Derek Jeter is an unknown for 2014. Brendan Ryan cannot hit, but is an excellent fielder. Should Ryan make more starts at shortstop and move Jeter to designated hitter?

Nobody, not even Brendan Ryan, wants Derek Jeter to be worse than Brendan Ryan next year. Unfortunately, given Jeter's age and injury history, it is a very real possibility. Jeter will be 40 next season while Ryan will turn 32 next March. Over the last three years, Jeter has 1,420 plate appearances, 4.3 fWAR and 2.4 bWAR. Over the last three years Ryan has 1,313 plate appearances, 3.8 fWAR and 7.7 bWAR. While UZR (used by fangraphs.com) did not like Ryan's defense quite as much as Baseball Info Solutions (used by baseball-reference.com), Ryan's defense carried the way under both metrics to provide as much or more positive value than Derek Jeter in fewer plate appearances.

Without rehashing the last spring's discussions on whether Jeter was done as a shortstop or a productive player, a 40-year old shortstop is something of a rarity. Since 1901, only three shortstops have played more than 100 games at shortstop in their age-40 season (Omar Vizquel, Luke Appling, and Honus Wagner per Baseball-Reference play index). Jeter has bucked the aging trend before. In 2012, Jeter played in 135 games at shortstop, making him only the seventh 38-year old to achieve that mark since 1901. Perhaps more amazing, only Honus Wagner had a better offensive season among those seven players.

If Jeter can be as good as a hitter in 2014 as he was in 2012 and not decline in the field, he will be a very valuable member of the Yankees and easily worth his salary. Jeter's ankle problems and the two years that will have passed since his last productive season make both of those scenarios unlikely. As for Brendan Ryan, he is absolutely atrocious at the plate. No player has a worse offensive WAR according to Fangraphs over the last four years. However, the reason he has been allowed to accumulate such shoddy numbers is the superlative defense he provides. In those same four years, only Alexei Ramirez (in 123 more games) has provided better defense among non-catchers according to UZR, and only Gerardo Parra bested Ryan according to Baseball Info Solutions' Defensive Runs Saved. Based on those numbers, it is not difficult to reach the conclusion that Ryan is the best defensive player among non-catchers in the league over the last four years.

With a little bit of luck and stabilization of his defensive numbers, Ryan could very well be a one or two-win player in 2014. Last year's Yankee shortstops hit .228/.286/.312, which is, scarily, only slightly better than Ryan's .215/.285/.294 over the last three years hitting mostly in Seattle. The key to this comparison will not be Ryan's offense or Jeter's defense. The key is whether Jeter can still hit at the same level as he did in 2012. If he can, that leads to a question: is it worth risking his body out in the field when he can provide a solid contribution as the designated hitter?

At this point in his career, Jeter's mobility is likely sapped to the point where the runs he costs the team in the field cancels out the higher standard of hitting needed to be a designated hitter (2013 Yankee designated hitters excluded from said standard). Derek Jeter hit 14 runs above average in 2012. That total would have ranked third last year for designated hitters with at least 50% of their starts at designated hitter. Going over the past five seasons, his total would have ranked 22nd out of 110 player seasons.

There is some pretty strong sentiment to go after Stephen Drew or Jhonny Peralta as insurance for Jeter at shortstop and Alex Rodriguez at third base. The Yankees may be better off letting Jeter DH, giving most of the starts to Brendan Ryan, and then using the money saved on surrounding Ryan with bigger bats than Drew or Peralta would provide. This solution solves the designated hitter problem, limits the risk on a Jeter injury, improves the defense, and frees up more money for Cano, a big ticket outfielder, or a very good catcher. Jeter may want to play shortstop, but for the Yankees it is more important that he plays and avoids a repeat of 2013.

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International free agent Yankee-related news and rumors

The Yankees take on Chris Tillman and the Orioles as they try to prevent their second five-game losing streak of the month. The team has gone 11–15 in the month of June and currently has the worst offense in all of Major League Baseball with a 68 wRC+ over the last 30 days.

#Yankees lineup at Orioles: Gardner CF, Ichiro RF, Cano 2B, Hafner DH, Almonte LF, Overbay 1B, Nix SS, Stewart C, Adams 3B, Kuroda P

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 30, 2013

Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki at the top of the lineup is an interesting idea, one I hope will pay off. It makes little sense as to how Joe Girardi determines this arrangement, because Ichiro has hit lefties much better than righties this season, yet Jayson Nix is always in the two spot against lefties.

Vernon Wells is finally out of the lineup, but now Travis Hafner is back in and batting cleanup. Neither player is hitting much, but I feel more confident with Hafner at this point. I like seeing Zoilo Almonte hitting higher up in the order, so we'll see what he can do in a more prominent role. He did hit two hard balls in two at-bats with the bases loaded last night, but was only able to manage one RBI on a sac fly.

Lyle Overbay is back at first base with a righty on the mound and David Adams is at third and batting last. He's fallen pretty far if he's batting behind the likes of Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix.

The Yankees have been said to be interested in the Domican Republic's Rafael Devers and Leonardo Molina. Devers, a third baseman, is ranked third on Baseball America's list of top 30 international prospects, while Molina, a center fielder, is ranked fifth. The Yankees only have $1.8 million to play with because of the new international free agent spending restrictions, but could seemingly trade for a bigger international pool if they want.

The Yankees have also scouted Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, a non-restricted 16 26-year-old free agent, in Mexico, but are not planning to offer him a contract. Instead, the Dodgers look to be the favorites on signing him.

Yankee people watched Omar Luis Rodriguez pitch a simulated game in Tampa yesterday. The Yankees spent $4 million on the 20-year-old lefty last June, but the Cuban had to wait in Haiti before his immigration papers were approved. After eight month of waiting he has seemingly gotten heavier and might be out of shape.

Choo has overtaken Ellsbury in the Rangers' search for an elite outfielder.

In their search to acquire an elite outfielder, the Texas Rangers have moved on from Jacoby Ellsbury, and are likely to make a run at Shin-Soo Choo instead, writes CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman. The 31-year-old Choo, a Scott Boras client, is said to be seeking a contract north of $100 million in total value.

Choo is coming off a year in which he hit .285/.423/.462 with 21 home runs, 20 stolen bases, a 5.2 WAR, 151 wRC+, and an outstanding 112 walks for the Cincinnati Reds. Choo is among the most sought-after free agents this winter, with multiple teams including both New York squads and the Reds having already showed interest in the former Cleveland Indians' star.

The probable reason for the Rangers favoring Choo is that Ellsbury is a natural center fielder, whereas Choo fits best in a corner outfield spot. Center field in Arlington is currently occupied by Cuban speedster Leonys Martin.

With slugger Nelson Cruz expected to sign elsewhere, the Rangers lack a reliable option in left field . Were he to sign, Choo would join Martin and Alex Rios in the Rangers' outfield, which would most likely be among the best trios in the game.

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Major League Baseball has issued a statement after Alex Rodriguez stormed out of his appeal hearing, calling the proceedings a farce. MLB stands by the process:

For more than 40 years, Major League Baseball and the Players Association have had a contractual grievance process to address disputes between the two parties. This negotiated process has served players and clubs well. Despite Mr. Rodriguez being upset with one of the arbitration panel's rulings today, MLB remains committed to this process.

In an email, A-Rod's lawyer Joe Tacopina said the case is headed to federal court. Whether this is actually what is happening or what is likely or possible to happen is impossible to know for sure. What it does mean is that the process will likely be held up longer than initially thought.

If that happens, it starts to cut even deeper into the Yankees' offseason plans, who need to know whether or not they have to pay Alex Rodriguez in 2014 or not. If they want to make a big free agent push, they need to know the amount of money they have to work with. They also have to know whether or not they should be looking for a new third baseman. Regardless of what happens, this hurts the Yankees the most.

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David Phelps will probably break camp with a spot in the Yankees rotation. Will he be up to the task?

The Yankees have made it clear that they're willing to spend this offseason to fill out their starting rotation. The Bombers appear to be all in on Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka (pending MLB/NPB posting agreement) and have also been linked toUbaldo Jimenez and Matt Garza. By the time March rolls around, they’ll surely have made some moves to shore up their rotation. Given the other holes on the roster, though, it’s hard to see the Yankees bringing in more than two established starting pitchers, meaning the Yankees will also need to rely on some of their internal guys to take on a bigger role in 2014.

As we saw last season, things can get pretty ugly when marginal players are pushed into key roles. Some players, like Chris Stewart and Jayson Nix, are backups for a reason. Many of the tertiary starting pitching options in the organization probably also fit that mold, which is why Phil Hughes more or less kept his rotation spot all season long. But David Phelps -- in between his stints in the bullpen and on the DL -- has hinted that he can be a serviceable starting pitcher.

Since breaking into the majors in 2012, Phelps has split time between the rotation, the bullpen, and the minors; and also missed a significant chunk of last season with a forearm strain. Despite being jerked around, he's been fairly solid every step of the way. All told, across 23 starts and 32 relief appearances, Phelps has compiled 186 1/3 big-league innings with a 4.11 ERA, backed up by an even better 3.81 SIERA.

His only prolonged stint in the Yankees starting rotation took place during the two months preceding his forearm injury. Over that 12 game stretch, he was inconsistent -- he had two atrocious starts where he yielded a combined 13 earned runs over a combined 2 2/3 innings -- but otherwise very good. In total, he posted a 4.93 ERA and 4.24 SIERA overall. Those two terrible outings are a somewhat concerning, but are also just two starts. He could have been pitching with forearm pain on those days for all we know.

Steamer projects Phelps' 2014 season to be similar to his last two, but over 32 starts 189 innings. That innings total is probably a bit rosy, but his projected ERA of 4.37 seems about right. An ERA in the mid 4's isn't anything to write home about, but does have some value -- roughly 2 WAR over a full season -- and would be more than acceptable from a fifth starter, even on a playoff team.

The scouting report on Phelps has always been that he has a good fastball, but his secondary pitches are nothing special, leading many to profile him as a future middle reliever. In all likelihood, that's where he'll end up a few years down the road once his velocity starts to tail off. For now though, it looks like David Phelps has what it takes be an asset in the back end of the Yankees rotation, and at the very least, has earned the chance to show what he can do.

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The Yanks plan on dealing with their positional needs before adding to the bullpen, but they're at least keeping an eye on one of the market's top relievers.

The New York Yankees are interested in free-agent closer Joe Nathan, but are unlikely to go after him before addressing "more pressing needs" elsewhere on the diamond, reports Mark Feinsand of the NY Daily News.

Rumors of the Yankees' interest in the veteran closer are not exactly new, but this is the first to indicate that the club intends on pursuing other pieces before finding a replacement for Mariano Rivera. According to Feinsand, these "needs" are free agents Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran, whom the team is hoping can fill holes behind the plate and in the outfield.

Nathan isn't the only reliever to appear alongside the Yankees on the rumor mill. Former A's closer Grant Balfour and Giants lefty specialist Javier Lopez -- who is close to re-upping with San Francisco -- have also been tied to the club, so if Nathan drops off the table before the Bombers solve their other issues, it's unlikely they'll be without other viable options.

Nathan, 39, was a godsend for the Rangers in his two seasons with the club. Signed with fingers crossed at the end of 2011, the veteran right-hander no ill effects in his return from Tommy John surgery. He posted a 2.09 ERA better than 10 strikeouts per nine over 129 innings during his time in Arlington, and his 80 saves over that span are sure to get him a hefty salary on the open market.

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Although Clarke's a symbol of the dark CBS era and he understandably gets a bad rep for his shoddy bat, his excellent defense did provide some value for the Yankees during his 10-year-career.

Name: Horace Clarke
Position: Second baseman
Born: June 2, 1940 (Frederiksted, St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands)
Yankee Years: 1965-74
Primary number: 20
Yankee statistics: 1,230 G, .257/.309/.315, 149 2B, 23 3B, 27 HR, 151 SB, 72.2% SB%, 84 wRC+, 15.8 rWAR, 13.5 fWAR

The "Horace Clarke Era" is understandably viewed disdainfully as one of the worst in Yankees history. The once-dominant Yankees fell from American League powerhouse to also-rans who rarely stayed in contention. Clark himself was quite mediocre, but the Yankees' farm system was so dry that they could not find a better option at second base and they were unable to trade for any superior second basemen either. That was how Clarke ended up playing more games at second base than all but four players in franchise history. For his flaws though, Clarke was a decent player who played fine defense and stayed healthy. He is remembered jeeringly, but he should earn some credit as possibly the finest player in history to hail from the Virgin Islands.

Baseball, not cricket

Clarke was the son of Dennis Clarke, a great fan of cricket who never took much interest in baseball during Clarke's childhood. There were no Little Leagues for Clarke to play on in St. Croix, but they did play softball. As he grew older, Clarke joined the local St. Croix baseball team, which played exhibitions against Navy ship teams at Paul E. Joseph Stadium in Frederiksted. Clarke learned to switch-hit on the beaches by the stadium, where he had to abandon his natural righthanded swing to avoid losing the ball in the water.

Clarke played on his local team for five years, facing teams that featured other future big leaguers like Orioles catcher Elrod Hendricks and Pirates pitcher Al McBean. In 1957, he turned pro at age 17, and Yankees scout Jose Seda, known to many as Pepe, signed him in January 1958. Clarke traveled 2,500 miles to distant Kearney, Nebraska, where he played on his first minor league team. He demonstrated speed, but the adjustment to night baseball gave the young second baseman problems at the plate. As the Yankees won more championships, Clarke slowly moved up the minor league ranks, earning a Northern League All-Star team selection in 1960 with the Fargo-Moorhead Twins. Clarke also played winter ball in Puerto Rico for several years, never spending much time away from his baseball education even when the minor league season ended; it was during the '60-'61 winter league season when Clarke became a full-time switch-hitter. The Puerto Rican league was stacked with future talent like Bob Gibson and Denny McClain, and such skilled pitcher improved Clarke's abilities at bat. To top it all off, Clarke met his future wife in Puerto Rico as well, Hilda Robles.

Thanks to his hard work, Clarke earned promotions to higher leagues in five consecutive seasons, a streak that ended in '64 when he repeated Triple-A Richmond since veteran second baseman Bobby Richardson was still active on the Yankees. While he did hit a commendable .299/.357/.371 with 20 steals in his '64 campaign, Richardson stayed in front of him on the depth chart at the beginning of '65. Undeterred, Clarke hit .301 with a .368 OBP in 89 games at Triple-A Toledo in '65, earning him promotions to the majors at various points of '65. In his MLB debut, he pinch-hit for Hal Reniff at Fenway Park and singled against Dave Morehead, the first of 1,230 hits in the majors. Clarke had become just the fourth Virgin Islander to play Major League Baseballl, but his debut unfortunately coincided with the Yankees' first season under .500 in 40 years. There were more dark days ahead.

The Horace Clarke Era

In his rookie year, Clarke struggled to a 72 wRC+ in 116 plate appearances, and with Richardson at second, most of his appearances came as a pinch-hitter or a third baseman. The Yankees struggled, but a personal highlight for him came near the end of the season, when the light-hitting Clarke surprised the Yankee Stadium crowd with his first MLB homer, a grand slam off the Indians' Floyd Weaver.

The Yankees followed their sluggish '65 with their first last-place finish in 54 years during the '66 season. Injuries plagued the team, and since Richardson was still playing, Clarke was asked by manager Ralph Houk to fill in at shortstop for Ruben Amaro (yes, the father of the current Phillies GM). Houk told Clarke that Richardson would be retiring at the end of the season and that if he hung in at shortstop, he would be Richardson's successor at second. Clarke met Houk's goal and had one of the best hitting seasons of his career, too. He hit .266/.324/.381 with a 103 wRC+ and 20 extra-base hits, a strong campaign for a middle infielder in an extremely pitcher-friendly era.

The '67 season began in a very familiar place for Clarke: back at second base in his original home park, Paul Joseph Stadium in St. Croix. It was the first MLB exhibition game to be played in the Virgin Islands, and the Yankees beat the eventual AL champion Red Sox as Clarke was honored by his countrymen. During the regular season though, the Yankees won just two games more than they did in their cellar-dwelling '66, and they ended up in ninth. Now playing his original position, Clarke showed off his excellent defense with a 1.2 dWAR/8 TZ season that complemented a 93 OPS+/wRC+ season, leading to a nice 3.6 rWAR/2.9 fWAR campaign despite the Yankees' failures. Clarke's stellar defense at second was crucial with a very limited defensive first baseman to his left in the legendary but aged Mickey Mantle. He told Clarke to take anything between them that he could reach, leading to fine range numbers from Clarke.

Clarke occasionally faced some criticism from columnists and ground-ball pitcher teammates for not frequently completing the throw to first on double plays where the baserunner slid hard into him, but it helped him stay healthy and it is quite unclear as to how many of those double plays could have been salvaged without an error on the rough slides anyway. This superb defense was a Clarke trademark throughout the majority of his career. He never had a negative dWAR season at second base, and his FanGraphs defense rating did not go negative until he turned 33, a natural declining age for defensive excellence. No second baseman in baseball had a higher dWAR and FanGraphs defense rating from 1967-73 than Clarke's 7.0 and 59.0, respectively. His bat could be awful at times, like in '68 when he plummeted to a .512 OPS and 59 wRC+, but his glove was among the best in baseball.

After a horrid season at the plate in '68, Clarke rebounded with perhaps his finest season as a big leaguer in '69. The Yankees finished far behind the overpowering Baltimore Orioles for the new AL East division title, but it was not the fault of Clarke. He hit .285/.339/.367 with a 103 wRC+ and career-highs in hits (183), steals (33), rWAR (3.9), and fWAR (3.8). In 1970, Clarke only had 11 fewer hits than he did in '69, but a decline in plate discipline from a 7.6 BB% to a 4.8 BB% led to a dip in wRC+. However he did have an unusual highlight over the course of a calendar month from June 4-July 2 of the '70 season.

During this 24-game span, Clarke set a unique major league record with three ninth inning no-hitters broken up in one season. On June 4th, the Yankees were getting no-hit by the Royals' Jim Rooker at Yankee Stadium, and Clarke led off the ninth with a single, then scored the tying run shortly thereafter on a Bobby Murcer double. The Yankees later won in 12 innings on a Clarke walk-off sacrifice fly against Rooker to score pinch-runner Jerry Kenney. A couple weeks later, Boston's Sonny Siebert carried a no-hitter into the ninth on June 19th at Fenway Park. Again, Clarke led off the ninth, and again, Clarke lined a base hit to break it up. The Yankees were down 7-0 at the time and rallied with a Kenney double, a Murcer single, and a two-run homer by Roy White to suddenly make it a three-run game before future teammate Sparky Lyle entered to save it for the Red Sox. Fast-forward two more weeks and the Yankees were two outs away from a no-hitter at the hands of knuckleballing Tigers starter Joe Niekro on July 2nd at Tigers Stadium. Clarke grounded a ball slowly toward second baseman Dick McAuliffe, and he beat it out for an infield single. Niekro completed his one-hit shutout two batters later, but Clarke's odd record remains intact to this day; in fact, only one other player has ever broken up three no-hitters in the ninth in a career: Joe Mauer.

Clarke remained a steady presence for the Yankees at second base, putting up fine fielding numbers with an 89 wRC+, good for a pair of two-win seasons by WAR. Now buoyed by a stronger core built around Murcer, White, ace Mel Stottlemyre, and young catcher Thurman Munson, the Yankees played better than they did in the late '60s, though they still hovered around .500. A 93-win season in '70 was wasted as Earl Weaver's eventual World Series champion Orioles ran roughshod over the league with 108 victories. By '73, Clarke's defense began to decline, and his bat slipped to an 82 wRC+. His critics became more outspoken than ever, and his harsh treatment from the media would eventually lead to an irritated Munson's sometimes-rocky relationship with the press.

After a slow start to the '74 season, Clarke's first without his loyal manager Ralph Houk, he was sold to the San Diego Padres on May 31st as the Yankees sought another solution at second base. For a couple years, it was Sandy Alomar, but in '76, the Yankees finally found their long-term answer in future All-Star Willie Randolph. That year, they finally made it back to the playoffs, and though Clarke's tenure officially ended in '74, the '76 AL East crown marked the symbolic end of the "Horace Clarke Era." Clarke's career did not survive the '74 campaign. His offense was worse than ever at spacious San Diego Stadium; he only managed 17 more hits in 99 plate appearances with the Padres. San Diego cut him at the end of '74 and Clarke called it a career after a complete decade in the major leagues.

Clarke later became a scout with the Royals and joined with fellow Virgin Islander Elmo Plaskett to develop Virgin Island baseball programs, which led to the emergence of future big leaguers Jerry Browne and Midre Cummings. With Clarke now in retirement, the Virgin Islands' baseball production has become dormant--only one Virgin Islander has played MLB in the past decade: Callix Crabbe, who appeared in 21 games for the Padres in 2008. Perhaps one day the Virgin Islands will produce more baseball talent, but as it stands now, they have never produced a better player than Horace Clarke. He was the symbol of a rough era of Yankees baseball, but it would be unfair to call him a talentless player.

That being said, I consider writing over 1,800 nice words about Horace Clarke among my greatest achievements.

Andrew's rank: 97
Tanya's rank: 72
Community rank: 82.33
WAR rank: 80.5

Season Stats

Stats from Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs

References

Appel, Marty. Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012.

BR Bullpen

MLB.com Video: Clarke breaks up three no-hitters

SABR

Other Top 100 Yankees

• #86 Chris Chambliss
• #87 Hideki Matsui
• #88 Carl Mays
• #89 Rudy May
• #90 Bobby Richardson

"I did nothing." - Rodriguez, several times.

Alex Rodriguez seemingly hit his breaking point Wednesday. After leaving his appeals hearing in a fit of anger in the morning, the troubled slugger then went on Mike Francesa's WFAN radio show in the afternoon to deny all the charges that have been levied against him over the last several months.

Even in the presence of one of his lawyers, Jim McCarroll, A-Rod had no reservations about denying any wrongdoing several times: "I did nothing ... with the Bosch nonsense, nothing." Even to more pointed questions about PED use and the charges of tampering with the league's investigation, Rodriguez's answer was a matter-of-fact "No."

Rodriguez went on to say that he "should not serve an inning" of the pending 211-game suspension that Major League Baseball has placed upon him, and that he's "disgusted" and "pissed off" at the system for allowing things to happen this way. A-Rod also had some not-so-great things to say about MLB and Bud Selig:

"He's retiring... and to put me on his mantle on the way out, that's a hell of a trophy."

He then added that the commissioner "hates [his] guts" and that the case against him is "100 percent personal."

After speaking about Selig, Rodriguez told about his relationship with Anthony Bosch, stating that everything he got from the clinic had to do with "nutrition and weight loss," and that none of it was outside of the parameters put in place by the league.

A Twitter Epic

Rather than watch the entire interview, why not see how the most epic Alex Rodriguez interview as it unfolded on twitter? You want that? We did that.

The whole situation seems to have come to a head Wednesday morning when arbitrator Fredric Horowitz declared that Selig did not have to testify at the hearing. McCarroll said that the original plan was to have the commissioner testify Thursday and for Rodriguez to do so Friday, but iterated that his client would not be returning to the courthouse unless Selig testifies. Said Rodriguez: "I'm done. I don't have a chance. You let the arbitrator decide whatever he decides."

What the ramifications of Rodriguez's interview will be are anyone's guess at this point. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes that Rodriguez's comments might be the "single most blatant disregarding of a collective bargaining agreement" that he's ever seen, but also pointed that it probably doesn't matter at this point given how off-the-wall the rest of the case has been.

Full audio of the interview will likely be up on the WFAN website shortly.

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After storming out of his arbitration hearing this morning because of a ruling that Bud Selig would not have to testify in his appeal, Alex Rodriguez appeared on WFAN with Mike Francesa to angrily spill his feelings on the Commissioner and the arbitration process he feels is unfair.

If you missed it, you can listen to the audio of the appearance in the embedded player below, courtesy of The Big Lead.

If you'd like to see the video, you can check it out on The Big Lead here.

Among the points of interest in the interview, A-Rod denies use of steroid use in connection to the Biogenesis clinic, blasts Selig for refusing to face him and explain his reasoning for the 211-game ruling, and accuses the Commissioner of hating New York.

The longer this case rolls on, the more twisted it gets. A-Rod has come across many times as artificial, but he seems legitimately upset by what has transpired behind closed doors in the arbitration hearing, for whatever that is worth. Rodriguez was set to testify after the Commissioner, but he says that he will not return unless Selig comes in and testifies himself. This case seems destined for a higher court at this point, and it's likely to continue getting uglier for the duration.

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In order to believe Alex Rodriguez, you first have to suspend a whole lot of disbelief.

The most difficult aspect of the never-ending Alex Rodriguez case is that it's hard to know where to set your willing suspension of disbelief (anywhere from the "Yeah, no, duh" of "Dog bites man" to the "Sorry, not buying that" of "Man bites dog while having a three-way with Immortal Living Elvis and a Venusian sentient lava-spider"), not to mention where to park your sympathy. The story that Rodriguez has been retailing is, frankly, closer to the lava-spider side of things. His side of the story, which he and one of his many attorneys advanced on New York's WFAN this afternoon, portrays him as a victim of a vendetta by Bud Selig and Major League Baseball.

For that to be true, you have to accept:

• That MLB and Commissioner Selig, as Rodriguez said, "Hates [his] guts" and for that reason were prepared to embark on a prosecution of a star player that damages the reputation of their products.
• That MLB is so inept, so evil, and so biased, that it is pursuing Rodriguez despite his having done, in his words, "With the Bosch nonsense? Nothing."
• That MLB is not only wrong in that, but in every single aspect of its prosecution.
• That questionable ethical conduct by MLB equates to or suggests innocence on Rodriguez's part.
• That Bud Selig thinks that destroying Rodriguez, more than interleague play or 20 years of labor peace, or an unprecedented stadium building and beautification movement, will be his legacy to the game, "and to put me on his mantle on the way out, that's a hell of a trophy."
• That Selig's refusal to testify indicates something about the legitimacy of the penalty Rodriguez has received, or that his testimony could somehow throw its legitimacy into doubt. (Rodriguez may or may not have the right to face his accuser in this private hearing, but Baseball had furnished Rob Manfred as a proxy for said accuser.)
• That MLB and/or Selig is concerned with the Yankees' payroll to the extent that Rodriguez's contract, which is large by the standards of a single player but a drop in the bucket for the industry as a whole, that they would go to incredible lengths to get the Yankees out of paying it.
• That a man with the financial resources to spend millions on his defense chose to consult with fake doctor Tony Bosch for "nutrition and weight loss" when it would have been cheaper and more productive to endow the Alex Rodriguez Nutrition and Weight Loss chair at Harvard.

My own suspension of disbelief struggles to overcome that last bit. It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote the rich "are different from you and me" (to which Ernest Hemingway mythologically responded, "Yes, they have more money"). It is hard to think of a way in which they are more different than this: When you or I have a cold, we go to a doctor. If we have chest pains, we might seek out a cardiologist. Cancer? Oncologist. If you have good insurance and or great financial resources, perhaps you might even seek out the best, most expensive doctor in his respective field to treat you. What we don't do is seek out the most unqualified, fly-by-night, strip-mall/office-park-dwelling quack to treat our ills. Apparently being that stupid is a privilege that only the very wealthy possess.

One supposes that just like we cannot infer anything about the propriety of Alex Rodriguez's conduct by denigrating MLB's conduct (and that seems to be the logic of Rodriguez's defense), we cannot read anything into Rodriguez's relationship with Bosch from the sheer stupidity and unlikelihood of its very existence. Back in the bad old pre-union days, the first commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, banned players for life merely because they  hung out with the wrong guys. "Your mere presence in the lineup would inevitably burden patrons of the game with grave apprehension as to its integrity," Landis told outfielder Benny Kauff in 1921 after "evil companions" were involved in stealing cars. Rodriguez has far greater rights of due process vis-à-vis Baseball than Kauff could have ever imagined, but if ever someone deserved to be suspended just for poor judgment in picking who he put on his payroll, that guy is Alex Rodriguez.

Having said that, that's not what this is about, but whether Alex Rodriguez violated the Joint Drug Agreement bargained between MLB and the Players Association, and if the 211-game suspension levied by Baseball, which departs from the schedule of penalties mandated by the JDA, was properly applied. Whether MLB's motives stem from really, really disliking Alex Rodriguez or because it thinks the sanctity of the JDA must be dramatically vindicated is irrelevant, so long as it can answer those two questions to the arbitrator's satisfaction. That Selig hates Rodriguez is interesting, but not necessarily relevant.

Similarly, if they engaged in questionable practices to obtain the evidence necessary to answer those questions, that isn't necessarily the same issue here that it would be in a court of law, where evidence can be tainted. Baseball has spent a lot of money to secure Tony Bosch's testimony. Fine. Consider him impeached. If he has texts to and from Alex Rodriguez discussing various chemical transactions, that testimony is not susceptible to financial inducement -- that is, the texts say what they say regardless of how compromised Bosch is.

The following exchange took place about halfway through the interview on WFAN:

Mike Francesa: There's not one thing you did?

Alex Rodriguez: No.

Francesa: Hey, I'd be fighting too if that's the case. Now, what is this all about then? What the heck is going on here? You are one of the biggest stars -- why would they do this?

Rodriguez: When they say it's not about the money, Mike, it's always about the money.

Rodriguez's contract, which makes you think a committee of farm animals would do a better job of running the Yankees, lasts through 2017, when he will be 42, and has a minimum of $86 million remaining on it, or about $22 million a year. Again, this is a lot of money in the life of any single franchise, even the Yankees, but is pocket change to the sport as a whole, a sport which depends on a cordial relationship with its players for its health. Unless Bud Selig is suffering from senile dementia and everyone around him has similarly lost their minds, this motive makes zero sense.

But again, motive has little to do with the case. Nor does the fairness of the arbitration and appeal procedure. That was collectively bargained by the union, acting as a proxy for Rodriguez and the rest of the players. He's a signatory to that agreement, and therefore Baseball's justice is the best he's likely to get -- at least for now. Wednesday's walkout/interview combo, which was almost certainly premeditated (read: staged), is a prelude to the next act, which will take place in court. Note a little slip by A-Rod attorney Jim McCarroll at 21:30 of the interview:

"There are multiple issues being played out in our suit against MLB. We'll deal with them in the appropriate forum.

That might be a reference to the suit Rodriguez has already filed against Selig and MLB, or to further legal action that will follow the verdict of these hearings. More than that, it's the trailer for the film of the sequel, the coming attractions at the theater in hell.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• A-Rod storms out of hearing | Proclaims innocence to WFAN’s Francesa

• Yankees, Cano "have nothing to talk about" | Mets interested

• Goldman: Rockies sign Hawkins, get suckered by saves

• MLB trade rumors | Nathan "loves" Detroit | Wieters wants Mauer money

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

A-Rod's epic radio performance, Reader's Digest edition.

Alex Rodriguez said a whole lot of immensely quotable things in his radio interview with Mike Francesa Wednesday afternoon, so we thought it'd be helpful to break down his comments on a topic-by-topic basis.

Behold, annotated A-Rod:

On storming out of his hearing

• "Well, we got a ruling that the commissioner does not have to come in from Milwaukee. It was very disappointing, obviously. I've been there for 10 or 12 days, whatever it's been ... It's been difficult ... I've been respecting the process, but today I just lost my mind."
• "I banged a table and kicked a briefcase and slammed out of the room. It just felt like the system ... I knew it was restricted and I knew it wasn't fair, but what we saw today was just... It was disgusting."
• "I exploded much worse than Paul O'Neill ... I was very upset. I probably overreacted, but it came from the heart."
• "This has been a very difficult process, and I felt that ... this should end with Selig on Thursday and me on Friday, under oath, put your money where your mouth is."
• I'm so heated up, so pissed off, that I can't think straight."
• "I don't think I'm going back. What's the point?"

A-Rod tests credulity with claims of innocence

In order to believe Alex Rodriguez, you first have to suspend a whole lot of disbelief.

On Bud Selig

• "The fact that the man from Milwaukee that put this suspension on me with not one bit of evidence -- something I didn't do -- and he doesn't have the courage to come look at me in the eye and tell me, 'This is why I did 211.'"
• "This guy should come to our city. I know he doesn't like New York ... For this guy, the embarrassment he's put me and my family through, and he doesn't have the courage to come see me and tell me, 'This is why I am gonna destroy your career ...'"
• "I know you don't like New York, but you've gotta come face me. This is my whole life, my legacy. I'm part of history, so if you're going to try to destroy all of that ... you tell me why I should serve one inning."
• All of this could have been avoided. I reached out to Selig several times early on and said, 'Hey, I'll fly up to you ... and anything you want to ask me, I will go without an attorney' ... I made the same offer to Rob Manfred and both of them, they said, 'We don't want to see you. We'll see you at the end.'"
• "I know you don't like New York. But come to New York and face the music."
• "[Selig] hates my guts ... 100 percent this is personal. I think this is about his legacy and it's about my legacy. He's try to destroy me."
• "He's retiring in 2014 and to put me on his big mantle on the way out, that's a hell of a trophy."

On MLB's allegations

• "My position hasn't changed. I didn't do it."
• "I shouldn't serve one inning"
• Were you guilty of any of these charges? "No." Did you do anything wrong? "No." Did you do any PEDs? "No." Did you obstruct justice? "No. I did nothing."
• Did you leak names to Yahoo Sports? "That's laughable, disgusting."
• "There was no obstruction. There was no intimidating, there was none of that.. None of that."
• There's not one thing you did? "No."
• "If I had one more year at $12 million, would someone throw 211 games at me? Or would someone be this severe at me? I don't think so."
• "We haven't heard one thing that's credible."
• "I've done nothing ... With the Bosch nonsense, nothing."

On Anthony Bosch

• "If I gave Bosch $5 million, he would say whatever I wanted, too. He walked in with four lawyers, three security guards and a publicist, who by the way is negotiating a book deal right now and making a mockery not only out of Major League Baseball, but the Yankees and me."
• "Bosch was a guy from Miami, and it was nutrition and it was weight-loss. And he wasn't the only one ... but always between the parameters of Major League Baseball.
• "Someone came to me from [Bosch's] camp and wanted a big lump of money and I said, 'I don't play that game. Get outta here.' The a week later MLB gave him his deal and he's testifying against 14 guys or whatever it was."

On "fans"

• "People on the streets, they tell me, 'I hate your guts, you're getting railroaded."

On the Yankees

• "I'm taking it one fight at a time, and right now it's baseball ... I play for the city of New York. I love the fans, I love the city."
• Are you angry at the Yankees? Yeah, I am... But I do have a responsibility, I am the third baseman of the Yankees. My goal is to get back on board."
• "I have a lot of close friends on the team... I'm very close with Jeter, very close with Teixeira."
• "I'm very comfortable in our clubhouse and I stay in constant communication with my teammates."

On the investigation/appeal

• "Whether you like me or not, what's wrong is wrong. And the system is wrong. Whether you're a federal court, or state court, or in the kangaroo court that we are today, players need protection."
• "Think about what I've been through. If you're any other player ... with what I've been through, do you think anyone's going to fight Major League Baseball? ... These guys are very powerful, they have unlimited resources, and today we finally found they have no recourse."
• "This has been a disgusting process for everyone, and I'm more embarrassed than anyone."
• "We heard someone admit from MLB that they paid $150k in cash, in a bag, in a restaurant, under a table ... to a guy they didn't know ... That's unreal to me."
• "The guy who's the chief police guy of MLB, Dan Mullen, admitted to having sex with a girl that was a prime witness."

On what's next

• "I'm done. I don't have a chance. Let the arbiter decide whatever he decides. I'm sure Selig and whoever will be the beneficiaries of that decision."
• "I feel like I should be there Opening Day, and that's what I'm working hard to do."
• "100 percent, I'm ready for Opening Day. And for the first time in a long time I feel like I'm going to have a full offseason to work hard and prepare."

More from SB Nation MLB:

• A-Rod storms out of hearing | Proclaims innocence to WFAN’s Francesa

• Yankees, Cano "have nothing to talk about" | Mets interested

• Goldman: Rockies sign Hawkins, get suckered by saves

• MLB trade rumors | Nathan "loves" Detroit | Wieters wants Mauer money

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

Just before 5:00 this afternoon, Dean Anna sent out the following tweet:

Want to thank the padres for everything. Just been traded to the New York Yankees. Excited for the new opportunity.

— Dean Anna (@DeanOfSwing) November 21, 2013

Anna, a lefty batter who played mostly second base and shortstop, hit .331/.410/.482 with nine home runs in Tucson this past season and played in the Triple-A All Star Game. Many Padres fans were hoping to see him to get a cup of coffee with the big league club in 2013, but it never happened (and Wonko discussed why that was here). Now, as we reach the deadline to protect minor league players from the Rule 5 Draft, Anna has become the first San Diego player to be traded. In doing so, the Padres are free from having to find room for him on the 40-man roster and they get something in return rather than risking losing him for nothing in next month's Rule 5 Draft.

In exchange for the infielder, the Padres get 24-year-old reliever Ben Paullus. The right-hander put up a 3.01 ERA in 2013, collecting 66 strikeouts and issuing 28 walks, as he spent time in both low-A and high-A ball. Corey Brock predicts that Paullus will begin the 2014 season in Lake Elsinore, so he'll be right up the 15 from the big league club in San Diego.

Anyone have any strong opinions about the trade? I'm guessing some people will be sad to see Anna go, but it seems to make sense for the club.

More from Gaslamp Ball:

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• Cory Luebke threw 25 pitches to live hitters and feels good doing it
• Padres signing of Josh Johnson is FRESH!
• Padres offseason: 5 most pivotal players

Last Time on Pinstripe Alley

• Audio: Alex Rodriguez blasts Bud Selig, denies PED use on WFAN with Mike Francesa
• MLB Free Agent Signings: Who the Yankees missed out on
• Pinstripe Alley Top 100 Yankees: #85 Horace Clarke
• Can David Phelps be a reliable starting pitcher?
• Alex Rodriguez Appeal Hearing: MLB makes statement, likely headed to federal court
• Yankees Free Agent Target: Michael Morse
• Alex Rodriguez storms out of appeal hearing
• Yankees offseason: Five most pivotal players
• Yankees Top Moments: (#2) Don Larsen's perfect game vs. (#7) Lou Gehrig's four home run game

Yankees News

• CBS Sports | Jon Heyman: Did A-Rod really lose it or did he sense that he was losing the fight?
• SB Nation | Justin Bopp: The story of the Alex Rodriguez radio interview as it was reported on Twitter.
• New York Post | Joel Sherman: In the wake of the Prince Fielder-Ian Kinsler trade, the market for Robinson Cano has changed.
• New York Post | Ken Davidoff: Alex Rodriguez makes it personal by claiming Bud Selig has made it personal.
• Baseball Nation | Grant Brisbee: Building the Yankees without Robinson Cano will make one ugly team.
• Fangraphs | Wendy Thurm: A look back at how we got to the mess that has become the Alex Rodriguez appeal hearing.
• ESPN New York | Wallace Matthews: It's possible that A-Rod's outburst was staged in a way to get out of a hearing that wasn't going his way in order to move the proceedings to Federal court.
• SB Nation | Louis Bien: Scott Boras backs up former client, Alex Rodriguez, believing that Bud Selig should have to testify.
• CBS Sports | Matt Snyder: Alex Rodriguez has the worst contract for a third baseman in baseball and Mark Teixeira could become a contender among first baseman.
• CBS Sports | Matt Snyder:Derek Jeter's new one-year contract is the worst contract for a shortstop in baseball.
• NoMaas | Vizzini:Jeff Niemann, Roy Halladay, Colby Lewis, and Chris Capuano could all be some sneaky good signings.

Coming Up Today

• Yankees Top Moments: (#3) Ruth's called shot vs. (#6) Martin wins '53 World Series @ 9 am
• Brian McCann Free Agency: Expected to start visiting teams @ 11 am
• Joe Nathan Free Agency: Yankees make him a secondary priority @ 1 pm
• Phil Hughes Free Agency: Mets have interest @ 3 pm

Your Thursday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

Meet the Mets

Matthew Cerrone of Metsblog reported that the Brewers were more likely to trade Ryan Braun than Norichika Aoki for Ike Davis, and that the Mets had discussed Braun internally. However, Andy Martino of the NY Daily News says that the Brewers aren't looking to trade Braun at the moment. Predictably, Brew Crew Ball didn't take too well to the rumor.

Wednesday was the deadline for teams to add players to their 40 man rosters ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. The Mets decided to protect four minor-league pitchers: right-handers Jacob deGrom, Erik Goeddel, and Jeff Walters, along with left-hander Steven Matz.

In their hunt for a free agent starting pitcher, the Mets are more likely to go after Phil Hughes than Bronson Arroyo.

Once again, the Mets have found themselves surprised by the prices on the free-agent market.

Around the Majors

The Tigers and Rangersmade a stunning trade on Wednesday night, with Detroit sending first baseman Prince Fielder to Texas for second baseman Ian Kinsler. The Tigers will eat $30 million of the $168 million still owed on Fielder's contract. It's a trade that makes sense for both sides. The Tigers will now be able to move Miguel Cabrera back to first base and have more money to re-sign Max Scherzer, while Fielder will provide a large upgrade over the .223/.295/.405 line the Rangers got from their first basemen in 2013.The trade has implications for the Mets, as it likely ends any chance of the Rangers trading infielders Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar.

Alex Rodriguez decided to employ a scorched earth tactic after finding out MLB commissioner Bud Selig would not testify at his arbitration hearing related to his 211-game suspension for PED use. Rodriguez walked out of the hearing, saying he was "disgusted" with the process and called it a "farce." He later appeared on the Mike Francesa show on WFAN. Among other things, Rodriguez vehemently denied using any PEDs or obstructing any investigations, and said that he believes Selig has a personal vendetta against him.

At a press conference, the Cardinals announced a three-year extension for manager Mike Matheny. They also announced the retirement of long-time ace Chris Carpenter. The right-hander finishes his career with a 3.76 ERA and 38.9 fWAR in 2219.1 innings.

The Dodgers have shown interest in righty Dan Haren.

Marlins fans may be able to do Jazz Hands in 2014, as Miami has contacted third baseman Juan Uribe.

Gwen Knapp of SportsonEarth examinedBarry Bonds' life after baseball.

Baseball Prospectus highlighted 10 free agents who will likely be overpaid this offseason.

Yesterday At AA

Jeffrey Kopman looked at five players on the Mets roster and gave his thoughts on what must be done with them.

On this date in Mets history, Tommie Agee became the first Mets player to ever win a Gold Glove.

If you read an article or find a link that you think would be a great addition to a future edition of Mets Morning News, please forward it to our tips email address tips@grission.com and we'll try to add it in.

More from Amazin' Avenue:

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• Tigers trade Prince Fielder to Rangers for Ian Kinsler
• Mets add deGrom, Walters, Matz, and Goeddel to 40-man roster
• Mets Offseason: 5 Most Pivotal Players
• Sandy Alderson expects payroll to be above $87 million in 2014
• Mets Offseason Trade Discussion: Lucas Duda or Ike Davis

It's a legendary tale facing a championship clinching hit. Which was the greater moment in Yankees history?

Pinstripe Alley kicks off our Yankees Top Moments Tournament by going back to the very beginning in the Founding to 1959 bracket. Vote in the poll below for which moment you think deserves to advance to the next round.

(#3) Ruth's called shot

In the third inning of Game Three of the 1932 World Series, Babe Ruth came to the plate to face Cubs starter Charlie Root. In what may have been an attempt to rattle the legendary slugger, the Cubs bench decided to heckle the Babe mercilessly. Ruth obliged his would-be tormentors by barking right back at them. After taking strike one, Ruth gestured with his hand in an indeterminate direction. After taking a second strike, Ruth repeated the gesture. It's unknown if Ruth was pointing at Root, the Cubs bench or the centerfield seats, but on the next pitch Ruth slammed a home run of at least 440 feet over the centerfield wall. On his trip around the bases, Ruth made sure to let the Cubs know of his accomplishment, making several more gestures toward the dugout.

It would have simply been another monstrous home run in a career of many, as the Yankees would sweep the series easily. But as word spread of the "called shot", the legend grew to epic proportions Ruth, ever the showman, did nothing to demystify the event. While he was coy about whether he was pointing to the seats or not immediately after the game, he would say he was pointing to center in later newsreels and biographies. Naturally, fans and sportswriters ate it up. Regardless of whether or not he actually did call his shot, it is one of the most amazing cases of sticking it to a belligerent opponent in the history of sports. A larger than life moment from a larger than life man.

(#6) Martin wins '53 World Series

Billy Martin had already shown himself to be the nemesis of the Brooklyn Dodgers thanks to his game saving catch in Game Seven of the 1952 World Series. He had continued his pivotal play with eleven hits in the '53 Series by the time he came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth of Game Six. The Dodgers had just staved off elimination thanks to a two-run rally in the top of the inning, but their reprieve would prove to be short lived. A leadoff walk and one-out Mickey Mantle single had Hank Bauer at second base as the potential series-clinching run.

Martin stepped into the batters' box to face Dodgers' reliever Clem Labine. Martin smacked a groundball into center field for his record-setting twelfth series hit that would score Bauer easily and complete the series victory. It was the Yankees' fifth consecutive championship and another heartbreaking loss for their rivals from Brooklyn. It also helped to cement Martin's status as a Yankees legend and hero.

More from Pinstripe Alley:

• Yankees offseason: Five most pivotal players
• Yankees Top Moments: (#2) Don Larsen's perfect game vs. (#7) Lou Gehrig's four home run game
• Should Brendan Ryan play more shortstop than Derek Jeter in 2014?
• Biogenesis: MLB under investigation to find out if documents were stolen from Department of Health
• Yankees Free Agent Target: Erisbel Arruebarruena

Just let it happen, Yankees

For those afraid that Phil Hughes will be back in New York for the 2014 season, you might actually be right. Thankfully, it's the Mets that are interested in the right-handed starter. The Mets say they have money to spend, but the 28-year-old would work easily into their budget while they pursue someone more costly.

The Yankees seem to have no interest in bringing him back, even though he'll be the youngest free agent pitcher on the market. Honestly, everything will have to go wrong for the Yankees to want him back, and I think that's all for the best. Though, it's always possible they could regain interest if Hiroki Kuroda decides to retire and they can't sign Masahiro Tanaka.

While he could probably be signed by the Yankees for cheap, I think everyone has seen enough of the once-promising prospect that was Phil Hughes. It's time to let him go and make him someone else's problem because the Yankees can easily find better. He needs to be in a big ballpark in the National League so he can reduce his home run totals. AT&T Park with the Giants and Petco Park with the Padres looked like good destinations, but Citi Field, even with the fences moved in, could be great for him.

More from Pinstripe Alley:

Follow @pinstripealleyFollow @SBNationMLB

• Audio: Alex Rodriguez blasts Bud Selig, denies PED use on WFAN with Mike Francesa
• MLB Free Agent Signings: Who the Yankees missed out on
• Pinstripe Alley Top 100 Yankees: #85 Horace Clarke
• Can David Phelps be a reliable starting pitcher?
• Alex Rodriguez Appeal Hearing: MLB makes statement, likely headed to federal court

Could Granderson get an encore in New York after all?

Curtis Granderson turned down the Yankees' qualifying offer earlier this month, but the team still considers him a serious target, Brian Cashman told the New York Post. The Yankees have obvious holes in their outfield with Granderson hitting free agency and Vernon Wells and Ichiro Suzuki no longer representing starting-caliber players. Though they have been more vocally connected to the likes of Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran to fill that void, Cashman maintains that the Yankees are interested in a reunion with Granderson, who isn't merely a Plan B for them.

The 2013 season was a disaster for Granderson after an errant pitch in spring training sidelined him for a good chunk of the beginning of the season, only to find himself back on the DL shortly after returning to baseball after another errant pitch broke his pinky. Assuming that that kind of bad luck can only be attributed to the fact that the 2013 season was cursed for nearly every Yankee, there is reason to hope that he will rebound in a big way from his disappointing .229/.317/.407 batting line in 61 games. Granderson will only be a couple seasons removed from putting up consecutive 40+ home run seasons in 2012 and 2013, with his lefty swing fitting in nicely for Yankee Stadium's short porch. Re-signing Granderson isn't without risk, however. The strikeouts do pile up with alarming frequency at times and he hasn't been the threat on the bases he was back in 2011 when he stole 25 bases. His curious defensive routes may be minimized now that Brett Gardner seems to be the one tapped to patrol center field, but he can still make you shake your head when he runs forward on a ball hit well over his head.

With Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury, among others, still set to receive a much higher payday this offseason than Granderson, the Yankees may see him as a way to get a player capable of producing at a high level while saving the extra money to put toward other areas of need. If they are serious about bringing in Brian McCann for the complete offensive and defensive abyss at catcher, they may consider pinching a few pennies elsewhere. Still, it seems as though they might rather have Choo than Granderson, even with each one presenting their own downsides. Granderson has carried himself in New York as well as anyone, and if history holds, that could mean something to the front office when it comes right down to it.

Is there a price you'd be okay the Yankees paying to bring Granderson back, or do you hope they move on completely while they have the chance?

More from Pinstripe Alley:

Follow @pinstripealleyFollow @SBNationMLB

• Joe Nathan Free Agency: Yankees make him a secondary priority
• Yankees add six to the 40-man roster
• Yankees acquire infielder Dean Anna from Padres
• Brian McCann Free Agency: Expected to start visiting teams
• Alex Rodriguez storms out of appeal hearing

Some men just want to watch the world burn. Alex Rodriguez is not really one of those men, Peter Gammons' brain fart notwithstanding. Do we really need to talk about all this?

If you have to talk about Alex Rodriguez's ongoing labor grievance with Major League Baseball -- and if you are a sports talk radio host on New York City's 98.7 WEPN, you do need to talk about that -- you could do a lot worse where guests are concerned than Peter Gammons. It's not that there's anything new to say, really, about A-Rod storming out of his hearing earlier this week, or about what A-Rod is going for with his recent Eugene V. Debs As Interpreted By A Buff Android theatrics, or about what A-Rod is ever really trying to do. But if you need someone to say some things about A-Rod, Peter Gammons -- a Hall of Famer who famously interviewed A-Rod about performance-enhancing drugs, and clearly cares a great deal about baseball -- would seem to be a good person to say those things.

Yes, it would seem that way. So:

(Audio courtesy of @EliIsElite)

Well, that didn't go very well at all! But it did at least go quickly. After host Mike Lupica spent 40 seconds (accurately) describing his guest's career bona fides, Gammons drops an "it's all about the money" -- the sort of strong take that usually comes from callers identified by their first name and the town on Long Island from which they're calling -- before swerving, of his own volition, into some strange and swampy territory. "I've had people with the Yankees say this to me," Gammons says at 1:10 above, "he (Bane A-Rod) is just, he wants to blow up the world." There's a pause, then, during which we might imagine that Gammons is considering what to say next. Or not considering it, because what he came up with was, "he's like the marathon bombers. He's gonna get them and ..."

And then some stuff about failed drug tests and Lupica opens what sounds like a Twix right next to the microphone and let's circle back to that bit about how Alex Rodriguez is like a pair of deranged nihilists who tried their best to murder hundreds of innocent people with bombs.

It should be noted that this is possibly not the dumbest bit of apocalyptic hyperbole directed at A-Rod. Back in July, Bill Madden, a columnist for the New York Daily News and pioneer in the field of Rodriguez-related overstatement, compared A-Rod to Whitey Bulger, the sadistic Boston mobster who is known to have tortured and murdered at least 10 people. Madden made that comparison because A-Rod was "baseball's Public Enemy No. 1," which is lazy and deeply dumb. Gammons himself seems not even to understand where this comparison came from.

@craigcalcaterra It was a stupid, poorly worded comp of blowing up a process.Alex would never hurt a human . I hope I haven't hurt him

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) November 21, 2013

Which is a pretty good apology, honestly, and about what you'd expect from one of the more universally revered humans writing about sports. But if it's probably wise not to parse a sexagenarian's on-air brain fart too finely, there's still some significance here to find, in the context if not in the comment.

If Alex Rodriguez is suspended, baseball fans will be robbed of one of his greatest gifts: the strikeout face.

On Wednesday afternoon, Gammons tweeted a link to a post headlined 5 Reasons You Should Root For A-Rod, which ran on his fledgling and faintly Angelfire-ish baseball site, Gammons Daily. It's a fairly dry post, with little a)'s and b)'s under numbered points laying out the specific instances of overreach in MLB's case against A-Rod. This is what A-Rod walked out of when he walked out of that arbitrator's office, and if there's something ridiculous about Rodriguez's attempts to paint himself as a labor hero -- imagine Sally Field in Norma Rae, but looking up at a self-commissioned painting of herself as a centaur -- it's also true that he has collectively bargained rights, and that Bud Selig's office certainly seems more interested in punishing A-Rod than honoring those rights.

Anyway, you know all this, but the point is that there is interesting stuff to talk about here -- a complicated story with a bunch of other, smaller, similarly interesting stories within it. It might be that sports radio is not the place to go into those fine points, although I'm not exactly sure why that needs to be -- just because much of sports radio is a place where soul-goateed hamsteaks grump heroically about Man Stuff doesn't mean it necessarily has to be that.

It also might be that Peter Gammons, sunny establishmentarian generalist that he is, is not the guy to go into the fine points of this particular story, or really any story. National baseball writers have a purpose, and that purpose is Make Baseball Sounds about a wide array of baseball-related topics; Gammons throws in the ability to make sounds about dad-rock, as well, free of charge. He generally does all this fairly well and in an endearing way.

But, at some point -- and not just when it leads to towering biffs like comparing the greatest power hitter of his era to domestic terrorists because both have little respect for traditional institutions -- there's clearly a diminishing return on hyperbole as a way to talk about sports and politics and anything else. It's not just that it coarsens and polarizes and dumbs down and louds-up, turning conversations into dueling banjo take-offs, although there's also all that. It's that the defiant serving up of all these piping-hot takes doesn't actually offer much in terms of entertainment or illumination, let alone enjoyment.

Peter Gammons misspoke, and is sorry about it. But he was trying to speak a language that isn't really his own -- he's not naturally a dudgeon master like the whiskey-lunged doofs hosting "Sportsblurt with Toiletman and the Beav" shows on AM stations nationwide. Gammons is a Buffalo Tom fan who likes baseball a lot and has followed it for a long time. Let him talk about baseball, and things will probably be fine. But he's no more at home speaking Sports Talk Radio than any other functioning human. This is a dumb and unproductive way to speak about things -- stilted and kayfabe-ish and uninformed and false, too angry and otherwise too much. A-Rod is a complicated case himself, and his present situation is knotty and weird and interesting to think about. Couldn't we just talk about that?

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With the appeal concluded, a final decision on A-Rod's suspension is expected sometime in December.

After two months of mud-slinging, finger-pointing and some deliberation, Alex Rodriguez's appeal hearing with Major League Baseball has finally come to an end, reports Ken Davidoff of the NY Post.

The hearing was originally slated to last through Friday, but the lack of testimony from Bud Selig and A-Rod allowed things to progress a little quicker than expected.

Independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz was originally thought to have a 25-day window to make a final decision about whether to uphold A-Rod's standing 211-game suspension, reduce it, or get rid of it entirely. But a decision from Horowitz might not come until early January, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York and Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.

Horowitz is supposed to make his decision based on only the evidence presented in the courtroom over the last two months, but you'd be forgiven if you thought otherwise given the spectacle that occurred around the hearing. Rodriguez and MLB have exchanged accusations throughout the proceedings, with matters ultimately coming to a head on Wednesday when A-Rod stormed out of the courthouse then bashed Selig and company in a subsequent radio interview.

Rodriguez's lawyers have said that they plan on making much of the evidence presented at the hearing available to the public in the coming days, so expect more dirt to come to light very soon. They have also threatened to take the league to federal court, but it's unclear how quickly that would happen.

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One day after fireworks in the arbitration room resulted in Alex Rodriguez yelling at MLB COO Rob Manfred and storming out, the arbitration hearing is over. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz will now be tasked with coming to a decision on whether or not to uphold MLB's 211-game suspension or reduce the number of games Rodriguez will miss.

The A-Rod arbitration case against #MLB has concluded.

— Ken Davidoff (@KenDavidoff) November 21, 2013

The case ends without Bud Selig or Rodriguez testifying, with Selig's absence being the reason Rodriguez was so upset a day ago. Rodriguez kept his word and did not show up to the hearing today after yesterday's outburst, but his lawyers were present for the conclusion. Each side seems extremely confident in the case they have presented to Horowitz, of course. All there is left to do now is wait for a ruling, but it seems that the case is ticketed for federal court unless Rodriguez is allowed completely off the hook with his suspension. Rodriguez has also hinted that a lawsuit against the Yankees could be coming at some point in the future, but he can only fight so many battles at one time.

The ARod hearing is over. Now the two sides write summary briefs, turn in by 12/11, respond by 12/21, then it's up to arbitrator Horowitz.

— T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) November 22, 2013

Horowitz has 25 days to make a ruling. Hopefully Horowitz has enough information and enough desire to put this circus behind him to come to a decision sooner than that.

Update: Or not...

So now I'm told Horowitz (A-Rod arbitrator) will not be held to 25 days. Expect a decision perhaps not until after the holidays.

— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) November 22, 2013

Sigh.

Read more from A-Rod's arbitration hearing:

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• Audio: Alex Rodriguez blasts Bud Selig, denies PED use on WFAN with Mike Francesa
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