The Futility Infielder

Beer-Spurting Broadcast Blues

In general, I hold the Yankees television commmentators on the Madison Square Garden Network in high regard. Jim Kaat and Ken Singleton are knowledgable veterans with 40 years of big-league playing experience between them. They are masters of tone, perfect for tuning in day after day after day, with a solid command of the action, a good sense of humor, and the big-picture perspective of those who have done their homework. They're not the types to drone on like Fox's Tim McCarver, or toady up the Boss in the manner of Bobby Murcer and his down-homerisms.

But during the first couple of innings last night, with Kaat absent and the much more annoying Al Trautwig subbing, the announcers made two comments which, had I been drinking, would have left me spurting beer through my nose. The first was that Tino Martinez was worthy of MVP consideration. This was Trautwig's idea, and it would be laughable if it weren't so ignorant. While Tino has had some big hits here and there (his two game-winning home runs last weekend certainly helped), there are at least 20 hitters more worthy of the award in the AL. Not to mention the fact that Martinez isn't even close to being the MVP of this Yankees team. Derek Jeter, Bernie Wiliams, and Jorge Posada are all significantly more productive hitters. They all play significantly more important positions defensively, and while Jeter and Posada have had their problems with D (compared to Tino's near-Gold Glove caliber play at first base), they all would still come out among the league's elite at their positions even if defense were factored in. Tino's D might get him back to being a league-average first baseman at best. See below for more abuse of Martinez.

The second beer-spurting assertion (had I been drinking) was that Paul O'Neill should stick around for another season. This one belonged to the normally level-headed Singleton. While I have great respect for O'Neill's pinstriped career, he is barely average among right-fielders in terms of his overall production. He had an early-season power spurt, but his On Base Percentage has been in steady decline--73 points over the past five seasons, to a meager .338 this year. Yes, his new-found base-stealing prowess (20/23) has shown an adaptability I didn't think he had. But he's pathetic against lefties again (.240 AVG, 688 OPS, 1 home run in 114 PA), and if he does continue to play beyond this season, it should be in a significantly reduced role. Plus, I've seen too many times when he's flat-out failed to hustle coming out of the batter's box, turning would-be doubles into singles or putouts at second. That's the look of a man in search of the finish line. If O'Neill retires, he deserves a sendoff worthy of what he's meant to this franchise. But let's not beg him to stay for the sake of nostalgia. It simply costs too many dollars and too many runs.