In the film, the owner wanted to move to Miami not as much as she felt they had a better chance to win there, but because she was a former nightclub dancer and thought Miami was a nicer place to live than Cleveland (she inherited the team after her husband died).  She is the story’s villain, but, as owner of her team, she had the right to desire to move it.  Losing every game possible was her wish and, even though it was opposite of what the Cleveland players and fans wanted, her right as owner of the team.  Whether her reasons were exactly dignified don’t matter.  An owner of a team has a right to do what he/she wants.

In real life, team movement is a rarity in MLB, even though we just saw the Montreal Expos move to Washington DC not too long ago.  But if you follow the money, as any team owner wants to do, you’ll see wins and losses correlate.

Which brings us to a quandary for a team like the New York Mets.  Should they win or should they lose?  They are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.  The purpose of the team winning more games this year would be to keep fans coming to a brand new stadium, Citifield, giving them hope for next year, thus leading to, at the least, flat ticket sales with 2009.  Plus, if you’re into psychology, a 10-game September winning streak could help this year’s players who will be on the team in 2010 believe more in their personal and team abilities to win it all next season.

There’s a reason why losing could help the team.  A big reason.  If the Mets continue to lose games at the rate they’ve been losing in the second half, they’ll have a strong chance at “earning” a Top 5 amateur draft pick next June.  Put aside the (strong) possibility that they’d make a bad choice with that pick.  The fact is, a Top 5 pick in Round 1 (and subsequent rounds) could help infuse an ailing farm system with (again, if they pick well) top talent, either creating inexpensive talent for the big club in a few years or quality talent to trade for established stars (i.e. the 2011/2012 Roy Halladay equivalent).  Losing games now gives the organization more flexibility down the road.

So should they win or should they lose?  Let’s follow the money and see if it makes the decision for us.

Losing every game now has a payoff, but its years down the line.  While the team could, in theory, reap the benefits of top minor league talent from the draft, they’d have to pay for it next year.  Is hope worth $3 million to $5 million for an 18 or 21-year old Top 5 ”prospect”?  Suppose the prospect doesn’t live up to expectations talent-wise or gets hurt before making it to the big leagues or getting traded.  That’s money down the tubes.  That’s the end of your hope.

Losing now doesn’t help the now or the next season.  Losing now will bring further media criticism on the entire organization.  With ownership not known to be a group of men with thick skins, can GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel survive a 5 and 14 slide in the final 19 games?  Unless the team can completely turn around in 2010, neither man will be around when next year’s Top 5 draft pick bears fruit.  There’s no incentive for these two to want to lose.  They’re going to make every effort to go 19-0 before their season ends.

Ownership is in the quandary.  They have suffered through an embarrassing year, both on and off (Madoff, Bernazard) the field.  There were championship dreams when Citifield was unveiled at the end of March.  Those dreams still exist, just not for this year.  If you owned the Mets, what would you want?  It’s not an easy decision.

Built into the decision-making process is not just the psyche of the fans and players now and the need to sell as many tickets as possible next year, which would bring in more concession revenue, more SNY network (through commercials) revenue, more merchandise sale revenue.  But those future revenues are based upon next season’s team.  The budget for next season has to be made and enacted before a dime of revenue for 2010 is earned.  Based upon this season, do you cut next year’s budget (rumor has it they will)?  Do you keep your budget flat?  Do you increase the budget for minor league operations, allowing for the increased expected expenditures for higher draft picks?  If you do this, is it at the expense of the parent club, the one fans pay to see?  Are you hurt even more if your team loses so much in September that you’re forced to fire your GM and manager to save face, continuing to pay their contracts in 2010 while bringing on new individuals to run the field operations?  And are you realizing that, with the firing of manager and GM, you’re also firing a coaching staff and many of your GM’s “guys”?  Does that mean your new hires will be hired based more on their paychecks than talent?

It’s not a simple decision.  For ownership, there’s always a balancing act between now and the future, between making money and winning games.  For a team like the 2009 New York Mets, losing now may bring in incrementally more revenues in a few years.  But since there’s no Major League option of moving the team to Miami, they’re going to have to get through 2010 and 2011 first.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

Hughes, specifically, was viewed as an immediate starter for the Yankees.  Making the Opening Day roster in 2007 Hughes made his first start on April 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays.  Hughes lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, absorbing the loss.  Making his second start against the Texas Rangers on May 1 Hughes flashed the brilliance seen by others assessing his talent.  He was throwing a no-hitter until, with one out in the sixth inning; Hughes injured his left hamstring while throwing a 0-2 curveball to Ranger first baseman Mark Teixeira.  Hughes would miss the next three months rehabbing his injured leg.

Hughes returned to the Yankees on August 4, making his next start against the Kansas City Royals.  He went 4.2 innings, earning a no-decision.

2007 also marked the first time Hughes pitched in the post season.  Once again, Hughes took advantage of the spotlight.  In Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series Hughes faced the Cleveland Indians, entering the game in relief of starter Roger Clemens.  Hughes sparked as he shut down the Indians in 3.2 innings of work to earn the victory.  It was the only win the Yankees would produce against the Tribe.

Another bit of trivia, Hughes was the youngest player (21) on the roster and he replaced the oldest player (45) in Clemens who left the game with a hamstring injury of his own.

During the winter Hughes was sought after by many teams, with the most notable being the Twins.  The Twins as a small market club needed to unload their premier pitcher, Santana, because they knew he was going to fetch a huge contract that the Twins could ill afford to meet.  The Yankees contacted the Twins about Santana, but they wanted Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera in return.  The Yankees ultimately said NO!

Hughes and Cabrera stayed and Santana signed with the New York Mets.

All-in-all, things were looking up for the young righty.  Hughes and Kennedy both made the starting rotation to start the 2008 season.  Hughes, who wore the number 65 in 2007, switched his number to 34 for the 2008 campaign.  It was the number he wore in high school and at the 2006 All-Star Futures Game.

Coming out of Spring Training everything appeared to be on track for Hughes.  He did well in his first start of the season where he went 6.0 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 3.  Hughes earned a no-decision, as the Yankees nipped the Jays 3-2.  In the game Hughes struck out four, walked one and gave up two earned runs.

After that Hughes season unraveled in a hurry.  In his next 5 starts Hughes’ record dropped to 0-4.  He averaged 3.06 innings of work, and his ERA ballooned to 9.00.  To add to Hughes’ woes he landed on the disabled list on April 30 with a strained oblique and a cracked rib.  On May 2 Hughes visited an optometrist and it was discovered he was nearsighted.  He began wearing glasses on the mound.

After recovering from his injuries Hughes spent the summer in the minors at Scranton/Wilkes-Barrie helping the Yankees Triple-A team win the 2008 International League title.

The Yankees recalled Hughes on September 13 and he made his first start on September 17 against the Chicago White Sox.  Hughes threw 4.0 innings, but showed signs of life again.  He surrendered just one run while striking out 4 and walking two batters to help the Yankees to a 5-1 win.  In his next start Hughes pitched 8.0 innings in Toronto.  His line was very encouraging to the Yankees as he only gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits, while striking out 6 and walking none.  In that one game Hughes lowered his ERA from 7.96 to 6.62.  It was a tremendous building block for Hughes to carry with him into the off-season, which came early as the Yankees failed to make the playoffs.

Hughes had a marvelous 2009 spring training where in 4 appearances (12.1 innings of work) he only gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits, and had a terrific ERA of 2.19.  However, when camp broke to start the regular season Hughes returned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

As it has been said many times, “fate is the hunter.”  Fate found Phil Hughes.

No one in their right mind expected the start RHP Chien-Ming Wang has had to start this season.  A two-time 19-game winner, Wang was 8-2 in 2008 before going on the DL after injuring his right foot on June 15, while facing the Houston Astros in an interleague game.  Wang was attempting to score a run when he pulled up lame and was taken out of the game.  It proved to be a season ending injury.

Wang had a pedestrian spring training, but announced himself ready for the start of the season.  Wang was penciled in by manager Joe Girardi as the No. 3 starter behind newly acquired pitchers C.C. Sabathia (Milwaukee Brewers) and A.J. Burnett (Toronto Blue Jays).  In Wang’s first 3 starts he has allowed 23 earned runs on 23 hits in just 6.0 innings of work.  That worked out to an ERA of 34.50.  Wang was pulled from his next start as the team contemplated what it was going to do with him.

“We have some time. We have a day off I think Thursday and we’re going to have to decide what’s best for Chien-Ming Wang and the team,” Girardi said at the time.

What they decided was to put Wang on the disabled list, which opened up the slot for Hughes.

Hughes made the most of the opportunity, and yesterday he was stellar in his start against the Detroit Tigers.   Facing a very formidable lineup Hughes allowed no runs, only 2 hits, while striking out 6 Tigers and walking two.  He also hit a batter.  Hughes mixed his pitches well and kept the Tigers off balance for the most part.  He kept it even, until the Yankees took advantage of an outfield fielding error, and broke the game wide open for an 11-0 win.  The victory snapped a 4-game losing streak.

“It’s a good feeling,” Hughes said to reporters after the game. “I didn’t have one all last year, so to get one in the first start is nice.”

Hughes was just what the Yankees needed.  His performance was the positive, feel good tonic that has been missing from the clubhouse since the Yankees hit the road nearly a week ago.

“That’s the best that I’ve seen him throw,” Joe Girardi said. “It was something we needed. That’s a pretty good hitting lineup and he shut them down.”

Another guy that may be on the hot seat, if Hughes continues to shine, is No. 5 starter Joba Chamberlain.  Chamberlain, who made a splash in 2007 coming out of the bullpen, hasn’t looked as good this season in the starting rotation.

In three starts Chamberlain is 0-0 with a 3.94 ERA.  He has not pitched deep into a game, averaging 5.37 innings per start.  Flashing a near-100 mph fastball in 2007 while coming out of the bullpen Chamberlain has barely reached the mid-90s this year.  He went on the DL in 2008 with a shoulder injury, which was diagnosed as shoulder tendonitis.  He returned to close out the season, but so far this year his performances have been mixed.  Chamberlain has struck out 11, but walked 10.  He is averaging a little over 90 pitches per game.  This is in accordance with the “Joba Rules” imposed upon Chamberlain by the team.  According to Girardi wants Chamberlain limited to 150 innings this year, but at the same time make approximately 30 starts.  Girardi admitted that may necessitate pulling Joba from games after 5 innings.

However, there is no restriction on Hughes, and if he can continue to pitch as he did Tuesday that is going to create some interesting headaches for Girardi.

For one, the bullpen has been a mixed bag of tricks since the season started.  The Yankees have the highest team ERA in baseball and the bullpen has been a large part of that.  Chamberlain has proven he can dish coming out of the ‘pen so that is a great option for Girardi.  RHP Brian Bruney who also went on the DL the same time as Wang had been the one bright spot in the relief corps and once he comes back the Yankees could be looking at a triumvirate much like the Nelson-Stanton-Rivera trio of the 90s.  With both Bruney and Chamberlain in the bullpen with Rivera the Yankees could go a Bruney-Chamberlain-Rivera pairing to shorten the game to six innings.

Secondly, you have to reward effort.  With Wang on the DL for a few more weeks Hughes is going to get the opportunity to show management he belongs in the majors full time.  If he continues to perform like he did against Cleveland sending him back down to the minors would be counterproductive.  It could hurt Hughes psyche as to whether he feels like he’s wanted or not.

The next couple of weeks are going to be very telling for the Yankees and their pitching corps.  If Wang comes back strong and reverts to the pre-injured pitcher he was Girardi is going to have to make some heavy duty decisions (and he won’t be making them alone).  Personally, if Hughes and Wang are pitching at their optimum levels, sending Chamberlain back to the bullpen is the correct move.  He would instantly shore up a leaky group of relievers, and, along with Bruney give them legitimacy.

Decisions, decisions!!  This is why they pay Girardi the big money, because he is the one who is eventually going to have to figure this roadblock out.  It’s a nice problem to have for a while, but ultimately whether or not some personnel like the moves that are going to be made Girardi is going to have to make them for the betterment of the team.

In the meantime, all Phil Hughes can do is take the ball, pitch the best he can, and let the chips fall where they may.

The Yankees open their doors officially on Thursday for a game against in Cleveland Indians.

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AL EAST AL CENTRAL AL WEST
N.Y. Yankees        Minnesota Twins         L.A. Angels
Boston Red Sox       Cleveland Indians            Oakland A’s
T.B. Rays                Chicago White Sox           Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays     Kansas City Royals          Seattle Mariners
Baltimore Orioles      Detroit Tigers
**Notes:
AL EAST-  Flip a coin between New York and Boston;  it’ll all come down to who stays more healthy–but I think Teixeira’s impact will be huge.  Sox’ staff deeper, but Yanks will have a sense of desperation with their older core players–and make the most of it.  Rays’ young staff to blow out come September.  Halladay in Toronto doesn’t get enough help from his fellow starters.  Orioles have a totally new pitching staff–but it won’t matter; yes, poor Brian Roberts.
AL CENTRAL- I like the Twins starting pitching better than Cleveland’s–and Joe Nathan is still Joe Nathan; however, Mauer must return to full strength.  I’m not crazy about Chicago’s bullpen–and there are health concerns.  Royals low on-base percentage will hurt them–but they could surprise somewhat.  Tigers’ young, talented arms of ‘06 now a distant memory; if they were to win this division, then yours truly could be dating Charlize Theron come October.
AL WEST- Angels just too talented in an otherwise weak division, but will they get enough production out of the 1B and DH spots?  Giambi will test cleanly and Oakland will score more runs–but their pitching is suspect.  As usual, Rangers’ pitching is “iffy,”–to say the least.  Mariners start the season without Ichiro, and their ”big” off-season acquisitions were an over-the-hill Griffey, Jr. and Russell Branyon–telling you all you really need to know.

NL EAST NL CENTRAL NL WEST
N.Y. Mets                   Chicago Cubs             L.A. Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies     Milwaukee Brewers    Arizona D’Backs
Atlanta Braves             St. Louis Cardinals     S.F. Giants
Florida Marlins             Houston Astros         Colorado Rockies
Washington Nationals   Cincinnati Reds         S.D. Padres
Pittsburgh Pirates
**Notes:
NL EAST- Mets’ acquisitions of Putz and K-Rod put them over the top–but WHICH Oliver Perez will show up every five days?  Phillies will score, but starting pitchers like “Father Time” Moyer will disappoint.  Braves lack power–and will have trouble closing games.  Marlins may make more errors than the Bush administration did; Nationals located in D.C.–where NOTHING good happens these days.
NL CENTRAL- Cubs starting pitching still excellent–and Milton Bradley helps the offense.  Brewers will simply try to outscore opponents–but this isn’t bowling.  Cards will have trouble closing games–and they have no bench.  Houston has too many #5 starters; I don’t like the Reds outfield.  Pirates’ only hope is that SOME people show up in person to see them finish last once again.
NL WEST- Infielder Hudson helps Dodgers a lot, but will Manny quit come September?  Haren and Webb may win 40 for Arizona–but they’ll fall short.  Giants’ lack of power puts too much pressure on a decent staff.  Rockies can’t outscore people like they used to and will miss Holliday too much.  If you can name the Padres lineup, you have WAY too much time on your hands.
*Postseason: I’ll say the Yankees’ off-season money machine propels them to yet another World Series appearance–despite A-ROID appearing on the cover of the New York Post at least a half-dozen times this summer.  Cubs make up for the embarrassment of last postseason (and the past 100 years!) and win the World Series in early, bone-chilling November.

Enjoy the season, everyone!

Sabathia, who signed with the Yankees in the off-season for the richest contract by a pitcher in baseball history, didn’t make it out of the 5^th inning; a familiar sight to Yankees fans during the 2008 season.  The Yankees are counting on Sabathia to eat up major innings during the year.  However, Sabathia struggled with his command from the get-go and left the game after surrendering 6 earned runs on 8 hits.  The six were the most runs he had given up in a game going back to July 25, 2008 against the Cleveland Indians (32 starts).

Opening Day saw Vice-President Joe Biden throw out the first pitch to kick of the Orioles and Yankees 2009 campaigns; a high fastball catcher Chad Moeller had to climb the ladder to get.  He is the first sitting vice-president in history to do so at Camden Yard.  Afterward, the O’s took the field and Derek Jeter strode to the plate to face Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie.  Jeter got the Yankees first hit, singling up the middle, but was left stranded to end the inning.

Sabathia took the mound and immediately had trouble locating his pitches, especially his fastball.  He gave up a leadoff single to Brian Roberts and later uncorked two wild pitches, although the second one should have been handled by catcher Jorge Posada.  The two wild pitches equaled the amount he threw in 253 innings last year.  However, Sabathia was able to keep Baltimore off the boards for the first two frames.

In the third the Yankees took a 1-0 lead on a manufactured run, when Brett Gardner singled to left, and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Johnny Damon.

That’s when the Orioles went to work on Sabathia.

Baltimore scored three runs in the bottom of the inning when César Izturis singled, Roberts walked, Adam Jones tripled and Nick Markakis hit a sacrifice fly to score Jones.

The Orioles scored 3 more runs off Sabathia in the 5^th when Roberts doubled, and scored after Jones and Markakis hit infield singles. Third baseman Melvin Mora hit another infield single getting Jones to third and moving Markakis up 90 feet.  Sabathia intentionally walked Ty Wigginton to load the bases.   Jones scored on a groundout by Aubrey Huff with Markakis advancing to third.  Sabathia’s afternoon ended after he walked Luke Scott force in a run and reload the bases.

The Yankees bullpen took a beating as well.  After Jonathan Albaladejo threw a scoreless 1-1/3 innings in relief of Sabathia the Orioles tagged relievers Phil Coke and Brian Bruney for two runs each, capped by Izturis’ home run off Coke in the 8^th.

The Yankees other big time signee Mark Teixeira had a rough afternoon also.  Teixeira, who went 0-for-4 with walk, stranded four, including two runners on in the 8^th after the Yankees had cut the Orioles lead to 6-5 in the seventh.

After the game, Teixeira remarked to reporters about his poor showing.

“I didn’t get it done there,” he said, referring to his groundout with runners at the corners and two outs.

Teixeira, who was born and raised in Maryland approximately 30 minutes south of Baltimore, was lustily booed by the hometown crowd every time his name was announced at the plate or when he made a play on the field.

After the game, Sabathia summed up his afternoon this way.

“I was terrible. I battled from the first inning on,” he told reporters.  “At some point I’m usually able to find it. Today was just one of those days where I didn’t. When I have one of those days, this is the result you get.”

Yankee manager Joe Girardi took the game in stride.

“I guess we can’t go undefeated,” Girardi said. “Yeah, it’s one game. We didn’t execute today.”

Even with the loss the Yankees can point to some positives.  Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui homered and Jeter and Damon went 3-for-5 and 2-for-3 respectively at the top of the order.  So far Girardi’s flip-flopping of the Yankees shortstop and left fielder in the leadoff and No. 2 spot in the order is paying off.

The Yankees and Orioles have Tuesday off before battling again on Wednesday and Thursday to complete their 3-game series.

Notes: Sabathia didn’t record a strikeout for only the 5^th time in 253 career starts and Nick Swisher recorded his first official hit a Yankee by getting a pinch-hit double in the 8^th inning.

Other organizations have made their feelings well known and have publicly denounced many of the Bronx Bombers’ moves, dating back longer than just this past offseason. Perhaps one of the more colorful ‘nicknames’ came out of a 2002 New York Times interview with Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino, who berated the Yankees for outbidding his team for Cuban free agent pitcher Jose Contreras. Lucchino initially did not want to comment on the issue but then stated, “No, I’ll make a comment. The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America.” The name has taken on a life of its own, even being mentioned in the Wikipedia page for ‘Evil Empire’ to reference the Yankees. Not surprisingly, the fan base of the Yankees embraced the nickname and wear it as if it were a badge of honor.

This past winter, southpaw CC Sabathia was the biggest fish on the open market as far as staring pitchers went. After blowing everyone else out of the water with a six-year, $140 million offer, the Yankees added a year and $21 million to the contract, as well as an “opt-out” clause after three years. Why top it out at $161 million instead of an even $160 you may ask? That’s an easy answer, if you subscribe to the Yankee mentality. You see, they had to ensure that Sabathia would average $23 million per year, topping Johan Santana’s paltry $22.9 million average he received from the cross town Mets a year ago.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who traded a bevy of youngsters right before the trading deadline last July to acquire Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians, obviously wanted him back. The small market club offered five years and $100 million and were even contemplating adding a sixth year when the Yankees began courting the near 300-pound hurler.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin was not too thrilled at the Bombers for upping their offer by 40 percent. “They could have offered him 110,” he said to reporters in November. “There was no reason to go up to 140. It sounds to me like they’re overbidding.

“(The Yankees) have been pretty adamant about bidding on everybody,” continued Melvin. “That doesn’t mean that’s what the market is. That’s just one team’s offer.”

Read between the lines with that last part of Melvin’s statement and you can understand why it always seems like ‘us versus them,’ with ‘them’ being the Yankees and ‘us’ the other 29 teams.

After the Yankees signed Sabathia, they also inked righthander A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira for a shopping spree that cost them $243 million for all three new players.

As if you really needed to be  told, the Yankees also have the top four highest paid players not only in baseball, but in all of sports. Alex Rodriguez, who wasn’t satisfied earning $25.2 million a summer, opted out of that monster deal he originally received from the Texas Rangers and resigned with the Yankees for $275 million over 10 years. Up next is shortstop Derek Jeter with his $189 million/10-year deal he signed in 2001. Newbies Teixeira (8 years at $180 million) and Sabathia follow to give the impression that there is a printing press pumping out $100 bills somewhere in the bowels of that new ballpark.

Speaking of the Bombers’ new digs, a mere $26,325 will buy you a full season seat in the Field Level. For those without a calculator handy, that comes out to $325 per game, of course not counting the gas, tolls, parking lot, hot dog and beer. Add at least another $100 per nine innings for all the extras and who do you think will be sitting in Sections 115 through 125?

On second thought, even those guys are feeling the recession these days. Perhaps if things get worse before getting better, the Yankees one day will have to do things the old fashioned way, just like the rest of the country.

The Yankees becoming ‘commoners?’ Don’t bet on it.

The Yankees open the stadium on April 3rd and 4th for two preseason games against the Chicago Cubs. The first official home game is April 16th against the Cleveland Indians.

Click on the video to take a closer look.