3193 replies to this topic

[mitchells]

Going Friday night, fingers crossed on the weather.

It'll be really cold. It'll seem even colder because Verlander is pitching for the Tigers.

Warm up to one of those Lobels steak sandwiches and a $12.75 Guinness

[Wilfrid]

I didn't notice it was Verlander's start when I bought the tickets. Got a heavy coat with me.

[Lex]

I speak from the perspective of someone who has attended more than my share of April and early May night games. It may sound silly but I suggest you bring gloves an an additional sweater.

[Wilfrid]

You are talking to someone who has watched cricket in England in April. That requires sitting in stadiums with much less insulation, for as long as six hours.

[Wilfrid]

Brutally cold in the stands; but since attendance was understandably low, ended up watching most of the game close-up, from the field-level concourse. The Lobel's sandwich has some good beef, but I am a little tired of brioche rolls.

Good game.

[Lex]

Even Verlander can have a bad game. And Jeter is just on fire. Great to see.

You could have used those gloves and a sweater.

[Steve R.]

Lex -

Sorry, but I haven't been paying much attention lately and I can't seem to find the most recent stats. I very much want to know how far Wright has pulled away from ARod in RBIs. Could you update me? Just on RBIs please, since you insisted that this was the only category that you and Wilf were betting on. Geez, I hope Wright doesn't have an insurmountable lead already.




eta: never mind.... I found them. Wright: 10 A-Rod: 9


just saying'

[Lex]

Rodriguez gets a couple of RBIs and you pop up.



It appears A-Rod has caught the Teixeira disease. Decent RBI production, low batting average. I guess they expect Jeter to carry the whole team on his back.

[Wilfrid]

Right, and Cano's about the worst offensive second baseman in the game, while Swisher is projected to have 179 RBIs and 34 home runs.

I know you need something to hold your interest, but I think we should get a little sun on our backs. I don't even think Jeter is going to finish the season batting over .500.

[Lex]

Steve, because you asked.

[Wilfrid]

I'm afraid you're out of date already.

By the way, did you see A-Rod just passed Willie Mays for RBIs? That puts him #8 on the list. I think David Wright is around #530, but obviously A-Rod has been around longer.

When Wright has been around as long as A-Rod, if he keeps up his production, he should be in the top 40. Something for you to look forward to.

[Lex]

I'm afraid you're out of date already.

By the way, did you see A-Rod just passed Willie Mays for RBIs? That puts him #8 on the list. I think David Wright is around #530, but obviously A-Rod has been around longer.

When Wright has been around as long as A-Rod, if he keeps up his production, he should be in the top 40. Something for you to look forward to.

Well here, let me fix that for you. A-Rod had 2 RBIs yesterday. Guess what? So did David Wright. And Wright is hitting a ton too. Almost .400.



From time to time I need to bring this discussion back to my original point. It doesn't matter that A-Rod was really really good 10 years ago. It's about who you'd rather have on your team right now. Assuming that A-Rod stays healthy (and that's a major assumption) he'll be pretty productive but he won't be knocking in 156 runs again. The past doesn't matter.

What he *will* be doing is cashing checks for $30 million this year. He's being paid as if he was still great. He's not any more. It would sure be nice for the Yankees if they had some of that money back. They could afford to sign some people to replace Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes. Or hang on to Nick Swisher next year. Instead they'll be giving that money to A-Rod.

Right now, in 2012, I'd rather have David Wright.

[Wilfrid]

It's about who you'd rather have on your team right now.

That was indeed the original point, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to remind you that your answer was A-Rod, assuming they were both fully fit.

This is very convoluted way of trying to live down a moment of brutal honesty. I readily grant that A-Rod, who has had ten more years of MLB than David Wright, is seven years older, and is dealing with chronic injuries, is a much bigger gamble when it comes to fitness.

But you know in your heart that ten years from now, Wright is not going to have put up figures remotely comparable with A-Rod, because -- as the salaries reflect, and yes, doubtless exaggerate -- he's not as good a player.

[Wilfrid]

I might add that A-Rod isn't being paid for RBIs. His package, which everyone agrees was mistakenly over-generous, is based in large part on the revenue he can generate as he cruises past milestone after milestone. As we saw over the weekend, he's going to continue to do that, even if he's not the player he was.

[Lex]

Since we're reminding each other of things we said, I'll also mention that I never said that Wright would have a better career than A-Rod. Only that he's a better player right now. Especially in light of A-Rod's ridiculous salary. You know how long the Yankees are going to be paying A-Rod the big bucks? Until the end of 2017.

At this point, based on what I'm seeing out of Wright, I think he's going to have better numbers than Rodriguez. He's seeing the ball really well and when he doesn't get anything good to hit he's walking. He's got the best OBP in baseball.

I really was going to lay off the whole Lex-o-Matic thing for a couple of weeks until you and Steve both needled me. How about a truce until mid-May?