Some Solid Journalism

Trade speculation surrounding Alex Rodriguez has begun to pick up in the wake of his playoff benchings, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today is getting in on the action. In a Thursday article, Nightengale speculates that A-Rod is likely to be traded by the Yankees this offseason. He includes this paragraph of deliciously twisted writing built around a quote from Yankees General Manger Brian Cashman:

"I've had no discussions whatsoever with the Florida Marlins,'' Cashman said, but then again, didn't deny talks with the Miami Marlins.

Sure, Cashman, you denied discussions with Florida, but did you explicitly deny talks with Miami? No! Nice try! You can't fool us! THE TRADE IS INEVITABLE!

Not sure if this is irresponsible rumor-mongering or an attempt at a terrible joke, but either way it's pretty awful.

Well...You're Half Right

Interesting headline by Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

A-Rod HRs help, hurt Yankees

I may be wrong, but I'm prepared to say that all of A-Rod's home runs help the Yankees. This headline should read:

A-Rod HRs help Yankees, because they're home runs, which instantly credit one's team with runs, or "points," thus improving one's chance of victory

Actually, Sherman isn't blind to the rules of baseball; he's writing about the home run bonuses written into Rodriguez's contract, which will impede the Yankees' efforts to get under the $189 luxury cap in 2014.

Regardless: the Yankees want A-Rod to hit home runs. Because, like, he's already being paid buckets of money to do just that.