The joke's on The America-Haters--Soccer has worse posting system than capitalist Japan does in baseball!

"If the posting system is an example of freer baseball trade, it is far behind the example of soccer, where transfer fees that routinely send players around the world have been common for decades. But in one significant way, soccer’s system is different because players still under contract by the selling team receive a small percentage of the fees from their buyers."

"In 2003, Manchester United sent David Beckham to Real Madrid for $41 million. Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian striker, has quite a résumé: He was sent by Dynamo Kiev to A.C. Milan in 2000 for $25 million, and in May, went to Chelsea for $55 million. Shevchenko, then, has been worth more in fees than Matsuzaka and Igawa combined."

From NY Times, 12/1/06, by Richard Sandomir

Scott Miller admits when pressed---knows Mariano deserves credit, but refuses, for personal reasons, to give it

From CBS Sportsline.com, 11/29/06, transcript of Scott Miller conversation with fans:

"From: Dean Francis,

"Scott, I agree with you completely on the reliever bias, but nowhere in your column do you mention last year when Colon beat Mariano Rivera in what was the best year of Mariano's Hall of Fame career. That was a travesty and injustice."

"Yeah, but at least Bartolo Colon had a very good year and helped pitch his team to the division title. Brandon Webb's Diamondbacks finished fourth in their division.""

• I love it! Scott Miller says, "Yeah, but..." barely acknowledging Mariano's existence, and REFUSES TO RESPOND TO A FAN WHO CARED ENOUGH ABOUT HIS SUPPOSED OPINION TO ASK HIM A LOGICAL QUESTION. Wonder how any and all ballots of Miller's look when Rivera is involved....By the way, did you know Miller's life-long goal was to vote on baseball awards? I documented this from an interview he had on XM radio some months ago (on my XM MLB blog). To grow up wanting to judge others in a secret, unaccountable, multi-million dollar stakes award that makes old men weep? That's the last person who should be involved in this corrupt, political boon doggle.
  

NY Times grasping at straws to somehow get their beloved Red Sox in the game

"A.L. East to Far East: Yankees Extend Rivalry"

Another phony NY Times, headline, 11/29/06--This to describe the Yankees successful bid for the right to speak to Japanese pitcher Ogawa. Any source you choose, there's no contest. The Yankees are far and away the favorite in Japan. It's the Red Sox who are trying to get in the game there. But the Times won't tell you that.

• In another Yankee story this day, a well-known but ignored fact noted by Murray Chass:
  
• 
  
• "Every $1 the Yankees spend on a new contract costs them $1.40. That’s their tax rate — 40 percent. No one else has it."11/29/06

A Minneapolis voter, 11/06, because you allow this to continue

"I had conversations with coaches and players from around the league, many off the record. Let there be no doubt: The Twins themselves felt Morneau was their MVP. "

• The international celebrity Joe Christensen's defense in choosing his guy for AL MVP. "Many off the record." Exactly what I've been saying, nobody listening, and criminal neglect resulting.
  

NY TIMES SELLS HATRED, ENVY, & LIES ABOUT THE YANKEES

"Yankees Spend $26 Million for Rights to Igawa."

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

Published: November 28, 2006

(This is the sensational headline the Times uses to keep baseball's awards voters in Minneapolis feeling outraged and justified in denying Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. It's also false. The team did not "spend" for rights to Igawa. The money is not "SPENT" unless the player signs with the Yankees. It's a 'bid,' which the phony writer explains in the story, but not until he spreads hate.)

From the opening of the column:

"Two weeks after the Red Sox won the bidding to negotiate with the star Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Yankees came back to win the right to negotiate with the left-handed Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa, major league baseball officials announced tonight."

Benched AL MVP voter surfaces with Mike and Chris

WFAN interview with--who else--a mid-west international celebrity whose supposed "punishment" or benching for prior judicial indiscretion didn't really exist

AP Sports Editors Ethics Guidelines

APSE ethics guidelines

1. The newspaper pays its staffer's way for travel, accommodations, food and drink.

(a) If a staffer travels on a chartered team plane, the newspaper should insist on being billed. If the team cannot issue a bill, the amount can be calculated by estimating the cost of a similar flight on a commercial airline.

(b) When services are provided to a newspaper by a pro or college team, those teams should be reimbursed by the newspaper. This includes providing telephone, typewriter or fax service.

2. Editors and reporters should avoid taking part in outside activities or employment that might create conflict of interest or even appearance of a conflict.

(a) They should not serve as an official scorer at baseball games.

(b) They should not write for team or league media guides or other team or league publications. This has the potential of compromising a reporter's disinterested observations.

(c) Staffers who appear on radio or television should understand that their first loyalty is to the paper.

3. Writers and writers' groups should adhere to APME and APSE standards: No deals, discounts or gifts except those of insignificant value or those available to the public.

(a) If a gift is impossible or impractical to return, donate a gift to charity.

(b) Do not accept free memberships or reduced fees for memberships. Do not accept gratis use of facilities, such as golf courses or tennis courts, unless it is used as part of doing a story for the newspaper.

(c) Sports editors should be aware of standards of conduct of groups and professional associations to which their writers belong and the ethical standards to which those groups adhere, including areas such as corporate sponsorship from news sources it covers.

4. A newspaper should not accept free tickets, although press credentials needed for coverage and coordination are acceptable.

5. A newspaper should carefully consider the implications of voting for all awards and all-star teams and decide if such voting creates a conflict of interest.

6. A newspaper's own ethical guidelines should be followed, and editors and reporters should be aware of standards acceptable for use of unnamed sources and verification of information obtained other than from primary news sources.

(a) Sharing and pooling of notes and quotes should be discouraged. If a reporter uses quotes gained secondhand, that should be made known to the readers. A quote could be attributed to a newspaper or to another reporter.

7. Assignments should be made on merit, without regard for race or gender.

Guidelines can't cover everything. Use common sense and good judgment in applying these guidelines in adopting local codes.

From their website, 11/25/06.

BBWAA guy gains fame in Nov. 2003 for failing to vote for a Yankee

BASEBALL JOURNAL; George's bluster reassures voter.

From: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) | Date: November 12, 2003 | Author: Souhan, Jim |

Byline: Jim Souhan; Staff Writer

If I had doubts about leaving Hideki Matsui off my American League rookie of the year ballot, they were assuaged at 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, when New York Post reporter George King left this message on my voice mail.

"You have just been ripped by George Steinbrenner," he said. "Welcome to the fraternity."

Steinbrenner, the Yankees' imperialistic owner,"

• Hey, little copywriter, the opposite is true. IT'S YOU WHO ARE THE JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIONER.
  

"criticized my decision to vote for Royals shortstop Angel Berroa, Indians outfielder Jody Gerut and Devil Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli for AL rookie of the year, eschewing Matsui.

Now I ..."******** This is the biggest day of the Minneapolis copywriter's life. THIS STORY WAS PUBLISHED AROUND THE GLOBE.*****

• Basic report published Nov. 12, 2003 in the St. Petersburg Times:

"NEW YORK - George Steinbrenner called the voting for AL Rookie of the Year a "farce" and ripped two writers for leaving his outfielder, Hideki Matsui, off their ballots.

The Yankees owner castigated Bill Ballou of the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette and Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, who said veterans who come from the Japanese leagues shouldn't be eligible for the award.

Royals shortstop Angel Berroa won the award by a vote of 88-84 Monday, the closest rookie race in 24 years. Matsui and Berroa both were left off two ballots.

"I firmly believe that a great injustice has been done to Hideki Matsui," Steinbrenner said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the two reporters "made up their own rules. " by "Wire Services"

Then by SI's Tom Verducci, more equivocation, Nov. 19, 2003:

"The four major awards, as decided by the Baseball Writers Association of America -- MVP, Cy Young, Manager and Rookie of the Year -- remain the gold standard of postseason prizes for all pro sports. This year, as much as any other in recent times, reminded us that one reason baseball's honors remain so compelling is the room for debate. The awards are as important and controversial as ever.

• What helps make the awards so interesting -- even when somebody runs away with one as Barry Bonds did in winning his sixth National League MVP trophy Tuesday -- is the easy-to-understand, very public voting system used by the writers. (Ever see Gold Glove voting results? Football Hall of Fame? World Series MVP? Hank Aaron Award? The Grammys? Of course not.) For its postseason awards, baseball uses a system that thrives on accountability, which should be expected from professionals who ask likewise of the people they cover. If you're going to ask a pitcher why he gave up that game-winning homer, you'd better answer for your own ballot selections."

(These are completely false statements, as I've documented on this and my other mlbchat blog).

"And whoo-boy, did a few writers have some explaining to do this year."

• APPARENTLY NOT UNTIL THEIR OWN NAME IS A HOUSEHOLD WORD): By Ronald Blum
  ASSOCIATED PRESS

  2:50 p.m. November 10, 2003

• "Souhan did not return telephone calls seeking comment." On Nov. 11, Blum was able to publish he'd received an email from Souhan as follows:

"When Mr. Steinbrenner spends multiple millions to lure an MVP-caliber player from a major professional league, he should be embarrassed that such a high-profile player is vying for the Rookie of the Year award, and not the American League MVP award," Souhan said in an e-mail."

BUT BLUM STATES IN THE SAME AP STORY 11/11/03, via ESPN, "Yanks' owner calls voting a great injustice,"

"The Baseball Writers' Association of America, which conducts the vote, said it abides by the eligibility rules set by the commissioner's office."

• SO ALLOWS INCORRECT VOTE TO REMAIN & WITHOUT COMMENT!
  

""We have honored Japanese players with Rookie of the Year awards in the past and will probably do so in the future," BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell said in an e-mail.""

• Happy so far, folks? Back to Verducci's garbage.....
  

"Ballots have never been kept secret,"

• A LIE, WHICH I HAVE IN WRITING FROM JACK O'CONNELL OF BBWAA.
  

"but the issue of who voted for whom has loomed much larger since George King (New York chapter) and LaVelle Neal (Minnesota) left Pedro Martinez off their 1999 AL MVP ballot.

The sunshine movement gained more momentum this year when Bill Ballou (Boston) and Jim Souhan (Minnesota) decided they would ignore the very specific eligibility rules for the Rookie of the Year award and make up their own. And so they determined not only that Hideki Matsui of the Yankees was not a rookie, but also what the "spirit" of the award was.

What they should have done as conscientious objectors was to recuse themselves from the balloting. They should have declined the invitation to vote, allowed others who actually would adhere to established rules to fill out the ballot, and then brought up the possibility of changing the rules at the next BBWAA meeting -- and these are moves they should have made in any past season in which they felt so strongly. (The topic of rookie eligibility has never been formally discussed at a writers meeting.) Other scribes have, however, declined the opportunity to vote for various reasons in the past.

Accountability makes the writers look good and bad at the same time. It does reveal the warts, and one of the worst warts is the provincialism that goes on. Each award is voted on by two writers from each city in that particular league. Here are some of the more noteworthy hometown ballots cast:

• Chicago White Sox pitcher Esteban Loaiza received the only two first-place Cy Young votes that did not go to Roy Halladay. And where did both Loaiza votes come from? Chicago.

• Texas infielder Mark Teixeira received one first-place vote in the AL ROY voting. Where did it come from? Dallas.

• Only one writer left Carlos Delgado (RBI champion, second in OBP, slugging, walks and home runs) completely off his AL MVP ballot, which has room for 10 players. That was a writer from Chicago, Joe Cowley, who just happened to put two White Sox players on his ballot, Frank Thomas and Loaiza, who received no other MVP votes.

• David Ortiz of the Red Sox was a part-time player for two months, was worthless against left-handers (.216, four homers), played only 45 games in the field, was awful outside of Fenway Park (.256 with 39 RBIs, three less than Todd Walker) and ranked eighth on his own team in hits, a mere 69 fewer than Nomar Garciaparra. He did, however, receive four first-place MVP votes, including both from the Boston chapter.

• Minnesota outfielder Shannon Stewart had laughable numbers for a serious MVP candidate. He was a leadoff hitter who didn't run (he stole four bases and was thrown out six times) or get on base much (he scored 90 runs, five fewer than Raul Ibanez) or hit for power (13 home runs) or hit especially well down the stretch (.289, zero home runs in September), all while playing a corner position (left field) with one of the worst arms in baseball. He did get three first-place MVP votes, though -- one from (surprise!) Minnesota and two from fellow AL Central chapter Chicago. (Chicago, again?)

In the end, no player or manager was robbed of an award. Even if Cowley had put Delgado first on his ballot, for instance, Alex Rodriguez would have still won the MVP award. You could also argue that ROY winner Angel Berroa had a better season than Matsui.

It's precisely the arguments that make the BBWAA awards so great."

• Excuse me? You've just proven the OPPOSITE. THERE'S NO ACCOUNTABILITY NO RECOURSE. (Continuing):

"In what other system do people care so much about why somebody received a second-place vote (Derek Jeter?!) or demand to know who left a certain player off their ballot?"

• Translation: In what other system CAN TOM VERDUCCI HIMSELF RECEIVE SO MUCH FREE PUBLICITY?

"It's not a perfect system precisely because it is so human. Beat writers see their own team more than any other. They can get caught up in the euphoria of covering a championship club. They will see the same players they voted for (or against) a few months later in spring training, when the world knows how they voted.

So the next time you can't understand why somebody voted for Stewart as MVP or how somebody could think Delgado wasn't among the 10 best MVP candidates or how Matsui could not be considered a rookie despite the fact that prior to this season he'd never played Major League Baseball, remember that you are entitled to answers and that nobody cares this much about any other sports awards. You can thank the baseball writers for that. Their awards remain the best."

• The best= no rules, no recourse, no accountability, most publicity for BBWAA UNION MEMBERS WHO'D OTHERWISE BE UNKNOWN.
  

Sorry, this shoots dead the notion that "A-rod desperately wants to be liked"

From the NY Times article by Harvey Araton (11/23/06)--it's chilling about A-rod. If you were on the fence about him, this will make up your mind:

"Corny as it all may seem, scripted as Jeter can sound, he typically puts the best franchise face forward. At a memorial service last month in California several days after pitcher Cory Lidle'’s death in a Manhattan plane crash, there was Jeter, right alongside Torre.

• Where was Rodriguez? He is not the manager, or the captain, as is Jeter, but what about his alleged standing as the team's reigning superstar, its most scrutinized player, A-lightning-Rod?

Too many times -- as with the Sports Illustrated confessional on the eve of the playoffs -- Rodriguez seems to miss the impact of his actions, or inaction.

• Last Wednesday, after attending his own charity poker tournament in Manhattan, he canceled on a major fund-raiser the next night at the Yogi Berra Museum in Little Falls, N.J. According to a person in the Rodriguez camp who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity, A-Rod'’s mother, Lourdes, had suddenly been hospitalized -- certainly a legitimate excuse and far better than the reason David Wright'’s people gave for him not showing. (Wright had been inadvertently double-booked that night.)

But Wright is a Met, A-Rod a Yankee,

• and because he has a history around town of blowing off events (including one of Torre'’s last year), because the call to the museum to cancel was made not by Rodriguez but by one of his employees,
  
• 
  
• because there was an A-Rod sighting last Friday night at courtside of the Knicks-Heat game in Miami, the museum people and the Berra family and even the Yankees president, Randy Levine, were said to be in a snit, with the impression that A-Rod too often gives: he just doesn't get it."
• 
  
• IMPRESSION? I'D SAY THAT'S AN ACTUALITY. And "in a snit" is an insulting way to describe the shock and sadness that must've been felt by many involved.
  

"A personal call to Berra a day or two or even three after the event is all it would have taken to deliver an expression of sincerity, to let Berra and the Yankees know that A-Rod does respect the tradition, the legacy and, in this case, the patriarchal standing of Berra, 81, as the greatest living Yankee."

• THIS IS UTTERLY REVOLTING. I'M JUST SORRY A-ROD HAS RECEIVED MARIANO'S SUPPORT UP TO THIS POINT. THE IDEA AROD WANTS TO BE LOVED IS OFFICIALLY IN THE TRASH CAN.
  

"Raw power may make you a most valuable player, but A-Rod, as talented and hard-working as he is, still hasn'’t mastered the subtleties of team interaction, the intangibles that postseason awards typically don'’t address."

• ARATON'S CHILLING EPITAPH ON AROD: IT'S JETER WHO STILL STANDS.
  

"Without them, there is no way for A-Rod to reach the pedestal on which Jeter still stands."

from NY Times Article 11/23/06 by Harvey Araton (Times Select req.)

The 2006 AL MVP votes by market & triumphant voter

November 21, 2006, 6:26 PM EST

BALTIMORE

Thom Loverro, Washington Times
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Dye
6. Suzuki
7. Hafner
8. Guerrero
9. Santana
10. Verlander

Mel Antonen, USA Today
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Mauer
4. Thomas
5. Dye
6. Ortiz
7. Thome
8. Guerrero
9. Hafner
10. Glaus

BOSTON

Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Thomas
6. Dye
7. Guerrero
8. Hafner
9. Sizemore
10. Santana

Dave Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
1. Jeter
2. Ortiz
3. Morneau
4. Thomas
5. Damon
6. Santana
7. Dye
8. Mauer
9. Guerrero
10. Guillen

NEW YORK

Bob Klapisch, Bergen Record
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Santana
4. Dye
5. Thomas
6. Mauer
7. Ortiz
8. Ordonez
9. M. Rivera
10. Hafner

Ed Price, Newark Star Ledger
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Thomas
6. Dye
7. Sizemore
8. Hafner
9. V. Wells
10. Guillen

TAMPA BAY

Marc Topkin, St. Petersburg Times
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Ortiz
4. Dye
5. Guillen
6. Thomas
7. Mauer
8. Sizemore
9. Suzuki
10. Santana

Eduardo Encina, St. Petersburg Times
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Santana
4. Ortiz
5. Thomas
6. Dye
7. Mauer
8. Hafner 9. Wang
10. Damon

TORONTO

Larry Millson, Toronto Globe and Mail
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Mauer
5. Dye
6. Hafner
7. Guillen
8. Santana
9. Tejada
10. V. Wells

Allan Ryan, Toronto Star
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz
4. Thomas
5. Santana
6. Hafner
7. Dye
8. A. Rodriguez
9. Guerrero
10. M. Ramirez

CHICAGO

Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Dye
4. Mauer
5. Ortiz
6, Thomas
7. Thome
8. Hafner
9. Crawford
10. Sizemore

Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun Times
1. Morneau
2. Dye
3. Santana
4. Thomas
5. Ortiz
6. Jeter
7. Guerrero
8. A. Rodriguez
9. Hafner
10. Pierzynski

CLEVELAND

Jim Ingraham, News Herald
1. Jeter
2. Hafner
3. Ortiz
4. Morneau
5. Sizemore
6. Thomas
7. Mauer
8. Dye
9. Guillen
10. Nathan

Sheldon Ocker, Akron Beacon Journal
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Ortiz
4. Santana
5. Verlander
6. Dye
7. Thomas
8. Konerko
9. Guerrero
10. Hafner

DETROIT

Danny Knobler, Booth Newspapers
1. Morneau
2. Thomas
3. Mauer
4. Jeter
5. Ortiz
6. Giambi
7. Santana
8. Guillen
9. Dye
10. Sizemore

John Lowe, Detroit Free Press
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Thomas
4. Ortiz
5. Dye
6. Nathan
7. Santana
8. Mauer
9. Rogers
10. Sizemore

KANSAS CITY

David Boyce, Kansas City Star
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Thomas
4. Dye
5. Santana
6. Ortiz
7. Hafner
8. Guerreo
9. Mauer
10. A. Rodriguez

Bob Dutton, Kansas City Star
1. Jeter
2. Morneau
3. Ortiz
4. Thomas
5. Santana
6. Mauer
7. Dye
8. Cano
9. Tejada
10. Ibanez

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL

Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star Tribune
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Thomas
4. Ortiz
5. Mauer
6. Dye
7. Hafner
8. Guillen
9. Giambi
10. Santana

Jason Williams, St. Paul Pioneer Press
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Dye
4. Thomas
5. Ortiz
6. Thome
7. Santana
8. Guerrero
9. Hafner
10. Mauer

LOS ANGELES

Matt Hurst, Riverside Press Enterprise
1. Morneau
2. Jeter
3. Ortiz

4. Mauer 5. Thomas 6. Santana 7. Dye 8. Guillen 9. Guerrero 10. Sizemore Doug Padilla, L.A. News Group 1. Morneau 2. Jeter 3. Mauer 4. Ortiz 5. Thomas 6. Santana 7. Guillen 8. Dye 9. Guerrero 10. Hafner OAKLAND Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle 1. Jeter 2. Thomas 3. Santana 4. Morneau 5. Ortiz 6. Dye 7. Mauer 8. Hafner 9. M. Ramirez 10. Sizemore Joe Roderick, Contra Costa Times 1. Jeter 2. Thomas 3. Morneau 4. Dye 5. Ortiz 6. Guerrero 7. Thome 8. M. Ramirez 9. Guillen 10. Tejada SEATTLE Larry Stone, Seattle Times 1. Morneau 2. Jeter 3. Ortiz 4. Thomas 5. Dye 6. Guerrero 7. Hafner 8. Mauer 9. Giambi 10. Guillen John Hickey, Seattle Post Intelligencer 1. Morneau 2. Jeter 3. Thomas 4. Ortiz 5. A. Rodriguez 6. Dye 7. Guillen 8. Ibanez 9. Guerrero 10. Sizemore TEXAS Kat O'Brien, Fort Worth Star Telegram 1. Jeter 2. Morneau 3. Santana 4. Dye 5. Ortiz 6. Thomas 7. Guerrero 8. Hafner 9. Mauer 10. Matthews Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News 1. Santana 2. Jeter 3. Morneau 4. Dye 5. Thomas 6. Ortiz 7. Mauer 8. Guerrero 9. Sizemore 10. Young

2006 AL Cy Young Votes

Thursday, November 16, 2006

2006 AL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers		Felz & His Friends
Johan Santana	140	Johan Santana	28
Chien-Ming Wang	51	Chien-Ming Wang	17
Roy Halladay	48	Roy Halladay	15
Francisco Rodriguez	5	Mariano Rivera	3
Joe Nathan	3	Fraincisco Rodriguez	3
Kenny Rogers	3	Joe Nathan	2
Justin Verlander	2	B.J Ryan	1
		Justin Verlander	1
		Barry Zito	1

This chart is from the Felzball.blogspot.com blog, AND PROVES MY POINT YET AGAIN. BASEBALL WRITERS WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP MARIANO RIVERA FROM GETTING THE RECOGNITION HE DESERVES. NOT 1 VOTE FOR MARIANO HERE. HOW MANY OF THESE 'WRITERS' DO COLUMNS FOR ESPN.COM?

New York Woman murdered by illegal alien living in boiler room basement of construction boss

11/11/06--(My father sacrificed years of his young life and went through hell so millions of murderers could flood the country like cockroaches. Congrats to all of you on the gravy train).
***He walked across the US border into Texas through Mexico, having started in Ecuador. Then:

• "Juan, 23, now a waiter at a Manhattan restaurant, said he crossed the Mexican border by walking, catching cabs and wading through rivers to get to Texas. The trip took about a month and ended with a Greyhound bus ride to New York.

"I was very scared. I thought immigration would stop the bus and ask us for identification," he said."

(I ONLY GIVE HALF MY INCOME TO TAXES, SORRY, I KNOW I SHOULD ACTUALLY KILL MYSELF. Who can AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE ANYWAY? IF I WERE AN ILLEGAL ALIEN, I'D GET THE BEST HEALTH CARE FOR FREE.)

November 12, 2006 -- Diego Pillco, the teen accused of killing indie-film actress Adrienne Shelly for fear he would be deported, lived in hiding with his illegal-immigrant relatives in a basement boiler-room hovel owned by their construction boss.

• Access to the dungeonlike lair the 19-year-old shared with his brother Wilson and cousin in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, is hidden behind the main stairs of a three-story brick apartment building. A small door leads to narrow plywood steps and the windowless underground home.

Placed around the dingy space last week were a pair of dusty construction boots, a collection of religious icons, bottles of Crown Royal whiskey, pirated soft-core porn, Spanish horror DVDs - and receipts for money wired back home to Ecuador.

A living room is set up in the boiler room, and there are two makeshift bedrooms, a kitchen area and a bathroom.

• The three worked for their landlord, Luis Hernandez, owner of the BCG construction company, who charged them about $100 each per month for their three dim rooms. He docked their pay for the rent money, neighbor Frank Diaz said.

Pillco was arrested Monday and charged with second-degree murder.

He was working for Hernandez on Nov. 1, renovating a West Village apartment, when Shelly, who also wrote and directed and had an office in the building, complained about the noise.

She threatened to call the cops, and Pillco, fearing his illegal status would be discovered, followed her to her upstairs apartment and knocked her to the ground, police said.

Thinking the blow had killed her, Pillco hanged Shelly by a bedsheet from the shower rod to conceal the murder as a suicide, police said.

• Last week, a medical examiner discovered that the hanging, rather than the blow, killed Shelly, who was married and had a 3-year-old daughter.

Diaz said Pillco moved in with his two relatives in the summer of 2005. His cousin said the accused murderer still owed $12,000 for "the journey" from his hometown of Cuenca to New York and that he had assumed responsibility for the debt after Pillco's arrest.

Diaz said Pillco's cousin was taken away in a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at about 6 a.m. Thursday. Several other accused illegal immigrants were hauled from the basement of the house next door - also owned by Hernandez, he said.

Witnesses said Hernandez and a group of his workers attempted to remove all evidence that illegal immigrants had been living in the basements of his adjoining buildings Thursday - carrying out furniture and personal items from the Prospect Avenue address.

"He doesn't want any more trouble, the jig is up," one neighbor said.

Pillco shared one tiny bedroom with his brother. Their matching beds were kept neatly made.

On a bedside table lay a receipt for a $50 money transfer from Pillco to his father in Cuenca, dated three days before the grisly murder.

• "They never went out, except to go to the store or go to work," Diaz said. "They were pretty quiet. They kept to themselves. They only spoke Spanish."

On the wall hung a picture of two small kids. A simple shrine to a Catholic patron saint, adorned with flowers and prayer cards, was kept below the photo.

In the corner near the bedroom door was a cheap TV. On a nearby shelf were a collection of Spanish horror and smutty films featuring women dressed as schoolgirls posing on the cover.

Pillco's parents, Manuel and Mercedes Salto, both 54, told a reporter in Ecuador that their son was a polite, sweet boy who flew to Mexico and sneaked across the border.

Another illegal immigrant from Pillco's hometown said he paid $9,500 to "coyotes" for a similar journey in 2001.

Juan, 23, now a waiter at a Manhattan restaurant, said he crossed the Mexican border by walking, catching cabs and wading through rivers to get to Texas. The trip took about a month and ended with a Greyhound bus ride to New York.

"I was very scared. I thought immigration would stop the bus and ask us for identification," he said.

Juan said he was shocked and saddened to learn of Shelly's slaying - and Pillco's alleged involvement.

"It's bad on his part because it makes the rest of us look bad. It gives the authorities a reason to try and get us and force us to leave," he said."

• HE DOESN'T SAY THE BAD PART IS A BRUTALLY MURDERED YOUNG WIFE AND MOTHER. HE SAYS THE BAD PART IS HE MIGHT GET CAUGHT. ENJOYING THE GRAVY TRAIN, LIBERAL BASEBALL WRITERS?
  

Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter would have no identity without his secret awards

"Preliminary polling shows the slugger will lose too many votes to teammates Joe Mauer and Johan Santana.

Joe Christensen, Star Tribune Last update: November 05, 2006

In the spirit of Election Day, the Star Tribune conducted a straw poll this week to help answer that question burning in the minds of Twins followers everywhere: Will Justin Morneau win American League most valuable player honors?

The official announcement won't come until Nov. 21.

Our findings won't spoil the suspense.

Morneau apparently took home enough first-place votes (balloting was completed at the end of the regular season) to make things interesting, but his chances of winning still appear to be 50-50, at best.

We polled 15 of the 28 voters, which include two baseball writers from each of the 14 AL markets.

The Baseball Writers Association of America asks its members not to reveal their votes before the announcements are made, and seven of the 15 abstained from our poll.

Eight anonymously answered our question: Did you have Morneau first on your ballot?

Three said yes. Five said no.

Beyond our straw poll, however, we have heard the results from 12 ballots, and six of those had Morneau listed first.

With 50 percent of the first-place votes, that might sound promising for the Twins first baseman.

But it's more complicated than that.

The favorite to win is still New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. Voters rank their top 10 MVP choices, and the guess here is that Jeter probably was picked first or second on most ballots.

Morneau's problem is he played for a team that had three legitimate MVP candidates. Some national media members thought Johan Santana, a virtual lock to win the AL Cy Young award, should win MVP honors as well. Others still say Twins catcher Joe Mauer was the league's true MVP.

Voters who put Mauer or Santana high on their list, probably dropped Morneau down a few pegs.

Jeter was the clear MVP choice among the Yankees, so he won't have that problem.

It's possible that Morneau could get more first-place votes than Jeter and still not win MVP honors. That happened most recently in 1999, when Pedro Martinez received the most first-place votes (eight) but Ivan Rodriguez (seven) took home the award.

Dubious prediction time

OK, the best guess here is that Jeter wins his first MVP award, and Morneau finishes second.
Of course, the last bold prediction in this space was Tigers in four. So Morneau better get his acceptance speech ready."

• (Honestly, who would even know who Christensen was without awards' voting? Answer: Very few people, which is why guys like him are desperate to keep these phony awards going.)
  

YES Network hates the Yankees--my 2nd letter

September 11, 2006

Mr. Woody Freiman
V.P., Production and Programming
The YES Network
405 Lexington Ave., 36th fl.
New York, N.Y. 10174-3699

Dear Mr. Freiman:

Thank-you for your thoughtful letter of August 30 in response to my letter of August 28 regarding the portrayal of Mariano Rivera. I’m aware of Yankeeography, and my issue isn’t with Jim Kaat, Michael Kay and the others. I’ve noted cameras show Rivera in the bullpen if he may be coming into the game. Yet, the other points I made remain. Assuming we have Rivera for 1 more year, that still leaves little time.

• Again Saturday 9/9 YES had a clip of LESS than 1 second of Mariano in the montage closing the post game show. This isn’t MTV, and this kind of thing doesn’t help the baseball fan. (Unless you're other than a Yankee fan).
  

The 3 issues are: 1) Pre and post game coverage, 2) What the Yankee fan wants or needs to see, and 3) A behind the scenes awareness that Mariano has never come close to winning any post season awards due to institutionalized bias; the votes are secret. The same people could easily deny him the HOF. If the YES Network chose to present Mo in the manner he deserves, they could be the lone voice in the wilderness (aside from SNY).

I enjoy general baseball news and noticed the emotional and glorious footage YES showed of Johan Santana at the end of the Yankee post game show on Sunday 9/10. This is exactly the kind of coverage Rivera should be getting from YES studio productions but doesn’t. As I mentioned in my earlier letter to Mr. Filippelli, a sad example of this is the YES version of game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, of which Rivera was MVP. At the end of the game, he’s lifted onto the shoulders of his team mates and carried across the field. The edited version YES shows includes less than 1 second of this emotional scene (I saw the original, and it was much longer than that).

There’s a constant media barrage deifying pitchers not named Mariano. There was a brief respite this year during the All Star break when Ozzie Guillen put Rivera in the news. Regarding Bob Lorenz, I’m glad he appreciates baseball, but much of what he says and how he says it on the air are directed by someone else, e.g. the length of time looking at a stat, what is said about it and in what tone. In the past year, I’ve chosen to take time to document in detail the efforts of mainstream baseball media to minimize Rivera including writers and contributors to ESPN.com, MLB.com, FoxSports.com, the largest baseball websites, and newspapers from around the country. The only outlet I’d logically hope to put his performance in correct context is the YES Network. Explicitly acknowledging the media bias might backfire, and has for the Yankees in the past when Hideki Matsui was overlooked. Mr. Steinbrenner’s unhappiness about this was reported in the press, and a writer who failed to vote for Hideki became an instant national celebrity and was delighted. Jon Miller said on the ESPN-TV game Sunday 9/10 that San Diego general manager Kevin Towers started a campaign last week to have Trevor named NL Cy Young. This isn’t the kind of thing I’m suggesting the YES Network or the Yankees do. It may even work in their case, but wouldn’t for the Yankees.

ESPN of course ignored the fact Ozzie named Rivera as his All Star game closer on July 5, and on Baseball Tonight, the host even said he’d only be his 4th choice for closer, behind Papelbon, Ryan, and Jenks. The Boston Globe wrote the day before the All Star game that the long game against the White Sox in which Papelbon was involved, must’ve been the reason he wasn’t named as the first closer, apparently unaware of the fact Rivera had been named on July 5.

The media’s goal is to put anyone they can in front of Mariano, and one of their picks is Trevor Hoffman (their long-time pal). His botching the All Star game sufficiently behind him, the campaigning for him is back in force, with recent articles on ESPN.com, Foxsports.com, and a 9/8 headline and article on MLB.com. Saturday 9/9, yet another on the ESPN.com page by one of their big writers, with headlines Hoffman should be in the Hall. He hasn’t done anything special, is still adamantly a 1 inning pitcher in a low pressure environment. Another site on 9/9 refers to the MLB article in a headline and puts forth the idea he should win the NL Cy Young. This is 4 front page headlines in about 10 days, plus probably the most widely read internet site. Even from this small sampling of what I’ve documented, you may see why I hope for fair portrayal from 1 media source, YES. The opposition is overwhelming, and most who recognize it just shake their head and say, what can you do? Well, not showing the total saves stat would be a start.

The Hoffman group sailed for years saying he’d go the Hall. But now they worry, what if voters consider who was dominant in his era? Their hope is to minimize Mariano. The best stat to choose for that is the one YES showed, total saves. Some may have seen it as you suggested, gee isn’t it amazing so many other guys are doing better than Mariano. But, first, that stat does not show they’re doing better. I mentioned in my last letter how many other factors go into the closer’s performance. Drawing attention to this stat (which was done again briefly on Monday, September 4 in either your pre or post game show) is strictly ammunition for the mass media.

As I mentioned earlier, in his 10 pennant winning seasons (possibly 11), Rivera
has not come close to winning a Cy Young or MVP award (although he was 1999
World Series MVP and 2003 ALCS MVP).

• Joel Sherman in the Sept. 1, 2006 NY Post, states, “Rivera deserves Cy Young and MVP but Will Not Win.” Last year, he was the clear statistical winner, #1 in the Bill James/Rob Neyer AL Cy Young predictor, but among award voters, he wasn’t even close. 6 of the 28 voters left him off their ballot entirely. Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal said, well, it was just another good year for him & he’s had so many good years, he’d “probably have to have 65 saves for anyone outside of New York” to notice. Ah, the total saves stat defense. (Mo saved or won 6 1-run games in September 2005, worked 3 days in a row twice in a 2 week period, 6 out of 8 days, allowing the team finally to tie with Boston, and become the technical winner of the AL pennant). Mike Lupica recently wrote that Rivera could be the “most important Yankee of all time.” In the Sept.1 Sherman column, he also says Mo should’ve won these awards in other years. He doesn’t delve into why he’s been rejected by voters, although he probably knows. Sherman is a present or past member of the HOF board, and knows what’s going on. The ‘elephant in the living room’ is long-standing institutionalized bias.
  
• Those looking for an excuse not to vote for Rivera (this concept was presented in SI), could in some cases use a total saves stat. And, the YES Network of all places should be including his 34 post season saves (from 111+ post season IP) in any ‘career saves’ stat, which was not done or spoken of when he got his 400th regular season save. I don’t mean passing mentions by announcers, I mean produced video highlights of great moments.

Baseball writers, of course, should be removed from any voting on baseball awards, and a number of newspapers have already stopped their employees from doing so due to ethics concerns. Hopefully, more will join them very soon.

On August 10, Rivera and Ron Villone both made great contributions to the game, but little was said about their efforts on the post game, focusing mainly on Randy Johnson. The reply might be the oft-used, “well, everyone knows Rivera is great,” and change the subject.

Interesting torrent of media support this year to give as many as 3 post season awards to Boston’s new closer. He had maybe 8 weeks on the job when people starting handing these out. (A Washington Post columnist wrote about half way into the season that he could qualify for 3 awards). After 11 years of historic work, Rivera has never come close to winning a single one. Do you begin to see the bias here, Mr. Freiman, why I’m bothering with this? It’s not your job to run a personal campaign for a player, but that total saves stat and lack of ‘glory and majesty’ shots can be far reaching. Many could say a 6 out Rivera save is the same as someone else’s 1 out save. Aside from what the Yankee fan might appreciate seeing, awards voters will grab what suits their bias.

Saturday 9/9 was another example of the problem on the post game show, around 7:30 PM after the 3-2 win at Baltimore. I looked very closely, YES showed Farnsworth’s last out, but LESS than 1 second of a person clapping on the sidelines (Mo), who’d just put his head down in the clip you chose. I was again stunned. Why not give a few seconds of the guy? YES didn’t even allow the viewer to see who was clapping. This isn’t MTV. If the YES network doesn’t think it’s important to give him time, that’ll be fine with the opposition.

The YES studio staff no doubt work long hours in complex situations. But I see no evidence that Mariano gets more than cursory consideration, if that.

• Mike Lupica and Joel Sherman aren’t alone in saying he’s unlike any human being we’ve ever seen or ever will see, but on daily YES network studio shows (or replays of classics), this feeling is clearly absent. It won’t be taken care of by a Yankeeography, or passing mentions by the announcers. Something like the dramatic portrayal you gave Johan Santana on Sunday is what’s needed.

Incidentally, the Yankee radio people, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, have seen every pitch Rivera has thrown (Suzyn may’ve missed a few while preparing her interviews in the 9th inning). They are exactly correct in their portrayals of Mariano, and include references to him at appropriate times.

Lastly, on Monday, August 21, on either the pre or post game show, Bob Lorenz stated Mike Timlin gave up a sac fly in the 8th inning (to Giambi) the night before. It was Papelbon who gave up the sac fly.

Sincerely,
Susan Mullen

• P.S. Those of us who are Yankee fans remember this about Johan Santana: in game 4 of the 2004 ALDS, he apparently took himself out of the game after 5 innings (Twins were leading 5-1). The game was finally won in 11 innings, 6-5 Yankees. Mariano Rivera was the winning pitcher.