Posted: 30 Sep 2013 06:50 PM PDT
Here's the latest from The Associated Press on the Alex Rodriguez situation.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The grievance to overturn Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension began Monday before arbitrator Fredric Horowitz.
The New York Yankees third baseman was wearing a business suit and accompanied by lawyers when he arrived for the session at Major League Baseball's headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
A three-time AL MVP, Rodriguez was suspended Aug. 5 for alleged violations of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. Because he's a first offender under the drug program and the players' association filed a grievance to force an appeal, a suspension can't start until it is upheld by an arbitrator.
The union argues the discipline is without just cause and is excessive. If the case doesn't settle, a decision by Horowitz is expected this winter.
Rodriguez was among 14 players penalized by MLB this year following the sport's investigation of Biogenesis of America, a closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. The others accepted their penalties, including former NL MVP Ryan Braun, who missed the season's final 65 games.
Biogenesis head Anthony Bosch was at the hearing to testify -- a publicist released a photo of him in a hallway outside MLB's conference rooms.
In Florida, state authorities said they had started a criminal investigation of the clinic.
"A subpoena was issued for documents, and we are looking into several areas of state interest," said Ed Griffith, spokesman for Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
Existence of the state prosecutors' criminal subpoena was disclosed at a recent hearing in MLB's lawsuit in Miami against Biogenesis, also pending in Miami-Dade County court. It's not known whom the subpoena targeted or what specific documents are being sought.
A federal probe involves the sources of drugs the clinic is accused of selling to players.
Associated Press photo
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Posted: 30 Sep 2013 03:50 PM PDT
I got back to New York from Houston around noon today, and I elected not to join the sidewalk crew waiting for Alex Rodriguez and his legal team to emerge from the Major League Baseball offices. Looks like that was the right call. Apparently their post hearing comments were limited to this:
"Thank you, thank you, great, thank you."
"It went well."
The hearing continues tomorrow. But obviously A-Rod and his team have paint a pretty clear picture of what's going on behind those closed doors.
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Posted: 30 Sep 2013 01:55 PM PDT
The Yankees season is over, and so it feels like the full baseball offseason should begin within a day or two; maybe a couple of weeks at most.
But as we wrap up the month of September, it's important to remember that the World Series doesn't start until October 23. That's more than three weeks away, and real free agency -- players being allowed to sign with other clubs -- doesn't begin until six days after the World Series ends.
If the World Series goes seven games, free agency won't truly begin until the middle of the first week of November.
In other words, it's going to be a while.
"Now is when the vacation starts," Robinson Cano said. "And then later on, sit with family and see what decision we're going to make and see what's going to happen."This is my first time in this kind of process. I just have to wait until next month and see if it's stressful how it is. I cannot tell you if it's something (to be) excited or what it is."
Obviously some offseason maneuvering will happen before players hit the open market -- Joe Girardi, for example, could be re-signed by then -- but an early end to the season means a long wait for what's next. The Yankees could re-sign Cano before he hits the open market, but all indications are that the two sides are far apart, and it's going to take something overwhelming to keep Cano from testing the waters.
How could Cano vacation at a time like this? Well, why wouldn't he? Last night he was asked whether he's willing to wait two months or more before making a decision.
"Yeah," he said. "What else are you going to do?"
He was also asked if an opportunity like this -- to let the market dictate his full value -- is what he's worked for all of these years. Hasn't the preparation and production simply led him to this moment?
"That's not a thing that you work on and play this game (for)," he said. "When you like this game, you play this game and you never think about the money. You've got to go through a process -- minor leagues, and then you hope to make it to the big leagues -- and when you make it, all that's on your mind is picturing myself to be able to play here for a lot of years. I was here with Jeter and A-Rod, Mariano, Posada, Bernie, Giambi, all those guys. All your mind is, I want to be one of them one day and be able to stay in the game for so long."
He's stayed in the game long enough. Now it's time to wait a little longer.
Associated Press photo
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Posted: 30 Sep 2013 12:12 PM PDT
A bit of not-Yankee-specific news in the middle of the day: Bud Selig has named Rob Manfred the COO of Major League Baseball, which seems to set Manfred as the clear favorite to replace Selig as commissioner in 2015. Here's the announcement from the league:
Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig has begun the transition process in preparation for his retirement in January 2015 by appointing Robert D. Manfred, Jr. as the new Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball, he announced today. The promotion is effective immediately.
Manfred, who has worked for Major League Baseball since 1998, most recently served as Executive Vice President for Economics & League Affairs, responsible for major economic matters such as revenue sharing and the debt service rule, as well as franchise-specific matters involving the 30 Major League Clubs. From 1998-2012, he was MLB's Executive Vice President for Labor Relations & Human Resources. In both capacities, Manfred has managed all issues related to collective bargaining with the Major League Baseball Players Association, including the successful renewals of the Basic Agreement in 2002, 2006 and 2011. Manfred works closely with Club management executives and has addressed a variety of the industry's economic, governance and policy issues, including the sport's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The appointment of a Chief Operating Officer reorganizes Central Baseball's senior management structure. In preparing for his retirement, Selig will continue to lead the industry and will focus on significant Baseball policy matters. As a part of the transition, Manfred will now oversee day-to-day management of the Commissioner's Office in New York.
"The reorganization of our management team will facilitate an orderly transition and will position Major League Baseball's operations for sustained prosperity well into the future," Commissioner Selig said. "I have the utmost confidence in Rob to excel at his expanded duties and to help the industry maintain its extraordinary growth and vitality.
"Rob has tremendous institutional knowledge and first-hand experience with many of our most complex matters, including labor, revenue sharing, competitive balance and the most comprehensive drug program in American professional sports. I am pleased that I will work with him even more closely in the near future."
Prior to joining MLB full-time in 1998, Manfred was a partner in the Labor and Employment Law section of the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, with which he served Baseball as outside counsel. Manfred, 55, is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School. He and his wife, Colleen, have four children.
Manfred said: "I thank Commissioner Selig for placing his faith in me. The opportunity to serve the Clubs in this new position is a distinct honor. I have taken great pride in working closely with the Commissioner and supporting the many outstanding initiatives implemented during his tenure. All of us at Major League Baseball look forward to assisting Commissioner Selig during his transition process in preparation for his retirement."
Associated Press photo
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Posted: 30 Sep 2013 10:11 AM PDT
The Yankees first free agent decision won't involve Robinson Cano or Curtis Granderson or Hiroki Kuroda. It will be their manager: Deciding whether the team wants Joe Girardi back, and whether Girardi wants to come back.
"It comes down to family," Girardi said. "We've talked about it, but we'll sit down and actually have a real pow-wow around the dinner table probably is what we'll do, and then we'll go from there."
Girardi's options might have opened today when the Cubs fired Dale Sveum, but surprisingly, Girardi downplayed his Chicago connections yesterday. I say it was surprising largely from a negotiation standpoint. You'd think Girardi would could at least use Chicago as leverage with the Yankees, but he did not sound especially interested in going back to the area where he grew up, went to college and made his Major League debut.
"Our home has been here (in Westchester)," Girardi said. "My kids are engrossed in schools here. We haven't been to Chicago since -- haven't lived there since 2006. The only person who's really there, my brother's still there, a couple brothers are there, (but) my father's gone, my mother's gone. There's not as much there as there used to be."
Indications are that the Yankees like Girardi, and even in this non-playoff season he is surely going to appear on some Manager of the Year ballots. Girardi is a by-the-book kind of manager, and the Yankees seem to appreciate that he has a calculated reason for his decisions.
As for Girardi's side of the decision, he opened the possibility of doing something outside of baseball, possibly a return to broadcasting -- perhaps as a on FOX? -- but Girardi also admitted that he hasn't really envisioned himself doing anything other than managing next year. It also seems to be worth noting that his kids are 14, 11 and 7 years old now, old enough that uprooting the family might be a little more difficult than in the past. TV might not require such a move out of the New York area.
"I have to make sure that everyone is taken care of," Girardi said. "I wouldn't think (debating a decision) would go too long. It's not my personality to drag things out. I'm always a guy that likes to know what I'm going to do the next day."
A few more from yesterday's conversation about Girardi's contract situation.
CONCERNED THE YANKEES WON'T BE GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN NEXT SEASON?
"There's no challenge that really scares me, that I would ever shy away from, so that has very little impact on it whatsoever.It's not like you're cutting the payroll down to $60 million. It's still a pretty high number. There's a substantial amount of money coming off the books too just because of free agency and some players retiring. I'm sure it will be a busy winter, but a good winter."
DO YOU THINK THE FRONT OFFICE VALUES YOUR OPINION IN THE OFFSEASON?
"I'm at the Winter Meetings, and there's discussions about what we're trying to do, and I'm able to voice my opinion. I've always been able to voice my opinion. That's never ever been a problem. There are going to be things, always, that people don't agree on. I'm okay with that. My job is to manage the players that I'm given, and that's what I'm going to do."
HAVE YOU ENJOYED ALL THAT COMES WITH BEING MANAGER OF THE YANKEES?
"I've really enjoyed it. You learn a lot about yourself as a person. You learn a lot about what it's like to sit in the chair. I've really enjoyed it. I've really enjoyed my time here, as a player, as a broadcaster, as a manager. As someone who wasn't sure about New York when I came, it's a wonderful place.I think the competitiveness is here on a yearly basis, a weekly basis, a daily basis. There's no doubt about it. And there's expectations no matter what, which I've always had, too. So there is definitely a match there."
HARDER TO REPLACE MIKE STANLEY AT CATCHER OR JOE TORRE AS MANAGER?
"Initially, it was probably Mike Stanley. There was a lot more heat on me following Mike Stanley, it seemed like, than following Joe Torre in the beginning. I've never been booed like that. I went to the FanFest and got booed. I was like, 'Man, I haven't even done anything yet!' I got booed at the Welcome Home Dinner. It took about a month and a half.I think it was when Doc Gooden threw his no-hitter (that opinion turned). It just kind of seemed to change. No, Joe Girardi wasn't going to hit home runs like Mike Stanley did, but he was there for a different purpose. I tried the first month, but it didn't work real well."
GIVEN THE POTENTIAL VOLATILITY OF THIS JOB, SURPRISED TO BE HERE THIS LONG?
"I didn't take the job to stay here a year. I envisioned that I would be here. I did. I'm a guy that's a creature of habit and thinks that things are going to be that way for a long, long time. You can go back to when I was a player, I thought I would be in one place for a long time and that changed a number of times. That's just how I think."
Associated Press photos
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Posted: 30 Sep 2013 08:22 AM PDT
The regular season just ended. The offseason drama begins right away.
Today is Day 1 of Alex Rodriguez's appeal hearing. It's expected to last several days while Rodriguez's lawyers argue against Major League Baseball, each side pleading its case to an independent arbitrator who will decide whether Rodriguez serves all, none or part of a 211-game suspension stemming from his connection to the Biogenesis clinic.
"I'll be there every day," Rodriguez said. "I'm fighting for my life and my whole legacy. I should be there."
This hearing will determine how much Rodriguez is allowed to play -- and how much the Yankees have to pay -- next season. The ramifications are obvious for both the player and the team, a pivotal offseason event beginning on the offseason's very first day.
"Obviously this is going to be a grueling process all the way through," Rodriguez said. "(After) it's completely over, I told you guys (during a rehab assignment) in Trenton that you'll hear the full story when the time is right for me. That time is not just now."
It's interesting that Rodriguez actually had a sort of return-to-form season before hamstring and calf injuries sapped his power and mobility down the stretch. He was plenty productive for about a month and a half, suggesting he could be a legitimate help to the Yankees next season. But at what cost? The Yankees need offensive help, and Rodriguez might be able to provide it, but it's still pretty easy to think the Yankees would be better off getting his contract off the books and searching for a third baseman fill-in elsewhere.
"I think I was pleasantly surprised while I was healthy the first month," Rodriguez said. "I was able to move around well at third, drive the ball, improve my hitting against right-handed (pitchers), hit balls that are 95-plus; all things I wasn't able to do the year before. Those things, you build on those. I look forward to immediately getting into the hard-core workouts to help this team win again."
These next few days will determine whether Rodriguez is actually allowed to do that.
Associated Press photo
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Posted: 30 Sep 2013 05:59 AM PDT
Mariano Rivera seemed at peace with it all, and maybe that's to be expected. He's always been calm and controlled at the end.
"I would say we worked hard the whole year," he said. "Now, it's over. There's a sense of relief, yes.Definitely, I've been ready for this moment. I'm OK with it. I'm happy with it. Move on."
For some, that's a lot easier said than done.
Tonight the Rays and Rangers play a tiebreaker to determine which team plays a wild-card play-in game on Wednesday. It's not an ideal situation for either team, but it's a better situation than the Yankees are in right now. They finished tied with the Orioles for third place in the American League East, a full six games out of the wild card. The Royals had a better record than the Yankees.
There were positives to this season, and a case could be made that the Yankees overachieved considering all the injuries. Of course, a case could also be made that the Yankees were ill-prepared -- in terms of depth and minor league talent -- to deal with those injuries. And certainly we'll spend some time this winter looking back at the things that went wrong along the way. Today, though, we follow Rivera's lead and move on into the uncertainty of this offseason.
"I don't know who's going to be here next year," Derek Jeter said. "I have no idea. I can't comment on next year. I don't even know if the manager and coaches are free agents too, so anything I would say about next year would be premature and speculation."
Truth is, there aren't many answers about next season. So how do we start dealing with the offseason's many questions? Well, it starts today.
* This is the first day of Alex Rodriguez's appeal hearing, the first step toward finding out how much time he'll miss -- and how much he'll be paid -- next season.
* Joe Girardi will meet with ownership in the next few days to discuss whether or not he returns at Yankees manager. Larry Rothschild's contract also expires this offseason, and
* Free agency will pluck a group of key Yankees off the roster. Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Hiroki Kuroda are the headliners, but Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan and Lyle Overbay -- among others -- will also need to be replaced one way or another. This is going to take a while, though.
* Dave Robertson and Brett Gardner are due for arbitration raises, Ivan Nova and Shawn Kelley are also arb-eligible for the first time, and the Yankees will have to make decisions about whether to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible guys like Chris Stewart, David Huff and Jayson Nix.
* Slade Heathcott and Chase Whitley are among the prospects who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter.
* Winter ball will start in October, and Dellin Betances has asked the Yankees to let him play in the Dominican Republic so that he can keep throwing and stay sharp. Eduardo Nunez is also planning to play winter ball, but he said he's not sure yet whether he should focus on shortstop, second base or third base. Cesar Cabral has also played winter ball in the past, and Vidal Nuno is heading to the Arizona Fall League. By spring training, each of those four could be legitimate big league options.Point is, it's a long offseason, and it's going to be even longer than usual for the Yankees. There's also a lot to be done, with huge decisions to make and key players coming and going. For Rivera there may be a sense of relief. For everyone else, it seems more like uncertainty.
"We'll see," Jeter said. "There's a lot of ifs and questions; who's coming back and who's not coming back. I have no idea. It would be unfair to even speculate."
Of course, that won't stop us. And we'll have plenty of time to do it.CHAT TOMORROW: I suppose we can start some of the speculation tomorrow. Let's do a chat at noon on Tuesday. Hope you guys can stop by for a while. Obviously there's plenty to discuss.
Associated Press photos
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