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I took advantage of the time afforded by yesterday's off day to ramble down to Trenton to watch Brett Gardner and the Trenton Thunder in action. I sat behind the place amidst the scouts. I identified a half-dozen, including Rockies, Rangers, and Angels stalkers. Despite some aggressive wheeling on my part, they would not disclose who they were there to look at, if in fact it was anyone specific. If the Yankees are lucky it wasn't perpetual comeback kid Danny Borrell, Trenton's starting pitcher on Thursday. The southpaw, who was New York's second-round pick in the 2000 draft, has decent strikeout numbers this year, but last night his fastball didn't break 82 MPH on the radar guns.

Despite this, Borrell held New Hampshire to two hits over eight innings, walking two and striking out nine, so perhaps velocity isn't everything.

Brett Gardner played center field and batted second. As a future member of the Leadoff Hitters of America, you'd think that Gardner would bat leadoff, but Trenton manager Bill Masse listed him behind second baseman Gabe López. Parenthetically, I quite like López, a 17th round pick in 2002. He is extremely unlikely to play in the majors given his age (26) and lack of hitting ability, but he's fun to watch because at 5-8 he is nearly eclipsed by the squatting catcher. López has never been terribly selective, but this year he seems to have figured out the Eddie Gaedel principle, using his lack of stature to shrink the strike zone and draw more walks.

I didn't get to see Gardner run the bases; he had but one hit, a line drive to right field. In another at-bat he worked the count to 3-2 before being called out on a pitch that seemed to be low and inside (he argued). In a third at-bat, with a runner on first and one out, he ripped the ball up the middle but the runner had broken for second. The shortstop moved to cover, putting him directly in the path of the ball, which was headed over the second base bag. The ball was hit so hard that this was turned into a double play even with the speedy Gardner moving down the line.

New Hampshire did such a poor job of putting the ball in play against Borrell that I only once got to see Gardner use his speed in the field. Gardner was shaded over towards left field when New Hampshire right fielder David Smith hit a looping fly into the right-center field gap — the right field side of the right-center field gap. Seemingly before right fielder Bronson Sardinha could even move for the ball, Gardner was flying straight across center field. He lunged for the ball but came up short. Still, he came closer to it than did Sardinha, despite having the entire pasture to traverse.

I recommend Trenton to anyone in the area who hasn't gone. The Thunder have a pretty ballpark on the Delaware River. Parking and access are easy without any Major Deegan-style traffic to handle. As with many minor league teams, the Thunder are kid-friendly, with pregame activities for the kids, in-game diversions by the (singularly unappealing) mascot and postgame fireworks. Most important, there are no bad seats in the single-deck ballpark.

On a personal note, I am finding that having a 2-D view of the world affects my experience when sitting in the stands in one scary way — when a ball is hit in the air, I can't tell if it's heading for the outfield or it's popped up over my head. I ended up ducking on balls that were hit to center or fouled off to right or left field. Ah well — at least I'm around to see the game.

SELIG IS RIGHT!
And how often do we get to say that? Commissioner Selig fined Ozzie Guillén yesterday and ordered him to undergo sensitivity training. "Baseball is a social institution with responsibility to set appropriate tone and example," the Commissioner said. "Conduct or language that reflects otherwise will not be tolerated. The use of slurs embarrasses the individual, the club and the game."

Darn straight. As I said yesterday, forget the social responsibility — baseball needs to make money, and money is color blind and lacks a religious or sexual preference. It pays for a hot dog no matter whose hand it comes from. It's just common sense for baseball to have the appearance of being egalitarian and open to all.

I don't know a darned thing about sensitivity training, but I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who administers such training. Does it actually accomplish anything? Does anyone go in a neo-Nazi and come out a dues-paying member of the Anti-Defamation League, or do they simply take someone like Guillén and say, "It's not nice to say mean things about people," and let it go at that?

BRETT MYERS: WHAT A GUY
Brett Myers of the Phillies, who pitched so well against the Yankees earlier this week, was arrested on Friday on charges of hitting his wife in the face. Interesting ethical dilemma: given Joe Torre's feelings about domestic violence (his Safe at Home foundation's focus), which I hope we all share, if Brian Cashman came to Torre tomorrow and said, "We have a possible trade for Myers in the works," would Torre say yes or no? Would he take on someone whose actions he found personally reprehensible in order to win a pennant? Would he take it as an opportunity to be a good influence on a blackened soul? Would you?

My gut reaction is that I would not. You don't have to stoop to conquer. Winning isn't always the only thing. Sometimes it's more important to be able to hold your head up high and say that you didn't consort with swine in order to get what you wanted.

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THURSDAY, June 22, 2006: Posted at 3:40 p.m.
YOU ARE THE CAMERA, THE CAMERA IS YOU

Baseball sometimes gets a bit confused about its relationship to the media. Recently, the Kansas City Royals banned a couple of radio reporters from their ballpark for asking questions the organization deemed inappropriate. Two days ago, manager Ozzie Guillén of the White Sox called Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti a "fag."

In the view of most teams, the writers and reporters are parasites there to exploit and undermine them. They tend to forget that all teams would be greatly diminished without the press holding up a mirror to them. Sure, baseball would continue to exist, but without the constant coverage of their efforts they would fail to stir the enthusiasm of the many who can't be bothered to find out about a thing on their own. They would lose cultural relevance, which means loss of revenue. When Oscar Wilde wrote, "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about," he could have been referring to professional sports. The reverse of this relationship is that sports stories sell papers and newscasts to people who can't be bothered with actual news. It's a symbiotic relationship.

The press greatly influences popular perception of the ballclubs and their players. This is readily apparent here in New York, where the media has crafted a narrative for Alex Rodríguez emphasizing his few faults at the expense of his many virtues. If a club is receiving uniformly bad press, it's not handling the media correctly, not properly doling out access, not saying the right things. As the segment of the media dedicated to covering politics has repeatedly demonstrated, no matter how foolish the people in power are, there will always be multitudes willing to shill for them. If you have to influence coverage by strong-arming the people covering you, you're not doing it right. It's a sign of cowardice and a lack of creativity.

As for Guillén, there is nothing new about managers and columnists having their disagreements, and no doubt worse epithets have been bandied during those disputes. Since the story broke, there has been much discussion as to the meaning Guillén's words might have when uttered in a locker room context, where they might be taken as a general comment on someone's manhood or courage rather than a slur on a person's sexuality — which has nothing to do with anything.

Context is beside the point. What was inappropriate, and will remain so regardless of Guillén's intent, was the manager of a Major League Baseball team addressing the media in his official capacity and using words that qualify as hate speech.

Guillén's lame explanations insult the public's intelligence. "I don't have anything against those people. In my country, you call someone something like that and it is not the same as it is in this country." You half expect Guillén's next line to be, "Heck, in some provinces it's considered to be quite a compliment. It's something you might say to your mother." Even were that somehow the truth, Guillén has been working in the United States since 1981; you'd think that in 25 years he might have picked up the nuances of the local lingo.

Guillén's list of activities certifying him as gay-friendly, including going to a Madonna concert, is patronizing. The real secret of whether you are tolerant of any group, be it gays or blacks or Jews or anyone, is that it never crosses your mind if you are or you aren't. If you can make up a list of things you have done that credits you as "x-friendly," then you probably aren't. The psychically unencumbered just do things, they don't worry about what constituency they're participating with.

We like to celebrate free speech in the United States, so many will have be opposed to Guillén's receiving a suspension for his remarks. That sentiment doesn't apply in this case. Guillen is free to speak for himself on any street corner, but he doesn't have the right to disseminate hate while acting as the mouthpiece for a major corporation, one that depends on the patronage of everyone. The money looks the same no matter whose wallet it came out of. Baseball needn't worry about if they have a moral obligation to be intolerant of intolerance-it's simply a business matter.

AN MP3 MOMENT
Hmm. I wanted to click on the XTC folder but I got Weird Al instead. Will "Polkas on 45" suffice when moments ago it seemed that only "Dear God" would satisfy?

Just as I thought — only minor differences.

TO THE MATS WITH READER MAIL
DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD (UNLESS, YOU KNOW, I'M DISSEMBLING FOR SOME REASON, LIKE TRYING TO GET OUT OF A DATE I'M SORRY I MADE — THESE THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU FEAR CONFRONTATION, OKAY? AND I'M SORRY I GAVE MY BASSIST YOUR NUMBER. HE'S REALLY OKAY ONE YOU GET OVER THAT THING HE DOES WITH THE SPOONS)
As per the house rules, I get interjections on long emails.

I love your column. ... But I just don't get your attitude towards the Yankees organization and players sometimes. You seem to criticize the Yanks and Torre one day for nevergiving new comers a chance to develop into contributors, then the next day you slam Canó or Cabrera as mirages who don't produce enough for their positions.

I'm always for the Yankees trying a youngster rather than another making us sit through another pointless Terrence Long sequel and I've been very consistent in that regard. At the same time, you can't just say that bringing up any young player is a good thing. They have to be able to contribute. Canó clearly can, though his long term value is, to me, still a question mark because so much of his game revolves around batting average. Average is the aspect of a player's production that most fluctuates from year to year. There is a great deal of luck involved in hitting safely, and some years players are better at missing fielders than others. As I've written before, when a Jason Giambi type slumps, he still contributes by walking and having the few hits he does get go for extra bases. When a Canó type slumps, the team gets nothing. If Canó ever has a .280 season, the Yankees will be hurting. Because of that, I wrote that when it comes time to give Cano a Yankees-style Great Big Contract or move him on, the team should consider its options. That was the thought that got me in trouble — since then I get a note a week asking why my love for young players doesn't extend to Canó.

In truth, I like Canó. His production places him among the top half of major league second basemen. He's substantially improved his defense and is showing more selectivity than he did in his rookie year, and his ability to maintain his high batting average speaks for itself. He's still got some growth to go before he reaches his peak, too, and the Yankees don't have Rogers Hornsby knocking on the door forcing the issue. All I'm doing in pointing out these things about Canó is giving you, the reader, a rounded picture. That's my job.

As for Cabrera, I'd like to see him succeed. He has the potential to be good, especially now that he's demonstrated greater selectivity in the majors than he ever showed in the minors and he's gotten over his defensive jitters. Cabrera seems to me to be the rare prospect with the smarts to actually grow on the job, who can look around him and see what works and what doesn't rather than stubbornly issuing these Jeff Francoeur-style rationalizations about how it's contrary to his nature to take pitches.

At the same time, the Yankees are trying to win a pennant, and they have to be competitive with other teams at each position. Cabrera is slugging .328, and that won't cut it in left field or any other position. Aggregate slugging percentage for each position ranges from .503, by National League first basemen, to .379 by American League second basemen. As much as one might hope that Cabrera will be a productive Yankee at some point, what he's doing right now just isn't major league standard. The Yankees can gamble on his growing on the job, but it might not happen and with the pitching staff being very shaky from night to night there is a consequence to giving up offense.

I was with you on Bubba, he's a decent defensive outfielder off the bench and he can occasionally show his worth if you need to let him hit. He might start in Kansas City but he never had enough for NY.

But Melky has shown plate discipline, even in the middle of a slump, and more than enough talent at the plate to develop into a solid outfielder for the Yanks. On top of that his fielding is on the upswing and he has a solid arm. The only knock on him is his lack of power, which could well come with age. In place of this you promote this Gardner guy from Double-A as a "more rounded alternative." How the hell do you figure? I have nothing against trusting the numbers as well as your eyes. But Melky hasn't had patches of success — he came up, started hitting well, and went into a slump as pitchers adjusted to him, his plate discipline is still there (he looks a hell of a lot less lost at the plate than A-Rod at the moment) and he recently has shown signs of starting to hit his way out of it.

Coming into this season, Cabrera had batted .285/.339/.409 in 326 minor league games. That's not a level of production that screams starting corner outfielder. It might say center fielder, if Cabrera had the chops to play an excellent center field, but there's no evidence that he can do that. Other than the Columbus hot streak that got him to the majors this year, he's really never been an impact hitter. He also hasn't been nearly this patient and he could easily resume hacking at any moment. Again, he's young. He could be coachable. He could stretch. I would like to see him get the chance to try, but I would also like to see the Yankees win, and if they can get a Carlos Lee for left field at the trading deadline, Cabrera hasn't yet offered a sufficient disincentive to making a move.

In his brief career, Gardner has shown even less power potential than Cabrera, and that's a problem, but unlike Cabrera, he's a center fielder, can run like the wind, and has a highly refined sense of the strike zone. If he can keep his batting average north of .280 he's going to be a valuable player — a starting center fielder or a very valuable fourth outfielder. He really has nothing to do with Cabrera, though, as he's at least a year away.

Numbers and gravitas aside you really have no proof that Melky isn't going to turn into something special, or at least good enough to save the Yanks a ton of money they can flip to some free-agent pitcher (with a history massive arms problems no doubt.)

Enthusiasm aside, there is no proof that Melky WILL turn into something special, or at least a league-average left fielder — that's .274/.347/.446 this year, .278/.333/.437 last year. Again, I hope he does, but a team has to base tactical decisions on more than hope. Cabrera has never, ever, hit the way you think he will over any length of time.

And as for Canó I challenge you to list in your next blog post 10 teams in the majors who wouldn't gladly trade their second baseman for Cano straight up. He has a decent glove, though he'll never be mistaken for the second coming of Maz, and he's hitting .324. Maybe I missed the memo where second basemen with the highest batting average for their position in the league were also required to take walks like Giambi and hit homers like Bonds.

I answered you on Canó above. He's quite valuable to the Yankees. There are other skill sets that may be more valuable, but that's a question for the future.

You column is insightful most times, but honestly sometimes you come across as crotchety. It's like you'll find any reason to downplay the current positives in order to find some way of showing that the grass is greener somewhere else. — Ryan

I'm just calling 'em like I see 'em, Ryan. It's not that the column has crotchet, but that it has objective crotchet. I made a statement about Canó that reflected a truth about players whose central skill is high batting average — they tend to be overvalued. I stand by that. Cabrera has potential, but just how much is an open question. You say that the Yankees should let him ride, and you might be right. However, that decision is a gamble if it means turning down a Craig Wilson or a Alfonso Soriano or a Lee, a player where the team has a strong chance of getting above-average production. If you're right, great. If not, you've made Boston's job that much easier. So here's my question to you: how much are you willing to risk on a good feeling?

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WEDNESDAY, June 21, 2006: Posted at 12:43 p.m.
IS BERNIE BASEBALL BACK?
After Tuesday's 5-for-5, Bernie Williams' averages rested at .294/.332/.445. The venerable one is now batting .362/.371/.672 in the month of June. Given that he hit .300 in May as well, it is clear that Williams is onto something. The overall line is still light for a right fielder, but it's clearly something the Yankees can live with — more than live with — for now. The focus now shifts to left field, where Melky Cabrera, despite unsuspected patience, might not be able to provide enough power production to continue — this even if his batting average recovers from his recent slump.

Williams is 37. Since 2002 he's been a very mediocre hitter, batting .258/.350/.406 from 2003-2005. Last season was the worst of his career, and this April was worse than that. The Yankees brought Williams back out of sentimentality, and for once emotion, the loyalty of holding on a year too long, is paying for itself. Still, everything in the record, everything we know about baseball history, suggests that this last hurrah will not last. The Yankees should ride Williams as long as this candle burns, but the moment it putters out they should be prepared to move on, knowing that a second encore is 10 times as unlikely as the first.

JACQUE, NOT A FRENCH CHEF, NOR EVEN A FRENCH OUTFIELDER
BUT HECK, THERE ARE A LOT OF AMERICANS WHO DON'T DIG THE FRENCH
A New York Daily News report this morning has the Yankees looking into Cubs outfielder Jacque Jones as a possible acquisition. Jones has some positives. Despite a slow start in which he batted .229/.274/.474 in his first 19 games, Jones has been hitting for the last six weeks or so and has raised his averages to .296/.329/.522. He's left-handed, which makes him a good fit for Yankee Stadium, is an above-average defender in either corner, and at his present level of production would be an upgrade on a slumping Melky Cabrera.

Therein lies the rub. Jones' "present level of production" is well above his career rates of .280/.327/.459, mediocre figures for a corner outfielder. As the old saying goes, when something is too good to be true it probably is, and a player who spent the last two years batting a combined .251/.317/.432 having a career year at 31 years old probably falls into that category. As Bernie Williams has shown us, anything is possible, but as far as placing your bets goes, the safe, smart money is on a return to the norm. At that level of production, you might prefer to let Melky ride. Jones also is a guy who should be platooned. He's batting .222/.246/.413 against southies this year, .227/.275/.344 in his career. Finally, he's signed through 2008. That's too long to be married to mediocrity.

Then again, we could be talking about Juan Pierre. Remember when he was supposedly an option for the Yankees? Those .243/.292/.308 rates in pinstripes would make one long for the days of Omar Moreno...

VICTORY!
Mike and the Mad Dog had a terrific interview with Larry Bowa on WFAN on Tuesday. Bowa on Jeter: "He might not get to balls that maybe other shortstops get to."

"He might not get to balls that maybe other shortstops get to."

"He might not get to balls that maybe other shortstops get to."

"He might not get to balls that maybe other shortstops get to."

Bowa buried that in a long, positive comment on Jeter — just let it slide by. It's significant, though, because it's the first time that anyone connected with the Yankees in any official capacity acknowledged what the rest of the universe has long known about Jeter's defense. It changes nothing — as Bowa said, Jeter is a great player, and at this point his intangibles are practically tangible. It's just good to see some honesty when it comes to the Captain.

GATHRIGHT TO THE ROYALS
Color me unimpressed with both sides of the trade. I don't mean to tarnish Rays GM Andrew Friedman with the misdeeds of his predecessors, but this is a typical Devil Rays move of holding on too long and getting little in return. Teams had asked about Gathright for a couple of years, and the Rays hung fire just long enough for him to play away most of his imagined value. This limited their return to a lefty, J.P. Howell, most likely bound for middle relief after 10 or so shots at the starting rotation.

As for the Royals, they had the original Kerry Robinson, and now they have the new one.

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MONDAY, June 19, 2006: Posted 9:50 p.m.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
(IT'S THE PITCHER WITH FEATHERS)
Looking in from the fourth inning of the Yankees game, it's extraordinary and a bit wonderful that Brett Myers has dominated the Yankees with eight strikeouts through four innings but still trails 1-0 thanks to Jason Giambi's home run. Give Sisyphus a choice between playing baseball and pushing that big rock uphill and he'd go with the big rock every time. (Editor's note: at the time of publication, Myers was relieved after strking out 11, and the Phillies had taken a 3-2 lead.)

Randy Johnson has looked great so far, but it's still early. Still, to this point he's having his second good start in a row since the debacle vs. Oakland. In that game Johnson had less than nothing, got just one swinging strike all night long, and required roughly 78 pitches to retire the A's version of Miguel Cairo, Marco Scutaro (Scutaro, career: .251/.302/.376; Cairo career .269/.317/.362). It took a true believer not to concede the Big Unit's career at that point. Perhaps, though, the sentiment was premature.

And perhaps that last sentiment was premature as well. In the time it took for me to write the sentence comparing Scutaro with Cairo, a two-run double by Pat Burrell put the Phillies up 2-1. Johnson ended the inning with consecutive strikeouts, and life goes on.

Parenthetically, Bubba Crosby is starting this evening instead of Bernie Williams. Williams has been so hot this month (.308/.321/.615) that even confirmed skeptics like myself would argue that at this point he has to be given a long leash. Perhaps the old man needs a day off or Crosby needs the playing time or both. However, the player who really needs the time off is Melky Cabrera, who could probably use a mental health day to reflect on a (at this writing) 11-for-62 June.

IT'S NOT A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL
The Yankees are two games under .500 this month, having gone 7-9 through Sunday. Fortunately for them, the Red Sox and Blue Jays have had their own problems, the former team going 8-8 and the Blue Jays going 8-9. This is New York's moment of vulnerability, but its enemies can't seize the moment.

How do the Yankees get back on their horse? There are a lot of trends pointing downwards at the moment. Consider:

OFFENSE
MONTH	G	RUNS	R/G	RATES
April	23	144	6.3	.299/.395/.495
May	28	163	5.8	.281/.355/.409
June	16	81	5.1	.275/.357/.465

The Yankees rank ninth in the league in June runs scored through Sunday, June 18. They still lead the majors in runs with 388, but that may change within a matter of days.

PITCHING
MONTH	G	RUNS	R/G
April	23	91	4.0
May	28	142	5.1
June	16	88	5.5

The Yankees went 18-10 in May with the hitting staying just a little ahead of the pitching. The Yankees need starting pitching help so they can eliminate a shaky Chacon or Wright from their midst — there's probably nothing wrong with the bullpen that a consistent six-inning pitcher wouldn't fix — but they need a bat as well. The pitching may sustain at roughly this level, as it has for the last six weeks. The offense is at replacement level at two and sometimes three spots. That's difficult to overcome.

GLAVINE-OLOGY
Tom Glavine won his 285th game on Sunday, and barring a career-ending injury is almost certain to win 300 games. Once he does, no doubt we will again here how the rise of the incomplete game will make it unlikely that we will ever seen another. That Glavine, Roger Clemens, and Greg Maddux won (or will win) 300 games while fully ensconced in the bullpen era will be overlooked.

What will be said is that there is no pitcher in the generation behind Glavine who seems likely to make the grade. Struggling at 42, Randy Johnson seems unlikely to add many wins to his current 271. David Wells will likely remain stuck on 227 for all eternity. With 232 wins at 37, Mike Mussina's renaissance will have to last a good deal longer for him to get far beyond 250.

And so the pundits will predict that it's all over for the 300-game winner, but we shouldn't necessarily take the absence of contenders as evidence that they're right. There have been some long gaps in the past; if two decades pass between Glavine's achievement of the milestone and the next pitcher to get there (perhaps he was drafted earlier this June), it will not be unprecedented.

GAP BETWEEN 300-GAME WINNERS
PITCHER	YEAR TO 300	GAP
Cy Young	1901	—
Christy Mathewson	1912	11
Eddie Plank	1915	3
Walter Johnson	1920	5
Pete Alexander	1924	4
Lefty Grove	1941	17
Warren Spahn	1961	20
Early Wynn	1963	2
Gaylord Perry	1982	19
Steve Carlton	1983	1
Tom Seaver Phil Niekro	1985	2
Don Sutton	1986	1
Nolan Ryan	1990	4
Roger Clemens	2003	13
Greg Maddux	2004	1

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