New Material is Coming People.....

New material starting next week!

$1,100,000 > $30,000,000

I had to come out of the woodwork for this one people. I don't know what else to say that hasn't already been said by every Yankee fan across the country about Alex Rodriguez in the last week. The man is washed up. He's a bum. The only human that seems to not grasp this concept is the skipper, Joe Girardi.

Joe is such a pushover it's disgusting. After Alex's pathetic numbers at the plate in his playoff career (excluding 2009 of course), Yankee fans were rightfully expecting Joe to move Arod down in the lineup last night. But what did the baseball savant do?

He batted him in the three hole.

Yup, that's right. Your eyes did not deceive you. HE BATTED THE MAN THIRD! The spot reserved for the team's best/most consistent hitter, a man that goes by the name of Robbie Cano.

After looking like Simon Birch in his first 3 at bats with two strikeouts last night, Girardi manned up, called a spade a spade and pinch hit Ibanez in the 9th inning with one out and no one on with the Bombers trailing 2-1. It would turn out be a career defining managerial move.

Just when Buck Showalter thought he had taken the upper hand in the series against the Evil Empire in a pivotal game 3, "Raul be seeing you in the right field seats" (with a cheek full of chaw) sent an 1-0 fastball into the seats in right to tie the game!

• Arod's salary for the 2012 season -$30 million. Yankees 2012 team payroll - $196 million. Unprovoked chest bump after "Raul so cool's" pinch hit HR in the 9th inning - Priceless! Game wining HR in the 12th - Euphoria. 

Flash forward to the 12th inning. There is just no way that Raul can do it again right? Wrong!! Wait what? A guy making 1/30 of the money that his counterpart coming off the bench is, ice cold, and slugs two home runs while only seeing three pitches? Who is writing this stuff? Maybe there are baseball gods after all...Yankees win 3-2 and I think it's safe to say the Yanks found there permanent DH for the rest of the year.

It's a good day to be a pinstripe fan. They say that money can't buy you happiness. That has never been truer than last night in the Bronx. Although having money to spend always helps. Speaking of money I'm Pretty sure Alex put $10,000 in an envelope and placed it in Raul's locker as a token of his appreciation for saving face. Chump change for him right?

Note: I have to give credit to Yankees GM Brian Cashman. The dude always seems to find a way to pull players from the ashes to squeeze every last drop of production from them for next to nothing (in terms of sports money at least). i.e. Eric Chavez, Ichiro, Bartolo Colon... RAUL IBANEZ!

Check out this great piece by Wallace Matthews on how Alex needs to step aside.

THE EVIL EMPIRE STRIKES AGAIN!

The American and National Leagues have added a couple of booming bats to their bench Tuesday in Anaheim with the addition of Nick Swisher and Joey Votto, now that fans have spoken in the four-day All-Star Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint. Swisher, the Yankees' right-fielder and social-media titan, held off Kevin Youkilis of the rival Red Sox in the closest race in the nine-year history of the Final Vote to claim the 34th and final spot on the All-Star roster with a final tally of 9.8 million votes. Swisher and Youkilis were followed by Paul Konerko of the White Sox, Michael Young of the Rangers and Delmon Young of the Twins.

Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! I feel like a proud father today, and not because I voted for him at least 50 times. But your boy, Nick Swisher, made the final vote for the All-Star Game! That makes 8 All-Star selections for the Yankees this season. I’ll repeat that. THAT MAKES 8 ALL-STARS PEOPLE. They can practically field a whole line-up card at this point. And if it weren’t for Teixera’s yearly hibernation, we could have just watched the Yes Network instead of the All-Star Game. Not only that, but Swisher beat out Kevin “Usaless” Youkilis! The ugliest grill in the league next to Jorge Cantu. As John Sterling would say “Swishalicious” is the greatest thing that happened to the Yankees. He has single handedly loosened up the tight jocks of the front office as well as Arod’s ego. The guy genuinely loves the game of baseball and more importantly loves the Yankees. He respects the tradition of the Pine Stripes so much he knows his role. If it weren’t for Cano and Jeter he would be my favorite player. Regardless they are all beauties and the Yanks are looking like they are on their way to #28! Let’s go Yankees!

Oh, and Jeter is a true professional. At this point he should manage the All-Star squad. He’s been there enough times.

You Did What?!

A lifelong Yankees fan is suing his beloved Bronx Bombers after team officials lost a letter he received more than 40 years ago from slugger Mickey Mantle, according to court records. Retired cop and former minor leaguer Michael Kovalovsky said he noticed a hitch in Mantle’s swing, and sent the switch hitter a note when Mantle was slumping during the 1959 season. Mantle acknowledged the note in a letter to the fan, one of Kovalovsky’s most prized possessions. Kovalovsky, 78, said he voluntarily loaned the letter to the team along with other memorabilia for use at a museum at the new stadium, but officials told him personal items from fans were not being accepted. Then he never got them back. "I said if that’s the game they want to play, I’ll take them to court," said Kovalovsky who moved to Florida after retiring. "I’m tired of the runaround." Kovalovsky’s $100,000 lawsuit seeks damages and attorney costs for negligence and bad faith. Despite the legal issues, Kovalovsky insists that he is still a big fan, and plans to return to the Bronx this summer for a couple of games. "I’ll be a fan until the day I die," he said. "We believe the lawsuit is without merit and will be vigorously defended," said Alice McGillion, spokesperson for the Yankees.

Boo-hoo. If you gave me a letter signed by “The Mick” I would have done the same thing. Why did this guy give this letter up in the first place? So he can pay for a ticket to a game when he wants to see it again? This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard and now he’s heated because they “lost” it. News flash buddy, they didn’t lose it, they just don’t want to give it back to your dumb ass. It’s a sweet piece of history that is priceless. Mickey was one of the greatest players and personalities of all time. Next time you have some really cool shit to share, just keep it in a display case in your house so you can show people who won’t believe you at your cocktail parties instead of giving it to the wealthiest organization in the world. Unreal. Go Yankees!

Money Money Money Money....Money!

Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov has "purchased billboard space near Madison Square Garden that will display a massive image of the Russian billionaire and Nets minority owner Jay-Z, with completion scheduled just before the start of free agency" tonight at midnight, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The 222-by-95-foot billboard "sporting a Nets logo will picture Jay-Z and Prokhorov side-by-side" under the heading, "The Blueprint For Greatness." Sources indicated that the "signage is strategically placed" within the sight line of the Knicks' offices, "ramping up tensions between the teams with free agency looming." Nets CEO Brett Yormark said, "That billboard is the anchor to an aggressive marketing platform for key transit hubs from Manhattan to Newark. It's a pretty aggressive campaign around free agency. It's one of the biggest advertising spaces in the city. What better place to make a statement”.

In New Jersey,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There’s nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New Jersey,
These streets will make you feel brand new,
The lights will inspire you,
Lets here it for New Jersey, New Jersey New Jersey!

P.S. – Prokhorov is the man, but I’m still scared shitless by him. This is what I call a marketing campaign. Not up in here. NOT up in here! Say cheese boys.

I'm Bad, I'm Bad, You Know It...

A mentally-ill Orthodox cantor who told jurors he was "The Michael Jackson of Jewish music" was sentenced in Manhattan yesterday to at least a year in prison for swindling a Washington Heights woman out of $36,000.Victim Judy Burstein, 55, had met the singer, Michoel Streicher, 50, at his performances five years ago in Rockland County, Brooklyn and Lakewood, NJ. Streicher posed as a rabbi, then took her money -- promising to use it to purchase a torah, but instead pocketing it, a jury found in convicting him of grand larceny in April. "She was so impressed by his singing, she fell for anything," Burstein's son, Yehuda said after the sentencing. "He promised her the torah would be under her control, and would be used by some of the greatest rabbis in Judaism," the son told reporters. "Then, after a few months, he stopped returning phone calls." After five years of denying wrongdoing, Streicher, the 50-year-old father of 11 children, apologized to the Burstein family in court today. "It was not intended, and it happened," he said. "And I hope they forgive me." Streicher's lawyer, Eric Franz, begged Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Roger Hayes for mercy, citing Streicher's long-standing mental illness, for which he is finally receiving treatment in Rikers. Before getting on his new meds, "He gnaws away, like an animal -- at his cuticles, his fingers," Franz said. As for the accusation he posed as a rabbi, "He just doesn't have a congregation," he said. "That doesn't mean he's posing."

The Jewish Michael Jackson huh? That’s just wild. People are so weird. And who pays $36,000 for a book? The guy must have had one hell of a Jewish vocal. Boom! Step aside Michael, it’s Rabbi Streicher’s turn to do the moonwalk all over grandma Burstein!

P.S. – What would you do with $36,000. How about just giving it to the Federal Government? Well that's exactly how much the "balloon boy's" parents had to do after their little stunt. Talk about a sick joke!

P.P.S. - Who doesn't bite their finger nails theses days? It's the coolest.

I'm a Very Classy Man!

In a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson discussed his new situation with the New York Jets, and had some harsh revelations about the time with his former team.Tomlinson said he knows it will be an open competition for the starting running back job with one-year incumbent Shonn Greene, but admitted that starting isn’t necessarily important to him, and that he just wants to contribute to his new team, and knows that he has a role on the Jets. “Whatever they need me to do, whether it’s catching the ball out of the backfield, whether it’s picking up blitzing linebackers or running draw plays or screens or what have you,” said Tomlinson. “I’m tired of being doubted by so many people for what I can’t do,” said Tomlinson. “For a guy like me, my entire career has been driven by that, so I’m very determined to be successful here. ”He also revealed another poignant dig, showing a New York Jets tattoo with “2010 – ” inked below the logo on his right calf. It mirrors the Chargers lightning bolt logo and “2001-2010″ on his left calf. “For me, it’s kind of closing that chapter of my career in San Diego, it’s kind of like it’s dead, and a new birth is being born with the Jets logo being put on my other calf,” he said. “I’m able to get over it and move on very quickly, and focus on the next thing.” If that wasn’t enough of a gut punch to Chargers fans everywhere, when asked if he wins a Super Bowl with New York, whether he’ll go into the Hall of Fame as a Charger or a Jet, he simply smiled that 1,000-watt smile and said, “Interesting. That’s all I’ll say.”

Now that the New York Jets have a star studded team AND are being showcased in the HBO series “Hard Knocks” this preseason, I’m jumping on the ban wagon and don’t give a shit who cares about it. I mean I rooted for the Bengals when they were featured on the show last season. THE BENGALS. Now I have a hometown team too actually watch and root for, why not? I think it all comes down to Eli Manning for me. That’s the reason why I can’t stand watching the Giants play. He is just brutal to watch, to look at, or to mention his name. That whole last sentence just heart my head thinking about it. Or maybe it's the fact that they don't have my boy Strahan anymore. He's onto the next paycheck doing Vaseline commercials now. Not only is Hard Knocks going to be awesome, the team acquired running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who has a massive chip on his shoulder leaving San Diego. Not to mention a sick new calf tattoo. I just hope this “Hard Knocks” is half as entertaining as last year starring Chad “Ocho Cinco”. Doubtful.