The sport with the most parity...is baseball?

Since it's impossible to even watch the Weather Channel without hearing about NBA free agency, I'm going to promote the MLB a little bit right now.

John and I were talking about the salary cap in the NBA and how impossible it is to understand. And when you think about it, does it really work? Isn't the point of the salary cap to give teams an equal chance to win? Let's take a look.

NBA Championships since the 1999-2000 season

1. LA Lakers- 5 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)
2. San Antonio Spurs- 3 (2003, 2005, 2007)
3. 3 Teams tied with 1- Detroit Pistons (2004), Miami Heat (2006), Boston Celtics (2008)
   

Now take a look at the World Series Champs since 2000

1. 2 teams tied with 2- NY Yankees (2000, 2009), Boston Red Sox (2004, 2007)
2. 6 teams tied with 1- Arizona Diamondbacks (2001), Anaheim Angels (2002), Florida Marlins (2003), Chicago White Sox (2005), St. Louis Cardinals (2006), Philadelphia Phillies (2008)

So whenever the Yankees "buy a World Series" everyone complains that the MLB needs a salary cap. But is it worth overhauling the entire system if it's not even working in other sports?

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Yanks in 2010? World Series or SEE YA!

So we've gone through our predictions for the individual Yankees in 2010. Now we're going to take a look at how the standings will look at the end of the season.


National League
East:
Phillies 97-65
Braves 89-73
Mets 80-82
Marlins 79-83
Nationals 69-93

Central:
Cardinals 94-68
Cubs 87-75
Brewers 84-78
Astros 80-82
Pirates 66-96

West:
Dodgers 95-67
Giants (WILD CARD) 91-71
Rockies 90-72
Diamondbacks 81-81
Padres 70-92

AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST:
Yankees 101-61
Red Sox(Wild Card) 95-67
Orioles 86-76
Rays 85-77
Blue Jays 69-93

CENTRAL:
Twins 93-89
Tigers 91-71
White Sox 85-77
Indians 76-86
Royals 67-95

WEST:
Mariners 94-88
Rangers 88-74
Angels 82-80
A's 74-88

PLAYOFFS:
FIRST ROUND
Yankees over Twins (I'm thinking they sweep and clinch it on the frozen tundra of Target Field)
Red Sox over Mariners (Unless Papelbon blows it, again)
Phillies over Giants (Though Lincecum and Cain in a short series will be tough)
Dodgers over Cards (Setting up a rematch in the NLCS)

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Yankess over Red Sox (In 7 games, thus taking another 10 years off my life)
Dodgers over Phillies (In 6, because if it goes 7, I think Roy Halladay wills the Phillies to victory)

WORLD SERIES
Yankees over Dodgers
The Yanks will take home their 28th World Series title in 6 games, and Alex Rodriguez will take home MVP honors after channeling his inner Reggie Jackson and bombing 3 home runs in the clinching game. You heard it here first.

What do you think? Leave a comment and vote in the poll on the right.

(Props to @brmeyer for inspiring the headline)

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Should it be retired: Number 51

Last week, I debated whether Paul O'Neill's jersey number 21 should be retired, and this week I'll go into Bernie Williams and number 51.

Image via Wikipedia

Bernie is an interesting case considering that, despite having not played since 2006, he has never officially retired. When he returned for the ceremonies prior to the closing ceremonies at the old Yankee Stadium, he said he "may never retire officially." Nevertheless, the number has not been reissued. There was a little bit of friction between Williams and the Yankees after the 2006 season; he thought he could still play, but the team only gave him a non-roster invite to Spring Training. I think that should be water under the bridge since he came back for the final game and then a few times last year.

So, let's get into it:

The case for retiring the number:

• Career Yankee
• 5-times All-Star
• 4 World Series Championships
• 6 Top-20 finishes in MVP voting (Highest was 7th in 1998)
• 4 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger
• Position on All-Time Lists: 6th in home runs, RBI's, runs, and games played, 5th in hits and extra-base hits, and 2nd in doubles.
• Everyday centerfielder for 13 seasons.
  

The case against retiring the number:

• Most likely will not be enshrined in the Hall of Fame
• Most of statistics came from a peak period, and he faded quickly at the end of his career.
• When compared to the other center fielders who have their numbers retired, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, Williams does not compare favorably. That, however, is a pretty unfair comparison.

I think it is pretty safe to say that the number 51 will hand in Monument Park some day.The bigger question is probably whether Williams gets a plaque as well. That is probably a closer debate, but I can see that happening as well.


In some actual news, the Yankees won their first spring training game today against the Pirates. The 2010 Yankees won in 2009 style with a 3-run walk-off homerun by Colin Curtis. They take on the Philadelphia Phillies tomorrow in a rematch of the World Series.

SEE YA!

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Park to pitch at Stadium this year

The Yankees have signed 36-year old right-hander Chan Ho Park to a 1 year $1.2 million deal. Brian Cashman could not confirm the deal, as it had not been officially completed but Park held a press conference in Seoul, South Korea just after 1 AM Eastern time. Park will join the bullpen mix, instead of joining the competition for the fifth starter spot that is already pretty packed with Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Chad Gaudin, Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

With the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies last year, Park went 3-3 with a 4.43 ERA. That ERA is bloated as he made 7 starts to the tune of a 7.29 ERA. But, after moving to the bullpen, Park recorded a 2.52 ERA and a WHIP of 1.18.

While being most widely known as the first South Korean Major League, Park made some headlines in December when it became public that he was suing his former Dodger battery mate Chad Kreuter for failing to pay off a loan. So, don't go asking for him to loan you any money, Jorge.

Good move by Cashman, bringing in another quality arm to help David Robertson, Damaso Marte, and the rest bridge the gap to Mariano in the 9th because, as Cashman himself states, "The more the merrier. You can never have enough."

The Yanks 40-man roster is currently full, so there will be a corresponding move to free a spot when Park's contract becomes official.

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We're going back to NY

Yankees 6 10 0
Phillies 8 9 0

WP: Lee
LP: Burnett
S: Madson

Ok, I need to figure out my class schedule for next semester, so I'm going to make this quick. Lee wasn't good today, but Burnett was absolutely horrible. Despite that, the Yankees still had a chance to win, but Phil Coke took care of that by serving up meatballs to Utley and Ibanez. I say it all the time, but it's part of the bullpen's job to keep the game close, and Coke failed. Jeter's double play in the ninth was a killer, but he can't be clutch all the time. It is also interesting to note that Lidge was not summoned to close the game out even though it was save situation. Most of the time, after a game like last night, a manager will send a closer right back out there. When Charlie Manuel didn't do that with Lidge, you might believe that it could be the last time we see Lidge in this series, because he now doesn't have confidence in himself, and doesn't have the confidence of his manager.

Game 6 starters have not been announced. But it will probably be Pedro vs Pettitte.

SEE YA!

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Mets 6 Yankees 2

Mets 6 17 0
Yankees 2 5 0



WP: Nieve (1-0)
LP: Pettitte (6-3)



PLAYER OF THE GAME: Fernando Nieve. Nieve allowed 3 hits in 6.2 IP. He really made the Yankees look bad. Either that or the Yankees just made him look good.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Omir Santos's 2 run HR. It set the tone for the game and showed the Mets were ready to go after last nights debacle.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME: A-Rod failing to turn a double play in the fifth inning. A weak throw to second led to Tatis being safe at first. Tatis would later score and after that you felt the Yankees were out of reach for a comeback.

Tommorow:
Yankees vs Mets 1:05 ET Yankee Stadium
Burnett (4-3) vs Santana (8-3)

NOTES:

• Yankees need to come out and take good at bats and get to the Mets bullpen tommorow.
• Burnett needs to give the Yankees innings. This past week the Yankees pitchers (except Sabathia) are playing like it's April 2007. Lately, Burnett has not been on the good side with the Yankee fans with the way he is pitching so he needs a big game.
• Me and Jim will be at the game tommorow. There will be no lineup or in-game update. We will have a full recap when we get back.
• Let's Go Phillies!

See Ya!

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