Morrison and the Door Closers

The 2011 Marlins have a rock band feel about them. Morrison and the Doors – as in Logan Morrison and a bullpen that closes on everything; doors, streaks, an LA Woman, hopes and rallies. Hopefully, my wordplay will be the only other resemblance to that band, given that the Doors started strong and flamed out early.

See LeBron James was not the first icon to bring his talents to Miami. But by the End Of The Night of Jim Morrison’s visit in 1969 to the Dinner Key Auditorium, When The Music Was Over and he should have headed out the Back Door Man, instead the police arrived. They said, My Eyes Have Seen You and we were called by an Unhappy Girl. It was a Blue Sunday morning. A Twentieth Century Fox film would follow.

Have you seen the Florida Marlins numbers after 13 games? Logan Morrison must be thinking Someone Touch Me — except Maggie M’Gill from Love Street — he is first or a close second in every Marlins hitting category — see Marlins hitting stats here — 2nd in average to Sanchez [Spanish Caravan] and OPS to Dobbs [The Unknown Soldier]. Morrison has started to earn a reputation as a Wild Child and a very good hitter. He may look like The Wasp, sound like People Are Strange, but he hits like he’s ready to Break On Through To The Other Side [>1.0 OPS]. Morrison is so laid back he looks like he just Take It As It Comes, but I’m here to Tell All The People that it’s OK not to Touch The Earth for now, because The Changeling Logan Morrison is not.

Tags: Dinner Key Auditorium, Jim Morrison, Marlins, The Doors

Oh Hanley! Still

When I saw Hanley Ramirez appear to get seriously hurt in Friday’s Marlins win at Houston, my reaction was a disappointed ‘oooh Hanley.’ Ramirez was off to a slow start and now this. The feeling was, ‘this guy’s not our Pujol’s, he’s our Linus.’

“Oh Hanley!,” was the catchphrase the Marlins likeable TV play-by-play announcer Rich Waltz used to describe the excitement about Hanley Ramirez when he first came on the scene. That was then, Mike Stanton is now. By far, the player Marlin fans can’t wait to see perform in 2011 is Mike Stanton. From afar, it must seem like an good example of how fickle fans can be. After all, 21 year-old Stanton, for all his potential, has only 100 games in the big leagues coming into the year, whereas Ramirez is considered by some to be the best all-around shortstop in MLB and is only 27 himself.

Here’s what those who watch from a distance may be missing. In between Ramirez’s great debut in 2006 and now; he earned financial security in 2008, earned a 2nd place MVP in 2009, earned the public criticism of some his teammates, a reputation for surliness [the Miguel Cabrera Syndrome], and had a statistically disappointing 2010. Beyond disappointing, Ramirez became the 4th player [see the others here] in major league baseball history to be removed from a game for literally lollygaging.

So that’s how ‘Oh Hanley!’ morphed into ‘oooh Hanley.’ But when we fans start thinking we know what makes someone like Hanley tick [or not], we should consider how many of us can relate to being a can’t miss prospect since the age of 15. The can’t miss tag carries even more pressure when succeeding was his family’s best [only?] chance to escape poverty back in the Dominican. Poverty is a great motivator, and when combined with great talent, it equals riches in today’s MLB.

Once players like Ramirez achieve financial security for their families, we expect the transition in motivation — from a desperate need to succeed to a Ripken-like self-discipline — to be seamless. It’s not that easy. If it were David Allen would not be wealthy and playing on my iTunes in the background for encouragement. As an aside, I thought that Ramirez’s signing in 2008 was a good example of how to quantify risk vs reward [see here] when it comes to professional athletes salaries.

Maybe what we Marlin fans need is a little distance in in the case of Hanley Ramirez. Someone who has a little distance and is considered one of the best writers covering major league baseball, Joe Posnanski, put together a list of the 32 best players in MLB and listed Hanley as #7. More important than the ranking, which is arbitrary [he had Hanley at #3 a couple of years ago], Posnanski makes the follow undeniable points in Ramirez’s favor:

Last year was a harsh season for Hanley Ramirez. He seemed to be settling in nicely as the most amazing player in baseball that nobody ever talked about, a proud tradition that went back many years. From 2007 to 2009, Ramirez hit .325/.389/.549, banged 86 homers, stole 113 bases, played an ever-improving shortstop and basically did things so remarkable that few believed them and fewer still saw them.

Then, last year Ramirez got caught on camera loafing, got into a spat with his manager about it, and suddenly people in the mainstream KNEW Hanley Ramirez, but what they knew was that he was, in the famed words of the Bull Durham manager, a lollygagger. His numbers fell off quite a bit, and he got hurt toward the end of the year, and all in all it wasn’t too great. Based on perception, you would think Hanley Ramirez turned into Yuni Betancourt overnight.

And then you look at the season — .300/.378/.475 with 21 homers, 32 steals, 92 runs scored — and you can’t help but think that for a lousy season that doesn’t seem like too lousy a season.

At the time of the lollygaging incident, Posnanski offered up one possible explanation, but not an excuse, for Ramirez’s actions [see here]. When you factor in that we Marlin fans have that player locked in for the next 4 seasons at a reasonable salary — momentary time-out from hating on the revenue-sharing money-hoarding owner — I’m back to Oh Hanley!

Click at end of post to see Posnanski’s complete list of the 32 best players in MLB.

The 32 Best Players in Baseball for 2011 as per Joe Posnanski:

32. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees

31. Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

30. Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies

29. Zack Greinke, Milwaukee Brewers

28. Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

27. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees, or Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers

26. Carl Crawford, Boston Red Sox

25. Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians

24. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

23. Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

22. Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox

21. David Wright, New York Mets

20. Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals

19. Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox

18. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

17. Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

16. Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies

15. CC Sabathia, New York Yankees

14. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

13. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants

12. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

11. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

10. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

9. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

8. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

7. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

6. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

5. Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

4. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

3. Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox

2. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies

1. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals

Tags: Hanley Ramirez, Joe Posnanski, Lollygagers, Marlins, Rich Waltz

The Marlins Twilight Zone – 3B

Rod Serling’s thoughts on the Marlins 3B possibilities:

You’re traveling through another dimension; a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are a diamond marked off at 42 paces. If you step up to that hot corner up ahead, your next stop could be the minor leagues?

There was an interesting article last week by Eric Seidman from the Fangraphs blog about how the Marlins should approach their search for a third baseman. The article was written before Matt Dominguez was hurt. Seidman’s conclusion:

[Marlins will be] able to see if certain players can be considered assets moving forward. Assuming they handle this situation correctly-meaning they don’t work out a silly trade for Michael Young-the Marlins can really help themselves for the future by not forcing Dominguez into a starting role before he is ready.

The Marlins have played the development game since 2006 and played it very well. But their time as the Brazil [joke was that it was the country of the future and would always be] of MLB , is winding down precisely because of that success.

In his analysis, I thought that Seidman gave the Marlins too much credit for not forcing Dominguez into the lineup right away. There was no way that Dominguez was going to be with the Marlins to open the year because giving up one year of arbitration eligibility is not something the Marlins would have even considered. That’s just not how they roll, arbitrage eligibility speaking.

But that aside, the Marlins 3B search is an irresistible topic for us fans. Part of the reason is the perception that since so many of the Marlins are playing out of position, there is no reason not to continue to fiddle with the lineup. In reality, only Coughlan and Morrison are playing positions which were not their primary positions in the minor leagues. They both saw limited time in the minors in the outfield when it was evident that that was where they would get their opportunities to play. Gaby Sanchez was primarily a 1B in the minors, Omar Infante a 2B and Bonifacio was versatile, even in the minors.

Jonathan Sumple from the Through the Fence Baseball blog makes the case that if the Marlins go through the season with 3B as a development position, Edwin Rodriguez should not be judged as competing with a full roster. He wrote, “management’s willingness to wait for Dominguez – however long it takes – doesn’t sound like a win-now mantra.” Agreed.

I actually agree with the strategy of staying with the internal options at 3B and waiting on Dominguez. But management can’t have it both ways regarding expectations. Talk is cheap, but established third basemen aren’t.

Tags: Marlins, Rod Serling

Bona Fides For Bonifacio

How does one obtain a Marlins Fan bona fides? First you have to fan invest [explained here] in the team. Ideally, you would take a seemingly indefensible situation and attempt a reasonable defense. For example, defending a manager’s [Fredi Gonzalez] handling of a pitching change which resulted in a grand slam. I also fan invested in Emilio Bonifacio last year, see here. [No I don't see a pattern]. Do any readers have equivalent defenses?

My Marlins fan bona fides established, let me tell you about why you should care about a player who has zero power, a career .306 OBP coming into the 2011 season, much speed, and no real success as a base stealer.

Speed, defensive versatility and maturity. The unfortunate recent minor [Stanton and D. Murphy] and major [Dominguez] injuries have one possible bright spot. A great opportunity for Bonifacio to prove himself. He got his season off to a great start in last night’s loss with productive at-bats and a key defensive play. Bonifacio had a great start to the 2009 season as well, but that start involved an inside-the-park grand slam. By having success in an area he could not expect to repeat, his grand slam turned out to be the Marlins worst success since Chuck Carr’s grand slam in 1993. I swear, but won’t look it up, that Carr’s next 42 outs were fly balls.

Carr went on to infamously talk himself out of MLB in 1997. After popping out to third base on a two balls, no strike count, Carr was questioned by manager Phil Garner [Brewers]. Carr replied to Garner in third person: “That ain’t Chuckie’s game. Chuckie hacks on 2-0.” He was released from the club shortly thereafter.

Bonifacio did not hack last night. But Bonifacio’s versatility was on display, as he played RF-3B-CF, made good defensive plays in both the outfield and infield, had 2 hits and a sacrifice. Using up my ‘season-extrapolation-after-only-one-game-allowance,’ earned here, for Gaby Sanchez. I think that 2011 will be a very good year for him. Then again I may just 2 months away from badgering 790′s Jonathan Zaslow on why the Marlins released Bonifacio on his radio post-game shows.

Tags: Emilio Bonifacio, Fan Invested, Gaby Sanchez, Jonathan Zaslow, Marlins

A Fan’s Ode To Renyel Pinto

Do you remember where you were when you heard that Renyel Pinto had been released last year? I meant his June 23rd release by the Marlins, not his August 21st release by the St Louis Cardinals. I was at a family dinner, which also included a priest, and I still cursed. Even the US victory over Algeria in the World Cup that day provided little solace.

You see I had fan invested. Fan investing involves taking limited knowledge of a sport, mixing it with tribal-like allegiances and attaching oneself to a potentially dubious, but convenient, product. As a sports fan, my goal is to approximate what I once heard someone say sarcastically about my hero *William F. Buckey Jr.’s politics: “He chose his side like a fanatic, and defended it like a philosopher.” Well, as you will soon click and learn, I got at least half of that right.

For my first defense of Pinto, I brought Fredo Corleone into the discussion. For my next defense of Pinto, I realized that I needed a little more muscle, so I brought in Jack Bauer. One month later Pinto was gone. Can’t help thinking I could have done more, or less. Even Wes Helms very funny interview on March 18th with the 790 Radio Station, in which he jokingly calls out Pinto for being the least manly Marlin last year, did not soften the blow.

Great start for the Marlins fans last night, especially against the hated and hateful New York Mets. Speaking of giving up on players too soon, did you see what Cameron Maybin did on opening night for San Diego? Although in his case, we know from recent interviews that that the final decision to release came from ownership, not the baseball people. Please remember that somewhere in Pawtucket, Andrew Miller is throwing in the mid 90′s.

* – Turns out that the original quote came from Thomas Babington Macaulay who was speaking of Edmund Burke. Coincidentally enough, Burke’s offspring also came to be released by a professional baseball team, the New York Highlanders. However, Burkey, as he was known, was so embarrassed by his intellectual father, that he had changed his name to Stubby Magner, no relation to Honus.

Tags: Emilio Bonifacio, Fan Invested, Marlins, Renyel Pinto, Stubby Magner, William F. Buckley Jr.

Blinded By The Loria?

Jack Woltz quote in GI prior to gaining [not getting] a head:

Johnny Fontane ruined one of Woltz International’s most valuable proteges. For three years we had her under contract, singing lessons, dancing lessons, acting lessons. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was gonna make her a big star. And let me be even more frank, just to show you that I’m not a hard-hearted man, that it’s not all dollars and cents. She was beautiful, she was innocent…. And then Johnny Fontane comes along with his olive oil voice and guinea charm and she runs off. She threw it all away just to make me look ridiculous. And a man in my position can’t afford to be made to look ridiculous.

From a business perspective, Jack Woltz’s personal animus towards Johnny Fontane, caused to him to do a poor job of assessing risk for Woltz International. Similarly, Jeffrey Loria’s spectacularly profitable investment in MLB franchises, has not gone unnoticed by his unwitting benefactors. A few examples of their frustration over being made to look ridiculous:

• 2008 – Hank Steinbrenner remarks: I don’t want these teams in general to forget who subsidizes a lot of them, and it’s the Yankees, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets,” he said to The New York Post. “I would prefer if teams want to target the Yankees that they at least start giving some of that revenue sharing and luxury tax money back. From an owner’s point of view, that’s my point.
• 2009 – John Henry remarks: … seven chronically uncompetitive teams, five of whom have had baseball’s highest operating profits, had received over $1 billion in revenue sharing money.
• 2010 – First ever criticism of the revenue sharing abuse by the Florida Marlins from the Major League Baseball Players Association and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball.
• 2011 – Revealed that the New York Yankees had contributed about $130 million between revenue sharing and luxury tax in 2010.
• 2011 – Revealed that the Boston Red Sox had contributed about $86 million between revenue sharing and luxury tax in 2010.
• 2011 – Revealed that MLB had fined John Henry $500K for his 2009 complaints about the current revenue sharing structure.

No truth to the rumor that Loria asked MLB if the John Henry fine could be direct deposited into his bank account.

Tags: Florida Marlins Finances, Forbes, Godfather Saga

The Loria Years: $300 Million Double Double

Forbes has produced their annual MLB valuations, which gives me an opportunity to update my Profit and Loss financial statement for the Florida Marlins. BD [Before Deadspin], producing the financials was like putting together a puzzle whose contents were constantly refuted by the fittingly embarrassed ownership. By now I assume we can focus on what the numbers reveal. See below for the Profit and Loss financial statement for the Florida Marlins during the Loria ownership years, 2002 through 2010.

My financial statement is a combination of actuals [Deadspin] and estimates [Forbes]. In addition, I adjusted the Deadspin/actuals, to be consistent with the Forbes [and conventional accounting] criteria regarding operating income. I illustrate and explain the change here and here. In effect, I am adjusting for a concession MLB made to teams building new stadiums. Ideally, Forbes would address the discrepancy directly, but for now, the teeming MLB finances community is stuck with me.

Professional athletes have their milestones, owners have theirs. During 2010, Jeffrey Loria surpassed the $300 million mark in revenue sharing monies received from the MLB revenue sharing payer teams during his nine years of owning the Florida Marlins. Those teams were mostly the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets and Cubs. If you think that is a tough crowd to feel sympathy for, you’ve probably never co-owned a franchise with Loria.

For Jeffrey Loria, the $300 million from revenue sharing was one part of a double-double. He has also seen his investment in MLB franchises grow by over $300 million. Follow along as we trace how Loria’s investment in MLB has grown through the years:

• 1993 – Failed in bid to purchase the Baltimore Orioles.
• 1999 – Initial $12 million dollar investment in the Montreal Expos for a 24% interest in the franchise.
• 2000 – Instead of putting up an additional $39 million towards a new downtown ballpark in Montreal as called for in the deal under which he entered as an investor, Loria outmaneuvered the other partners by cancelling those plans and initiating capital calls. Those capital calls result in Loria investing an additional $18 million to increase his ownership percentage from 24% to 93%. Thus Loria gained 93% of the Expos for roughly a $30 million investment.
• 2001 – Loria threatens MLB with an antitrust lawsuit if they proceed with plans to contract the Montreal franchise without allowing Loria to continue to own another MLB team, preferably in Washington DC.
• 2002 – MLB exchanges Loria’s ownership interest in the Montreal Expos for the Florida Marlins. The price MLB ascribed to the Expos was $120 million — a 900 percent return on his original investment, but only a 400 percent return on his total Expos ownership investment — plus a $38.5 million loan, $15 million of which was later forgiven.
• 2002 through 2010 – Florida Marlins receive $302 million in revenue sharing monies.
• 2002 through 2010 – Florida Marlins earn $154 million in operating income.
• 2006 through 2010 – Florida Marlins Major League payroll is consistently one of the lowest in MLB.
• 2009 – Local governments approve financing for construction of a retractable roof facility at the Orange Bowl site in Little Havana.
• March 2011 – Forbes estimates the current value of the Florida Marlins at $360 million. Forbes earlier valuations of the Marlins have been very accurate.

Florida Marlins estimated Profit & Loss statement.

Please click on image to enlarge or print.

This spreadsheet addresses the discrepancy between the Deadspin actuals and Forbes estimates.

Please click on image to enlarge or print

Tags: Florida Marlins Finances, Forbes, Marlins Ballpark, Orange Bowl

Larry Beinfest: Hyman Roth’s Progeny?

Tom Hagen, he of German-Irish descent, quote from GII:

Roth, he … he played this one beautifully

Hyman Roth meet Larry Beinfest. The kid’s been running molasses out of Jamestown, Greenboro, Jupiter and New Orleans. He always make money for his partners and eventually, he’ll do the same for some of his prospects. They just need to be patient.

If you’re the Marlins getting ready for 2011, there is one financial constraint you have to work around. The next prospect with a chance to continue the recent string of rookie successes — Coghlan, Sanchez, Stanton and Morrison — cannot use up a year of arbitration in 2011. Which means, as Juan Rodriguez from the Sun-Sentinel explains, that Matt Dominguez won’t make it to the majors until “probably after the late-May arbitration cutoff date.”

So these were Beinfest’s options coming into Spring Training:

1. Announce that 3B was Emilio Bonifacio’s job to lose
2. Announce that 3B was Wes Helms’ job to lose
3. Announce that 3B was Matt Dominguez’s job to lose
4. Announce that there was an open competition for the job

Option #1 would have brought threats of violence from the Sabermetric community. Option #2 would have brought threats of violence from Wes Helms. His role and future with the Marlins appears set. No need to risk a .150 average in mid-May to potentially ruin the good vibes. So it came down to option #3 or #4.

The risk with option #4 is that Dominguez has a nice spring under the radar and now the Marlins have created a PR problem — New Ballpark = Caring = PR problem — when they send him down at the beginning of the season. Think of it this way, the Marlins had to decide under which option Dominguez would perform better this Spring and then select the other option. The choice on how to handle Dominguez came down to under the radar or as a top gun.

Evidence of the top gun expectations choice is that Dominguez was touted as one of the best fielding 3B in MLB right now and that only hitting would be a question mark. Once Dominguez struggled, now the Marlins have a prospect who probably accepts that he needs additional time in the minors instead of thinking that he belongs in the majors right away.

Somewhere, likely in Hell, Hyman Roth is smiling through a persistent cough and a urinary tract infection. If the Marlins trade for a 3B before the regular season begins, please ignore all the above.

What Is It Like To Be A Florida Marlins Fan?

What is it like to be a Florida Marlins fan? It’s not as bad you might think, even before the great Wild Card run of 2009 [which will come to be known as the ugliest Phillies collapse since 64]. You’ve heard all the negatives, here are just a few of the positives, which encompass some of the supposed negatives:

• World Championship every 5 or 6 years
• None of those spoiled and wealthy players just going through the motions
• A zero tolerance policy towards ‘can’t miss prospects.’ Yes they can miss and we are going to find out right now!
• Our unique attendance and home field dynamics, allow Miami fans to watch MLB while still observing CDC swine flu precaution guidelines.
• We Marlins fans can bond with great players before they enter the insufferably pompous stage of their career. There was a slight, but unavoidable, overlap with Miguel Cabrera.

The last item is the one which is the most constant source of fun for us Marlins fans. Every series seems to be another opportunity to re-live great memories or likable ball players. Let’s walk back across the recent schedule:

• Houston Astros in town. Pudge catching, J.T. Snow is out! But it’s not just the stars, Brian Moehler was here in 2005 & 2006.
• We just left Philadelphia. Paul Bakko did some time here in 2000. The dearth of ex-Marlins is the likely cause of the curse about to befall them.
• Washington Nationals? They are the Northern Marlins. Josh Willingham, Scot Olsen. Logan Kensing. Again it’s not just that they played here [Ron Villone 2005], those guys came up to the big leagues here. Marlins fans would root against Willingham in only the most extreme conditions.
• Cubs. Derek Lee. 2-run double off Mark Prior in THE INNING. Ryan Dempster was a starter here for 5 years. Kevin Gregg was the most recent in a long list of improbably good Florida Marlins relievers – see the list below.
• Atlanta Braves. Eric Gregg [click here for an ode to the greatest strike call ever] and Yunel Escobar. Escobar is from Cuba, which is the equivalent of spending 3 years with the Marlins in our community].

OK, the streak ended with Atlanta. The Boston Red Sox? Oh, you mean the place Lowell and Beckett went to cash out with our blessings. I scan the boxscores for R Andino, M Cabrera, L Castillo, R Castro, A Gonzalez, M Jacobs, D Lee, M Lowell, M Olivo, J Pierre, M Redmon, I Rodriguez, G Sheffield, M Treanor, etc. I don’t like to see our pitchers have to face each other, J Beckett, AJ Burnett, K Gregg, B Looper, J Miller, S Mitre, C Pavano, B Penny, J Vargas, D Willis, etc.

The Improbably Good Florida Marlins Closers

• 1993 – Bryan Harvey
• 1994 through 1997 – Robb Nen
• 1998 – *no saves were recorded
• 1999 through 2001 – Antonio Alfonseca [aka, El Pulpo, The Dragonslayer, and Six-Fingers]
• 2002 – Vladimir Nunez
• 2003 – Braden Looper – a personal favorite of mine – Marlins had a Saturday morning game-day promotion where kids were taken on a pitching, fielding and hitting sessions right on the field and under the stands, in the case of the hitting. Looper and Freddi Gonzalez were the pitching and batting instructors. In a highlight, my 7-year old daughter almost knocked Freddi over with a line drive. We’re talking 2000 or 2001.
• 2004 – Armando Benitez
• 2005 – Todd Jones
• 2006 – Joe Borowski
• 2007 through 2008 – Kevin Gregg

*-Just kidding – Matt Mantei

Tags: Florida Marlins

Mariano Rivera Will Be The Next John Smoltz

That 39-year old Mariano Rivera will be the next John Smoltz is a matter of if, not when. By ‘the next John Smoltz,’ we mean the example of an aging superstar pitcher whose body finally begins to pitch his age. Sometimes the ‘ifs’ in MLB are hard to see coming. This ain’t one of them.

We invoke Baseball Gods and fate to explain some sports injuries. But unless you run a plastic surgery factory in Aventura, the effects of aging is a fairly mainstream scientific idea. That’s why this is the one injury — perhaps breakdown is a more exact term — which would most affect who the next world Series Champion will be and is not hard to see coming.

Soon we will appreciate the irony that the great John Smoltz’s final game happened in front a similarly great contemporary like Rivera. Don’t think Rivera wasn’t having melancholy thoughts as he watched either; ‘Is that how it will be for me? Will I have to suffer the ignominy of having a Coco Crisp doing Grand Slam curtain calls? God, maybe I should get out now? Worse, maybe that moron Girardi will call me in again to discuss my mechanics.’

So what do wealthy New York franchises do when confronted with stubborn facts about the aging process? They develop a theory of course. Let’s call it the Omar Minaya theory. Now Omar Minaya didn’t invent this theory, he is just its latest poster boy.
The OM theory defined:

1. The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in that paying 8-figure salaries to veteran players who would be in the decline of their careers in any other era [a non-Bionic era], will keep them healthy during an entire major league baseball season: i.e., see Carlos Delgado.

2. Something believed or accepted as true, especially a particular tenet or a body of tenets accepted by a group of persons. i.e., management of New York MLB teams and their fans.

[Middle English bileve, alteration (influenced by bileven, to believe) of Old English gelafa; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.]

I’m not a gambler, but if I were, finding a Yankee fan and placing a wager that we are only weeks away from the beginning of the end of Mariano Rivera’s spectacular HOF career is almost an unfair way to make some money.

The more interesting question to me is which Bionic Era major leaguer will go down next.

Now members of my own family, who inconceivably worship at the secular-Yankee alter, namely my brother Fred and Evelio [I-phone Yankee logo wallpaper, 'nuff said], will vociferously suggest that this observation is driven by a hatred of the Yankees [and a broader hatred of all NY professional sports teams]. They would not so much be wrong about my feelings as they would be limited in the understanding of why I take such pleasure in their misfortune, i.e. sports hatred.

I appreciate what the Yankees do for MLB. They and other large market teams have in effect been subsidizing smaller market teams for many years. They do not do so out of charity; you see, if there there were not economically viable MLB teams in smaller markets, there would be no NY Yankees. I just love the irony of seeing the beneficiaries of their payouts succeed where they fail. Besides, I made a promise as I sat and watched the stinking, Darwin theory-challenging and thuggish-Knick [redundant?] fans exiting the Miami Arena on May 3rd, 1998.

It may be slightly outdated, but I urge all fans to read Sports Illusion, Sports Reality by Leonard Koppett. He does an excellent job of explaining why if it weren’t for the constant drumbeat of media coverage, we wouldn’t be as interested in MLB. In other words, we are kidding ourselves if we think we follow professional or college teams based on the love of the sport.

So again, who’s next after Rivera?

That guy ===> ===>

But don’t say his name out loud, we wouldn’t want to jinx the 35-year old.

Tags: John Smoltz, Leonard Koppett, Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees, Omar Minaya