Oh, this is soooo sad. Some Getty Images via Yahoo.com…the remaining structure of the old Yankee Stadium across from the new Yankee Stadium as the Yanks face off against the Angels today in the 2010 home opener in the Bronx….
It’s not everyday that you hear a story about a Yankees fan turned Red Sox fan turned Rays fan, do you? What’s left after that, switching over to the O’s and then Jays? Seriously, it’s a nice story to share…out-of-work dude getting a dream job…we should all be so lucky someday…
Via the Rutland Herald -
If you had walked by the home on Perry Lane in Rutland on a quiet summer day back in the late 1960s, you might have heard a litany of familiar baseball names coming from the garage.
Greg Kalil would copy the lineups down from the New York Yankees games on WPIX and take a tape recorder out to the garage, enunciating the names into it in the fashion of Yankee public address announcer Bob Sheppard.
Kalil is still doing his thing. Only now the names are Longoria, Crawford and Upton. And Kalil’s garage is Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The 1979 Rutland High School graduate is the new public address announcer of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Kalil understands he was chosen from a field of more than 300 candidates for the position. The process began by sending in demo tapes. After listening to the tapes, the Rays pared the field to 14.
Then it was narrowed to three finalists who went to a spring training game in Port Charlotte, where they each displayed their talent by announcing the batters and performing other public address duties for three innings.
“I braced myself for the letdown,” Kalil said.
After all, three years earlier he was one of five finalists for the same job, but did not get it.
He was in the backyard playing with his dog at his home in Seminole, Fla., when he got the call. It was the news he had hoped for.
“I was laughing and crying all at the same time. The German shepherd must have thought I was crazy,” Kalil said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Part of the unemployment statistics in the Tampa Bay area since September, Kalil was elated.
“It’s a well-paying, part-time position,” Kalil said.
He is still looking to secure other employment around the 81-game schedule.
“Hopefully, I can work with the Rays more in some other capacity, but that’s down the road,” he said.
Radio and baseball have always been in Kalil’s system.
He went to the University of Vermont, but stayed only a year.
“I majored in Happy Hour,” he said.
Then, it was on to Champlain College for another year and more of the same.
The one thing that he was serious about was radio. He worked at WJOY in Burlington for two years and then put in another year at WVMT in Burlington.
Radio on Cape Cod was next. There he came to be a Red Sox fan, crossing over from the Yankees side. His father was from Worcester, Mass., originally and a Red Sox fan. Joining the ranks of the Yankees was a way of rebelling. But eight years on the Cape (1981-89) changed that.
Seeing something like this to start your day makes having to watch the team who beat you in the LCS get their World Series rings seem like a piece of cake…
Via the Daily News –
A Manhattan man jumped to his death Tuesday morning from the rooftop pool area of a ritzy Midtown hotel where the Los Angeles Angels were staying before their Opening Day game in Yankee Stadium, cops and witnesses said.
The 39-year-old man plunged from the 42nd floor of the Le Parker Meridien in an apparent suicide, his broken body landing on W. 56th St. about 8:15 a.m., police said.
“In a flash, I heard a thud and I saw the body bounce,” said Michael Norizsan, 45, who was sitting in his truck just yards away. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
“A lot of people were around him taking pictures, which was pretty morbid,” said Lydia Dones, 32, who works at a Starbucks across the street.
The onlookers included the Angels players, who were boarding the team bus on their way to the Stadium. Witnesses said they remained at arm’s length from the grisly scene.
The man was not a guest of the hotel, but came in asking to take a look at the hotel’s pool, police sources said.
Here are the winners – in bold:
Joe DiMaggio 85.3%
Thurman Munson 14.7%
Jorge Posada 32.4%
Whitey Ford 67.6%
This means all the #1 and #2 seeds have advanced to the Elite Eight. Here are the match-ups for the next round:
Babe Ruth (1) Lou Gehrig (1) Mariano Rivera (2) Derek Jeter (2) Mickey Mantle (1) Joe DiMaggio (1) Yogi Berra (2) Whitey Ford (2)
Look for the Elite Eight survey to be posted soon.
I’m starting to think that Joe Maddon is a cross between Billy Martin and Drew Carey.
In case you missed it, here’s a great Mark Teixeira story.
Think you know your Yankees trivia? O.K., if I were to say to you “Eli Grba and Luke Wilcox,” what would that mean?
Here are the winners – in bold:
Mickey Mantle 96.3%
Lefty Gomez 3.7%
Goose Gossage 1.2%
Yogi Berra 98.8%
The Mick and “Yog” move on to the Elite Eight.
Back on January 10th, I did a review of Josh Wilker’s Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards. Why mention this again? Simple – the book was released today. Again, this one is worth checking out.
It was Opening Day 1990 on this date, twenty years ago, in Yankeeland.
Here’s the boxscore from that game.
Dave LaPoint was the Yankees Opening Day starter in 1990. Here are the starting line-ups for both teams in that game:
Cleveland Indians New York Yankees 1 Mitch Webster CF 1 Steve Sax 2B 2 Jerry Browne 2B 2 Alvaro Espinoza SS 3 Candy Maldonado LF 3 Don Mattingly 1B 4 Cory Snyder RF 4 Dave Winfield DH 5 Keith Hernandez 1B 5 Mel Hall LF 6 Chris James DH 6 Jesse Barfield RF 7 Brook Jacoby 3B 7 Roberto Kelly CF 8 Sandy Alomar C 8 Bob Geren C 9 Rafael Santana SS 9 Mike Blowers 3B Buddy Black P Dave LaPoint P
Scary stuff, eh?
Via Business Week -
It’s been 30 years, but Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” still means a great deal in the rock world — and to its co-creator Roger Waters.
So to commemorate the groundbreaking album’s anniversary, Waters plans a tour this fall of the music from the concept album, with new staging that will bring the story — loosely inspired by his life — to a new generation.
“In the 30-odd years since I first performed this piece, it’s taken on some new meanings for me,” Waters, co-founder, bassist and main lyricist for Pink Floyd, said in an interview last week.
“Thirty years ago when I was kind of an angry and not very young lad, I found myself driven into defensive positions because I was scared of stuff, and I’ve come to realize that in that personal story, maybe somewhere hidden in there exists an allegory for more general and universal themes, political and social themes,” he said. “It’s really for that reason that I decided that I’d try and create a new performance of this piece using a lot of the same things that we did all those years ago.”
But Waters said he won’t just be dusting off the show that the now-defunct Pink Floyd performed decades ago. In fact, Waters said part of the excitement surrounding his new staging of “The Wall” involves new technology that allows him to do things he could only dream about in the 1980s and ’90s.
This time thirty years ago, I was a senior in High School counting down the days until June. And, as you can imagine, back in those days, Pink Floyd’s newly released “The Wall” was a huge deal to me and many of my classmates.
Somehow, my buddy Gary scored tickets to go see “The Wall” tour in February 1980 at the Nassau Coliseum. He got orchestra seats. Something obscene like the twelfth row. It was me, him, his brother Danny and someone else (who I can’t remember – though it was probably our buddy Dave). It was – and still is – the most incredible concert experience of my life. I was barely 17-years old.
Later, I found out that the Nassau Coliseum was one of only two arenas in 1980 to host “The Wall” tour. How I managed to luck into that one, I have no idea? Talk about really stepping into it. Got an awesome three-quartered sleeve baseball-style concert shirt at that one. It’s long since gone. Wore that puppy until it was a rag.
I can’t believe that was thirty years ago.
Via Geroge King –
Expect a lot of love to pour out of the Yankees tomorrow. And don’t be surprised if more than a few hundred tears are shed at Yankee Stadium.
That’s because beloved trainer Gene Monahan is expected to be on hand for the home opener, and many hope he will trot out to get his 2009 World Series ring.
“It’s going to be great to see him. He has been missing all this time and it will be the first time we will see him since he got cancer and surgery and everything,” Mariano Rivera said. “It’s going to be nice.”
Jorge Posada got choked up when asked what seeing Monahan will do for him.
“I miss Gino, I miss him a lot,” Posada said of the long-time trainer who didn’t attend spring training. “He is a big part of our team.”
I hope Yankees fans do the right thing and give Monahan a standing-oh that lasts for a very, very, long time…
He deserves it.
Here’s an interesting piece at FOX Sports on the fine work that Mike Maddux, Rick Peterson, Dave Duncan, Bob McClure and Bryan Price have been doing as pitching coaches.
Dave Eiland was not mentioned in the report.
Think Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson are looking back at the Mets now and laughing?
I dunno? You tell me. Here are the numbers.
The Yankees mystified a lot of people by spending more than a million dollars to bring in the South Korean pitcher.
After seeing this video, I can attest it was money well spent.
If Mr. Park gives quote like this for the rest of the season, then I for one will be grateful for Brian Cashman’s last minute bullpen remodeling.
Hat tip to ‘Duk over at Big League Stew
Via CBS in Albany –
A new poll from Siena Research Institute finds 68 percent of New Yorkers are sports fans, and that the Yankees lead as the single favorite sports team, with the Mets and the Giants coming in second and third.
Among New York state residents polled, 16 percent were classified as “avid” fans, 27 percent as “involved” fans, 25 percent as “casual” fans and 32 percent as “non-fans.”
“We found that nearly seven out of ten residents walks the walk of a sports fan and for 16 percent of all New Yorkers, being a sports fan is a major part of what they do each and every day,” said SRI director Dr. Don Levy.
More findings from the SRI poll are listed below:
…
Favorite teams
38 percent: Yankees
28 percent: Mets
20 percent: Giants
8 percent: Buffalo Bills
8 percent: Jets
4 percent: Buffalo Sabres
4 percent: Boston Red Sox
Here’s a link to the study.
Actually, I’m pretty surprised at the low number of Jets fans here. But, in any event, it seems like New York is now a Yankees town. You couldn’t say that 24 years ago. I wonder if it will stay that way for a while now?
Not Yankees-related…it’s a “Twins” story…but a good one. Click here to check it out.
Here are the winners – in bold:
Lou Gehrig 98.6%
Reggie Jackson 1.4%
Don Mattingly 9.6%
Derek Jeter 90.4%
D.J. and the Iron Horse move on to the Elite Eight.
Don’t forget that we still have these contests in play:
Greatest/Favorite Yankees Tournament – Sweet 16, Div III
Greatest/Favorite Yankees Tournament – Sweet 16, Div IV
Via the O.C. Register –
Hideki Matsui is not sure if he will receive his World Series ring from the Yankees when the rest of the 2009 champions are presented with theirs before Tuesday’s home opener at Yankee Stadium.
But when he does, he might want to slip it quietly into his pocket and check it out later. The way the schedule set up this season, the Yankees will receive those rings in front of the team they beat in the American League Championship Series last fall, the Angels.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Angels starter Jered Weaver said. “It feels like they’re rubbing it in our face but we know it’s just the way it (the schedule) worked out, the timing of it.
“I’m going to try not to watch too much. At the same time, it’s kind of good for us to kind of kick us in the (backs) and say, ‘Hey, that’s what we want to be doing.’ So, I guess I’ll be looking – but I’ll be watching from afar, how’s that?”
Matsui said he has not been contacted by the Yankees to work out any arrangements to receive his ring. But he is aware of the fortuitous timing that will have him back in New York for the first time since he was named the 2009 World Series MVP.
“I haven’t heard anything. If I’m going to be part of the ceremony or not, I don’t know,” Matsui said through his interpreter Roger Kahlon. “When you stop and think about the circumstances, there’s a lot of coincidences that the Angels would be there.
“If they (his new teammates) want to see it (his ring), I’ll show it to them.”
Matsui has been on the other side of this situation. After losing the 2004 ALCS to the Red Sox in historic fashion (blowing a three-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven series), the Yankees were the visiting team on Opening Day at Fenway Park in 2005 when the Red Sox received their first championship rings in 86 years.
“Obviously, we were disappointed, having been up three and lost four straight,” Matsui said. “But I think you have to pay respect and honor that winning team and what they accomplished.”
The Yankees have never been a franchise that is modest about its achievements and the ring ceremony before Tuesday’s opener is likely to fall in line. That is bound to bring back painful memories for the Angels and Angels left-hander Joe Saunders said he would “probably not” watch.
“We’re going to be jealous, obviously,” Saunders said. “But at the same time, they beat us. They outpitched us, outhit us situation-wise. They won so they deserve those rings.”
Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said he won’t be shy about asking to inspect Matsui’s ring once he gets it.
“I’ll check it out. I check out everybody’s,” he said. “I want one of those. I want that popsicle. I’ve checked out everybody’s the past 12, 13 years.”
It’s embarrasing that Matsui has not yet been contacted by the Yankees to work out any arrangements to receive his ring. I know, in the past, when players have left the team after winning the World Series, Joe Torre would present the ring to the player during his first stop into the Bronx (the following season). There’s no reason why Godzilla should not be brought on to the field to get his ring next week (when the Yankees get theirs). Matsui earned that ring – and the right to hear the love from Yankees fans, on the field, as it is presented to him. Ditto Johnny Damon when he makes his first trip back to the Stadium this year.
Here are the winners – in bold:
Babe Ruth 100.0%
Ron Guidry 0.0%
Alex Rodriguez 7.1%
Mariano Rivera 92.9%
Mo and the Babe move on to the Elite Eight.
Today, for kicks, I watched my original copy of the Charley Lau – The Art of Hitting .300 VHS. It’s been a very, very, long time since I last watched it.
It’s 28 years old now – and the audio quality has slipped…it’s full of sizzle and cracks. But, it’s still a great video to watch. Filmed at what I assume was Payne Park, just a couple of years before Lau’s untimely passing, it’s hosted by the late Don Drysdale and has Lau with what looks like a High School team from Sarasota. Those kids must be around 44-years old now. I wonder if any of them went on to play pro-ball?
It’s a real throw back to watch – and witness Charlie talk about his “Ten Absolutes” of hitting, and see those terrible White Sox uniforms from 1982. (Love the early ’80′s TWIB-ish background music on the batting and fielding highlights too.)
I just love listening to real, pro, coaches talk. Lau still cracks me up in this video when he says things like Tom Lasorda, the pitcher, “never threw a ball that reached home plate.” And, I smile when Lau says “Show me a guy with a quick hip and I’ll show you a one-ninety hitter.” Most of all, I noticed Charley addressing the High School kids as “young man.” I’ve seen that before from other pro-coaches. When talking to kids that they either don’t know or can’t remember their name, they’re always called “young man.”
At the end of the video – which runs for 48 minutes – Charlie Lau lists the 15 best hitters that he’s ever seen. Here they are:
1. Ted Williams
2. Aaron
3. Musial
4. DiMaggio
5. Mays
6. Frank Robinson
7. McCovey
8. Mantle
9. Clemente
10. Schmidt
11. Brett
12. Garvey
13. Yaz
14. Rose
15. Reggie
When looking at this list, keep in mind, Lau was born in 1933 and this was him talking in 1982.
I’ve read that, since his death, no White Sox player or coach (except Lau disciple Walt Hriniak, the Chisox’ hitting coach from 1989–1995) has worn his number 6 jersey although it has not been officially retired. That’s pretty cool. Charlie Lau was really a special coach. It’s interesting that the Royals and Yankees both let him get away.
Just saw this from George King last Friday -
[Brian] Cashman had to be a happy man watching Wednesday’s 3-1 victory with two of his offseason acquisitions playing a big role.
Curtis Granderson hit the game-winning home run, his second in the series, and Chan Ho Park pitched three innings of relief to get the ball to Rivera.
“With the forensic science that comes in our market that the fan base and the media apply, it’s nice for the new additions to do well early,” Cashman said. “It’s always a tough road. It just makes the road easier if you can get out of the gate on a good note.
“They both have earned their stripes rather early, and it’s nice.”
…With the forensic science that comes in our market that the fan base and the media apply, it’s nice for the new additions to do well early. It’s always a tough road. It just makes the road easier if you can get out of the gate on a good note…
Sure. It can be a tough road – sometimes. But, not an impossible road. Remember Brian: Tough times don’t last, tough people do. Ask Reggie, Tino, Girardi and a host of others…the race doesn’t always go to the swift, but, sometimes, to those who keep running. If you do your job, and well, in time, the Yankees media and fans will give you the respect that you deserve.
Via Bob Raissman -
Those loving rifts and bad blood should circle June 25 on their calendars. That is the day the Yankees open a three-game set with Joe Torre, and his Los Angeles Dodgers, in Chavez Ravine.
This just in: The brigade of Yankee suits have no use for the man who guided the Bombers to four World Series titles. Brian Cashman, the general manager, won’t be breaking bread with Torre in the near – or any other – future.
In fact, it’s likely a toss-up who Cashman would rather see drift into space first – Torre or MLB Network analyst Tom Verducci (he co-authored “The Yankee Years” with the veteran manager).
It’s interesting how this anti-Torre sentiment manifests itself inside the souls of Torre haters associated with the Yankees. Some of these venom deliveries are darn creative.
Like the riff Michael Kay put down last Tuesday on ESPN-1050. Kay also works for the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network. His relationship with Torre, who once referred to Kay as Rona Barrett, was almost always fractured.
Kay then defended [Joe] Girardi, his partner on “The Joe Girardi Show” (Only on YES), saying he was a better manager than – yeah, you guessed it – Joe Torre.
“Joe Torre never managed at all,” Kay said. “He managed men in the clubhouse, but he did nothing with X’s and O’s during a game.”
Michael Kay has been taking shots at Joe Torre for a while now. Maybe Suzyn Waldman can bring them back together again someday…like she did with Yogi and The Boss? Oh, the CenterStage that will follow that reunion….
Via Ken Rosenthal -
The shark known as CC Sabathia already is circling Carl Crawford.
The two became friends through a financial advisor after the Rays drafted Crawford out of high school in 1999.
Now, Sabathia would like Crawford to be his Yankees teammate, too.
“I joke around with him all the time about that — all the time,” Sabathia says, laughing. “I told him I’ve got an extra room in the house, whatever he needs.”
Sabathia also is tight with Mariners lefty Cliff Lee, another potential free agent, but no way the Yankees can sign both, right?
“Who knows?” Sabathia responds. “Who ever thought me, Tex and A.J. would show up in the same year, too?”
Easy, CC.
The Yankees will need to re-sign shortstop Derek Jeter and closer Mariano Rivera at the end of the season, either re-sign or replace right-hander Javier Vazquez, then outbid the competition for Crawford or outfielder Jayson Werth and/or Lee.
Crawford, 28, is just about the perfect free agent at this moment in the game’s evolution.
His makeup and work ethic are considered impeccable. His speed is highly coveted in an era of stricter steroid testing. His defense in left field — the best in the game, according to advanced metrics — is especially valued at a time when teams are measuring defense more efficiently and emphasizing run prevention to a greater extent.
The subplot is that Crawford plays for the Rays, the poor stepchild of the AL East. In fact, Crawford is the best player in franchise history. But through little fault of his own, there will be no Joe Mauer story here.
This is an interesting report. Someone I know recently told me a story about a friend who was in Tampa for Spring Training this year – and that person told them that his cab driver, down in Tampa, shared a story about chauffeuring Sabathia and Crawford around one night – this Spring – when they were drinking. (As it was relayed to me, the driver said that Sabathia was a super cool dude – even when somewhat intoxicated.) At the time, I dismissed the story – because it was from a supposed cab driver of a friend of a friend, etc. And, even though the Yankees trained in Tampa, and the Rays came in there to play them a few times, and CC is so hard to miss, how could anyone be sure that it was Carl Crawford?
In any event, whether that story is true or not, it’s now clear that CC and Carl are tight. And, if the Yankees want Crawford, then having Sabathia to talk up the team can’t hurt. Of course, this all assumes that the Yankees have room in their “budget” for any big free agent signings next off-season. And, if they do, will they need to spend it on pitching…with Vazquez being a free agent and Pettitte possibly retiring.
After those late, great, plays by Teixeira and A-Rod, followed by that 1-4-3 play in the 8th, I really thought it was destiny that CC was going to get it…
Bummer.
A no-hitter on national T.V. would have been sweet. Great for Sabathia. And, a super thrill for Francisco Cervelli.
Oh, well, on the plus side, it’s a break for my bladder. I’ve been holding it since the 5th inning…not wanting to bring a whammy. And, now, I finally get to whiz…
But, for the record, I would have held it as long as it took to get the no-no…
Via Wayne Coffey -
“That’s exactly why Nick [Johnson] was signed – to get on base,” says Kevin Long, the Yankees hitting coach. “Jeter’s gift is staying inside the ball. Alex’s gift is his power. Nick’s gift is his eye and his selectivity at the plate.”
An astute eye is a quality that Long believes hitters are born with, a hybrid of uncanny vision and a steadfast patience – a stubborn refusal to chase baseballs off the plate.
And don’t think a player’s reputation for having such an eye doesn’t help. “An umpire told me once, ‘If Bobby Abreu doesn’t swing at a pitch when he has two strikes, it’s probably a ball,’” Long says.
Still, as much as Long prizes the patience of both Johnson and Nick Swisher, who led the Yankees in walks with 97 last year (which put him on base far more than Robinson Cano even though Cano hit 71 points higher), and as much as Long works with his hitters to know the strike zone, he doesn’t get carried away with it.
“You don’t set out in a major-league season saying to a guy, ‘We’re going to teach you how to walk,’” Long says. “It just doesn’t work that way.”
Long agrees that on-base percentage is over-rated to a point. “You can’t have a team full of guys who are too patient and go up there just looking to walk,” he says.
Good thing it’s not 1968…or else Long would probably throw Mickey Mantle off the team…
Click here for more on what this is about.
And, click here to make your picks.
Have fun – pick your favorites or pick who you thought was a better Yankee. It’s your choice. And, feel free to use the comments section here to discuss and debate the match-ups and your picks.
Post game reaction from last night, via Wallace Matthews -
Direct from the Yankee Clubhouse–Joe Girardi: Javy made some mistakes with his fastball. He didn’t get it done. but he’ll bounce back. Jorge Posada: He was missing his spots and rushing things with men on base. Javier Vazquez: it’s disappointing. My pitches were up in the zone. I was trying to hard to keep them from stealing.
…made some mistakes with his fastball…
…missing his spots and rushing things with men on base…
…I was trying to hard to keep them from stealing…
You know, I could buy this is stuff if Javier Vazquez was just a kid pitcher with not many years of experience. But, he’s 34-years old, been pitching full-time in the majors for a dozen years and had 385 big league starts under his belt coming into this game.
Do you think guys like Bret Saberhagen, CC Sabathia, Steve Rogers, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Roy Halladay, Doug Drabek, David Cone and Mark Buehrle – who had the same amount of experience, at the age Vazquez is now, would have allowed a running game to get into their head…leading to some monster homers and other hits? Garbage like this, to me, talks a ton towards psyche – and helps explain why he’s moved around so much.
