Cashman the Weiner

When former Democratic New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was under siege after a series of racy photos he’d intended to send privately to a female follower on Twitter, he first denied that they were of him hoping that the controversy would die out. Then he kindasorta laid (heh) the foundation for a sex scandal that he still hoped to escape and politically survive by saying, “Well, maybe it’s me.” It was a sex scandal in the weakest sense because it doesn’t appear that Weiner actually got any sex out of the whole thing, which makes it even more of a waste of time and energy.

Naturally the subterfuge failed and snowballed with several women coming forward to relate their interactions with the former congressman. Try as he might to demonize the late gadfly Andrew Breitbart for publicizing the photos, the truth came out and Weiner wound up having to apologize to Breitbart and subsequently resigned his congressional seat.

After reading Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman’s cryptic statement about slumping ace CC Sabathia this morning, I saw Cashman as a Weiner trying to use verbal gymnastics to slap away questions as to why Sabathia’s velocity is down and he’s not the ace he’s been in years past.

The quote is nestled in this game report in the New York Times:

His velocity has dipped enough for General Manager Brian Cashman to say that he might still be fighting through some arm pain.

“Obviously, C. C. was signed to be an ace, so you anticipate that,” Cashman said before the game. “But at the same time, you know recently he was going through an elbow issue, so it makes you curious if that still bothers him or not, whether if he acknowledges it or not.”

So what you’re telling me is that the GM of the team—the most expensive and famous in all of baseball that is in the midst of a seismic collapse that will reverberate for years if they don’t stop it now—doesn’t know whether the ace of his pitching staff is under treatment for arm pain? That he’s unaware of the status of the pitcher upon whom the Yankees doled a lucrative contract extension last winter that essentially pays him at least a guaranteed $30 million in 2016 when he’ll be 36; and as much as $50 million for 2016-2017 when he’s turning 37?

It’s not the crime, but the coverup that dooms the participants. During and after manager Joe Girardi’s shouting match with Joel Sherman of the New York Post a week ago when Sherman asked about Sabathia’s health, was Girardi using anger as a distractive technique to shift the story from Sabathia and the possibility that he’s injured or pitching in pain? Is he hurt or not?

No matter how this season ends, if in its aftermath the Yankees turn around and admit that there was something wrong with Sabathia, how is that going to be spun to blame the media? Will it be used to justify Sabathia’s struggles? To divert attention from the fact that they were asked directly about the big lefty’s health and repeatedly said he was fine? It doesn’t work that way. You can’t say he’s okay to pitch and then use injuries to explain him not getting the job done.

Giving the moral high ground to someone like Joel Sherman is a sign that one needs to reevaluate his life. But on the scale of problems currently facing the Yankees, it’s just another small addition to the list that’s gotten them into this situation in the first place. And first place is something they may not be hearing in reference to their collective names much longer. Then Cashman’s going to have a lot more to worry about than how to navigate his statements to say things without saying them; to imply that there’s an excuse at the ready for whatever befalls the team from here on out.

He may have to worry about his job. Just like Anthony Weiner.

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LoMo And The Tweets

Generations are clearly clashing in the case of Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison and his penchant for expressing himself on Twitter.

I suppose “expressing” is better than “exposing”. (See Weiner, Anthony.)

Team president David Samson already warned Morrison about the potential negatives of his outspokenness on the site—as innocuous as most of it is—and ostensibly threatened him with demotion.

Samson’s not known as the most congenial guy in the world.

Obviously the Marlins aren’t going to demote Morrison…as long as he’s hitting.

That he’s a 23-year-old potential All Star contributes to his ability to push the envelope via social media. If it was Wes Helms doing the tweeting, he’d be told to stop or he’d get released; since it’s Morrison, he gets a certain amount of leeway and repeated stern talking-tos from the front office.

I use Twitter and other social networks and find it entertaining when people in the position of Morrison interact with fans. Roger Clemens and barbecue maestro Steven Raichlen have both replied to me on the site; I’m waiting for Jose Canseco to answer me or threaten me—either/or is fine.

Morrison’s biggest problem appears to be the perceptions of propriety separating the Marlins front office and his penchant for tweeting his mind. The lines are being blurred with what he says to the media in person and what he tweets.

After the Scott Cousins–Buster Posey collision, Morrison did a service by stating publicly—on Twitter—that Cousins was receiving death threats. The reaction to this ridiculousness played a part on the toning down of the rhetoric.

It was an “enough already” moment.

After the Marlins fired hitting coach John Mallee, Morrison defended him, but did so to reporters directly and not on Twitter.

It’s easy for such things to become misunderstood.

Morrison’s tweets aren’t controversial. A public person willing to actually be the one running his own Twitter/Facebook page is not customary—much of the time, it’s a PR person or ghostwriter (or ghosttweeter) behind it.

Morrison interacts with fans and it’s viewed as unusual because it is unusual.

I find his twitter feed moderately entertaining; at least he knows his “your/you’re”, “their/they’re” and doesn’t use the phrase “lol” repeatedly. That’s all I ask.

But what I don’t understand is why an apparently single 23-year-old major league baseball player—whose home base is Miami—is on Twitter so often. There have to be better things to do.

Where are the models?

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The Tommy John Pool

Inspired by the draft and the deranged hyperbole surrounding it, I’m starting the PaulLebowitz.com Tommy John Pool.

The person who picks the first pitcher requiring the procedure from this year’s MLB Draft wins. Said pitcher can’t have the warning sign of a pre-existing condition to his elbow which might indicate the surgery to be likely and we’ll have to rely on the honor system.

When (not if) one of the selected pitchers (no position players) needs the surgery, you’ll be required to send me the money to distribute to the winner. And before anyone dares suggest that I’m hoping this happens, let me be clear, I don’t care one way or the other whether it happens or not. That’s honesty—the type of honesty that should say that I’m not going to muck with the results.

I’ll limit it to the first 10 rounds and $20 per person should accumulate a nice kitty for the winner. If you enter and welsh, I’m calling you out publicly faster than a crotch-shot of Anthony Weiner explodes across the internet and he issues a non-denial denial, lies, attacks, parses and eventually, kinda tells the truth.

In other words, fast.

Since some brilliant, unnamed scout compared UCLA righty Trevor Bauer to Tim Lincecum (and said he might be better—yah, that’s rational), Bauer is my pick.

Leave your selection in the form of a comment below and I’ll keep track.

Good luck.

Or bad luck.

Whichever you prefer.

Like anything else, it’s all a matter of perception and selfish interests.

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