For those new to the site, check out our previous Ken Phelps post.

I always found Mr. Phelps to be a very underrated nerd, both for his sporting the triple threat of adult braces, large glasses, and facial hair, and his impressive offensive production.  While he never had more than 441 AB’s in a season, he had five seasons with an OPS+ over 120, and four of those were over 147.  He was also part of the trade that sent Jay Buhner from the Yankees to the Mariners.

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Phelps also inspired famous statistician Bill James to create the “Ken Phelps All-Star Team.”  Mr. James describes it this way:

Ken Phelpses are just available; if you want one, all you have to do is ask. They are players whose real limitations are exaggerated by baseball insiders, players who get stuck with a label — the label of their limits, the label the things they can’t do — while those that they can do are overlooked… The Ken Phelps All-Stars [are] a whole teamful of guys who are wearing labels, but who nonetheless can play major-league baseball, and will prove it if they ever get the chance

When I posted the Matt Young card last month, I challenged anyone to show me a card more deserving of the “distorted faces” tag.  Well Vorpy has responded, and responded with great force, by sending me this Tim Leary card.  While Mr. Leary gets a small pass in my book due to his pose being mid-pitch, this is an awfully strong entry in the “distorted faces” camp.

Not to be confused with the psychedelic drug advocate, this Tim Leary played in the major leagues for 13 seasons.  He finished his career with almost 1500 innings pitched, an ERA+ of 90, a World Series ring, and the 1988 “Comeback Player of the Year” award.

Considering the man in this picture is just wearing a Yankees t-shit, I thought that maybe someone bumped into the photographer, resulting in a casual fan appearing in Mr. Mohorcic’s place.  This, however, is not the case.  Two amazing stories about Mr. Mohorcic from Wikipedia (though neither explain the t-shirt wearing):

1)  In a 1987 game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Mohorcic was accused of doctoring the baseball. Umpires found no evidence of wrongdoing at the time, but after the game Mohorcic complained of a sore throat, and was admitted to a hospital where it was discovered that he was suffering internal bleeding as a result of having Crohn’s disease and taking the pain reliever naproxen. It was erroneously reported by Peter Gammons that Mohorcic’s bleeding was caused by swallowing sandpaper.

2)  Mohorcic played the part of Angels starting pitcher Dave Spiewak in the 1988 movie The Naked Gun.

Despite being listed at 5’9″ and 160 lbs., Mr. Tolleson bypassed a career in the NFL by signing with the Texas Rangers after the 1978 draft.  That same year, his senior year at Western Carolina University, he was an All-American wide receive, and led the nation in receptions.  With this athleticism, you would think he would have posted better than his career .307 OBP, and .293 slugging in over 2300 AB’s.

“You can’t pitch a perfect game. No one can.” (Awkward silence) “Except Don Larsen.”

And a bunch of other guys. It’s weird that he used Larsen as his example, when Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game three weeks ago.

from the NY Daily News (February 8, 2009)

Eating $270M worth it for the Yankess to finally ditch A-Rod by Bill Madden

This is for real. This was actually the title of the article.

Cashman: Hey Bill, Brian Cashman here. Look, keep this under your hat, but we need to ditch A-Rod. We just can’t figure out how…any ideas?

Madden: Got it! How about eating the remaining nine years and $270M on his contract?

Cashman: Dude, that’s totally worth it.

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.

The Yankees operate under two basic tenets: The relentless pursuit of championships and the fierce protection of their brand. If they are going to remain true to both, then they have no choice but to sever ties with Rodriguez.

Yankee Tenet #1: the relentless pursuit of championships. In order to remain true to this tenet, they must sever ties with Rodriguez. The guy who leads the team in HRs since 2004 (208)? The guy who’s won two MVP awards since joining the team? The guy who’s OPS+’d 153 since becoming a Yankee? Yeah? Getting rid of him (and paying him a quarter of a billion dollars to play for someone else) will help their relentless pursuit of championships?

Yankee Tenet #2: fierce protection of their brand. Simply not true…I see guys selling homophobic “Brokeback Jeter” and “A-Rod Swallows” t-shirts on Boylston Street after every Red Sox game. I guess I can’t say for sure, but I highly doubt these are Yankee-sanctioned products. This makes me question how fiercely the brand is being protected.

He is right about other teams applauding if the Yankees cut A-Rod though…they’ll be applauding how much easier it will be to beat the Yankees, and how they could sign A-Rod for a “cheap” salary since the Yankees would still be on the hook for $270M.

Now, everything about the pursuit of championships and the Yankee brand is a mockery if A-Rod is the centerpiece of this team.

The World Series doesn’t count if the Yankees win next year. Could you imagine how disgusted the Yankee fans will be if their favorite team wins the World Series at any point during the next nine years?

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.

I need a drink.