You know it’s the off season when Grandes Ligas is getting involved in Hot Stove Rumors. If you haven’t heard yet, and I am sure you have, the aforementioned Spanish newspaper reported that K-Rod was in NYC to take a physical. Although fans get annoyed by the volume of rumors, many unfounded, I think this is great for the game of baseball. What other sport would have this attention months before training camp? Baseball is a game played in warm weather during holidays that require barbecues, not Turkey, yet we are talking about it more then perhaps we would on the fourth of July.

Normally this kind of stuff would evoke outrage but, unlike others, I am going to see the positive in the volume of information we receive this off season. Whether it is mainstream, independent, or blogger forms of media, rumors are just that… rumors. We have to understand that, until a deal is signed, anything can happen. I still remember hearing that Omar Minaya had signed Ritchie Sexson and Moises Alou back in the winter of 2004. Neither happened, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t close or made up. Often, executives use the rumor mill to their advantage. See Omar Minaya and Mike Francesa.

Normally the anatomy of a rumor starts with a discussion, knowledge of the thought process of the team or individual, and then some substance to back it up. Obviously, some people go to press with firmer information than others. Headlines meant to catch the reader sometimes don’t live up to its hype in the article. That is business, and it happens every day. That is why critical reading is more important than ever. Whether your reading the NY Times or NY Baseball Digest you have to analyze and challenge the information you are receiving. More information is a good thing. Just imagine if we relied on WFAN for all our hot stove information? How in the dark would we be?

Here at NYBD we were criticized for putting out some information over the last month. Ironically, each piece of information has started to surface in the mainstream. Hopefully that will show the readers that we are credible. You have to earn credibility regardless of whether you have a journalism degree, not have it bestowed upon you. University degrees prove that you can memorize and regurgitate, not have the answers to life’s questions. That is why I wasn’t upset that people were skeptical about our information because I expected it. What bothered me is how some, out of fear of competition, tried to discredit it.

The important thing here is that we promise to state a rumor as such, and conjecture as just that… conjecture. The Jake Peavy information was a rumor. Beltran for Cano was a discussion topic based on some information we had acquired. Frank has done an incredible job giving us information about the Yankees thought process this off season. Joey Demayo has been spot on for his information regarding the Mets and Yankees. Part of this sites mission was to bring the rumor mill here to complement our thought provoking analysis. I believe we have done a great job in just the three short months the site has been live.

What I find ironic is less outrage over Grandes Ligas then there was at our very own Frank Russo. But, I always live by the credo consider the source. Here at NY Baseball Digest our credo is simple: We provide you the information and want you to discuss it and take it for what it is worth. Baseball should be fun. There is enough negativity in people’s lives that they don’t need more of it in their sports passion. We are not trying to pretend to be a newspaper or magazine. We are building our own identity and entity in the biggest, most saturated media market. Our success is done with very little help from the big guys in the industry. I wouldn’t have it any other way, nor do I expect an assist. Again, as someone who has worked for a Fortune 20, I know whom and what I am dealing with each day.

Normally I don’t put out sanctimonious rants like this, but I figured the K-Rod story was the perfect time to state our case.  Oh, and by the way, you never will hear me refer to myself by a catchy title. Here at NYBD titles mean nothing and content is everything. That is a lesson I learned from 10 plus years in corporate America. Style over substance. We are the site that discusses baseball with the fans, not at them. Hopefully the rest of the off season is as fun as the first six weeks! Thank you for your support.

As always your comments, good, bad, or indifferent, are welcome!

Tags: Francisco Rodriguez, Grandes Ligas, K-Rod, New York Mets, New York Yankees