Captain Crooked

It's agony all around with A-rod's apparent trade to New York. Texas was betrayed. The Sox were outplayed, though I'll leave it to Kyle to speak on that score if he hasn't literally exploded as I fear. The Mets missed out on A-rod in 2000, and on Vlad this year, so this latest development can be viewed as but another act in the larger play that is our recent inability to sign the best young players in the game when they're available. Just imagine what the yearly Subway Series would have been like with Rodriguez and Guerrero headlining.

The drama of Aaron Boone hobbles on piteously, as well. Conjure his frustration as he waits for swelling to subside or a rash to desist, then finds that his foolishness has not only written him out of the picture but was instrumental in paving the way for a replacement he simply cannot match. "Doc," he's thinking, "Forget about the ACL. It's my nervous system that hurts."

I bid a bemused adieu to Alfonso Soriano, should've-been World Series hero, robbed of his rightful ring by beloved Mariano. Some will remember him more for his breeze production than run production, and that is a shame. Maybe Texas will trade him to Los Angeles for pitching. Maybe DePodesta will keep him around -- realizing that while OBP is crucial, a little slugging never hurt anyone -- for the renaissance the Dodgers will undoubtedly experience. I can hope, can't I? He doesn't deserve to be buried in (The Ballpark in)Arlington, casualty of the Boss' crusade to make this season the most disgusting, melo--

dramatic, and wonderful clash of (true, now) rivals ever in the history of baseball. Part of me is mildly annoyed at the sheer profligacy involved, but the larger part, the pure baseball fan in me, is overjoyed at the prospect of seeing the best player in baseball on a regular basis and even in person.

I was skeptical at first, but now that my favorite gangster-turned-baseball-writer is on the story, I have no doubts. You lie to the Underworld at peril of your life. Also encouraging is that Peter Gammons hasn't weighed in yet. Why is that encouraging? Here's a little tip for the unwary, courtesy Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: ⁵gammon
Function: noun
Etymology: obsolete gammon (talk)
: talk intended to deceive

And as a side note, in the Daily News today, accompanying this article is a graphic charting the relative defensive merits of Jeter and A-rod. They throw in what you’d expect (Gold Gloves, fielding percentage, total chances, errors) and a few things I didn’t (range factor, zone rating). I don’t think it’s available online. It’s not UZR, but at least they show that Jeter is inferior in every single one of the above. Hopefully that will wake a little agony in the hearts of bliss-blind Yankees fans on this happiest of happy days. I’m not holding my breath, though.