yankeechick

I remember hearing that said for the very first time on an episode of Sex and the City.  Carrie was introducing her new boyfriend, Jack Berger, to Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte for the first time.  The girls are discussing their love lives at some bar while Jack listens.  Miranda tells about a recent date where she invited the guy upstairs, but he declined saying he had to be up really early.  He kissed her twice and said he'd call her.  Jack bluntly utters his opinion, "he's just not that into you."  The girls argue with him about push/pull, guys are afraid of rejection too, yadda, yadda, yadda.  Jack reveals the secret to men is that there is no secret.  If they're interested, they say so by going upstairs and booking the next date. 

I'm all for Jack's assessment of a guy's behavior on a date, but what about 10 or however many dates down the road when the guy loses interest?  How about when they end a full blown relationship that's lasted months or maybe even years?  Why is it that one day "he's into you" and the next day, "he's not that into you?"  Now, I've been through my share of breakups, and I'll admit that after the initial shock wore off, I could objectively look back on most of them and see that there were warning signs.  I just didn't want to see them.  I'm sure there are many other women who've been through the same thing.  All of a sudden, he's really busy and preoccupied.  He's moody.  He cancels dates you have planned.  You just think your relationship is on such solid ground it's impossible it could be anything more than what he's saying.  But it is.  So, why, if it's so simple with guys, don't they just come out and say it?  Yes, it's going to hurt the girl, and yes, she may cry, but you're a man aren't you?  So be one. 

I have also been through breakups where after that initial shock wore off, I could objectively say there was no forewarning.  These are the really perplexing guys and situations.  You're going along, talking all the time, getting closer and closer which leads you to believe he really likes you and then boom, nothing.   I've always thought it was because the guy got scared.  He's not ready for anything more serious with her or anyone, and he wakes up one day with the realization he's been getting close to a girl.  Well, that just can't happen.  So, what would be so terrible about telling the girl you like her, but you feel things are getting too serious, and it's not the right time for you?  My, honesty, what a novel thought.  It beats playing the games both genders play.  Hmmmm.....how many days should I wait to call?  How about as many as you want instead of as many as is necessary to throw her or him off.  Why can't everyone just say and do what they want?

It is true that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.  The most notable difference to me is how women like to talk things out, and men can't be bothered.  I'm not criticizing men for that because I envy their ability to let things go.  A lot of the time, women just can't.  We need some sort of explanation for why things happened, some sort of that annoying word, closure.  As we mature, we realize it's just not worth the agita to chase down a reason, but doesn't mean we don't wonder from time to time.  Men letting things go makes them adverse to facing the girl of the moment when they want to end things.  Hey, both sexes know each other to a certain extent, and all a guy can think of is how he doesn't want to deal with a crying chick.   Isn't that why they ease their way out hoping she'll either figure it out herself or break up with him?  I think so.  Why can't we all be reasonable and accept our differences by meeting each other halfway.  Hey, I promise not to freak out if you promise not to be a chicken. 

Several weeks ago, I hopped a flight to Rochester, NY for the 6th year in a row to participate in the ultimate fantasy baseball experience; an auction draft.   I had dabbled with a league on Yahoo for a couple of years before that, so my brother coerced me into joining this league he'd been a part of for about 10 years.  The league itself has probably been in existence for about 15.  I had no idea what I was in for, how challenging and competitive it would be, and how addicted I'd become. 

It's necessary to give a little background regarding the rules.  It's 13 teams, NL only, 5X5 roto, 7 keepers allowed with a $260 salary cap.  The roster spots include 2 catchers, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, MI, CI, 5 OF, U and 9 pitchers.  The only reserve spots you get are for the injured or sent down players.  You can replace said players on a weekly basis based on the standings.  The last place team gets all their first choices first and so on and so forth with the first place team being last.  You are allowed to make 7 dumps per season, the first 5 costing $5 each, and the remaining 2 costing $7 each.  Dumps come after replacing injured and minored players.  When a player is activated off the disabled list or called up, you can choose to keep his replacement and drop someone else, but that counts as a dump.  You have 2 Mondays to activate a player or else you lose them.  As for salaries, any player you pick up during the year is automatically $10, and if they come over from the AL, they're $25.  Salaries remain the same for year 2, but then go up in increments of $5 every year afterwards.  The top 4 teams are winners.  First place gets a significant piece of the pie, and 4th place basically gets their expenses for the league covered.  I actually was able to come in 4th 2 years out of 5. 

Now, I ask you to imagine a table in the basement of someone's house with 12 + men and myself sitting around it for 8 hours minimum.  I say 12 + because some teams have 2 proxies.  In the middle of the table are assorted candies, cookies, chips and pain killers.  Around the periphery of the table are several coolers with assorted beverages and beer.  The commissioner starts off the process with bringing up any rules that were haggled over during the previous season.  Sometimes, they're brought to a vote as to whether or not to change them.  After that business is squared away, he also presents the first player with an opening bid.  Clockwise around the table we go with each manager either upping the bid or passing on the player completely by turning over the plastic cup we all have in front of us.  It eventually gets down to one team who wins that player.  Again clockwise, each team presents one player at a time.  The objective in the beginning is to get people to spend as much money as possible, so the elite players are always thrown out first. 

My objective has always been to allow every other team to spend enough, so that I have the most money before I even buy my first player.  This allows me to pace myself which always nets me the most money left towards the end of the draft as well.  This is where you get your bargain gems.  Unfortunately, there is another team who does the same thing.  I've managed to wait him out half the time and not the other half.  I'm not going to miss out on a player I want by being inflexible.  He's actually waited so long sometimes that the crabby managers have become restless and started mumbling.  I've always managed to have more money than him at the end though which is really the most important thing.  My other objective is to always throw out players for bid that I don't need or want.  Each year, I got to know the NL players better and better until the pinnacle of my success last season when my team produced enough keepers to make it very difficult to make decisions.  James Loney I happened to pick up in a dump which cost me $10.  I did not succeed in winning any of the top 4 spots last season because it was essentially my rebuilding year, and that was just fine with me.  At the point where I knew there was no hope of me finishing in the money, I started trying to make trades for keepers which netted me Corey Hart at $8 and Jonathan Broxton at $6.

After much deliberation, I settled on keeping Corey Hart at $8, James Loney at $10, Adrian Gonzalez at $14, Kelly Johnson at $7, Russell Martin at $15, Rafael Soriano at $2 and Brandon Lyon at $10.  Armed with a solid core on offense and 2 closers, my focus was on starting pitching.  My first year in the league, my starters all fell to injury at some point.  After it happened again the next season, I decided to load up on starters the next 3 years.  I changed that philosophy this year and took a couple of middle relievers on good teams that I knew would net me some wins and keep my ERA and WHIP down.  My other focus was to get Dan Haren and one other "stud" which wound up being Ben Sheets.  I usually try to stay away from injury risks, but the price on him was too good to pass up, and I figured my luck was bound to change some time.  Where buying was concerned, I did manage to wait out everyone before making my first buy, but unfortunately, I got backed into a corner on some offensive positions because there was nobody left who would be worthwhile.  I wound up overpaying for these players.  I never take part-time players, so when I say worthwhile, I mean starters.  Because of this, I didn't wind up with more money than anyone else at the end, but in a year where my team is built to win, it really wasn't necessary.  I was disappointed that I missed out on a couple of people I especially coveted, but such is life. 

At some point during the draft, we always break for a meal of deli.  Otherwise, if you have to go to the bathroom, you better run.  The later it gets, the less tylenol and sugary items are left on the table.  The later it gets, the more ornery everyone becomes.  The barbs in jest throughout the day become less funny.  The amount of time people take to make a decision on whether to bid or not becomes less amusing.  One manager had the Jeopardy theme ready to go on his laptop whenever anyone took an inordinate amount of time. 

There are different characters in my league.  There is the one know-it-all who has something to say about everything.  There are the silent managers who never have anything to say about anything.  There are the technical managers who are on their laptops the entire time analyzing.  There are the overconfident managers who you want to beat more than anyone else.  There are some incredibly excellent drafters and some not so much.  There are the managers you look at dumbfounded when they throw out particular players for bid because you can't believe they actually want them.  These are the same managers whose teams you look at and secretly laugh to yourself.  Those teams inevitably wind up at the rear every season, but hey, they're having fun. 

All in all, I felt confident with my draft, and in the 4th week of the season, I'm in 3rd place with only 2 injuries.  Yes, Sheets is going to miss his next start, but he's still not on the DL.  If he does wind up there, I'll stay afloat with a replacement for the time being.  And there you have it. 

After about a week of baseball, here are my first impressions of the 2008 NY Yankees. 

Pitching:  After Chien Ming Wang and Phil Hughes, the starters have been beatable, especially Ian Kennedy.  Mike Mussina's start wasn't as horrible as people seem to think.  Besides the homerun he gave up to Vernon Wells, he was actually ok.  He just doesn't have the ability to get people out as easily as he used to, so he requires more pitches.  This is going to force the bullpen in early during his starts which won't be a problem if the other starters give them length.  My concern with Moose is the effort he's expending coupled with his age may cut his season short.  This also may not be a problem if Alan Horne's ready after the all-star break. 

I'm also not too concerned about Andy Pettitte since he was injured, and he's still getting his legs back under him.  He really only got roughed up for that one inning, and I think he'll be fine.  Of greater concern is Ian Kennedy.  It is only 1 start though, so let's wait and see. 

Chien Ming Wang looked good in his first start, and great in his second start.  It seems the new pitches he's worked into his repertoire are quite effective as is evident in the uncharacteristic 6 strikeouts.  Phil Hughes' successful first start was of no surprise to this Yankee fan. 

As I suspected, the bullpen hasn't been worrisome like people expected.  LaTroy Hawkins is the only reliever that's caused any problems.  Brian Bruney has been outstanding so far and seems pumped up with something to prove.  I really like the attitude I see from him.  Ross Ohlendorf and Billy Traber have also been getting the job done.  Even Kyle Farnsworth has been pulling his weight.  Even better is the unbeatable team of Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera.  I've been a huge proponent of getting Joba into the rotation, but I don't know how they're going to mess with that combination.  It's formidable.  I thought Mo's slight decline would continue this year, but he's looked better than ever.  He seems to be ageless. 

Defense:  There have been some great, good, awkward and not so good plays.  I think the biggest defensive concern for everyone going into the season was Jason Giambi, of course.  He actually looked limber in his first game snagging that line drive.  I was in shock.  Then, he reverted to true form by taking out that cameraman in the next game.  He actually probably should've caught that popup foul ball, but it was a tough play.   The fact is, Giambi will never be graceful out there and will always look awkward.   He's never going to come up with a ball hit to him smoothly like Robinson Cano.  What he has been doing well is knocking that ball down, staying with it and making the out.  He's also saved a couple of errant throws while still staying on the bag.  I believe Girardi's show of confidence in him by not taking him out for a defensive replacement has gone a long way.  Also, after Shelley Duncan's disastrous play, there really isn't any question in my mind that he isn't the best option there. 

Everyone else has been fine on defense except for the few errant throws by the infield.  They all need to make sure they're set.  Melky made a few great catches, but he needs to work on consistently tracking the ball better. 

Offense:  Once again they're off to a slow start.  It should be noted that they faced some of the better starters during this week.  Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett, Dustin McGowan and James Shields are no pushovers.  There's no cause for worry quite yet.  We haven't entered May with the slumping bats like last year.  It doesn't even appear as if anyone is in trouble of continuing into a prolonged slump.  Everyone's taking good at bats with good swings.  I like the team's approach.

Coaching:  If there was any wonder about this season, it was the transition from Joe Torre to Joe Girardi.  It has been made immediately obvious how different they are.  I have the utmost respect for Joe Torre, but I am loving Joe Girardi, especially the confidence he shows in his players.  They are professional athletes and grown men who should be treated as such by allowing them a say in their own destinies.  Most notable is his handling of the pitching staff.  Game 1, he went out to the mound to talk to Wang instead of automatically pulling him when he got into a little trouble.  He was rewarded with a strikeout and avoiding the bullpen.  Based on what I've seen so far, I see the bullpen performing much better in August and September than previous years.  This is hugely important. 

All in all, I like the look of the team and am excited to see the rest of the season.  I predict an AL East title back in the Bronx.