NY Media Hits New Low

Yes, that is the front cover of today’s New York Post. One of New York’s largest daily newspapers has resorted to profanity to discuss a baseball story. That is some real highbrow stuff there.

However, if you think that is offensive, wait until you see what is inside some of the NY papers today. From Bill Madden:

Cut him loose – no matter the cost.
As difficult as it is to imagine eating $270 million, the Bombers will be making a statement, not just for the Yankee brand but for baseball as a whole.
They will be applauded for it…..
As painful as swallowing that $270 million might be, there will be consolation for the Yankees when no other team elects to besmirch their brand by taking in A-Rod – even for nothing.

This is quite possibly the least intelligent thing that I have ever read. Madden is positing that the Yankees would be better off paying 275 Million for A-Rod to play for someone else than to have him play for them. This is a guy who has won multiple MVP’s, whose offensive talents are obviously special, and who is pretty much irreplaceable in the middle of the Yankees lineup. Letting him go would be an awful baseball decision, a knee jerk reaction that would elicit laughter around the league, rather than the applause that Madden suggests. The only people cheering the decision would be the media, who would then bemoan the decision in three years when Alex wins an MVP for another club. Furthermore, the idea that nobody would sign A-Rod is preposterous. He would not last half an hour on the open market, especially if the Yankees were picking up the tab. The whole article is patently ridiculous, and it is amazing to me that a paper that claims to be reputable would print it.

Speaking of ridiculous arguments, here is Wally Matthews’ rant for the day:

Just like everything Bonds did after 1999, when his home run totals skyrocketed from 34 to 49 to 73 in 2001, and Clemens did after 1996, when he jumped from 10 wins for the Red Sox to 21 and 20 for the 1997-98 Blue Jays, everything A-Rod did from 2003 on must be considered bogus…..
As far as I’m concerned, Bonds’ 762 home runs aren’t worth 350 of Babe Ruth’s. Clemens’ 4,672 strikeouts don’t equal 2,500 of Sandy Koufax’s or Bob Gibson’s. A-Rod’s three MVP awards aren’t fit to serve as Ted Williams’ paperweight. To think otherwise is to believe “Speed Racer” is a better movie than “Citizen Kane.”

This idea of “throw out their stats” ignores the fact that cheating and unfairness have always been a part of the game. It is always necessary to judge players by the context within which they acted. I guess Wally would throw out Ruth’s numbers also, being that Ruth played in the age of segregation and did not have to face some of the better athletes of his day. Hank Aaron played in an era where taking greenies were the norm. Just as we look at their accomplishments with reverence while dismissing certain issues as products of their era, we should do the same with the players of the steroid era. If you want to say that A-Rod no longer compares to Ruth, I can understand that sentiment. But to say that he does not belong in the Hall of Fame when he just happened to be a product of his time is unfair.

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