Al Leiter's Bullpen Catcher

Spring Training in Tampa

2011-03-06T17:50:00.017-05:00

Baseball is a tremendous sport. Combined with the grind of 162 games and the excitement and intensity it provides to fans, it is a sport like no other. It is a tool that unites individuals from a variety of locations and cultural backgrounds. It also provides many with an escape from the reality and turmoils of life that often times come our way.

For me, the first experience I had with the game of baseball came in 1996 when I was around 9 years old. I was in Orlando for vacation and my mom took my brother and I to Tampa for a day to see the Yankees in Spring Training. I was young and didn't know much about the team or players, but I played softball so there was some excitement in seeing a real Major League baseball team up close and in person.

Back then, Spring Training in Tampa was fan-friendly and you had easy access in getting close to the players. The fences were at a decent level in which you could see over them without being obstructed. My mom still remembers how excited I was from this trip and how had begged her to take me back there the following day (she never did since our plane was leaving the next day).

It wasn't until I was a senior in high school that we made the trip back to Tampa. I was the only one in my family who enjoyed baseball, so it was struggle convincing my mom and brother to agree on taking the trip down south. I begged and pleaded and we eventually made the trip during my break from school. It is a tradition I have continued every year since that trip and is something I look forward to once baseball season is over.

Autographs
Collecting autographs was something I didn't have much interest in doing when I first started going to baseball games. It was really the thrill of being at the ballpark and seeing my favorite players live and in person that was the highlight of making the trip. My first autograph was a ball that was signed by Jorge Posada. It was exciting but it wasnt something that I found myself seeking to do every time I was at a game.

Over time, the thrill of collecting autographs developed into a passion. Initially it was easy to come across. You would wait by the field after practice and the players would come by and sign for you. You had balls filled with autographs; sometimes in which you would come home and be unable to even figure out the player that had signed the ball. The players made kids and adults happy just by taking a minute or two to stop and sign their name on a ball.

As the years went by, it did become harder and more of a challenge to get autographs. With persistence and going to the field early, you were able to come away with something. Over the years I have a collection of an array of players; each having a different story of how I came across the autograph. The most impressive from last year was getting Derek Jeter's autograph. Anyone around spring training knows how difficult it can be to get him to sign. But players like Rivera, Swisher, Damon, and a variety of others have always been easy to come across.

It's difficult at times for the players because they do have a job to do. Last year, Mariano Rivera was around the side field, waiting around the fence before practice began. Many of us asked him to sign autographs; a plea the led to his response of "do you want me to work or sign". In the end he ended up coming over to sign, taking five minutes out of his time. Kids were excited, adults were excited. That's the point of spring training for the fans, isn't it?

You have to keep in mind that signing autographs is tricky for players. You might stop and sign 20 autographs. At some point you have to stop and get to work and that 21st person there is left without an autograph and is often times upset. As a fan it sucks, but you have to realize that they can only sign so many.

That is the difference between this year and the previous years. Very few players are even stopping to sign any autographs, let alone twenty. I have been here for five days and have never seen the players act like this. I talked to a few security guards and fans and they mentioned that they noticed the same thing. The one guard didn't know why- but assumed it was because there are so many people out there that show up every day wanting to sell the autographs online. It sounded like it made sense to me, though I didn't think it seemed very fair to those who are not there to sell them (and someone did point out that eventually, every autograph does get sold, look at those such a Babe Ruth's).

But then came the word that perhaps the lack of signing was coming from someone upstairs. I am not a reporter or someone who works for the Yankees. But a situation occurred in which Eric Chavez was signing autographs for fans on the side field. Tony Pena approached him, saying that he needed to stop signing or he might be fined. Chavez looked up at him, dropped the pen and left the fans. A person in the crowd mentioned in response to this observation that he heard this was coming down from Hank. Word was that he was so angry about the Yankees not making the World Series that he wanted them to focus more on playing and less on autographs. And with this situation, a guy like Chavez has more to lose than a guy who has made the team.

Now I do not know if perhaps there is a certain rule that they have for the players to follow. How would I know since I do not work for the team. But Pena said what he said and there's no denying that. As for what he meant, perhaps the players aren't allowed to sign at a certain time before practice. Who knows. But I will tell you this, regardless of if the Yankees deny it or not, there has been a huge drop off in players signing. Am I saying Jeter cares of he is fined? No, He can afford it even if it is a rule in which they are fined. He's just being himself. Heres the perfect example for you--The other morning when the Yankees were away, there were about 30 people at the field watching Jeter, A-Rod, and a handful of other players taking batting practice. After practice ended, not one player stopped to sign for anyone. Not one. Their day was over as they were not traveling with the team and they couldnt stop for any of the 30 fans.

And this is not saying that NOBODY is signing. Swisher and Granderson have been great this year. But in general, the team has been worse than usual.

I personally have all the autographs I want. Sure, I'd love Tino's, but I couldn't care less if I got his or not. The goal this year was to get some for the kids I tutor. The little girls are not into baseball much, but I remember being young and getting my first autograph. Now here I am at age 24 going to games in Tampa by myself and having a great time watching baseball. It can turn you into baseball and that is the hope I have for the kids. Dont get me wrong. The kids will survive in me not having autographs for them but it is just terrible seeing how ridiculous the Yankees have become and how little they care about their fans. They want your money and the support from the fans but they can not take five minutes to sign for a few people who came there early to support them. And if its true Hank did threaten to fine the players, he must really have no care at all for those who spend a great deal of money coming down to support this team.

At some point in time people are going to get frustrated and stop coming. For me, this trip has not been worth it. My own personal reason goes beyond the autograph issue; more in how I was forced out of a seat by a security guard during the Red Sox game. It was uncalled for and I still am in shock and don't understand the reason for why they did it. I decided that it may not be worth the money next year coming down. I would miss the great fans that I meet while down here but I wont miss the way in which the Yankees treat the fans.

I am backkk! Lets hope I can keep it up!

2010-06-02T20:05:00.006-04:00

Life has been busy and I have just not had the energy to blog. But I am going to go at it again, this time with more consistency. I now have my Master's degree in Literacy and just added an extension to that which allows me to teach mathematics up until 9th grade. Now the fun starts to find an actual teaching jobs. NY is the probably not the best state for finding a job in teaching.

Anyhow, this past month I have started my baseball excursions. I went to see a Mets game a few weeks ago at the new CitiField, saw the AAA Yankees on Sunday at Syracuse, and visited Coney Island which happens to be located right next to the Brooklyn Cyclones (home of the Single-A Mets). The trip to Syracuse was fun as I ended up sitting behind the Yankees bullpen. You definitely hear/see some interesting things while out there. The relievers are quite bored at times it appears. I will write about that tomorrow and show you some pictures i took while I was at the game on Sunday.

As for the trip I took to Coney Island on Saturday, that was an experience in itself. It took 5.5 hours to get from Albany to Brooklyn (I went on a bus trip). I do not know why it took so long but it made from a very long and grumpy trip. It was an interesting experience in which I went to the New York Aquarium and walked around Coney Island (which apparently is not an island nor is it anything like Ellis Island). The highlight of the trip was when I noticed there was a baseball field a few streets down so I begged my friend to walk down the streets to discover the team that made this field their home

I was surprised to see that this field was home to the short-season Single-A Mets. While the season doesn't officially begin until the end of June, I was able to take some pictures and walk around the outside of the building. It looks like a nice establishment and a great place to catch some baseball. Perhaps another game to add to my agenda this year. Here a some pictures from the trip:

Thursday, March 4th: Yankees vs Phillies in Clearwater

2010-03-17T21:33:00.009-04:00

Ah, Clearwater, Florida. Home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Not only is this ballpark close to Tampa (about 25 minutes or so), but it is probably one of the nicest minor league stadiums I have visited. The berm in center field, tiki bar in right field, and the huge scoreboard makes for a tremendous environment to watch a baseball game. There isn't a bad seat in the house (with the exception of sitting on the first base side in the afternoon, as that is where the sun sets which makes for a chilly experience) and the cheap berm seats are even worth buying. The stadium, known as Bright House Field, was built in 2004 and can hold around 8,500 fans.

While the weather was still on the chilly side, the match-up for the game was one I was looking forward too. While it is ONLY spring training, having two starters named CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay was an exciting one; especially considering I am a huge fan of the great Roy Halladay. This was his first "start" ever as a Philly and I was able to stand about a foot from him as he was warming up in the bullpen. It was fun nonetheless, regardless of the fact he was only in the game for two innings.
Below are some pictures from the game:

MLB Network was in the area once again, this time to film the Phillies in action for their 30 teams in 30 days. Here is Peter Gammons chattin it up

While Halladay was warming up, I was right next to him by the fence and decided to declare to him that he needed to return back to the Jays. He looked at me and smiled. Everyone around me found it funny and started laughing. Sad thing is that the Jays are really going to hurt not having him pitch every 5 days, and also the lack of his presence in the clubhouse.

The Philly Phanatic was out of control. Doing the worm on top of the dugout. It was entertaining actually, and I typically am not a huge fan of all the animals dancing on the field.

CC Sabathia warming up

Cody Ransom is back! Except he's a Philly now and has somehow decided hes a power hitter. So far 3 HR's in Spring Training.

Yanks in the dugout. The zoom on this camera is amazing.

Jesus Montero at bat... Was interesting because Austin Romine was substituted directly after Montero. I assume one of them was placed as a DH.

Mark Melancon warming up. He's looked good so far this spring

Additional Pictures

Time for Spring Training!

2010-03-04T20:22:00.014-05:00

Well here I am, in the beautiful Tampa, Florida for a week of fun and baseball. I wish i could say I arrived to the warmth of Florida, but that wouldn't entirely be the truth. Among stepping outside of the airport on Wednesday, i was hit with the cold weather and high winds. The actual temperature at noon was in the 40's, but with the wind chill, it had to be in the mid to high 30's. So much for escaping the cold New York weather. Regardless, its time to make the best of the trip and be thankful that I am in Florida and am lucky to be around baseball 24/7.

As for Wednesday, it was exciting being it was the first spring training game of the season. The Yankees introduced each of their players along with the coaches and special instructors. Even Bernie Williams made an appearance, which always makes for a nice time to reminisce down memory lane.Since my flight landed at 11am, I had to rush from the airport to the stadium. There was no time for batting practice and certainly not enough time to try for autographs. From what I heard, Reggie Jackson, Mariano, and Tino signed for a while. I was able to get a Rivera autograph last year, and while he takes an hour to sign each ball, his handwriting is meticulous and one you can actually decipher (the polar opposite of my Giambi and Matsui ball).

Not much to really report from today. The weather was sooo cold that nearly everyone left the game easily, despite the fact it was a tied game. Me being the nut I am decided to stick around in the cold; a decision that seemed to work out well as the Yankees came back to win it in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Here are some photos from the game:

MLB Network was here for the game, filming their 30 clubs in 30 days. Some random guy gave me a photo of Hazel Mae. My life is now complete (sarcasm)
The Yankees announced all of the players and the support staff. Among them was Tino, Yogi, Reggie, and even Bernie was on hand today to see some of the guys.

Other photos:

Old ST photos that I just found on my laptop:

Get well soon, Geno

2010-02-13T22:46:00.001-05:00

The NY post is reporting that Yankee trainer Gene Monahan will be missing his first spring training in 48 years. The source states that it is a "significant illness that possibly could sideline him for the beginning of the regular season."

I've run into Geno on several occasions while in Tampa and in Toronto and he seems to be a good guy. He's been that mainstay with the Yankees for years and is someone the players seem to like. Him and Bobby Murcer were extremely close; a relationship that formed when Bobby was a CF for the Yankees. If you're not familiar with him, hes the guy the announcers always talk about when someone has a memorable hit and they write the accomplishment on the ball (As documented by Tyler Kepner of the NY Times)

Heres to a speedy recovering Gene. Hopefully he will be back to action soon.

The best invention

2010-02-13T15:58:00.005-05:00

I recently purchased a DVR player for me room. It is probably one of the best inventions out there. Not only can I ditch the VHS tapes when I was to record a show (yes I am wayyy behind technology-wise), but I now have digital cable so I am able to catch the MLB Network.

First thing that I have to note is the phenomenal guys talent they have on this network. Bob Costas does an amazing job, along with Victor Rojas, analysts that are former players, including current players into aspects of the show, and of course, the addition of Al Leiter is always a positive thing in my world.

I mean a channel focusing solely on baseball 24/7.. It's like heaven in my eyes.

Today i was watching an old Blue Jays/ Devil Rays (it took a year to get used to call them the 'Rays', but now its hard to see them called the 'Devil Rays') game on the MLB Network. t was the game in which Delgado hit 4 homeruns in one game; a feat that was never accomplished by a Blue Jays before in one game. It's always fun to look back at past games; seeing the different players on the teams and how much they have aged since the game took place.

It was also interesting to see the how different the turf used to look. The improvements to the game in that regard are amazing as the surface has somewhat more of a "less fake" look of grass. Here is a look at the purpose of playing on artificial turf. I have never heard anyone really talk about enjoying to play on artificial turf, but I perhaps it works better for other sports.

Spring Training is Near!

2010-02-13T15:11:00.003-05:00

The best time of the year is approaching us soon. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Tampa on Thursday; a signal that spring is on the way and Major league Baseball will be returning back to action.

For me, it is a time of the year in which I am busy trying to catch up with HW and the preparation for my annual trip Tampa. Though many think I am crazy attending all these games by myself, it is the best type of atmosphere one can ever embark on. The fans you meet down in Tampa are like none other. Their knowledge about baseball is vast and you can hang around the field all morning before the games starts, just talking solely about baseball. I can't think of anything better.

I am purchasing a laptop soon so that I can document my week long travels down to Florida more extensively than I have in the past. The players are easier to see down in Tampa and the autographs are much easier to come by than if you are going to a game in the Bronx.

Is anyone else heading down to Tampa soon? I have gone to spring training during the practices in February and also the games in March.

Advantages of going to practices:

Admission into the stadium is free (parking was free back in the day, not sure if it still is); you can sit wherever you want
Players are friendly and autographs are easier to come by
Player development
You can see the different drills the players engage in to build strength
Catcher activities are always fun to watch. The players also have fun with this which makes it entertaining

Disadvantages of practices:

Its only a practice. Players are running and doing sprints. Not a great deal of action, though you can watch the pitchers throw a BP session.
Only pitchers and catchers for the first week. If you head over the Himes field you can try to catch a glimpse of the position players. Forewarning, do not park close to the field. You could get your car smashed by a ball. Seen it happen first hand.
Last i checked, the practices were maybe 2 hours long. Not a great deal of time at the field, especially if you're traveling from far away.

Advantages of games:

Player development- If you are into seeing the guys in the Yankees farm system, this is the place to catch a glimpse of what is in store for the future.
Autographs are easier to come by, though you need to get to the games early, when the players are practicing in the morning before the game.

Disadvantages of attending games:

$$$... The tickets are pretty expensive, especially considering the fact you are seeing the stars play for only 3 innings or so. Parking, last I checked, was 7 dollars. I work 3 jobs and tutor a handful of kids just to afford this. But it IS worth the money, I assure you.

-------------------

For the record, if you attend spring training during the beginning of March, the regulars are only going to be starting about 3 innings. Starting pitchers start out slow and will be pulled after a certain pitch count (typically going 3 innings, which is built up during the last week of camp). if you go to see big players such as Jeter or Arod, then your best bet is to try heading down at the middle to end of spring training. Those who enjoy player development are better off going in the beginning. As camp starts to progress and wind down, players are sent to the minor leagues, which is located a few minutes away from the GMS complex.

Those with kids and jobs may only be able to attend spring training in February when kids are on break. While I think the games are better, I still recommend going to the workouts. Not only do you see the players close up, but its Florida and the weather is amazing as it is. Attending practices is certainly cheaper than games too.

Wang to the Nationals

2010-02-10T11:16:00.005-05:00

It looks as if Chien-Ming Wang has decided to sign with the Nationals. This signing shows me that the Dodgers must either not have faith in Wang or that they are done spending money. Though with that, I can't imagine the salary that he was demanding and/or why they wouldn't put that commitment towards Wang. I know Wang is a huge fan of Torre and Bowa, and if there was interest by the Dodgers, I think he would have signed there in a heartbeat.

Given that, I am curious as to how many years/ how much money the Nationals are going to sign him for. I would bet an incentive clause would be good for Wang, considering how healthy he is after coming back from surgery. Since I am going to assume this is a short term deal, an incentive-based contract may not be a huge deal. There is risk with him, but there is also the potential for great reward if he comes back to the pitcher he was before that injury. But really you never know how a guy will come back.

It appears as if this post turned out to be very wishy-washy. I guess it stems from the fact there are some unknowns with this deal.

Thoughts???

2 years 8 million?

1 year 5 million?

Do you think that's going too high for Wang?

It appears we will know for sure within a week or so. I hope for the best with Wang. He was our ace until these injuries and has the potential to return back to that status if he can recover from the surgery and continue to stay healthy.

Helping out a good cause

2010-01-30T17:12:00.006-05:00

Life has finally settled down and baseball is pretty much back in action, which means I better get myself back in gear updating this thing.

I am heading to Tampa on March 3rd to see the Yankees in action. I have been taking this trip for about 6 years (in addition to when I went in 1996, back when the Yankees were less anal and actually let you get close to the players) and it always is a blast. Hopefully this year is the same.

When you head to games in the beginning of March, the regulars start for about 3 innings and are replaced by the younger, developing players. If you are a fan of the minor leagues, this is definitely the time to head down to Tampa.
-------------------

As an aside, Brett Gardner is heading to Albany tomorrow as part of the Center for Disability Services Telethon. It is an annual event to benefit this amazing organization that does so much for individuals in upstate NY and even those well outside of the Capital Region. Here is an article from FOX23 sports that details the event. Included in the article:

Brett Gardner, starting left fielder with the World Champion New York Yankees and Hakeem Nicks, wide receiver with the New York Giants, will be special guests at the 50th Center for Disability Services Telethon on Sunday, January 31, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Albany. Both players will appear in the sports area and will meet fans and sign autographs. The specific times and details of their appearances will be announced soon.

Gardner, who is a native of South Carolina, signed with the Yankees in 2005, and made his major league debut in June 2008. He is considered the fastest base runner in the Yankee organization

....The 50th Center for Disability Services Telethon will feature child representative Kennedi Banks, adult representative Matt Pezzula, and inspirational stories about individuals and families who use the Center’s programs and services.
The Center is known as the place where people get better at life.

If your in the area, stop by and support this cause. It should be a great time all around and this organization really is in need of money, especially given the difficulties nowadays with state aid their current financial situation.

I'm Back!

2010-01-19T23:53:00.003-05:00

So Kyle was nice enough to help me out with a blog post as I try to catch up on the homework I am behind in. Heres a brief assessment about the current left field situation for the Yankees

First I want to start off by thanking Christina for letting me guest blog. She does quite the job with this blog.

Well it’s less than 30 days until pitchers and catchers report. It’s been an exciting offseason, but one looming question remains. What will the Yankees do with LF?

Currently, the payroll is right around 200 million and Hal Steinbrenner claims the Yankees have 2 million left to spend. Could this be a tactic to get Damon to lower his demands or is he really serious about staying to a budget?

Damon had a solid year last season, but his value seems to be most when he’s able to play half his games at Yankee Stadium. He’s a liability defensively. He had a poor September and he ended up getting hurt in the WS. I do not see the Yankees giving him more than 1 year. I think Damon’s pride will not allow him to go back to NY at such a discount. Atlanta I suppose can be an option for Damon if they trade Melky. However, it seems like Damon is heading down the road Abreu was last year where he overestimated the market and had no suitors. Abreu had no offers heading into February and was forced to take a low 1 year deal.

This seems to be a situation where having Boras as an agent hurt Damon. Damon being on the market helped another Boras client, Matt Holliday, get more money, but it has not helped Johnny Damon.

Ultimately, I think Damon’s days as a Yankee appear to over unless he really took a hefty pay cut. So where do the Yankees go from there?

One option is Brett Gardner and maybe they look for a left fielder that can hit lefties to platoon in LF. Gardner has speed, plays good enough OF, and hits ok. No power, but he gives us another dimension to our lineup. I do not think he is the solution long term at LF, but for 2010 or at least til like July or August in 2010 the team should be ok with him.

It is possible going into the season with Gardner and then later in the season acquiring someone to play LF. There are usually outfielders available during the season. All they really need is a stop gap guy. Some that gives them depth. The Yankees do not have to have an all star at every position. With that said, if the price was right the Yankees should not intentionally pass up on a player that could fill a need.

Another option could be Xavier Nady. Odds are him and Boras will want a lot, but the reality is he’ll have to take a cheap incentive based deal. Also guys like Ankiel and Dye are still available.

I am looking forward to a return to baseball. Nets and Knicks just aren’t filling in the gap. There are the NFL playoffs, but baseball is what I have been waiting for.

------------
Thanks Kyle. I hope everyone still reading is doing well! Sorry for being such a slacker. Once baseball returns there will be more as the adventures are just beginning!

I'm Back! It's sure been an exciting off-season

2009-12-29T17:37:00.003-05:00

Brief recap of the 2009 off season acquisitions

Yankees Acquired:

Javier Vazquez
Boone Logan
Nick Johnson
Curtis Granderson
Jamie Hoffmann
Matt Holliday... ok, just kidding, though I did have a dream that he was acquired.

Yankees Resigned

Andy Pettitte

Payroll: Is (currently) slightly lower than the previous year, though the team still needs to sign a left fielder.

Positive: Solid 1-4 starters. Vazquez will give the Yankees that strong #4 starter that they did not have last year. Though I believe injuries could play a part in the 2010 season. Pettitte has an iffy elbow and I wonder about Burnett at times. Curtis Granderson should be an excellent addition to the team; with his contribution on the field and also off the field with his charitable work. Only think I wonder is how good of a #2 hitter he will be. That's the plan right? Unless Damon somehow signs back with the team.

Negative: Replacing Nick Johnson with Matsui? I think it's a decent move if Johnson stays healthy. Then again, Matsui also wasn't the healthiest individual either. At least Johnson provides you with the flexibility of playing first base when the Yankees want to give Teixiera a day off.

The Yankees appear to be in good shape. Especially when you compare them to the other team that plays in New York.

Also, I finished the Marty Appell book on Thurman Munson, and it was amazing.. I am going to write a review up on it and post it hopefully later tonight or tomorrow.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T16:53:00.002-05:00

The blog will be back in action after Christmas! Finally done with graduate school and my Christmas shopping is near complete. It has been an insane month or two. I hope everyone is doing well!

Have a great holiday everyone and try to stay warm :)

Winter Meetings

2009-12-12T17:39:00.005-05:00

Well, the Winter Meetings have now come to a close and the Yankees have come home with a new player to add to their team. As part of a 3-way trade, the Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson from the Tigers in which the Yankees sent Austin Jackson and Phil Coke to Detroit and Ian Kennedy to Arizona. In addition, Detroit sent Edwin Jackson to Arizona and Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlerth were traded from Arizona to Detroit. It is an interesting trade, one which appears to have benefit the Yankees the most, though the true test will come during the season if we can see how well Granderson can hit lefties.

When it comes to Austin Jackson, I personally don't think hes ready, but a team like Detroit can take the chance in allowing him to grow in the majors. As a Yankee, I couldn't see Jackson being their everyday starting centerfielder just yet. He still needs to work on his plate discipline and start hitting more for power. The man does have speed though, something that Curtis Granderson also does have.

As for Arizona? Not sure how well they made out on this trade. Guess we will see how the young guys develop before a determination can really be accurately made.

Regardless, here are some cool pictures I stole (I am crediting!) from Vic Christopher's blog. Though I don't agree with how they run the club, he has put together a fun blog, so I highly suggest you check it out. There are some behind the scene shots at the lovely winter meetings, where the writers appeared to have stayed inside a convention centre/hotel for the entire week. Seems exciting.

Patriots Superbowl wins that were on display. Yuck.

I guess this is where all the action took place

Here are some new products that were on display

This item is called the Swing Rite. It is a type of training aid that was designed to increase bat swing speed and improve hand-eye coordination

This is a glove that can be used while batting or for catchers and was designed to protect the wrists

Some sort of underwater apparatus. Couldn't find anything about it online though.

Peter Gammons doing some sort of interview

Farewell, Zach Kroenke

2009-12-10T17:47:00.003-05:00

Today was the day of the Rule 5 draft. This is a rule that has been intact for many years and was implemented as a way to prevent teams from stock-piling too many free agents. Here is a blurb about the draft (from wikipedia) for those of you who are not familiar with it:

As in the amateur draft, the selection order of the teams is based on each team's win-loss record from the prior regular season, each round starting with the team with the worst record and proceeding in order to the team with the best record. Any player selected under Rule 5 is immediately added to his new team's 40-man roster; thus, teams who do not have an available roster spot may not participate in the Rule 5 draft. Players who are not currently on their team's 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft, but only after a standard exemption period has elapsed. See Selection eligibility below.

If chosen in the Rule 5 draft, a player must be kept on the selecting team's 25-man major league roster for the entire season after the draft—he may not be optioned or designated to the minors. The selecting team may, at any time, waive the Rule 5 draftee. If a Rule 5 draftee clears waivers by not signing with a new MLB team, he must be offered back to the original team, effectively canceling the Rule 5 draft choice. Once a Rule 5 draftee spends an entire season on his new team's 25-man roster, his status reverts to normal and he may be optioned or designated for assignment.

Players that can be selected from the Rule 5 draft are those that are not included on the 40 man roster and have been with the same organization for four years (signed after age 18) or for five years (signed at age 18 or younger)

The reason I am rambling is because the Yankees decided to not place Zach Kroenke on their 40 man roster, which would have protected him from being selected as part of this draft. He was picked up by the D'Backs today; a selection that I should be surprised about as Kroenke has shown he has talent that is worthy of that selection. Hes a solid lefty with a decent fastball and a slider. As I embarked on my travels to AAA games this year, I found myself drawn to this play. I am disappointed he is no longer a Yankee and wish him well on his new journey. It was obvious the Yankees didn't have much interest in him and he will hopefully get more playing time now that hes on a different team.

I hope Al Leiter doesn't threaten to take down my blog....

2009-12-05T23:22:00.002-05:00

It looks as if the Yankees are trying to take down their own fans. Over at The Yankee Universe blog, they posted an entry that stated they were contacted by someone to change the URL of their blog. The letter on their website states:

"Your unauthorized uses of the MLB Marks on the Website and in the Domain Name are likely to cause confusion, mistake and deception as to the existence of an affiliation, connection or association between your business on the one hand, and MLBAM, and/or other applicable MLB Entities on the other, and constitute trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition in violation of federal and state law.

Accordingly, demand is hereby made that you immediately cease and desist from using the YANKEE UNIVERSE name and the Logo, any other Yankees Mark and any other MLB Mark in and as the name of your Website, to promote the Website, to seek advertising any other commercial opportunities, in and as the Domain Name, and in any other manner that would cause consumer confusion, dilution of the MLB Marks, or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of your Website or its contents by any MLB Entity"

I guess this isn't surprising, though I think it is lame they are going after a group of guys who clearly are not profiting form their website. They write about the team they love. Why do the Yankees and MLB have to bull everyone?

Al Leiter you cant take away my blog. You or your bullpen catcher. Sorry. Ill trademark it myself if I have to!

Oh where oh where will Roy Halladay go?

2009-12-02T11:44:00.007-05:00

The great Roy Halladay (HAL-a day not HOL-i-day.. I hate how people mispronounce his name) has announced to the world that he will not engage in trade talks during the regular season.

With that, Toronto has to make a decision to trade him before Spring Training or keep him on the team for the entire season. This was the best -and most obvious- move for Hallday, given the distractions he faced last year around the trade deadline when he was uncertain as to which team he was going to be on.

If I am the Blue Jays, I would look for a team that's willing to give me some decent young players in exchange for Halladay before camp meets in February. I doubt the Jays are going to get as much in return now (as he would have gotten during the trade deadline) but they know they don't have a shot at having him past 2010 and they need to start developing the team for the future. In trading a huge star like Halladay, they should be able to acquire some decent prospect that will be able to help them now and/or eventually down the road.

At this stage in the game this has to be Toronto's approach. They have to realize that there is no way to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox payroll. It must now be able developing young players and putting a lot into the draft. They have done well with that over the years in getting some decent pitchers, but the key now is keeping these guys healthy and continuing to make smart decisions during the draft. In addition, they need to start spending their money wisely when it comes to free agents. While the Vernon Wells deal looked good in the beginning, it has ended up being a huge mistake; one that is taking up a huge part of their payroll and hindering them from signing other key free agents.

If I am the Jays, player development is key along with trading away the great Roy Halladay. I will be very bummed with this happens (and inconsolable if he goes to the Red Sox) but for the better of the organization, it needs to happen. I personally hope he goes to the Phillies.

My Poor Blog

2009-11-28T11:52:00.001-05:00

Due to a horrible grad school professor, my blog has been neglected. Come December 15th when this hell is over, I will return. Please stick around for those who are even left! I have some news to share that's quite exciting!

Quick Survey

2009-11-23T22:46:00.001-05:00

Out of curiosity, how much money do you think Miguel Cabrera paid Keizo Konishi for that first place vote?

Roy Halladay

2009-11-21T08:18:00.002-05:00

According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, The Jays are apparently talking to the Cubs about the GREAT Roy Halladay. While the article claims the Jays GM is currently isn't shopping any of their players, it seems as if its only a matter of time before Harry departs the Jays to head elsewhere. Please pray with me that it is somewhere in the AL or the Mets, where I at least would be able to watch him pitch. I bet he'd do great in Philly actually, with a 1-2 punch of Lee and Halladay.

Mascot love

2009-11-16T21:17:00.003-05:00

I was doing some YouTube surfing this morning and came across these two videos. In the first one with the Mascot's fighting, all I have to say is where is the Phanatic? I think he is the only Mascot that could take on the great Ace from the Blue Jays.

The second one is good too. Lets hope the Yankees dont ever get a mascot.

Welcome to Corporate America

2009-11-15T13:46:00.020-05:00

Greg Clary of The Journal-News wrote an article in today's paper about an autograph session that took place at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle, New York. Those in attendance included the likes of Joe Girardi, Joba Chamberlain, David Cone, Don Larsen, and Alex Rodriguez.

The cost of receiving an autograph at this event ranged from $250 to $475 a PIECE. The best part of the article was how the money collected was not raised to go to a charity. In Albany, they have an annual event in January that brings together a player on the Yankees and also a few players on the Giants as a way to raise money for The Center for Disability Services. This is a great organization that helps out and covers the costs of services that are needed for children and adults who are suffering from disabilities and chronic medical conditions. Not only do they do great work for the Capital Region, but they also serve people across the US. Right now the governor is trying to cut 2.5 million dollars in state aid that they were supposed to receive, which really is going to hurt this organization.

The point I am trying to make is that it's unbelievable to read that these players making millions of dollars (along with the man from Steiner Sports) are collecting nearly $500 from fans just for the signing of one autograph. It's one thing if the money is going towards a good cause, but for them to pocket this money is just amazing to me. An organization such as the Center for Disability could really benefit from a thing like this. Of course, there is always that possibility that some of the guys actually gave their earnings to a charity- I almost want to hope that is the case. But to be honest, you really never know with these players. I guess when you look at it, it's more amazing that someone would shell out so much money to have a 4 second meeting with A-Rod and have him autograph a ball.

Here's a hint: go to a baseball game and try your luck at getting something signed for free. I have autographs from A-Rod, Jeter, Damon, Teixiera, etc..., which were all attained from meeting the players and were at no cost. The only autograph I ever paid for was the Brian Bruney autograph I got last year for a kid I tutor, and it was for a cost of 20 dollars; all of which went to support the Center for Disability Services in Albany.

What was he thinking?

2009-11-13T08:07:00.006-05:00

I know I am about 10 days late on this one, but this is my last semester in my Master's program and the work has been overwhelming. Here's a photo I found enjoyable, courtesy of I think Bryan Hoch of MLB.comJust a note to A-Rod: This hat does not make you look the least bit attractive. In fact, it makes you look silly.
-----------------------
Also, here's some news about former closer John Wetteland. When the reports were first published, they stated that Wetteland was depressed and on some sort of suicide watch. Now, according the the AP, it was claimed that Wettleland had an elevated heart rate due to stress and was treated and now currently is at home with his wife. Regardless, hopefully hes doing better and it isn't anything too serious.

A season of baseball starting from spring training to the world series parade

2009-11-08T18:28:00.003-05:00

The 2009 baseball season has now come to an end, so I decided to go through all of the pictures I have taken throughout the course of the year, and put them into a large montage. This thing took me forever to do, so if you have the time, check it out. It is a little long, but between the spring training games, games in NY and Toronto, all the minor league games, and my trip to Ohio and Kentucky, the pictures accumulated. I did limit it down which was very hard to do!

World Series Parade- What was with Arod's hat? Yikes!

2009-11-07T21:24:00.008-05:00

Here are some photos from the parade on Friday, thanks to my friend Kyle! I wish I could have gone but I had a Comp. exam to take for my Master's program. Oh well. Hopefully all those who went had a good time!

World Series over, Yanks win their 27th

2009-11-05T11:31:00.003-05:00

First off, congrats to the Yankees on securing their 27th World Series Championship. It seemed like the playoffs lasted for about 2 months, which I can't fully complain about as I love the game of baseball. I was at a school today and the number of kids wearing Yankee shirts was quite large. Can you take a guess what player a majority of the kids had on their back?

Anyhow, it seems you either love the Yankees or you hate them. For me, the World Series seemed to have the most competition. The Twins played like crap and their defense let them down immensely. Same thing happened with the Angels, though they did make a comeback. I felt like the Phillies put up quite a fight and a better bullpen/closer might have helped put them over the top (Howard showing up to play might have helped also).

I keep reading the money aspect, which as a Yankee fan, I have to be realistic and agree with a lot of people. I am going to spend a few days when I have time analyzing some figures to see how much money really does play a factor. You would be an ignorant fan to say that money plays no effect. It just isn't the case; everything always comes down to money.

Regardless, if you are a baseball fan in general today is a somewhat sad day as the season is now officially over. Here is a poem i read that I thought you might like and describes me to a T.

When someone asks you your favorite sport
And you answer Baseball in a blink
There are certain qualities you must possess
And you're more attached than you think.
In the frozen grip of winter
I'm sure you'll agree with me
Not a day goes by without someone
Talking baseball to some degree.
The calendar flips on New Year's Day
The Super Bowl comes and it goes
Get the other sports out of the way
The green grass and the fever grows.
It's time to pack a bag and take a trip
To Arizona or the Sunshine State
Perhaps you can't go, but there's the radio
So you listen-you root-you wait.
They start the campaign, pomp and pageantry reign
You claim the pennant on Opening Day

From April till fall
You follow the bouncing white ball
Your team is set to go all the way.
They fall short of the series
You have a case of the "wearies"
And need as break from the game
But when Christmas bells jingle
You feel that old tingle
And you're ready for more of the same.
It will be hot dogs for dinner
Six months of heaven, a winner
Yes, Baseball has always been it.
You would amaze all your friends
If they knew to what ends
You'd go for a little old hit.
The best times you're had
Have been with your Mom and your Dad
And a bat and a ball and a glove.

From the first time you played
Till the last time you prayed
It's been a simple matter of love.

365 by Jack Buck

Good old Days

2009-10-31T22:23:00.002-04:00

Game 1 of the World Series: Yankees vs Phillies

2009-10-29T17:45:00.012-04:00

There were metal detectors in place for all over the lower level sections. They also were frisking people to make sure they didnt have any weapons or whatever else one might hide in their coat.

Guess whooo!

Wade Boggs was at the game!

Look, it's Bernie!!!! At least he showed up this time. They showed a montage of him at game 6 of the ALCS, and when they zoomed in on his luxury suite, it was empty and Bernie was nowhere in sight.

Everyone started to leave. I dont understand how you c spend so much money and leave the game early

My seat for game 6.....

2009-10-26T21:43:00.009-04:00

This was my first playoff game, since my friend was able to get some great tickets off Yankees.com. We knew the section they were in, but we had no idea that we were seated directly behind the cameraman. This was pretty much the view I had, which was something I wasn't pleased with since these tickets had a face-value price at $200.

I went to the ticket box to voice my displeasure. The man behind the window gave me very few options. To move my seats to the only available seats which were in the Legends section. Most know the price one pays to sit in the Legends seats. They told me I would have to pay the difference. The only other option was to keep the ticket, or to get a refund and be escorted out of the stadium.

I asked to speak with a manager. After waiting 15-20 minutes, the man finally decided to show up. Not sure what he was doing, but from what we could all see the guys in the ticket sales were enjoying the football game that was on in their office. Those waiting we not pleased to say the least.

Don't get me wrong. I am so thankful to have been at the stadium to see them clinch. But to charge someone $200 for this view is horrible. The Yankees need to change this. I can't even imagine how much this ticket goes for during the World Series. The mere fact they had the audacity to put seats behind the camera station is horrible.

I guess this is the 'Thank You' the Yankees gave me for supporting their ballclub. Next time, I hope Lonn Trost enjoys the ball game from the seat I had to sit in.

The Celebration

2009-10-26T20:06:00.014-04:00

Here are some photos from game 6 of the ALCS. These are the celebration pictures. I have some from the game, along with some things that happened that you didn't see on TV, which I will post tomorrow. I can't even tell you how crazy it was down there. Probably the loudest I have ever heard the place.

World Series Bound

2009-10-26T08:21:00.003-04:00

Before I head to work after 2.5 hours of sleep, heres a photo from the game. Will post more later once I am home and get some sleep.

Game 6 baby!!!

2009-10-25T13:57:00.001-04:00

Love this song and I think it's perfect for tonight!

The Trip to Nowhere

2009-10-24T22:32:00.005-04:00

So I am back from my lovely trip to nowhere. Yes, nowhere.

The original destination was to Yankees Stadium for game 6 of the ALCS, but mother nature didn't cooperate. The game is now rescheduled for Sunday night at 8:20pm. Which is just lovely considering the fact I have to work Monday early in the morning.

While MLB obviously made the correct decision, as a fan I am not thrilled with how they handled this whole situation. Weather reports all day were indicating that the city was going to be pounded all night with heavy rain and thunderstorms. As the game got closer, it was becoming more obvious that baseball was not going to be played in NY tonight.

However, at 4:30, Major League Baseball released a comment to the media about how they were optimistic about the weather and were going to try to get the game in. To me, that meant that they figured they were going to be able to get the game in. Why else would they go out of their way to make this type of report? I had heard a report was going to be issued by baseball, so I wanted to see what they had to say before making the decision to head out to the game. Once they stated they were going to try to get it in, I went on my way to the city, with the expectation that some sort of baseball would be played (though I figured there would be a few delays here and there).

Anyone who is a pretend meteorologist could see that the Bronx was going to get hit hard with rain. Even before I left, I checked the Doppler on weatherchannel.com which showed a whole lot of green and yellow heading directly to my destination. Despite trying to use my common sense, I figured MLB knew something I didn't. Instead, them "trying to get the game in" entailed waiting til 6:30, over an hour after the gates were opened to the public.

If they knew the weather was going to be THAT bad, why wait til after the fans were arriving. You can't tell me the doppler radar changed that much between 4:30 and 6pm. Don't get me wrong. I am glad they called the game, it was an obvious decision. But their timing was horrible from the perspective of a fan attending the game, especially one who had to travel a distance to get the Bronx.

I guess I should just be thankful that I didnt make it far enough to pay $30 for parking. That and I did enjoy quite the scenic view of 87 South. It would have been a better view had there not been the constant torrential downpours though.

/// end of rant.

We will try this again tomorrow!

Quick Update

2009-10-24T00:40:00.003-04:00

Grad school is back to taking over my life, but I wanted to make mention that I will be heading to game 6 of the ALCS tomorrow. They were the ultimate gift from a friend of mine who knows how much I love baseball! Please pray that the rain stays away as I have quite the drive ahead of me!

World Series Tickets

2009-10-21T23:57:00.003-04:00

The Yankees announced a few days ago that tickets for the 2009 World Series were to go on sale Wednesday at 10am. I figured I would try my luck to see what was available, with the expectations that there probably wouldn't be many left to the public. After distributing the tickets to players, MLB, season ticket holders, and the media, there really aren't many tickets even left for the regular folks.

At 9:59 pm I tried getting tickets and was surprised to see the Ticketmaster thing loaded. After it the page said to wait about 2 minutes, the page loaded displaying that there were no available seats. I had two browsers opened (explorer and FireFox) so I was able to try for two different world series games,. Both were a failure when selecting 1 ticket for best available, the with time wait in between each search get longer and longer.

In the end, I had no such luck. If signing on at 9:59 looking for 1 tickets didn't yield in any results, I cant imagine there were more than 50 tickets per game left to the public. I really would be interested to see how many tickets were out there for people to buy....

Overmanaging?

2009-10-19T22:58:00.003-04:00

Interesting game tonight, though I can't say I am surprised, considering the fact Girardi has been overmanaging the bullpen for the longest time, the most recent time being the game on Saturday in which he went through 7 relievers.

I still cant figure out why he took Roberston out of the game. This guy has looked stellar out of the pen this year for the Yankees and he was coasting through the 11th inning. Out of the blue, Girardi takes Roberston out with 2 outs in the game and replaces him with the ever-so shaky Alfredo Aceves. We all know the ending of the game but maybe someone needs to tell Joe that despite the fact he is refused to as "Ace", Aceves is nothing close to being an Ace and there was no purpose for him to be pitching in that game in the 11th inning.

Lastly, I could resist but to put this picture up. I can't imagine what Jeter's reaction was after A-Rod gave him a little nudge. This was more than a pat on the butt too.

Stylin' in the Bronx

2009-10-18T23:56:00.004-04:00

Michael Kay rocking quite the hat.

Yankees are up 2-0 and the Phillies are up 2-1. Should be an interesting ALCS.

I have to say, I am a big fan of Shane Victorino. He is quite the flyin' Hawaiian. This team has built a great the offense, pretty much from top to bottom. They would be more of a given if they had some better pitching though, especially in their bullpen.

Also, Michael Kay if you are out there, give me a call. We need to go on a little shopping trip. But don't worry, I won't give you the same wardrobe change that Kate Hudson has given to A-Rod.

Mad Dog joins Mike for a short reunion

2009-10-17T23:00:00.005-04:00

Not sure if anyone saw, but Chris Russo was in town on Friday doing the game for SIRIUS I would assume. He joined Mike on the show. I have to say, it was great seeing him back, though he is still as hyper as I remember him being.

Some interesting baseball articles

2009-10-17T19:00:00.003-04:00

Some confusion on the Yankees end as to whether or not the game last night was indeed sold out. Attendance numbers show that 49,688 people were in attendance for the game, though there are 52,325 listed available seats in the new stadium. Wouldn't that entail over 2,000 seats were indeed not sold? Jeff Passan wrote an article for Yahoo sports which addressed this issue along with it being a correlation to the outrageous prices.

Of course it has to do with money. It's the playoffs. While it is cold outside, it also is cold in Colorado and other places around the country. If people can afford the seats, they will sit in the stands for the playoffs, regardless of the weather. The Yankees have priced-out a large number of their fans which is unfortunate. Even the obstructed bleacher seats carry quite a hefty price, considering you can't see half the field from your seat. This is an instance where you are better off just watching the game in front of your TV screen.

Thanks for the link, Commish!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fangraphs has an article comparing A-Rod and Jeter's stats in the post season. Here is the excerpt from the article:

"To truly measure the ideal of “clutch” you would have to compare the person’s performance against what you would expect normally. That’s what gets done here."

With that in mind, check this out.

Alex Rodriguez, postseason clutch score 2002-present: 0.73
Derek Jeter, postseason clutch score 2002-present: -0.80

I only included 2002-present because that is what FanGraphs currently has and I don’t have historical postseason WPA. That being said, here’s some numbers covering the years not mentioned above.

Derek Jeter postseason batting line 1995-2001: .304/.377/.448/.825
Derek Jeter regular season batting line 1995-2001: .321/.393/.471/.864

Alex Rodriguez postseason batting line 1994-2001: .340/.375/.566/.941
Alex Rodriguez regular season batting line 1994-2001: .311/.378/.571/.949

"That A-Rod, boy he sucks in the postseason. If only he were more like The Captain."

I guess given all the negative things you have heard about A-Rod, one might have though his stats were a lot worse than they are. Though the only thing I can remember him doing in the past playoffs has been close to nothing. Regardless, he has really turned this around so far this year. We will see if he can continue to play like this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So here I sit, waiting for the Yankees game to start. It seems as if the meteorologists have issues in correctly predicting weather patterns. There was supposed to be all this rain last night, which barely showed up. And tonight they expected more but even that is in the air. I guess that is a good thing, though if it does rain, people are going to be curious as to why MLB didn't move the game up to an earlier start.

Though this has nothing to do with baseball I have to get some advice from people. My cell phone died yesterday so I am in search for a new one asap. My 2 year contract is up so I can save some money on a phone. I had been looking at the HTC Pro 2 by Sprint. Besides the fact it is $350 after the rebate, the guy at sprint said the phone is really slow and that Windows 6.1 really seems to screw with the phone. Plus, I would have to pay 60 dollars extra a month for the data package. So I guess that idea is out.

Anyone have any good ideas on a phone they like? I can't make up my mind and was all set on this specific phone. Heres a list of some different phones that Sprint has

The Answer....

2009-10-14T16:59:00.008-04:00

...is of course Al Leiter! While my bias may show in my trivia questions, I just found it interesting to post as it was something I wasn't aware of myself and found it intriguing that it had been over 4 years since the Yankees defeated the Angels in the playoffs. And the fact it was AL Leiter who was the last to receive the win made it even more fun-filled. Thanks to Lauren for the link: http://snipurl.com/si76a

Regardless, the stat will obviously now change with the Yankees playing the Angels on Friday. There is a great video online in which Al and Harold Reynolds discussed the infamous cutter that Mariano has developed and improved on over the years. I really suggest that you guys check it out as it really is informative; especially if you are interested in the mechanics of pitching.

The difference between the fastball and cutter (If you click on the pictures, you cna look at a larger view of this shot). They both look the same as the delivery starts, but it is the movement as the pitch arrives which makes it such a difficult pitch to hit.

Those are screenshots from the video I linked to. What do you think of my skills using paint? Ah, technology

Trivia.....

2009-10-13T21:51:00.006-04:00

Here's a trivia question for you guys.

Who was the last Yankee to beat the Angels and receive the win in a playoff game?

Anyone know??? Beside Mike who was the one who asked me this :0)

Distorted Camera Angles?

2009-10-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

Not sure if you have seen this video, but it's definitely something interesting to check out. I know I have sat there analyzing a pitch on TV that I was convinced was a strike, but this website analyzes the impact that the TV camera angle has on your view of the actual pitch and strike zone. As the website states "As the baseball playoffs get under way, TV viewers should beware: Those instant replays of pitches can really distort the strike zone."

WTF A-Rod? Or Dexter?

2009-10-11T23:52:00.001-04:00

How hilarious is this picture. A-Rod playing peek-a-boo with Jeter.

An A-Bomb and a Tex Message

2009-10-10T15:02:00.004-04:00

Another walk-off for the Yankees. It appears as if the new Yankee stadium has become a huge home field advantage for this team. You really never feel like they are out of it, despite the fact they are down going into the 9th inning.

If I have to say so myself, the key acquisition this off-season was the signing of Mark Teixiera. What a difference he has made this year, more specifically in protecting A-Rod which gave them a huge 3-4 punch. Then add CC and A.J on top of that and you have quite the rotation. I guess money has the potential to buy championships, of course when spent correctly and when everyone plays to their capability.

Looking beyond that, the Swisher acquisition was pretty good too. He really has brought some spunk to the team and a different attitude than when he was a white Sox. I hadn't heard too many good things about him, except how he could be quite a selfish guy when not playing full-time. I guess that wasn't really much of an issue when the Nady injury went down. It pretty much gave Swish a full-time gig at RF.

My Swisher t-shirt which was designed by the great Bald Vinny. Great shirt, and if it wasn't so big, I would probably wear it out more often.

Playoffs!

2009-10-08T22:02:00.004-04:00

First off, I still am in shock over the Cardinals game. Despite hitting a homerun in this game, Matt Holliday must be hanging his head knowing that he pretty much cost his team the game. While he did misplay the ball, Ryan Franklin should have been able to keep his composure and pitch better. He only needed one more out to end the game. Instead, he allowed 2 runs to score which led to the Dodger's winning the game by a score of 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th.

Being down 0-2 in a best of 5 games is not a good situation, especially when you look at the fact they should be 1-1. Going back to St Louis should be somewhat of an advantage, though the pressure of a do-or-die game is intense.

------------------

Aside from that, here are some pictures from the Yankees game on Wednesday, courtesy of my dear friend who was at the game.

What a game!

2009-10-06T23:09:00.003-04:00

For those who are living under a rock, the Twins beat the Tigers in 12 innings, after going through a combined 13 pitchers (8 by the Twins). Can you believe Leyland stayed with Rodney for 4 innings? Is he borderline insane? I guess it doesn't matter if his arm falls off tomorrow as their season is now over.

So the Yankees will play the Twins tomorrow, starting at 6:07 pm. Match-up looks to be Brian Duensing (5-2, 3.64) against C.C. Sabathia (19-8, 3.37).

News also broke today that A.J Burnett will be pitching game 2, along with Pettitte pitching the 3rd game. Not sure how I feel about that however we will see how it goes. The thing I am not thrilled with is that Burnett now has his own personal catcher, which i hope isn't the case if the Yankees need to play a 5th game. Taking Posada's bat out of the lineup and adding in Molina's for 2 games, is too many.

J.P Riccardi: A Goner

2009-10-03T20:20:00.002-04:00

So the news has broke that J.P. Riccardi has been dismissed of his job as the GM of the Blue Jays. What are your thoughts about this? I guess it cant be too surprising as of all the nonsense that happened with Halladay.

Is Mauer Stealing Signs? Is He the Only One? Does Anyone Care?

2009-10-02T00:43:00.002-04:00

Check this article out. Apparently Mauer is stealing signs, and doing it in a pretty blatant manner. As far as I am concerned it is part of the game, and if you are able to figure out the signs, then so be it. The other team should try to switch up the signs to avoid this from happening.

What a Catch... or Maybe Not???

2009-09-30T12:02:00.002-04:00

Did anyone see the "catch" Clint Barnes of the Rockies made against the Cardinals on Sunday?

Setting the stage: The Rockies are leading the Cardinals by a score of 4-3 in the 9th inning. With a man on first and third with one out, Ryan Ludwick hit a blooper to CF. Barners appeared to make the diving grab, according to the clip (which can be found here), which shows him diving for it and rolling over to the ground.

However, when you look at the photos of the play (found here), you can clearly see the ball had dropped, but as Barnes is on the ground, he swoops up the ball and acts as if he had indeed caught the ball. Without the photos, nobody would have known. Not only was the batter called out, but Pujols was too far off of first and was called out. Game over, Rockies win.

Good love basebasll, folks!

Yankees Postseason Roster

2009-09-29T12:24:00.004-04:00

I have been a huge slacker lately with this blog. That is what college will do folks. I currently and working on a very long thesis, which is pretty time consuming, but is also interesting. Hopefully it will be done soon and my life will return.

Regardless of that, I figured I would try to figure out what players would be in for the playoffs. I figure first round they will carry an extra position player, so that leaves on of the relievers off the list. I made these choices last night, but I am starting to rethink my choices.

These position players are all obvious choices
1) Jeter
2) Damon
3) Teixeira
4) Rodriguez
5) Matsui
6) Posada
7) Canó
8) Swisher
9) Cabrera

Starting pitchers- I would say Joba is definitely on the roster, but obviously as a reliever
10) Sabathia
11) Burnett
12) Pettitte
13) Chamberlain

Position players: I didn't select Guzman originally but I am thinking he will make it over Pena. Not sure what I was thinking
14) Gardner
15) Hairston Jr
16) Hinske
17) Molina
18) Pena

Relievers: Hughes, Rivera, Ave, and Coke are all definites.I would say Roberston if healthy. Wasn't sure of Gaudin or Bruney, but I guess we will see. I guess the Yankees probably will take 10 pitchers, which means that Gaudin or Bruney are out. Which means one more position player needs to be added. I am not very good at making decision as you can tell.

19) Rivera
20) Hughes
21) Aceves
22) Bruney
23) Coke
24) Robertson
25) Gaudin

So pretty much the roster I originally selected is no good. Oh well, not like you really know which way Girardi is going to go.

Too much Redbull?

2009-09-26T00:27:00.003-04:00

Quite the broadcast of the Yankees game tonight with Al Leiter and Michael Kay. Could anyone else understand what Leiter was talking about? Did this chart really help?

From what I tried to gather from this very confusing conversation, Al thinks that MLB should go back to a 154 game schedule. With that, he believes that 6 teams from each division should be in the playoffs. In order to do this he feels that two additional wild card spots need to be created. Which was what led to the creation of this lovely diagram.

I understand how he wants winning the division to be worth more. He said that teams clinching the wild-card spot are pretty much given the same things as those who have won their respectful division. But making the season shorter, adding another series, and then letting 6 teams into the playoffs I think is too much. Or just too confusing.

Or perhaps I wasn't following him correctly. I am not really sure still where he was going with this.

Maybe I need a one-on-one lesson about this with the professor.

A few notable links

2009-09-25T19:54:00.002-04:00

Fangraphs has a good article detailing the home vs road offensive numbers for Matt Holliday. While on the Rockies, many have often criticized Holliday's numbers, stating that they were the effects of playing at Coors field for 81 games. While playing at the park some have some effects, you have to take the numbers he put up this year and figure that the guy does have some raw talent. He struggled while in Oakland, something of which I would attribute to learning a new league of pitchers and playing at that horrible park in Oakland.

Also found this article about J.P. Riccardi to be interesting also. Not sure how many of you feel about Riccardi, but I feel he makes a good point. As the title of the article states, "The division is not going to change." He talks about how difficult it is being in the American League East, with the type of spending that the Yankees and Red Sox do. He noted that during the Jays championship of 92 and 93, they had the highest payroll in all of baseball. This was something I was unaware of before reading this article.

When you look at it this way it makes sense, but you also have to see how the Rays were able to have a remarkable season last year, performing better than the Yankees with a significantly lower payroll. The Jays need to work on their farm system (which has some potential), keep their young arms healthy, and make some smarter signings. I would hate to see Halladay go, but they have little chance of resigning him and if they can receive a few young guys for him they might as well do it sooner rather than later.
-----------------
Side note: Magic number for the Yankees is 5. A sweep of the Sox would guarantee a division win on Sunday.

Also am sad that the season is almost over... Oh how I will miss baseball.

Good Bye Aneheim! Won't miss you!

2009-09-24T08:21:00.001-04:00

After a long west coast trip, I am so glad the Yankees are going home. It's been a long week trying to stay awake for all these games. Anyhow, has anyone seen any of these rally monkey clips that they play when the Angels are down? Some are hilarious. Here are a few:

Rookie Hazing

2009-09-22T15:41:00.010-04:00

A rookie is defined as "a player has to have had fewer than 130 at bats or 50 innings in the majors, or 45 days on the active rosters of major league clubs (excluding time on the disabled list or any time after rosters are expanded on September 1st), in previous seasons."

In baseball, the tradition to honor these rookies is to have them dress in some sort of costume; something that starts once they leave the ballpark, are on board the plane, and eventually out to dinner with a veteran player. I read online that the traditional hazing procedure for rookies in football is taping the players to a goalpost and then dousing them with water. Sounds great.

Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to look at some past rookie hazings in baseball. First lets look at what the Yankees have done:

2009: Batman

2008: The Village People

2007: The Wizard of Oz

2006: George Steinbrenner

2005: Cheerleaders

2004: Elvis

2003: Pimps

Notables from other teams:

Pirates

Padres

Goodluck, My Friend

2009-09-19T18:42:00.010-04:00

As those in the blog and baseball world probably all know, Pete Abe is heading to the dark side, leaving the beloved Yankees for that other team in the North East. And from what I hear, that other team it isn't the New York Mets. Or for that matter the Norwich Navigators. He's packing the bags and moving to Boston, home of Big Mami and assorted other men dressed in red. I know this will be a painful departure for him, leaving Alex Rodriguez behind. But its a loss for him that will heal in due time.

All joking aside, I wish Pete the best in all of his endeavors. This was a tough decision for him to make, but he did it for all of the right reasons. In the end, family is what matters, along with fulfilling a lifelong dream that he had set for himself as a kid growing up in Massachusetts. Turning down an opportunity of this magnitude is something he would have regretted for the rest of his life.

The response of his readers to the news of his departure have been overwhelming. He started the blog over 3 years ago, and built quite the community of readers from all over the world. While some may not always have agreed with him, the dedication and time he put towards his craft was evident and is what made him as successful as he was. The negative comments written by people to me lack class; some stemming probably from upset not knowing where to get baseball news, while others are just from jackasses who have nothing better to do with themselves. Remember, no one forces one to read something. If you don't like what you see, hit the little X in the top right hand corner!

All in all, the hard work has paid of for you Pete, and it should be a testament to all those out there that if you work your ass off, you can fulfill your dreams. Nothing is ever handed to you in life (at least it shouldnt be), and this gig was something that took him many years to attain. I am very proud of you and wish you well with the Globe (no luck for the Red Sox though, sorry). So shoot high folks, and do what you want in life that makes you happy. Tampa (and Lakeland) wont be the same without you, Pete.

Fight in the Bronx

2009-09-16T10:45:00.006-04:00

Lovely brawl in yesterdays game, which all began because Mark Melancon is having issues finding the control that he once had in AAA. After hitting Hill (Toronto's best offensive hitter this year) square in the back, Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada. So far behind him that the ball missed him and rolled to the backstop. Posada wasn't thrilled with this and the benches had cleared. Nothing happened and the game continued.

But then our lovely catcher decided to nudge Carlson who was backing up the catcher in case of an errant throw. In looking at this clip from TSN, you can clearly see that Carlson is looking around for the ball and covering the plate. Many Yankee fans believe that Carlson initiated this fight by standing in Posada's way, but I still cant see that. And even if that was the case, Posada could have been a bigger person, just walking around him as he headed back to the dugout.

Look at this clip though. The things that stand out to me are Shelley Duncan pounding his way through the pile, try to take out Rod Barajas. Check out 7:26 as Shelley takes on Rod and pretty much throws him to the ground. How crazy is he? Also noticed Edwar (who weighs about 90 pounds) pulling at Barajas' equipment, trying to pull him out of the pile. Not sure why he was doing that but Cito didn't seem too pleased.

Ode to Al

2009-09-15T15:07:00.009-04:00

While the name of my blog is after the loquacious lefty, it's not a crazy site that focuses on the life and daily tribulations of this former Yankee and Blue Jay. However, because I have had a crappy week and have been trying to rectify my destroyed belongings after the beer incident (which has failed and will result in me having to spend 200 dollars to purchase new books), this post will be a happy tribute to the great Alois Terry Leiter.

People have asked "Why Christina have you named your blog after Al Leiter." When told it was because I appreciate the way he played the game, and that he was a member of the A/C Yankees, they still don't seem to get it. So here's my explanation:

Leiter wasn't one of those flashy pitchers. He came in and did his stuff. He respects the game of baseball and is a fan of the game as well. As an announcer he is great for the fans because he has a way of explaining different techniques to pitching that we as viewers may not have a clue about. I love watching him do the pregame shows in which he explains the art of throwing different types of pitches (which I recall him doing in Toronto). While he was a vocal guy and would at times make these frustrations apparent to other (see Armando Benitez who blew about 5-10 wins for Leiter), hes the epitome of how the game should be played which is why he is still loved by the fans in NY (some even in Toronto too, but I have heard mixed feelings from Jays fans in regards to Al).

In addition to his work on the field, the Al Leiter and his wife are also involved in the community which can be seen through the children's foundation that they have set up which is known as "Leiter's Landing." He has been involved in building baseball fields in his community along with helping children that are in need. As someone involved in the field of teaching and literacy, the work he has done with these kids is amazing and is something I look up to in these players and former players. Leiter was the recipient of the 2000 Roberto Clemente Award which stated his efforts outside baseball in including:

The charitable organization is committed to the betterment of youth through education, health care and social and community service. Leiter's Landing also serves as a fundraising arm to assist other children's charities. Some of the activities associated with Leiter's Landing have included donating computers to underprivileged schools in Harlem, helping to launch a program where young volunteers work with Meals-on-Wheels to deliver meals to 15,000 home-bound elderly, working extensively with organizations like the Starlight Foundation, which helps terminally ill children, and participating in hospital visits throughout the year.

While at the game on Sunday, Leiter was featured on the jumbo tron in between innings (I think the 6th or 7th inning, somewhere around there). The clips came out to the song "Call me Al", which is sung by Paul Simon (good song). Ok, enough of the Leiter love, I swear this is the one and only time I will do this. Even though the man thinks I am insane, I still appreciate the work he does. It is probably a good thing that I was this (..........)close to him on Sunday, but still failed to say hello to him! Nerves kicked in. Oh well, maybe someday.

Yankees vs. Orioles 9/13/2009

2009-09-13T21:47:00.007-04:00

It is a long story and was a last minute decision (literally) but I decided to head down to the city for the Yankees-Orioles game in the Bronx. it was a great day for the Yankees offense as they compiled 20 hits and beat the O's by a score of 13-3. C.C. started off struggling and seemed to really be laboring through the game (4 walks and only 1 strikeout), but was able to pick it up in the 5th inning and kept his pitch count down which led him to pitching 7 innings.

Some things to note:

During batting practice today, a man was hit in the mouth by a foul ball. He was very still (he looked conscious) and was given an oxygen mask to assist him with breathing. His young son (about 7) saw this all take place was hysterical. Many of the players were also concerned, one being Joba, who came over and gave the little boy a baseball in attempt to calm him down.

They had to clear out the entire section I was in (right field, the section to the right of the moat) so that they could lift the man off the ground and place him onto a golf cart which had been brought over to this side of the field. He looked so helpless and many of us were just standing there with a blank look on our face. They lifted him over the wall, placed him on a golf cart and drove him around the outfield dirt which led him to an opening in the outfield wall. Hopefully he will be OK and we all can learn a lesson from this terrible event. While fans are warned about being attentive for foul balls, it is something that truly needs to be taken seriously as something bad can happen. This also reminds me of the game I was at in Toronto in which a lady was hit in the head by a broken bat. She was extremely bloody but was lucky in the sense that she was conscious and able to get up and walk around without any assistance

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the Yankees played some great baseball, I was unable to enjoy the game due to an obnoxious lady seated behind me. It all started in the beginning of the game when she spilled mustard on the back of my friends shirt. Accidents happen, and he didn't seem too upset. But then a couple of innings later, this same lady spills an entire cup of beer under my seat, which gets all over my purse, jeans, and my legs. I was not thrilled and expressed this to the lady. My purse reeks of beer now and I don't know how to really clean it off. My friend's side was OK, as most of the beer landed where I was seated.

Since the ground was all wet, I ended up holding the huge purse on my lap for the entire game. Now this was all great until she decided to spill another cup of beer. This time it not only gets my white flip flops drenched, but it also reaches my friend who had put my bag of school books in front of him on the ground. ALL of my new notebooks, teaching books, agenda book, and scorecard were damaged. Not only do they reek terribly of beer but I am going to have to now replace a bunch of these books since the print has smeared on one of them (which need to be used by students) and the other just smell so much like beer that I can not have them around the kids. I cant afford to replace these books, but I really don't have much of a choice.

Not even an apology or anything from this lady either which pissed me off the most. In fact, she somehow thought it was hilarious and proceeded to buy at least 6 more beers from what I had counted (she was up every inning, coming back with 2 beers in her hand). My question is this: is there anything you can possibly do (besides beating the lady up) when this happens? I have been to 7 minor league games and 3 games in Toronto this year and have never had this happen. And while I know that accidents do occur, is it fair to have this happen 3 times in one night, all by the same drunk person? I regret bringing the book to the game (which was a first, since I took the train), but I had so much HW for my Master's class that I needed get some of the material read while on the train.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enough complaining, I suppose. Not really much else to say about the game. Lots of offense. It was great to also see the young guys on the Orioles. They really could be something in the next few years if they can work around the young, offensive guys on the team by developing some good starters and acquiring some decent relievers (which would include them holding onto some of these young guys rather than trading them away like the Pirates tend to do).

I have a handful of pictures that came out amazing, but I am only going to post a few of them tonight. I will add more of them in the next few days.

Joe Girardi and Alex Rodriguez were ejected from the game. We weren't sure what happened but were told that it was for arguing balls and strikes.

Apparently during the broadcast, Leiter decided to take his sock off and demonstrate some sort of pitching technique to Kay. They showed it on the screen.
Nick Swisher stands on the dirt section nearly 99 percent of the time in the OF. I found that interesting, as if it was some sort of marker on where to stand.

Walk-off celebration

2009-09-13T01:12:00.003-04:00

Check out this clip of Prince Fielder and his teammates after he hit a walk-off HR. What do you guys think of this? I assume it was obviously rehearsed and I though it was pretty creative. Others have disagreed. What do you guys think?

Is this type of celebration any different than when Burnett and others used shaving cream and cool whip?

Nothing But Class

2009-09-10T00:05:00.003-04:00

Congrats to Derek Jeter tying Lou Gehrig with 2,721 all time hits. Since his arrival to the major leagues in 1995, Jeter has been nothing but pure class for this organization. It's a treat to say he passed through this area, once being a member of the Albany-Colonie Yankees.

And now look at him. He is sharing the stage with some of the greatest Yankees of all time. What an accomplishment.

Updates Around the American League

2009-09-07T18:02:00.006-04:00

As the season starts to wind down, lets take a look at some of the different players across the American League that have really been making great contributions to their team.

Blue Jays:

Aaron Hill has had an amazing 2009 season. In 136 games, he is hitting .286 with 31 homeruns and 94 RBI. He leads the American League in total bases and tied for 5th in hits (168) with Michael Young.
Adam Lind has also had a tremendous season for the Jays. In 131 games, he is hitting .304 with 28 homeruns and 94 RBI. His 45 doubles are second best in the American Leagues, only behind Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles.

New York Yankees:

Mark Teixiera has been a huge acquisition for the Yankees this year. Along with the defensive upgrade he has been for the team, Teixiera has also performed well with his bat. He is hitting .279 with 146 hits, 34 homeruns, 103 RBI, and 36 doubles.
Derek Jeter is having himself another spectacular year, hitting .332, has 17 HR's, and is second in the AL with 183 hits.
Robinson Cano has looked decent also this year. He is hitting .316 and has hit a career-high 23 HR's.
CC Sabathia has proved once against he is a durable pitcher, in which he is leading the A.L in innings pitched (206.1). He has 16 wins this season which ties him with Justin Verlander of the Tigers. With an ERA of 3.40 and 177 strikeouts, CC has put together a nice season for himself.

Boston Red Sox:

Jacoby Ellsbury has some amazing speed, in which he has hit 9 triples and stole 60 bases so far this season. His .300 batting average and 16 hits are just as impressive.
Jason Bay is leading the Red Sox with 31 HR's and 98 RBI's. While he is only hitting .261 on the season, his 84 walks are the highest on the team and have helped lead him to a .383 OBP.
Kevin Youkilis is also having a great year in which he is leading the team in batting average (.311) and slugging percentage (.558).
Jon Lester is also having a treendous year, with his 180.2 innings and 204 strikeouts. While his 12-7 record isnt nearly as impressive as some other players, he has an ERA of 3.44 which is impressive considering he plays on an American League team.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:

Kendry Morales has emerged out of the blue and become a great replacement for the Angels at first base after they lose Mark Teixiera this past off-season to free agency. He has more AB's this season (483) than his previous three seasons combined (377; 197 in 2006, 119 in 2007, and 61 in 2008). He has hit an impressive 30 HR's and his 5 RBI's away from reaching 100. This is a guy to look out for in the postseason.
Chone Figgins is one of my favorite player to watch on TV (when he isn't playing against the Yankees or Jays, of course). Along with the versatility he carries in being able to play at nearly every position (though he has been used mostly at 3B this year), Figgins has provided he can be a consistent hitter for the Angels; one that does not need to rely on hitting for power, but more for average and speed. His 87 walks are a career high and he has an impressive .305 batting average so far this season.

Minnesota Twins:

Joe Mauer is the League leader for MVP with his .369 batting average. His 26 HR's are a career high (most since 2006 when he hit 13) and with 82 RBI, he should be able to surpass the 84 that he hit back in 2006. These statistics are remarkable for a catcher and his accomplishments I would think will be rewarded in the form of a certain award.

Detriot Tigers:

Miguel Cabrera's 28 HR's this season put him on pace to hit the 30 HR plateau; an accomplishment he has reached in 4 of his 6 previous major league season. His .336 batting average is just as impressive along with his .402 OBP.
Justin Verlander has pitched extremely well this season, going 16-7 with an ERA of 3.29. So far this season he has pitched 197 innings and has struck out 222 batters (1st in the A.L and second in the Major Leagues, only to Tim Lincecum). This guy has got to be up there for CY Young considerations.

Seattle Mariners:

Ichiro is having himself another great year. While he doesn't necessarily hit for power, his .362 average (2nd in the AL) and 195 hits (1st in the AL) which would be 9 straight season in which he has hit over .300 with over 200 hits. What a remarkably consistent ballplayer Ichiro is.

Kansas City Royals:

Zack Greinke has been one of the few reasons of hope for many Royals fans. On a terrible Royals team, he has managed to compile 13 wins while having an ERA of 2.22 (the lowest for a starter with a minimum of 10 starts in the A.L). His 1.08 WHIP and 3 shutouts are the most for a starter in the A.L. and his 210 strikeouts this year are second, only behind Detroit's Justin Verlander. His w/l ratio is unfair to look at as he has been provided with very little run supported by the Royals offense this season. Hopefully the writers will look beyond ones record.

Cleveland Indians:

Shin-Soo Choo has compiled some decent stats for the 2009 season. He has a .301 batting average with 150 hits so far this season which are a career high. His 14 HR's are the second highest on the team, only behind the 18 that have been hit by Grady Sizemore. Surprisingly he is leading the team with 66 walks, with the downfall to his game being his team leading 127 strikeouts (17 more than Jhonny Peralta).

Texas Rangers:

Neftali Feliz has appeared in 12 games so far this season for the Rangers. In 22 innings he has struck out 28 batters while walking only one. He has two saves of the season and is someone to look out for in the 2010 season.
Michael Young has had a great season also, but is out for 2-3 weeks with a strained hamstring. He is hitting .322 with 22 HR's, 168 hits, and 35 doubles.

Other notables: Nick Markakis, Michael Young, Johnny Damon, Brian Roberts, Bobby Abreu, and Victor Martinez.

Any other players that I missed? There are so many guys out there that could have been mentioned, but with Grad school and work, my time to really write about each and every one is limited. I hope I at least mentioned close to the most important, though I am sure I have missed a handful.

Saturday 9/5 SWB Yankees vs. Rochester Red Wings

2009-09-06T19:55:00.012-04:00

I guess this shouldn't be too surprising, but I decided to go (against the advice of just about everyone) and head west to see the SWB Yankees take on the Rochester Red Wings, at Frontier Field in Rochester, New York. This is a beautiful ballpark and is located in what seems to be a pretty safe area in the city of Rochester. I would rate it as being 10x nicer than Alliance Bank Park in Syracuse and probably even with PNC Park in Scranton, PA.
For those interested in visiting minor league ballparks, here's a review of my experience at Frontier field:

First off, some history about the park. It is the oldest and longest running minor league franchise in the history of all professional sports
From 1929-1960 they were an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Then from 1961-2002 they were an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and in 2003 they became the affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
There is a section located on the left field side of the stadium that is designated as a "nut-free" zone. This is the first time I have seen this at a ballpark and I think it is a great idea for those that have an allergy to nuts. It is located to the left of section 130 in a berm area.
A great variety of food. The prices were decent. Hot dogs were 2.50, cheeseburgers 3.75 (which were really good), and I was tempted to get a pretzel which was about 3 dollars or so. The only complaint I have was the horrific lines. I hate missing much of the game and I don't think the stadium was really ready to handle over 13,000 people showing up at this game. I know they were also out of a lot of food, being it was the last game. Can't hold that against them too much though.

Stats from the game:

As for the game, it was a sold out affair. Saturday was the final game of the season in which the Red Wings drew a season-high crowd of 13,120 fans. I was amazed that so many had shown up to a minor league game.
Jason Hirsh, the starter for Scranton, was injured in the first inning. He twisted his ankle making a throw to first base. There was a good 3-5 minutes of discussion between Hirsh and the coaches in which they had him throw a few pitches to see how his ankle was feeling. After throwing 4 pitches, he again spent 3 minutes or so talking to Miley in which they ultimately decided to take him out the game. This injury is a blow to Scranton as a chunk of their pitchers have already left for New York. This is going to weaken them even more as they approach the playoffs.
Brett Gardner was in Rochester with the Yankees on a rehab assignment (coming back from a broken thumb). He went 1-3 with 1SB and 3 BB.
Anyone remember Philip Humber, one of the big prospects in the Mets organization? Well he apparently is on the Red Wings, as he was the starter for the game I went too. He had a terrible start, pitching 4.2 innings, giving up 7 hits, 5 BB and 5 ER's.
The pitching in this game for the Red Wings was terrible. In addition to Humber struggling, the Red Wings brought out Morillo, Lugo, and Lahey. Lugo was terrible, pitching 1/3 of an inning in which he walked 4 straight batters (5 total in the 1/3 of an inning he pitched).
Yankees won by a score of 10-0. The combination of walks allowed (11 in total) and 3 errors really helped Scranton out in being able to take the win.
Also must mention the Yankees pitching, as they held the Red Wings to only 3 hits and 0 ER. This is amazing considering their starter was injured in the first inning. Prihoda picked up his first win of the season, after being brought up from the Charleston Riverdogs (Single A affiliate of the Yankees). Prihoda's contract from the Grand Prairie AirHogs (an independent league in the South Division) was sold to the Yankees in the beginning of July this year.
Also Yankee fans, please keep an eye out for Zack Kroenke. He pitched 3 innings on Saturday, giving up 0ER and 1H and earned his 4th save of the season. He is a big lefty and could be good down the road. Between him and Dunn, I have been impressed.
Side note: Sean Henn (former Yankee) is on the Red Wings. He was a reliever in Friday's game and gave up 3ER in 2 innings against the SWB Yankees, one of which included a solo HR from Shelley Duncan.

Photos from the game:

Shelley had a huge hole in his pants. The fans were amused by this and kept telling him about the hole on several occasions. Based on the fact it looks to have been patched up many times, I am going to assume Shelley is aware of the large hole.

Brett Gardner- Nice guy, signed before the game for a handful of kids and posed for pictures while in the on-deck circle.

Rochester Police Officer Anthony DiPonzio threw out the final first pitch of the season, and brought the lineup card out to home plate. The players on the Red Wings each came out and shook his hand after he threw the first pitch. DiPonzio was shot in the head in January by a 15 year old while he was on the job. He lost p eriphe ral vision in his left eye, has difficulty walking, and is unable to take care of himself. Was great to see this man walk on the field.

Jason Hirsh is a very tall man (6'8'' to be exact). The second photo was taken after he was injured on the mound.

Broken bat stuck in the ground.
So many holes in these pants. Times are so tough in the minors they only give you one pair of pants.
Definitly not a picture of John Rodriguez. Something was going on with the scoreboard for a while.
Yankeess winnnnn!!

Additional photos:

Scranton Yankees vs. Syracuse Chiefs: Monday 8/31

2009-09-02T10:58:00.007-04:00

So I am pretty much insane and made the 2 hour roadtrip on Monday to Syracuse, NY to see the SWB Yankees play again. Getting home at 12:30AM from Scranton, then working 7-3 to head to another game is something I wouldn't recommend doing. Makes for a very long drive home the following day. But since this was the Yankees last time in Syracuse, I couldn't help myself in seeing my final minor league game of the year. Was a fun time all around and despite going to the game by myself, I ran into a handful of people to talk baseball with, many of which had ties to the Capital Region.

My new dilemma is that I just found out my Saturday class was cancelled, being it is Labor Day weekend. After hearing how nice the stadium is in Rochester, I really want to make the trip out there to see the Yankees play (they are there Friday and Saturday). I wish I could think of a cheap way to head out that way. I think it is about 3-4 hours from my house, and I am not sure if I can afford another trip or manage that drive coming home from a 7pm start. Any suggestions?

As for the game, it was close up until the very end. The Yankees were able to take the lead in the 8th inning and ended up winning the game by a score of 6-4. Here are some of the highlights of the game:

Kei Igawa started for Scranton. While he didn't perform terribly, I can also say it wasn't one of his best starts of the season either. In 6.1, he gave up 3ER on 11 hits, striking out 4 and walking 2. I guess I should try to be nicer to Igawa as it is the Yankees fault for signing him to that ridiculous contract. It is however his fault for being unable to handle pitching in the major leagues. While he has broken a minor league club record for career wins, his season this far hasn't been anything close to impressive.

Michael Dunn received his first win of the season. He pitched an impressive 7th inning (2/3 of an inning), coming in with the bases loaded and only 1 out after Igawa had really struggled. He had Bynum 3-1, but was able to get him to fly out to first base. With two outs, he struck out Kory Casto and was able to escape the jam, which pretty much saved the game for Scranton. Keep an eye out for Dunn, as he was just called up to the Yankees on Tuesday and has been quite impressive in his 12 appearances and is a big lefty that could help the team down the road.

Cervelli had a great game. He not only went 3-4 with 2RBI, but he also made an impressive throw to second base, in which he caught Norris Hopper stealing. A big star in the book for him there. He's another guy that was called up the following day to the big leagues.

Must note the incredible season that Kevin Russo has been having this season. In 84 games he is hitting .337 with 110 hits and 28 RBI's. He might not be pounding the ball out the park, but he has been a consistent hitter for the team.

For those of you who didn't know this, the Syracuse Chiefs broke grounds this season hiring the first female trainer in the history of the International League. Her name is Beth Jarrett and she is only the second female to make it to the AAA level.

Other notes: Shelley Duncan was named MVP of the International League and Austin Jackson the Rookie of the Year. Having seen them both play over a half-dozen times this year (and looking a the stats), they were both deserving of this honor. Congrats to them.

Some pictures from the game:

Cervelli, who nearly killed me before the game, as he missed a ball that Igawa had thrown to him.

Look at how wide of a stance Shelley has. It must work, given the fact he has 29 HR's and 92 RBI's this season.

My lovely scorecard. I try to keep one for all the games I go to, but I typically give up around the 7th inning. I lasted til about the 8th this time.

Ah, Mark Melancon. Since the BP is on the field, the pitchers stand in front of the guy warming up to make sure nobody gets creamed with a ball.

Kei Igawa, the all time winner for Scranton. What a man.
Other photos:

Trip to Scranton! Yanks vs. Pawtucket

2009-09-01T11:11:00.011-04:00

It has been a long two days, if I must say so. On Sunday, I made the nearly 3.5 hour road trip (each way) to Scranton, PA to check out the Scranton Yankees take on the Pawtucket Red Sox. It was a long journey getting to the stadium, but it was well worth it as Pete was having his LoHud Yankees Blog outing in the left field pavilion in which over 80 people had shown up to root on the Yanks.

It was a double header affair, which for some reason began at 5:05 PM. I was thrown off by that as I would have thought an earlier start would have made more sense. Despite the later start, the weather was beautiful and it was great seeing this minor league ballpark. Since I typically end up going to games by myself (sad I know, but no one ever wants to make the long trips with me to see a baseball game), this was exciting because I was able to meet up with some amazing people who share that same passion for the game of baseball.

I have to say, it was intimidating at first, as I really didn't know anyone there and I began reverting back to my shy self in life. Thanks to Rebecca (whom I met a month or so ago at the Yankee game), we were able to reconnect and discuss her love of Jesus Montero and my love of Mark Melancon. This girl knows her baseball and really made me feel not so lonely at this event. She even introduced me to her friend Brent, who is such a nice guy and is even going to be a teacher, which makes him 100x cooler in my biased-teacher eyes.

Major props also to Chad Jennings, who stopped by during the first game to hang out with us in the left-field pavilion. He is a nice guy and is great at what he does. If you haven't read his blog or this amazing article he wrote on Shelle y Duncan, I recommend you do so. I also have to mention Ashley who is an intern for the SWB Yankees and could haven't been nicer. Since I had been worried about another rainout at Scranton, she was helpful in giving me the conditions of the field the night before. I felt bad for bothering her but she was great about it and it was ironic to meet her in person. Thanks again, Ashley!

All in all, it was a great time despite the Yankees dropping the first game 5-3 against some Red Sox pitcher that none of us had heard of. Shelley hit a HR in this game and also a grand slam in the second game. Yankees won that game by a score of 6-1. I also must note that Brent, Rebecca and I started a Yankee role call during the second game which was pretty eventful. Shelley of course gave us the most comical pose, and there were only 2 guys that didn't respond to us (Miranda and Curtis). I wish I was good with names, but to all those I met at the outing, it was great seeing you all there. Some people even knew of my blog, which was pretty cool.

The trip to Scranton is definitely worth the drive, even if you are in NYC (which I think is only 2 hours right?) Make the trip, you wont be disappointed! As for the outing, many thanks to Ron, Pete, and the Yankees for the free stuff. Through donations and also the raffle, the LoHudders contributed nearly 800 dollars for the Cody Miley Scholarship fund which was amazing!

Shelley Duncan and I. Of all the baseball players I have met, this guy has got to be one of the nicest guys out there. While hes got that great personality, you can't overlook the effort he puts into the game. It can't be easy for him having been at the major league level, but he has worked his tail off in AAA and has put up some amazing numbers. I hope the Yankees make the decision in calling him up after Scranton's season is done. He has earned it and since he is already on the 40-man roster, there would be no reason for the Yankees to not do this.
Brian Cashman is famous in Scranton. Check out all these pics of him in the pavilion we sat in.

Rebecca and I with the mascot dude. No clue what his name is.
Scoreboard for game 2 of the DH. Shelley hit a grand slam in this game. Too bad I had to leave early since I had a long drive ahead of me. This is why it should have been a 1:05 start!!

The Great American Ballpark: Cincinnati Ohio

2009-08-27T22:19:00.007-04:00

Since the Reds were in Pittsburgh while I was in town, I wasn't able to catch a game but I was able to check out the stadium and go on a tour of the facilities. I have to admit it is a pretty nice ballpark and I would love to catch a game there someday. Here are some things I learned/saw when I was on this tour:

First off, the Great American Ballpark is named after the Great American Insurance Company. Who knew that, as I sure did not. It has a capacity of 42,059 with field dimensions of 328 ft, 404 ft, and 325 ft (Left to Right).

The Reds designed this stadium for the fans. There are many different activities that were designed for kids to enjoy the place such as having a bouncy bounce area, a place where you can test the speed it takes you from running from home to first base, learning the different grips to throwing different pitches, cocking the speed you throw the ball, among many other different things. I have to admit, while these features are great, it reminds me a lot of a minor league park in that they focus on the fun rather than the game of baseball. Overall, it is great to have if you are bringing young kids to the game or if you need to get away before or during the game.

A majority of the stadium was built using money that was collected from the taxpayers. In 1996, they added .5% to their local sales tax which contributed 300 million to the overall stadium. The bill was around 365 million, which left the Reds having to cover about 65 million themselves. The money they made in 1996 as also used during the construction of the new stadium (Paul Brown Stadium) for the Cincinnati Bengals (can't recall how much he said this stadium cost to build).

I found this pretty cool. The Reds built their new park literally next to their old park, known as Riverfront Stadium. The two were literally only 26 inches apart. As they were closer to completing the stadium, the guide said the outfield wall and the new park were practically touching and they had to cut holes in certain parts out of area so that they could work on the new park. After the season ended, the old park was torn down and they was able to complete the rest of the stadium. The edge of the concession stand area is the same place where the right field wall used to be which is pretty amazing.

A view of the press box. There are four levels to this which are the most (i think) in the majors. The tour guide said the writers tend to love this place. He said on a normal game, the first row is barely 3/4 of the way filled. When the Yankees and Red Sox are in town (which is pretty rare) not only are the four levels filled, but they end up having to use an overflow room in the back in which many of them have to look at the TV's in order to see the games. He said the beat writers following the team are given a preference and a generally in the first few rows. For those of you who didn't know, the great Hal McCoy was recently "let go" from the Dayton Daily News. The guide said while it was sad to see him go (hes a great guy they say), he said he can understand why the company did it as it is very expensive for him to cover the team.

They have a gorgeous stadium I have to admit. In centerfield there is this tugboat thing that is used for group outings. There are two smoke stacks that erupt fireworks after a player on the Reds hits a HR and after each game that they win.

The dugout was pretty cool. The guide threatened my life if I touched the grass though on the field.

They have a Tornado Shelter downstairs next to the visiting clubhouse.. Wonder if they have that in New York.

Wanted to note the layout of the luxury seats. The Reds also have a moat surrounding the seats like the Yankees do, but not these seats only extend to the area behind home plate. Those tickets cost 250 dollars a seat as opposed to the 2,600 dollar seats for Yankee tickets. There is a restaurant behind these seats for fans in this section which is smilier to that of the new Yankee Stadium. I still don't understand why people would go to a game to sit in a restaurant, but that is besides the point I suppose.

Overall, a fun time. My goal is to be able to see every single stadium at some point in my life. I wasn't able to tour Shea Stadium which I am now disappointed about but I heard that I wasn't missing much as Shea was considered to be a dump. I recommend you all to check out the Great American Ballpark if you ever have a chance. The tour was only 13 dollars and it is great to be able to see different parts of the stadium that you aren't able to do as a fan in the crowd. The only downside of this tour was that they didn't let you check out the clubhouse which was something they let you do at Yankee Stadium. For 350 million or so, the Reds did build themselves quite a nice ballpark.

Louisville, Kentucky: Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory

2009-08-24T22:01:00.008-04:00

As part of my tour of the Cincinnati area, I made a trip to Louisville, Kentucky to visit the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory; aka the place where they make the baseball bats. It was an amazing tour and is something I would recommend for anyone to see. My friend who doesn't enjoy baseball at all actually enjoyed the tour, so it is for those who are into it and also those who have minimal interest in the game of baseball. The only bummer was that they wouldn't allow any pictures to be taken inside of the factory. Regardless, here are some tidbits and pictures from the tour:

This is the bat located in front of the museum. It weighs about 68,000 pounds and is made of ASTM A36 carbon steel.
Louisville Slugger own forests in New York and Pennsylvania. They do this so that they can control the quality of the trees that are used to make their baseball bats.
In Major League Baseball, Louisville Slugger bats are used by over 60 percent of all Major League Players. Former Yankee/Met/Marlin/Blue Jays Al Leiter had a contract with them also. One of the few pitchers from what it looked like.
During the tour, the company was working on making a dozen bats for Drew Stubbs of the Cincinnati Reds. He said that the equipment manager will call them up and order the bats for the player.
Major League and Minor League bats are made in two separate machines (Minor league bats are made in the same machine that is used as those that are sold to fans).
Players in the majors have more models of bats to choose from (about 300 that are currently popular with the players).
Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey use the same model bat; C271- made for Jose Cardenal (The letter in the model stands for the first letter of the player's last name).
About 1,500 bats are made per day
The 125 on the bat stands for the grade of wood that is used (125 is the highest quality).
Maple bats have more of a tendency to break when compared to bats that are made of ash.
Louisville Slugger has started placing stickers on all of their maples bats as a way to make them more sturdier.
The cost of maple bats has risen drastically, now costing baseball teams $95 a bat as opposed to $45 dollars for a bat made of ash. The teams typical order between 9-12 dozen bats for each player a season.
On Mother's Days, Louisville Slugger donates two bats to each player that is signed with them. One of the bats is designated for the player to use while the other is for the player to sign and donate to MLB.com to support breast cancer research.
Players who sign a contract with Louisville Slugger are given 5,000 dollars from the company for allowing them to use their names (I would assume in selling the bats to the public). The tour guide said that some guys may have the bats, but that they may not have a contract with them. Guy with a contract have their names signed on the bat. Those who do not have a contract have their names printed in block text. The guy told us that David Wright was an example of a guy who used their bat but didn't have a contract with them. Not sure why exactly that is.

All in all, it was a great tour. For 10 dollars you were able to go in and see how baseball bats are made. The guys are working right in front of your eyes and it is an interesting process that the bats go through before they become a finished product.

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-24T19:20:00.002-04:00

Well, I am back from my trip to Ohio. It was eventful nonetheless and I got some pretty decent pictures during my journey out there. I tried updating on my iTouch thing, but it didn't work out too well. I missed some interesting Yankee baseball (guess not since most of the games were blowouts).

I'll post the pictures later on tonight

Vacation soon!

2009-08-18T00:15:00.004-04:00

Before I get on my baseball tangent, just wanted to make mention that I am heading to Cincinnati, Ohio on Thursday to visit a friend of mine who recently moved and is now residing near the horrific Cincinnati Reds. I am staying out there until Sunday and so far our travel itinerary consists of seeing the Louisville Slugger Museum on Friday and taking a tour of the Great American Ballpark on Saturday. Is anyone else familiar with this area? Any suggestions on where to go?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In regard to baseball, tough loss tonight for the Yankees. I hate when I am right, but I had this feeling that Brett Tomko would get his revenge and pitch well against the Yankees. I will admit that I didn't think he would pitch this well against the team. His line tonight was 5IP, 5H, and 0ER's. Who knew he was this good of a pitcher. Or lucky of a pitcher? I have to say that the Yankees made the A's bullpen look really good tonight. Tough break, but tomorrow is a new day.

As for the Jays, tough season for them. Things really haven't gone their way so instead of looking at the negative, lets look at the positives:

Amazing year so far for Aaron Hill. He is hitting .288 with 28 HR's and 80 RBI's. What a bounce back from the concussion he had in 2008. He has transformed into an amazing player and I hope he keeps this up for the rest of the year and into the 2010 season.
Also just as impressive is Adam Lind. Lind is hitting .295 for the season with 24 HR's and 74 RBI's. These two guys have really been two of the most consistent guys for the Jays offense and it has been fun watching them play.
Marco Scutaro has also put together a good season for himself. In 114 games, he is hitting .300 with 11 HR's and 51 RBI's. I didn't realize he was doing this well until I looked up the stats for myself. What do you Jays fans think about him?
Halladay is Halladay of course. He has 13 wins for the season, which is remarkable considering the fact that he was injured for a month or so and that the Jays offense has been streaky and at times doesn't give him a great deal of run support. He is averaging over 7.5 innings per start, which included the game he pitched in which he was injured and had to be taken out of the game in the 3rd inning.
Ricky Romero has also looked good for the Jays this year. He is 10-5 for the season with an ERA of 3.70. He is having quite a rookie year and is a fun lefty to watch pitch. Anyone surprised by this or could you tell he was going to be good?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrian Beltre wasn't wearing a cup? I thought that was a common practice that guys followed when playing any type of sports. At least a sport involving some sort of ball. Sounds painful and I bet he was regretting the decision he made in not wearing one. Maybe they are uncomfortable or something.

Matt Holliday is still on a tear. Check these stats out.

The great debate is out. Who should be the AL MVP for the season? Joe Mauer or Mark Teixiera? Should it matter if the player is on a winning team or not. Here are Mauer's stats and here are Teixeria's stats. Tyler Kepner of the Times wrote a compelling article about this topic. I am still on the fence as to who should be the MVP. Each side has legitimate points.

How great of a pitcher is Tim Lincecum? So far this season he is 12-3 with an ERA of 2.19. He has struck out 205 while only walking 43. The Giants have some talented young arms in their starting rotation.

Training Camp in Albany

2009-08-14T19:34:00.005-04:00

Went to Giants camp yesterday morning to see the guys practice. It wasn't very eventful but I have to admit I am starting to like the game of football (however it will never come close to the passion I have for baseball). I was even lucky to get a couple of autographs while down there, including Steve Smith (who I see every year helping out at the center for disabled telethon, good guy), Shaun O'hara, and Chris Snee. Are these good players? I have heard the names but I really am clueless when it comes to the Giants.

I also went down to see Mike Francesa as he was interviewing the players for his show on the YES Network. Most of the interviews for the show are prerecorded and taped in the morning as they can't really do much while the players are getting ready to take the field for practice. After taping the Manning and Coughlin segment, he came over for a few to talk to the people that were hanging out in the crowd. I was able to ask him a few questions pertaining to the Yankees and also other teams around baseball. Here is part of what I asked him:

The first thing I brought up to him was about this strange obsession he seems to have with Bronson Arroyo. He said he still wants to see him as a Yankee as he is a great pitcher and always has the Yankees number. When I questioned Arroyo's ERA, Mike responded by saying "You can't look at his ERA. He has had a few games where he loses his head and gave up like 10 ER's. It has the ERA all skewed. Taking away those 3 or so bad games, his ERA is 3.97. Plus, look how good he has done this year against the Mets." I responded with yes Mike, and who hasn't done well against the Mets this year? A guy with an ERA (sure add in the 3.97 if you want like he said) still is going to have an inflated ERA in the AL. His response again was that Arroyo had the Yankees number when he was on the Red Sox. I know at times when something isn't worth the fight, and I just dropped the subject after that. Plus, he pretty much summed it up at the end by saying as much as he wants the guy, the Yankees wont make the deal because he is making 9 million dollars in 2010.

He wasn't impressed with Pedros first start as a Philly. Doesn't seem him as a factor at all in helping them during the playoffs.

When asked about the Yankees failing to make the playoffs and win the World Series, some guy in the crowd said it was Torre's fault. Mike replied by saying, "you know whos fault this is, I'll tell you. It's Brian Cashman's fault. He has done a terrible job with the pitching staff over the past 7 years. Just look at the bums he brought in: Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright, Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, and the list goes on." I did make mention to him that you can't use the Pavano deal against Cash as everyone was going after Carl when he was a free agent. Who knew he was going to be a major bum who would take himself out with random ailments to the shoulder and butt.

He think Minaya will be gone next year. He said he really like Omar and he would be disappointed to see him go, but that he cant see the Mets keeping him after this year.

It wouldn't be a Mike conversation without him bringing up Joba. To sum it up, he pretty much is tired of the Joba nonsense. He said what they are doing isn't really much. He is losing 2-3 starts max.

Very impressed with Pettitte and Hughes. Doesn't like Mitre. Pretty common and obvious stuff.

Assorted Baseball News

2009-08-12T22:48:00.004-04:00

Another day, another walk-off win for the Yankees. That was their 11th walk-off of the year and they are on a tear, having won 9 of their last 10 games. When they are behind or tied, you almost have this hope built inside of you that they will be able to find a way to get it together and come out with a win. They seem like much more of a confident team this year, as opposed to the teams from the past few years.

As for around baseball, there are a lot of interesting things going on. Here are some worth noting:

Pedro made his first start tonight for the Phillies against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. He pitched pretty good for his first start, going 5 innings and striking out 5 while giving up 7 hits and 3 ER. Having that early lead must have been a huge relief for him and a weight off his shoulder I would imagine.

Youk and Porcello got into quite the brawl the other night. I think it's unfair that they both received the same suspension. In these cases the starting pitcher always ends up benefiting the most as Porcello is only going to miss one start. Youk on the other hand is going to be out for 5 games. I assume they decided to do that so he would be ready in 5 days when the Yankees come to town.

Matt Holliday is on a tear. This makes me so happy as I knew he had this potential to be good, and everyone would tell me how wrong I was and how it was an effect of Coors Field. Well, in 18 games as a Cardinal, Holliday is hitting .486 with 8 2B's, 16RBI's and 4 HR's. He has raised his overall average to .320. It will definitely be an interesting offseason in which Holliday will be a free agent.

I have to vent for a few. This venting goes towards Leiter, Kay and O'Neill, and all the other rich people out there. I am listening to the games and these guys are all going on about Mitch Modell being in the ballpark. First, isn't he always at the park? Second, they were besides themselves trying to see if he would give them some free gift-cards. While I for one would be thrilled at the sight of a 100 dollar gift-card, I am not a millionaire. In fact, I am a poor college student working 1,000 jobs just to get by to pay for grad school. These 3 individuals have more money coming out of their butts and they were begging for gift cards? Why in the world do they even need these? It's not just them though, even these rich baseball players are like this. Damon got a 400,000 dollar car for free. The players get gift cards after doing an interview. Come on now, do these people really need it? I can think of about 300,000 other people that actually would be in need of help and actually use the cards on practical items. Its so ridiculous at times how the rich do really get richer for no apparent reason. Ok I am done.

Ok wait, I am not done actually. Michael Kay, you need to stop putting down the children of America. Not all kids that go to summer school are there because they goofed off. Some actually have learning disabilities and need it to catch up, or others go to get ahead in school. Ignorant comments about children are not warranted, especially during a baseball broadcast. I note this because he has made this comment on more than one occasion and it makes me angry each time he says it. Don't get me wrong either, Kay is a really nice guy and keeps the broadcasts interesting. I just hate when I hear these comments in general about kids, regardless if there was intent or not.

Back to baseball, I think Chad Gaudin owes the Yankees a big thank you. Had it not been for them signing him, he would still look like this
Also wanted to note that my site was linked on baseball-reference. So anytime you look at Al Leiter's stats, you can be linked to the blog. Thank you to the individual who sponsored my site :) Your prize awaits you at some point.

Lastly, there was a great article written in ESPN the magazine that is worth mentioning. The Yankees and Jason Zillo did a great job in July during HOPE week in which the team went around the community and did a handful of good deeds for those who were most definitely deserving. This link tells about an organization known as Camp Sundown that provided children with a disease known as xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) with a place to go in which they can meet other children that suffer from the same disease. Basically these children cannot be exposed to the sunlight and can only participate in activities that take place during the night time. It is a great read and the Yankees have really provided a great deal of exposure to many about this horrible disease which will in turn hopefully lead to them raising more money for research and also towards maintaining the summer camp that is provided to these kids.

Game 1: New York Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays

2009-08-10T20:21:00.005-04:00

Tonight: LHP Marc Rzepczynski (1-3, 3.74) vs. RHP Sergio Mitre (1-0, 7.50), 7:05 p.m. YES

Tuesday: RHP Scott Richmond (6-6, 3.97) vs. RHP Joba Chamberlain (8-2, 3.73), 7:05 p.m. MY9

Wednesday: LHP Ricky Romero (10-5, 3.66) vs. RHP A.J. Burnett (10-5, 3.67), 1:05 p.m. YES

Tuesday's match-up should be interesting. The matchup on Wednesday of Romero vs. Burnett doesn't look great on paper for Romero, but you never know with baseball, right?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the Jays, I was shocked when I came home only to see that Rios was sent to the White Sox, for literally nothing. How do Jays fans feel about that? I guess that 60 million off the payroll is what the Jays were looking to unload.

Aaron Hill hit his 27th HR of the year, which surpasses his career high of 17 HRs that he hit in 2007. Its amazing to see the career year he is having, especially at a time when half of the Blue Jays offense has failed to show up and deliver.

Brian Butterfield has some Yankees ties and also ties to the Capital Region. Not only was he the first base coach in 1994 to 1995 for the New York Yankees, but he spent the previous year (1993) as a coach for the Albany-Colonie Yankees.

Here's a trivia question from the YES Network broadcast. What player currently holds the record for most career hits as a Blue Jay?

Cano has played a stellar second base this year, and at times it is shocking to see a first basemen that can actually field a ball cleanly.

Check out this clip, I randomly found it on youtube. Its from an old Coca-Cola commercial that celebrated the Jays Word Series win.

Yanks win, Jays win, good day in all

2009-08-09T23:01:00.007-04:00

Baseball sure is a game you can't predict. After going 0-8 against the Red Sox this year, the Yankees were able take 4 straight and sweep them at home. They have played some good baseball, which mostly can be credited to some stellar outings from the pitching staff. As they always say, pitching is what wins yous ballgames. So very true.

I wanted to make mentioned of a few articles I read that were worthwhile. First, I was very jealous of eyebleaf, who was able to attend the celebration on Friday, in which the Jays honored the players from the 92 and 93 World Series Championships. He wrote a piece about his trip, and it would suggest taking a look at some of the pics and video he put up on the blog. Al Leiter was at this event along with guys such as Joe Carter, Paul Molitor, etc. Definitely must have been a great day for the fans of Toronto. I can;t imagine what it was like during those years, as the team was so popular during that time period, drawing a record crowd of 4 million fans in one season. Must have been electric.

Photos of Josh Hamilton have made it to the internet. I am sure these photos don't make his wife too happy. I am still trying to figure out why so many pro athletes get married at such a young age. They just cheat on their wives anyhow half the time. At least go sleep around and enjoy yourself without spreading the diseases to your wife at home.

An embarrassing clip of a ballgirl fielding a fair ball. I don't quite understand the video she made, but whatever. I wonder if they will be asking her to come back?

I noticed the fake umpires were back in Toronto the other day when the Yankees were in town.. Don't they realize their act is getting old? Even Bob Lorenz made mention of it on the post-game the other night.

Just started the book Munson:The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain by Marty Appel. Looks to be a good read.

Steroids? Who me? I had no clue what I was taking.. But it sure wasn't any type of steroid..

2009-08-08T18:03:00.009-04:00

"A ballplayer's got to be kept hungry to become a big-leaguer. That's why not boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues." Joe DiMaggio

I'll get onto steroids in a few, but I first have to make mention that my summer class is finally over!! Thank goodness, my life has returned for now, at least until classes resume at the end of August.

Since I finally have some time on my hands, I have made it my goal to finally catch on some of the dozens of baseball books that I have bought, but never had the time to read. The first book up for review, which I started and completed yesterday (took me about 2 hours to read, big font, very few pages) was Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball. I must make mention that I did not purchase this book: I found it at the library after tutoring and I thought it would be interesting to see what more Canseco had to say about steroids.

Overall, it was a decent read. I wouldn't recommend anyone paying for the book, as it certainly wouldn't be worth the money. The first book, definitely worth the money. I own two copies of it and would recommend that anyone. This one, like I said, not so much. But if you are heading to the library, or borrowing it from a friend, I would recommend at least taking the time to read it. As I said, it won't take you that long to get through it Here's a brief synopsis of what it contained (I know its long, so if you don't have the attention span to read it all, at least check out the most important quotes, which I did decided to bold):

Followed the same mantra as the last book- He believes MLB blackballed him which was the reason why he decided to write both of the books. He said he didn't want to name people, but he really dint have a choice. He would have never gotten a book deal if there weren't a few names listed. As for why he didn't mention A-Rod in the first book, he believed that he had too much against him and people would say he used his name out of spite.

He claims that he included information about Clemens' steroid use in his first book, which basically was speculation as he said he never saw him using, but how he always thought he was on steroids. Apparently HarperCollins, his publisher, removed the contents from the book. It was something he wasn't happy about, but they didn't give him much of a choice.

He also stated that he mentioned Roger Clemens steroid use in the 60 Minutes interview that he was part of. His comments pertaining to Clemens were again removed from the final edited version that was on TV. He stated in the beginning that it could be a possible conspiracy on the Bush organization. Apparently Clemens is very close to the Bush family and he believed they were doing whatever possible to keep Clemens' name clean. I will add though that at the end of the book, he does state that his conspiracy could be flawed and that he realized his publisher may not have been keen on the fact that he didn't have actual experience with administering steroids to Clemens, as was the case with the other names that he listed within the book.

Regarding Mark McGuire: He states that when McGuire joined the A's in 1987, he was very curious about Canseco's regime. He states, "The following year, not surprisingly, McGuire underwent a miraculous transformation, and shortly thereafter the fans began to call us the Bash Brothers. I wonder how that happened?" He's right and many of us were either blind or just didn't care or want to care. I was only a year old so I think I am rightly excused as far as being naive about this transformation.

Found this quote to be dead on: "And here the thing: everyone knew. Nothing happened in the clubhouse that wasn't approved by the ownership. From top to bottom, the whole thing was institutionalized. Everybody knew about the bogus b12 shots, and everyone was using them. And you want to know why they were using them? They were using them because they were afraid of losing their jobs. It's that simple. They had to perform to stay in the game, and steroids gave them the edge they needed."

He also talks about how there isn't a such thing as a "one time user." When one takes steroids, you are committing yourself to at least a 6 week cycle, minimum. It is a process and he states that players who say it was a one time, short time deal, are blatantly lying.

This part is one I want to note, and this statement relates to the nonsense we are even seeing with David Ortiz. Canseco states that, "There were also plenty of steroids about steroid cream, which guys apparently kept slathering on by accident. Or it kept getting slathered on by their trainer when they weren't looking. 'I never knowingly took steroids or other performance enhancing drugs!' Jesus, How naive are we? If you're a professional athlete, one of the elite, you know exactly what your eating, how hard you're working out, how much you're sleeping, what (legal) supplements you're taking, and what (illegal) substances you're injecting. Your body is your career, and you watch anything and everything connected to it."

He talks about his 10 year old daughter, and how he spends time with her watching movies, playing semi-inappropriate videos games, and teaching her how to play poker. Ill decline to comment and give my opinions about his parenting skills.

Many good points where made in this book, if I have to admit. He touches on the subject of the Mitchell investigations, which I feel needs to be quoted. The other thing that really irked me was the shamelessness with which Mitchell betrayed his bias towards the Red Sox, for whom he was a director when the investigation began...Why the discrepancy? Does the Big Apple really have that many more juicers than Beantown? I seriously doubt it. I played on both teams, and when I said four out of five players were juicing, I meant across the board. And Beantown was no exception. This exhaustive report, which was conducted independently and with no bias whatsoever would have use believe that the New York Yankees were a bunch of juicers, while the Red Sox were almost as clean as a whistle. Again, I don't think so." He also mentions how there wasn't one current Marlins player on the report. He notes that Mitchell also serve on their board of directors.

He takes a different stance in the book, in which he finally acknowledges that he doesn't believe players should use steroids. He does make a good point though about steroids and the history of the game. "And hell, its not like baseball has always been squeaky clean. the game has a rich tradition of cheating, gambling, spitballs, corked bats, and worse. The game has been around for 130 years and we've seen it all: the Juiced Ball Era. The Corked Bat Era. The Spitball Era. The Pitcher's Era. The Power-Hitter's Era. This will go into the book as the Steroids Era. It's as simple as that."

"...when I saw things were getting out of control, and that I had to tell the truth about what was going on." I find some of the statements he made to be extremely egotistical. To me, I am confused how Canseco can sit here telling us how he basically introduced steroids to all these players, and then tell us how he found it his job to be the big man and clean the game up. I am glad he did it, and for that I give him credit, but I do at times wonder where his motives originally did stand.

Overall, I have to admit it was a pretty decent book. There were points in here that agree with and I believe. I think he clearly knew what was going on around him, as he was actually part of the game and using steroids himself. I believe every word he said about players he directly injected (Giambi, Ordonez, Palmiero, etc) but I believe his statements about A-Rod were purely fabricated.. While he was correct about A-Rod using steroids, I believe it was because he was tipped of by someone that Alex was included on the 2003 list of players that tested positive. It is just my belief that Canseco wanted to make himself part of the story, so he made up some sort of story that would include A-Rod discussing steroids with him (knowing that he did use steroids so either way he would look correct) which would put his name back in the paper. Since many see Canseco as a reputable source, now that many of his assertions have deemed to be correct, many would see this situation as something else that also did occur.

What a mess those Mets are

2009-08-05T23:25:00.003-04:00

Another day, another injury for the New York Mets. I had thought the Jays had it bad with all of their injuries in the beginning of the year, but it looks like the Mets have really surpassed them in that regard. It seems like every day a different guy is hurt. Castillo the other day, now Niese. How many is that now? From their official site, it shows Maine, Nieve, Putz, Wagner, Delgado, Martinez, Reyes, Beltran, and another Martinez. And some people think they are still in it? Oh boy..

Anyhow, rough patch of games for the Jays. Watching Halladay last night was tough to do as I hate when the team cant seem to put anything together for him. Another complete game, another loss for the guy. He probably was hoping he would be traded out of Toronto, now he is just going to have to get back into the groove and realize he is here to stay, at least for now anyhow.

On another note, I just read online that the Jays are having a flashback Friday in which former players are coming to the stadium and signing for fans. Leiter is going to be there along with Joe Carter, Paul Molitor, and an array of other Blue Jay greats.. Does anyone wanna take a road trip with me to Canada??? I wish I was closer because I would definitely be there.

Big series this weekend as the Yankees are taking on the Red Sox in a 4 game set at home. Lets see if they can improve on their 0-8 record against the Sox this year. I guess it can't really get any worse, right?

Any other worthwhile baseball news going?

Some good news after a terrible tragedy

2009-08-04T10:40:00.003-04:00

I read a great story today online that I wanted to share. I don't have time to really elaborate much, as I am way behind on this 15 page paper, but here is the link. It is about the young man who survived the crash that killed Angels Nick Adenhart. This individual essentially was internally decapitated and beat the odds of survival. He is now walking and is a true miracle. Never take your life for granted because you never know what can happen. Hopefully they can spark some action with MLB to start a MADD campaign. Drinking and driving is such a terrible thing and nothing good ever comes out of it.

Shelley Duncan: The Big Man Strikes Again

2009-08-02T16:52:00.004-04:00

If you haven't read this article, I highly suggest you take a few minutes to do so. Chad Jennings of the Times Tribune wrote an amazing feature on Shelley Duncan for the Sunday edition. It really gives you an in-depth look at his career in baseball, going back to when he was a young kid and was hanging around the A's when his father was the pitching coach.

I have always been impressed with the work that Shelley has put into improving his game. It hasn't be easy for him the past few years, but he still has continued to keep his head up and put all the effort he has into an at-bat, each and every night.

Along with his on-field play, Jennings also dug deep into the life of Shelley Duncan outside the game of baseball. I found it interesting to read that he has developed the passion for fly-fishing (reminding me of the movie A River Runs Through It) and hiking in the woods at night, leaving behind the flashlight to guide him through the path. I can see Shelley running wild in the woods, but its hard to imagine him sitting still trying to fly-fish in the rough waters.

In concluding the article, I found the final sentiments quite fitting to describe the big man himself:

Shelley has a big swing that hits long home runs. He has a big personality that makes him impossible to ignore. Those things have defined him, but they're only part of the definition.

"I'm just me," Shelley said. "When I die, or when I'm done playing, I just want people to only remember me in this game for one thing, that I played hard every single time I was out there. Nothing else. That's it. Not as a home run hitter or as a funny guy, nothing like that. Just, he played hard."

That's Shelley Duncan.

How can you not root for the guy? A guy who not only puts his all into every at-bat for a game he loves and respects, but also for a guy who is a good dude deep down. It is something that is a rarity now in baseball which is a pretty sad thing. Hopefully he keeps on working hard (which we know he will) and will be seen back in majors during the September call-ups.

New Layout, not sure about it.

2009-08-01T13:42:00.004-04:00

So I switched the layout around. I didn't like how the font was condensed to a tiny section, but I am not sure if I like the new layout either. The color scheme needs to be fixed. Any creative people out there?

So baseball-wise, the Yankees brought Shelley Duncan up to the majors since they were supposed to be facing 3 lefties for the Chicago series. Since the original starter was traded, the White Sox had to call up an emergency starter, who happened to be a righty, so Shelley wasn't needed. Since they acquired Jerry Harison Jr from the Reds yesterday, poor Shelley is being optioned down to make room for him on the roster. The poor guy. He finally earns his chance on the team, and they keep him up here for 1 day and don't even bother using him... At least he is on the 40-man roster now and hopefully will be back for September callups.

On another note, it will be cool for him if he makes it back to Scranton in time as the AAA Yankees are playing Pawtucket. Shelley's younger brother Chris was traded to the RedSox recently is starting for their AAA team. What a nice family reunion that will be. I am sure Shelley would rather be in Chicago though than back in the slumps of AAA.

As for the Jays, Halladay wasn't traded and Scott Rolen was. I was surprised to see that Rolen actually requested to be traded so that he could be closer to his family. Well, at least the Jays got a few guys out of the deal and dropped some salary. How good are these prospects/players that they acquired? Rolen has been a big part of the Jays offense this year and they are definitely going to miss his bat.

Regarding the Halladay nonsense, it looks silly in a sense that they didn't trade him. If they weren't sure, they shouldn't have made such a big debacle about it as all this did was disturb a guy who is very meticulous with his daily routine.

Assorted News

2009-07-30T23:28:00.004-04:00

The trading deadline end tomorrow at 4pm. It will be interesting to see if Halladay is traded. Any ideas if he will be, and if so to where?

It appears as if he will be staying put in Toronto, which will be to the delight of many Jays fans. If he does stay its too bad they had to go through all this nonsense for the past few weeks. You have to wonder if Halladay was looking forward to possibly switching teams, especially after some of the heartbreaking losses the team has been encountering as of late.

A few things to note:

To anyone who has an iPhone or iPod Touch. Does anyone have the MLB AT Bat 2009 application? If not, I have to tell you, it is freaking amazing and probably the best 9.95 I ever spent. A few days ago the Jays game was featured as part of their TV games and I was able to watch the entire Blue Jays vs Mariners game. It was interesting watching it on such a small screen but I cant even tell you how clear the images were. It is amazing how far technology goes nowadays.

Looks like the Yanks are going to be calling up a guy from AAA tomorrow. It looks to be either Austin Jackson or Shelley Duncan. I have a soft spot in my heart for Shelley so I hope its him, but if it turns out to be AJax, I guess I can accept that also. I will say though, if you don't appreciate Shelley because you feel he strikes out too often, look for similar results with Austin. I personally do not think hes ready for the major leagues, but I guess we may soon find that out.

My husband, the great Mark Melancon, finally pitched in a game. About damn time Girardi. I still say the guy should be in the minors if he isnt going to get any work but what the hell do I know. I am just a girl who follows the game. The only experience I have is in complaining.

Are the Jays really going to trade Scott Rolen?

Aaron Hill and Adam Lind make me happy, really happy. At least someone on the team (along with Rolen) has decided to show up for the Jays

Another day, another big player we find has used steroids. I guess at this point you can't be surprised. I think its one of those things where I would be disappointed if I found out someone like Girardi , Jeter, or Leiter used steroids back in the day. Hopefully that's not the case.

Tough play by Coke. He almost had the ball which would have kept the game going. Instead the winning run scores and the Yanks lose. Oh well close call.

New Stadium-The Good the Bad, and the Ugly..

2009-07-29T10:47:00.014-04:00

Since we are approaching game 101 of the season, I figured we have seen a good enough sample size to overview the positive and even negative aspects that exist with the new Yankee Stadium. I have been down there 3 times so far this year (2 regular season games and 1 preseason game against the Cubs) and there are things about the stadium that I enjoy and there are also things that I feel could be fixed. If anyone else has any opinions about this, please chime in.

Positives:

The seats are larger and definitely more comfortable than those at the old stadium. I haven't sat in the upper level, so I am unsure if those are the same as the lower section. Regardless, more leg space is always a good thing and makes for a more enjoyable time.
Larger array of food. I had a hard time putting this in the positive category, mostly because I don't go to a baseball game to eat sushi or gourmet food. All I need is a hot dog and I am good to go. For some though, this may be a positive so I figured I would throw it in this category.
I have to say, I am impressed with the staff at the new Stadium. They are extremely friendly and if you need anything, there is always someone nearby to assist. They definitely have improved in that department.
The screen is center field is amazing. I thought the Jays had a huge screen until I saw the one that the Yankees have. It is definitely incredible and one of a kind. I wonder how much that thing cost the taxpayers?
I have heard the museums inside the stadium are nice. I have yet to see them as the lines are always tremendously long. I hope one day I will be able to.

Negatives:

First and foremost, has to be the prices of the seats. The Yankees claim a majority of their seats are affordable to families, but I don't see that as being the case. The bleachers (12 dollars) are sold out and the cheapest you can typically find them on stub hub is for $40. I also find it comical that they have two entire sections that are obstructed from seeing half of the field. I walked past one of the sections, and I truly feel bad for people who have to sit in those seats, next to the restaurant. The view is horrendous and those 3 tiny flat screen TVs they put on the wall do not make up for it at all, especially when it is sunny out and there is a glare.

The moat. I hate the moat with all of my heart. The Yankees wanted to keep the peons out of the rich section, and not only did they keep us out, but they also made the the stadium look like an embarrassment. The old stadium kept the people out, but they didn't have to build this huge concrete divider to keep them out. The blue railings worked fine. It has the feel of a class system, and I hate it. The people in the lower level Legends seats have the option of going inside their private restaurant while the game is going on. And there are also 3 other restaurants inside the stadium. I don't get it people. Are you coming to a game to watch baseball, or to sit and have fine dining? If I want to have a nice dinner, the last thing I am going to do is pay thousands of dollars at a baseball stadium.

The out of town scoreboard is ridiculous. You can only see 4 games at a time which is something I don't understand. I also think the design of the boards is ridiculous. It is impossible to find the pitch count, speed and pitch thrown because there is so much going on. It was by far a more simpler design at the old stadium.

I am adding food to this list actually. The prices are absurd and sometimes I wonder if I am at a baseball game or a amusement park. Do we really need all of this nonsense? This is one of the reasons I enjoy going to the Rogers Centre over Yankee Stadium.

In addition, do we have to have those ridiculous people coming down the aisle every 2 minutes selling food? The new deal with the Yankees (at least for the lower level) is that they have these waitresses coming around with a hand-held device that takes down the food you want. They don't have the vendors guys who throw the drinks at you. Instead, these people come down during the game, sit in front of your face and take orders and carry a crap load of food in your vicinity for forever. For those of us who actually are going to watch the game, it gets old really fast. Just ask my friend. I was ready to trip these people because they obstructed my view on about 100 different occasions and they aren't quick about their job. They take their time.

Monument Cave. I really don't need to go on and on about this. If you have been to the new stadium, you know what I am talking about. I think they forgot about it in their original designs and compensated by putting it wherever they could fit it. Clearly they didn't spend much time making this decisions because it looks absurd.

This picture was taken in the 4th inning. How sad does that look? I would die to have tickets that were that close to the field.

Farewell to Yankee Stadium

2009-07-27T21:05:00.012-04:00

When I went to the game on Saturday, I parked in the parking garage on 153rd street. It is a further walk to the new stadium, but after getting lost in the middle of the Bronx on my last trip alone, I decided it was be smarter for me to just park at the nearest parking garage. That being said, because I parked so far away, I had to walk past the old stadium. I happened to notice a crack between the walls to which I could take a peek into the park. What a sad sight it was indeed (if you click on the picture you can see it larger).

I've been into Springsteen a lot as of late and Glory Days seems to be a fitting song for this and also my life in general.