Looking Forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. . . and Other Thoughts From Around the League

I am thoroughly looking forward to the Hank Steinbrenner Era. It seems he is hell-bent on replacing his father as the most obnoxious loudmouth, know-nothing owner in baseball. After watching the display he put on this winter in the Johan Santana Sweepstakes and his recent comments about the existence of Red Sox Nation, I don’t believe there is a bigger blowhard in sports today. All we need is for him to revive the Billy Martin routine with Joe Girardi, a possibility that may not be that farfetched as it appears Girardi not necessarily that easy to get along with. Little Stein seems to be unpredictable and impatient and not only expects the team to win now, but to do so in spectacular fashion. Earlier this year, Hank implied that general manager Brian Cashman would be on the hot seat if the plan to hold on to their young pitching instead of going all in for Santana didn’t pan out. If Steinbrenner allows his arrogance and impetuousness to take over the organization, I envision a return of the Yankees to the "glory" years of the 1980's when George was the show.

There seems to be a trend this spring of players entering their third full year of Major League service who are griping about their clubs renewing their contracts instead of offering big money deals. Nick Markakis’ complaints about the Orioles renewing him for $455,000–a $55,00 raise from last year–comes on the heels of Prince Fielder slamming the Brewers and Jonathan Papelbon claiming the Red Sox need to pay him more. Granted these are all star players who are certainly worth more than they are getting paid, they’ve hardly paid their dues in the Majors and with only two years under their respective belts, haven’t earned the right to start telling their front offices how to conduct business. They will all get their chance to cash in next year when they are eligible for arbitration (players are eligible for arbitration after three full seasons of Major League service time and can file for free agency after six). While it would behoove teams to lock up their young stars, they are under no obligation to and certainly shouldn’t be told how to run the organization by 24 and 25 year olds. Besides, these guys aren’t exactly hurting for money at $400-500,000 per year. Forty years ago, most players made so little they often had to get part time jobs in the off season.

Albert Pujols’ elbow continues to be a problem and he seems intent on playing through it. For those of you who read Buzz Bissinger’s 3 Nights in August, you know that Pujols suffered from elbow problems then and played through them even though he had to give the ball to some one else to throw in from the outfield. There is no doubt that he has a high tolerance for pain. At this point it seems that Tommy John surgery is inevitable, the only question is when. Tony LaRussa has implemented his own set of rules to protect Pujols as much as possible and delay surgery until after the season if possible. With the outlook for the Cardinals this season ranging from bleak to dismal, why not go ahead and get the surgery now? St. Louis is clearly moving towards rebuilding and it doesn’t seem to make much sense for Pujols to endure the kind of pain he must be feeling and risk further injury and potentially missing a significant portion of next season when the Cardinals might have a better shot at contention.

Finally, this is long overdue, but congratulations to Terry Francona on reaching a contract extension with the Red Sox. I have always held the believe that managers get far more credit than they deserve, but Tito is one who never got enough. He has certainly made his fair share of questionable calls over the years, but he first grabbed my attention during the 2004 ALCS with his masterful handling of the Boston bullpen. Without that, there is no way they complete the greatest comeback of all time. His handling of Boston’s young prospects, most notably sticking with Dustin Pedroia, is also particularly commendable. Most important, Francona has always conducted himself with class and integrity, not to mention a self deprecating humor in handling the relentless Boston media. He has always stuck up for his players, even if they don’t necessarily deserve (I’m pointing at you Manny) and they in turn have given him their respect and always come to play for him. Here’s to three more years (and hopefully more)!