Bleacher Report - Articles by Pat Murray

Will the Yankees Experience April Showers of Boos in 2009?

Pat Murray — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:31:08 -0400

Despite an offseason full of free agent splashes, the Yankees could be in for another April belly flop.

Sure, the additions of Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett automatically make the Yankees an improved team, but there are substantial questions as the calendar flips.

A distracted Alex Rodriguez is one thing, but putting him on the shelf for the season’s first six to nine weeks is quite another. General manager Brian Cashman is sticking with farmhand Cody Ransom for, if nothing else, the lack of available free agent third basemen.

Jorge Posada, who had offseason surgery of his own, is projected to fill the void at cleanup in the batting order where Rodriguez would have hit. Posada has hit the ball hard so far this spring, but for a catcher coming off shoulder surgery, who knows if he is ready for the wear and tear of major league catching duties?

Just ask Jason Giambi and Tino Martinez how hard it is to transition to being the starting first baseman for the Yankees. Both players were respectively showered with boos due to a lack of production in their first months in pinstripes. For a historically slow starter, Teixeira may want to find a way to come out swinging (and hitting) or invest in a pair of earplugs.

Robinson Cano has shown he can be one of the best hitters in the league. After all, he is only two seasons removed from hitting .342 and driving in 78 runs. Cano turned heads in 2008 as well, but not in a good way. Coming off his worst of four seasons in the big leagues, Cano will have to find his game again.

The infielders aren’t the only position players with question marks. The Yankees, whose outfielders have historically been the bread and butter of the lineup, may be fielding one of the weakest units in the league.

Xavier Nady fit the team well last year after coming over from the Pirates, and it seemed as though he would take over for the departing free agent Bobby Abreu. The addition of Nick Swisher has put some heat on Nady as the two have battled thus far in the spring for the starting job.

If Posada is used as a designated hitter instead of the everyday catcher, left fielder Hideki Matsui may be reduced to a pinch-hitting role. Though still a big bat in the lineup, Matsui’s failing knees give him decreased mobility for one of the more difficult left fields in baseball.

Johnny Damon’s arm was never an attribute in his game. With his arm weaker than ever, he can no longer play an everyday center field.

The speedy Brett Gardner has shown great range and hustle in the field and the ability to steal a base at will. The only problem for Gardner is getting on base. In the past Gardner has not been able to hit at a major league level. So far in the spring, however, Gardner is hitting over .380 and has even shown bursts of power. But is he capable of carrying over his success in spring training to the regular season and start in center field?

Maybe it’s time for Gardner to get his shot and reduce Melky Cabrera to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Then of course, there is the pitching staff. If ever there was a year for the Bombers to have a power outage on offense to let their starting pitching carry them along, it’s this season. The team leader in wins (Mike Mussina) decided to retire after the only 20-win season of his career, but Yankees have surely gained more than they have lost since last year.

Remember Chien-Ming Wang? The constant in the rotation that was lost to a freak injury while running the bases during interleague play versus Houston? Welcome back Chien-Ming, but you’ve been reduced to the second starter.

Sabathia and Burnett came to the Yankees via free agency, but as history serves, touted arms in New York are often demoralized by the pressure.

Sabathia has shown that he can carry a team on his hefty back, and the guidance of Roy Halladay seemed to help Burnett improve. The ever-accurate Wang will still be old reliable, and even a declining Andy Pettitte is one heck of a fourth or fifth starter.

The biggest mistake the Yankees are making is dropping Joba Chamberlain into a starting role.

Lightning isn’t supposed to strike twice, and apparently the Yankees have no intentions of finding out if it will. The potential one-two punch of Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera to shut the door on games is reminiscent of the Rivera-John Wetteland combo of 1996. Instead, Chamberlain is inked in as a starter, where he has previously shown only limited success.

Pitching, not hitting, may have to be the Yankees' saving grace this whole season, not just April.

In the past three Aprils, the Yankees have posted a dismal 26-39 record, only finishing the month above .500 in 2006. With many unanswered questions and a gaping hole the size of A-Rod’s contract left in the middle of the lineup, this trend shows no sign of halting.

Long Live the King: NFL's Road to Demise Starts Here

Pat Murray — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:12:02 -0400

The NFL could not be in a better position. Americans crave football more than any other sport in existence.

What other sport could bring respective fans together at their office water-coolers on Monday mornings to either hang their heads in shame or cash in on bragging rights? What sport has attention year-round, and when in season, coverage around the clock?

Perched high above any other sport in America, football is king. So why would the NFL jeopardize its crown and possibly lose its reign?

The answer is greed.

How naive of us to think the blue-collar sport of football would relieve us from the issues that have lead to the decline in popularity of other sports. Get ready for an acronym like "PSL" to be as ugly to football fans as the word "strike".

Personal Seat Licenses are sweeping the land, affecting nearly half of NFL teams, and are either already in place or will be with the opening of new stadiums.

Notable teams include the Dallas Cowboys and the 2008 Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. The PSLs are a one-time fee in order to exclusively own your seat(s). It doesn't sound so bad. It actually makes the license sound like a good thing or profitable investment. Don't be fooled.

For fans eager to step inside Jerry Jones' monstrosity, or the Mistake in the Meadowlands Stadium, they'll have to get ready to pony up some serious cash, in addition to the cost of tickets for 10 games, which by the way, will be climbing as well.

Owners claim that the building costs are incredibly affected by the poor economy, and are too substantial for the multi-billionaires to take the hit. Instead, they are passing the buck to the fans. How noble.

Since the Giants share their stadium with the New York Jets, Jets fans will be hit with the PSL as well.

How do you explain it to the loyal Jets fans that have so faithfully put up with mediocrity for all but one fateful year? These fans toughed it out through the days at Shea Stadium, and then walked into a stadium with another team's name on it to serve as a bitter reminder of being second-class tenants.

Now tell them that because of their fanaticism, they're being slapped with an ultimatum: make with the dough or thanks for the years of business.

It must be the costs of all those Super Bowl appearances and Championship parades since 1969.

What a time for such a trend to start. Gas prices soar, stocks plummet, but there is money to be made for people that can't think of what else to do with it.

NFL owners, here is your reminder that pride comes before the fall. In this case, your hubris is greed. In the kingdom that is the NFL, as usual, the fans come out as the jokers.

Roger Clemens Stumbles through Congressional Hearings in D.C.

Pat Murray — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:04:32 -0500

Roger Clemens is guilty of taking steroids.

That’s Brian McNamee’s story and he’s sticking to it…for now.

For nearly five hours, Clemens and McNamee were bombarded before Cogress with questions aimed at their respective credibilities. McNamee’s brief, unclear answers raised eyebrows, while Clemens occasionally fumbled his words.

Each of the Representatives used at least their allotted five minutes to question Clemens and McNamee, with most surpassing the time limit to make their points. Politics looked to play a crucial roll in questioning. Most Republicans seemed to sympathize with Clemens, while the Democrats' interrogations were very harsh.

It's clear that McNamee has lied about his accounts of events in locker rooms and in training sessions. Still, Clemens is the one with the cards stacked against him.

McNamee has hard evidence in the form of blood-stained syringes used in injecting Clemens. “The Rocket” has admitted to being injected by McNamee, but with B-12 vitamin shots only.

Longtime friend and teammate, Andy Pettitte came clean, admitting he used human growth hormone (HGH) to recover more quickly from a mid-season injury. He has also gone on record saying that Clemens was also guilty of using HGH, doing away with Clemens' last shred of credibility.

Although Pettitte received praise for admitting his guilt right away, the fact is he's still guilty.

As if being accused by the two athletes closest you isn’t enough, Roger’s wife, Debbie Clemens, has also admitted to receiving shots of HGH obtained through McNamee.

Still, through all of this, Clemens has maintained his innocence.

“It’s hard to believe you, sir,” said Rep. of Maryland Elijah Cummings. “I hate to say that. You’re one of my heroes, but it’s hard to believe.”

It is indeed hard to believe.

For the seven-time Cy Young Award winner to prove his innocence, he will have to explain just why Pettitte would lie to Congress in a statement attesting to Clemens' use of HGH, which he was unable to do Wednesday afternoon.

The testimony of the Clemens’ family nanny will also stir the pot. She allegedly was involved in the visit to Jose Canseco’s home in Florida where it is believed that steroids usage was discussed. It is also believed that Clemens may have tampered with this witness, meeting with her prior to his hearing.

It was clear that McNamee faced more scrutiny in front of Congress, even being called a “drug dealer” by Connecticut Republican, Christopher Shays.

Throughout the afternoon, the hearings were generally respectful until Rep. Shays took a shot at McNamee, which Chairman Henry Waxman later apologized for.

During the Chairman’s concluding statement, Clemens interrupted, defending himself. In response, the chairman slammed down his gavel and stated that it was not Clemens’ time to argue.

Though a good portion of the day was spent inside the House, the only new fact emerging was that the Representatives had a sense of humor. One Representative brought up a previous Congressional hearing in which a player mysteriously forgot how to speak English, referring to Sammy Sosa’s appearance on Capital Hill.

The session did not uncover anything new regarding the investigation and neither McNamee nor Clemens budged from their stance of mutual accusation.

Should Clemens be found guilty of perjury?

There is a good chance that he will stand trial. Clearly, every little move he makes will be noticed by the watchful federal government.

Waxman has stated that Congress will not play as large a role in these proceedings from here on out, but it does not mean that investigation has ended.

Clemens is a statistical lock for the Hall of Fame. With 354 wins in his 24 year career, he ranks at an all-time eighth. He is second all-time in strikeouts with 4,672, and was an eleven-time All-Star.

But these numbers will mean nothing with this scandal looming overhead.

Shades of Pete Rose emerge with every denial. Roger, do the right thing and come clean.