MLB Columns

Jorge Posada delays surgery in move that's no help to Yankees
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July 24
New York Daily News
 columnist Bill Madden
"Jorge Posada won't be behind the plate the rest of the season. It is entirely possible that Jorge Posada, like the rest of the Yankees, has merely gotten his first real whiff of October possibilities from this just-completed 6-0 home stand and wants to make sure he'll be a part of it all. But is he prepared to be a spare part at the expense of resuming his career as the Yankees' everyday catcher for the start of next season? This is the scenario Posada and the Yankee high command were attempting to sell Wednesday, but with all due respect to the gritty catcher, if they're really serious, it smacks of selfishness and short-sightedness on both sides. It's selfishness on the Yankees' part if ..."
A birthday letter to Barry Bonds
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July 24
Newsday
 columnist Jim Baumbach
"Dear Barry Bonds, Happy birthday! Hope this note finds you well, wherever you may be. I understand this is not how you wanted to celebrate No. 44. Your agent has made that very clear. Everyone who follows baseball is well aware that you'd much rather be playing a game tonight instead of blowing out candles on your ice-cream cake and opening presents in your dining room. We hear ya. But, no one feels sorry for you, because: 1. You cheated. 2. You were a jerk to others. Yes, you've heard those reasons before. And you don't care. We know, we know. But that's why America, in my opinion, is enjoying the fact that you are being humbled now. We know you weren't the only person who has been ..."
Don't Look Now, Mussina Might Be Bombers' MVP
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July 24
New York Post
 columnist Mike Vaccaro
"When he was 3-3 at the end of April, with an ERA hinting at 5, it was easy enough to wonder how the Yankees would handle the inevitable day this summer when they would have to have a serious sit-down with Mike Mussina, discuss everyone's options, everyone's future. When he was 8-4 at the end of May, his ERA still uncomfortably north of 4, it was a neat tale to talk about how veterans know how to win. And how they pitch to the scoreboard, how of course a guy who has had the career Mussina has had could grind his way toward usefulness. When he was 10-6 at the end of June, with his ERA consistently lurking in the mid-to-high 3s, there was a serious (and justified) movement that Mussina be ..."
Manuel Mets Show Grit
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July 24
New York Post
 columnist Joel Sherman
"Nearly a whole day later, manager Jerry Manuel was totally fine with the autopsy. The sock-to-the-gut loss to the Phillies on Tuesday was the kind of defeat that keeps on giving - at least until another pitch is thrown - and the Met manager betrayed not an iota of defensiveness in going over the gruesome details still hanging in the air. It is the most palpable way Manuel has distinguished himself from his predecessor. To call Willie Randolph thin-skinned is insulting to the thin-skinned. Randolph was forever citing his Brooklyn heritage, brandishing his New York-ness. But Randolph never seemed to understand how the game was played in New York, with its lava flow of praise and criticism ..."
Is Hill's career in jeopardy?
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July 24
Sportsnet.ca
 columnist