineups of the late 90's. He reminds me of Paul O'Neill, I know..stop comparing these new Yankees to Yankees of the past! He is a gamer and will solidify the Yankee lineup for many years. He makes the Yankee lineup deadly, almost as deadly as the Manny/Ortiz combo that terrorized pitchers in the American League and in the World Series. Only Big Tex has more class and passion for the game in his left pinkie than Manny has in his body!

There will be HUGE microscopes on these three when the season starts (is that an oxymoron)!! The New York media, especially Mr. Lupica of the Daily News, will watch every pitch and every swing as if they were checking election boxes in Haiti! These three will not resemble past signings like Andy Hawkins, Dave LaPoint, Steve Kemp, Dave Collins, Danny Tartabull, Jason Giambi, Eddie "Seat Cushion" Whitson and more.

These signings were properly calculated. Brian Cashman is no bum, sure he signed Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano, but every G.M. has made their fair share of mistakes. Cash was smart in signing these three. He has put his name atop the list of G.M's of the year for 2009.

I know one thing..these three signings will be talked about for many years to come and they won't have any negatives attached to them. They will succeed and hopefully bring back the World Series trophy where it belongs...to the best fans in the world...New York Yankees fans!!

What The WWE Needs to Do to Get Me Watching Them Religiously Again!!

Paul Vincent — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:54:44 -0500

An open opinion to Vincent K. McMahon.

I have been a wrestling fan-atic since I was 8 years old. I am 37 now, so you do the math! I have seen great matches in my time.....the Booker T. and Benoit series, The Road Warriors vs. The Midnight Express, Ric Flair vs. Sting, The Von Erichs vs. The Freebirds, Bruno Samartino vs. Larry Z., Sabu vs. RVD, The Eliminators vs. The Gangstas, Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer and more. The WWE had the attitude era in the late 90's to combat the monster WCW/NWO phenomenon. The days of DX, Stone Cold and others has diminshed. The days of ECW are really gone. The ECW product on TV now is a joke...a HUGE JOKE!!! The only time I get to go back to the good ole' days is by watching WWE 24/7, the greatest on demand channel in the world!!

Vince, bring back the attitude era. Screw the network and the potential loss of commercial revenue, go back to what made you the most watched program(s) on TV. You should have let ECW stay dead or use your head and bring it back to the way we all remember.....totally EXTREME!!! The current wrestling on TV today is predictable and boring. John Cena wins the belt at Sundays Survivor Series and guess what happens Monday....yup a rematch. Smackdown is a joke. Vicki Guerrero is a jobber and has no skills at all except her elementary School nun comment, "Excuse me"!! What a bore. Edge comes back and wins the belt. Whatever happened to building up the wrestler to get a title shot. This comeback from a long hiatus and win the belt is so dumb!

Vince, maybe you need to watch WWE 24/7 to get the gist of what your product(s) should be like. Why not do a PPV that resembles the NWA "Wrestle War". Two rings and two teams. You know Vince like the Horsemen vs. a Dusty Rhodes team. Why aren't these old school wrestlers who write for Vince open their mouths! Are they scared? They shouldn't be because guys like Michael Hayes and Dusty Rhodes know what it takes to put/write the scripts for good shows. Vince is going deaf! Listen to the fans Vince.

Wrestling will never be like the old ECW days, where Paul Heyman put on great shows with blood, barbed wire, fire tables and half naked chicks. Heyman revolutionized wrestling. He threw out the arm bars and headlocks and replaced them with top rope frog splashes and table tossing matches. Vince and Bischoff tried to duplicate the ECW product, but realized the wrestlers they had in camp were incapable of executing these matches. So what did they do? They raided ECW and threw money at Heyman's boys. Well Vince there are no more guys for you to throw money out to enhance your product, because you monopolized wrestling (TNA is an infant next to the WWE).

Here is what Vince needs to do!! First, goodbye ECW. Trash it! When ECW came back on TV I knew it was going to be crap. How??? When I see 6-7 year old kids in the audience at an ECW show and not those three clowns in the front row (the two drunk old guys, one guy wore a straw hat and the other guy had a gray mustache and sunglasses, and the black long haired Howard Stern look alike with dark sunglasses). How can you be edgy when you have young kids in the audience.

Second, get rid of the general managers! Who cares if each show has a GM. They are a waste and usually have ZERO talent. Wrestling is about..well wrestling..not about one power head who changes matches five seconds before it starts or who interferes in matches to get their boy over! I believe WCW started that and boy was that a big mistake!

Lastly, do what made you what you were in the late 90's. Get crazy, bring back tag team wrestling, start new factions, bring back managers and their stables. What I would do to see a manager and his stable of wrestlers running into the ring when one of their own is almost losing his title. Bring back factions/managers like Cornette and the Midnight Express, The Horsemen w/JJ Dillon, Akbar's "Devastation Incorporated", The Freebirds and so many more. Come on Vince your wrestling is too predictable and it well.....STINKS!!!

I truly feel that wrestling has catered to the young kids and the new age fans. Vince is screwing the true fans..the old schoolers!! I could predict the outcome of every match on Raw/Smackdown and be 90% correct. How can you entertain people when they can almost predict your entire product! Please Vince.....bring back wrestling. Bring back the product that made you #1 after 50 something weeks being second! Stop resting on your laurels and put the taste back into wrestling. Raw is War..no Raw is Predictable. Smackdown is on a major network, so you know it is a watered down product with bad gimmicks and bad matches. I do not know about the rest of the Bleacher Report Wrestling fans, but Vince has killed the sport of wrestling. I wish I could sit on a mountain of cash and not care about how I got the cash to sit on!!!

Creating a Monster in Da Bronx!

Paul Vincent — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:12:52 -0500

Is it me or is it hot?...oh, yes, that's right, it's MLB hot stove time. I mean, hot stove is, well,...AMAZING! I find myself checking every Web site, and all I get is re-worded articles, but I still love it. My future wife lets me hot stove, but for compensation, I have to watch a few episodes of Real Housewives of Atlanta on DVR.

I have a plan for Yankees GM Brian Cashman.

First: I throw the house at CC (Sabathia).

CC is an American League guy and it will only take a Brandon Webb sinker to make him rethink about wanting to bat. CC guarantees 200-plus innings, 120-plus strikeouts, a low ERA, and a respectable walks/hits per inning. He is the guy you build a staff around.

He sprouted in '07, and with Yankee media, he will be a darling in New York—you know, the way Johan Santana of the Mets was supposed to be over in Flushing, Queens.

He is almost a guaranteed a playoff spot. Yeah, I know we didn't make it in '08, but CC seems to thrive in big-game situations. In New York, he will get those big-game situations.

Imagine CC buzzing Big Papi (David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox) after Jeter gets plunked by a 52 mpg Wakefield fastball! Seriously, CC would look great in pinstripes and the Yankees have an XL size available (remember Mr. David Wells).

Second: Get Tex, get Tex, get Tex.

Mark Teixeira will save runs with his sparkling "D" at first. He's a switch-hitter with power and opposite-field pop. He is young and a good friend of A-Rod's—a Madonna-Sandra Bernhardt double-date could be in his future!

Tex is an East Coaster and has made it know he wants to play closer to home. He's worth the seven-to-eight-year deal that Cashman throws at agent Scott Boras. Cash can convince many agents to take a lesser year deal and throw more money in the mix to make it juicy! Tex will make the Yankees so much more dangerous, and A-Rod will salivate at the pitches he will see.

Last: I am a big Brian Roberts fan.

He's the leadoff guy Yankees manager Joe Girardi craves. He hits, he steals bases, and his "D" is very underrated. He can be had. All Cash has to do is promise Angels owner Steve Angelos that he will be his GM in 2015.

Seriously, Roberts is the leadoff hitter the Yanks need. You drop Johnny Damon to the ninth hole. The possible OPS (on-base plus slugging) for the team—hell, you'd need a slew of sabermatricians to calculate that number. Robinson Cano and either Marquez, Coke or other "Mulenized" (I have dibs on "Mulenized," named after over-hyped Hensley "Bam-Bam" Mulens, Yankees' super prospect) Yankee prospects. Call me crazy, but anything is possible.

Well, as my first article closes, I ask you, the Yankee fan: What is your opinion? I just glanced over some possible moves the Yankees could or should make.

I don't want to let all the magic flow in my first article. I hope you enjoy! Thank you for your time and responses.

As a cancer survivor, I always end my day with a thanks to the sports world, you were part of the rehabilitation process.