August 09, 2008

Manny Ramirez to the Yankees?

Manny Ramirez is tearing it up in LA (.464 BA, 4 HRs, 9 RBI in 7 games).  Most don’t question his ability to hit a baseball, but rather his motivation.  Apparently, his motivation now is to play for the Yankees to get back the Red Sox:

“He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox,” a close friend of Ramirez’s told The Post.

Of course, every free agent says he wants to play for the Yankees. They pay well, will always have a chance to make the postseason, and when they show an interest in a free agent, the price from other clubs skyrockets.

Considering Ramirez is represented by Scott Boras, every imaginable angle will be played when the 36-year-old, a product of George Washington High School in Washington Heights, will become a free agent following the World Series.

The Yankees should stay away. They’ve stuck to a plan of trying to groom younger players and to not go after big time players like Johan Santana.

Offense isn’t the team’s problem.  And even though he’s still one of baseball’s best hitters, he’s beginning the downward slope anyways.

For a franchise that views success and lack thereof in terms of World Series rings, how much success has signing vets past their prime brought to the Yankees?  So, why should the Yankees pursue a 36-y.o. headcase?  They shouldn’t.

Posted by edsbaseball at 05:35 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

April 17, 2008

Thoughts on Game 4 of the Yankees/Red Sox

 

 

Thought I’d start a running diary of this the fourth, of about 100 games between the Yankees and Sox this season. Who did the scheduling? They both arrived in New York sometime around 3am for the third time in a week, will play two games and not see each other again until July 3rd.

I was at the gym when the first pitch was thrown. I tell my class I don’t feel well and need to cut out early; this was mostly true. I was pissed off because the microphone did not work in my first class so I’ve had enough for tonight.

I get in the car. ESPN radio. I hear, “John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman here from Yankee Stadium. Yankees have a 3-1 lead on back to back homers by Abreau and Arod". John opines that Arod’s should count for 1and ½ runs he hit it so far. Ugg. Believe me, I think Arod is a fine specimen of a man and baseball player, but John needs to get a grip. Suzyn chuckles. They go on to say that if the pitcher puts the ball in the wrong spot it’s going to get hit. Really. I never would have picked up on that.

I arrive home. Did I mention I am married to a member of Red Sox nation? I come into the sounds of NESN and the Rem Dawg. Great bases are now loaded. Wang does not look good. Ball gets hit and Arod makes the sure out at first, but wait, Varitek gets caught in a rundown. Arod tags him somewhat gingerly. I guess he wants to avoid a brawl.

I go to take my post workout shower and the radio in the bathroom is on the Red Sox channel. Trupiano is talking about Giambi who promptly hits into the shift. Jerry exclaims that Giambi is such a slow runner that clearly even David Ortiz would beat him in a foot race. I’m not so sure about that. Push comes to shove my money is on Giambi.

Bottom of that inning, Big David is still not hitting. Manny comes up and gets the count full. I close my eyes. He walks…no wait, he’s out. McClellan made the call as Manny was halfway up the baseline. He wouldn’t have been that far up if he thought he hit a home run. Manny argues but avoids getting tossed from the game. Too bad.

Moving to the top of the fourth Matsui makes a beautiful backbend catch. He smiles. He’s still a newlywed. The mysterious Hideki. Then a series of hits and a bad throw by Melky. Score gets tied. As we move to the bottom of the inning, the Yankees come back. Hit after hit. Oh wait, let’s flash to Al Leiter in the booth…huh, Al’s back, thought he might have gotten canned with Justice. He shows us the change up grip. Perfect hair and his mouth keeps running. Clay stays in to face Jeter who comes up to the bases loaded. Let’s hear how Jeter has only hit one grand slam in his illustrious career. Bam, a single for two runs. Who cares about the granny. Julian Tavarez comes in (yeah). He passes a ball. Melky scores. 7-3 as we go to the fifth.

The fifth begins at 8:55 EST. I don’t know why I wrote that down except to learn that the fifth would end 50 painful minutes later. Papi manges to come to life and get a hit, Euk bloops, Drew hits. According to Michael Kay the Tawainese economy rests on the shoulders of Chien Ming Wang. He wins, it’s up, he loses, not so good. Once Wang is pulled from the game and sits by himself on the bench to watch all of his earned runs come in, I start to believe Michael. Chien has disappointed a nation. As the Red Sox take their slim 9-7 lead into the bottom of the inning, we all know it’s not over yet. Tavarez gets banged around. My husband starts yelling at the tv, “Take him out b****!” I stifle my laughter because who knows what will happen next inning.

As we round 10 pm and Latroy Hawkins prances out, I start to get irritated. Who signed this guy? So far he sucks. Yuk takes a hard foul off his toe and goes down. Looks painful. Flash to Manny at first. He looks bored. I wonder how many inches his hair has grown in the last three seasons. I don’t think my hair grows that fast. Or maybe those are extensions? We get out of the top half.

At some point I fall asleep. Can’t blame me. This game has been on forever. I wake to the weight of my dog at my side and hear something about a Giambi double. I doze again and then see a flash of Mo in the bullpen…was this before or after the Giambi double? It’s not a save situation anymore and he’s pitched the last three days. I’m down again and wake around midnight to the postgame with Lorenz and Cone. They sound chirpy so we must have pulled it out.

I go to bed and get ready to do this again tomorrow.

Posted by enter sandy at 01:46 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

April 07, 2008

Yankee Baseball is Back!

It's Monday night and I'm settling into my baseball season routine - rush home from teaching a class at the gym, listen to the pre-game show with Sterling and Suzyn as I drive home, and then flip on YES and hope to catch the first pitch.  Not sure who we have on YES tonight - Kay and Singleton, Flaherty, Kay, Singleton, maybe Al Leiter (or is he back?).  In any event, nothing better to do when you're tired on a Monday night but lie around and watch the game. Moose is up tonight.  Speaking of Moose, I had the opportunity to see him pitch in spring training against the Marlins. I'd have to say the highlight of that game was actually standing about ten feet away watching him throw his warm-up tosses in the bullpen and taking some photos though he REFUSED to turn around and look at me. Now, I should know better. He is the pitcher who my sister and I refer to as "The Thinker" so I don't think there was any way he was about to interrupt his routine to smile for my camera though I do wonder if I had mentioned I loved him in "Wordplay" if he would have looked. Unfortunately, he looked his best in the pen and not on the field, but I hope he can shake that tonight.

As far as the rest of the team, I agree with the rest of the sports world and believe that the Yankees (and for that matter the rest of the league) will start hitting again when it gets a bit warmer out. I think Joba looks phenomenal (though he still hasn't pitched many innings yet) and Mo is looking better than ever.  Still a little funny seeing Joe Girardi in place of "Mr Torre" (I wonder who holds Derek's bat between innings now?), but I definitely think we're in for a good season. And of course, we get to let Fox and the delightful team of Buck and McCarver get us all fired up for the first series of the year between the "rivarly" this upcoming weekend. Feels good to just sit down and settle into a game.

What are your thoughts on the season thus far?

 

 

 

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January 30, 2008

The Santana Race Is Over

Somewhere out in Yankee land, a deep sigh of relief is heard rustling through the still icy air. Relief that the Yankees were not going to pony up millions, or trade away Kennedy, Jaba, or Melky. Relief that the Red Sox did not win the battle and end up with a rotation of Beckett, Dice-K, Schilling AND Santana.  Though some Yankee fans will remain a little annoyed that our neighbors in Queens will steal the back-page headlines for a few days now, and during the press conference when he first puts on that Mets jersey with Willie shaking his hand, and possibly during inter-league play, overall, most would agree that this could be the best-case scenario.

Now with the Santana possibility out of the picture, there is the rotation to consider. Will Wang, with his post-season failure, still be a number one starter? Where will Petite, with the off-season steroid headlines fit in? Is Moose a number 5? What about Jaba - grooming for Mo's job or starter? How will the pitchers adjust to the new pitching coach? The press often noted the good relationship Guidry had with Wang; breaking through the language barrier he often was able to make Wang smile and take himself a little less seriously.  Joe Torre also added that calm vibe. What will Joe Girardi bring to the mound?

Much to consider and just about two short months away from opening day... 

Posted by enter sandy at 07:19 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 17, 2008

Greetings, Fellow Yankee Fans!

   Hello, and welcome to my first blog posting here on yankees365.com.  Actually, this is my first blog posting anywhere, so I hope you’re not scratching your head and going, “huh?” after reading this.  With so many topics to talk about, and with die-hard New York Yankees fans making up the majority of those reading this, I’ll start with a little about myself and an experience at The Stadium to lead into today’s topic.
   I was actually born into a Red Sox Nation family.  My parents and grandparents were more than proud to buy me all kinds of Sox propaganda, oops, I mean memorabilia.  One day around the age of 6, my best friend, who happened to be a Yankees fan, and I decided to trade all of our stuff, including hats, t-shirts and baseball cards.  Don’t ask me why, we just did it.  Needless to say, our respective families were not too happy.  Oh well, I think I got the better of the deal!
   Over the years I’ve been to The Stadium a bunch of times, and have seen a lot of great games and great moments.  This season I was there when Roger Clemens appeared on the big screen to announce the 19th comeback of his career.  But one night in 1995, I was there for only the 2nd playoff game at Yankee Stadium since 1981.  It was the first year of the new wildcard format, and the Bombers were up 1 game to none on the Seattle Mariners.  I was finally going to experience October baseball!!  It was a great back and forth game, that went all the way into the 15th inning.  In the bottom of the 15th, with even my Red Sox fan dad hoping the Yanks would win just so we could go home, Jim Leyritz stepped to the plate and knocked one over the fence to give the Yanks the victory!
   On December 28th, 2007, that same post-season hero went through a red light at an intersection in Florida, crashing into a 30 year old woman and taking her life.  His blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit, and he now faces several DUI manslaughter and property damage charges, which could land him in prison for up to 15 years.  Reports have surfaced of excessive womanizing, drinking and gambling over the years, causing his assets to shrink from upwards of $10 million to around $600k.  Recently, Leyritz was working for ESPN Radio, covering the Yankees, and for MLB.com as an analyst.  This is certainly a tragic turn of events, turning the New York Yankees cult hero who turned around the 1996 World Series, into a pariah of society.  But because he was a professional athlete, and was still involved with baseball at the time of the accident, should he be treated any differently?  Driving drunk is a stupid mistake a lot of people make, and sometimes it causes a lot more damage than a bad hangover.  But should Jim Leyritz be treated more harshly than the average Joe down the street? 
   One message board post I recently saw on DailyNews.com, the website for a New York newspaper, claimed that once people see “ex-Yankee hero” or “ex-ballplayer” attached to someone’s name, it automatically opens them up to more scrutiny or ridicule than average people.  Everyone makes mistakes, and he should be punished.  But hopefully the courts will see him as a human being that made a mistake, who will own up to it and get help, and not a famous athlete who needs to be made an example of.

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